The group headed to the flagship store of Galeries Lafayette, a historical luxury department store chain and a mecca for shopaholics.
While I'm not particularly fond of shopping, I was excited to see the store's Art Nouveau decor, particularly the famous dome.
And it did not disappoint. It was like looking into a kaleidoscope.
I really shouldn't be so surprised by the consumer prowess of east Asia. But I was still shocked when I first stepped into Galeries Lafayette. It was like stepping into a different continent and there was a complete and sudden shift in the racial demographics.
Everywhere I looked Asian faces looked back. Not only were the shoppers mostly Asian, a significant percentage of the salespeople were Asian as well.
And so many shoppers. SO MANY. It was one discount away from a full-on mob. There were lines everywhere - the information desk, the major luxury brands, the cash registry, the washrooms...
I was getting worried about fire code violations.
Everyone had shopping bags upon shopping bags, men and women alike. I swear, I saw one woman pull out a wad of hundred euro bills that must have been close to ten grand and she proceeded to count out the bills to pay for her purchases.
It was the twilight zone and I needed to get out.
The roof of the store offered a good escape from the madness and a great view of the Palais Garnier opera house...
... as well as the rest of Paris
You can just about make out Sacre-Coeur Basilica in the distance.
After Galeries Lafayette, I was too wary to step into another department store, so we were happy to admire the Printemps with its lovely Art Nouveau marquee from the outside.
Think Medieval Times dinner theatre set in the Iron Age, minus the theatre. We were provided with a basket of raw veggies (unpeeled, unchopped, but hopefully washed) because apparently the Gauls were big fans of the raw food movement. Did you know that fennel tastes surprisingly good raw?
The architecture of the building is stunning! I don't know how the builders can keep it all in mind as they're assembling it piece by piece.
ReplyDeleteSo does the GL sell mostly asian items? Is that why there were so many of them there?
Sorry that the Iron Age Medieval Times dinner was so weird and you couldn't even get proper food for your meal (you know what I mean). What's a girl gotta do to get a cutting board and knife up in here .... up in this restaurant.
Right? I saw pictures of the dome before the trip, but it still didn't quite prepare me enough.
DeleteGaleries Lafayette is a luxury department store so all the high-end brand names were there. Chanel, LV, Cartier... There was a whole floor dedicated to women's shoes. Oh, and there's a separate building across the street for men's fashion. It was so insane.
Haha, even though the food wasn't that great, at least the restaurant was really memorable. It was hilarious seeing how everyone handle the raw veggies. Some (like me) just went full Gaul, not even peeling or slicing the veggies. Others were definitely more refined.
A floor just for shoes? I'm going to need a minute.
DeleteYep, and it was huge, roughly the same size as a floor of a The Bay or Sear's.
DeleteJust. For. Women's. Shoes.