ahhh... Paris

A friend of mine has been searching around on the Internet to find a couple nice hotels for her parents when the go overseas next summer. They are going to a family wedding in Scotland, and since they will be celebrating their own 45th anniversary next year, her father has decided to take her mother to Paris, France while they are on that side of the Atlantic. Her mom is so excited, because she's always wanted to go to Paris ever since she was a young woman. My friend went there with a friend when they were 18 years old, but she doesn't figure her parents will want to stay in any of the hostels they stayed in when they were there.

I had told her to check out this website called cheaperthanhotels.co.uk, and because it has uk at the end of the web address, she was a bit confused that I told her to go there, assuming that this is a site for hotels in the United Kingdom. When I told her they had all kinds of France hotels listed there, as well as a breakdown of the different cities and towns, including lots of listings for Paris hotels, she thought she'd check it out. I told her I liked this hotel that I have the picture showing here -- it's the Magellan Hotel in Paris. What I like about it, is that with the ornamental iron work on the windows, it reminds of that one picture of Marilyn Monroe, where she's leaning on one of those rails looking down the street. I don't know for sure if it's this particular hotel, or even if that picture was taken in Paris or not, but this picture here just reminds me of that picture.

My friend's mother really likes the handbags that I make, so I think I'm going to make a special bag for her to take on this trip. I've got the perfect fabric to line this bag with too -- an all-over Eiffel tower print! And I think I still have enough of my Springtime in Paris fabric to use on the outside. It's really pretty, with vintage fashion ladies in different Paris scenes, like in front of the Eiffel tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and some shopping and cafe scenes. I'm going to make it like a tote bag, so she can carry her purchases with her. Maybe they'll pick up some cheese and a nice fresh stick of french bread and have a picnic on the grounds of the Louve! I think this tote will look awesome with a stick of bread poking out the top! She's going to love it!

Olivia