MFO Paris Series: Flea Market Finds Part 3 of 3

If you're just looking for unique, inexpensive pasalubong, there's plenty of that at the Porte de Vanves Flea Market too.

There's a stall that sells vintage paper bags and shop packaging for inspiration.

A stall that sells vintage toys. Those toy cars and soldiers are cast from metal, and not plastic. Plenty of old toiletries packaging behind too.

Pretty magnifying glasses.

Supposedly Wedgwood overruns. I compared it to Wedgwood pieces my Mom handed down to me, and these are less fine than what I have. So it's quite possible that these are the ones that did not make it to the stores.

Love these French terrariums. Makes me want to buy them all. I didn't though. I'm still sad about it.

That stall selling the toile bedcovers? They had these vintage dresses and nightgowns too. So pretty.

Sharing with you some of the items I brought home with me. Not a lot, but I am quite happy with my haul as they sure sparked joy at first sight!

My wish is that I get to visit Porte de Vanves at least twice a year, heehee. To be honest, despite the tragic incidents that have happened in Paris this year, I feel no qualms about going back. Paris will triumph over terror. We should think that way too.

How to get there: We took an Uber car both ways, but you may also take line 13 of the Paris Métro and alight at Porte de Vanves, or simply take the bus. 

Marche aux Puces Porte de Vanves 

14th arrondissement 

Ave Marc Sangnier & Ave Georges Lafenstre 

Saturdays & Sundays, 8 am to 1 pm

MFO Paris Series: Flea Market Finds Part 2 of 3

Wanting that mirror, while holding on to my precious finds

I love, love, home stores. I enjoy browsing inside home stores, that I have to do it alone, otherwise Dada will complain that I take up too much time. Especially since I don't really have anything in mind to buy. I just like looking and adding items to my wishlist for my future French inspired home.

So you can just imagine how I felt like I was in heaven, browsing at Porte de Vanves. Everything was authentically French (but of course, heehee) and everything I would need to outfit a home, be it actual pieces, or for inspiration, would be here.

Enameled iron pots by Nomar (a small pot manufacturing company owned by Staub) and Le Creuset

Gorgeous woven baskets that Jane Birkin would approve of

Limoges tea cups and saucers, gorgeous!

Sevres crystal goblets

French mirrors that I imagine, belonged to a French bistro. I want them! Why didn't I buy them again?

French abubuts, I ended up buying that silver Christofle bowl for 30 euros, heehee

More Christofle goodness

Be still my copper pots and pans loving heart!

There were some linens too!

Found thick linen dish towels, with those classic French stripes. I ended up buying a couple for 10 euros, about the same price I would pay for new ones at La Grande Epicerie, except these ones are thicker and have obviously been around for much longer. I bought some of these ones embroidered with "HC" because, Harvey and Christine, diba?

Toile print bed covers. Chica, chica, chica!

Next up: Part 3 of my Flea Market Finds

MFO Paris Series: Flea Market Finds Part 1 of 3

You know you've reached a certain age of maturity when shopping at malls and boutiques no longer give you that euphoric thrill. 

More so when you start doing the things your mom loves to do, and in my case, that would be thrifting. For this trip, I had deviated from my typical wish list. More than bags or shoes, I wanted an authentic French bistro table and mirrors. So crazy, in love. And so tita!

My friend Emee told me about her favorite place in Paris for flea market shopping, and no, its not in Clignancourt. It's at Porte de Vanves, in the 14th arrondissement, where most of the locals go.

Emee told us to go early in the morning, before 8 am, while the merchants were still unloading and setting up their wares. That way, we could get first dibs on everything. 

We were so excited, we were there by 7:30 am which was too early. We spent 30 minutes just waiting for most of the sellers to arrive. I'd say, come around 8:30 to 9 am, when everything is pretty much set up, and you still get choice pickings. 

I'm cutting up this post into three parts, because there were just too many great finds! Thank goodness they only took cash, because I would have gone over budget if they accepted credit cards. I wanted to bring everything home.

I can in fact easily furnish an apartment with this visit alone. Here are the furniture pieces that caught my eye. Huhuhu. So sad to leave them on the sidewalk. I felt like they were begging me to take them home.

That chica lady in the truck was refurbishing this secretary desk on the spot.

That bench would look great re-upholstered with Belgian linen.

I'd re-upholster this too with Belgian linen. Restoration Hardware ang peg!

I want that half-circle console table. Great for an entryway.

They also have rugs and mirrors, and I wish I took these hallway runners home. Old school donya.

These are pretty too! Sigh. Now I understand Lynn Yaeger's longing for Porte de Vanves, and how she'd willingly extend her stay in Paris for two weeks, just to browse and ogle the goods here. 

How to get there: We took an Uber car both ways, but you may also take line 13 of the Paris Métro and alight at Porte de Vanves, or simply take the bus.

Marche aux Puces Porte de Vanves

14th arrondissement
Ave Marc Sangnier & Ave Georges Lafenstre
Saturdays & Sundays, 8 am to 1 pm

Next up: Part 2 of my Flea Market Finds

MFO Paris Series: The Airbnb Apartment

The first thing I did when I got to our Airbnb apartment after freshening up, was to head out to the pharmacy. 

On the way to one of the many I visited that afternoon, I happened to pass by the Arc de Triomphe, which was oh, just in the neighborhood. 

Crazy good right?!

Our Airbnb apartment was in the 8th arrondissement, a jewel box of a place (read as tiny but pretty, haha) that was clean, bright, airy and complete with all the comforts a traveler would need - washer/dryer, iron, ironing board, extra towels, hair dryer, etc. Our host even had a bottle of wine for us. I immediately felt right at home. Haha.

I loved that while the apartment was contemporary in look and feel, the floors were just as I would expect from Parisian apartments - with those classic chevron wood patterns.

Another plus? I had a full length mirror in my room, that was perfect for my outfit shots. Heehee.

This was the view from my first floor room. I lavettt!

Our apartment was right on Rue Washington, flanked by Avenue des Champs-Élysées on one end, and Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré on the other end. Talk about Shopping Temptation Central.

Whenever we would head out towards Champs-Élysées, ito lang naman yung nasa dulo ng kanto. The Louis Vuitton flagship store.

We didn't have an espresso machine in the apartment, but we would get our coffee at the nearby Paul boulangerie, where we would sit outside and watch the early risers walk this scenic stretch of a sidewalk.

We had front row views of Champs-Élysées. Amazing how major this avenue is, but the traffic is nothing like ours here in Manila.

I think we only spent €200 a night for our apartment, which is extremely reasonable considering how well-equipped it is, and of course, the location can't be beat. Gotta love Airbnb. There's nothing like being in Paris and living like a local, in one of the best districts too.

Speaking of which, Airbnb has come up with a convenient mobile app that, through Smart, will now bring the world at the fingertips of Filipino travelers who are in search of a home away from home as well as an immersive travel experience. Read on to find out more:

The Smart x Airbnb Partnership

“A global pioneer in accommodations, Airbnb has revolutionized the way travelers search and book a suitable place to spend their getaways wherever they are headed around the world. It shows how a meaningful mobile innovation can shake things up and enrich the lives of people – and is very much aligned with our vision of a mobile-empowered lifestyle,” said Ariel Fermin, EVP and Head of Consumer Business at Smart.

To celebrate the groundbreaking partnership, all Smart Prepaid, Smart Postpaid and Smart Bro subscribers may enjoy a P2500 discount for a minimum of P8,000 booking at any Airbnb-listed accommodation here and abroad.

Smart subscribers simply have to text SMARTAIRBNB to 2855 for FREE to receive the unique promo code that they can use to activate the discount whenever they complete their Airbnb booking.

The discount is limited to one booking per registered Philippine Airbnb user, but is open to all past and first-time bookers. Booking period us until March 31, 2016 with travel period until December 2016. For more details visit the Smart Airbnb page, and visit www.airbnb.com/smart to book.

Oh, and while in Paris, I did Smart Surf Abroad, which guarantees no bill shock on data roaming. I was on Waze, Instagram, Whats App, Viber, checking my emails and all that, the entire day, for 10 days and I only paid Php5,500 on data roaming charges.

Yes, I lived a pretty Smart Life while in Paris, staying in an Airbnb apartment and staying connected via Smart Surf Abroad. Too bad we missed out on this Smart x Airbnb discount offer, but there's plenty of time to use this for the next trip. Woohoo!

Next up: Pumping breast milk while traveling. Yes, it can be done!

MFO Paris Series: Airport Line

Bonjour! I've been meaning to blog about my Paris trip with my friend Pat, but I realized, it would be better to cut it up into chunks, and make it a series because

1) There are just too many fantastic discoveries and tips I have to share, and
2) It would take me forever if I just write everything in one go.

So let's cut to the chase, and start off with tip #1: airport pick-up.

the blue skies of France, just gorgeous, as seen from my Airport Line van

If you don't have friends or family picking you up at Charles de Gaulle airport, there's always that option of getting to the city by rail, cab, bus or Uber.

Then of course, there are car services like Airport Line which offers private transfers from the airport to your destination.

I discovered Airport Line, via our Airbnb host, Parisian Home, who made prior arrangements to hand over the apartment key to the Airport Line driver. While the driver did not have the key when I arrived, he drove me to the Parisian Home office in Montmartre to pick up the keys to the apartment. Fair enough.

Making arrangements for pick up by Airport Line was easy. I just booked online via their website, (take note however that reservations need to be made 48 hours in advance), they sent me an email confirmation and that's it.

While they asked for my credit card information, payment was settled in cash and paid directly to the driver. I paid €68 for a standard minivan that took me from CDG to Paris. For the full list of fare rates, visit http://www.airport-line.com/en/tarifs.asp

I made note of their hotline 0800 77 61 63, just in case I had problems finding the driver, which also happened, as the arrivals section was unusually packed that day. I tried calling the hotline, but it was in French! I decided to just email the person who sent me the confirmation and asked him to tell the driver that I was waiting for him. In a couple of minutes, I got a call from the driver on my mobile and we made arrangements to meet by one of the exits.

Over all, if not for the part where I couldn't find the driver, the process was easy enough.

To recap. To get Airport Line service:

1. Reserve at least 48 hours before your arrival via their website. Wait for the email confirmation via email.

2. Upon arrival at the airport, your driver will be waiting for you as you get out of the customs hall and will be holding a sign bearing your name.
3. Tell the driver where to drop you off. Prepare payment in cash. They do not expect tips, but I gave the driver a tip anyway. Speaking of tips, here's a tipping guide by David Lebovitz. The information is quite useful!

Next up: The Airbnb Apartment