A "Room" With A View...................

One of the best places to enjoy a view of the Eiffel Tower is at the restaurant, Les Ombres, located inside the Musée de Quai Branly
Les Ombres rooftop location features stunningly beautiful views of the Seine and the Eiffel Tower with access to their legendary terrace being reserved exclusively for patrons of the restaurant. If you dine here it is sure to be an evening that you will never forget. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner serving an excellent selection of dishes and very inventive cuisine.
During lunch, Les Ombres offers two menus, a set menu they offer year-round and a menu de saison, which changes every week. The menu de saison is a prix-fixe menu for 38€ which includes a starter, main course, and dessert.

Hotel Key Cards - A WARNING

Because of the advances in technology, many more hotels, especially in France are going to the Key Card. BUT - because - KEY CARDS ( these days) contain a great deal of personal info including your credit card number. Caution should be taken regarding room key cards. Most important is to not return the card to the front desk and not discard them in the garbage. The smartest idea is to shred the key card.

Gallo-Roman Paris Underground

There are  traces of the earliest civilizations who inhabited Paris long before it became the capitol city of France. You can discover vestiges of the Gallo-Roman city know as Lutetia in the Crypte Archéologique du Parvis Notre-Dame. Follow the steps down from the square in front of the cathedral and you’ll find a fascinating peek into how each successive generation inhabiting the Ile de la Cité built their homes, streets, quays and ramparts on the ruins of the people who came before them. It’s a great alternative to the Catacombes for those who get creeped out by bones...and long lines!

Roller Paris

Every Friday evening (as long as the weather permits), leaving from the Tour Montparnasse at 22h, huge crowds of people gather to spend 3 hours...rollerskating around Paris.
The streets are closed off, the police follow at a safe distance, and there are numerous volunteer helpers for those who get tired, lost, or who just want a chat. All this security is absolutely necessary, because numbers can sometimes rise to 15000 participants, of all backgrounds and ages. The event itself is free, set up initially by a small group of "patineurs" (skaters), which gradually gathered momentum and is now a veritable association. Skates- or blades- can be rented, or old pairs dug out from the backs of cupboards. There is also a Sunday version, run by a different association, called Rollers & Coquillages.
NB: Since I am not into exercise of any kind, don't ask me any more questions about this :)

Your Next Visit to France, You Should Visit Brittany.. Why?

Next time you are in France, visit one of my favorite areas – Brittany and Yes! I think Americans would love Brittany!
Think of all of the Celtic charm of rural western Ireland but with a gentler climate. Think of the quaint otherness of Cape Cod without the strip malls. Think of the magnificent craggy coastlines of the Pacific Northwest, but with smugglers' coves and ancient stone lighthouses. Think of what Newport RI must have been like in its heyday with its mansions and its ocean-going yachts and find it all intact still at Groix, la Trinité and the estuary of the Odet. Think of the best seafood you ever tasted at home but in Brittany, neither shrimp, nor oyster, nor mussel served raw on the half shell has ever, ever been rinsed under chlorinated tap water. Think of the most peaceful tranquil view you ever saw, then sit on the dock at the far end of Île Tudy at sunset and watch the tide go out. Think of the number of times you swore you would never eat fast food again, then discover the humble galette au blé noir (crispy buckwheat pancake) stuffed with ham and egg and a little Gruyère rapé. Think of the most enchanting, picture-book town that seems only to exist in Hollywood or in theme parks, then visit Auray or Vannes or Quimper. If all the houses look like they are made of stone, they are. It's local granite, not stucco or sheetrock. If a bolée de cidre brut (dry Breton cider) looks harmless and deliciously thirst-quenching, beware. Think seriously about a designated driver. And the Breton people in all this? Are they tourist-wise sophisticates servicing the annual stampede of 80 million foreign visitors to the world's number one tourist destination? Not really. To be honest, that stampede is mainly headed south. To the Midi, to the beaches of the Cote d'Azur, to the surfer's paradise of Biarritz, to Spain via the Pyrenees, to Italy via Menton. So come to Brittany and discover a whole new world within France!

It's Wednesday and How Come So Many Children Are Out Of School?

In France, Wednesday afternoons (or all day Wednesday) are often free, and this is when children usually pursue sporting and musical activities. Also at one time, they would attend school on Saturday for a ½ a day, that has been dropped, but teachers are asking for it to be brought back.
Packed lunches do not exist in France - the children eat school lunches or go home to eat, they have from 1 ½ to 2 hours. The school meals are usually of good quality.
The school hours, are the longest in the Western world, typically 9-4.30 at primary school and 9-5 at upper school (age 11-15).

Do I Love Oysters? What a Question! -How To Order Oysters

Let’s imagine you have decided to try oysters –. You open the menu.... and realize that just asking for oysters will not be enough. You have to be more specific. Frenchmen are not difficult about food – yeah sure - but they are very precise.

Let me guide you through the three basic parts of determining what oysters to order. First of all you need to know that oysters are classified by size from 0-5, where 0 is the biggest and 5 the smallest. The most demanded size is 3 - not too big, not too small – and also my personal preference. If you hesitate, take the smaller size.
Next step is to understand the other classification, which basically takes into account the part of meat compared to the weight of the whole oyster. On the menu you will see:
• huîtres fines : flat oysters with a quota between 6,5 and 10,5;
• huîtres spéciales : quota above 10,5 ;
• huîtres fines de claire: the oysters have been in clear water for at least one month with 40 oysters per m2;
• huîtres spéciales de claire : the oysters have been in clear water for 4-5 months with 5-10 oysters per m2
Third step is to choose the origin of your oysters. Different breeding places give different taste. Do you want an oyster from Bretagne, from Arcachon, from Marenne-Oléron….? I would say you have to try different origins to see what pleases you the most, but basically the flat oyster comes from Bretagne ( Brittany)and the southeast of France and they have a saltier taste with more iodine, while the Japanese oyster is the most common elsewhere. From the Arcachon bay in Aquitaine the most reputed ones come from the Arguin sandbank, the breeding place that is the closest to the open sea.
The best time for eating oysters is late autumn until early spring. In summer the oysters get milky due to their reproduction and the taste is not so good. If they suggest oysters called Quatre Saisons, because you can eat them all year, you should know that they are genetically modified and cannot reproduce. Personally I prefer to follow the seasons and eat normal oysters!
I am off in November and into December for a trip to France to ‘chill out” long walks on undeserted beaches and eat as many oysters ( The best time of the year) as I can and since I’ll be in Arcachon Bay and the Bordeaux area, just can’t wait!

Smoked Salmon Eclair with Avocado and Lavender Cream Flling - Enough Said! Says ME!

Ladurée is a luxury cakes and pastries brand based in Paris, France. It is known as the inventor of the double-decker macaron, fifteen thousand of which are sold every day. They are still one of the best known makers of macarons in the world and have marvelous tea rooms on both the Left and Right Bank. For me, forget the macarons ( I know, a heresy in Paris) and have one of the prettiest appetizers I've ever come across - smoked salmon eclair with avocado and lavender cream filling

Paris is definitely the world's best place for cinephiles.

With over 100 movie theaters and roughly 300 films running in any given week throughout the city, from blockbusters to arty revivals, Paris is definitely the world's best place for cinephiles.
Before you sink back into your seat, take note: in Paris, popcorn and other crunchy snacks are often considered a noisy annoyance, interfering with the movie experience. Consider choosing quieter snacks and you'll be set!

La Pagode

La Pagode is one of the city's most sumptuously designed theaters. Located in the heart of the chic 7th arrondissement, close to the Bon Marché department store, La Pagode is housed in a 19th-century building whose style mimics a Chinese pagoda. Inside, a cool green terrace for tea and a black cat named Licorice sprawled over the programs adds to the charm.

Surely, Paris Is The Best Place To Kiss In The World

Musee d'Orsay Finally Reopens..................Impressionist Wing!

Paris-bound clients will be thrilled to know that in just two weeks (October 20) the Musee d’Orsay will reopen its Impressionist wing after a two-year and nearly $11 million renovation. The new wall color and lighting showcase the hundreds of works in a stunning new way. The collection includes 34 Manets, 86 Monets, 43 Degas, 56 Cezannes, 81 Renoirs, 24 Van Goghs, and 24 Gaugins.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon In The 6e For Tea and Pastries

Nestled in a quiet, cobbled-stone alley off of busy Boulevard St. Germain des Pres, Un Dimanche à Paris is the latest discovery of yet another fine salon de thé in Paris. Barely a month old, this ultra chic chocolate boutique not only offers specialty chocolates but it's also a pâtisserie time.

This latest concept store by Pierre Cluizel, son of the famous chocolatier Michel Cluizel . The modern store façade really stands out against its old, medieval-like surroundings, with its sleek interiors and brightly-lit display cases of gourmet chocolates and exquisite pastries beckoning passer-bys to enter, take a peek or linger on to sample their delectable offerings at their salon de thé.

Forget Lemongrass and Foam, This is True French Cooking I Go Back To Again and Again...

                                         ( Duck Confit)

La Fontaine de Mars

129, rue St.-Dominique, in the 7th Arrondissement.
01 47 05 46 44. Lunch and dinner every day.

La Fontaine de Mars has the charm of a neighborhood Paris bistro and the polish of a destination restaurant, which is what it has become for legions of visitors (including, famously, the Obamas, back in 2009) who are looking for some kind of quintessential French dining experience

The place has the bright rosy glow of brass and checked linens. The main floor is bustling, with its banquettes, bar and terrace. The rooms on the upper floor, with pink and green toile-covered walls, are a bit quieter but not at all a no-man’s land, the way that upstairs salles feel in some Paris bistros.

The southwestern-accented menu is wonderfully classic, with not an ounce of ginger or lemongrass or foam in sight. You can start with pâté de campagne, salade de tête de veau (only in France do “salad” and “calf’s head” go together), charcuterie or maybe their famous oeufs en meurette—eggs cooked in red wine with shallots and bacon.

For mains, go straight for the duck confit, one of those litmus test dishes. the leg itself is great, with rich, falling-apart meat encased by crackling skin. A whole line-caught bass is a lovely thing to behold and perfectly cooked. The favorite of my friends, though, is the slow-braised beef in a rich Madeira sauce studded with tiny mushrooms and onions. The cooking here is not contemporary, but it feels very much alive.

The wine list emphasizes Bordeaux.
Desserts are straight from the canon: floating island, chocolate mousse, crème brûlée, prunes in Armagnac. Have a warm fig tart on buttery puff pastry with vanilla ice cream, along with a verbena-scented macaron with chantilly, fresh berries and berry sorbet. A fine ending to a fine meal.
In a nutshell: La Fontaine de Mars offers thoughtful, classic cooking in a picture-perfect Paris setting.

Price check: There’s no prix fixe menu, so count on spending 40–50 euros before wine.

Immortalize Yourself For Just Euro 10

Ever since 1934, the greatest silver screen stars have been immortalized in the legendary Harcourt Photography Studio in Paris, from Audrey Hepburn to Melanie Laurent. If you want one of these iconic black and white portraits of yourself, you’ll need €900-€2000 depending on whether you want a formal shoot or a more spontaneous pose in their hidden studio just off the Champs Elysées.  But now anyone with €10 pocket change can get a real Harcourt portrait done in their newly opened photo booth at the MK2 Bibliothèque cinema in the 13th (metro Bibliothèque or Quai de la Gare). It might be the most luxurious photo booth in the world, tested with much success at the Cannes Film Festival. You can choose between one large portrait or four smaller ones

The Last Forgotten Corner Of France..............

Imagine a ribbon of jade or sapphire, meandering through ever-changing landscapes – woods, meadows, gorges, cliffs, vineyards, farmlands, orchards…..but in fact there’s no need to imagine, its there to behold – the Lot, the longest river in Southwest France, winding almost 300 miles. Located east of the Dordogne it has a ravishing array of stone villages dotting riversides, hilltops and cliffs. Within this area are historic villages of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie, Cahots, Estaing, and Conques. In fact many areas here are a UNESCO world heritage Site. It’s not easy to get to and it’s something you do only and not as an added to other areas in Southwest France. It’s for self starters and people with a laid back attitude. A car is a must to see the area. It is defiantly undiscovered by most tourists and yet within this area are some of the most beautiful villages in all of France. Peaceful and rural, this is the place for driving on deserted mountain roads or wandering around medieval villages that don't seem to have changed much over the last few hundred years. the Lot is one of the last forgotten corners of France. Thank goodness!

Paris Pistachio Shop and more - Brand New

On the Rue Quincampoix, a cobbled pedestrian street near the Centre Pompidou, is an adorable little pistachio shop called La Pistacherie. With the wood paneling, fancy packaging, and the colorful nuts and dried fruits presented in big glass jars like candy. You can assume a shop called La Pistacherie is going to have a good selection of pistachios. They have roasted ones, amazing raw ones, chocolate covered ones, sugar-coated ones (in little balls, wrapped in cellophane like candies), and different blends with other nuts and dried fruits. There's one whole counter for the raw nuts, including walnut, almond, pine nut, and macadamia, which are hard to find. The second counter has roast nuts of every kind, even roasted chick peas and corn nuts. The dried fruits were pretty exotic, including dried blueberries and dried pomegranate kernels. The friendly owner and his staff give people tastes, which is nice considering that these are not cheap products. But Its was worth it for the quality, the variety, and the novelty of the flavors. Although it has the "look", this is not a chain and has only been open for three months. Do check it out for some original gift ideas for others (or yourself). La Pistacherie 67 rue Rambuteau, 4th Tel 01 42 78 84 55 Open daily.

Charlie Chaplin Still Lives in France Today

Its a tradition in French schools ( elementary especially) that at the end of the school year, the children put on a show for their parents. At a school outside Bordeaux, some friends sent me a photo of their kids and other students putting on a school show and whom did they imitate? None other than Charlie Chaplin. Funny, his spirit still lives after 122 years since his birth. Do you suppose any American school would put on a show and dress up as Charlie Chaplin?

Under The Bridges Of Paris - A Song Written in 1914 by Vicent SCOTTO

..........greats songs span the era's.....................

Paris Metro Entertainment

In the Paris Metro, one always stumbles across entertainers that run the gamet from a single player to a full orchestra and everything in between.

Fete de la Gastronomie, Frances First National Food Festival

We all know that the French love their food, but they've never tried anything like this before. On Friday, there will be 3,000 food events across the country.

For a country whose cuisine has been officially recognised by Unesco as a "world intangible heritage", it seems only right it should have its own festival, and that is exactly what will take place all over France for the first time this Friday, 23 September. The organisers are hoping the Fête de la Gastronomie will have the same kind of success generated by the Fête de la Musique, and with more than 3,000 events planned, excitement is mounting as the big day approaches. You could turn up at any of the venues and eat well, but of course even if you can not make it, you always eat well in France.

Provence - St-Didier - The Best Nougat In France ...Maybe In The World

Nougat( the T is silent in French)is a harmonious blend of honey, egg white and sugar, flavored with vanilla and studded with almonds and sometimes pistachio nuts. When you mentioned Nougat in France, you think of Montélimar. Correct, but here is the hitch. Montélimar is the largest producer and you find their products on many supermarket shelves around the world. Unfortunately Nougat from Montélimar has become a mass product and quality can be erratic, to be polite. So let's focus on those artisans in the Provence, who continue to produce Nougat the old fashioned way, my favorite is Silvain Frères Paysans Nougatiers in St.Didier just 15 minutes south of Carpentras. Not only do they produce their own almonds, but have 100 bee hives that produce two kinds of honey: – one is dark and produces what they call 'Black Nougat' and then a Lavender honey (produced in the Luberon Valley) that produces a white nougat'. Silvain Frères Paysans Nougatiers in St.Didier, a lovely village and a favorite of mine, is 6km south of Carpentras. Pierre and Philippe Silvain are Nougatiers in the 6th generation.. Silvain Frères makes one of the best nougats in France. Their retail store has a wide selection of nougats, candied fruits and - when in season - quince paste. You can watch the production process through a glass window in the store. They also sell their products on various markets in the region. Route de Vénasque, 84210 Saint-Didier, Traveling north from Carpentras, you first pass through the town of Pernes-les-Fontaines, a lovely town of hundred of fountains, many historical. Then up the road to St-Didier, a lovely village home to the best Nouget in France. After leaving here, a spectacular way to enter the Luberon valley is to continue to Venasque high on a hilltop then down hill towards Gordes thru a most scenic roadway past the famous Abbey at Senaque and then into Gordes and down into the Luberon Valley.



One of my Guiltiest Pleasures of All Time...................

Foie gras is an important and traditional fod of France and a link to their ancestry. In 1920, Pierre LaFitte started selling game: partidge, woodcock, Ortolan, hares and foie gras  from his home town in Landes. For me the only area for great foie gras ( its my opinion and since it's my webiste, I am always right ) . On the Île Saint-Louis, you’ll find Lafitte, purveyors of foie gras.  All of their ducks and geese are grown on small farms within 40 km of their headquarters in southwest France. All the birds are raised with strict farming methods: grain-fed and free-range. Although most foie gras is made with duck liver, their foie gras d’oie (made from geese) is a luxury that should not be missed. 
Everything her eis made by hand without any preservatives
8 rue Jean du Bellay, Ile Saint Louis, Paris 75004

A Secret Find on the Left bank................

One of the joys of having the time to meander in Paris is discovering a hidden garden, a tiny vest-pocket park or a building you’ve never seen before. One of my favorite finds in the 7th, is avenue Rapp and this asymmetrical Art Nouveau apartment house at 29, avenue Rapp that was constructed in 1901. It was designed by Lavirotte, The artist Salvador Dalí stated he thought the façade was the most erotic in Paris. There are a few on this street that have the Art Nouveau desings on the door fronts.

                        ( The MGM Film "Gigi" used ave rapp for one of It's Locations)

Painted Walls Of Lyon

                ( Lyon favorite son, Chef Paul Bocuse)
Home to Guignol (the famous French puppets) and gastronomy, Lyon is also famous for its “trompe l’oeil” painted walls, and there is nearly one hundred mural frescos painted on frontages of buildings. All of these frescos have been carried out for 25 years by the artists of the workshop “Cité de la Création”. They signed more than 380 monumental works in the world.
Take a look below ( click on) to see many of these fantastic wall paintings and next time in Lyon, ( between fabulous meals) take them in.
http://www.cite-creation.com/eng/wall-paintings/frescos-lyon-painted-wall.html

I'm Old Fashioned ( as Johnny Mercer Once Penned) and Proud of It...

If you love old fashioned things, then one must visit a wonderful sweet shop founded in 1761....
A la Mère de Famille

Paris’s oldest sweet shop, founded in 1761 and still operating in its original location, is a marvellous little store that hasn’t changed much over the past 250 years.
Here, chocolate lovers will find ice cream in several enticing flavors, among them chocolate sorbet, chocolate-mint, and chocolate with candied orange and a hint of vodka.
Of course, there are lots of chocolates, candied fruit, calissons and other confections too!
The company now has several other locations in Paris, but a visit to the original shop is a must for lovers of Paris and chocolate alike.

A la Mère de Famille

35, rue du Faubourg-Montmartre, 75009 Paris

Métro: Cadet, Le Peletier or Grands-Boulevards

Hours: Mon. to Sat. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Souvenirs From Another Time When Perfume Was The Symbol of Absolute Luxury

As a magical place in Paris at the foot of the Sacre-Coeur of Montmartre, The Belle de Jour  gallery shows an amazing collection of old perfume bottles, atomizers, powder and cream boxes.

Belle de Jour at 7 rue Tardieu, in the 18the near Metro Abbesses) is open Monday to Saturday 10:30 to 1 and 2 to 7. Here you'll find a wonderful collection of antique perfume bottles and glassware ( from the 18th century to the 1940's). Just after you enter, you can definitely catch a whiff of perfume in the air, and during my visit, a French woman was at the counter putting her collection of antique glassware on consignment in the store. When you look for the store, go to the middle of the building front since there is another store in the same building using the same number (which is fairly common in Paris).
The prices are not for the faint hearted, as they start at Euro 200,  but Oh! what beauty they posses. .
http://www.belle-de-jour.fr/

If I could eat at only one restaurant for the rest of my life......

Since George William Wilton opened “Wiltons” in 1742, I have always enjoyed great oysters. and today ,The 1^st of September marks the start of the native oyster season.
If I could eat at only one restaurant for the rest of my life, it would be Wiltons ( I do love France, but oh! Boy! In London it’s..) . Of course, I would need very deep pockets because it has never been exactly given away. But hey, you get what you pay for: gull’s eggs, the finest langoustines, Dover sole, grouse with all the trimmings, sherry trifle. The hugely experienced and respected Andrew Turner is wearing the whites and GM James Grant runs the show with extraordinary attentions to detail. Tory MP’S ( English Senators) , heads of state, the odd actor and teenagers on a half-term treat are all served equally at this fine old aristo that has a highly developed sense of noblesse oblige.

The Seafood bar, my favorite hangout...............

Secret Paris Alleyway - Left Bank

Located in the 6th district of Paris, close to Odeon Metro is a secret passage.
Most tourists and other visitors of the Quartier Latin, would walk up (or down) the Rue Saint André des Arts, and would miss giving a second glance to the narrow passageway called Cour du Commerce Saint André.
One entrance to this partly covered narrow street is from Rue Saint André des Arts, the other one is from Boulevard Saint Germain. the small street or alleyway has an of 18th century atmosphere, is covered by centuries- old cobble-stones, has a lot of charm and a number of historical references.

The first experiments with the guillotine (on sheep) took place in this building (no. 9).
The oldest still existing Paris café, Le Procope – opened in 1686 - , (OK for a coffee, but I would not recommend eating there) has its backdoor entry here. Among its regular visitors you can mention Racine, Molière, Voltaire, Diderot, Balzac, Napoleon and his marshals, George Sand, Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde, Thomas Jefferson … Benjamin Franklin (who is said to have “fine-tuned” the American constitution here)… a lot of ancient times’ actors (the old Comédie Française was just across the street) .. and the Revolutionary Robespierre, Marat, Danton….and Guillotin. Marat also printed the Revolutionary newspaper “L”Ami du Peulple” in this street (no. 8) and Danton had his home at no. 20 which corresponds to a part of the street which disappeared with the construction of Boulevard Saint Germain. Danton’s statue now stands where his house used to be.
Director Vincent Minnelli filmed here, set off the alleyway, for his musical, Gigi. Take a peek and see if you can recognize whose home it was in the movie.

Magical Stones of Brittany

Brittany is home to many megalithic sites that dot the landscape of the Gulf of Morbihan. Carnac is the most famous, but for something different and out of the way I recommend a boat trip to the small island of Gavrinis.
This small uninhabited island of Gavrinis is home to what is arguably Brittany’s most impressive Neolithic site – a pyramid-shaped stone burial chamber whose interior walls are covered with artwork. The island is accessible via a guided tour by boat from Larmor-Baden.

The boat tours leave from Larmor-Baden from April to October only.

A Chicken ...like No Other... I Know ...Only in France

At every outdoor market in Paris there’s at least one volaillier who has a constantly turning rôtisserie with long metal bars slowing spinning chickens until they’re bronzed…no, make that very well-bronzed, and unbelievably moist and succulent. If you can find ‘em, the poulet Portuguese are often called poulet crapaudine, a chicken that’s been split open, rubbed with lots of spices, raw garlic and more salt than one might think prudent. Then each bird is grilled until the skin is practically rock-hard and crackly-caramelized, which you pull off and enjoy in lick-smacking, crispy, salty bits.
One of the favorite roast chicken places in Paris is available only on Sunday at the Richard Lenoir market. (t the upper end of the market is a woman, the woman they call la Reine de Poulet, or the chicken queen, which is actually a title her daughter bestowed upon her which she carved on her old wooden cash box.
Wearing oversized glasses, short bobbed hair, and cackling like a mother hen, she shrieks out to all passers-by when the chickens are available; hot and ready-to-go. There’s always one waiting for YOU, just slid off the hot metal spit and wrapped in a crisp waxed paper bag. There’s all sorts of roast chickens available, but the crapaudine seems to be the favorite, BUT . If you’re one of those people that likes juicy, moist chicken, this ain’t the chicken for you. But for many of us, this is chicken candy.