Archive for August, 2009
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009
Chocolatiers Abound
Two more chocolatiers opened in the neighborhood, giving competition to Pierre Hérme. Patrick Roger, voted the best chocolatier in 2000, seems to be guided by the seasons and his whimsies, as my daughter Hadley and I saw the largest 6′ chocolate pencils to commemorate the start of the school. Down the street, on rue de [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Apartment - 39 rue de Vaugirard - short term rental,Apartment neighborhood,Food,Travel with Kids by Jasmine
Saturday, August 22nd, 2009
France, land of bad French food?
I can’t tell you how relieved I was when Steinberger’s recent book, “Au Revoir to All That: Food, Wine, and the End of France” (Bloomsbury USA), came across my desk not long after we got back from Paris. … Maybe we were just old and out of it. ad_icon Even if all those things are a little bit true, reading Steinberger, a wine columnist for Slate magazine (which is owned by the Washington Post Co.) and admitted “food-loving Francophile,” reassured me.
… We’ll be in Paris on Monday and we have plenty of old standards to go to (some not as good as they used to be), but I’m glad that we don’t have to try to find places to eat “au pif.”
No Comments » - Posted in Books,Books on France,Food,Restaurants by Paul
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
Other off-the-beaten track tour ideas
This article is worth a look if you’ve already “done it all” and are looking for new ways to see parts of Paris you feel you’re missing. You’ve posed for a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower, checked out the Mona Lisa at the Louvre and walked to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. If you think you’ve done it all in Paris, don’t worry, there are plenty of off-the-beaten-path adventures for your return. Away from landmarks, tourist crowds and flashing cameras, a few guides will take you on unusual tours behind the scenes, literally, in a movie tour, or to discover artists’ havens in Belleville, fountains of famous gardens and eco-friendly initiatives around town.
No Comments » - Posted in Tours and visites by Paul
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
Heat wave in Paris – temperatures in France up 104 degrees (40 C)
We leave on Sunday for Paris, so I’m hoping we’ll be cruising into Fall weather by then. It’s slightly cooler in Paris, but pretty unbearable in a city with almost no air conditioning. In Paris, where temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday, crowds kept cool by splashing and relaxing in the Trocadero fountains near the Eiffel Tower.
No Comments » - Posted in Travel by Paul
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009
A few new (and old) recommendations
Friends are just back from Paris and here are their quick recommendations and (very) short comments: Lots of Amarino ice cream (they keep opening new locations beyond Rue du Buci)
… La Petite Cour for dinner (8, rue Mabillon 6th) — we really like this one too We, including and especially the kids, LOVE Amarino ice cream, but eschew the rue de Buci location for other less touristy spots because the lines go down the block. … We love the decor, which allows us to bask in a fantasy that we are a truly bilingual French-American editor at Gallimard having yet another intellectual tête-a-tête with the real denizens of the 6th.
No Comments » - Posted in Apartment neighborhood,Restaurants by Paul
Sunday, August 9th, 2009
Budget eating in Paris from The Boston Globe
Delightfully local in Paris On a no-frills budget? Drop the tourist routine and savor the City of Light’s simpler luxuries [From On a budget? Live like a local in Paris - The Boston Globe ]
No Comments » - Posted in Budget and cheap by Paul
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009
Yet another review of Le Comptoir du Relais
This writer does have one thing right though: it’s impossible to get a table at lunch, and worse at dinner. … Luckily for the disorganised amongst us (myself included) no booking is required at lunch and during August this policy extends to dinner. Time your arrival correctly (think just before 12.30 or just after 1.30 for lunch) and you are likely to only have to wait a couple of minutes for a table.
No Comments » - Posted in Restaurants by Paul
Monday, August 3rd, 2009
5 Off-beat Museums in Paris
Some days we don’t leave the apartment at all, bathing in the Buddhistic calm that comes with knowing that it’s all outside the door if were just to open that door. … Here are five museums (including one X-rated) that we haven’t been to, but will add to our “maybe today” list when we inevitably have to leave the apartment for coffee and orange juice at some point. … Address : 4, rue de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève 75005 Opening Times : 09:00 – 17:00 Monday to Friday, Saturday: 10:00 – 17:00; Closed on Sundays Price: Free Website: http://www.prefecture-police-paris.interieur.gouv.fr/connaitre/musee/musee.htm 4.
