Well, finding Paris in New York is much easier than I thought–especially if you take your search to theMetropolitan Museum of Art. Today, I took an incredibly long cab ride from my hotel in SoHo to the museum–clearly I was being ripped off as the ride home took a mere 10 minutes. The rest of the day made up for all that.

Looking at the photo above, you would guess I might be at, oh, I don’t know, perhaps Versailles. I say that because every room there looks very similar to this one. One whole section of the Met’s European collection is devoted to recreated rooms from htel particulars–those grand old mansions built around center courtyards in and around Paris. The particular elements from this room were taken from one located in Saint Germain. Truly, walking through this exhibit really had me confused with where exactly I was.

The name on this shop window says it all!

Lots more where these came from, but, hey, I am in New York and a girl has to move and groove! More later.

Photo credit: personal collection

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Actually, we are starting with Argentina in New York. This is Enrique Muthuan, a native Argentinian which explains his wonderful accent, now living in New York. I met him at the corner of Green and Wooster in Soho which sounds a bit bad but really was all quite good. Enrique was just setting up a table displaying his fabulous handmade jewelry, which he sets up on the above mentioned corner on a regular basis in case you happen to be in New York. We chatted for a bit while he tried to get things put together and since I was loaded down with bags from my morning of discovering (when one discovers, bags should be involved!!) I told him I was going to head back to my hotel, drop my things and return to visit when he had all his goods on display.

Enrique takes bits and pieces from vintage jewelry and combines them with gemstones to create entirely new, fresh pieces. These long necklaces are bold and beautiful statement pieces.

I love the chunky bracelets: some with vintage charms and others with fleur-de-lis handmade by Enrique. That’s what brought me to his table in the first place. He uses the symbol throughout many of his designs. For those of you who follow my blog, you may know that I like the symbol so much, I had one permanently inked on my ankle while living in Paris.

His rings are really magnificent–big and chunky. I really wanted one, but have short, stubby fingers that don’t do big and chunky very well.

I went with this charm necklace–both vintage and new–that dangle on a 14kt gold chain and absolutely love it!

With all good stories there is a happy ending and you get to share in that ending. Enrique has awebsitethat has even more goodies to pick from. I was a little sour that he had no earrings today since I love wearing them. He suggested I check the ones out on his site. They are awesome. But the BEST are thecuff bracelets. Good thing he didn’t have those lying out on his table. That would have been way too much discovering for one day.

Additional Information: Enrique Muthuan

Photo credit: personal collection

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What do you think

Photo credit:Paris-live

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The Paris Traveler, that would be me, Kim, finds herself in New York. That is always a good thing, not as good as being in Paris, but I have decided that since I need to be here I am going to seek out all things French: restaurants, cafs and shopping and report my findings so in the event that you find yourself here, you too can seek out Paris without needing a passport.

The Statue of Liberty, certainly one of the most recognizable symbols for our nation, was in fact a gift of friendship from the people of France. As much as some of you may grumble about the French, we have them to thank for this beautiful symbol of our independence. Dedicated on October 28, 1886, in honor of America’s centennial, it stands on Liberty Island, welcoming all citizens and tourists alike. Frdric Auguste Bartholdi sculpted the statue whileGustave Eiffelengineered the internal structure.

Two replicas exist in Paris: one stands in the Jardin du Luxembourg–a bronze model made by Bartholdi. A second, much larger replica is situated onle des Cygnes(Island of Swans) located between the 15th and 16th arrondissement. Inaugurated on November 15, 1889, it is positioned facing west, looking towards it’s original in New York.

So, I will work to see what I can come up with in terms of “Paris”. As much as we love going over there, the French do enjoy traveling to the US and New York is the top destination for them. As a matter of fact, coming down for breakfast in the elevator I found myself with a mother and daughter from Paris here to take in the sights and shopping with a most favorable exchange rate for them.

Oh, my ricotta pancakes just arrived. Fuel for all my work!!

Photo credit: wikipedia,mcgillies@flickr

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My daughter just took a job teaching English to high school students in Dijon, France starting this fall. She has been there already in her travels, but I have not, so I thought I should do some research into where my baby is going to be living and what fun place I will get to visit!!

A quick overview of the city: Dijon is located in eastern France about an hour and 40 minutes outside of Paris by high speed train. (Gare de Lyon station is where you would catch it) and is the historical capital of Burgundy–and people, what does one find in Burgundy? Yes, that’s right, some of the best wine in the world!!! It is also home to crme de cassis, or blackberry liqueur. When combined with white wine it becomes a Kir or with champagne a Kir Royal. Speaking from experience, both are wonderful and should not be missed when traveling in France. A perfect aperitif. I can always link life back to a good glass of wine.

The architecture in the region of Burgundy is distinguished by toits bourguignons (Burgundian roofs–love that word, Burgundian) that are made of colorful glazed tiles arranged in geometric patterns. Beautiful!

A typical street in the center of old town. This area is filled with some of the best preserved examples of medieval half-timbered buildings. Dijon, miraculously, remained fairly unscathed by bombing during World War II.

I can’t help but think mustard when I hear the word Dijon. And that’s because, this is home to that famous, clear-your-sinus’-right-out spread. I have had moments of panic when I’ve become partially paralyzed from taking a bite of something with too much Dijon, but I always go back for more. Sort of that pleasurable pain thing. Anyway, yes, it is made here and you will find all sorts of exotic fruit flavored mustard as well, sold in beautiful faience pots. I feel good knowing that at the end of of a stressful day, my daughter will be able to kick back with a glass of wine and a shot of mustard as this young girl is demonstrating ;-)

She will be able to nibble on fabulous cheese plates like you see here. The stuff that passes for cheese in the states is really flavorless hunks of white plastic. See the bleu cheese on this plate? I hated bleu cheese before I went to France. Wouldn’t touch it. To find a piece of it on a cheese platter in Paris, or any part of France, is a gift from the gods. So many things for you to try–Kirs, bleu cheese….let’s get going.

Additional information:about.com,hotels in Dijon,TGV

Photo credit: wikipedia, flickr:garethac,photo nuevo

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