Paris Places in Paris
You’d think by now every stone, every nook and cranny in Paris has been rediscovered or reinvented. What is YOUR favorite place?
Beautiful Parisians and their Neighborhoods
Continuing in my efforts to find the good-looking Parisians and their neighborhoods, I can tell you this. Certainly each neighborhood has its fair share of attractive people. Over the weekend, we attended Marc Soleranki’s walking tour of the Passages de Paris (9th arrond, 1st arrond), and my husband swears that he had trouble not bumping into some of the most gorgeous women in Paris.
“You know they (the attractive women in these passages) they don’t even SEE us (the foreign tourist)”
Date: April 1st, 2008 |
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Jazz
Paris’s love affair with jazz may have something to do with its liberation at the end of World War II. After four years of desolation and constraint, the strains of jazz arrived with waving flags, dancing in the streets.
Nowadays, you can find jazz clubs that reflect all sorts of taste, from Dixieland to fusion, from blues to world music. There are dozens of jazz clubs where you can while away a ’smoke-free’ evening. Many of these clubs
are listed in the weekly entertainment guide Le Pariscope which you can pick up at any newsstand.
Before you choose your spot to camp out, be aware that Paris also has plenty of Jazz Festivals throughout the year. You can find out in advance about some of these events at www.evene.fr, but if you really want to know what’s going on around the Paris Jazz scene, you’ll have to stop in to say ‘hello’ to Jacques Thevenet at Jazzbox. Thevenet DJ’s a Saturday night radio show on Aligre FM at 5 pm. His Myspace site will bring you up to date about the Jazz happening jazz events.
Date: March 25th, 2008 |
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Gorgeous Guys (and Beautiful Women) in Paris and the Best Neighborhoods to See Them
Cedric.
“Le plus beau mec du quartier”
Photo by Chris Card Fuller 2008
My friend at Amsterdam Logue laments the fact today that Amsterdam hasn’t made the list of Top 12 Places to see beautiful people. He also mentioned that he would argue the fact that Paris deserves its Trip Adviser rating as one of the top places to see beautiful people. So, I’m on a ‘crusade’ of sorts to track down the best neighborhoods in Paris to simply savor the delight of beauty in motion.
Until today, I would have agreed with my friend that generally speaking, I don’t find the Left Bank to be overrun with ‘beautiful people’ but today during my walk to a neighborhood butcher shop in the Val de Grace neighborhood, I met Cedric who was just in the process of parking his ‘moto’ when I asked if he’d agree to have his photo posted on this site as the ‘plus beau mec du quartier’.
Rue St. Jacques (Metro: Pont Royal RER) is the old Roman route which if you continue to follow its axis, will take you straight to Rome. (Rome was the other city listed as having the best-looking locals). One of the reasons you’re likely to find extremely attractive Parisians in the Val de Grace neighborhood is its proximity to the universities. Plenty of students live and work here, but natural beauty is one thing in life that really can’t be bought - Mother Nature sees fit to distribute her bounty to people of all races and all classes.
If you’re wondering if the Val-de-Grace neighborhood has attractive women as well - the answer is ‘yes’.
Date: March 20th, 2008 |
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St. Patrick’s Day in Paris: The Morning After
If there’s one holiday that makes me a little homesick while in Paris it’s St. Patrick’s Day. That’s probably why this is the night that expats jam the bars and pubs that feature Irish beers and Celtic music (and it was definitely the case last night according to our host at the WOS bar (formerly the Aussi bar). Unfortunately, my husband (who’s mother was English) doesn’t share my sudden urge to find the closest pub serving up Guinness beer on a crisp March night in Paris. So, we weren’t there last night for the merrymaking. This year, because St. Patrick’s Day fell on Monday which is normally the quietest day for bars in Paris, the celebrations began early, starting on Friday night of the past weekend.
The Aussi bar at 184 Rue St. Jacques has transformed into the WOS bar i.e. wide Open Spaces Bar. It still retains its pub atmosphere and you can chat in English with the bartender until the cows come home (on a quiet morning-after) as we did today. During the lunch hours, we were two of the six patrons. Two others were taking advantage of the free Wifi service.
Date: March 18th, 2008 |
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Paris Train Stations
The ‘less than inspired’ interior of Gare du Nord
Parislogue readers know that I have nothing but high praise for the SNCF train system. You can take trains anywhere in France, and normally trains depart and arrive on schedule.
However, Paris train stations are another matter. The city screams for at least one stylish train station which captures the nostalgia for the elegant era of train travel combined with the modern accoutrements of international travel (i.e. free Wi-fi access for example).
Date: March 7th, 2008 |
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La Plus Belle Fille du 5eme - Prettiest Girl in the 5th
Photo by Chris Card Fuller © 2008
Parislogue’s Parisgirl continues her search for the most beautiful Parisians in response to Amsterdamlogue’s challenge.
Clearly, Parisians are not only beautiful but charming as well. Laura is a Parisian who lives in the Left Bank’s 5th arrondissement - you may recognize this as the student district and the famous Latin Quarter which was once inhabited by such luminaries as Abelard and his beloved Heloise - who both ended up their lives in monasteries and convents for the sole error of having fallen madly in love with …
Date: March 27th, 2008 |
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Paris Markets
Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
Okay, I’ll be honest. Paris markets intimidate me. Just down the street we have the Edgar Quinet Market every Wednesday and Saturday Metro: Edgar Quinet. Even though I speak French well enough, my accent labels me as a foreigner and I still have memories of agonizing encounters at a 13th arrondissement market when I was an au pair/student trying to buy a piece of fresh fruit or a box of strawberries. The fruit always seemed too expensive and the vendor would give me strawberries that hadn’t even ripened.
“The strawberries are practically white,” I’d complain.
“I’ll show you how to make strawberries turn red!” the vendor would chuckle.
These might be the kinds of encounters that account for the “Paris syndrome” which may cause other timid souls to hide themselves in their apartments for days - or go to Monoprix to do their shopping - where they can pick out their own produce, have the products weighed by an impersonal attendant (but not risk any chance of embarrassment).
Date: March 22nd, 2008 |
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Notre Dame By Night
Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
It’s true that you can only appreciate the beauty of Notre Dame’s stained glass windows during the day - which is part of the reason - just about any day of the year - you’re bound to encounter huge crowds of visitors. However, if you want to appreciate a totally different aspect of the cathedral, come at night for a concert.
Earlier this month, I mentioned the Easter week concert of Gregorian chant which took place last night. We walked over to the cathedral during the day to purchase our tickets for the concert. That allowed me the opportunity to spend a few mesmerizing moments before the stained glass windows. No matter how many times, we visit Notre Dame, the kaleidoscope of color never ceases to amaze me.
The strange thing is that this is the first time - when we arrived simply to buy tickets for a concert - that the beauty of the Notre Dame suddenly struck me like the sudden smile or a toss of the head in a manner totally lacking in pretension. The problem with being a tourist is that sometimes we just try to hard to be good tourists.
Date: March 19th, 2008 |
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Cabarets
Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
Cabarets (sometimes referred to as ‘Feather Clubs’ are the famed nightspots where tourists flock to view an array of almost perfect female bodies draped in not much more than feathers. The most well known clubs such as Le Moulin Rouge, Les Folies Bergeres, the Crazy Horse and the Lido need little introduction. You can add a new one (or really a revived club) Bobino on Rue de la Gaite. Bobino used to be one of the venues for American cabaret dancer, singer, movie actress - humanitarian - and French Resistance participant - Josephine Baker.
Likewise Crazy House is revamping (please excuse the pun) with the help of Pamela Anderson’s recent appearance.
Date: March 7th, 2008 |
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Rue Daguerre Chic
Even though the 14th Arrondissement didn’t make the cut for Adrienne Ribes Tiphaine’s Paris Chic &Trendy listing of designer studios, hip boutiques and vintage shops, I was certain that my home turf must have at least one or two such boutiques which merited a closer look.
Finding a street to begin my search didn’t present a problem. Rue Daguerre, made famous by its film director resident Agnes Varda and her film ‘Daguerrotypes’ is a fun place to browse, primarily for its market, regional products and good butcher shops – but also for design.
I’ve …
Date: March 3rd, 2008 |
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