Continuing in the tradition of courting such design icons as Philippe Starck, Lolita Lempicka and Karl Lagerfeld, the French luxury catering and restaurant brand Lenotre has asked (my dear friend) Mr. Hubert de Givenchy to create this year’s couture Bûche de Noël. Made with exotic cocoa from Tanzania, Ghana and Sao Tome, this decadent chocolate cake is adorned with 2 crystal-clear sugar stag heads, sprinkled with 22 carat gold dust, and then tied up with a golden pulled sugar bow.

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David Lebovitz once worked as a pastry chef at Alice Water’s famous Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse, and now lives in Paris where, among many other things, he writes a blog that’s both hysterical and informative: Living the Sweet Life in Paris. He has lots of culinary and gustatory advice on where to shop and eat in this beautiful city. Because face it, Paris is a big place and while there’s tons of great food to be had here, there’s also tons of just ordinary stuff as well and at Parisian prices, who wants to settle for that? So I’ve been taking his advice to heart, especially his post: “Ten Insanely Delicious Things You Shouldn’t Miss in Paris.”

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The eleventh day of the eleventh month is better known as the Armistice, the day when the First World War was finally brought to an end. It is a public holiday in France, and will be especially poignant this year as 2008 marks the 90th anniversary of the agreement. Paris does not have a monument to commemorate this conflict, but there is one place in the city you can visit which is still imbued with memories – the Gare de l’Est.

The war ended famously in a train carriage in the forests of Compiegne just outside Paris, but for many it also began in trains, at the Gare de l’Est. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were sent out to the eastern front-lines from this station, and the Hall des Departs was a permanent buzz of comings and goings. Despite a recent renovation to welcome the TGV Est, this departure hall retains its original structure, and you can still imagine young recruits joking and laughing, couples saying tearful goodbyes and children waving to disappearing fathers. Most thought these separations would be simply an au revoir, but for more than 1 million French soldiers, it was an adieu.

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Polly is leaving Paris later this year and is holding a sale of her household belongings. Some really good stuff here. Even the fish is on offer. Here’s the full list with prices and a few pics. The Paris Blog will miss Polly’s brilliant contributions.

My friend Fabien, who produces shows for the cable channel Arte, went to the U.S. to find out how famous French celebrities are among Americans. The people he interviewed on Hollywood Boulevard yesterday were shockingly unaware. Napoleon Bonaparte was the most common answer, followed by a few Marie-Antoinettes. One person offered up Jacques Chirac. And that was IT. In a major city, no less!

I was fortunate to meet Inès de la Fressange and Bruno Frisoni, brand ambassador and designer, respectively, of the Roger Vivier shoe brand. (In this pic Inès wears flats with the signature Vivier buckle.) It was at a promotional party for the company, which is a sibling of luxury accessories houses Tod’s and Hogan. Inès, who was the face of Chanel for decades, seems at ease as a spokesmodel for a fashion company rather than the boss; when I asked her what was up with the eponymous label she launched after getting the boot from Chanel, she responded that control was still being fought over after years of litigation. She was so open and friendly I decided to ask her how she stays so thin. Without missing a beat she said, “I don’t drink. I eat slowly, and when I sense I’m full, I stop. And I never do any sports, because it makes you hungry.” Spoken like a true Frenchwoman.

About a year ago I visited Le Laboratoire, a new art space which opened in October 2007. The space was still undergoing construction but the concept of Le Labo was immediately intriguing–as a place where science art would converge in installations and multi-media projects. I finally got back there last week. The space is beautifully finished, staff welcoming and helpful with information (and free coffee). The current exhibition is between Japanese electronic composer and visual artist Ryoji Ikeda, and Benedict Gross, professor of Mathematics at Harvard University. As in this case, the founder of Le Laboratoire, American novelist and scientist David Edwards brings artist and scientist together to develop an idea, which is then featured in the museum.

The exhibition is visually minimal. In the first room, the space is darkened and two long, rectangular photographs are suspended about a foot above the ground. At first glance it appears to be just black and white tiny checkerboard print but when looked at with magnifying glass or really close up, you see that in fact it is a long series of random numbers.

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It’s cold, gray, a little rainy… It’s the perfect moment to have a little tea. Like this nicely dressed lady that I photographed at a terrace near Beaubourg (she probably had a macaron or two, wrapped in this ugly white paper on the table!) The French tradition of tea is not as strong as in England or China, but the market is apparently increasing (2 ou 3 French people drink tea against 1 out of 3 ten years ago). It is still considered as an “elite” beverage, and more feminine than masculine. There are several nice salons de thé in Paris ; the most famous ones are probably Mariage Frères (a tea specialist) and Angelina (an upper-class hang out). If you’re interested, here is a little selection of other cozy addresses (in French).

These métro ads are for an auto place.

The big ad says “I buff mine every morning.” Oh, and that image that just came into your mind? Much clearer in French than it is in English.

And the little one says “My husband’s never gets (lit. falls) out of order, it’s nice.”

Stay classy, 321auto.