Boxes at Laduree 
Meet Mademoiselle Fifi (yes, Fifi). Apparently, she’s the summer mascot at Laduree and is featured on this cute macaron box. Personally, the box looks like dog biscuits should be inside, but… it’s cute, anyway. A box fits 8 macarons and costs 14.70 euros. Laduree
While we’re on the subject of boxes, designer Christian Louboutin got together with Laduree and came up with these boxes covered with macarons and shiny Louboutin shoes and purses.
The macarons will take on a Mediterranean flavor created by pastry chef Philippe Andrieu.
12 euros for a box of 6 macarons. Available in September, 2009.
PMS Comes From France Friday July 31st 2009, 9:10 am
Filed under:
funny,
photos
Just in case you were wondering, cursing and crying about PMS, at least now you know where it’s from. (We saw this just outside of Besançon, Burgundy.)
Travel Grove 
July is just about over and some people are already preparing for the Fall. Travelers and travel-minded people, however, still have a lot of time to plan a summer vacation. Afterall, they have ALL of August.
2009 has got to be one of the best times for traveling due to the economic challenges facing so many businesses; the travel industry was also affected, But look at taking a vacation as an opportunity to seize great value vacations whilst helping out the industry.
Everyone has their own favorite travel search engine but sometimes it helps to try out different companies and then compare. This time, why not try out Travel Grove? You’ll be able to find the best vacation packages available to you for where ever you want to go, that will also fit your schedule and budget. The site features an impressively easy interface to find the best travel deals, and you can even read other people’s travel guides, which provides valuable information based on real-life trip experiences. As an avid traveler myself, true testimonials of hotels, restaurants, cities and sights – are welcome and treasured information during the trip planning process. Travel Grove is chock full of relevant travel information, so much so, that I think maybe it should be called Travel Trove!
This is a sponsored post.
Solar Blimp From NYC to Paris (Rests on Land or Water) 
From cleantechnica:
“A Spanish company called Turtle Airships is working on plans to build a luxurious solar-powered blimp which can take passengers from New York to Paris.
Perhaps the only thing cooler than being powered by lightweight photovoltaic cells, this airship is also designed to rest on land or water.
The first blimp prototype will be propelled in two nontraditional ways. The outside of the ship will be covered with Cadmium-Indium-Germanium (CIG) photovoltaic cells, picked for their their light weight. The cells should generate enough power to move the blimp at around 40 mph in average conditions, or at around 70 horsepower. Meanwhile, a diesel drivetrain will generate the rest of the power, and ideally the designers will look to an adapted hybrid electric model for that. And because blimps fly at low altitudes, they don’t have to deal with problems that plague diesel engines at elevations over 30,000 ft.
The only thing currently keeping this visionary project from flying is…”
Continue reading
Warning About Les Experts Tonight (CSI in France) 
An unexpected (to me) warning was issued on the radio today regarding tonight’s episode of Les Experts Miami. It has something to do with a very violent initial scene and France Inter suggested to parents that they not allow their kids to see it. I think if any kids heard the warning (which they probably didn’t because kids would not bother with this station), it would make them want to watch it even more – but I kind of appreciate the heads-up. Anyway, I’m not too much of a fan after watching it a little – Really horrible acting (actually the French dub actors are better!), same stories from all other police shows and just how many times can we watch that guy put on and take off his sunglasses? So bleh. Sorry, experts!
Fashion Cupcakes inspired by French Designers 
Photo by Swedish photographer Therese Aldgard and styled by Lisa Edsal
via
Fall Flights to Europe on Air France From cheapflights:
If you’re thinking ahead to fall vacations, Air France has a deal for you. Book flights to Europe from Aug. 31 to Oct. 24, 2009, for as low as $243 one-way.
Air France launched an airfare sale from select U.S. cities to Paris, Greece, Barcelona, Rome and more. You’ll have to book your travel by July 15 to get these cheap flights.
The select fares below are one-way based on a round-trip purchase and include the fuel-surcharge.
Washington D.C. – Paris: $257
Chicago – Paris: $279
New York – Nice: $298
Boston – Paris: $322
Los Angeles – Nice: $331
Washington D.C. – Athens: $243
Boston – Barcelona : $254
New York – Rome: $268
Click here for information at Air France
Born in the Streets—Graffiti 
From the Fondation Cartier:
The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain is pleased to present Born in the Streets—Graffiti, on view from July 7 to November 29, 2009. Occupying the entire gallery space of the Fondation Cartier, as well as the building’s façade and surrounding garden, the exhibition brings to light the extraordinary development of an artistic movement that was born in the streets of New York in the early 1970s to rapidly become a worldwide phenomenon. Today, graffiti has entered the cultural mainstream, crossing over to the realms of studio art, design and advertising. Yet, despite its immense popularity, this essentially illegal activity continues to evolve at the periphery of the contemporary art world, its origins and history little-known to the general public. This exhibition attempts to sketch the general contours of a subject that is vast and complex, a form of expression that has come to embrace many different techniques, ideas and styles. The exhibition traces the origins of the graffiti movement while offering a panorama of the diversity of contemporary writing. It provides the public with the opportunity to rediscover an art both ubiquitous and continually evolving, and thus relate to the city in a new way.
