04/13/19 by Paris-Travel | Blog, Things to do in Paris, Website | No Comments »
Happy Mothers Day in Paris! Bonne Fete Maman !
26th May 2019 • Celebrating la Fête des Mères
Are you celebrating Mothers Day in Paris this year? How absolutely marvellous!
There are so many wonderful things to do, from picnics in the park, to special lunches and dinners in restaurants, to relaxing with family and friends just about anywhere!
Here are a few places to whet your whistle for things to see and do:
Whatever you do, wherever you go, whomever you’re with — have a super spectacular day surrounded by those who love you!
Got more suggestions for Mothers Day in Paris?
I’d love to hear them! Please do contact me and let me know — I’d love to add them to this post!
Merci beaucoup! Many thanks!
I love you Paris! XOXOX
Teena Hughes
05/01/18 by Paris-Travel | Things to do in Paris, Website | No Comments »
Happy Mothers Day in Paris! Bonne Fete Maman !
Celebrating la Fête des Mères
If you’re celebrating Mothers Day i Paris, what a special treat :-)
There are so many wonderful things to do, from picnics in the park, to special lunches and dinners in restaurants, to relaxing with family and friends just about anywhere!
Here are a few places to whet your whistle for things to see and do:
Whatever you do, wherever you go, whomever you’re with — have a super spectacular day surrounded by those who love you!
Ciao ciao for now
Teena xox
Got suggestions for Mothers Day in Paris?
I’d love to hear them!
Merci beaucoup!
10/13/13 by Paris-Travel | Q and A, Shopping | No Comments »
One of my favourite pastimes in Paris – drinking hot chocolate in a cosy café on a winter’s day!
I recently received an email from a delightful lady named Kara – here is her question (“Where can I find coats in a hurry for winter in Paris?”), my answer, and her lovely response:
Hello Teena!
Lovely blog — thanks for posting so many tips! I’m writing because my husband received a rather abrupt (but happy!) job transfer to Paris and we are to move in two weeks. Since we’ve been living in the southern U.S. for a few years now, we no longer own coats and, furthermore, they’re very hard to find down here where it seldom drops below 15C or so degrees. I’ve tried ordering online, but with poor results.
With only two weeks to pull everything together, I’m getting nervous that we will just have to board the plane coatless and freeze on arrival. Which brings me to you–do you think it’s possible to find a U.S. size 14 coat somewhere in Paris? I’m just imagining department stores full of coats for skinny Parisian women without a stitch to spare for more rounded out shapes.
Merci for your help! Peace, Kara
Teena’s Answer for winter in Paris
Kara, hello!!
First of all – have no fear! You’re going to need thermal underwear for winter, so if you can find a place like DAMART locally or online, buy yourself leggings and a long-sleeve top to go under a shirt etc. That will keep the winter chill away until you can find a coat.
I’ve just looked at the temps in Paris, and the highs are around 17-18 degrees Celcius for the next week, so not freezing, but getting cooler.
If you don’t have overcoats before you leave, you can definitely find them on arrival.
You no doubt have somewhere to stay as soon as you land, so if you DO find anything online, you can have it shipped to your accommodation for the day you arrive (if you don’t have time to get it delivered before you leave the USA).
You’re probably better off waiting till you get there before spending too much money, as you’ll have a wider selection and you’ll be able to try things on rather than impulse-buy online.
For plus-size coats, you’re in luck! There are BEAUTIFUL fashions in Paris for plus-size beauties, and I host shopping tours to a lot of these stores in summer-time.
I have a list of plus size clothes on my website (it may be a year or two out of date, but it’s a start):
Have a look at Ulla Popken (one of my faves), a very reasonably priced store a block from the Galleries Lafayette, which always has a great selection of clothes:
Check out Jean-Marc Philippe with stores all over Paris:
To travel on the plane, wear a few layers with long sleeves, find yourself a large shawl or scarf you can drape around yourself, add a jaunty scarf around the neck, and you’ll be fine till you get to your accommodation and can go shopping.
OOOooohhhh what a lucky possum you are! You two will have the best fun, and I’d love to hear from you to see what you end up doing and buying.
Best of luck, keep an eye out for the word “SOLDES” which means ‘SALE!” twice a year (it is extremely regulated and all stores have sales at exactly the same time each year).
Ciao for now
Teena!!
Kara’s reply to winter in Paris
Hello Teena,
Thank you SO MUCH for your extraordinarily helpful email! My husband and I depart on Monday and I am still scrambling to find an overcoat, so really helped to put my mind at ease.
Upon your advice, I just bought some fleece-lined shirts and leggings (divine!), so I’ll be alright until I get to pop in to Ulla Popken or Jean-Marc Phillipe :) Your shopping tours sound like so much fun — I’ll see if I can get a few girlfriends to come visit over the summer and sign up with me!
Hope your move up the coast went well and that you love your new home. Thanks again for all your help! Take care.
Peace,
Kara
—
I was so pleased to be able to help Kara – if you have a question, please do let me know and I’ll do my best to answer it, just like this one about winter in Paris :-)
cheers
Teena
08/03/13 by Paris-Travel | Q and A, Shopping, visa, Website | 2 Comments »
Lynne wrote to me recently asking if I had any suggestions for her daughter’s Visa card problem in Paris.
Teena,
My daughter is currently studying abroad in Paris. She is having trouble with many of the merchants not accepting her American Visa credit card.
Do you know of a prepay loadable card that she can easily put money on to use? or do you have another solution than her hitting the ATM and carrying Euros everywhere?
Lyn
Teena’s reply to “Visa card problem in Paris”
I’m sorry to hear your daughter’s had problems. I was in Paris a year ago with my Australian Visa card and didn’t have any problems, but to avoid lots of fees I also made sure to have 100-200 euro on me in cash at all times.
I did go to my bank before I left Australia and tried a pre-paid debit card which could be used as a credit card too — that worked out well, but the fees were quite high.
Just a thought — smaller merchants might have to pay high fees to accept credit cards, so they probably only accept cash.
If your daughter doesn’t like to carry much cash, perhaps she could try Traveller’s Cheques / Travelers’ Checks, but to be honest I haven’t used those for year, and she may have the same problems trying to cash them with smaller merchants.
Has your daughter met any other girls her age living in Paris who might offer suggestions for her?
Finding out how others cope in the same situation might be helpful.
As long as your daughter is careful not to flash her open wallet around, and keeps it in her handbag in FRONT of her as she walks along the streets, she shouldn’t experience any difficulties with cash.
I’m sorry I don’t have any other solution for you, but do let me know how she gets on, if she tries one of these suggestions or comes up with a much better one.
What a wonderful adventure for her to have – wouldn’t it be lovely if we could all meet up for a latte in Paris one afternoon? Ahhhhh bliss!
Ciao for now, best of luck!
Teena
Your Say
I hope Lynne’s daughter has now solved this tricky issue when shopping in Paris.
Have you ever had a Visa card problem in Paris? I’d love to hear from you if you have any tips or suggestions. Thanks!
Teena
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