Rather window shop with me...
Things to choose from...clothes (labelled ones!), bags, shoes (sometimes made of chocolate), cheese, more cheese, macaroons, wedding clothes?, flowers or all of it :-) ...and if you are in an adventurous mindset, how about visiting a headshop...
I can assure you a few things, when you shop with me, you dont lose money, dont get taken for a ride and your legs dont hurt. And still get to enjoy the variety of wares from diverse locations. Hows that!
Ladies and gentlemen,
Following are some of the images I managed to take while enjoying window shopping (mostly :-P, rather tried to limit it to just window shopping) during my recent trip to the three countries / their capitals France / Paris, Belgium / Brussels, Holland / Amsterdam.
To begin with, lets look through the windows...
Window Shopping
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Amsterdam - Dam Square |
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Amsterdam - Haarlemmerstraat |
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Paris - Rue des Archives |
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Belgium - Embroidered things at grand place |
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Paris - Hoarding |
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Amsterdam - P C Hoofstraat - Popular label |
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Amsterdam - P C Hoofstraat - Cupcaked bags |
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Amsterdam - Haarlemmerstraat - Bridal wear |
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Paris - Champs de elysee - Bridal wear shop |
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Amsterdam -Say Cheese! |
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Amsterdam - Say more cheese! |
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Brussels - Luxurious Belgian chocolate shop |
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Amsterdam - Quirky chocolates - wear and eat! |
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Paris - Towered Macaroons |
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Amsterdam - Neons |
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Amsterdam - Exquisite Porcelaine |
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Amsterdam - Headshop - For some adventure |
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Amsterdam - Florist |
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Amsterdam - Another florist - Felt like a pitching a tent right here |
Now that we've seen all the windows, let me tell you which are the places best for shopping in these cities, atleast the ones I enjoyed visiting:
Shopping Locations:
Paris:
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Champs Elysees Panorama |
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Champs Elysees - Faraway View - How harmful can it be to the pocket? |
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Champs Elysees at night - this street defines fashion for the world - houses all the international labels |
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Champs Elysees never sleeps - this is around midnight |
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Printemps - One of the upscale malls |
I should not forget to mention La Fayette, the best mall in Paris...you could even attend a fashion show here
Brussels:
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Galeries St Hubert |
In Brussels, the best shopping place by far would be the area around the Grand place which caters to all touristy needs.
Amsterdam:
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Haarlemmerstraat |
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Haarlemmerstraat - visit this street just to get a hang of the culture of the city- Amsterdam offers really quirky options in all categories of shopping |
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P C Hoofstraat - One for the labels |
The best place to shop in Amsterdam is Albert Kuypstraat without a doubt....a flea market that works only during office hours: 10 AM to 5 PM. Always plan to get there in the first half of the day...and keep the second half free ;-) The reason I could not show you a pic of the place is because...yes...I was busy!
Having seen all the places, aren't you curious about how people look when they shop in such locations? Well, here are some random images I got while on the streets.
Experienced People:
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Collegu Hudugi |
Brides and grooms everywhere:
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In front of Eiffel Tower |
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At Obelisk - Paris |
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Near Louvre |
So, the deal with newlyweds at Paris is that they get photoshoots done infront of all the prominent monuments and can be noticed scrambling with a photographer and a dresser in tow around the town.
I came across a situation when I suddenly noticed 2 subjects in one frame:
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Conflict frame |
If you haven't noticed, the second subject is the statue in the background. And as an honest photographer, with all intentions of doing justice to beauty, I did chooose this subject :-D
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Lady - busy shopping |
At the Louvre:
What did I find very intriguing at Louvre?
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This girl stood ahead of me in the queue at the entrance to Louvre and a young Korean guy behind me reminded me of my cousin whose name begins with letter J for the way his mouth fell open seeing the girl |
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Yeah...I was just checking out the paintings |
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Tattoo design stockings and unusual accessories |
Because getting to Mona Lisa meant too much effort!
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Mystery of the Da Vinci code deepens for me |
Alright! So, thats that....hope you had fun wandering in the streets with me...
The people featuring in the images are there as a co-incidence. My intention is never to cause any trouble to them. Hence, they have been purposefully blurred keeping their privacy as the prime concern. So, if you are wondering if this is some person you know, then, I would like to clarify that you don't.
For the photographically inclined, I travelled light with just one camera body, one lens and no tripod or accessories. So, the gear used is Nikon D7000 with Nikkor 18-105 mm VR lens. There are about 5-6 images from my cellphone Samsung S III added in this blog.
Thanks again!
Amazing!!!! Felt as if I was actually with you seeing all the places :) Thoroughly enjoyed reading and viewing it.
ReplyDeleteAmazing pictures and write up. Thanks for taking us on a virtual tour :)
ReplyDeleteGaleries St Hubert is beautiful among others.
Very nice. I felt I should have connected earlier
ReplyDeleteUseful info n great virtual tour.
ReplyDeletewould be useful for my Europe tour in may......