The Greatest Shopping/Love Story Ever Told

Picture it. Paris, April 2009. My husband and I were set to spend a nearly free week in London (courtesy of my frequent flier miles and the use of a family member’s flat.) Since I had acquired the free plane tickets and a free place to stay, I basically made it known that I’d be going on a Parisian shopping spree on our planned day-trip to Paris. (The hubs was nervously compliant.) In the March 2009 issue of Lucky magazine there was an article detailing the top 50 places to shop in Paris. My dream come true. . . It described all these amazing boutiques and where they were located. Perfect! I took it as a sign and planned out a detailed shopping itinerary.

The day of our planned day trip from London to Paris happened to be the day after Easter Sunday. I soon discovered, after traipsing all over Paris only to find all my planned shopping destinations were closed, that Easter Monday is a bloody buggery holiday in Europe! What?!?! Serious devastation set in. This was the 2^nd to last day of our vacation and it was the day that I had been looking forward to most. I was going to go to snatch up a few pairs of amazing flats at the Repetto boutique! I was going to totally splurge on unique Parisian fashion! I was seriously jet-lagged and had only been sleeping 2 hours a night for a week! I cried in a Paris café . . .

That’s when my dear, dear Ken said those magic words. “Would it make you feel better if we went to Louis Vuitton and I buy you whatever you want?” YES!!!! The tears stopped and my jet lag was forgotten. To Champs Elysees!!!!! (It should be noted that the major stores were still open on this holiday – only the precious boutiques were closed.) LV was most definitely open.

So, onto Louis Vuitton we went and it was glorious. After deep contemplation, I selected this gorgeous modified messenger bag and a classic print scarf. Perfection. It was the greatest souvenir ever.

Ken recently made a promise of taking me on a similar shopping spree on our upcoming Vancouver vacation . . . and there’s a Louis Vuitton in Vancouver.