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Why is Paris Burning?
That is a question the New Hope Journal will explore in an essay in the December Issue, "Paris Reviews Part II: The Roots of Revolt". For now just enjoy this Post Card from Paris forwarded to the blog by Deborah Gaddy.
Easter's long gone…but the French celebration
of all things chocolat never ends.
Chocolat
International Living Postcards--your daily escape
http://www.internationalliving.com
Friday, Nov. 4, 2005
Paris, France
Dear International Living Reader,
When I was a little girl, I'd accompany my dad to the corner gas station on Saturdays, ostensibly to fill up the tank. But a run for fuel was our secret code for a chocolate break, which Mom didn't endorse. We'd share a bag of peanut M&Ms, the taste of our favorite candy only surpassed by the pleasure of feigning innocence afterward at home. (My mother, of course, knew all along.)
But when I moved to Paris, what was once an illicit pleasure became a part of daily life. Doctors, friends…everyone was telling me I should eat more chocolate. You need those anti-oxidants, they said. Eat at least one square of dark chocolate after dinner--it's good for digestion.
Righty-o.
Like so many things, the French take their chocolate very seriously. At the annual Salon du Chocolat, held last week, you can watch a chocolate fashion show, visit a chocolate art gallery, learn about free-trade chocolate, sign up for chocolate-making school, and, most crucially, eat fistfuls of the stuff. Recipe demonstrations feature the Dom Perignon of chocolate, Valrhona; you can learn to make chocolate soup…and other more traditional desserts.
When I crave chocolate, I head to Pause Détente (98 avenue Ledru Rollin, 75011 Paris, Métro: Ledru Rollin), a charming chocolate shop that serves tea and pastries at a few tiny tables clustered inside. I like the chocolate-dipped oranges…or on a totally different note, the lemon tart, the best I've found so far in Paris.
Amber Garrison
For International Living in Paris
Voici quelques verbes and des phrases qui seraient à propos de temps en temps. Évidemment, je suis encore au commencement du livre, mais la liste s’accroîtra. Comment dit-on “mofo” en francais?
agacer – to annoy; s’agacer – to be annoyed, as in “Tu m’agaces!” (You’re getting on my nerves!)
acheter comptant – to buy in cash ; acheter à crédit – to buy on credit
avoir une faim de loup – to be starving
la carte d’accès à bord – airline boarding pass. J’espère que Camen nous instruira au sujet de transportation, et aussi de jazz, de fromage, et de vin. Est-ce-que nôtres téléphones cellulaires fonctionneraient en France?
Chacun peut chercher les mots culinaires pour leurs aliments preferées, comme “l’aubergine” (eggplant), “la cannelle” (cinnamon), té naturel (sans sucre ou citron), et “oeufs à la neige” (poached meringues in vanilla custard sauce). J’ai maintenant une faim de loup. Je prévois beaucoup d’occasions pour utiliser cette phrase.
À bientôt,
Elaine
August 17, 2005 (CH)
Open letter from Camen to the family:
As we begin planning the mother of all family trips I find myself
excited like a little kid getting ready for camp. Camp Paris. Camp Provence.
Camp Vin et Café. Camp I Can't Wait to Be in Another Country, One That
Shares My Love of Culture, History, and Cheese.
I am reminded of why I always used to say I got up in the morning and went to work. Not because I loved it. Not because I found it stimulating in the least. Certainly not because I wanted to or had nothing better to do. But so I could have the money to do what I loved - travel. I got inspired talking to Jessica one night. The conversation was centered around how she was going to have to get her shit together so she could even think about affording it. We decided she should put $5 a shift into a jar and by the time May rolled around, she would be set. All we need to be able to afford, after all, is a pillow, some wine and some bread.
As I read my already page-worn copy of Let'sGo Paris, highlighter
(borrowed from work) in hand I have visions of beautiful, quiet gardens and sunny cafes dancing in my head. Having already seen many of the "Must-see Parisian landmarks" I look forward to spending time in small, out of the way bookshops, sipping my noisette in a café while watching the rain fall (as it will surely do most of the time we are there) and strolling through the open air markets.
If I have any memory of Paris at all it is of the gray, cool, drizzly,
impossibly sophisticated, yet surprisingly friendly village I
experienced in high school. Ridiculously shy about speaking the language we had been learning for a year - the other geeky guy from my class who managed to beg, scrape, and borrow the money for what seemed like the trip of a lifetime - and I, sat in a little café after devouring what I still remember as the best pizza I have ever had (all misshapen and crusty), counting our foreign change and desperately trying to figure out if tip was included in the bill or not. An elderly little couple sitting next to us saw us struggling with our phrase books, practicing how to say to the waiter, "Est-ce que le service compris?" Or something equally ridiculous. The couple laughed kindly and in English told us it was already included and not to worry about it. We felt eternally grateful and from that day on I have always defended the French when someone stereotypes them as rude.
So what excites me today is that I am lucky enough to get to have a
completely new cultural experience, not with some geeky guy from my class- that were I not completely alone in a foreign country, barely knowing how to ask, "Ou est le WC?", would ever have been caught dead with, but with my favorite people in the whole world - ma famillie.
So to my family - I pledge to make this the trip of a lifetime. No one
will have to go to a smokey jazz club if they don't want to. No one
will have to catalogue every single species and sub-species of plant found
in the Jardin de Luxembourg if they don't want to (sorry mom!) No one will have to pay 10 euros to get into the Musee Rodin (I've been doing my homework - we can sneak in the back garden for a pittance and still see The Thinker and skip the rest of the museum!) or 5 euros on some escargot if they their daily allowance has already been allotted for the Musee Picasso or simply on a glass of wine in a café or on a baguette with butter for a pique-nique on the bridge Pont des Artes. Despite the fact that we are traveling as a family, everyone is going to get to experience France with their own cultural vision.
And I haven't even started thinking about Provence yet. Mom, I can't
wait to hear what you have found for us to discover. But without
hesitation I embrace the idea of a few relaxing days, walking (or sludging - not to be negative but yes, ok, I'm pessimistic about the precipitation levels in this country) through fields of lavender and chatting with the proprietors of some little vineyard or of the little country home where we stay. I want to breathe the air of a new land. It will do me good. It will do us all good. So not a single one of you better think about weaseling out of this trip. Let's do this with no fear. Because we have each other. And that's really all we need.
Je t'aime.
Camen
August 16, 2005 (CH)
Bonsoir, ma pere. Pour le blog de Paris, je soumis Camen's liste de
"top 10" les choses a faire au Paris. I've been reading up on Paris and
have listed here some places I want to check out. You should try and
look them up. Or I can send the descriptions later. (Je suis desolee mais
il n'y a pas signe de pontuation.)
1. Faire une promenade dans le rue Mouffetard et place de la
Contrascarpe (5eme arr.)
2. Ecoute la music jazz dans le Cafe Universel (6eme arr.)
3. Faire une ballon a air chaud (seulement 12 euros!) dans un parc
Andre Citroen (15eme arr.)
4. Boire sangria et discutes sujets philisophique et politique dans le
10 Bar (6eme arr.)
5. Visite L'Entrepot (14eme arr.) pour la musique jazz, le cinema, et
le galerie d'art tout assembler
6. Marcher dans le marche aux Puces (Puces de St.-Ouen) pour toutes
sortes de bastringue (nord du 18eme arr.)
7. Aller faire des courses a Shakespeare & Co. (5eme arr.)
8. Avoir un piqie-nique dans le Jardin du Luxembourg (6eme arr.)
9. Aller faire des courses pour le vetements vintage dans Vertiges
(3eme arr.)
10. Savourer un cafe dans les trouqets au le Marais (3eme arr.)
11. S'enivrer dans beaucoup de vin dans La Belle Hortense (4eme arr.)
ou Le Baron Rouge (12eme arr.)
Un website tres pratique est www.wordreference.com. Essayez-le!
Mots de sagesse pour nos voyage:
Que bois-tu? (What are you drinking?)
Que je suis bête! (What a fool am I!)
Allons-y! Sans Peur!
Camen
August 8, 2005 (lld)
How much French should we be able to speak?
From Travel Tips on the website, www.beyond.fr that Elaine describes below in her August 3 entry.
Our advise here is: visibly making an effort to speak the language is much more important than your actual ability. A person with some ability but who is afraid to use it (because they are embarrassed to speak badly) is often perceived as arrogant, while a person who fumbles through a phrase book and butchers the language is often perceived as trying (they may laugh at you, but they will then help you).
There are, of course, the exceptional rude persons anywhere. France is actually famous for them, but that's more for the quality of the rudeness rather than the frequency.
To actually answer the question, you'll be able to use English in the larger towns, especially in the stores and shops. Hotels and restaurants are usually multilingual, and even in the villages hotel and restaurant staff can scrape up enough English when necessary. Again, you'll get better help with understanding your English if you try a bit of French first.
August 8, 2005 (djg)
(Deborah belongs to an organization for people who might want to retire in a foreign country. The following is an email newsletter she subscribes to called Post Cards from Paris. lld)
From: International Living <webeditor@internationalliving.com>
>To: djgaddy@hotmail.com
>Subject: IL Postcards - A New Magic Word
>Date: Mon, 08 Aug 2005 07:30:00 -0400
>
>A New Magic Word
>
>Monday, August 8, 2005
>
>Dear International Living Reader,
>
>Knowing how to say please--s'il vous plaît--is the bare minimum when it comes to
>communicating with the French. And excusez-moi de vous déranger, the apologetic
>phrase Polly Platt advocates in her cultural classic French or Foe, helps your chances even
>more.
But recently I realized there's a third thing that may convince a testy bureaucrat--or any
>other contrary French person--to bend the rules in your favor and still save face. What is
>it? Just a word: exceptionellement. Use it properly to ask someone to make an exception
>for you, and 9 times out of 10, they'll oblige.
>
>A friend and I remembered the magic of this word a few weeks ago while strolling
>around the Marais on a sunny Sunday afternoon--we looked in vain for a place to sit and
>drink, but every terrace was bourré de monde. Finally, my friend thought of the café in
>the garden of the Picasso museum, a lovely oasis with just a few tables and inexpensive
>drinks. Yet entrance to the café requires paid entrance to the museum, and we didn't want
>to spend such a beautiful day indoors.
>
>So we explained to the guard collecting tickets, as charmingly as two women can, that all
>we wanted to do was enjoy sunshine and coffee in the garden. Of course, we said, we
>understand that normally the café is open only for museum visitors. Naturally this isn't
>something the museum staff can permit on a regular basis. But would it be possible, just
>this once, exceptionellement, to let us go outside anyway?
>
>There was an interminable pause as the guard assessed us in light of the rules he'd been
>told to follow to the letter. Finally, his eyes crinkled around the edges. Ok, he said, as
>long as you understand that what I'm doing is exceptionel and just for you. We smiled.
>We'd said the magic word and gotten exactly what we wanted--and he'd had the pleasure
>of doing us a favor while still maintaining the dignity of his position. All three of us knew
>the secret.
>
>And now you do too.
>
>Amber Garrison
>For International Living's Postcards From Paris
>
>Terms to note:
>* excusez-moi de vous déranger (ex-kew-zay mwah duh voo dey-rawn-zhay):
>excuse me for bothering you
>* exceptionellement (ex-sep-sion-ell-mawn): exceptionally, just this once
>* bourré de monde (boo-ray duh mawnd): full of people (slang)
>
>
>
>Editor’s Note: If you would like to receive more postcards about Paris--like this one--sign up for
>Postcards From Paris, the newest International Living e-letter. Each day, our editors in this city
>will send you a picture postcard...and a few lines to remind you of the best of la vie parisienne.
>No tourist fare here. New restaurants...the best restaurants...the ones even your French friends
>may never have heard of. The best food, the best wine, the best sights...tips on savoring all this
>city has to offer...the best of the world's best city...the best time of your life. And, best of all, it's
>free. Sign up here today. http://www.agoraimages.com/opt/pfp/
Deborah
August 3, 2005 (ed)
Add this one to our growing collection. www.beyond.fr It has great info on roads, driving, markets, a food dictionary, and even some info on vegetarian eating.
Here’s a couple more sites: Discoverfrance.net has a good history of Provence and some literary references.
Web-provence.com has some wonderful photos as well as other web addresses to check out
And my latest favorite: aboutprovence.com has a newsletter you can subscribe to. It seems to be from an American who married a Frenchman and they live in a small community in Provence. The web site offers a French word of the week with examples of how it is used and photos. Seems like a very personable and useful site. Bonsoir,
ed
August 1, 2005 (lld)
Checking on car rentals from Paris to Provence I found that Avis will rent a car in the Gare de Lyon the same train station we would likely take the train from if we stayed on the left bank. The car would be a 7 seat Grand Renault Scenic or Opel Zafira with AC 351 Euros for a Monday to a Friday, tax included, unlimited mileage. That is about $421. full collision and theft etc is another $10 a day. Plus personal accident insurance is $6. So that is about $500 for 5 days. For 3 days it would be about $350. Plus Gas of course. That is about what it would cost in the US.
If you go to www.voyages-sncf.com you find the train schedule from Paris to the south of France. You can only get a quote for up to two months in advance but the prices vary widely and all sorts of last minute discounts seem to apply. The prices range from around $100 round trip per person to $200 round trip per person. There also seem to be discounts for Seniors and students If 7 of us were traveling on say the 3 day trip. The car would seem to be the cheaper way. And we could stop along the way if we wanted to. On the other hand if we could get the bargain tickets at @ $100 or less It would be a care free trip. La nourriture pour la pensee.
Dad
August 1, 2005 (eed)
I’ve been checking out accommodations in Provence. You have to look up the web site for “provenceweb”. It lists just about everything you need. And some of the accommodations are incredible. If my calculations are correct for converting dollars to euros, we can get a little farmhouse or small villa, with pool, for $500-$800 per week, to accommodate 6-8 people and most have full kitchens and several baths. Some are more expensive, but there are so many in our price range we should be able to get something. I only checked in a couple of “departments”, somewhat similar to counties, but I got so excited I had to quit. If we can get a time and itinerary set up, I don’t know how far in advance we need to make reservations, but probably the sooner the better. Let me know what you guys think.
Elaine
July 29, 2005 (lld)
What to wear in Paris
From Cheap Sleeps in Paris by Sandra Gustafson, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1998.
One of the favorite pastimes of Parisians and their expatriot friends is to sit in a café along a busy boulevard and pick out the tourists. You can spot them a mile away, in their summer tank tops and shorts, and bundled up in parkas in the winter, as if the ski slopes were just around the corner. Of course they are all wearing jogging shoes and the men have baseball caps.
Parisians are some of the most stylish people on earth. They are also some of the most conservative in their dress. Yes, you will never see short shorts on any well-groomed Parisian man or woman. Big-city clothes are the call of the day, no matter what the weather may be. Jeans are universal and certainly acceptable for sightseeing and casual dining. However, they are not considered in vogue at more expensive restaurants or if you are invited to someone’s home. Men will feel comfortable wearing slacks and a nice shirt or turtleneck and a jacket if it’s cool. Women will feel best in simple, well-tailored outfit. Gauzy, lime-green jumpsuits with sequined Eiffel Tower T-shirts, along with jogging shoes for every occasion, spell tourist.
Dad
July 22, 2005, lld
Been in the woods working on my cabin. Reading travel books on Paris and Provence at night. Did I say “cabin”? Here is the definition in my Collins French/English dictionary of the word “salon” (which I looked up when I was trying to understand French hotel lingo for what I thought might be a lobby sitting area). I quote: “Salon, nm. [noun, masculine], drawing room, saloon, cabin.”
Interressant, n’est pas?
The Port Royale in the 5th arrondissement, written up in Elle magazine in 2002, was the basis for my search for the meaning of “salon.” www.hotelportroyal.fr. Good place to practice your French. Their website has no English. Rooms range from 50 to 90 Euros. And they are in the Latin Quarter. The Latin Quarter is called the Latin Quarter, BTW (Jessicaese for By The Way), because the Sorbonne and the College de France are there; and when the early colleges started out, all the students spoke Latin in school and in the neighborhoods around the colleges instead of vernacular French or Provencal.
Speaking of hotel prices, I finally was able to establish from the Dorling/Kindersley book on Paris (albeit an old edition) that Hotels are required by law to include tax and tips in the quoted price of the room. That’s the good news. The bad news is that what seems like a helpful listing of the price of breakfast (not included in the advertised price of the room as it is in American hotels) is actually an add on surcharge of 8 to 10 euros per person whether you eat the breakfast or not. So travel books advise that you negotiate this when you secure the room. Some hotels will allow you to decline the breakfast charge at the time of booking, others will not.) Speaking of negotiations, it appears to me that the best way to start talking to hotels in Paris is by fax. An otherwise old fashioned system, in this case of the language barrier it allows for one to work at a decent French inquiry and then call up everybody you know who speaks French to help you parse the meaning of the hotel's response.
Back to work on my “salon”, er, “cabin,” in the morning. I’ll check my email again the first of next week. Jump into the blog anytime mon amis. It is lonely out here. [Note: to jump into the blog send me an email labeled parisblog and I will post it on the webpage ASAP (that’s “As soon as possible” for you text messager and blogger wannabes).]
Dad
July 14, 2005
Nous commence notre voyage a Paris et Provence avec beaucoup de trepidation. Mais nous avance avec determination. Ici trouvais vous une premier liste des hotels je prefere au present. Regardez vous le web sites et parler de votre opinion. Additioner vous 20 pourcent a converter le Euro a US dollar. Please jump in and correct my grammar.
Minerve hotel
13 rue des Ecoles
5 arrondisement
www.hotel-paris-minerve.com
Familia Hotel
11 rue des Ecoles
5 arrondisement
www.hotel-paris-familia.com
Home Latin Hotel
15-17 rue du Sommerard
5 arrondisement
www.homelatinhotel.com
Hotel Moderne St Germain
33 rue des Ecoles
5 arrondisement
www.hotel-paris-stgermain.com
All these hotels are listed on Frommer’s Paris listings page as budget hotels. The going rate for first class hotels in Paris these days is about $400 a night. So enjoy looking at these reasonable alternatives. If anybody can beat these roughly $100 a night (for two) prices I will welcome them.
Others are coming as I have time to review them. Send in your own discoveries as you find them and I will post them here.
Vive la France,
Dad
July 14, 2005
A bit more searching on the internet uncovered a web site called www.myhotelinparis.com.
It is a simple site and you can click on the budget hotels and get the location, rates, a picture and other information. Some of these are in the $80 to $100 range. Some are $100 to $125 range for doubles with bath.
Here is a partial list of the ones that look good to me in the 5th and 6th Arrondissements.
Hotel Libertel Maxim
Hotel L'esperance
Regent's Hotel
Hotel Delavigne
Hotel des Carmes
Hotel Sevres-Azur
Hotel du College de France
Grand Hotel des Balcons
In trying to locate a hotel called Hotel du Globe I discovered one in Paris and one in Aix-En-Provence, I think in the area we are interested in. Information on the Paris hotel can be found on the myhotel site . And the Hotel du Globe in Aix-en-Provence is found at www.hotelduglobe.com. This one really looks good. Great prices too in the $40-80 range.
Dad
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