A wedding card and maybe a gift to Alizée and Gregoire?
 

What are members thoughts on sending them a card and maybe a gift? I thought maybe we could have a card made up maybe with AAm letterhead plus something matrimonial in the design and either have members signatures photo shopped onto it or maybe just a card with different messages of congratulations. We could possibly contact non active members to participate or just maybe the active ones. We could send it to Chez Paulo and ask her to repost it.

Edit:

Some more thoughts on the card. I was thinking maybe using the same header and footer we used for the letter for the autograph session with the exception of taking out the flags because good percentage of our active members are from outside the USA and maybe just using the Corsican flag. Then maybe using one of Jo's photo's of the Blood Islands or just the coast somewhere with maybe profile images of the backs of the three of them?


As far as a gift, it's probably pretty tough to think of something they could really use or something they might want to display. One thing I thought of which may sound kind of corny or at least unusual for a wedding gift is a telescope because I think they'd "all " enjoy looking at the scenic coastline or the stars and of the many pictures I've seen them post from their place, it looks like they don't have one. Just a thought. Even if the forum doesn't like the idea, I may take the risk and do it on my own.

Another idea is maybe send them a donation to be made to the Marie-Do association?

I would contact non active members to participate with the card, but not the gift. If they volunteer, so be it.

A telescope sounds like a very nice gift, but it should probably be a good quality one if it is to be a wedding gift. If you intend the gift to be from alizeeamerica, im sure me and others wouldent mind contributing a little so we can get her an extra nice telescope, one that is worthy to be used as a decoration, maybe even personalized in some way?

That of course is just an initial thought by me after wracking my brain and coming up empty, except for that. I'm sure they'd enjoy it, but maybe there are other things out there all three would enjoy so feel free to make suggestions. If we go that route or another route I agree with, I'll chip in 250 to start, which might give others a guide line for what we can get in what ever gift we choose.

Here's some images when I was trying to come up with a good folder for the autograph session. I've been thinking it probably be best to leave a flag out completely?

Attachment 1346

A card and gift is a nice idea. Count me in as long as it is not food (I think they would have difficulty accepting food). However, if it was a night out at a certain Ajaccio restaurant ... then perhaps. :)

I'm willing to go $100. A telescope that had some power and would serve as an interesting curio in their home would be acceptable, but I'm thinking it would be pretty expensive. Too bad we don't know the location or design of their home. If they live downtown, they might not have a vista beyond the building across a narrow street. It would be good to purchase the gift from a store in France, or even London, so it wouldn't take forever to deliver or cost an arm and a leg for shipping.

I still like the idea of a buffalo, but bovines make terrible house pets. I've never known one to be successfully housebroken, and I know from experience, they have ferociously bad breath. You wouldn't want one in your living room. But it would be an interesting conversation piece, and if it becomes a problem you can eat it.

http://91appios.com/fish-tank-toilet-seat/ Let's keep it classy.

http://www.uncommongoods.com/product...ingbird-mobile

https://www.amazon.com/Caucasian-Pee...tuckerheavy-20 With an eye to the future.

http://incrediblethings.com/products/giant-hammock/

Shepherd her abode sits up on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean.

That's great! How do you know? Are there any photos of her house? I'd be surprised if there were, for security's sake.

Thanks for the information

Do to the importance of her privacy, Alizée's homes location is one of the most tightly guarded secrets on this board. Sorry.

As far as getting her a gift like that, thanks to my recent visit there, I'm on good terms with Chez Paulo who was at the wedding. I'm sure I could send it to her and ask her to notify Alizee or her dad who I believe still lives not far away to pick it up or I could pay her to throw it in a cab for delivery if she thought that was a safe way. I could ask her this before we purchase it so we'll know up front if we'll have a way of getting it there.

If we buy it through Amazon, I had to change my address to Chez Paulo's address when I sent them a bottle of whiskey and it's still that address so right now, it would be quite easy to get a package to CP.

Scruffydog, good stuff scruff!

A telescope sounds like a really nice gift, I'm sure it could be used for star gazing aswell and I think it's something the whole family aswell as friends might get some enjoyment out of at one time or another.

Thanks for that, you just gave me an idea. :)

http://www.brainstormltd.co.uk/The_O..._up_to_50m.htm

I had one of these birds as a kid and had hours of fun with it! I was so gutted when the wings broke though because I through it too hard. So I'm going with a telescope.

The more I think about it, the more a telescope strikes me as a brilliant idea, as long as it's a fairly decent one. I'm sure Alizee will appreciate it and show it off to her family and friends. It's not something they would put in a closet and forget. I imagine her father Jo would also put it to good use.

http://www.amazingtelescopes.com/bes...ope-under-500/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwO-...NCRk8C&index=2

https://www.amazon.com/Orion-9024-As...azingtele0a-20

I've been doing some reading on the subject and there are basically two types and a cross between the two, "if we decide to got this route". There are astronomical or celestial which are for star gazing and terrestrial for looking at sites on the ground. Celestial ones have a much bigger lens for gathering distant light and there fore are less easily portable, but still portable. These types can be affected by local lighting and I think where she is, there might be a good amount of local lights (security) at night which may affect it.

Terrestrial are looking for sights on the ground and so are not affected by lighting, in fact the more lighting, probably the better, so I'm guessing a terrestrial one with celestial capabilities might be best.

This one Shepherd mentioned might be in that range.

https://www.amazon.com/Orion-9024-As...azingtele0a-20



Edit:

Getting back to a card to send them, I thought about maybe sending a card with the names of many members who cared to post messages along with those messages, but have thought of late maybe just posting messages alone from members of the forum. I would also ask Marguerite du Paris to interpret those messages so we could post the French translation too.

As far as the letterhead, I would use something very small compared to what went on at the autograph session. That was a big part of us. This is all about them, so I want them to know who it's from, but I want them to be the dominating part of this card.

Maybe I will reach out to members in all the countries I can, to at least let me post in the card, if they post messages, where our fans come from and maybe in their native languages?

I just uploaded this video I took which shows footage in the alleged direction so maybe night lights wouldn't be that much of a factor?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tUYY...ature=youtu.be

Thinking about it a telescope would be a good gift.
I'll cough up a few bucks also.

A suggestion if we can get enough cash together.

Celestron-21034-Ambassador-Refractor-Telescope

Il cough up 50 dollars.

One thing I've noticed at looking into some of these items on Amazon is in some cases they don't ship to France. I ran into that with the gift for Chez Paulo and got around it by buying it from a company in France.

By the way....thank to all who have offered to chip in.

I want to remind people too that getting a telescope for a gift isn't cast in stone yet, so if someone thinks of something better, offer it up for discussion. By the way, I'll up my amount to 350.

[QUOTE=Scruffydog777;256195]One thing I've noticed at looking into some of these items on Amazon is in some cases they don't ship to France. I ran into that with the gift for Chez Paulo and got around it by buying it from a company in France.


There is also an Amazon France and United Kingdom


https://www.amazon.fr/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/

https://www.amazon.fr/s/ref=nb_sb_no...rial+Refractor

Optronics Technologies Limited register address is 35 GRAFTON WAY, London (area code: W1T 5DB). The company's country of origin is ENGLAND.

Because the telescope is heavy it might be costly to ship it from London to Ajaccio.

http://ukcompanydb.com/company/09702...s-limited.html

The company was incorporated on Saturday 25th July 2015, so the company age is 10 months 27 days. The company registration status is Active.

Because the telescope is manufactured in California, Optronics Technologies Limited is probably a distributor. I tried to look it up on Google, but I don't see any sign on the street identifying the company. This could be because the company is so young, and Google's image of the street dates before the company opened.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/35...137575!6m1!1e1

It's also probable that Alizee may leave Ajaccio to live on the mainland with her new husband, Gregorie, and then have no use for telescope.

There are certainly all kinds of risks here, but one thing I'm fairly certain is that she would not move to the mainland. Now it's very possible that they might choose to have a place on the mainland and a place in Ajaccio. There's also the possibility of her moving back towards down town Ajaccio for the sake of Annily's education or for the dance school that they may still open up, but I think she loves that view she has now and it would take a lot for her to give it up.

There's also the possibility that she might want nothing to do with a telescope or even if she does like it, maybe the novelty would wear off quickly. So how do we minimize our risk?

We could just go with the original plan of buying one and hoping CP would agree to deliver it. If we choose to do that, we don't have the membership we used to have so only a few will bear most of the burden for paying for it. So buying a higher cost one for around $1,000 is probably out of the question unless we knew for sure she'd accept it.

Now we could get a decent one for around 500 and I'd be willing to put in the 350 I pledged which would limit the amount anyone else would risk to under 50 and just roll the dice.

If there was a way to ask her, I think she'd not respond just in keeping in the way MF taught her how to deal with fans.

Now we could possibly get in touch with her dad through a FB member which might be the safest way, that's if he responds. Hopefully we could have a picture of one that we had in mind sent to him with our idea. If he responded favorably, then maybe we could up the ante and buy a better one.

There also the possibilty of sending them another gift. How about a bottle of Dom Perignon? There is a store in Ajaccio that I think we could order it from. Of course with something like that, it's quickly gone, but it's the thought that counts. The cost would be 175 euros which as of now would be 195. I'd be willing to pay 125 if others would be willing to pick up the rest.

Again with this as with the telescope the first problem would be getting it to them. We could ask the store if they knew where they live and be willing to deliver it or again maybe ask if CP would be willing to get it to them some how. If we can't get that done, then the whole idea is dead in the water.

As far as the card I propose, I think that won't work out. To do what I wanted, we'd probably have to send a card to CP and ask her to get it to A&G somehow and getting a gift to her and getting a card to her might be asking too much. Hopefully we can just have some short message that would be a part of the gift.

So let me know what you think.

I don't think she's moving anytime soon especially closer to town. Mostly because she is only 2.75 Km or 1.7 miles as the crow flies from her parents place which is in the center of town.

As far as moving back to the mainland I don't see that either due to the fact that Alizée has said more than a few times that she wants Annily to grow up on Corse.

A couple of other things I've thought of. First of all, I've learned of a couple other people who live in the Ajaccio area so we may not have to ask CP to deliver it some how.

As I believe I mentioned before, if we mention this idea to Jo, I have the feeling he may not like it, but one other idea I have which might make it more palatable to him is along with sending to him through a non AAm member our idea along with a picture of what we propose to buy, we could also mention the possibility of if he knows of a store in Ajaccio we could either purchase it from or order it through, it would have the added benefit of giving a Corsican store a little bit of business. It may cost a little more that way, but that's not a concern to me right now.

I also don't think they will be relocating any time soon. She could have chosen anywhere to be and she picked what she did. I don't think it's a very large place, and I don't think she accumulates much 'stuff' (besides clothes) to fill it. I was thinking that maybe they would find a larger place now but I've changed my mind about that. They would have probably done so already. Anyway, a telescope there would be amazing, but also I'm not sure they have space for it to be out and accessible. And like Scruffy said, the novelty can wear off.

I think a consumable could be better suited. I also thought maybe a gift certificate for something local, though I imagine she does a lot of her shopping in Paris. Here is the association of Rue fesch merchants. I thought they might have a gift certificate that any of their members would accept, but I'm not going to try to find out. https://fr-fr.facebook.com/comitecommercants.ruefesch I'm guessing but I think Rue fesch is aimed more towards the cruise ship tourists these days? (They recently added another anchoring point to accommodate more ships at once.)

I'm terrible at gift selection, so I'll leave that to others, but I'll add $50 to the pot for whatever is decided.

Thanks Ray....I'm leaning towards the idea of getting in touch with her dad, that's if another FB member is willing to do that for us. I think there's a very good chance he will shoot the whole thing down, but if he does, at least it wont cost us anything. But he is the one who would know best I think what they'd like. I can propose the Dom Perignon and gift certificates at a local store as alternate ideas. I will try to get the ball rolling tomorrow.

[QUOTE=Ray4AJ;256204]

I think a consumable could be better suited. I also thought maybe a gift certificate for something local, though I imagine she does a lot of her shopping in Paris. Here is the association of Rue fesch merchants. I thought they might have a gift certificate that any of their members would accept, but I'm not going to try to find out. https://fr-fr.facebook.com/comitecommercants.ruefesch


A gift certificate has a lot to recommend it: It doesn't cost much to mail and it allows Alizee to pick her own gift. I was thinking maybe a certificate from one of the major Parisian department stores. Alizee goes to Paris fairly often, and the best stores carry luxury items. There is a possibility that those top rank stores might be able to contact Alizee and deliver the card. We could probably talk to someone in the sales department in English and make this arrangement. I've heard that Harrod's in London does this sort of thing.

http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/en...rtment-stores/

One of my hopes relative to the telescope was that Alizee might post her photo on FB standing beside it. But then, she might not.

Normally I'd say there would be a less than 1% chance she would do that, but for a wedding gift? Maybe she would. :13:

I think it might be more likely she'd post a picture of someone else looking through it.

An update on today's progress.

I contacted a member of FB who at this point is willing to contact Jo with our idea. But he said he can also contact a woman who is very, very close to the family. I think a woman might be more receptive to the general idea, but less receptive to the telescope idea. She may give us a good idea as to whether Jo would be agreeable to this too, if we decide to contact him also. Depending on what members have to say tonight, I will contact the gentleman from FB tomorrow and let him know if it's her we want to contact first.

Normally, I would not go with consumables. However, Dom Perignon is a great idea. I would prefer this over the gift certificate. They received a lot of gift certificates. they would barely notice another one. However, the Dom would be something to be enjoyed that they would not typically buy for themselves due to cost. It is a perfect fit with the event, could be purchased locally, and would leave an impression. :)

I agree that Dom Perignon is a good option. It is usually well noticed when one is received as a gift. I just wonder if Alizee would partake? I think she'd at least have a little bit. But at this point, all three options are still on the table.

Today's update. The gentleman on Facebook who is so graciously doing this for us will contact the close friend tomorrow. Judging on what she says, we may or may not contact Jo.

No news on the Mediterranean front.

Word has been received that Jo thinks a certificate would be a good idea. Now we have to figure out what store or shop to get one at. I am still waiting to see what the friend of the family has to say if they respond.

We know how much she likes foot wear. This is a store I passed by on my first day in Ajaccio on my last vacation. I don't know what else they sell?

EDIT: Found out it looks like they sell just ladies accessories. They have a FB page....
https://www.facebook.com/Casanera-Aj...5530155/photos

Attachment 1348

Casenera looks like a great store that sells jewelry Alizee would surely love, and it's in Ajaccio. It suffers none of the complications presented by the telescope. Even if they don't offer gift certificates (which seems highly unlikely), we could probably open an account with them and put some money into it, so Alizee could draw off it.

My only objection, is that anything Alizee might buy from them and be photographed wearing, we will never know that it was bought on our dime. Still, there is a possibility she might send a thank-you note. However, I would rather have the photo.

Latest update. Still hoping to hear from the close friend of the family. Looking into a gift certificate type of gift, the main problem being there are no large department type stores apparently in Ajaccio where they would have many choices of gifts for him and her. I'm doing some research on line and have come up empty so far. The store I mentioned in my previous post doesn't look to be a bad choice with the exception I had hoped to get something for both of them and this store apparently is only for women, but in that case, maybe we could suggest maybe something too for Annily which might make this more appealing to them.

It's also possible she might not like that store I suggested, so maybe we'll try and contact Jo again to see what he thinks of it.

I believe someone suggested a gift certificate for the small mall they have in Ajaccio which doesn't seem like a bad idea, but I don't know if it's possible to get something like that specifically for that mall.

EDIT: Here's another place I found in Ajaccio that again only offers stuff for her and it looks like kind of a pricey place.

https://www.facebook.com/galeries.aj...ends?pnref=lhc

The best option along these lines would probably be if not a gift certificate, maybe a prepaid credit card. The down side of that would be they might use it for little things like gas and groceries in which case in the end, there will be nothing to remember us by.

As far as getting them a card, mailing one from the U.S. would I think be out of the question because I think there is no way to insure it if it goes to the wrong address. We could hopefully have one delivered to some one in Ajaccio from a French site, who would forward it to her, so I'm sure we can safely get this done if we choose this option.

At this point, I'm leaning towards the store I mentioned, because I think it's more likely they'll get a gift they remember, but I'm far from done doing research. EDIT: I just received a response from a question I sent to their FB page and this store does sell gift certificates.

EDIT: I think we have enough pledges for either just a gift certificate for 500 euros or maybe a gift certificate for 400 euros and a bottle of Dom Perignon.

EDIT:EDIT: Well the solution as to where to get a gift card shouldn't be as much a problem as it has seemed to be. It would have been nice to have gotten one in Ajaccio, but unfortunately, the choices there are too limited. Why not a store in Paris? I found this site in that refers to 4 of the most famous department stores there.
http://www.france-hotel-guide.com/en...rtment-stores/

I looked at this one department store (Le Bon Marche) and it looks okay if this is the way we go. They have a mens, ladies and children's departments. They sell other stuff like toasters, the perfect wedding gift....jk....but things along those lines. The main factor is you can look on line at their products. I didn't see any mention of gift cards, so I sent them an e-mail requesting info.

http://www.lebonmarche.com/services.html

Attachment 1350

Looks good Scruffy keep us in the loop.

Thanks Scuffy for all your work. This is a great idea. She has a huge variety of things to choose from over the Internet, so she doesn't have to travel to Paris. She can shop from home in Ajaccio.

La Bon March's gift card information is at:
http://www.lebonmarche.com/services/carte-cadeau.html


BY TELEPHONE

Our consultants are at your disposal by phone:

Store Customer Service: 01 44 39 80 00 (from 10am to 20pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and from 10am to 21h Thursday and Friday)

Customer service: 01 44 39 82 36 (from 10am to 18pm, Monday to Friday). Special opening on Saturdays June 25 and July 2, 2016 (10h-12h30 and 13h30-18h).

Here's the answer I received today about gift cards from the department store in Paris...

Dear Sir,

We thank you for your interest.

We inform you that you could order a gift card to be deliver in France directly from our web site and pay with a Visa or Mastercard.

http://www.lebonmarche.com/catalogue...s-cadeaux.html

We remain at your disposal if you require.

Regards,

Cécile Asseray

Friday will be the last day I'll wait for an answer from the friend of the family.

Right now our choices are getting a gift certificate from a shop in Ajaccio which is something I'd think we'd all prefer, but most of the shops are rather small with not a huge selection and one `we choose, Alizee might not like to begin with.

We could choose a department store in Paris with a large selection where they will find something they want.

or a gift visa/mastercard for a certain amount. Not a bad idea but as I mentioned, it could be frittered away on smaller stuff.

Good stuff, hope everything works out.




Edit:

Something for Annily would be nice aswell, and well after seeing this photo Alizée posted of her daughter on her Twitter which you also posted a link to in the Facebook thread and on Facebook here in the forum, I've got an idea of a gift for Annily.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BHYEBX4DmsS/
"J'ai l'impression d'être un oiseau. C'est comme si tout mon corps s'enflammait. Comme de l'electricité..."#myprincess #mylovelygirl #billyelliot #dance #love #choregraphia #gala #best
https://instagram.fphl2-1.fna.fbcdn....68656183_n.jpg


The quote about being a bird that went along with this photo gives me idea of maybe purchasing this flying bird for Annily.

http://www.brainstormltd.co.uk/The_O..._up_to_50m.htm

Well as long as you would be willing to purchase it from the website I posted a link to above I don't see any problem, I dunno what could bind you as it's a small gift.


We know Alizée has a bird inked on her arm, so I feel she might like this gift for Annily aswell.



P.S. I'm just sorry I can't contribute any money towards any gift or gifts that you decide to send. :(

Is there any chance that Alizée could be registered there? :)

Don't know, but I contacted my Facebook friend with a progress report to keep him up to date and he contacted Chez Paulo to see if she might know of a store in Ajaccio where gifts for both Alizee and Gregoire and possibly Annily can be purchased. Of course Chez Paulo was at the wedding and it's very possible that if they picked a store (s) where wedding guests could buy gifts, I'm sure she'd probably suggest it.

By the way, I know Chez Paulo's first name (The woman who runs the family restaurant who I was lucky enough to have my picture taken with when I was on vacation), but I'm not sure if she wants me to use it in the forum so I continue to refer to her as Chez Paulo.

EDIT: Apparently Chez Paulo sent Alizee a message asking her to recommend a shop which both her and Gregoire like, but did not tell her it was for a wedding gift.

Latest update is there is no update. I'm still waiting to hear back from my friend in Facebook who's currently on vacation.

OK. Thanks for ................. :)

Chez Paulo received an answer from Alizee and for those who didn't see this discussed earlier, Chez Paulo sent Alizee a message asking her to recommend a store for a couple she knew, not revealing the real reason was to find a place for us to get her a gift. Alizee recommended a furniture store called 'La table de Valerie'. I went to thier web site where they have a video available of the products they offer and I liked what I saw and I'd like to get others opinions. This store is a little over a mile north of the main square in Ajaccio, a little past the area where Madam Muffragi's dance studio is for those of you familiar with it.
So look it over and see what you guys think. If we're all in agreement, then we'll move on to the next step in order to get this done.

http://www.la-table-de-valerie.com/m...ration-ajaccio
http://www.la-table-de-valerie.com/video