Paris: Meant to be enjoyed, not employed

In January I started a project for the firm I worked with in Chicago - GfK. This past week, that project took me to Paris for a week of consumer immersions and meetings......what I learned along the way:

What a city!  I can't believe that in my early 20s I decided Paris was over rated. While I'll be the first to admit that my judgement in my 20s was a bit suspect, I was floored with what a fab city it is.....

Shopping bonanza!  Not only is their version of Michigan avenue huge & full of fantastic shops...

...most appeared to stay open till 10 or even 11......

Absolute torture given I spent the evenings in focus group rooms instead of stores.   But at least safer for our Visa card that my 'retail finds' were trapped behind locked shop doors..

Old & fancy: The architecture is amazing. Old, yet clean and fancy buildings everywhere. Even the newspaper - cigarette stands are cute. 

OMG Pastries: given the name "French bread", we all know France has baking down. But honestly if you ever go to Paris, you MUST eat dessert at Fauchon.  The odd looking seashell inspired dessert was the most fantastic carmely goodness in a cake I've ever had...

We don't need no stinking cars: I don't think there is anywhere you need to go to in Paris that the Metro cannot take you.  While the spiderweb of lines can be a bit daunting, there is a super-easy site to figure out how to get to your destination....

....making a car totally unnecessary!  But if you insist on having your own wheels......

Bikers encouraged: Paris appears to have gone beyond welcoming bikers to downright encouraging them. The townships bought communal bikes you can rent cheaply and return to another spot....

...and even made special bike lanes on the sidewalks

....Oh, how I wanted to bike around all day shopping and eating pastries!

Wine: And to top it off, they live up to their reputation with the wine.....while I sadly spent all my dinners working, I enjoyed some wine on my air France flight back to Kyiv. Not only was the airplane wine delish, it was abundant...

....187 ml of wine serving vs a mere 150 ml serving of soda......clearly the French have their priorities straight!

Net, net, Paris is well worth a visit -- but given all its fab features, ideally a pleasure one.

Here's to pouring yourself 187ml of wine and toasting to a fantastic weekend!