Towards the end of February I went on a short trip to Paris. A very short trip. Just, in fact, for the day. It’s perfectly doable from Dublin as the flight time is just over one hour thirty; plus there is an early flight which leaves Dublin at around seven am and one that takes off from Charles De Gaulle airport after nine pm, so even taking into account the loss of an hour, this allows for a goodly amount of time in Paris without it costing an unruly amount of cash (ie: the cost of an overnight stay).
I find that when I go for the day it helps if I have mapped a plan. However, my plan for this trip was vaguer than mist as all that I fixed in my mind, before I arrived, was that I would like to have another look around the uber-cool concept store Merci.
In the early days of JAA I wrote about having lunch at La Cantine du Potager, Merci’s charming basement restaurant, but this time as I arrived at Merci shy of lunchtime I headed instead to Merci’s Used Book Cafe on the ground floor where I had a coffee and scones. Yes, I greedily gobbled scones plural!
There’s so much I like about Merci: it’s zeitgeist-y; the displays are ravishingly good; the stock is just the right side of unusual without being totally off the Richter scale of trendiness; and best of all some of Merci’s profits go, via a charitable foundation, towards helping underprivileged children in Madagascar.
I had a quick look around the clothing section but the main reason I visited Merci was to have a look at the home furnishing floor. And there I saw some utterly lovely pieces, most of which would not be suitable for the very small space I live in but, that said, I am not averse to the idea of one large-scale item to enliven the space and give a dramatic effect.
Now, maybe not the gargantuan chandelier: how would I get it home, moreover it’s not my sort of thing and for sure once installed there would be zero room to swing an ant let alone the proverbial cat.
Still and all, I did get some inspiration and was sorely tempted to bring home a few of the smaller items on sale such as: the hang-on-the-wall ceramic planters or some of the bedlinen which is available in a rainbow of colours. In the end I didn’t buy anything as I would have had to carry my purchases around for the rest of day but if I really wish to have some of the things I liked I could order them as part of Merci’s stock is available online.
Merci is the sort of place I am drawn to so even though it’s off the trail I usually follow on a short trip to Paris I am sure I will go back again.
Just Add Attitude 
“some of Merci’s profits go, via a charitable foundation, towards helping underprivileged children in Madagascar.”
Besides the fact that I like such philosophy or consumerism, I like your aesthetic. When I’m ready to redecorate, I’m for sure calling on you! 🙂
It’s a philosophy that appears to be win-win and there is a feel good factor in buying something when some of the profits it generates goes to charity.
Thank you for the compliment. 😉
How wonderful a day trip to Paris, that would be a dream. What a lovely store/cafe, you are quite disciplined aren’t you not walking out with any purchases, everything looks just lovely.
I am lucky that with a relative short flight time Paris for the day, from Dublin, is very doable, if a little tiring as it involves leaving the house just after 4am and not getting back ’til almost midnight.
I wish I could claim it was discipline that led me not to buy anything in Merci but the more mundane truth is that it was my first stop port of call and I didn’t wan’t to lug anything around for the rest of the day! 😉
Love the used book cafe. And the entire store is gorgeous. For me, living at the end of the world, next stop Antarctica, it just seems amazing that you can go to Paris for the day. I have had my once in a lifetime visit to Paris, and I will be totally surprised if I ever manage to go again.
The Used Book Cafe is lovely, and unusually for a French cafe they serve scones, which were pretty good btw.
I do hope you get to see Paris again. Even thought it’s not that far from here, in relative terms, it’s still a little unusual to go just for the day! 😉
Just as well you went when you did. Paris is struggling with awful air pollution at the moment, according to the BBC news.
Yes, I was lucky that I didn’t go this week. I read about the pollution in the paper, I hope it gets sorted and that it’s not something that will happen again and again as it must be worrisome for those who work or live in Paris. 😉
Apparently the last time it was this bad was 1997, so most of the time the air must be of reasonable quality.
Oops, just spotted that I didn’t reply to this comment when it arrived. Sorry! I hope you are having a truly lovely time with your guests. 😉
I am, thank you. 🙂 We talked a lot about Paris. My guest’s daughter has spent the last 18 months there and desperately wants to go back.
I hope your friend’s daughter finds a way to return to Paris, the pull of the city is strong! 😉
Paris for a day?! Oh how wonderful, that sounds like such a treat. I think Merci would be a place that I would enjoy as well!
Thanks Heather – it was wonderful. Merci’s a lovely shop and was doubly enjoyable as the coffee and scones were a great for a mid-morning revival after waking up so early to get to the airport for my flight. 😉
Thanks for the inspiration. I live in Dublin too (well, just south, and on the Aircoach route) but hadn’t thought of going to Paris just for the day. You’ve made me realise that it is possible, and would allow enough time to fit in an exhibition and/or a bit of shopping and a relaxed lunch. Time to make a plan!
Rosemary
Hello Rosemary,
I am glad the post inspired you to try Paris for a day. It’s fairly easy to get from Charles de Gaulle to central Paris – either take the RER line B (suburban train) or one of the Les Car de France (aircoach) and you will be in the centre in approx forty minutes. Enjoy!
PS thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
The place look gorgeous and the kind of place of I would like to hang out. However, going to Paris just for the day? You must love it more than you can say. 🙂
It’s a long day but worth it! 😉
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Thank you for taking me to Paris with you. 🙂
You are welcome. 😉
I rather like the idea of a day trip to Paris. But then, I do have a reputation for liking a day trip to anywhere! 🙂