• Bugatti type 35 Jean Luc Decluzeau Salon du Chocolat 2022 colleensparis
    Events and Trade Shows,  Food, Drink & Health,  Going Out,  Life in Paris & France

    The Salon du Chocolat 2022 Offered Fashion and a Chocolate Bugatti

    What do you do with 400 kilos (881 pounds) of chocolate? You build a Bugatti Grand Prix type 35, of course! The Bugatti was one of the numerous creative chocolate sculptures at the Salon du Chocolat’s 27th edition in Paris at Porte de Versailles.  The event is always scheduled for the last weekend in October. When I arrived, I headed past the chocolate sculptures, the chocolate tastings, the bean-to-bar stands and straight to the fashion parade of fifteen chocolate-covered dresses and costumes. The announcer was loud and clear, so the event had begun. With two afternoon start times, I would still see everything.  At the world’s largest event dedicated to cocoa, I…

  • Salon du Chocolat of Paris image 27th edition colleensparis.com
    Events and Trade Shows,  Going Out

    Chocolate Lovers: 27th Salon du Chocolat in Paris

    Are you a chocolate lover? Are you ready to travel around the world and discover chocolate countries? Have you ever seen a chocolate fashion show? Get ready for the 27th edition of the Salon du Chocolat de Paris. This is the world’s largest event dedicated to chocolate. The event returns to Pavilion 5 at the Porte de Versailles from October 28 to November 1, 2022. The general public has the chance to meet their favorite chocolate makers such as Vincent Guerlais, François Pralus, Hugues Pouget, Philippe Conticini, the Maison Pariès and Chocolats Alléno & Rivoire and more. And the chocolate fashion show is back! Watch the teaser. This trade show for chocolate lovers who want to taste chocolates from around…

  • Image two dresses and coat dress Henri Matisse (The Dance) Black and White YSL colleensparis.com
    Let's Explore,  Museums

    Exploring the Musée de l’Art moderne and YSL

    What happens when your tour guide does not show up at the art museum? You become the beholder of the beauty on your own: Couturier art, painted art, creative food art and chocolate art. When the guide did not show up, a group of us walked into the Musée d’Art moderne (MAM)  and found Yves Saint Laurent’s couturier art and explored the MAM on our own to our own delight.  After the ad-lib visit, we went downstairs to the Forest restaurant and were surrounded by dancing art on the walls in an imaginary forest. For dessert, two of us went foraging for chocolate and came upon more art: artisan chocolate…

  • painting of à la Petite Fabrique
    Chocolate, Sweets & Bakeries,  Life in Paris & France

    Saying Goodbye to Icons in the Bastille Neighborhood

    Living in a small neighborhood of the Bastille, the hardest phrases to hear over the last year have been: "We're closing and retiring" and "They have sold the shop for their retirement": Holmes, the stationery store, and now à la Petite Fabrique, the chocolate factory. Holmes was transformed into an upscale Italian restaurant and word is that Alain Ducasse is buying the Petite Fabrique.... The neighborhood in the area of Hugo's Les Miserables and the French Revolution has gone upscale.

  • Hermes takes over the Lutetia pool Paris
    Events and Trade Shows

    What’s On in Paris – March

    FREE INVITATIONS! Our mailbox often contains invitations to food fairs. At the fairs, we buy something such as wine, cassoulet, foie gras, walnuts, hazelnuts, or other items produced regionally. The producer takes our name and address and sends us an invitation for the next exhibition. Instead of paying five euros to enter the fair, télécharger (download) a FREE INVITATION. You probably will not leave hungry from these exhibitions. The point is to taste the products and hopefully buy what you like. Visit the Web sites below for dates, times, addresses and directions: Salon Mer & Vigne et Gastronomie (13th Sea and Wine Fair and Food) – Download the Mer &…