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.
Impressionists or Prudes?
Simply shocking. That was the reaction when Edouard Manet’s painting ‘Dejeuner sur l’Herbe’ (Luncheon on the Grass) was first unveiled at the Salon des Refuses in 1863.
This painting reflected to some extent the new-found leisure time of Paris’s Second Empire society in the last half of the 19th century.
What horrified most viewers about this picnic scene by the Seine River - wasn’t exactly the appearance of nude women. Unlike past painters’ renditions of pastoral frivolity, rather than Classic gods and goddesses, these were contemporary unclothed …
Date: September 26th, 2008 |
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Paris Close to Home
You may have always dreamed of spending a week in Paris - but for whatever reason- there may be dozens of reasons, you can’t get there - at least not now. This post is dedicated to Parislogue readers who keep a special place in their hearts reserved for long, imaginary walks along the Seine River. Don’t worry - you’ll get there sooner or later. In the meantime, here are some suggestions to enjoy Paris close to home.
Paris in your neighborhood: Alliance Francaise
If you haven’t paid a visit to your local branch of the Alliance Francaise, now is the time to look them up in your phone book - or online and consider becoming a member. Just to give you an idea of some of the exciting programs being planned, I noted these exceptional ‘can’t- miss’ events:
In New York City:
I don’t know about you - but for some reason - meeting a real aristocrat - is always fascinating to me. Kind of like meeting a living history book.
November 18, 2008 at 7 pm in NYC (Le Skyroom, 22 East 60th Street, NY, NY), The Comte and Comtesse Patrice and Cristina de Vogué will be talking about the Chateau Vaux le Vicomte. The Alliance Francaise bulletin reminds us that this extravagant chateau built by Louis XIV’s finance minister Fouquet “stands as one of the most accomplished examples of classic style a la francaise.”
Date: September 22nd, 2008 |
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Early Birds Catch a Glimpse of President Sarkozy
If you were an early bird for Heritage Days this past Saturday, and arrived in time at the Elysee Palace doorstep, you may have been one of the visitors to have met President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni - in person - just before they jetted off to the Big Apple for a meeting at the United Nations. In the first day of the Heritage Day weekend, 10,000 visitors chose the Elysee Palace as part of their day of free peeks at public buildings.
Not only were a vast array of museums, artist …
Date: September 21st, 2008 |
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La Defense: Casino on the horizon?
After the sudden intrusion of one skyscraper on the Parisian landscape, La Tour Montparnasse, city planners responded by passing a law that banished all future skyscrapers to the burbs. Henceforth, La Defense located in Paris’s westerly satellite regions - Puteaux, Courbevoie and Nanterres ( Hauts-de-Seine -92) - emerged like a science fiction movie set. 
Get your first peak at La Defense from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.
Once you’ve feasted your eyes on the easterly view towards Paris proper (that’s Haussmann’s Paris - broad boulevards punctuated by the Egyptian obelisk, the I.M. Pei pyramid, the Louvre - and if your eyes are super-human - straight through to the July Column at Place de la Bastille, turn your attentions westward - and toward the future!.
Date: September 19th, 2008 |
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Paris October Highlights - Fast Cars & Hot Chocolate
If you haven’t already booked your hotel rooms, book quickly! This year’s International Auto Show which starts in Paris in October and runs the 4th through the 9th in 2008 will cause reasonably priced hotel rooms to be snapped up. If you plan on going to the car show - a biannual event - you can even order your tickets in advance through the Paris bookstore FNAC.
One of the highlights of this year’s auto show will be its electric cars …
Date: September 17th, 2008 |
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Paris with Kids: The Madeline Tour
If you were one of the lucky kids who grew up reading the Madeline series by Ludwig Bemelmans, you’ve probably already made sure that your kids have become well acquainted with the spunky little Madeline in her signature yellow-brimmed hat and Miss Clavel who takes her twelve schoolgirls on a daily tour of Paris - rain or shine.
The sites that Madeline visits are just the ones that may be on your list as well: The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame,
the Opera House, Pont …
Date: September 24th, 2008 |
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Techno Parade Fashion: Heart-shaped glasses and pink boas
Yes. Heart-shaped sunglasses have become part of the Parisian landscape. They were here this summer, and, according to ‘Le Parisien’ newspaper, well-represented at this weekend’s 10th annual Techno Parade. Right along with pink and flourescent green boas. A little brightness to cheer up Paris’s black and gray landscape.
Date: September 21st, 2008 |
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Paris Diet Progress Report - Day 25
Day 25 (Seven Pounds lighter)
For those Parislogue Reader’s who’ve been following Parisgirl’s ‘Paris Diet’ reports, I’m happy to say that I’ve arrived at Day 25 - seven pounds lighter. I’ve made it to Phase III of Dr. Dukan’s protein diet described in his book “Je Ne Sais Pas Maigrir” or “I Don’t Know How to Get Thin”.
Similar to some American Diets such as Atkins, the Scarsdale Diet, or South Beach Diet, Dr. Dukan’s diet(which I’ve been calling the Paris Diet for simplicity’s sake) is divided into four phases - the first phase can last from three to five days, and consists of pure protein in the form of fish, eggs, certain meats, and low-fat dairy products. The second phase introduces vegetables eaten on alternate days with the pure protein days. Phase III includes two gala meals per week in which you can eat whatever you want during that meal, but only in single helpings (so, be sure to pile your dish as high as you can!!). Some grains, carbs and one fruit per day are also added during the Phase III period.
Here’s what I can tell you to date about the experience of trying out this diet. The first two phases were actually pretty easy - and the fact that you can eat as much as you want (of the prescribed categories - and whenever you want) means that you need never go hungry.
However the third phase (when you’ve actually lost some weight - and finally reached your desired goal weight) can be REALLY dicey. Here’s how Dr. Dukan describes the moment:
“So you’ve reached your ideal weight! But it doesn’t belong to you yet. You are in very dangerous waters - the sea of triumph!” Or,
“Your situation is similar to traveler on a train. Your train has just pulled into a strange town - where you’d like to stay - but the train could pull out of town at any minute. You have yet to get off the train, take your baggage with you, find a place to stay - and eventually a job and friends, etc.”
Date: September 21st, 2008 |
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Landmarks Parisians Love to Hate
Who could not love the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Coeur - two of the monuments that epitomize Paris throughout the world? The Eiffel Tower is so loved that a number of cities have duplicated the Gustave Eiffel’s inverted bridge design - including such far-flung cities as Almaty, Kazhakstan, Luolang, China and the epicenter of glitz - Las Vegas.
So who dares to criticize these famed landmarks? Parisians, of course. Perhaps one of the great paradoxes of the City of Light (named so, not for its lighting system but for its luminary thinkers), is the fact that Paris city planners have come up with some of the boldest, daring designs only to be immediately mocked and ridiculed for their efforts - but rarely into oblivion.
Whereas the Centre Pompidou survived its critics, Napoleon I’s humongous elephant intended for the Place de la Bastille was one of the few landmarks that didn’t stick. (I’m hoping an elephant makes it into the future Les Halles canopy - because Les Halles needs all the good luck it can get).
So here are some of the top landmarks on Parisian’s Love to Hate List:
1. Tour Montparnasse - The Tour Montparnasse located in Paris’s 14th arrondissement has to take the cake for the eyesore that most Parisians agree is the ultimate assault on the Parisian landscape. Built in 1973 (back when skyscrapers represented soaring capitalism, soaring oil prices, and soaring inflation at its best), the Tour was France’s tallest skyscraper, tallest in Europe, and totally out of context with a neighborhood known for its painters, writers, down-and-out expats. The excuse for planting this phallic wonder was the demolition of the old Montparnasse train station. A huge concrete esplanade connects the new faux-dome gare to the black tower of business. The esplanade is a great wind conductor and the ideal place to catch a cold on a wet, rainy November day as you run to catch your train for the burbs. Most of the time, the bits of chipped concrete mar the otherwise monotonous gray concourse. The site seems perpetually under construction - although it was built much more recently than some of the surrounding buildings.
Date: September 18th, 2008 |
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Free Water at Paris’s Annual Techno Parade
Lucky you - if you’re in Paris this weekend, September 20th, 08! Paris’s annual techno parade begins at 12 noon at Place de L’Opera (Metro stations, Opera, Quatre Septembre and Bourse), then head for Place de la Bastille. The theme for this year’s techno parade is environmental awareness.
Be kind to the earth, but also be kind to your body. The techoparade website is reminding participants to bring their earplugs and the City of Paris is doing its part by providing 25,000 goblets of …
Date: September 16th, 2008 |
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