A Tip When Eating In Paris - Do Like The French Do!

It's the law, in France that cafes,restaurants and bakeries, particularly bakeries when it comes to bread/pain, the government sets the prices/prix and they MUST be posted in the window no less. OK.. Try and find this in the US anywhere. So many places don't post prices.
It's a snob thing in the US of A, don't you think?

If you see the word 'formule' in a lunchtime menu - that's the best thing to order. The best deal for what was bought fresh from the market that day. Everyone around you (if they're French) will be eating it. It makes sense and cents.

Hermes On Sale? OUI!

Those in-the-know know that Hermes has a semi-annual sale, off site, twice a year with exceptional prices. This year, as in the past few years, the sale takes place at the Palais de Congres, and the final day will the end of January.
What's in store? Scarves are by far the best buy- and you'll have to wait in line to see them- at 175 euros instead of 310 euros in stores.  I always buy my men's pocket sqaures there, Ties were 83 euros. Racks of clothing and shoes were all on offer, with prices about 50% off, but this year there was very little jewelry or leather accessories. If you missed this sale, not to worry, just mark your calendars for the end of June

Pop Goes The Garden

one of the cutest souvenirs i've seen in a while- a simple little card that pops up, holding a sachet of grass to water....letting you watch the grass grow with the vista of the Eiffel Tower behind.  it's always greener on the other side, non?  for a limited time only, available at monceau fleurs [19 euros]

Mont Saint Michel - Major Change

Once upon a time, the Mont Saint-Michel was to become an island again. The building of a lightweight bridge replacing the actual causeway is still under way, and the new parking area (located 1.5 mile from the Mont) is scheduled for opening on 28th April 2012. Parking fees, drop-off fees and options to reach the Mont are now available: on foot as in past times, or onboard the new bi-directional shuttle buses or horse-drawn tire-mounted shuttles.
Click below to see a video on what is hapening at the Mont............

Everything is coming up roses at Au Nom de la Rose.

I love Paris flower shops and my favorite store or stores in Paris is the Au Nom de la Rose, a shop that specializes in everything roses.. They make smart arrangements in mini- watering cans and do an adorable one with either a single, double, or triple rose configuration in a tiny tin pail. I always buy one of them to put in my hotel room
Not only do they have a spectacular selection of roses, they also offer a product line of other rose products, including jam, lollipops, chocolates with crystalized roses, perfume, candles, room spray, and rose flavored syrup.

An American Flag Flies Daily In Paris For A French-American Hero

The Cimetière de Picpus has to be one of the most tranquil outdoor spaces in Paris. When strolling through the grounds, you have a sense of being transported in time to a small village far from any booming metropolis. Yet it is located a short walk from the Place de la Nation in the 12e arrondissement. The private cemetery encompasses a 19th-century Chapel, a large expanse of grass, fragrant boxwood, and a minuscule burial grounds (by Paris standards).
It is here that the Marquis de Lafayette is buried, in soil from Virginia that he brought to France after his final visit to the young United States in 1825. It is at Lafayette's grave that the American flag has flown uninterrupted in France, even during years of the Nazi occupation of Paris. It is here that General Pershing's assistant, Stanton, pronounced the famous "Lafayette, nous voilà!" on July 4, 1917, to proclaim the U.S. troops' arrival to support France in the throes of a terrible World War I. It is here that Lafayette's wife Adrienne was buried before him, in a spot chosen for its proximity to the mass grave where her immediate family had been "buried" with hundreds of other nobles beheaded in the French Revolution.
It is a cemetery to visit the next time you have the chance.
So it is fitting that each July 4 the American flag at Picpus Cemetery is renewed amid great solemn and moving ceremony. On that morning,11, dignitaries from the U.S. Embassy, the French Senate, the Mairie de Paris, the Society of the Cincinnati, the Sons of the American Revolution, and Friends of Lafayette and the general public -- both French and American -- gathered to pay tribute to this hero of two worlds.
A U.S. Military Color Guard stands at attention while the French Garde Nationale band played the "Star Spangled Banner." That alone was a touching moment of transatlantic honor and friendship. The Marseillaise follows, of course. In lieu of loud cheering, there is a wave of emotion that reverberates among the spectators. The crowd, already hushed, shares an official minute of silence. Brief speeches followes, with placing of flowers on Lafayette's grave site. The U.S. Ambassador, addresses the assembled group in French. In France and in the U.S., he is a man to remember and revere. During all the political ups and downs of the nearly two and a half centuries of friendship between our two nations, we owe it to ourselves to remember that in the U.S. House of Representatives, there are two larger-than-life portraits flanking the speaker's podium: Washington and Lafayette.
Cimetière de Picpus: 35 rue de Picpus, 75012 Paris. Metro: Nation
Open to the public every day except Mondays and holidays from 2 pm to 6 pm. For information, contact the conservateur at 01.43.44.18.54 There may be a modest entrance fee.

Domaine de Capelongue - Hidden In the Provence Luberon Valley Hillside

In the Luberon, many restaurants, hotels and resorts close the weekend after Armistice Day on November 11 and the valley hibernates — a chilly slumberous sometimes rain-lashed place — until mid-March.

But come Spring, in the pine hills above the village of Bonnieux sits the Domaine de Capelongue. Besides being a hotel, it is also a Michelin 2 star restaurant.