Paris - To Paris

A few years back, above the Champs Elysées, Nicole Pembrook opened Polished Hair Care. For years, she had run a salon out of her home. But in her new and elegant premises, without even a sign, her clientele rapidly tripled. Having submitted my own blond locks to a coupe/couleur at Polished, I know the reasons [...]

Hard Up

09/03/10 6:27 am

If the shape of these baguettes reminds you of something, well don’t be surprised. Yes, they are shaped like penises! I found them in the gay area of Paris, in a boulangerie called Le Gay choc (choc is a play on words between chocolate and shock). Big tourist attraction, needless to say. I did not [...]

Strike Coming Tuesday

09/03/10 6:19 am

Most of France’s labor unions have called for a day of strikes and demonstrations on Tuesday, September 7, 2010. Although you can never tell for sure until the day of (or the evening before when it comes to public transport), be prepared for major disruptions on the metro, suburban, and intercity trains; schools; government offices [...]

Win a Trip to Paris!

09/02/10 6:51 am

Talbot’s. Ernest Hemingway. Blue jeans. See the connection? Neither do I. But the clothing company Talbot’s–a school-teachery line attempting to hipsterize itself with an ad campaign featuring Linda Evangelista in a leopard-print trench–is offering a trip to Paris. To enter the contest, you submit a six-word story with a blue jeans theme. (Inspired by Hemingway’s [...]

Flea-ing at the Vanves Puces

09/02/10 6:38 am

I started early, knowing that the stands pack it up and close up shop by about 1 pm. My original plan was to take a walk-through once and then go back to buy things, but I was meeting someone at noon and couldn’t take all the time I wanted in the end. So, I strolled through, stopping at [...]

Tea at the V

09/02/10 6:27 am

The George V Four Seasons is well-known for its Michelin-starred restaurant Le Cinq. But for those of us who look for more affordable places to treat ourselves, La Galerie is the place to go. This elegant lounge is located along the windows facing the interior garden courtyard, between Le Bar and Le Cinq. That makes it [...]

Contemporary Art Explosion

09/02/10 6:15 am

With entrepreneurial mega-art dealer Larry Gagosian (pictured) opening what will be his ninth gallery worldwide, just off the Champs-Élysées during FIAC, Paris’ October contemporary art fair, it would appear that the city is making a revival as a new force in the international art market. Gauging by the powerhouse programs galleries have planned for fall, Paris [...]

What to Do with Gypsies?

09/01/10 6:38 am

If you visited Paris, you probably noticed what we call the Roms (gypsies), that is an ethnic group who originates from India and who settled down mostly in Eastern Europe. They are very poor and not really welcome anywhere (including their home country) but with the opening of the EU borders a lot of them [...]

Where Celebs Go Unnoticed

09/01/10 6:32 am

I’ve lived in Paris for a few years and I have yet to spot anyone famous (at least as far as I know). A couple of friends, however, have hit the celeb jackpot. The first had been in Paris less than two months, when she dined in a restaurant just a couple of tables away [...]

New Bus Tours (That Aren’t Lame)

09/01/10 6:28 am

There was the Open Tour and the Galeries Lafayette red bus tours, now there’s Foxity, the budget option for double-decker bus tours of Paris: top deck adult tickets are €12, students under 25 and seniors over 65 are €10, and kids under 12 are free (one per paying adult). You can also opt for the [...]

Bora Bora - Reserve by Sept. 30 and enjoy a one thousand dollar spending credit.

08/30/10 2:58 pm

Location: Bistro du Peintre

08/26/10 2:36 am

The art nouveau bistro par excellence, le Bistro du Peintre has been a neighborhood restaurant since 1902. Its history shows in its beautifully preserved interior, with its antique chandeliers, floral molding, enormous curved mirrors, and hand-painted tiles. Sit and sip a glass of wine and you’ll be dreaming of Colette and cabarets in no time.

Today, the restaurant attracts all kinds of modern Parisians. In the mornings, beret-capped men almost as old as the bistro take their daily espresso at the counter; at lunch, businessmen wolf down steaks; in the afternoon, tourists munch on sweets and people-watch; at night, bobos (“bourgeois-bohèmes”) sip mojitos on the terrace.

The food is classically French, with dishes like andouillette, duck confit, grilled scallops, and tartare-frites. Plates are tasty, though on the heavy side, with no amount spared of the butter, salt and cream that makes French food famous. If you can, it’s worth saving room for the profiteroles, the cream filled pastries doused in chocolate sauce.

116 avenue Ledru Rollin, 75011 Paris, France
Daily, 07:00-02:00
+33147003439
http://www.bistrotdupeintre.com/
[M8] at Ledru Rollin; [M9] at Voltaire

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Location: Al Taglio

08/25/10 5:39 am

Among the greasy, pizza-kebab fusion joints that lure in the drunk hoards of Oberkampf, Al Taglio is a beacon of taste. Its retro-modern decor, communal tables, and delicious, focaccia based pizza will make you feel like you’re in Italy in the ‘60s. Well, almost, if you can forget about the high density of trendy frames and pizza-sauced Blackberries (that’s right, you eat with your hands here) amongst your neighbors.

And with the first bite, you will forget. The bread is always perfectly soft and crispy, and the toppings, such as pancetta and green pepper or potato and truffle cream, are succulent. In Italian, al taglio means “by the slice,” and the restaurant is true to its name. Customers line up in front of four or five large, uncut rectangles of fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza, and slices are cut to the size of their choice. Prices goes by weight, and are never too heavy on the wallet. It’s open (and packed) till midnight on the weekends—get it to-go and run with the hoards!

2 bis, rue Neuve Popincourt, 75011 Paris, France
Sun-Thu, 12:00-23:00; Fri-Sat, 12:00-24:00
+33143381200
[M3] at Parmentier; [M5] at Oberkampf

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Location: Buttes Chaumont

08/19/10 9:17 am

There are countless beauty spots in Paris for those of you seeking somewhere to enjoy the sunshine. Canal Saint-Martin and the Sacré Coeur obviously spring to mind.

The lofty Parc des Buttes Chaumont is a slightly less touristy option that sweeps its way across the 19th arrondissement. From its peak, atop a 30 meter high island where the belvedere of Sybil sits, you have a stunning panorama of the roof tops of the capital.

The park—the third largest in Paris—contains over 5 kilometers of trails and paths, a 63-meter suspension bridge, a 20-meter high waterfall that spills into a lake as well as four recently activated wi-fi zones that are part of a city wide scheme. During the summer, picnic-goers, students and families alike stretch out on the luscious turf trying to avoid the watchful eye of the stringent park keepers whose thankless job it is to try to keep people off of the grass.

In September, the park hosts Paris’ annual Silhouette Short Film Festival which affords visitors a rare legal opportunity to remain in the park after dark. The 7-day festival features a program of national and international short films as well as an awards ceremony.

1, place Armand Carrel, 75019 Paris, France
http://butteschaumont.free.fr/
[M7Bis] at Buttes Chaumont; ‎[M5] at Laumière‎

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Location: Guerrisol

08/19/10 9:14 am

Visiting fashionistas eyeing the foulards and cat-eye frames of elderly French ladies are often disappointed to find that for all its haute vintage, Paris has very little thrift. Guerrisol is the exception. On some rather grimy boulevards of the 17th and 18th arrondissements, far away from the trendy boutiques of Le Marais, are three warehouse stores with enormous, constantly rotating stocks that seem to come straight from the attics of the ladies themselves. It’s the best kept vintage secret in Paris.

You’ll find leather boots, mod dresses, furs, silk scarfs, straw hats, trench coats, lace blouses and old Levis. Be warned: it is dirty, and you must dig. You’ll rummage through bins amongst old grannies, mothers with toddlers, and the occasional hipster shooting you mean, territorial looks. But the prices make up for it—3€ the blouse, 5€ the pair of shoes, 30€ the fur. Don’t miss the Oxfords and loafers at their Avenue de Clichy location.

19, avenue de Clichy , 75017 Paris, France
Daily, 10:30-19:30
+33140080300
http://www.guerrisol.fr/
[M2] [M13] at Place de Clichy

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