Consumption

The soldes started this week in Paris. Early on Wednesday morning when I was waiting for my bus out by the Lafayette department stores I promised myself, for both financial and physical reasons, that I would not be participating in soldes shopping when I witnessed the lines (i.e. formless gaggles of people) waiting to be the first to reap the benefits of reduced prices. That resolution was unsurprisingly broken four hours later when I persuaded Meg to come with me to the APC and Merci soldes.

111 Boulevard Beaumarchais, Paris, 75003

I love Merci so much. It is a lovely, spacious store filled with beautiful clothes, household items, and paper goods. They also have two pretty cafes, a cherry bread pudding that I am dying to try, and a swell restaurant downstairs. I would definitely add Merci to any Paris shopping list.

I scored a sweater, a flannel shirt, and a groovy pencil pack.

Much fatigued by our shopping excursion and the extreme heat, Meg and I sought energy from Speculoos cookies, arguably our favorite French snack, which isn't even French. Go figure. These crack cookies are so delicious. They've the addictiveness of Thin Mints sans the mint and taste like brown sugar, cinnammon, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom. I don't know why I am blathering on about them because you can get them in the States, but probably not in the impressive four-pack. Thank goodness I discovered them at the end of the semester!

Boom.

As we are committed to feasting like kings, we obviously had to buy the Speculoos spread when we learned of its existence.

On a baguette. Delightful.

Double the fun.