There are times just “the picture tells the story, don’t it?” Or so goes the song.
People watching in the 12th
20 Monday May 2013
Posted in Paris Wanderings
Paris: on the hunt for fresh graffiti
17 Friday May 2013
Posted in Paris guide, Paris photos, Paris tips, Paris Wandering
Tags
No Worries Paris, Paris artists, Paris graffiti, Paris guidebooks, Paris guides, Paris street art, Paris streets, paris travel, Paris urban art
The 11th and 13th arrondisements are a pretty good bet. Mosey on by Le Mur, 107 Oberkampf on May 25 to gaze at David Walker in action. This is part of Le M.U.R. de L’ART exhibition, the association promoting ephemeral street art at this fixed position. Every two weeks a new artwork replaces the previous, the artist featured being given a stipend of 500 euros to cover travel and material expenses.
A few street artist sites for you to explore:
http://postertime.blogspot.fr/
https://www.facebook.com/lemuroberkampf
http://parisianshoegals.blogspot.fr
Real Coffee in Paris: the new kickass baristas
07 Tuesday May 2013
Posted in Paris Wanderings
Tags
Cafe Filtre, Good coffee Paris, guide to Paris coffee, No Worries Paris, Paris baristas, Paris cafes, Paris coffee houses, paris travel
Your quest for a good cup of filtered coffee is on. Try sipping at one of these new coffee houses that also serve up some mouthwatering accompaniments like beetroot salad, string wrapped gluten-free sandwiches or lemon pot de creme. Try the Broken Arm’s “club sandwich” with smoked salmon and cream of asparagus spread and a planche of oregano-flecked focaccia with tomatoes, capers, parsley, lard Colonata, and a healthy drizzling of fruity olive oil, dotted with fresh peas. ooh la la! Bottom line, a good cup of Joe in Paris can now be had. English usually works but if you’re timid just point to the Chemex on the counter or ask for a Cafe Filtre. Here are some hot recommendations:
Ten Belles
10 Rue de la Grange aux Belles
10th arr
www.tenbelles.com
Merce and the Muse
1bis Rue Charles-François Dupuis
3rd arr, metro: Temple
www.merceandthemuse.com
Le Cafe Lomi
3 Rue Marcadet
18th arr, metro Marx Dormoy
www.cafelomi.com
le Cafeotheque
52 rue de l’hotel de ville
4th arr, metro: Pont Marie
www.lacafeotheque.com
Le Bal
6 Impasse de la Defense
18th arr, metro: Place de Clichy, La Fourche
www.le-bal.fr
Telescope
5 rue Villedo
4th arr, metro: Pyramides
www.telescopecafe.com
The Broken Arm
12 rue Perrée
3rd arr, metro: Temple
www.the-broken-arm.com
Kooka Boora
62 rue des Martyrs
9th arr, metro: Pigalle
Paris Haute Couture Show: a two-fer
29 Monday Apr 2013
Posted in Paris guide, Paris Wandering
Tags
haute couture, Hotel de Ville, No Worries Paris, Paris city hall, Paris events, Paris fashion, Paris history, paris walks, Paristhingstodo
Visit Paris’s historic City Hall and take in the Paris Haute Couture exhibit in the Salle Saint-Jean which ends July 6. It’s free. About a hundred masterpieces from the Galliera Museum will be showcased: Doucet, Lanvin, Patou, Chanel, Rochas, Jacques Heim, Dior, Gaultier, Lacroix, Alaia, Balenciaga, Gres, Courreges, Schiaparelli, Balmain, Molyneux, Carven to name a few.
A little history about the elaborate building:
Ever since 1357, the City of Paris’s administration has been located at the same location where the Hôtel de Ville stands today.
1533: King Francis I decided to endow the city with a city hall which would be worthy of Paris, then the largest city of Europe. Building work was not finished until 1628 during the reign of Louis XIII.
1835: on the initiative of Rambuteau, préfet of the Seine département, two wings were added to the main building and were linked to the facade by a gallery, to provide more space for the expanded city government.
1871: The Paris Commune chose the Hôtel de Ville as its headquarters, and as anti-Commune troops approached the building, Communards set fire to the Hotel destroying almost all extant public records from the French Revolutionary period. The blaze swallowed the building from the inside, leaving only an empty stone shell.
1873-1892: Reconstruction of the interior. Some 230 sculptors were commissioned to produce 338 individual figures of famous Parisians on each facade, along with lions and other sculptural features. Rodin produced the figure of the 18th-century mathematician Jean le Rond d’Alembert, finished in 1882
Open every day from 10am to 7pm (except Sundays and bank holidays)
Access:
Hôtel de Ville
Salle Saint-Jean, 5 rue de Lobau, Paris 4th arrondissement
Metro stop: Hôtel de Ville
Sleuthing along the Seine
25 Thursday Apr 2013
Posted in Paris Wanderings
Pont Alexandre III, Paris: where wedding and fashion photographers have a heydey, where pickpockets roam and lately, where thieves have removed two of the bridge’s historic bronze plaques that proclaim the name of the monument. An amazing feat to pull off under the watchful eye of the Paris gendarmes. Taken for the value of the metal or sold to collectors, no one knows. Un grande who-dun-it, oui?
The neo-bistros. Goodbye blanquette de veau
21 Sunday Apr 2013
Posted in Paris guide, Paris tips
Tags
Neo-bisros, new cooking Paris, No Worries Paris, paris bistros, Paris food, Paris gourmand, paris restaurants
Hello terrine de foie gras, chutney de coingns . . .huitres en tartare, bouillon cresson, wasabi-soja. . .cochon de lait, poires-celeri-chataignes . . .
souffle au Grand Marnier, caramel au beurre sale . . . andouillette tempura with perch sashimi and béarnaise sauce . . . crudo of scallop with sea urchin and horseradish snow.
Bistronomy is overshadowing classic haute cuisine and the new French gastronauts are totally embracing the movement. Seeking out these bistrots gourmands ain’t easy but for starters here’s a short list: Septime, 80, rue de Charonne in the 11th; La Maison du Jardin, 27, rue de Vaugirard, in the 6th; Le Bal Cafe (place de Clichy); Pramil, 9 rue du Vertbois in the 3rd; Le Galopin, 34 rue Sainte-Marthe in the 10th, Roseval in the 20th, Le Pantruche in the 9th; Frenchie, 5, rue du Nil, in the 2nd; Bistrotters, 9, rue Decres in the 14th; Restaurant Pierre Sang, 55 rue Oberkampf, in the 11th; and La Veraison 64 Rue de la Croix Nivert in the 15th.
Les assiettes hautes en couleurs, en textures et en saveurs all right. Toast the chef!
Paris wall art: inspiration from the late greats
17 Wednesday Apr 2013
Posted in Paris Wanderings
Tags
No Worries Paris, Paris art, Paris artists, Paris graffitti, paris photos, paris travel, Paris walking, Shakespeare & Co.
Something you won’t see in downtown Pasadena.
Lunch with the locals at Marche Des Enfants Rouge
13 Saturday Apr 2013
Posted in Paris Wanderings
Tags
3rd arrondissement, Marche des Enfants Rouges, No Worries Paris, Paris blogs, Paris food, paris markets, paris restaurants, Paris take-out
From the No Worries Paris guidebook (follow their walking map):
“Double-back to Rue de Bretagne and go left. Pass Ruelle Sourdis de Beauce.
With delectables to delight foodies and a small garden in support of today’s grow-where-you-live trend, Le Marche Enfants Rouge seems contemporary. But it is the oldest still-active food market in Paris, built in 1615 under Louis XIII. Its intriguing name derives from an orphanage from back then, where the children wore red uniforms.
Both fresh and prepared foods are sold in the enclosed market, which manages to fit in tables made cheery under light from a glass-and-wrought-iron ceiling. Organic produce and fresh flowers are worthy of a portrait. Standard French cheeses, crepes, seafood, and meats are balanced by a range of ethnic fare (Asian, Moroccan, Cajun, Italian). Locals hang here amid a convivial atmosphere, and the few tourists who wander in are welcomed.”
39 rue de Bretagne
75003 Paris
McDonald’s: gourmet sandwiche for only 4.50 euros
08 Monday Apr 2013
Posted in Paris guide, Paris tips
Tags
McDonald's Casse-Croute, McDonalds, No Worries Paris, Paris cheap food, Paris fast food, Paris foodies, paris restaurants
Something new on the menu here is sure to please those looking for a quick satiating meal a la McDonald’s. It’s the Casse-Croute (break-bread) and it comes with a medium soft drink for just four and a half euros. You’ve got three choices:
The Oriental is a sandwich consisting of a small baguette baked on stone, 2 potato pancakes, 2 specialty beef patties and Eastern seasoned sauce.
Chicken-Pepper is a sandwich consisting of a small baguette baked on stone, 2 potato pancakes, 2 crispy chicken patties and pepper sauce.
Mixte is a small baguette baked on stone, 2 potato patties, 2 slices of ham, 2 slices of Emmental cheese and cheese sauce.
How can you go wrong? Kind of a Subway sandwiche a la francaise. Only you can be the judge. To locate the McDonald’s closest to your apartment or hotel click here. This is not an advertisement, the suggestion is my own.
Repetto: the classic Parisian shoe
05 Friday Apr 2013
Posted in Paris tips
Repetto created her first pair of ballet slippers in 1947 on the advice of her son Roland Petit. Roland, a choreographer and dancer trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school was known for his creative dances. His wife was Zizi Jeanmarie also a dancer. Both are considered French national treasures.
The first boutique was at 22 rue de la Paix and frequented by the world’s prima ballerinas. Nowadays, the pointe shoes and ballerinas are still made using the famous ‘stitch and return’ method with the highest skill in Saint Medard d’Excideuil in the Dordogne. Prices start around $275. My favorite, the oxford Zizi in black runs around 190 euros.
The brand has grown with clients ranging from Brigitte Bardot to Kate Moss. You can choose between beautiful suede ballerina flats and classic leather loafers, all imbued with the label’s signature Parisian charm. Repettto shoes has partnered with Comme des Garcons, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, and Karl Lagerfeld and is now branching out into ready-to-wear. Of course inspired by dancer’s clothing and designed to move with lightness and grace.
Order them online at Net-A-Porter. There goes your shoe budget!
