When most girls envision their first trip to Paris, they picture a visit to the Eiffel Tower, perhaps some champagne, and a tour of The Louvre. And that's pretty much what I envisioned for most of my life, until one August evening when two New York City gals put their thinking tiaras on and made some magic.
In an effort to collectively celebrate the accomplishments of some of the most fabulous women in the Paris blogging scene, Lisa of Ella Coquine and I teamed up with Habitat Parisien to present "The Champagne Social" this past Monday, November 18th in one of HP's most glamorous lofts. The event was the perfect year-end soiree and honestly the best welcome wagon into The City of Light that I could have ever imagined. More on that shortly...
After spending a week in London to promote my brand, meet up with readers, clients, and good friends, I swooped into Paris on Sunday afternoon for just 48 hours in true Kardashian style. Though short, it was just enough time to cause major debauchery on the streets of Paris with Lisa and also pull off an event that is sure to go down in Champagne Diet history.
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| My first inaugural glass of bubbles! |
My first evening in Paris started out with champagne and a gorgeous meal at a little restaurant near Lisa's apartment in Picpus. Fact: the champagne really does taste better in Paris. Fact: carbs don't count in Paris because you're too busy indulging in LIFE. Sounds like our theme here, doesn't it? I couldn't help but think of that song from Annie every time we poured another glass of red or more bread arrived at our table. Paradis!
As we wrapped up our meal and got ready to head to La Tour Eiffel, the most adorable little old French lady decked out in a fur coat and giant baubles approached me and asked if I was from New York. When I exclaimed "Oui!" she then proceeded to tell me in her thick, French accent how much she j'adored New Yorkers while staring at Lisa and I googly-eyed and telling us we were beautiful. Seriously, she was adorable.
We paid our bill and headed for the Metro, grabbing some mini bottles of red wine for the road (it's Paris, people!) and enjoying the scenery on our commute. After a quick train ride we approached our destination and Lisa told me to look out the window. My eyes widened as I saw the most breathtaking view of a sparkling, golden Eiffel Tower; even more gorgeous than I could have imagined.
And naturally, when we arrived, a 20 minute "Dance Moms" style photo shoot ensued. As Lisa yelled "One, two, three!" over and over again, I twirled and posed as the Eiffel Tower did it's hourly light show. Here's what I decided on as my official "An American Girl in Paris" signature pic.
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| photo courtesy Ella Coquine |
The next day, bleary-eyed from my travels and a little too much wine and bubbly, we made our way to the Popincourt loft to prepare for our guests. The apartment had already been decorated by Lisa and the amazing Lauren Lou Bate of Folies du Boneur. Check out their video recap here. Seriously, these girls did work. We shopped for all of the food, made sure our bubbly was perfectly chilled, set up our tables, and perfected every last inch of space before our guests arrived.
Glittering bottles of Le Grand Courtage crafted by Miss Ella Coquine adorned the tables, adding yet another touch of sparkle to an already luminous evening. "Grand courtage" just so happens to mean "the great courtship" in French, and when you read the story of how this sparkling wine was made, you'll realize why we chose to have it out our soiree.
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A few shots of the gorgeous decor. Chandeliers! Tassels! Glitter! Oh my!
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| photo courtesy of Prete-Moi Paris |
And then...photo booth time! (Okay, it was really a corner with Party City tinsel, but it provided hours of endless fun!)
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| With my native New Yorker partner-in-crime, Lisa Czarina of Ella Coquine |
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| With the lovely Lindsey Kent of Pictours Paris! |
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| With Patricia Parisienne and Prete-Moi Paris, making a French flag! |
And finally, a shot of The Champagne Social hostesses, Lisa, Marie of Habitat Parisien, and moi!
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| Voila! All in all, I could not have imagined a more amazing way to be welcomed into Paris. A huge, heartfelt thank you to Lisa who made my first trip so magical by being my friend, my tour guide, and my party planning partner in crime. Thank you to Habitat Parisien for being so gracious and so accommodating to work with. You guys were truly wonderful. And thank you to all of the fabulous women who came and celebrated with us. You made this event spectacular. Cheers to toasting each other's success, no matter how near or far. Until next time....  To check out more coverage of the event: Search the hashtag "TheChampagneSocial" on Twitter and Instagram Check out Ella Coquine's recap Check out Expats Paris' review Check out Prete-Moi Paris' review Check out Patricia Parisienne's review |
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