Paris Tips & Tidbits
Has your experience been the same? Or totally different. Three tourists in Paris are like the three blind men describing an elephant.
Sending Postcards from Paris
If you’re just learning French, one of the most intimidating experiences can be going to the Post office or ‘le bureau de poste’. In recent years, the post office ordeal has become much easier thanks to the automatic postage machine which you’ll find in every bureau de poste and in some of the larger supermarkets like the Monoprix at Edgar Quinet (Montparnasse).
A postcard from France to anywhere outside of the European Union currently costs 85 centimes. You can either wait in lines that normally move slow as molasses (and lose valuable walking around Paris time) or you can use the …
Date: May 16th, 2008 |
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Jazz For Parents and Kids
Jazz starts early this May with Finland in Paris - Finnish jazz performers set the stage for Place Saint Sulpice’s breezy tones. Throughout the warm weather months, Place St. Sulpice is often the venue for various events ranging from cultural exchanges to book and antique shows.
Photo by Chris Card Fuller 2008
Among the myriad of events featured in this year’s 8th Jazz Festival at St. Germain-des-Pres, Saturday, May 10th programming includes a “Jazz Ball” for parents and kids. The ‘Petit Bal Swing dance and musicale kermesse starts at 6 …
Date: May 9th, 2008 |
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Spring Street Fashion 2008
Anne Lise welcomes you at Bouygues (the cell phone company in France who’s name you’ll find the hardest to pronounce) (Bo-eeg). We recently bought a tri-band Sagem here for 1 Euro (plus a 12 month contract naturally).
Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
Pack your ballerina flats and your Converse trainers and you’re ready for Paris. Yesterday at the Gare St. Lazare train station, I saw every variation of ballerina and Converse from gold sparkly ballerinas to pale orange Converse low-tops. Finally Parisians have taken off their boots here on May …
Date: May 7th, 2008 |
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Swearing in French: Pschitt never sounded so sweet
Pschitt made the rounds of high school language classes - even in Spanish class, we loved practicing the phrase - “I’ll have a Pschitt please.” The lemonade-flavored soft drink is available throughout Europe.
Yes, it’s easy to confuse regular words for swear words. Lydie loves to tell us the story of the elegant woman who walked into her Rue St. Honore boutique asking for an outfit ‘pour chier’ i.e. ‘to shit’. What she really wanted was an outfit ‘pour faire du ski’.
A phoque (pronouced fuk) is a seal. And perfectly harmless on the ears - in French.
If you go to the market, don’t ask for a ‘red beet’ in English - or you’ll make the vendor smile. You’ve just asked for a stiff dick in French i.e. ‘une bitte raide’.
BTW the word for a red beet in French is ‘betterave rouge’
The French swear words you’re most likely to hear in everyday language:
Date: May 5th, 2008 |
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Welcome to Paris: Are you lost?
Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
The sun is shining brightly here on the third day of May - and everywhere I look- visitors are studying their maps. If you are lost, don’t feel bad. Everybody gets lost in Paris - even Parisians. I have one word of advice - go to a newstand, kiosque or bookstore such as FNAC and buy a copy of the Plan de Paris (par Arrondissement et Communes de Banlieue).
I’ve mentioned this in past posts, but it never hurts repeating. The Plan is better than most maps (you’ll normally get a free map at your hotel or when you rent a car, but it won’t have all the details of the Plan de Paris). This is a book you can take home with you and bring back with you every time you return to Paris. I still have an old copy from the 1970s which looks like it was bought yesterday.
The Plan de Paris can be bought at FNAC for all of 7.32 Euros which is a real bargain considering how many times it will save you from getting lost over several decades. (While in FNAC you can also buy your Louvre museum tickets t the same time at their ticket Kiosque)
Above all, don’t be embarrassed about getting lost - and don’t let it stop you from exploring. The couple in the above photo hail from Australia. I was really happy to be able to help them find what they were looking for - the Louvre Museum. After saying goodbye to them before they crossed Rue du Rivoli headed toward the Tuileries Gardens and the Carrousel du Louvre - I proceeded to get lost. That’s because I had left my Plan de Paris back at the apartment.
Date: May 3rd, 2008 |
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Paris Day Trips: Chateau de Versailles, Monet's Garden
Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
If you’re spending three or more days in Paris, you may want to consider a day trip. Two of the most popular attractions within 50 miles from Paris are Monet’s Garden at Giverny in Normandy and Chateau de Versailles in Versailles (which is about twelve miles from Paris).
Depending on your time and budget, you can consider two approaches to visiting these two favorites.
Date: May 13th, 2008 |
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What beer can I drink in Paris?
Champagne and fine wine is wonderful - if you haven’t been walking all day. When I finally did get to the Three Ducks Hostel this weekend, what I really craved was a beer.
In Paris, depending on the cafe or brasserie, you will find different beers on tap.
Kronenbourg 1664 (or une seize) is one of the more popular on-tap beers in France. It’s produced in the Alsace region to the east of Paris.
I’m not normally a beer drinker, but having been brought up Catholic, I …
Date: May 8th, 2008 |
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Free Museum Night in Paris: May 17th, 2008
Several museums including the LOUVRE will open their doors to the public - for FREE on Saturday, May 17th, 2008. The concept of museum night is an event that will take place in cities throughout France and other European countries to allow visitors an opportunity to enjoy the splendours of museums such as the Louvre at nighttime.
If you’re lucky enough to be in Paris on May 17th this year, take advantage of this once-a-year event.
>> More details at Parisinfo
Date: May 5th, 2008 |
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Know Your Euros
If you take a look at these pictures of 5 Euro and 20 Euro banknotes, it’s pretty easy to see which is the imposter in this line-up, but you’d be surprised when you’re getting change at the market, you might be distracted. It could be a long time, before you pull the Five Euro note out of your wallet and say, “Hey, this looks kind of weird.”
Believe me. I know. It happened to me just this week. Remember that the Euro note will …
Date: May 4th, 2008 |
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Jazz in Montparnasse
Petra Penttila
Gael Petrina
Photos by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
You don’t have to walk far to find Jazz in Montparnasse. I like to listen to jazz when I’m alone. The best way to listen to jazz (in my opinion) is when you’re alone (with the exception of Dixieland). Tonight I was wandering around Montparnasse on this long weekend - having just taken the train back from Lisieux.
Actually, I was looking for a casual dinner spot where I might enjoy a light meal and a glass …
Date: May 2nd, 2008 |
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