I’ve just discovered an off-the-beaten track shop for frilly bras and panties at prices that had me squealing. The interior of Destockage Lingerie is as unadorned as its name, but the place carries great brands such as Huit, Chantelle, and Dim. This blue Huit swimsuit costs a mere 14 euros; bras go from 10-25 euros, [...]
Greetings from 1950s America! No, not really. But yes, really. I disappeared last week because I was working on an article for my friend’s Seattle news website about the Dominique Strauss-Kahn debacle — a first-hand report from someone living in the Paris hot zone. It’s not the kind of writing I usually do and I [...]
This Wednesday, come on along to Le Carmen for the 4th installation of the by-now legendary Book Club party, sponsored by the literary magazine A Tale of Three Cities. What is A Tale of Three Cities? I’m so glad you asked. It’s a new arts journal, launching this summer, and devoted to showcasing the writing, artwork, and [...]
L’Oreal, Lancome, Dior, Chanel…French beauty products may still carry that cachet of sophistication and all-around ooh-la-la, but Americans in Paris are not completely satisfied with the city’s pricey potions. Lipstick, mascaras, and face creams cost significantly more here than in the United States, and store clerks live up the the French reputation of uselessness (just [...]
Quick reminder! The Paris Blog is sponsoring a FREE concert this Thursday by Franco-American singer-songwriter Charlie Sputnik. Click here for Sputnik’s SoundCloud page, and here for the new music video by his group Zoowax. (If the guy can sound this good when tipsy in the back of a taxi, you know the show’s going to [...]
If you’ve been to Paris you will know that Paris is divided into twenty districts. We call such a district an arrondissement, and they are numbered in a circle from the middle, clockwise around and out. Therefore, if you draw a line from #1 out to #20, you will have a squiggle like a snail [...]
Yes, people still read books, and in all flavors. Nowhere is this more evident than at the annual Marché de la Poésie at Place Saint Sulpice (75006), ending tomorrow (Monday). About 100 small publishers have come together to offer this year’s crop of hand-made, limited edition poetry, prose and art books. Many are precious letter-press [...]
There are many ways to visit Paris, other than with the public transportation. I have showed you the hop on hop off bus, the 2CV tours, the bike tours, the Segway tours, the Bateaux Mouche tours, and now, here are the Tuk Tuk tours! One never ceases to innovate in Paris when it comes to dragging tourists around! Apparently [...]
Although the Francophonie is getting larger globally—that is, the number of people who speak French—use of the language seems to be on the decline in certain corners of Europe. Yesterday when I traveled from Spain to France on Vueling airline, all the announcements on the plane by flight attendants were made in Spanish and in [...]
A reader marvels at the range of vintages available at your local Monoprix store: The wine was conveniently shelved opposite the cold meats. Following universal supermarket principles, the lower the price, the lower the shelf, and at the bottom was a perfectly tolerable Bordeaux for €2.90. But on the top shelf… on the top shelf…. There [...]
