Tag Archives: France

What do Madame de Sévigné, Victor Hugo, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, and Colette have in common?

03 Friday Feb 2017

Posted by in Paris photos, Paris sidetrips, Paris travel, Paris Walks, Paris Wandering

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Answer: they all lived here at Place Vosges, in my opinion, the prettiest square in Paris. It is ringed with 36 redbrick-and-stone houses—nine on each side, a salute to early urban planning. To love it is to know it’s history. Definitely a place to bring your sandwich (it’s okay to sit on the lawn), take in the sunshine and feel very far away from the traffic on nearby rue de Rivoli.

Four centuries ago this was the site of the Palais des Tournelles, home to King Henry II and Queen Catherine de Medici. The couple staged regular jousting tournaments, and Henry was fatally lanced in the eye during one of them in 1559. Catherine fled to the Louvre, abandoning her palace and ordered it destroyed. In 1612 the square became Place Royale on the occasion of Louis XIII’s engagement to Anne of Austria. Napoléon renamed it Place des Vosges to honor the northeast region of Vosges, the first in the country to pony up taxes to the Revolutionary government.

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Place des Vosges is structured around two pavilions, that of the Queen at the north part of the square, and that of the King at the south part both built deliberately higher. They are not open to the public; however, you can still visit the house of Victor Hugo, author of “Les Misérables”, which is now a municipal museum. It is free and open daily from 9am to 6pm every day except Monday. To preserve this unity, the place has been protected since the 1960s by the “plan for the preservation and enhancement of the Marais” and no intervention, especially on the façades, can be made without the architect’s agreement.

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Chic restaurants, boutiques and art galleries fill the arcade surrounding the park. A small private door, open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., will give you access to the garden of the stately Hotel de Sully, headquarters of the Center for National Monuments. Be sure to visit their well stocked bookstore. Unfortunately they don’t carry No Worries Paris, but you, of course, hopefully already purchased it before your trip to Paris. Place Vosges and all there is to do and see in the area starts on page 93 and is marked on the walking map.

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Hungry?  Here are some recommended restaurants

Au Bourguignon Du Marais, 52 Rue François Miron, 75004. Regional dishes from Burgundy.

La Tartine, 24 Rue de Rivoli, 75004

Chez Janou, 2 Rue Roger Verlomme, 75003

Les Cotelettes, Cafe Martini, Cafe Hugo

Soldes (Sales), 6 weeks of them

19 Thursday Jan 2017

Posted by in Paris Fashion Week, Paris guide, Paris photos, Paris shopping, Paris sidetrips, Paris tips, Paris travel, Paris Walks, Paris Wandering

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Paris’s “Winter Sales” began on January 11 and continue through February 21. It’s not just department stores that are having them. The big fashion houses are also in on the discount extravaganza and there are bargains to be had.

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The discounts are deep, 50 to 70% on selected items. Get there when the doors open, when everything is neatly piled and lines less long at the cash register. Some designers have to limit the number of shoppers in their department store boutiques. You’ll always see a queue of just-off-the-jetters who go for the big brand names.

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Values are waiting in the triangle d’or (Avenue Montaigne, Ave George V, and Rue Francois 1er),  where the finest Haute Couture shops in the world are located. The prestigious houses include: Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, Dolce e Gabbana, Max Mara, Christian LaCroix, Valentino, Prada, Ungaro, Joseph, Bonpoint, Jean Louis Scherrer, Gucci, Pucci, Loewe, Krizia, Bulgari, Calvin Klein, Nina Ricci, Ines de la Fressange, Donna Karan, Celine, Yves Saint Laurent (headquarters), Bulgari, S.F. Dupont, Porthault Linens, Caron, Hermes, Gianfranco Ferré, Givenchy,  Kenzo. Rochas, Courreges, and Balmain. Be prepared to have your purse searched before entering.

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Tired just reading the list? The Georges V (31, avenue George V) to the rescue with a time-out drink at Le Bar or light meal in the L’Orangerie restaurant. The staff are always gracious and welcoming; the flower arrangements will take your breath away. Sidenote: If you’re a guest, free flower arranging classes are offered by their world-renowned flower magician ($200 for non-guests); the staff offer guests  a special morning hour-long jog at 7:30 along the Seine, through the Tuileries (free, once a week), room rates start at $800 a night.

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At 50-70%, even the couture prices may well be beyond your means. Depot-vente (secondhand boutiques) present another choice. Dive into the piles for some amazing bargains all year round:

Mistigriff, 83-85, rue Saint-Charles  75015, https://www.mistigriff.fr 

Chercheminippes, 124 rue du Cherche-midi 75006, http://www.chercheminippes.com.

Didier Ludot,  24 Galerie Montpensier – Jardin du Palais Royal  75001     http://www.didierludot.fr

Kiliwatch, 64 Rue Tiquetonne, 75002 http://www.kiliwatch.fr

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No Waiting: Make a Paris dinner reservation online

03 Tuesday Jan 2017

Posted by in French food and wine, Paris guide, Paris nightlife, Paris tips, Paris Wanderings

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Not a new concept, but not everyone is aware that you can book ahead at certain restaurants all over the world. Paris is no exception and the options for each restaurant vary. A very slick service that has a very comprehensive list of establishments is thefork.com (lafourchette.com). They make it easy, just fill in the date and time you’d like to arrive.

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Il était un square, 54 Rue Corvisart, 75013 Paris

reservations: https://www.thefork.com/restaurant/il-etait-un-square/36296 or https://module.lafourchette.com/fr_FR/module/36296-5d91d/9283-1da?tracking_id=WGrn9QoQHHcAAKLPSckAAABP#/1042543/dhp

Lunch: de 12h à 15h (sauf dimanche)
Dinner : de 19h30 à 22h30 (sauf dimanche)

Charolaise beef, cooked or tartar, cheeseburger Montagnard, artisanal buns and original recipe small plates.bougn

Au Bougnat, 26, rue Chanoinesse 75004

reservations: http://aubougnat.com or http://aubougnat.com/reservation/

Wednesday – Sunday, 12h à 22h. Monday – Tuesday de 8h à 19h.  Located on the île de la Cité.

Bougnat’s burger is served on homemade bread.  Charolais beef, bacon & Cantal cheese, homemade fries
Panfried beef fillet (7oz), potato galette, foie gras sauce
Roast duckling fillet, sauted mushrooms
Sauteed tiger prawns with pesto sauce, creamy parmesan risotto

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Plaisir Gascon
16 Rue Grégoire de Tours 75006

reservations: http://plaisirgascon.com/reservations-plaisir-gascon.html

Small, cozy, intimate. Beef from Gascony is their specialty.  Superb croustade de pomme with more than a splash of Armagnac

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Boutary
25 Rue Mazarine 75006, metro: Odeon
reservations: https://module.lafourchette.com/fr_FR/module/200520-47ce4#/1337910/pdh

Puréed and smoked potatoes, seaweed butter, cream, caviar.
Crispy basmati rice with Comté , prawn kadaïf, Vermouth Carpano sauce.
Wild cod, seaweed butter & green peas, apricots, verbena-infused foam.
Rib-eye steak, home-made crisps, shiitaké powder, peppered cherry paste.

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Le Versance
16, rue Feydeau 75002
reservations: https://www.thefork.com/restaurant/le-versance/3388

Think lobster curry, calf’s sweetbreads and spiced pears. Elegant dining room.

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Le Christine
1, rue Christine 75006, 33 1 40 51 71 64
http://www.restaurantlechristine.com
reservations: http://www.restaurantlechristine.com/reservations/

Located between Saint-Michel and Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Excellent seasonal produce. Indulge in foie gras cooked au torchon [in a cloth], accompanied by delicious stewed red onions with grenadine or fillet of beef. Don’t miss the sweet notes of the tiramisu, a real treat!

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Bel Canto
72, quai de l’hôtel de ville 75004
http://www.lebelcanto.com/en/
reservations: http://www.lebelcanto.com/en/bel-canto-restaurants/booking-for-the-bel-canto-restaurant/

Opera is invited to your table at Le Bel Canto. Every evening, a quartet of young opera singers (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone), accompanied by piano, participates in the service of the restaurant by interpreting great arias of opera. The opportunity for you to have dinner with Verdi, Mozart, Puccini, Rossini… You’ll either hate it or you’ll love it.

Dinner & show, without drinks: 85 € fixed price.

Under the category named “cabaret”,  the Paris tourist office recommends the Bel Canto as one of the best live venues for a night out in Paris: a unique show combining opera and French haute cuisine.

The restaurant is located on the banks of the Seine in the 4th arrondissement. Magnificent view from the dining room of Notre-Dame la Seine, île Saint-Louis. Inside, the decor with warm red and gold colors, is dedicated to opera.

After all the eating and drinking you’ll be ready for a nice long walk: No Worries Paris, your best friend.

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French wine: how to read the label

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in French food and wine

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The highest quality designation is a Vins d’Appellation d’Origine Controlee or AOC wine, “Grand Cru”. Read the bottom of the label carefully. Labels will also indicate where the wine was bottled, whether it was bottled by a single producer, or more anonymously and in larger quantities. Just over half of the wines in France are AOC quality wines. Ninety-nine per cent of Bordeaux wines fall into this top category.

“Mis en bouteille au château, au domaine, à la propriété” have a similar meaning and indicate the wine was “estate bottled”, on the same property on which it was grown or at a cooperative (within the boundary of the appellation) of which that property is a member. When I’m in a hurry at the supermarche I always snatch bottles that have these words.

“Dans la région de production” indicates the wine was not bottled at the vineyard but by a larger business at its warehouse within the same winemaking region of France as the appellation. If a chateau or domaine is named, it may well not exist as a real vineyard, and the wine may be an assemblage from the grapes or the wines of several producers.

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“Dans nos chais, dans nos caves”: the wine was bottled by the business named on the label.

“Vigneron indépendant” is a special mark adopted by some independent wine-makers to distinguish them from larger corporate winemaking operations and symbolize a return to the basics of the craft of wine-making. Bottles from these independent makers carry a special logo usually printed on the foil cap covering the cork.

Vin de Pays is country wine and focuses on geographical origin. Introduced in the 1970s, by the year 2000 there were more than 150 individual VDP titles, covering about a quarter of French wine production.

Vin de France replaced the outdated Vin de Table category in 2010, but remains the most basic quality tier for French wine. It’s the least regulated (and least used) of the three categories. These wines can be made from grapes grown anywhere in France and their labels do not mention a specific region of origin.

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If you’re looking for advice, head for these wine shops and enjoy recommendations from their staff. Santé!

Legrand Filles et Fils
1 Rue de la Banque, 75002
+33 1 42 60 07 12
http://www.caves-legrand.com

La dernière Goutte
6 Rue de Bourbon le Château, 75006
http://www.ladernieregoutte.net/vins/index-swf.php

Les Caves Augé
116 Boulevard Haussmann, 75008
+33 1 45 22 16 97
http://www.cavesauge.com

Lavinia
3-5 Boulevard de la Madeleine, 75001
+33 1 42 97 20 20
http://www.lavinia.fr

Pere Lachaise Cemetery: haunting images

14 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in Paris guide, Paris photos, Paris tips, Paris Wanderings

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Don’t be afraid to wander off the wide cobbled paths to discover historical curiosities and tidbits of wisdom.

And alien tears will fill for him
Pity’s long-broken urn,
For his mourners will be outcast men,
And outcasts always mourn. — Oscar Wilde (engraved on his tomb)

16 Rue du Repos
75020 Paris
metro: Ménilmontant

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Finding the way in Paris? No Worries.

29 Saturday Dec 2012

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….1615. Its nearly 60 acres are adorned with a forest of leafy trees, some 80 statues, two fountains, tennis and boules courts, and the largest playground in Paris (French kids play loud and rough). The focus of this grand space is the Grand Bassin, a pond encircled by chairs, the surface of which normally floats a fleet of toy sailboats. Palais du Luxembourg, with its weighty Tuscan columns, lords over north end gardens. Designed by the queen in the style of the Pitti Palace of her native Florence, the building has housed the French Senate for two centuries. The palace became a Nazi headquarters during WWII.

From the fountain, curve right around the balustrade above the pond and continue through the park to exit on west side at Rue de Fleurus.

… This swing through the gardens to the west gate follows the path of Hemingway after his divorce from Hadley in 1926, when, drunk and tearful, he pushed her possessions in a wheelbarrow to her new residence at 35 rue de Fleurus. At #27 on the same street is the home of Gertrude Stein from 1903 to 1938. This is where Matisse met Picasso, and artists from all walks of life considered themselves lucky to come and enjoy the converstation and perhaps enjoy a hash brownie baked by Alice B. Toklas.”

For more, consult page 55 and 56 in your copy of Paris’s best new photographic guide, No Worrries Paris.

Parisian window dressing

06 Saturday Oct 2012

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From the pages of No Worries Paris: a photographic walking guide:

“Beginning as a medieval dirt road from Paris to the village of Roule, Rue du Faubourg-St. Honore became fashionable early, under reign of Louis IV. Today it is the prime address for high-end fashion designers. You’ll find elegant hotels, embassies, state residences, and a who’s who in the world of fashion lining both sides of the street. Look for Versace, Saint Laurent, Guy Laroche, Cardin, Dior, Cartier, Hermes, Chanel, Prada, Lancôme, Ungaro, Valentino, Ferregamo, Givenchy, and newcomers who are making it big.

Walk up Rue du Faubourg-St. HHonore, pick a turn-around, and double back to Rue Royale.

Along Faubourg-St. Honore, look for House of Lanvin at #22, which was set up by Jeanne Lanvin in 1890, an early benchmark in haute couture elegance. Hermes is at #24, worth a look to see the saddles that were an early trademark. At #29 is a former residence of Coco Chanel in 1925, where she kept an extra room for buddy Pablo Picasso.

The British Embassy is located at #35, the birthplace of author Somerset Maugham, giving him an early start on a globetrotting career. The armed police you may see outside #55 are guarding the French President, who sometimes resides at the huge grounds of the Palais de l’Elysee. Farther down at #118 is where Pierre Cardin worked for Christian Dior in the 1950s, before launching an empire of stores in 100 countries—a move that became the trend among haute couture houses.”

Painting Paris: the Luxembourg Gardens

28 Friday Sep 2012

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The best season of all: fall. This cafe, a favorite. One of the stops in your No Worries Paris guidebook.

Ritzy Place Vendome

25 Tuesday Sep 2012

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The aroma of perfumed money wafts the 300-yard expanse of cobblestones at Place Vendome, among the most chi-chi and mighty of Parisian addresses since it was laid out in 1702. But this square of uniformly arcaded facades has not lacked turmoil. An equestrian statue of Louis XIV was torn down after the monarchy fell. A statue of the emperor atop Colonne Napoleon was toppled in 1871, when Napoleon III was living out the last 20 years of his life in seclusion on the upper level of #26. The current 144-foot-high bronze column, which rises in a spiral of friezes, was modeled after Rome’s Trajan and was made from 1,200 enemy cannons that were captured at the Battle of Austerlitz.

The most illustrious landmark on Place Vendome is the hotel at #15, opened in 1898 by Cesar Ritz. Poet Andre Farque observed some 20 years later, “And what do rich girls dream about? And what is Paris? The Ritz.” Coco Chanel lived here at the time of her death, F. Scott and Zelda raved of the private baths, and Hemingway held down a stool so often he got the bar named after himself. Fred Astaire preferred Hotel Vendome during visits in the late 1930s. J. P. Morgan roughed it at Hotel Bristol during his stays, around 1910. Composer Chopin’s death bed in 1849 was at his residence at #12. Residing currently on the place are Dior, Chanel, DeBeers, Cartier and other purveyors of keepsake bling.

Paris metro: going underground

18 Tuesday Sep 2012

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On June 26, 2012, it was announced that the Paris Métro would get Wi-Fi coverage in most stations. Access provided is free to users. Check the RATP site for how and where to buy your tickets.