Hallucinant voyage en Europe : Gems of Paris By Nayana Mhatre “An mind blowing journey in Europe” with promise of witnessing beauty and serenity through the expedition was I looking forward to in this trip. I shall segregate my experiences in different cities as I want to focus on the individual charm of these cities. So let’s start the journey from the city of Romance, love , fashion, art & design. Starting my days of sojourn in the city of light, which makes you fall in love with its splendour, style, history and the sophistication. My wait with the endless flight schedule and it’s after effects were washed down with the excitement of being in the Capital of Fashion “Paris”. The Start of winter, chilling air, yet the style flows in the overcoats. It all started with BATEAUX MUOCHES, the Cruise, along the Seine riverbank. I have been to Paris many times, but every time I visit this serene place, I end up adding few more addons to my memories. Here I got enchanted by the glittering structure for the first time and i continue to grow fonder of this place more and more. After that the next thing was to go for the much talked about Night city tour. I started learning about this city via the guided night city tour with Ms. Catharine. Illuminating charm of this city in the night is something no tourist shall miss on his/ her to do list while visiting Paris. The luminated architecture tells the story in its own way. The statues try and communicate the wealth, the glory and the sorrow they have witnessed over the period of time. Each stone had a role to play, story carved and cemented in its existence. Next day I visited the city was a treat for any history, art and design lover. One with an eye for art, and architecture , definitely connects with the ARC DE TRIOMPHE, stands in the honour of sacrifices done for France in the time of French Revolution & Napoleonic Wars. A structure that is a monumental treasure and sings the heart breaking saga of the sorrow of the wartimes. Galeries Lafayette Then there is Champs Elysees, city’s most famous avenue housing wide range of Designers outlets like Gorgio Armani, Prada, Roberto Cavalli, Louise Vuitton, Gap, Kenzo and many more. Mind blowing exhibits of designer visual displays for valentine’s day, make your mouth water and eyes wander window shopping. Then There is Galleries Lafayette, up market departmental store housing international produce from makeup, accessories, clothing and perfumes, where I ended up splurging a bit on this and that. The centre installation was so eye catchy, master piece of visual merchandising you see. I gave my heart to this city on my first visit itself, it looks so stunning may that be day or night surrounding itself in a mysterious aura like a fashionista. The Eiffel Tower near Seine river sings the love songs with its ripples and warps you in its one of a kind romantic opera. Thus I like to see the Eiffel in the afternoon so I can enjoy the city from the top in the day light, see its expanse covering the architectural wonders, with historical buildings and the majestic Seine River running through it. And in the evening taking the cruise with the wind playing with my hair, and the water waves serenading beautiful melody for my ears. This whole experience is not complete without the glittering glory of the oh so magnificent tower making me keep gawking at it. The Next Morning plan is about the Louvre, days are less to see this wonderous museum full of variety. The History, art, Sculptures and the stories behind them. Monalisa, Venus, Psyche’s revival by Cupid’s kiss, Napoleon’s Crowning Ceremony, The Last Supper, French Revolution and the art works of many more legends. It was an experience which you feel like going back to every now and again. And that’s what I do, wherever I am in this wonderful city I end up going back to these places. I love to drink up all this beauty with my eyes. I ended up finding a gem, next to Louver, Musee de Arts D’coratifs which had Mode et du Textiles, a travelling exhibition of Fashion from 17th century to till 20th Century. Garments with detailed information about each of them written in front of them. For me this was a treasure – trove, found by an excited child looking for adventure. I made the most of this encounter with the garments telling their stories. I was glued to this place for hours, the legs were aching but the hearts was singing love songs with these garments. As I explored more, I came around a Jewellery exhibition, wherein jewellery from different parts of the world were showcased. The Gems, Coral, Lapis Lazuli encased in gold and the like. They were the narrating their journey to Paris from various parts of the world. So niche, so beautiful and the wealth oozing from them had my head spinning. Guys, you can’t blame me, I am a woman and that was jewellery. Another section had toys exhibit, another out of this world experience. Taking me to my childhood, the wonders of being a child you know. You can completely disconnect from this mean world and have your own in matter of seconds. Oh… I relived those days roaming around the toys. The next day was exciting and all work related. I was there in Paris for the Premier Vision Trade Fair. The day started with hustle and bustle, starting from Paris and reaching Nord e vile pinte, to be a part of most prestigious event in the Fashion Fraternity. The Premier Vision Spring Summer, a fashion forecasting Trade fair. Predictions made by agencies for upcoming Seasons. A place where future trends are foretold, worked upon and presented to the market for research, buying and selling. It’s a B2B and B2C opportunity for manufacturers, buyers and sellers from all over the world. It provides abstract of the prediction on Fibre ( Expofil), Yarn / Fabric ( Premier Vision), Prints/ Surface ornamentation ( INDIGO), Accessories, fur and leather goods ( Le Cuir a Paris), Embellishments, fastenings ( Mode Amount) and Garments( ZOOM) in different sections under one roof. An experience which makes you to go for it again and again. Hours and hours of walking, collecting data, understanding concepts, watching excellent visual displays, absorbing the vibrant energy around makes you forget ache and hunger rushing through your body. At the end of the day the urge of grasping information from each and every available source is satiated to its core. After the busy day, the body is ready to welcome the rest it needs. The next day come with a different destination, different place and a different story… till then Au Revoir !!!