39Vaugirard

In chats with friends in Paris, everyone echoed the same prediction of a 50% affected rate for Swine flu in the upcoming flu season. In our family, we are thinking we will all be sick by the time the season is over. That said, there are things you can do to help avoid the flu, like obsessively washing your hands, trying not to touch your face, and avoiding close contact with strangers and friends, such as the ever-present “bise.” The cultural consideration and effects are severe:

PARIS — It’s a ubiquitous French tradition, as familiar as a baguette or an espresso at the neighborhood cafe. Now, “la bise,” the cheek-to-cheek peck that the French use to say hello or goodbye, has come under pressure from a globalized threat: swine flu.
Some French schools, companies and a Health Ministry hotline are telling students and employees to avoid the social ritual out of fear the pandemic could make it the kiss of death, or at least illness, as winter approaches.

[From The Associated Press: Amid swine flu France kissing goodbye to 'la bise']

When I worked in France, we’d give the bise every day to every co-worker of the opposite sex, as well as a quick handshake to everyone we saw. It’s hard to imagine this tradition stopping in France, but the flu has everyone freaked out.

The New York Times ran a story the other day (Swine Flu Upsets Rituals of Greeting) as well on relative risk levels of different contact, and the bise, or even Hollywood-style air kiss was right at the top, so look for less kissing and touching in the months to come as we all suffer through the season.

With all the other strange politics going on, all we need is one more reason to suspect and avoid each other.

Our friend Patrick Mikla always surprises us with ‘inside’ discoveries of Paris and France. From the time we met him some 15 year ago, I can remember each and every one of our adventures. The latest is France Miniature.

He took the day off and took us Élancourt, a town about an hour drive outside of Paris, where this miniature park attraction featuring scale models of major French landmarks and monuments is located in an outdoor park. It’s absolutely delightful, for both adults and children. For architecture and history buffs like my husband and me, the park has about 160 scale models of major French monuments and landmarks. Many of the models are animated and all of the country’s best known landmarks are represented (Lourdes, Eiffel Tower, Dungeons, etc). We reminisced about many of our trips to certain regions of France as well as discussed monuments and churches that we had never heard of.

For our daughter and and our son, the system of model trains that runs through the park kept them consistently delighted, and the animated boats and planes over the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean were very amusing. Half way through the park, there is even an old fashion amusement park/respite and a restaurant, where the kids and parents can go on slides and the parents can take in a nice tea.

This dressing your age thing is tricky, for myself and for my daughter.

My daughter, who is nine, has grown too old for the ‘kids’ clothes at Du Pareil au Meme, Jacadi, or BonPoint, but still too young to wear truly teen age fashion. One thing is for sure, her feet has grown so much that she must wear Women’s size shoes, and she will soon surpass even my shoe size, much to her chagrin. We have found few solutions. Zara Kids have great selection of clothes for kids, 5-14 age. There is one in the Marché St. Germain. Great sweaters, tops, dresses, tout au courant. There is even a ‘fur’ gilet that looked great on her, but she demurely declined. There is a great collection for boys as well, though it’s a little too rock and roll for our 5 year old son. Another find is Zef on rue des Saint Péres, 6éme. Their style is very French, vs Zara which seems more Barcelona/Spanish, reflecting their provenance. And bien sur, there is always GapKids for my daughter’s collection of jeans, flare, boot cut, skinny legs, et cetra.

Then, there is me, une autre femme d’un certain age. My girlfriends and I bemoan finding clothes and wearable pieces that are still youthful in style but accommodates our changing bodies and need for well made fabrication. Every time I do come to Paris, I do visit these few boutiques in the neighborhood, where I manage to find one great new piece that I love and that adds to my wardrobe. I long learned that it’s better to get that one unusual deep blue velvet tuxedo jacket to wear over my jeans then more basic stuff. I highly recommend Samantha, on Rue de Rennes. It’s a small boutique but highly curated. Another one is Suite 114 rue du Bac, where you feel like you’re entering someone’s private loft, filled with artsy photo, beautiful interior and a stunning collection of local Parisian designers.

Another one that I would recommend is Tara Jarmon. A Canadian-French designer who now has stores in most cities. Nice pants and jackets for work and interesting dresses for night out. She has stores in 6éme and on the Champs Élysées.

My husband and I were just talking about ‘terroir,’ and why is it that we feel healthier, and more connected to the earth, when we’re in France, even though it seems we eat more cream, cheese, and desserts when we are here. Roger Cohen encapsulated my thoughts more perfectly, ‘TIme bows at the altar of gastronomy in France. In the U.S., time is the altar.’

From Op-Ed Columnist – Advantage France – NYTimes.com]

If I had prizes, I’d give them away, but this quiz has more to do with smug self-satisfaction.

Extra points if you know what words the letters say.

What a find. Our friends Jean-Jacques and Jane, my husband and I had a dinner out at Chez Michel, in the 10th arrondisement. Cuisine is Breton, and the atmosphere breezy. According to our discriminating friend Jean-Jacques, Chez Michel is one of the top 10 traditional bistros in Paris, and indeed, I think it lives up to its status. My fish on top of ratatouille was delicious, and the entrée course of salade, with sprigs of Breton seaweed that tasted more like dill was very intriguing. Their dessert specialité is Paris-Brest, a classic cream filled choux pastry.

10 rue de Belzunce, 75010 Paris (00 33 1 44 53 06 20

Our friend Pierre surprised us by inviting us for a Sunday brunch at Kong. Our daughter was delighted with the manga-inspired witty decor of Philippe Starck. We were wowed by the panoramic skyline views. Food was nice enough but definitely an ‘inside’ experience, especially its kooky, disco-ball-and-kid-sumo-adorned bathrooms. Apparently, It was featured as a chic eatery in Sex and the City.

1 rue de Pont Neuf, Paris, 75001. +33 01 40 390 900.

We always see our friend/proprietor Sophie Clavié and her gracious husband Philippe when we’re in Paris. Her neighborhood bistro is Closerie des Lilas, the world famous magnet for the avant-garde for generations. Their book shows all those who have passed through the place, from Bernard Kouchner, Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Ingres, Henry James, and even Sarah Jessica Parker! I often think how can a restaurant that has been around since the 1850’s still live up to its reputation? That’s what is amazing about France. We sat outdoors in the ‘garden of the lilies’ and had a perfect lunch in the late August cooling sunlight. There was this entrée, Tarte du Soleil. It was a summer tart, with puréed artichoke spread on top with three pieces of perfectly grilled Sardines, on a thin line of balsamic vinegar. It was the perfect summer meal. La Closerie des Lilas, 171 Bld du Montparnasses 75006 +33 1 40 51 34 50/

Funny. I can’t imagine the fact that stores are closed on Sunday to be a reason not to stay an extra day in Paris, but I guess some people must be shopping all the time. As a student, I resented the Sunday closings because it just meant so much more to pack into a Saturday, but now I treasure the idea of one day where everyone is forced to really take the day off. No “Honey-do” lists, no grocery shopping, and less stuff to fill the void in our souls, but rather a long day of family meals and walks in the park. TV, of course has ruined some of that nothing-to-do feeling already, but it’s more than a bit sad to see the French put one more nail in the coffin of true leisure, which many of us has felt was at the very core of spending time in Europe.

Paris is counting on American tourists — and a new law allowing more stores to open on Sundays — to boost tourism revenues pinched by the global financial downturn.

The French capital registered an 11.1-percent drop in foreign visitors in the first half of this year compared with the first half of 2008, according to figures released Wednesday by the Paris Tourism Office.

The number of Americans in Paris — long the largest contingent of foreigners here — dived last year because of U.S. economic woes and the expensive euro. But it started to pick up again, by 1.1 percent, in the second quarter of this year, the tourism office said.

[From The Associated Press: Paris hopes Americans boost flagging tourism]

Alas, again, it’s the Americans’ fault and hopes that we’ll come here in greater numbers for the shopping.

Two ladies in Camelot.…. Who knew… Just read in the Vanity Fair article of how the 1963 American exhibition of the Mona Lisa in New York City and Washington, D.C., was America’s first blockbuster art show. The writer Davids recounts in numbing detail the negotiations, preparations, flummoxes and successes of the exhibit. The exhibition was masterminded by the diplomatically savvy Mrs. Kennedy, whose personal relationships with French cultural minister André Malraux and National Gallery director John Walker overcame negative French press and concerns over subjecting a fragile artwork to a transatlantic journey. Heavily guarded and packed in a custom strong box, the Mona Lisa traveled in a first-class cabin on the USS France. Imagine…