Category Archives: Art

Architecture, Art, Food, France, French customs, Restaurants

The hottest new pop-up bar in Paris with a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower – Top 12 Patisseries in Paris – Scallops & St Peter

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This week, in Wednesday’s blogger round-up, Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris takes us to a pop-up bar (a new concept for me) in Paris where she was tempted by the sin of gluttony. I can’t wait to try it out! Andrea from Rearview Mirror shares her top 12 patisseries in Paris from a host of wonderful neighbourhoods while Niall and Antoinette from Chez Charmizay explore an intriguing “monument historique” in the Loire Valley. Enjoy!

The hottest new pop-up bar in Paris with a stunning view of the Eiffel Tower: 180 Restaurant and Bar at the Pullman Hotel

by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use

pop_up_barBetter hurry! The clock is ticking and there are only 126 days, 13 hours and 26 minutes left to enjoy one of the most spectacular views of city from the hottest new pop-up bar in Paris.

Situated on the 10th floor of the Pullman Hotel, the bar offers an intimate encounter with the Eiffel Tower in all its sparkling glory. Watching the day fade into night as we sipped glasses of Veuve Clicquot champagne with friends visiting from the States yesterday evening, Stephane and I regretted that we hadn’t reserved a table for dinner. In keeping with the theme, the pop-up bar has specially concocted drinks and menu items honoring the seven deadly sins. With offerings like le Charnel (the carnal), a savory cheesecake, and le Sensual (the sensual) a sweet cheesecake, I was sorely tempted by the sin of gluttony. Read more

Top 12 Patisseries in Paris

by Andrea from Rear View Mirror (formerly Destination Europe), a fellow Australian who, after 6 years of living in France, has given up herParis apartment to live a nomadic life slowing travelling around Europe, experiencing each destination like a local

lille-france-17I naively thought I could list my top 10 favourite patisseries in Paris but there are too many great places to choose from so I decided to share my top 12. All are located in fantastic neighbourhoods ideal for a city break in Paris. If you’re planning a visit to Paris and want to live like a local, Go with Oh have a number of apartments perfect for a short stay. Read more

Scallops & St Peter

by Niaill, a Scotsman, and Antoinette, a Dutch American, from Chez Charnizay, who live in the village of the same name in southern Touraine  and blog about their adventures in the Loire Valley.

scallops_saint_peter

The town of L’Île-Bouchard straddles the river Vienne and we’ve written about the capitals of the ruined Prieuré de Saint-Léonard there before. On the south side of the Vienne river, just before you reach it, is a small village called Parçay-sur-Vienne.

We decided to have a quick look to see if the village church was of interest before heading on towards L’Île-Bouchard and Chinon: it was a another case of one of those slightly battered and faded ‘monument historique’ signs which intrigued us. Read more

Art, French language, Paris

Why Inge Came to France

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One of my greatest pleasures in teaching at the university in France was meeting young people from English-speaking countries across the world and learning about their hopes and aspirations. My French Life, the global community of French and francophiles connecting like-minded people in English & French, has just published my interview with Inge Laino, who is both tour guide and translator and manager of Paris Muse which gives private guided tours of Paris art museums. Enjoy!

Why Inge Came to France

inge_laino_2_myfrenchlife_maviefrancaise“I can say that I have accomplished most of what I set out to do: join the Peace Corps, go to Africa, live in France and master a foreign language.” I don’t think many people of Inge’s age could say the same thing!

A New Yorker from Queens; Italian on her father’s side and Flemish on her mother’s, Inge went with her parents and four older siblings on holiday to Belgium every year.  “I HATED it… I didn’t speak Flemish and I hated being in linguistic exile. Read more

 

Architecture, Art, Restaurants, Sightseeing, Travelling

Barcelona: Gastronomic Dining – Things to do in Barcelona – Gaudi’s Barcelona

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The posts on my Wednesday Bloggers’ Round-Up today are all by Australians (or people with Australian connections) and all on the subject of Barcelona. Kathy Stanford from Femmes Francophiles has suggestions for both fine dining and casual dining in Barcelona, Craig Makepeace from Y Travel Blog offers lots of insider tips on things to do while Laurence from Finding the Universe offers us spectacular photos of Gaudi’s monuments that I can’t wait to visit! So let’s go to Barcelona!

Barcelona: Gastronomic Dining

by Kathy Stanford from Femmes Francophiles, an Australian who an ongoing passion for France and the French language just back in Australia after a holiday in Europe

barcelona_fine_diningI visited Spain for the first time in 2001 as part of a whirlwind tour around Europe. I couldn’t understand people who raved about Spanish food. The food served to tourists on bus trips is generally lacking flavour and unexciting. All this changed last year when I stayed with Isa and Julio in Andalusia. What a revelation.

In January this year, in addition to tapas, I was fortunate to dine in the Michelin starred Cinc Sentits restaurant in Barcelona. Read more

Things to do in Barcelona

By Australian blogger Craig Makepeace from Y Travel Blog, who, with Caz, believes  that life is about creating great memories and making it a story to tell, and they do that through travel.

things-to-do-in-barcelona-13Looking for tips on things to do in Barcelona? As part of our city guides series, we interviewed Mariana Calleja from Travel Thirst who has been in Barcelona since January 2010, fell in love with the place, and decided to stay longer. Mariana shares with us her insider tips on the best things to do inBarcelona plus where to eat, sleep, drink, shop and explore. Why Visit Barcelona? Barcelona is a very rich city in many aspects. The easiest way… Read more

 Gaudi’s Barcelona

by Laurence from Finding the Universe, of British origin who, with German-born Vera, are both travellers, into writing and photography, slowly exploring the world.

Sagrada Familia Interior Gaudi Barcelona beamsGaudí. It’s kind of hard to visit Barcelona without spending your time gaping in awe at the architectural and artistic genius that he left behind all over the city.

A great deal of my week in Barcelona was therefore spent, gaping in awe, at his many truly incredible constructions. As well as gaping, I was also taking the odd photograph, which I’m sharing with you today. I wasn’t able to visit every bit of work he did, but I’d like to think that I took in the serious highlights.

In a future post I’ll be going more into the details of what to see and do in Barcelona. For now though, less detail: more eye candy.

Lets start with… Read more

Art, Lifestyle, Paris

I Love My Kindle

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It’s about 1°C and I’m taking the metro to meet friends for lunch. As I walk through Palais Royal, I see that one of our regular pavement artists has begun work. I’m cold just looking at him. On the metro reading, I open up Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” which I’m reading again. The French lady next to me asks if I’m happy with my Kindle. “Oh, yes, I love it!” “My husband bought me one for Christmas but it hasn’t arrived yet”, she says. I then proceed to tell her about my favourite features: you can increase or decrease the size of the characters which is wonderful when your sight diminishes and you can download an extract of a book before you buy it.

Pavement artist on Place du Palais Royal at 1°C.
Pavement artist on Place du Palais Royal at 1°C.

As I mentioned in a previous post about Kindles, I’m one of those people who can’t survive without reading. I hear many book lovers say they have to have the physical object but I must confess that that I’ve now been reading on my Kindle non-stop for nearly 10 months and I don’t miss paper books one little bit! My preferred place to read is in bed and some paperbacks are just too big to read comfortably.

If you’re eating breakfast alone, you can prop your Kindle up in front of you. It fits easily into your handbag when you take the metro. If you’re going on holidays, you don’t have to find room for several heavy books and with the 3G version, you can download a new book anywhere! When you’ve finished one book by an author, you can then proceed to read all their other works. I’ve nearly finished the complete collection of Jane Austen, which I’ve never been able to do before.

Pavement artist nearly finished three hours later
Pavement artist nearly finished three hours later

It’s a great space saver of course and extremely environment-friendly. I unfortunately don’t have the back-lit version but I now have a little light that I can clip on so I can read when Relationnel’s asleep – a big boon for an insomniac like me.

Some people use their iPads to read, but I find it’s too heavy and the light isn’t comfortable for reading. The Kindle is just perfect. Another thing is that you don’t have to keep track of a bookmark. It always opens at the right place. The only thing I don’t like is that it’s a bit tricky to flip back to check on something you’ve already read though maybe there is a trick to it that I don’t know.

Kindle books are much cheaper than paper ones and you can get most classics free. I was amused to see that the only novel by Austen that is not free is “Sense and Sensibility” but it costs less than a euro. I love it when someone talks about a book and I can immediately download the extract and see if I like it. There is also a “share” function that I haven’t explored yet.

So with all these wonderful possibilities, what have I been reading apart from Jane Austen that I can recommend? I’ll let you check them out on Amazon as book reviews are not really my thing.

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman, which I really enjoyed, though it’s pretty tough. It tells the story of a returned soldier in Australia who went to live in a lighthouse. I chose this book after reading an excellent review on a blog called Word by Word.

The Blindfold by Siri Hustvedt who is one of my favourite writers and did not disappoint me. Its about a poor young graduate student struggling to find an identity.

A Month in the Country by J. Carr which combines the return of a WWI veteran with mediaeval church restoration.

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri, an Indian writer living in the US. It’s a collection of short stories whose main theme is the clashes of culture.

The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt, whose main character is a mature woman whose husband decides he needs a « pause » in their marriage.

The Secret River by Kate Grenville who follows the lives of a family of convicts and first settlers in Australia and there relationship with the aborigines.

Sarah Thornhill by Kate Grenville, the sequel to the previous book.

Paris: A Love Story by Kati Marton, my favourite in 2012: the autobiography of a Hungarian woman who married two famous men, the ABC anchor Peter Jennings and the diplomat Richard Holbrooke.

Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult, which is a bit strange but readable nevertheless. It explores a man’s relationship with wolves and how it affects his family.

Do you have any books to share?

Art, Dieting, Food, French customs

A French woman’s secret to staying slim – Saint Malo – Dali’s restrospective at Beaubourg

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In this Wednesday’s bloggers’ round-up, New Zealander Rebecca Russel (now living in Nice), tells us in a post on My French Life how French women manage to stay slim while American blogger in Paris, Sylvia from Finding Noon, who “likes food a lot”, suggests places to find slimming things like crèpes and butter in Saint Malo in Brittany. On an entirely different subject, Pierre from Paris on Demand describes the Dali retrospective at the Pompidou Centre this winter. The last one was at least 33 years ago (I know – I went to it!), so this year’s is not to be missed! Enjoy!

A French woman’s secret to staying slim

by Rebecca Russel, who lives in Nice on the Côte d’Azur, and is the Director of a property search company, Côte Abode. While looking for French Riviera property on behalf of international clients, she also keeps a keen eye on the latest places to eat, shop and simply enjoy visiting.

I was reminded of how French women eat while dining at a restaurant with an American friend recently. Halfway through our meal he noticed that as each course arrived I would methodically divide up the food and set aside a third.

He meanwhile wolfed into snails in garlic butter (well, he did want to try something French), followed by a whole fish encased in crushed almonds and cooked (again) in butter, accompanied by my leftover pureed potatoes with truffle oil. He finished the entire bread basket before the mains had arrived. We followed this up with cheese and dessert. Read more

Saint Malo

by Finding Noon, an American living in Paris who appreciates fine art, good music, succulent food, and breath taking scenery

Two weekends ago we went to Cancale, and I raved about our trip, and it was fantastic, but then life happened and I start writing about more timely stuff, like the Paris Photo Festival, which I really encourage you to go see, which means I got side tracked and didn’t fully finish talking about our trip, which is fine, because, well, do you really care about every little thing we saw and tasted and experienced? I hope not, for your sake! On the other hand, I do like food an awful lot and we had some great meals on this trip that I really want to remember so I can book places for our next trip, so today, I am indulging myself and making a list of my St Malo favorite foods. First, the fish that got away. Read more.

Dali’s retrospective at Beaubourg

by Pierre from Paris on Demand, aimed at helping tourists and Paris lovers to get to know the city of Light under a different perspective, offering news and updates on exhibitions, museums, restaurants, off-the-beaten-track addresses, events and tips to prepare their trip and understand the Parisian way of life.

The Beaubourg Museum will definitely be one of the hot spots in town this winter with the Dali retrospective which will display more than 150 pieces of art by the eccentric artist who was a prolific painter, sculptor and writer.Along with the paintings, visitors will have the opportunity to watch unreleased videos of the artist, TV commercials he directed, photographs…

This exhibition is an unprecedented tribute to the most famous surrealist artist who was a pioneer and an example for future generations.

http://blog.paris-on-demand.com/2012/11/28/dalis-retrospective-at-beaubourg/

Art, Loire Valley, Renovation

The Big Fireplace Operation and a Delinquent Seller

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The Big Fireplace Operation is obviously taking longer than expected, but that is no surprise. Renovations always take longer than expected. First, Relationnel underestimated the size of the fireplace itself. Second, it turns out that someone along the way used it incorrectly resulting in a thing called bistre which is a brownish substance made of burnt soot and tar and can burn your house down if not removed.

Fireplace with bistre

Bistre is removed by tapping away with a pickaxe. You may remember that I moved down to Blois temporarily to escape the renovations on my balcony in Paris. Well, it’s the same sort of noise. My office is just next door. I do not, however, have to listen to a radio blasting away and workmen shouting at each other. And there are no pneumatic drills.

Triangle after chipping off facing, showing metal bar

Before removing the bistre, Relationnel also chipped off the facing of the upper part of the fireplace, above the mantel, revealing a triangular-shaped hole. He had previously propped up the sunken mantle which had been erroneously reinforced with a horizontal bar by someone who obviously didn’t realize (I’m sure I would have …) that the metal would expand when the fire was lit and push the sides of the fireplace further, causing the mantle to sink even further.

Mason’s trestles being installed to hold up mantle

At this juncture, a visit to BricoDepot was needed to buy some bright orange mason’s trestles. I must have been really desperate to get out the house to go on that excursion! First, you identify what you want in a catalogue, then you pay for it. You get one of those little raffle tickets that you give to the warehouseman when it’s your turn. He takes you to the storage area and unloads your purchases onto a large trolley. Then you get his mate to stamp your raffle ticket. You can tell why it’s the cheapest DIY place around.

After removing the keystone

The mason’s trestles are needed so that Relationnel can remove the mantle, which consists of several large stones with plaster holding them together, in preparation of the next phase. The sides of the fireplace also needed to be sanded down to remove various layers of paint. That also produced a somewhat unnerving noise.

Keystone with a piece of plaster fallen off

In the meantime, we got a call from Mr Previous Owner whom we had told about the Big Fireplace Operation. You know that big, square jagged hole above the mantle? Mr PO told us it happened when the crest stone with the construction date of the house – 1584 – was removed for renovation. The stone was damaged beyond repair. I always thought that was a bit strange because none of the fireplaces are in working order. Anyway, he had a new crest stone made by a stone cutter’s school  somewhere along the way using a photo of the original and gave it to us when we got the keys to the house.

Fireplace with mantle removed

Well, it turns out to be a little more complicated. It seems that Mr Previous Previous Owner had to sell the house because of his divorce and wanted a keepsake – SO HE REMOVED THE CREST STONE. Can you imagine that anyone who loved historical buildings enough to buy Closerie Falaiseau and undertake its entire renovation would destroy its very soul? The man is delinquant.

Fireplace with hole where the crest stone was removed

Mr PO, who has remained in contact with Mr PPO for some reason, phoned him and asked him if he would return the crest stone to us since we’re renovating the fireplace . Mr PO believed he was going to do so, but when Relationnel spoke to Mr PPO on the phone, he said he wasn’t ready yet and would have to check we were restoring the fireplace correctly! What utter cheek !

New crest stone with 1584 just visible

We also learnt that Mr PO was able to have the new stone made from a plaster cast of the old one which turned up in the house next door, owned by Mr PPO’s brother who no longer owns his house either.Mr PPO was supposed to come by today but he obviously didn’t. Relationnel says there is no way he is going to set foot in the door without the stone. I agree of course. So we’re going ahead and using the new stone as planned.

Art, France, History, Paris

French Tours: Beware Madame la Guillotine – It Pays to be a Friend – The Old Woman without a Clue

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While I was on holiday in Australia, I didn’t have time to read my favourite blogs so I have a lot of catching up to do! This Wednesday, Abby Gorden from Paris Weekender, posting on My French Life, reviews a wonderful iPhone app on the French revolution which begins at my very doorstep, Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris explains the advantages of being a “friend” of Parisian museums and Bread is Pain laments about her inability to assimilate all those French verbs while her knowledge of France increases in leaps and bounds.

French Tours: Beware Madame la Guillotine

by Abby Gorden from Paris Weekender, posting on MyFrenchLife, a global community of French and francophiles connecting like-minded people in English & French

When My French Life™ asked me to review Time Traveler Tours new ‘Beware Madame la Guillotine’ iPhone app, I eagerly agreed. I was not going to pass up a chance to learn some history while having fun, outdoors, on the go.

The app is not quite a self-guided walking tour and not quite a book on tape. It’s something in between and at the same time something more. It’s jam-packed with history and interesting tidbits. It’s interactive. It’s easy to use. I had never owned an iPhone until about 15 hours before I embarked on the app-guided tour, but I still found it easy to navigate. Read more

It Pays to be a Friend

by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use

(Friday afternoon) 

It’s less than an hour until my father-in-law’s train pulls into Gare de Lyon and I’m in a panic. It’s not that the apartment is a mess or that we don’t have any food, it’s that the elevator is broken.

The good news is that we could bypass the long lines of people huddling under their umbrellas in front of the Musée d’Orsay on Saturday afternoon because I’m a friend, “une amie”, of the museum. Read more

The Old Woman without a Clue

by Bread is Pain, a 30-something American living in the Rhone-Alps, and slowly eating and drinking herself through the country

I’ve been taking yet another French Intensif Course, this time at the University, and until today it has been an exercise in humiliation.  Everyone in the class is about 12 years old 20 years old and have been studying French for anywhere from 2 to 8 semesters.  They can reel off subjunctives and infinitives like it’s nothing.  When we had a session in which we described Fairy Tales, they were flawlessly reciting the plots to the Lion King*, Cinderella, and Pinnochio…and then there was me, the old lady without a clue (har har).  I could get the words out but not the correct grammar. Read more

 

Art, Food, Loire Valley, Restaurants, Sightseeing

A Tapestry Shop and a Tea Room in Blois

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I’m in the train again, going back to Paris and my shuttered-up apartment. But on Fridays, the workmen go home early so I won’t have to put up with the pneumatic drill for too long. Then on Monday, we leave for Australia for five weeks. We haven’t been for three years. Australia is a long way away! We’re having a stopover in Hong Kong on the way there and back. I can no longer do the 20-hour journey in one stretch. When I first left, 37 years ago, it took over 30 hours, with a one-hour stop in an airport every three hours so they could fuel up. The airports all look the same;  only the people behind the counters of the duty-free stores give any indication of the local population and customs. Now it’s a mere 20 hours.

Blois Castle on the street side

But yesterday afternoon I was still in Blois so I went into the city for some last-minute shopping. It was a glorious day. The beautiful weather is holding up, just as we are about to go, of course. My first stop was a little souvenir shop in the street next to the castle recommended to me by my friend Françoise, who tells everyone she found me in the street – which is quite true, as you may remember from an earlier post. The woman behind the counter and another woman who seemed to be overseeing the shop in some way kept up a constant banter. It always amazes me to see how sales assistants ignore you completely. At least it gave me time to decide what to buy …

My next stop was quite a different experience – a family-owned tapestry shop called Langlois just a few doors on. I wandered in and could see no one about but a very pleasant and helpful man soon arrived and gave me information about the tapestries. What I thought to be a very modern collection of cushion covers is actually based on details from the beautiful mediaeval Apocalypse tapistry in Angers. Another series are long Art Deco panels, selling for about 500 euros. Some beautiful traditional panels go for around 1000 euros. There are also carpet bags, purses, jewellery and ornamental items of various shapes and sizes. I could have bought a lot of things in that shop had money not been a consideration!

My last visit was to « Les Forges du Château », a lunch/tea room/cellar/local speciality shop where my gîte guests, Sandy and Will, had had a very positive lunch experience the day before. Newly opened in June, it has a a small outside eating area and an upstairs area that ressembles a private living room and looks out onto the castle opposite, a shop with many original items and produce, a cellar in two parts – one that stocks local wines (free tasting on request) and a wonderful 15th century cellar downstairs with vintage bottles behind iron grids.

The restaurant/tea room, which is open until about 8 pm, offers an interesting selection of sandwiches, salads and hot dishes, at prices ranging from 5 to 15 euros, with desserts to follow. I will definitely be trying it out when we go back to Blois in October.

Langlois Tapestries, 1 rue de la Voûte du Château, 41000 BLOIS, + 33 (0)2 54 78 04 43,                  langlois-blois@waadoo.fr
 Opening Times
Monday to Saturday 10am  until noon
& 2.30 pm until 6pm
Sunday and public holidays – by appointment
 
Les Forges du Château
21 Place du Chateau
41000 Blois
Accommodation, Art, Cycling, France, Paris

Where do you ride your bicycle? Velib in Paris and Hubway in Boston want to know! – escaping the tourist trail in Paris

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In this week’s Bloggers’ Round-up, Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris compares Vélib in Paris and Hubway in Boston while Caroline Lee from Escape to Paris shares her experience of staying in an unusual and little-known place in Paris. Let’s join them!

Where do you ride your bicycle? Vélib in Paris and Hubway in Boston want to know!

by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use

With over 20,000 bicycles, the Vélib public bike sharing system is well on its way to becoming as synonymous with Paris as the Eiffel Tower. No matter the time of year or the weather, it’s easy to spot enthusiastic cyclists crossing the Pont St. Louis or making their way precariously around the Place de la Concorde. Whenever I see an impeccably dressed woman in a skirt and high heels or a man balancing a large musical instrument on the back of his bicycle, I always want to ask where they’re headed. It seems that I’m not the only one who wants to know because the official website for the city of Paris recently posted a slide show of people who responded to the question, “Tu vas où avec ton Vélib’?” (Where do you go with your Velib?”). My favorite answer was by a couple from New York who said, “We’re wandering around without a precise destination today. Maybe we’ll go to the Luxembourg or the Tuileries, we’ll see.” Read More

escaping the tourist trail in Paris…

by Carolyne Lee, from Escape to Paris, an Australian writer, teacher, and researcher who tries to spend every spare moment in France.

Passing through Paris not long ago, on my way to Toulouse, I needed a bed for a night, and stayed in a miniscule but lovely studio in a three-storey house in a street which my Paris friends later told me they had never heard of! It also seemed that tourists hadn’t heard of it, although as well as L’Hotel Particulier, where I stayed, I noticed another of the houses functions as a hotel, Hotel Mignon, mignon translating as ‘cute’. That certainly describes the whole street. It’s rue Cremieux, close to the Gare de Lyon, a street of former workers’ houses, now gentrified, all painted different colours–some quite startling. Some even had various quirky decorations, and the whole effect was sublime. Many of the houses are owned and lived in by families, so even though it looks a bit theme-parky, it wasn’t like that at all. Children were playing in the street, neighbours were chatting, a few people even said ‘bonjour’ to me. My pictures will tell the story much more eloquently… Read more

 

Art, France, Travel photos

Monday’s Travel Photos – Saint Paul de Vence

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Saint Paul de Vence in Provence, 12 k west of nice and 26 k from Cannes, can be seen from afar. It’s the sort of village that is so well known that you imagine it will be chock-a-block with tourists and craft shops. But in fact, it’s really lovely and well worth a visit. The views are quite stunning and the ramparts ordered by François I and built from 1537 to 1547 are still intact. More recently, it was a favourite haunt of Matisse and Modigliani; Chagall lived there for 20 years and is buried in the cemetary. There is a also a well-organised parking system.

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