Occasional warm and sunny days, the trees finally bursting with leaves, drinks on outside terraces and the first gelato of the season – it’s easy to love spring in Paris. Still, as a big city, it isn’t always the best setting to enjoy the delights of the season. Wouldn’t it be nice, just occasionally, to [...]

It’s been several mornings that I’ve passed by this graffiti on my way to the office and every day I wonder who, on earth, could take the time to write “ghetto” on the sidewalk! Like in all big cities, in – or around – Paris, we also have areas that some consider to be ghettos. [...]

A while back, I shared with you a photo of the Hôtel de Sens, noting a cannonball embedded there since the mid 19th century and today I’ve got another one for you, albeit from a different era. If you look closely at this entrance to the Palais de Justice on the Quai des Orfèvres on Ile [...]

On opposite corners of the Rue de la Victoire two unlikely neighbours stand facing each other. Rejected, forgotten and closed to casual visitors, these two very different structures pass the time exchanging tales of former glories. As they see pedestrians scuttle past their locked and guarded entrances, they can only wonder when times and fashions [...]

These 2 patterns are from Parisian bus seats. Funnily enough, the pattern on the right (which makes me think of baby food mixed with vomit) is in on the brand new buses on my route. The seating configuration is different and the poles in the middle have 3 prongs to give more hand-hold room. [...]

St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, stands watch over the city here from her perch above the Pont de la Tournelle. Legend has it that she was a lowly peasant woman. Truth is she was from a wealthy family in what is now the suburb of Nanterre. In any case, she is best loved [...]

 
Until now, the only American food I’ve tried here in Paris has been 1) Made by myself, 2) Purchased at one of the overpriced American stores here in Paris or 3) Served at Breakfast in America. Nothing against giant pancakes and eight euro Oreos, but this wasn’t the American food I was missing: as a [...]

Don’t ask me how, but last week I found myself in Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club. Yes, there’s one in Paris, off the Champs Elysées (naturally), directly across the street from the Columbian embassy. It was the last place I wanted to be—the least Parisian boite I could imagine. But damn if there wasn’t something classically [...]

Paris is not the City of Seven Hills. Although there is a rumour that it is, like Rome, built on seven hills. Nevertheless, Paris has its hilly sides. Most obvious, of course, is Montmartre. But also in the 16th arrondissement, Paris has a hilly streak. Especially at metro station Passy this becomes very obvious. This [...]

There wasn’t any sunshine or barefoot kids or beer pong, but I found that the French have their own distinct and very cool way of throwing a barbecue, with just as much grilled meat to please even the most skeptical of Americans. Living in the city, I haven’t had many chances, or any chances really, [...]