A Stroll Through Champs Elysees

Here's a quick photo-diary of scenes we spotted along the famed avenue!

Garnace Dore and Petit Bateau collaborate to come up with the perfect v-neck tee. Love the window!

Spotted the iconic Laduree but we didn't bother to jostle with the crowd inside since we already had our Laduree fill in London. Plus Pierre Herme macaroons were on the agenda already.

We did have to try another one of Paris' famous offerings: Berthillion ice cream. We settled into this little cafe and did as the locals/tourists do and sat al fresco and people-watched.

All the waiters wore variations of the Breton striped shirt and these adorable sailor caps.

After our delicious lasagna and mixed omelette, came the main event. We've already forgotten the name but the taste is still vivid in our memories. This dessert had scoops of divine vanilla bean ice cream, meringue hidden under the globs of whipped cream, with wafers on the side. Yes, it tastes as good as it looks.

After fueling up, we continued our walk and chanced upon this insanely long and winding line on the sidewalk. It definitely wasn't Eiffel Tower queue proportions but it was pretty random and made us wonder what museum/tourist spot we were passing.

Notice that there seems to be a lot of females in the crowd. A few more inquiring steps later, we discovered that what was before us was actually the historical...

Abercrombie & Fitch?!?

When we saw these two strapping, young lads flanking the gates, we understood fully. (D: Hubba, hubba right?!)

Abercrombie is known for their penchant for featuring half-naked men of the California-boy stock in their ads and as SAs/eye candy in their stores. Take that and add a French accent and you get a crazy line on Champs Elysees.

D: Sorry for the blurry picture, I was giggling like a silly school girl. And I think P will let me take over the blog post from this point on. :D

When we passed by a day later, the guardians of the gates had doubled and changed outfits as well. All still gorgeous, so pick your poison! Almost all the girls left with dopey grins on their faces. Also, it just so happened that there was no line when we passed so we decided to pop in to see if they were selling clothes other than hoodies and pique polos.

When we entered the store, we promptly forgot about the clothes. First, there was a shirtless doorman that greeted us (too chicken to take a photo). Then the smell of "guapo" cologne hit us like a ton of bricks. Then we entered this amazing space with David-like statues and murals of more shirtless men. Then you notice the SAs dancing and partying on ledges (including model-type girls in the tiniest of shorts and tanks) and the club music pounding from the speakers. No, this definitely was not your run-of-the-mill retailer. Sad to say, the novelty of the store wasn't convincing enough to get us to buy their merch. It was pretty much sporty gear and an eyelet mini skirt for a little less than a hundred Euros is definitely a no-go in my book.

So Abercrombie was a trip and was fun for gawking but if there's one thing that will trump any French-speaking-surfer-vibe boy, it's a gorgeous pair of shoes. We chanced upon this store with amaaaazing heels, from the latest collections to the good ole classics. They had everything!

You will be mine, YSL tribs!

Alexander McQueens are love.

 All the knock-offs in the world couldn't beat the satisfaction of owning one of these beauties. With a heavy heart, P dragged me away from the store. Little did I know, I would be having better luck at Galeries Lafayette later on. ;-) More on that later!

 We leave you with this lovely parting shot (P risked life and limb in the center of this busy street!) of Champs Elysees all decked out in preparation for Bastille Day!