Ladurée Tissue Paper - Paris, 2009

At the end of every excursion Mlle Bagatelle takes abroad, she makes a point of taking all the remaining currency not used on the trip and splurging on something she would otherwise never have purchased--usually in a rushed panic at the duty-free airport shops. Well, this time, after much soul-searching about the morality of shopping at a Ladurée outpost and whether or not that could be interpreted by the retail Gods as a silent endorsement of the seemingly exponential swelling (and therefore cheapening) of the brand's name, she decided that these particular Gods would most likely always judge on the side of making, rather than not-making a purchase (that and it was either spend the money, or walk around Charles de Gaulle airport for another three hours weighed down by 14 euro worth of remarkably heavy coins.) It wasn't until she was in her airplane seat* that she peeked into the Ladurée bag holding her newly purchased plastic tote, and saw it wrapped in this lovely, whimsical tissue. Had she known this in advance, she would have dropped the morality schtick like a hot macaroon.

Incidentally, Mlle Bagatelle took KLM this time (against the advice of her boss at the travel website she works for who called it "The Greyhound of the Skies") and had a great experience. You should try it if for no other reason than to witness all the passengers wrapped in their blue blankets. The color blue they use is identical to the color of blue of these and it looks like an entire airplane full of people wearing them.

*Of course she kept it with her during the flight! These bags are art! You wouldn't shove the Mona Lisa in an overhead compartment, would you?