Rouen follow up: A must tea room to have tea and homemade cakes and a fantastic view of its over- the- top cathedral

During you day trip from Paris to Rouen, a must ( right across from the famous Gothic cathedral) is a lovely tea shop - Dame Cakes
Have your tea on the second floor that overlooks thew magnificent cathedral. 

Is fashion a true art form? I think so and Paris fashion museums prove it.

I think fashion is an art form - because the same amount of artistic expression that goes into clothes, goes into a piece of pottery or a painting.

Fashion can tell you what people wore at a certain period just as pottery can tell you what their tea parties were like. Fine art at the  moment (in my humble  opinion) is no longer particularly concerned with beauty, so you could say that fashion - which is always about a concept of beauty, wherever or not everyone agrees on the concept - is more relevant, more artistic, than the garbage they put out these days and that includes today's music.

Well, that said (I'll get off my soap box) and say that when you are in Paris next, you must check out 5 of the most beautiful Paris fashion museums whether you are passionate or simple curious.

Two that really a must are:
~ The Museum of Decorative Arts - Inaugurated in 1905 in a wing of thew Louvre museum, it houses an astonishing collection of decorative arts ans design. A collection of more than 150,000 pieces of fashion, man. woman and child. In 2017, their Dior collection attracted more than 700,000 visitors. 

~ The Yves Saint Laurent Museum - This brand new space hosts a retrospective of over 50 models accompanied by accessories, sketches, photographs and videos as well as the actual dresses of this fabulous designer. The highlight of course is to visit the studio of YSL that plunges one back into the origins of the Parisian house founded in 1961. 
Pre booking tickets is a must and you can do that online.

Traveling with a 'time machine' is no fantasy, it is now possible when visiting France ...

One of the great things ( among so many others) about France is their high speed rail system all throughout the country.












Based in Paris, you can take the train ( the TGV) and speed back in time to whatever century you prefer in less than 2 hours. Yes, its possible.

If you love history, France and lots of culture, then I recommend for a day taking the train to Normandy, more specific, to Rouen. Just 1 hr and 30 minutes.

Its here you'll find Joan of Arc, Richard the Lionhearted, Monet, and hundreds of timber-framed houses. great cafes and restaurants and shopping, oh! wow!

Its an easy walk from the train station ( 10 minutes) and its a walkable city with many streets closed to cars.

GIRAFE, A TERRACE FACING THE EIFFEL TOUR

Paris is alive with new, hot, restaurants and one of the best is GIRAFE. 

Inside ( with views of views Eiffel Tower) , its a cozy decor, cream banquettes, marble bar, tropical plants and the kitchen turns out an array of great seafood dishes. 

But, BUT the real treat here is the devastating terrace, one-on-one with the Eiffel Tower.
Book early, its hard to get...

Paris for a Sunday lunch – Where is the life that late I led? Totally gone. Totally dead, but its not...

Sunday ( or for that matter) Saturday in Paris  looking for an old fashioned typical French bistro  meal is hard to find.  So I can report, that my always go to place is still alive and well (it’s been around since 1908). The vintage bistro (lots and lots of regulars you’ll find here) La Fontaine de Mars (7e) with its happy red-and-white checkered tablecloths, its cozy neighborhood atmosphere, agreeable and funny waitstaff and just the best old time, French grandmas typing of cooking makes this a very happy place to spend 2 to 3 hours eating.

I love their oeufs au Madiran (two poached eggs in a sauce of reduced Madiran wine with onions and bacon chunks). Or I also love their leeks Vinaigrette, oh! oh! I'm dying here!!

Then if it’s a Saturday, you must order the special baby lamb. But oh! So many things on the menu and so good.

I can eat here every day of the week, it’s the France of old and its owners Jacques and Christiane BOUDON are consummate pros.

Below is the click on menu

https://www.fontainedemars.com/nos-menus-et-boissons/

Is this heaven? , No its France, the Domaine des Etangs to be exact.

Just three hours south of Paris, lies the lavish and unconventional five star resort encompassing 2000 acres of forest, lakes and rolling farmland, an 11th Century chateau , a Michelin starred restaurant, an contemporary  art collection ( a Picasso among them) , and a fantastic spa located in an old water mill, all this an just 11 fantastic suite rooms. Oh yes, located in the forest area are 7 lovely farm cottages to rent. 

The resort is a WOW and every facility of the highest standard.
For one would think this opulent French resort is formal and that would be the  furthest from the truth, its informal ( the  waiters in the Michelin restaurant wear jeans..save not your writer, who always dresses up)

In a word the resort is a triumph of good taste, eclecticism and whimsy.
A word of warning, if you are an 'A' type personality and need to have things to do every minute ( no golf here, no villages to visit etc)  then this is not the place for you., You are here to relax, eat well, nap, row a boat on one of the lakes, take a nap, do a massage, eat well and so forth.