The PerfectlyParis Blog

La Ruche Qui Dit Oui - What can you buy for under 100 Euros ?

2012-01-24T12:52:00.000+01:00

There is a great, new place to buy fresh food products in the 18th called, 'La Ruche Qui Dit Oui'. What is a 'ruche' ? The literal translation is 'hive' or 'beehive' and there are 245 set up in France with 3 being in Paris.

The concept is simple : you can join, set up or supply your products to a ruche. A ruche is a place where you can purchase food, beverages and more directly from the producers who then distribute to your ruche every 2 weeks.

This allows the producers to sell their products directly to the consumes which benefits all - no one in between so less expensive for the consumer and more funds to the producer. Click here for a video (en français) explaining how it works.

You can find a ruche in your area by checking out 'La Ruche Qui Dit Oui'. Once you have joined, you will see a list of the suppliers to your ruche. You will then be notified when the next delivery will be and you usually need to order a week before. Once the delivery date is set and you have placed your order, you will be able to go and pick up your products at a specified time.

The first distribution for our ruche was on January 19 and Florence, our Queen Bee of our Beehive, organised a wonderful apéro at the first food pick up allowing us to meet some of the suppliers directly and taste their products.

The event was a great success as you can see from some of the photos ...

There was champagne and beer tastings (guess which one I went for ?) ...

... cheese tasting ...

... lovely terrines ...

... bread tasting ...

... honey and more !

When you arrive at your ruche, you will need to bring your order form then go to each of the suppliers to pick up your products. They will already have your products individually bagged for easy pick up - make sure you bring something to carry them home in though !

My total purchase was just under €95 and here is what I got to go home with in my 'Sac à Sardines' :

Was it worth it ? .... Absolutely ! The products where all of high quality and you could taste their freshness. Would I do it again ? Definitely !

All I can say is, 'Thank you, Florence, for setting up our ruche !'

If you would like to join our ruche, go to La Ruche Qui Dit Oui and keep up with the news about our ruche on Florence's blog !

Wine At Your Doorstep: Le Petit Ballon

2012-01-24T10:11:00.012+01:00

Here at PerfectlyParis, we are always looking for cool new things and ideas on how to further enjoy this already amazing city. Well, we just found another: Le Petit Ballon. For just 19.90€/month you can have two expertly chosen bottles of wine delivered to your door. Their helpful and easy to nagivate website includes tasting notes and in-depth videos on each of the wines of the month. And if you like them, you're able to order them at reduced prices.

I have opted for the most basic plan -l'Age de Raisin - (19.90€/month) and after seeing that their office is on rue des Dames in the 17th, I decided just pick the bottles up myself and save on the postage (which is only a mere 4.90€, by the way). I was welcomed warmly by Florent, one of the young brains behind this new concept.

What I really enjoy about this system is that you're "forced" to get to enjoy wines that you would not necessarily buy. We all fall into our old comfortable habits of always picking the same styles and types of wine. You also have the opportunity to read all of the interesting and in-depth details about the wine on Le Petit Ballon's website. Most often, the labels on the back of wine don't tell us much.

On Saturday night, I decided to try the two wines side by side while watching the tasting videos on their website. This month, the two bottles that were included were:

-Saint Esprit 2010, Côtes du Rhône by Delas

-Petite Sirah 2009, Baja California (Mexico) by L.A. Cetto

I very rarely buy Rhône wines, probably because of the quantity of (poor) ones that I drank during my college years but I am always open to trying wines, especially when they are hand-chosen. I had heard of Delas before and knew that they made good wines. I was also exited to try the second as I had never had Mexican wine before. So I set up a small dégustation, decanting both bottles 1 hour before drinking them as the website suggested.

The Mexican petite sirah was a medium purple color with nice smoky, tobacco and pepper notes on the nose. In tasting it, we discovered juicy red fruit flavors, a bit too baked and jammy for my tastes, but overall it was balanced (despite the 14.5% alcohol).

The Delas bottle was light ruby in color with more complex notes of cedar and licorice on the nose. On the palate it was elegant and very fine with mineral undertones. It was more structured and "old world" and the Mexican was more exuberant and lively.

Both were delicious and totally different and a delight to compare. We continued drinking them with a dinner of terrine aux foies de vollailes, followed by a filet de cannette avec frites de panais aux epices et au miel. Both wines cried out for a good rustic cheese, but we didn't have any!

Thanks, Le Petit Ballon. I look forward to next month's delivery!

36 Hours in Lyon

2011-12-05T08:41:00.020+01:00

Having now lived in France now for seven years, I was embarrassed that I never visited France's second largest city: Lyon.

Parisians (and foreigners alike) tend to think that Paris is France and I was happy dispel this myth and to check out another French urban environment.

First of all, it's so easy to reach via TGV from Paris's Gare de Lyon. There are loads of trains each day and it takes about two hours one-way. The train tickets can be costly, but if booked in advanced can be as little as 22 Euros one-way.

So off we went, very early on a Saturday morning to make full enjoyment of our short weekend away. After arriving and dropping our bags at the Best Western Hotel du Pont Wilson, we headed straight for the Presqu'ile, the peninsula that juts into the confluence of the rivers Saône and Rhône. This skinny strip of land is the commercial hub and administrative center of the city and is lined with beautiful buildings and shops and has a decidedly different feeling to it than any area of Paris. Perhaps it's the gorgeous views of the hills on the River Saône side, with the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière perched above, guarding the city. Or the sheer width of these two important rivers, meeting at this very spot, that made us feel far away from home.

Lyon was just waking up when we arrived so we wandered and found a cafe so we could look at our guide book and plan our day. Lyon has many historical sights to be seen, but our goal was to relax and simply walk around a city new to us.

Lyon is also reputed as the gastronomic heartland of France, and many consider, of the Western world. Paul Bocuse, one of France's most famous chefs is from Lyon and this could only help the reputation that this city had already begin to build over the past few centuries. Lyon is also right in the middle of two of France's most important wine producing regions: Burgundy to the north and the Rhone Valley to the south.

I'll cut to the chase: for a 36 hour trip, we already had made reservations at two reputed restaurants that came recommended and also had a laundry list of shops and other edible delicacies that needed to be procured.

After a coffee and a look through our guide book at all of the cultural things we weren't going to see, we headed straight for Les Halles de Lyon-Paul Bocuse, the city's covered market. This was an experience like none other: row after row of stalls hanging sausages, foie gras in every shape, color and flavor, seafood, chocolate, cheese and much more.

Fruits of the Sea

This market, compared to your typical open-air market, was geared more towards ready-made items which suited us well, being able to bring lots of things home with us.

Porky Goodness!

I bought a famed saucisse pistaché, a pork sausage that needs to be cooked in boiling water for 45 minutes that's studded with beautiful pistachios. Served with stewed lentils or a warm potato salad, this is indicative of the simplicity of la cuisine lyonnaise. The shop keeper said they freeze well, so I threw it in the freezer when I got home. I also grabbed a St Felicien cheese, the big brother of the more common St Marcellin, both being soft super creamy cow's milk cheeses. This ended up being the most delicious one I had ever had. So much can be said about trying things only kilometers from where they are made!

Another treat which I bagged for my trip back to Paris were some quenelles de brochet, or pike dumplings. These ethereal and pillowy dumplings are served traditionally with a sauce Nantua, a creamy crayfish sauce. Both were packed perfectly with the intention of travel and made it safely home to Paris where we ate them two days later.

But truly the best part of this market is the possibility of eating on the spot. There are at least 6 small restaurants inside the market, ranging from pristine seafood to Corsican charcuterie and Italian fresh pasta. So we sidled up to the bar and had the breakfast (hey, it was almost noon!) of champions: a dozen oysters and a glass of the local white Macon wine. This hit the spot and reinforced our ability to finish the rest of the market.

After all this shopping we were truly hungry and so we settled into the bar at the Corsican place, ordering a large platter of their sliced-to-order charcuterie and cheeses and a glass of Corsican red wine. Divine!

After a quick nap at the hotel and a shower, we ventured out to dinner at Le Brasserie des Brotteaux. This art nouveau gem is definitely worth the visit just to admire the beauty of the establishment. The food was better than average, the menu trying a little too hard and the service unmemorable, but like I said, it's really pretty inside. Booking is required.

A shot of the interior of Le Brasserie des Brotteaux. It was hard to capture the tile work in the low lighting.

The next day, we had lunch at one of Paul Bocuse's five bistro style restaurants called, this one being Le Nord, specializing in traditional cuisine from Lyon. The food much more memorable than the previous night, hence the following photos.

A starter of saucisse en brioche, a pork sausage enveloped in a buttery-rich pastry casing, served warm

My main dish: quenelle de brochet sauce Nantua

I hardly had room for dessert, but indulged in a tarte au pommes. A double espresso was in order after this feast and a long walk back to the hotel to get our luggage before going back to the station.

I also squeezed in a mad dash to Lyon's most famous chocolatier Bernachon. This is a must.

In short, Lyon has a lot to offer, even if you're not a glutton like me. The old city and the Presqu'ile can all be visited on foot and I gather it's a very pleasant city in summer. Lyon is also famous for its Festival of Lights on 8 December of each year, a celebration of of thanks to the Virgin Mary. The Lyonnais put small candles in their windows and the city organizes huge light shows and projections over the city's monuments.

I would highly recommend our hotel, the Best Western Hotel du Pont Wilson, for it's very accessible location and it's amazingly quiet and updated rooms. Booking in advance can often save you up to 50% off of their normal rates.

Marche de Noel at Place des Abbesses, Montmartre

2011-11-27T15:08:00.000+01:00

It is getting close to the time of year when the children are waiting to see what the fat man in the red suit will leave under their Christmas tree. I know that my daughter mentions Christmas every day and has done so for the past two weeks !

I visited the Marché de Noël at Place des Abbesses since it opened over the weekend. The mayor and Santa Claus (Père Noël) opened the Christmas market on November 25th by turning on the lights which decorate the Lepic-Abbesses area.

About twenty booths have been set up with the various seasonal products for sale.

Beignets/donuts

Crêpes

Gaufres/Waffles and vin chaud (very important !)

Nougat

In addition to the places above, there are many more including this stand that is selling a raclette sandwich:

My favourite stand was this one below which specialises in products from the Jura such as cheese (compté and Mont d'or), charcuterie and wine. We had an apéro at home with all of our puchases and I will have to go back to the stand again to get some vin jaune, a speciality from the Jura. The stand is easy to spot as you will see a smiling gentleman with an unusual pink bonnet on his head :

Finish off all of your samplings with some roasted chestnuts (and don't forget that glass of vin chaud!).

And if you are feeling a bit chilly, you can have another vin chaud or buy something warm to wrap up in.

There are also a few booths set up with games for children along with the carousel which is permanently at Place des Abbesses.

And, of course, Christmas decorations !

This weekend (November 26 and 27) has clown shows for the children.

The place for children to visit - Santa's house (see below for activities that will be here for kids)

The booths will be up for the rest of the year, shutting down on January 1st and here are the list of events planned:

December 3 - St Nicholas passes through the marché with treats for the children.

There will be face painting for kids from 11-13:00 and 15-18:00.

The Saint Nicholas treasure hunt for children starts at 14:00 at place des Abbeses. Registration is necessary and you can do so by called 01 42 62 21 12 or sending an email to accueilmontmartre@noos.fr

There will be singing in the streets during the afternoon.

December 4 - St Nicholas will be passing with his pony this time (and with treats for the children, of course). There will be a contest for kids to see who can create the nicest letterbox.

There will be singing in the streets during the afternoon.

December 10 - Santa Claus will be at Place des Abbesses with the Petits Poulbots in the morning.

There will be face painting for kids from 11-13:00 and 15-18:00.

During the afternoon, children can have their photo taken with Santa in from of his house from 16-18:00.

There will be a guided tour of Montmartre for children. Registration is necessary and you can do so by called 01 42 62 21 12 or sending an email to accueilmontmartre@noos.fr

There will be singing in the streets during the afternoon.

December 11 - Santa Claus will be passing in his horse-drawn sleigh with the Petits Poulbots and will be distributing gifts. This starts at the foot of rue Lepic at 11:00.

There will be face painting for kids from 11-13:00 and 15-18:00.

During the afternoon, children can have their photo taken with Santa in from of his house from 16-18:00.

There will be singing in the streets during the afternoon.

December 10 and 11 - From 11-17:00 each of these days, there will be a collection of toys to help the less fortunate children who live in the 18th arrondissement.

Collection booths will be set up at Place du Tertre, PLace des Abbesses and Place Charles Dullin

December 14 - There will be all sorts of shows with clowns, face painting and more. The clown show will run from 14-18:00.

December 17 and 18 - Santa will be passing throughout the mornings.

There will be face painting for kids from 11-13:00 and 15-18:00.

During the afternoon, children can have their photo taken with Santa in from of his house from 16-18:00.

There will be singing in the streets during the afternoon.

Throughout the entire holiday season, there will be Christmas lights on display thanks to the contribution of 120 shop owners in the area (80% of the funding comes from them while 20% comes from the city of Paris).

Here is a link to the calendar of events in French :

Marché de Noël, Place des Abbesses 2011

Before leaving the Christmas market, take the time to pass by the 'I Love you' wall where these words are written in more than 250 languages/dialects.

Happy Holidays from our homes to yours !!

Salon des Vignerons Indépendants Starts Tomorrow!

2011-11-23T16:16:00.004+01:00

One of Paris's most interesting and biggest wine events starts tomorrow, Thursday November 24th at the Porte de Versailles convention center.

This event is the nation's largest event featuring independent winemakers.

So who is considered a "Vigneron Indépendant"?

According to the rules, this is someone who respects respects his terroir. A word you will hear a lot when you discuss wine, terroir can be roughly translated as the specific characteristics of geography, soil and climate of the land where the grapes are grown and how this makes each wine special and different. According to most French winemakers, terroir, or sense of place, is intrinsic to French wines.

In order to participate in this event, each participating winemaker must also cultivate and harvest his or her own grapes, in other words, no buying in of the neighbor's grapes and sticking his or her name on the bottle is allowed.

The winemaker must also vinify his own creations on-site and then sells his or her wine. The wine is truly made from beginning to end by the winemaker. And that's what the event is all about: getting to meet the winemaker in person, discuss and most importantly taste their wines.

The enormous convention space is set up by regions and one can literally spend the better part of a day perusing the offerings and chatting with the winemakers.

This great event, for experienced wine connoisseur or beginnings alike, only gets better each year. There are now excellent and affordable options for home delivery so if you're like me and don't have a car, you can shop away and have all of your wines delivered to your home at a later date.

Here is the practical information:

http://www.vigneron-independant.com/auxsalons/recherche.php?changesalon=155&salon=Paris

PAVILLON 7 1. PARIS EXPO – PLACE DE LA PORTE DE VERSAILLES - 75015 PARIS

24-25-26-27 Novembre 2011 : 10h-20h

28 novembre : 10h-18

In my opinion, Thursday and Friday are the best days to go as it's less crowded. Monday is alright, but many of the winemakers are sold out of certain offerings by Monday. Saturday is usually a mad house!

Entry: 6€ which includes your tasting glass that you can bring home with you.

Au Passage Restaurant

2011-11-13T13:54:00.001+01:00

I had the pleasure of dining at Au Passage for lunch last month with my friend, Forest. I was very pleasantly surprised !

The restaurant is located on a small street (Passage St Sébastien) in the 11th and not one that you would stumble across by accident so make the effort to visit it.

It was not very busy when we arrived but filled up in no time before we left.

The lunch menu is limited to 1 appetizer and a choice between 2 main courses followed by either cheese or dessert.

We started off with a wonderful trout that was done in a gravlax style.

This was followed by delectable fish with fresh vegetables and a touch of mint (nice addition).

We finished with the perfect piece of cheese.

The service was generally very prompt and pleasant.

The restaurant had the charm of an old bar or diner with a combination of regular tables and chairs mixed with lower tables, sofas and comfy arm chairs. In the background, Elvis was playing which brought a smile to my face :)

The evening has a larger choice and it is a tapas style menu (please note that there is not much if you are vegetarian) and I am looking forward to trying their evening fare.

The price is extremely affordable and worth every Euro !!

If it is anything like the delicious food served at night, it will definitely be my reason to visit the 11th more often !

Au Passage
1 Bis Passage St Sébastien
75011 Paris
Telephone : 01 43 55 07 52

Give us a name and we will give you a bag !

2011-11-07T21:45:00.001+01:00

Each time we add a new apartment to our PerfectlyParis website, we try to think of a short, unique name to call it.

The name should give a quick idea of what the apartment is about based on the area and style.

We are looking for your help in name our latest flat on rue Durantin in Montmartre.

Here is a link to details and photos of the new Abbesses apartment http://www.perfectlyparis.com/Abbesses%20New.html

There is a modern, airy and uncluttered feeling that makes it very stylish.

We are looking for help to decide on the perfect name and, as a thank you, we are offering a beautiful, hand painted bag Kasia Dietz Handbags :

Submit your suggestions as a comment below or directly on our PerfectlyParis Facebook Page.

The winner will be chosen on Friday of this week !

Fête des Vendanges, Montmartre, October 2011

2011-10-10T13:42:00.001+02:00

Every year, since 1934, there is a great festival that happens in Montmartre which revolves around the vineyards on rue des Saules, the last surviving vineyard in Paris.

The Fête des Vendanges lasts several days and activities range from wine tasting, exhibits of food/beverages from various regions in France, activities for children, music, crafts and more. My favourite part of the festival is always the parade, followed by a visit to the food/wine stands.

This year, the parade took place on Saturday, October 10. It starts at the Mairie du 18e, Place Jules Joffrin and ends at Place des Abbesses. This year's theme for the parade was 'The Islands' so there was a great number of parade groups that had a West Indian flare.

There are a lot of different wine producers who participate in the parade every year and there is always the tradition of French music from the days gone by as well as representatives of the Republique Montmartre, easily visible in their traditional black capes and hats as well as their red scarves.

We followed the parade through the streets picking up our friends along the way. When we had seen the show, we ran ahead of the crowd up to Sacré-Coeur as this was where all of the tasting tents were set up.

We started off with a bottle of champagne and then went on to have wine as well as number of regional foods from the different stands that were set up.

There is always a stand with Bio (organic) products as well as several with cheese, charcuterie and more.

As usual, we ended up buying a lot of the products for sale then headed back home to have a tasting with friends.

Merchants in the area often participate in the event and one of our favourite wine shops, Cave Caulaincourt, had a lovely display in their window which revolved around the theme of this year's event.

As we were walking home, we also saw a bar, Les Taulières, which had a wine tasting set up outside. This proved to be a lot of fun as well.

There were fireworks happening later than evening, however, I had to get my young daughter home to bed so missed that this year.

The Fête des Vendanges is my favourite festival in Paris and it is always held on the second weekend in October.

If you are in Paris at the time of the festival, it is an event not to be missed so cheers and here is hoping to see you next year for the wine harvest !

Links:

Cave Caulaincourt
50 rue Caulaincourt
75018 Paris
Tel : 01 42 54 74 36

Les Taulières
10 rue de la Fontaine du But
75018 Paris
Tel : 01 42 58 60 64

Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre

Paris sur Seine

2011-08-12T23:46:00.000+02:00

I went to an exhibit at Hotel de Ville called 'Paris sur Seine' with my friend, Alisa of Sweet Pea Baking and Very Swell along with our daughters.

The exhibit marks the 10th anniversary of Paris Plages, when the banks of the Seine are transformed into a beach for a month.

Wonderful photos of Paris along the Seine from years gone by were displayed. It was obvious that the river banks were a constant place of activity throughout the years...

There were bathers...

...dancers...

...musicians...

...and people who just wanted to relax...

Some fabulous old maps and drawings of Paris dating back to 1552 where displayed

Shots of the Eiffel Tower and the inauguration of Pond Alexandre III at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 where also displayed.

In addition to photos of the past, there was also a display of what the future plans are for Paris along the banks of the Seine.

For more photos, here is our complete album.

The exhibit is free and continues until September 17.

Hours :

Monday through Saturday from 10:00-19:00

Access :

Hotel de Ville (salon d'accueil)
29 rue de Rivoli 75004
(metro : Hotel de Ville)

For more details (en français) :

http://www.paris.fr/accueil/culture/les-quais-de-seine-avant-paris-plages/rub_9652_actu_102890_port_24330

PerfectlyParis meets Cook'n with Class

2011-08-02T14:17:00.000+02:00

For awhile, my boyfriend has been talking about having a cooking class with our friend, Eric, of Cook'n with Class. Finally, we sorted out a time and date for this past weekend. In addition to the two of us, Eric led my daughter and another friend of ours on a culinary excursion.

We all participated in different steps of the recipes with my daughter focusing primarily on a chocolate tart (no surprise with that !).

Eric presented us with the tasks at hand...

...a sea bass on a bed of fennel with a black olive-red wine vinaigrette and a tomato confit....

...duck filet served accompanied by sautéed potatoes and mushrooms with figs on the side...

...individual chocolate tarts prepared with pepper (and a smile !) ...

We had wine, et al, to accompany each course when we sat down to enjoy your meal.

It was a wonderful experience and I took away a lot of tips plus learned how to filet my first fish !

We also had some time to have a little fun as well :)

And had the pleasure of Mrs Fraudeau (aka Yetunde Oshodi of FeelsLikeHomeInParis) join us for lunch.

While in Paris, it is well worth your while to book one of their cooking classes but be sure to do so well in advance as the dates book up very quickly !!

Cook'n with Class.com

21 Rue Custine

75018 Paris

For any enquiries please contact them via info@cooknwithclass.com or phone +33 (0)1 42 55 70 59 (Monday to Friday 10AM-6PM CET)

You will be happy to know that Cook'n with Class is within walking distance (7-40 minutes) from all of our PerfectlyParis apartments

Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature

2011-07-25T13:04:00.000+02:00

Looking for something to do inside during this damp and cool summer?

On Saturday, I wandered down to the Marais, popping in for lunch near the rue Montorgeuil to wait out the rain, and headed to the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in the 3rd.

While I'm not a hunter nor a huge fan of taxidermy, this gem of a museum is housed in a beautiful hôtel particulier that definitely merits the detour. Its period style rooms were empty except for a few die-hard visitors on the gloomy Saturday afternoon, allowing us a very intimate view of this museum dedicated to all things related to hunting and nature.

The two floors that are open to the public are impeccably kept and feature many types of art work (paintings, sculpture, taxidermy, guns and various other hunting implements in and amongst more modern offerings from artists such as Jeff Koons.

What I particularly enjoyed was the ambiance of the place: the dark rooms holding cabinet de curiosités typical of the lavish homes of the aristocracy, professing their love of all things exotic, expensive and rare. This is juxtaposed with some modern furniture, great lighting, painting and mural work and sculpture without seeming to kitschy. On a recent trip to New York, I noticed that animal horns and taxidermy is quite the rage in the city's most chic and trendy bars and restaurants. But at the museum, this is the real deal with hundreds of animal heads, antlers and horns gracing this once private residence.

The museum is great for children of all ages and has many interactive features and interesting sound and light effects. I was also impressed with all of the informational cards that were available in English and on the quality of their translations.

This is a place to add to your list if you've already seen all of the other main attractions in Paris or if you're looking for a quiet spot to reflect. Check it out!

Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature
62, rue des Archives - 75003 Paris
Tél. : 01.53.01.92.40 / Fax : 01.42.77.45.70
musee@chassenature.org

South Pigalle Champagne

2011-05-17T14:13:00.001+02:00

I was scouring the internet for something not that long ago and somehow came across a website for a coming called 'South Pigalle'. I was intrigued by the name and even more so by the fact that it was my drink of choice - champagne !

I did more searching to try and find out where I could buy/try their bubbly concoction. I looked on Facebook, I looked on Twitter, I think I stalked the South Pigalle people and then I received a kind invitation to visit their place of business for a tasting (stalking can sometimes work in our favour !).

Last week, I went with my friend, Forest, to visit Laurent and Brigitte, the creators of South Pigalle at their office close to metro St Georges. We were greeted with broad smiles and open arms in their funky and very SoPi (South Pigalle) location.

South Pigalle is a family business and it was their daughter, who thought of the name for the champagne. The history of their business is very charming... Laurent & Brigitte have a house in the Champagne region and got to know the passionate champagne masters at Breton Fils, established in Congy, a little town in Marne, situated half an hour from Epernay, between the White coast and the Sézannais vineyard.

It was this master brewer who worked with Laurent and Brigitte to create their Extra Brut champagne that is full of bubbles and a nice, crisp flavour. The grapes are 50% Pinot Meunier and 50% Noir. What we learned, among other things, was the correct type of glass to drink your champagne in. It was not a traditional flute (although we tried their champagne in that as well) but a type of glass called a Blida which was the original glass used by champagne growers. It has no stem (which is good because after a few too many glasses of champagne, the flutes become easy to knock down) and it is a simple, clear glass like the one pictured below.

The name, Blida, comes from a North Algerian town by the same name and also called El-Boulaida. It was interesting to see the difference in bubbles coming from the flute and the blida. The glasses are manufactured in France by the Verreries Mécaniques Champenoises company. I am now very tempted to buy a few dozen of these glasses to have at home for when I have parties !

The South Pigalle group is less than a year old but is slowly conquering Paris a bit at a time. There champagne ages for at least three years and they also have a rosé version available.

To keep up with where you can buy and try South Pigalle, you can follow them on Twitter and Facebook - we do ! They regularly post the new bars, et al, where you can find their bubbles.

Thanks again to Laurent and Brigitte for their hospitality, generous nature and champagne !! We wish you great success... Santé !

South Pigalle
30 place Saint Georges 75009
Paris - France

http://www.southpigalle.com/
Twitter : http://twitter.com/South_Pigalle
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/southpigalle

O Chateau Wine Bar

2011-04-01T09:36:00.001+02:00

Spring in a glass!

Last night a friend and I decided to try to new wine bar that's attached to the O Chateau (http://www.o-chateau.com/o-chateau-wine-bar/) wine tasting center.

The atmosphere is very convivial and felt distinctly un-French in its size, layout and decoration. The space is very open with high ceilings, ample seating either at the bar (rare in Paris) or at a series of small high-top or low-top tables. The place was filled with the 30 something after-work crowd that one finds at most places in central Paris around 7:30 PM. The location right in the heart Paris along with the warmer weather, made for a lively crowd everywhere we went.

We slid into the comfortable club chairs at one of the tables and began looking at the menu. The idea is that they offer 40 different wines each week that can be tasted in three different sized portions or in pre-chosen white or red tasting "flights", three distinctly different styles of wine presented in small tasting portions.

This is your chance to try some excellent wines of which you would likely never buy an entire bottle for budget reasons. They offer some of the biggest names in wine if you want to bling-out while in Paris: Dom Pérignon, Krug, Château Pétrus, Château Margaux, Château d’Yquem all by the glass (a glass of Petrus is still 239€, by the way).

But the best part about the place is that they have tons of other very reasonable and delicious wines.

We started with two whites: a 1989 Chassagne-Montrachet (Burgundy) and a Chablis Grand Cru. It's amazing to think that I was still in grade-school when that first one was made. Both were delicious.

It's so much fun to be able to sample different wines without having to invest in an entire bottle!

So after our little foray into whites, we opted for a wine flight of red, which came a wine from the Jura (mountainous region that borders Switzerland), a Saumur-Champigny (Loire) and a Pauillac (Bordeaux). All three were distinctly different (the point in doing a flight such as this one) and we enjoyed the Jura for it's freshness and berry characteristics and the Pauillac (2003 Chateau Pontet-Canet - a Bordeaux biggie) for it's complexity.

I'm just still so excited about these wines that I haven't even mentioned that they also serve food! They have many options for little plates consisting of cheese assortment, charcuterie, foie gras and their special white or red tasting nibbles to accompany your wine. We chose to share a foie gras and out came two huge slabs of decent home-made foie gras and we also tried a white sampler which had curried shrimp, a small chicken piece on top of an artichoke purée, a warm cheese palmier and a beet purée topped with some sort of feta-like cheese.

I think next time I'd stick to the more simple charcuterie or cheese.

The overall experience was really fun and a must for wine lovers or novices alike.

And by the way, the photo above is not from O Chateau, but from a spring-time trip a few years back to Strasbourg, featuring a typical green-stemmed Alsatian wine glass.. I, as usual, didn't bring my camera with me last night to snap photos of food and drink. I am a terrible blogger!!! Check out their website for photos.

Check it out, for either their wine tastings (in English) or the wine bar. Their wine tastings apparently book up pretty far in advance, so if you're planning a trip to Paris, book it now!

O Chateau
68, rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau
75001 Paris
01 44 73 97 80
http://www.o-chateau.com/

Musée de Montmartre

2011-03-15T15:36:00.001+01:00

Spring seems to has sprung overnight here in Paris and after my check in this afternoon at the Place du Tertre apartment, I decided to head over to the quaint Musée de Montmartre which is also located at the top of the Butte.

I'm embarrassed to say that after living in Paris now for over 7 years now, 5 of which I have spent either in Montmartre or its surrounding areas, I had never been to this gem of a museum! I figured that a fine spring day like today would be perfect for checking out its small bucolic garden, the museum's collection of historical artifacts relating to our favorite Parisian neighborhood and the spectacular views that it affords over the back side of Montmartre and the Montmartre Vineyards.

The museum is located in what was once an abbey, built in the 17th century. At the end of the 19th century, it then became the home and working studio for many of Montmartre's famous residents such as Renoir, Van Gogh, Erik Satie, Suzanne Valadon and her son Maurice Utrillo, among many others.

The museum's small, but concise collection includes much memorabilia relating to the famous cabarets and dance halls that once occupied the hills of Montmartre: Le Lapin Agile, Le Moulin de la Galette, Le Rocher Suisse, Le Divan Japonais and, of course, Le Moulin Rouge.

A variety of paintings and other objets d'art are exhibited by these artists who got their start in Montmartre, making the Musée de Montmartre interesting to all.

The audio guide gives some fascinating background information regarding the house and the lives of the artists' that made Montmartre their home.

What I personally intriguing was the house and its idyllic setting amidst the hustle and bustle of Paris and La Place du Tertre. It's obvious why Montmartre has been chosen for so many generations as la campagne en ville or the countryside in the city.

Part of the Small Interior Garden

Musée de Montmartre

http://www.museedemontmartre.fr/
12 rue Cortot 75018 Paris
Telephone : +33.1.49.25.89.37

email: infos@museedemontmartre.fr

Open daily from 10:00-18:00.

Métros : Lamarck-Caulaincourt, Abbesses or Anvers and the funiculaire
Bus : Montmartrobus or 80

Unfortunately, their website is only in French, but you will most likely be able to find out the information that you need, even if you don't speak French. Most of the items exhibited and historical information regarding the house in which the museum is located is available in English and French. The audio guide is included with the entry fee (8€ for adults, 6€ for 12-26 year olds and free for children younger than 12) and is available in English. I would highly recommend using the audio guide as it contains much more information than is displayed.

Restaurant Miroir

2011-03-02T17:47:00.000+01:00

Thank you for the introduction, Gail. And speaking of that perfectly sized bottle of wine, I think one that may suit you is a Jeroboam - a.k.a. Double Magnum. Non?

We did have a splendid dinner last night thanks to great company, wonderful wine and the excellent meal at Restaurant Miroir near metro Abbesses. I know this place isn't brand new and it has already been written about on many blogs, but I just want to reiterate all of the good things that have been said about it. What's great about it is that it's so close to so many of our apartments!

We opted for the tasting menu, which must be ordered by everyone at the table. For the quality and portions, the price was very reasonable at 40€/person, without wine. The server will ask about any food dislikes or allergies, otherwise there are no choices made: you get what the chef decides to make. Ordering à la carte runs about 20-25€ for either a starter and main or main and dessert.

Miroir (sometimes also called Le Miroir, although their business card just says Miroir) is a wonderful address to keep handy when you want a relaxed yet well thought-out and satisfying dinner in Montmartre. There chef-driven menu offers many market-fresh and seasonal choices.

The tasting menu featured two tasting sized starters, two small mains and a dessert. A plate little chorizo studded gougères (small cheese puffs) were brought to the table while we were deciding.

The first starter was a wonderful Jerusalem artichoke soup that came to the table piping hot and was poured from a jug into our waiting bowls that already held small morsels of creamy foie gras and tiny croutons. The warmth of the soup melted the foie gras and created a wonderful sensation contrasting with the crunch of the croutons. The second starter was a small salad that included fresh crab meat mixed with raw vegetables all held together with a light mayonnaise like sauce.

(Sorry, there are no photos of the first two items - I forgot to take out my camera!)

Our first main course consisted of a small piece of succulent and white fleshed bar (sea bass) served with a celery purée. The portions were just the right size and while they satisfied us, they left us an anticipation of the next course.

Our meat course was an outstanding côtes de veau veal rib served family style with assorted roasted vegetables. This was the most tender, juicy and expertly cooked veal that I have had in a while!

While we didn't have much room left for dessert, we still all cleaned our plates. They served a small portion of apple crumble and a half moon of the most decadent chocolate tart with a hint of salted butter caramel coming through.

As Gail already said, this meal was washed down with some amazing wines! The servers were so helpful and gracious and led us in the right direction with the wine choices. Most bottles ranged from 25€-40€ with some more special bottles topping the list around 60€-80€. All of the wines served are available for purchase across the street at the Cave du Miroir.

Restaurant Miroir
94 Rue des Martyrs
75018 Paris
01 46 06 50 73

On a Tuesday night this place was packed, so reservations are highly recommended!

The problem with a bottle of wine...

2011-03-02T16:40:00.001+01:00

It seems to be that I go out for dinner or have friends at home rather often. I love entertaining and my daughter, who just turned 7, always asks 'who is having dinner with us tonight ?' (must be a sign of a busy social life which it seems she will have as well !)...

Last night, I went out for dinner with Preston and the lovely owners of our Junot Gem apartment. While there, we had the coincidence of meeting our guests staying at Rooftop Vista. We sent our guests over a glass of champagne then they came over to say hello so the atmosphere was very convivial (I will not tell you where we went as Preston should be writing about that shortly).

Getting back to the matter at hand, THE PROBLEM WITH A BOTTLE OF WINE is that it seems too, well, I don't know... SMALL !

You start with a great bottle (in our case it was a Poully Fumé 2009 from Jonathan Pabiot...

It was outstanding !

...but just when I went to take a sip out of my glass again, it was empty. Turning to look at the bottle, I noticed it was empty too. What ? No wine left at our table ?!!

So, I did what I always do in a situation of crisis and ordered another bottle. This time, it was a Saint-Péray Les Pins 2009 (this link shows the 2007 version), a lovely white from the Rhone Valley using the grapes of Marsanne and Roussane. I don't know but before getting to the main course, I looked at the bottle only to discover it too was gone.

We could not imagine having our main course without wine so, in PerfectlyParis fashion...

...we ordered a lovely Côte de Beaune, La Grande Châtelaine (of course, don't ask me the year for this one as that is not something that seemed to remain in my brain- wonder why ?)

It was perfect ! But again, too small !!

As we were actually supposed to be on our best behavior, we did not order another bottle. I do, however, have the feeling that I proposed a fourth and the others declined. I imagine I also proposed an after dinner drink (in fact, that would be my typical behavior) but that part is still a bit fuzzy in my brain.

I wonder if I will ever find a bottle of wine that is just the right size for me ?

Little Tokyo

2011-02-24T12:02:00.000+01:00

After 7 years of living in France, I find myself less tolerant of heavy French food and the monotony of the typical French menu. Why when France is considered to be the gastronomic center of the world do all of the restaurants serve the same dishes? Don't get me wrong: I love eating a good steak frites or a boeuf bourguignon or a poulet roti... but not every day! It's also being harder to find cheaper restaurant options, places to have a casual meal without reservations and without breaking the bank. I can come up with a list of my favorite "French" places to eat in Paris, but they are all over 35E/per-person not including the obligatory wine.

This is why I've recently been experimenting with cooking foods with more of an Asian flare and trying new restaurants. For me, Asian food equals racy, spicy and satisfying flavor that can give typical French food a run for it's money. Since I'm not a trained chef by any means, and with little knowledge of Asian cookery, I am making things up as I go and having a good time trying.

One area of Paris that always brings a lot of inspiration is Paris's small Japanese neighborhood near the Opera Garnier. The rue St. Anne houses many of the city's truly authentic Japanese restaurants. You will see sushi places on absolutely every corner of the street in every neighborhood, but I avoid most of these places! They are often run by non-Japanese people (no offense to them at all !) and they all serve the most boring and non-typical "Japanese" menu items.

One of my absolute favorite places is Kunitoraya (39, rue Sainte-Anne 75001 Paris Tel: 01 47 03 33 65) which specializes in udon noodles. Udon noodles are the large round relatively thick wheat noodles that you will see here in savory soups and countless cold salad type dishes. One of their soups is a the Japanese comfort food par excellence with it's rich steaming broth, satisfying starchy but pillowy fresh (their udon are hand made) noodles and ever-changing add on ingredients such as shrimp, beef and vegetables. The name on the front of the place is only in Japanese, so make sure you note the address before going. They have a cozy counter area where you can sit (best if you're alone or just with one other person) and a larger downstairs area with more tables. All of their mains are around 14-15E are you will not leave hungry, so I feel it's a pretty good deal.

Just across the street is the more famous Higuma (32 Bis Rue Saint-Anne 75001 Paris Tel : 01 47 03 38 59). Don't be intimidated by the line that is often outside the door, it moves really fast as this is Japanese "fast food" at it's best. Soups, noodle based dishes, the wonderful fried morsel of pork called tonkatsu among other non-sushi specialties. The prices are even more reasonable and most dishes hover around the 10E mark.

There are also a handful of excellent Japanese and Korean fast food places in the Passage Choiseuil (runs between rue des Petits Champs and rue St. Augustin, Paris 75002) one of Paris's covered passageways which is definitely worth a detour. It's not the most beautiful or well kept passage (my favorite is Galerie Vivienne - http://www.galerie-vivienne.com/) but they do have a series of useful shops that are bustling around lunch time and turn out some good food for those on the go.

Last, but certainly not least, is the elegant and simplistic Issé (45 rue de Richelieu 75001 Paris Tél : +33 (0) 1 4296 2660 - http://isse-et-cie.fr/isse/) restaurant and sake bar. They serve the best sushi that I have had in Paris. The staff is adorable and so helpful and the fish of such an amazing quality and freshness. It's bright, open and contemporary environment embody the principles of Japanese cuisine. The prices are a obviously higher than the aforementioned places, but this makes for a great special occasion place (Gail took me for my birthday one year and we had an amazing meal and selection of sake).

If it's raw ingredients you're look for, sushi making supplies, awesomely fresh fish already cut for sushi or any other hard to find Asian ingredients, head to Paris's newest Asian grocery called K-Mart (8 Rue Ste Anne, 75001 Paris 01 58 62 48 74).

Fortunately, this place has nothing to do with the chain of discount stores found over the United States (although I wouldn't mind if someone decided to start carrying Martha Stewart's home line that they sell at K-Mart). I have been frequenting K-Mart since it opened a few years ago and this is, in my opinion, the most pleasant, clean and well stocked of the Asian markets in Paris. They specialize in Japanese and Korean products mostly, but if you're looking for generic "Asian" vegetables or seasonings, they will have them here. I stock up on their frozen "raviolis" or dumplings that you can easily steam or fry up at home. I also get my firm tofu here (for much cheaper than a natural food store) and things like scallions, prepared kimchi, good noodles, etc.

I love going to their cafeteria style restaurant and getting a soup, the special of the day or fresh sushis all for under 10E. The staff is helpful and always willing to assist in finding that had to come by ingredient that you are looking for.

Bon et Bio

2011-02-16T19:02:00.001+01:00

With each passing week and each article read about the nasty effects of pesticides and genetically modified foods, I become more and more content that I've decided to partake in a weekly panier bio or organic produce basket. There are many out there but I have so consistently satisfied with the quality, punctuality and customer service of Bio Culture.

How it works: you pick a local point relais in your area (there are many all over Paris) and you specify the pick up day of choice and choose your basket. You simply go on that day (usually after around 11:30 AM at my location) and your produce is already waiting for you. You pay using the secure online PayPal system with your credit card.

Bio Culture has several sizes of baskets: some fruit only, some veggies only, some mixed, family sized, single person sized, etc. I've settled on the Panier Mixed du Moment (19€/week) which has enough fruit and vegetables that are appropriate for 2 people and in my opinion based on the quality and freshness is an excellent value.

My closest point relais happens to be at the wonderful wine shop called Mes Accords Mets Vins located at 10 Rue Bridaine in the heart of the Batignolles neighborhood. This makes it all too easy to peek in the bag and come up with a meal idea and ask the incredibly helpful caviste for some wine advice and pick up a bottle while you're there.

Each week I love the challenge of getting that bag of vegetables and figuring out what to make without wasting anything to spoilage over the course of the week. Last week I got topinambours or Jerusalem artichokes or sun chokes in English, which I had never cooked before and had to be experimental.

The beauty of Bio Culture is that each week you get a small leaflet with 2-3 recipe ideas for the more strange vegetables in your weekly bag. I've made several of their simple recipes that they have suggested and have been pleasantly surprised each time. Inevitably, I end up throwing the left overs at the end of the week into a soup or a boiled vegetable stew. Last week I dolled up a savoy cabbage with some leftover turnips, carrots and potatoes with some wonderful organic smoked Montbeliard sausages that I picked up. With some strong mustard and a glass of white wine, I was in heaven!

Here is a photo of some of the items that were in my basket this week (others were already in the soup that I made and others in my stomach).

With Bio Culture, you can also add on items such as organic farm fresh eggs or this week, 1 kilo of Italian oranges (which are so succulent and juicy).

This is a great way to eat well, patronize a budding local small company as well as getting to know your local merchants at the pick-up point.

If you just de passage or just here for a bit in Paris and don't speak enough French to work out their website, then just pop over the equally amazing all-organic Marché Bio de Batignolles on Saturday mornings (between metro Rome and the rue des Batignolles on the Blvd des Batignolles). There you will amazed by the choice of wonderfully fresh produce, bread, flowers, ready-made bites, fish, meats, etc.

Bio Culture

http://www.panier-bio-paris.fr/accueil-bio-culture-vente-panier-bio-paris.html

Ginette en Voguette : Unique gift ideas each individually designed

2011-02-12T14:15:00.002+01:00

It was a glorious day in Paris yesterday so a friend and I decided to go to a café where we could sit in the sun. We walked, we looked and we could not find just the right place. During our wanderings, we passed by a store close to where I live which I pointed out to my friend.

I always remarked to myself on how great the boutique looked but was always in a rush going to or from somewhere (typical me !). As we actually were NOT in a rush for a change, we decided to take a look inside. What a great decision we made !

Upon entering the boutique, we were instantly charmed by the 'country' feel of it. The articles in the store are all made by individual designers who are not well known. Everything is handmade and one of a kind- without the one of a kind price to go with it. There is a great selection of reasonably priced items for any occasion and Ginette en Voguette offers personalisation on many items (adding someone's name, et al).

The outside of the store was decorated with pink, heart-shaped balloons in honour of St Valentine's Day and I found many items that would be the perfect gift for your amour (and bought gifts for my amour while I was there).

In addition, there is a wonderful selection of items for children (clothes, paintings, bags, mobiles and more) so I took advantage of buying birthday gifts for my daughter's 7th birthday later this month.

The very back of the store has an incredible selection of lamps like you have never seen and walking through the corridor to get to the back of the store allows you to admire the paintings that embellish the walls.

When you get to the store, you will be greeted with a smile by Sarah. She is very charming and helpful. Sarah can also assist with organising ateliers with the designers.

Although Ginette en Voguette may be slightly off the beaten path, it is a detour you would not regret making. You will be charmed both by Sarah and the uniqueness of their offerings.

Happy Early Valentine's Day !

Details :

Ginette en Voguette
40 rue Hermel
75018 Paris

Tel : 09 81 98 23 10
Website : http://www.ginetteenvoguette.com

Why Paris ? Or shall I say, Why Montmartre ?

2011-02-06T15:20:00.003+01:00

Paris ! So many people have always had romantic dreams to come to the City of Light and live. I, however, was never one of those people… for me, I did not have a ‘love at first sight’ affair with Paris- my heart did not pound, the sight of macarons did not make a tear come to my eye (wine and cheese on the other hand, made me jump for joy as well as sit down at lots of cafés to have samples).

I first came to Paris around 1990. I found the city beautiful in terms of architecture and layout but found it a bit too fast paced for me (even though I am from a big city) that was until I discovered Montmartre. I was enamored with this little village-like place close enough to the hustle-bustle but far enough away to not notice it. The people were charming, the buildings had an air of nostalgia and, to add to the cliché, I ran across a woman singing like ‘La Môme’- Edith Piaf… it was truly the icing on the cake.

I left Paris shortly after and did not return until 2001 with my partner at the time (yes, brought to France by a Frenchman !). Prior to coming back to Paris, I showed him photos of my favourite places I had visited in Europe (I had a photo for each city). When it came time to show him my photo for Paris, he was shocked ! ‘Do you know where that is ?’, he asked with great exuberance. ‘Uh, Montmartre ?’ ‘That is on rue des Saules, by the street I used to live on !’ (What are the chances of THAT). I told him that it was my favourite photo as it was the only area I really liked. Of course, upon moving here, that is where we lived and where I continue to live today with my daughter.

I have since ‘learned’ to love the rest of Paris but have to admit that it’s difficult to get me to leave the ‘quartier’. I live in a less touristy part of the city by the Mairie of the 18^th (city hall of the 18th). When I walk up my street to rue Ordener, within 3 minutes, I have a metro station, numerous bus stops, a wonderful market street on rue Duhesme/rue du Poteau, flower shops, cafés, restaurants, boutiques a go-go, my daughter’s school and so many more things.

In the end, why leave the neighbourhood ? There is everything I need and want (except for maybe BHV and Galeries Lafayette) on my doorstep. For my 7 year old daughter, it’s a dream- she walks down the street and the shop owners know her name; we go to the market and she scores treats wherever we go; even the people at my bank come out to talk with her and give her chocolates. It is truly like living in a village where people ask how you are and mean it.

And it is always a good time to come to Montmartre :

January – Fête de la St Vincent/Fête de la Coquille St Jacques
February – Ecosse à Montmartre
March – Foulées du Tertre (running race)
April- Easter Egg Hunt
May-September – l’Esprit de Montmartre (open air theatre)
June – Fête de la Musique
October – Fête des Vendanges
November-December – Christmas markets and illuminations

I cannot imagine another place being more charming and agreeable. Paris, or shall I say Montmartre, won my heart !

La Régalade St. Honoré

2011-01-18T09:50:00.000+01:00

For us at PerfectlyParis, it's often hard to get us out of the neighborhood for a meal as we are already spoiled for choice in our own back yard. But this is exactly the restaurant that motivates me to jump as fast as I can onto that 74 bus and head down to the 1st near the Louvre to what has typically been tourist territory - the rue St. Honoré. La Régalade St. Honoré is far from touristy and was surprisingly calm at the lunch hour when I dined there last week. I was expecting turn-and-burn tables and quick service, but was shocked to see that there was only one seating at lunch and we ended up lingering over over two hours.

This is Bruno Doucet's second restaurant, one by the same name, which is located in the hinterlands of the 14th (in other words: we don't go there).

Chef Doucet works the same magic he showed us at the original Régalade on a 3 course prix fixe menu, including starter, main and dessert for 33 Euro (same for lunch and dinner) in a much more accessible and cosmopolitan location.When you realize that just any restaurant in Paris charges more or less this price for very mediocre food, you realize this has a great value qualité-prix.

Our starters including coquilles St. Jacques (scallops) served still in their shell with a light pesto, a discrete shaving of Parmesan and a drizzle of delicately perfumed olive oil and a seasonal pied de mouton mushroom sauté with a soft boiled egg perched a-top.

Mains were their famous poitrine de porc (pork belly) which is quite possibly the best preparation of pork that I have ever tasted: it's chewy on the outside, perfectly cooked and had just the right ratio of fat to meat ratio that I like. We thought that we had died and gone to hog heaven. For those of you looking for something lighter, they always have a few fish options such as the cod filet served with pommes boulangères in the most flavorful sauce.

Save room for dessert, because it's included in the menu (and no, ordering double espressos after the meal does NOT make the pain go away from eating too much). The riz au lait (rice pudding) was served in the most ridiculous quantity and came with a small (all too small!) pot of salted butter caramel to drizzle over the top. Just the caramel would have been a dessert for me.

The wine list is not enormous, but concise and offers something for everyones budget. We opted for a nice white Quincy from the Loire.

I had lunch here last week (finally getting a reservation after calling several times) and am lucky enough to go back again today for lunch with friends visiting from out of town. Reserving is essential, but you can often secure a lunch table for the same week.

La Régalade Saint-Honoré
123 rue Saint-Honoré, 75001
Phone: 01 42 21 92 40
Hours: Closed Sun & Mon, Tue – Fri 12pm–2:30pm, 7pm–11pm, Sat 7pm–11pm

New Years Eve Dining Ideas

2010-12-28T19:46:00.000+01:00

Here is a short list of some options, mostly close to home, to celebrate the New Year! It's best to call ahead and reserve straight away! Almost all of restaurants listed below are offering a special menu for the 31st. You may want to inquire when you call, as sometimes à la carte options are not available on this night.

-Brasserie Wepler - offering seafood, shellfish and many other options, and their special New Years menu, this bustling 18th arrondissement establishment always satisfies!

http://www.wepler.com/

-Charlot - also specializing in seafood/shellfish. They are offering a special holiday menu from now until January 2nd and also their full normal menu.

http://www.charlot-paris.com/

-Les Feuillades - under new management, this place remains one of our favorites in the neighborhood and would provide a more intimate option for an elegant tête-a-tête or for dinner amongst friends.

Les Feuillades

6 Rue Fontaine du But, 75018 Paris, +33 1 42 57 13 29

-Bistro Melrose - this animated and welcoming establishment on the Place de Clichy has one of the most economical special menus that usually even includes wine and a aperitif. This is a great place to enjoy a special meal while staying in our area.

http://www.bistrocie.fr/anglais/index.php?page=melrose&scat=5

Other Ideas:

-Some other fun places to hang out, without reservations, are near rue des Abbesses in the 18th. Most of the cafes in this area serve their normal menus, or just drinks if you prefer. This area is bound to be very animated and you may wish to arrive early to secure a table.

-Do what many Parisians do, and stock up on some delicious things to eat at home at Monoprix or Picard and stay in. I love to put smoked salmon on blinis, topped with creme fraiche and even caviar if you wish. It's so simple, ready made, but still seems special. Picard, the frozen food Mecca, has amazing ready to pop in the oven items, such as savoury canapés, petits-fours, ice cream cakes, and much more. Here's a list of their outlets near the apartments:

PICARD BATIGNOLLES

29 BD DES BATIGNOLLES
75008 PARIS

PICARD CAUCHOIS

1 RUE CAUCHOIS
75018 PARIS

PICARD DAMREMONT

43 RUE DAMREMONT
75018 PARIS

Have a great celebration, whatever you end up doing! And remember the metro is FREE from 17h on the 31st to 12h on the 1st. All lines are open until 2h15 the morning of the 1st with some lines running all night. Taxis will be virtually impossible to find, so my advice is stay close to home!

Christmas is over. Now what?

2010-12-27T11:00:00.000+01:00

The end of the holiday marathon that we have just run can be a bit depressing. We run ourselves ragged for weeks, spending money, eating, preparing, not sleeping, and stressing. Only to be able to enjoy the fruits of our labors for what seems to be a quick moment with family, friends or other loved ones.

The advantage of being somewhere like Paris, is that you can beat the blues by doing something cultural or simply just walking around the city. Many of the cities attractions and shops stay open (even on Sundays) during this interim period between Christmas and New Years.

Here are a few ideas of things to do during this week.

-Detox at the hammam at the Grande Mosquée de Paris or the Bains du Marais. Check their websites for mens/womens/mixed days. Both offer reasonably priced entry to the hammam and spa treatments à la carte.

http://www.la-mosquee.com/htmlfr/entreefr.htm
http://www.lesbainsdumarais.fr/

-Go see a movie! If you don't speak French, you can always find English films in their original version (with spoken English and French subtitles - look for VOST or VO after name of film) at Pathé Wepler at the Place de Clichy. Here is a list of what's on now.

http://www.cinemasgaumontpathe.com/cinemas/cinema-pathe-wepler/

-If art or history is your thing, check out the small, but well curated show at the Musée Maillol called Le Trésor de Medicis which highlights a collection of fine art and objects from the famous Florentine banking family.

http://www.museemaillol.com/

-Take a ride on the Grande Roue de Paris (the huge ferris wheel at Place de la Concorde). You will get a bird's eye view of many of the famous monuments.

http://en.parisinfo.com/show-exhibition/1173706/la-grande-roue-de-paris-sur-la-place-de-la-concorde

-Go pre-shop and scope out some things to add to your 2011 Sales List.

The big sales in Paris don't start the day after Christmas, but on January 12, 2011 this year. Read the following article about "les soldes" in France.

http://goparis.about.com/od/shopping/a/Paris_sales.htm

If you're hungry (I know, I can't even complete a blog entry without mentioning food of some sort), why not have a healthy-ish meal of wonderfully fresh oysters and seafood at either Charlot or Brasserie Wepler at the Place de Clichy. This will feel refreshing and light after all of the heavy holiday specialties we are still digesting.

http://www.wepler.com/
http://www.charlot-paris.com/

Stay tuned for some ideas of things to see, do and eat on New Years Eve (next Friday - ALREADY!).

10 Things To Do In Paris When It's Cold and Snowy

2010-12-04T11:53:00.000+01:00

As the snow acculates on my window ledge, here are some ideas of things to do when the weather is inclement! Paris is certainly not the worst place in world you could be forced to spend all day inside either eating, drinking or shopping!

(In no specific order)

1. Check out the Monets at Musée Marmottan. (http://www.marmottan.com/) If you're like most people and can't get tickets to see the Monet show at the Grand Palais because it's sold out, check out this small private museum with an amazing collection.

2. Linger in the colonial warmth over tea and cake or a light lunch at one of the Mariage Frères tea salons (http://www.mariagefreres.com/boutique/UK/addresses.html). Do all of your Holiday shopping in their boutique afterwards. Tea and its accessories make such a nice gift.

3. Take a taxi ride of Paris by night! This is something really special to do on your last night in Paris and it doesn't even have to cost that much! Climb into a warm taxi, and assuming you get a nice driver, just tell him crank up the heat and to drive you around to see the lights.

4. Have dinner at L'Ecailler du Bistrot (22 rue Paul Bert, 75011 tel: 01 43 72 76 77). This all-seafood baby sister restaurant of the next door Bistrot Paul Bert (18 rue Paul Bert) is the perfect spot to sit and enjoy an amazing selection of oysters, crustaceans and fresh fish. The wood paneled dining room and the nautical theme decor add to the ambiance and make this a great spot for cozy winter dining. I had dinner here last night and would highly recommend their smoked salmon "maison" and the sole. The Belon oysters were succulent and briny and went perfectly with a bottle of Cheverny from the Loire Valley.

5. Have a glass of champagne at Galleries Lafayette champagne bar overlooking the rotunda with the enormous tree decked out for the holidays. I can't think of a better spot to perch and people watch out of the line of fire in this crazy and hectic store. (Bar à Bulles, 40 Boulevard Haussmann,75009 Paris - 1st Floor of main store)

6. Take a cooking class at Cook'n With Class, an all English language cooking school in Montmartre. (http://cooknwithclass.com/) They have just expanded and inaugurated a beautiful new space next door to the existing location. So much fun!

7.Warm up in the steam baths at the Bains du Marais hammam (http://www.lesbainsdumarais.fr/). This beautiful and atmospheric Turkish style bath also provides treatments such as gommage (scrub down) and massages. A simply entry into the hammam allows you unlimited access to their multiple steam rooms (with varying temperatures) and relaxation rooms. Entry price includes towel, use of locker and shower shoes. Check their website and some days are unisex and others are strictly for men or women. Bathing suits required.

8. Do your holiday hostess gift shopping at La Grande Epicerie at Au Bon Marché (http://www.lagrandeepicerie.fr/). You will be sure to find some adorably packaged goodies to stock in your suitcase and bring home with you. This is also a full-service super market, so for a luxurious night in, do a one-stop shop here and check out their wide selection of prepared foods to savor.

9. Put on your finery and have afternoon tea or a happy hour drink at one of Paris's "palaces" i.e. 5 star luxury hotels such as Le Ritz, Le Meurice or Le Crillon. These guided jewels of hotels all offer wonderful dining and sipping options. While it's a splurge, how much can a drink really cost? It's totally worth the price to sink into a deep velveteen sofa and peer into these amazing places (I also personally enjoy eavesdropping on conversations in these places). Tea at the Crillon includes your choice of pastry off of the fabled pastry cart that's wheeled up to you for inspection. The bar the Le Meurice is quite possibly the most beautiful bar in the world.

10. Stay semi-indoors in the covered galleries and passageways of the 1st and 2nd arrondissements. These were Europe's first "shopping malls" built mostly in the 19th century. You can walk for miles underneath the covered passageways, all of which are lined with interesting shops, restaurants and service providers.

My favorite is Galerie Vivienne (http://www.galerie-vivienne.com/) with its eclectic selection of shops, the fabulous Le Grand wine shop and tasting bar and, of course, Peggy's (an American expat) cute-as-a-button tea room A Priori Thé. She serves wonderfully light lunches, brunch on Sunday and tea and cake in the afternoon.

Stay warm out there!

Robert et Louise

2010-11-24T09:31:00.000+01:00

I could not have thought of a better choice of restaurant for a lovely meal out last night among friends on a cold winter's night. Robert and Louise is a quaint establishment in the upper part of the Marais specializing in meats cooked before your eyes on their enormous wood fire.

Based on its location and from the exterior, with it's gingham curtains and "quaint" French look, you may mistake this for a tourist trap. Au contraire, the crowd seemed mostly local. There were certainly some non-Parisians in the joint, but they were all well-behaved.

All of the main dishes are cooked on their wood fire that is carefully tended by a pair of chefs at the back of the restaurant. Choices remain simple and are heavy on red meat (various steaks, lamb chops, etc.) but also includes a few other non-red meat options (although no vegetarian choices). Meals come with either salad or potatoes.

Two of us opted for the contre filet (sirloin) which was nice and thick, juicy and cooked to perfection. The other two enjoyed entrecôtes (rib-eye) which looked equally as good.

They also offer cotes de boeuf (ribsteak) for either 2 or 3 people which we saw attacked by the three French boys sitting next to us at the long communal table.

A nice bottle of vacqueras (28 Euros) rounded out the warming experiencing...

try it!...

Robert et Louise
Restaurant de Feu
64 rue Veille du Temple - 75003 Paris
+33 1 42 78 55 89

Reservations highly recommended. We called the same day and couldn't get in until 21:30. When we arrived, our table wasn't quite ready, but we had a drink at the bar downstairs and only waited 10 minutes for our table to be ready. Ask for a table on the ground floor (rez de chaussée) as it's much more atmospheric being close to the fire.

Monet at the Grand Palais

2010-11-08T10:19:00.002+01:00

I must admit having studied Art History throughout my entire academic career, I have never been much of a Monet fan. I thought of him as one of those terribly accessible artists for the masses: an artists that's made to decorate coffee mugs and magnets, lacking true artistic value. I scoffed at his Water Lilies, never took interest in visiting his house and garden at Giverny and would pass by his works quickly at the d'Orsay.

I have to say that my opinion has changed after seeing the terrific assembly of hundreds of Monet's works at the Grand Palais in Paris. The show brings together Monet's paintings, many previously unseen to the public, in an enormous and prolific show highlighting the father of Impressionism's 60 year career.

Seeing the sheer quantity of his works, all put together in one spot was an amazing experience. To glimpse 5 series paintings all different in their nuances of light and color (i.e. Haystacks, Rouen Cathedral or Poplars) all lined up in a row was certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

We were lucky enough to have purchased our tickets a couple of weeks ahead of time as I've heard it's quite hard to get a time slot before December at this point. We queued up in an orderly fashion outside the exposition in front of our listed time slot and waited. In a very organized non-French way, we were allowed to enter exactly on time and passed through the security line with no problems. With our printed tickets in hand, we flew through the turnstiles without hassle into the show. It was packed but we lingered in the first room for 20 or so minutes, studying some of the first works and allowing for the initial glut of people to work their way slowly into the adjoining rooms.

If you're planning a trip to Paris in the upcoming months, book your tickets NOW, print them and bring them with you.

You can pre-purchase your ticket, including a specific entry time at their website:

http://www.monet2010.com/

http://www.monet2010.com/ or at FNAC stores or FNAC.com.

Moulin Rouge

2010-11-01T17:16:00.004+01:00

To help celebrate our wonderful visit with my brother and his fiancé, we went to the Moulin Rouge on their last evening.

We decided to eat at Chez Grisette at 14 rue Houdon before since it was a short walk to get to the Moulin Rouge afterward.

Our dinner at Che Grisette was outstanding as was the service by Grisette herself. Here is a link to their website and it is well worth a visit :

http://www.chez-grisette.fr/

After a nice dinner, we headed to the Moulin Rouge. We were absolutely amazed at the amount of people in line already but once it started moving, we got in rather quickly.

We had perfect seats just to the right of the stage which provided perfect visibility. The service was fast and efficient inside and the show itself was even better than all of us anticipated.

In addition to the many women who were part of the show, there were a fair bit of male dancers along with a ventriloquist, acrobats, juggler and more. There was not one second of the entire show that we did not feel completely entertained. My partner was hesitant about the show as he was not certain he would like it. At the end, he could not stop repeating how wonderfully surprised he was as the quality of the show and performers.

It was well worth the wait and a definite must while you are in Paris.

Bal de Moulin Rouge

82 Boulevard de Clichy

75018

http://www.moulinrouge.fr/

We booked our tickets in advance through our partners at MyGenieInParis and received our vouchers via e-mail then just presented them at the door.

Eiffel Tower and Jules Verne

2010-10-29T10:34:00.003+02:00

My brother and his fiancé (as of last night when he proposed to her !) are visiting us from Toronto and we decided to visit the Eiffel Tower this past Monday with my 6 year old daughter.

To make things easier for visitors, you can now prebook tickets for the tower online which saves you waiting in the long queues that normally exist to get tickets. We tried this method and it was perfect ! Our visit was booked for 10:30 and we ended up only waiting in line for 5-10 minutes.

The view was great, of course, and we would suggest getting there rather early in the morning as the tower gets busier as the day goes on.

After an incredible view of the city, we went down and walked to where the private elevator for Jules Verne is located as we had lunch reservations for 12:30. The reservation was made online as well and very simple to do for those of you contemplating a visit.

We had a very warm welcome when entering the restaurant and were promptly taken to our table with a nice view over the city. So you know, it is not really necessary to request a table by the window as all have views over the city due to the height of the windows.

We (including my daughter) opted for the menu (entrée, plat, dessert) instead of ordering à la carte. You have a choice of the menu at 85 euros without wine or 120 euros with wine pairing for your three courses. I would recommend to opt for the later as you are then served different wines for each course that compliment the food you are eating. I do not have a big sweet tooth so normally do not get a dessert. As a result, I asked if I could have a selection of cheeses instead and they were very happy to oblige !

All of us enjoyed our food, the service and, of course, the view. I think I will have to go back one time in the evening for a romantic dinner for two !!

You can reserve tickets to the Eiffel Tower through the link below :

http://www.tour-eiffel.fr/teiffel/uk/

Reservations for Le Jules Verne can be made through the link below :

http://www.lejulesverne-paris.com/

If you are on Facebook, be sure to look at our selection of photos for the Eiffel Tower.

Rock the Ballet

2010-10-27T14:31:00.005+02:00

This past weekend, I went to 'Rock the Ballet' which is playing at the Casino de Paris until the end of October.

I did not know much about it but thought the concept of mixing ballet with hip hop and then setting it to a score of rock music sounded interesting !

I went with my brother, sister in law and daughter so the ages were 40 something, 30 something, 20 something and 6 years old. The show started a bit late due to technical issues but it was worth the wait.

The theatre was absolutely packed and I must say that the majority of the audience were female- probably related to the fact that all but one dancer was male. At some point, my brother, who does not speak French, was fairly certain that one of the girls beside him shouted for a dancer to take off his trousers after he had removed his shirt !

It was a fun and exciting show (my daughter's exact words were, 'It was AWESOME !') which appealed to all of us.

The music used was by Queen, Price, Michael Jackson, Coldplay, U2 and more. The first half was a tale of romance and love including a song from the opera 'Carmen' as well as a version of Jacques Brel's 'Ne Me Quitte Pas' (Don't Leave Me).

If you have the chance to get tickets before the end of the month, it was well worth it and it ended on a very positive, upbeat note that had us dancing in the streets when we left !

Casino de Paris

16, rue de Clichy
75009 Paris

Hier et Aujourd'hui

2010-03-30T12:17:00.000+02:00

I finally made it to one of the 17th arrondissement most talked about restaurants: Hier et Aujourd'hui. And for good reason. Tucked off the beaten tourist path, a bit far even from Villiers and Batignolles this place is worth the trip.

The concept is simple: an ever-changing chalk board menu with fresh and tasty season offerings paired with a lovely and extremely affordable wine list. There are 4-5 offerings in each category (entrée + plat + dessert) and not only is it an excellent value, everything we tried was astonishingly fresh and inventive.

Highlights were the homemade artichoke raviolis in a creamy and ethereal Parmesan broth and the most tender and succulent joue de boeuf (beef cheek) served with fresh green beans, fava beens and raw green asparagus. For those of you who think eating beef cheek is strange, it's really just like an amazingly tender pot roast but even better!

By the time the dessert came, we were pretty well sated but had to try the rhubarb cheesecake and a chocolate mousse, both of which were excellent!

Oh AND everyone gets to sample their homemade terrine that's brought to your table to tide you over shortly after placing your order. This terrine stirs up some emotions and some souvenirs of those French country meals that you've only dreamed about or seen in a Pagnol film.

Honestly, I've become fickle in my Parisian existence and it's been a long time since I've been this excited by a neighborhood restaurant.

The menu entrée + plat + dessert is only 29 Euros and they are open Mondays, too, which is always a great find.

Don't be in a rush, because there's only one server and she does everything but it's all well worth the wait.

Hier et Aujourd'hui
145 rue de Saussure
75017 Paris
01 42 27 35 55 (Reservations essential, we saw them turn away several parties as the place was packed)
http://resto.hieraujourdhui.free.fr/indexfr.html

3 Little Affaires!

2010-03-29T11:25:00.000+02:00

Spring has sprung, or kind of, and then went away, in Paris. But nonetheless, spring always means wonderful and fresh things happening in the arts.

For example, this weekend I went to go see a good friend, Kristina Sherwood, in 3 Little Affaires, a piece currently playing at La Folie Theatre in the 11e.

The piece features 3 different couples in three different time periods (1930s, 1970s and 2000). The themes remain timeless regardless of era and everyone can relate. The costumes and the simple, but extremely effective set were the icing on the cake of a superbly acted show. I urge anyone who is interested in theatre to go see this jem of a play before it's over on 16 May.

It's in French by the way...

See the website for me information!

http://www.3littleaffaires.com/index.php

6, rue de la Folie Méricourt 75011 Paris
Métro: St Ambroise (line 9) or Richard Lenoir (line 5)
http://www.folietheatre.com
01 43 55 14 80

Au Petit Marguery

2010-02-19T11:23:00.000+01:00

This is French winter food at its best. I was invited to this perfect little restaurant in the 13th last night by friends from DC who own an apartment in the 17th.

After a few beers down in the 4th, we managed to get onto the line 7 (I know, the most useless metro line EVER, non?!) and after only surprisingly a 10 minute's ride from Chatelet, we emerged at Les Goblins, right in front of the Manufacture des Goblins. I had not been down here for ages... I had forgotten that it's a perfectly pleasant neighborhood with wide avenues flanked with beautiful Haussmanian buildings and a nice level of activity in the streets, well at least on the major axes.

Au Petit Marguery specializes in game and other old-school things that you don't see much on menus anymore, tete de veau, veal sweetbreads, pigeon, etc. Last night the menu was less game-heavy, I guess the season must be over or perhaps they didn't feel like hunting?

They also have some wonderful seafood offerings. I had oysters as my starter (they offer 9 wonderfully clean and juicy ones instead of the usual 6 entrée size serving, this is only the beginning of the very generous portions). Then my main was aile de raie (skate) in a citrus and caper sauce on a sumptuous bed of perfectly cooked potatoes seasoned simply with a deliciously pure olive oil.

Dessert deserves its own posting, but in interest of time, here you go. They are famous for their soufflé au Grand Marnier which comes piping hot from the oven (desserts must be ordered at the beginning in order for the right timing) and hardly topples or falls at all once it's out of the oven. The soufflé's texture is ethereal and its flavor harkens back the days of yore... This being said, the other two desserts we sampled were also delicious: a tarte fine au pommes (I am a sucker for this one!) and a poached pear in a creamy sauce that had been caramelized on the top (the winner).

As midnight was quickly approaching, and we were far from our warm beds in the 17th, we jumped back on the metro and were whisked away back to our right-bank comfort-zone and off to bed...

Now it's back to work here at PerfectlyParis after a great night in lovely company. I think a light lunch is in my future...

La Conserverie

2010-02-11T12:10:00.000+01:00

Last night Gail and I had a night out on the town with some other Montmartre Apartment Rental Mafia folks and had a great time at this new (5 months old) place in the 2nd.

The concept is simple: everything they serve comes from a can, bottle or jar or is cured, smoked or conserved in some other way. I know this doesn't sound very appetizing, but actually they scour all of France for the best tinned and shelf-stable goodies, hence the name: la Conserverie. We sampled most of their starters, all of which were excellent, especially the Breton sardines and the mackerel. They also feature Petrossian's delicious melt-in-your-mouth smoked salmon and other things like their wonderful velvety foie gras, great charcuterie and cheeses.

All of these ready-made specialties are served up in a wonderfully comfortable and spacious environment that makes me wish we had more places like La Conserverie that would go out on a limb and try a new idea. The vibe was just perfect: not too noisy to have a conversation, but just the right level of action to make it feel lively but not your usual Parisian sardine can situation.

The place is incredibly organized and well managed by an Englishman, Oliver. Our lovely Swedish server also spoke perfect English and was delightfully accommodating.

You can go just for a drink, a light nibble and a cocktail or a full meal. The cocktail list was very inventive and featuring some interesting concoctions (Gail and I both tried a frighteningly bright pink beverage which came complete with a side of Pop Rocks to put on your tongue before each sip) and old standbys done right (I followed up with a dirty martini).

And on a completely unrelated side note: their bathroom was one of the cleanest I've seen in a while.

Check it out!!

La Conserverie
37 bis, rue du Sentier 75002 Paris
01 40 26 14 94

Métro: 9, Bonne Nouvelle

Open every day ('til they kick you out at 2 am).

St. Valentine's Day! Romantic Restaurants in the Area

2010-02-09T10:10:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone! I think that we're all pretty sick and tired of winter, n'est-ce pas? So why not get all excited about planning a romantic dinner for you and your special someone this weekend for Valentine's day? Here's a list of a few places in and around Montmartre that would make a really nice place for a Valentine's dinner:

Le Moulin De La Galette 83, rue Lepic 75018, Tel: 01 46 06 84 77

This historic spot features traditional French food with a modern twist. The restaurant is in the fabled concert hall of the same name painted by Renoir, Van Gogh and others. It is home to one of the only two surviving windmills (of the original 14) in Paris. Le Moulin de la Galette is a great special occasion restaurant and is featuring a four course St. Valentine's day menu for 59Euros. Reservations recommended.

Le Chamarré 52, rue Lamarck 75018, Tel: 01 45 72 07 14

This address once housed a fabled and old fashioned frumpy fine-dining restaurant. The space has been modernized, revamped and is under the same management as Le Moulin de la Galette. This is without a doubt our favourite special occasion restaurant in Montmartre. Le Chamarré serves excellent and extremely fresh food in an updated, warm and pleasant atmosphere. We always get the five-course tasting menu (85€/per person, 115€ with wine pairing) and always leave satisfied and rejoice the fact that now we have such a fine restaurant so close to home. If you’re a picky eater, the server will ask about any dislikes/allergies and will always be very accommodating. The tasting menu tends to be mostly centered on fish and shellfish with one small meat course. Reservations required and they most likely have a special St. Valentine's day menu.

Casa Olympe 48, rue St. Georges 75009, Tel: 01 42 85 26 01

For an intimate and special dinner, book one of the very few tables at this tiny and refined restaurant just south of the elegant Place St. Georges. Boasting “New Bistro” food, this female French chef with Coriscan roots has been providing a wonderful haven in the quiet and discreet central part of the 9^th district. Olympe opened Casa Olympe opened her doors in 1993 after a move from the left bank after many other successful forays under her belt. Reservations required.

Carte Blanche 6, rue Lamartine 75009, Tel: 01 48 78 12 20

This restaurant provides you with an intimate setting. The menu offers a good selection of dishes to please most taste buds and if you are not sure what to order, we highly recommend the menu Carte Blanche and the chef will decide for you. There is a slight Asiatic flair to some of their selections and their presentation is nicely inventive. Reservations are recommended for lunch or dinner.

Le Patio Provençal 116, rue des Dames 75017, Tel: 01 42 93 73 73

One of our favorites just off the market street rue de Lévis. Le Patio Provençal boasts a wide offering of French food with a heavy Provençal accent. Veggies, roast meats, fish and freshness reign at this simple and friendly neighborhood restaurant. They also run Un Air de Famille next door. Reservations required for dinner.

Or better yet, why not cook for your someone special? Paris is the best place in the world to buy small quantities of things that are perfect for a diner tête à tête.

For a special meal for two, I always prefer fish or shellfish as either a starter and or main. Avoid the busy restaurants, with their special prix-fixe menus and obligatory coupe de champagne, and head to Poissonnerie Pepone at 65 rue des Abbesses in the 18th and get something as simple as a dozen oysters as a starter and a couple filets of sole to make sole meunière.

Cooking for just two can be really fun and romantic and you can go all out on the ingredients and it will still cost less than eating in a restaurant! Splurge on a nice demi bottle of pink champagne (Billecart-Salmon or Vranken Demoiselle are two of my favorites) and then move into a nice Loire white to go with your oysters and fish.

Whatever you end up doing, just remember that it's about spending time with your special someone and not about spending the most money or having the fanciest dinner in all of Paris. I think it's way more fun to frequent a Michelin starred restaurant on a random night when the staff will have time to treat you correctly and when they will be serving a full menu.

So stay closer to home this year or stay at home and have fun whatever you do!

La Grande Roue!

2009-12-22T20:44:00.001+01:00

The giant ferris at Place de la Concorde is a must for any visitor to Paris during the holidays. Some may think it's cheesy or enfantile, but it's none of those things! It's a stunning and enjoyable ride high above the City of Lights.

The Grande Roue de Paris features entirely enclosed cabins complete with heat to enjoy a bird's eye view of the Paris.

I did it on Sunday night around 8 PM and while the line was long, it moved really fast. I highly recommend it!

Cost: 10 Euros
Metro: Concorde (lines 1 + 12)

http://www.evous.fr/La-grande-roue-brille-place-de-la,1116328.html

Il neige!

2009-12-17T11:05:00.003+01:00

Parisians woke up to a fine, wonderful and white covering of snow this morning. Just in time to give us all that necessary slow-down during this crazy holiday season.

Hailing from Minnesota, the snow is obviously not a novelty for me, but it never fails to put a smile on my face when it snows here in Paris. This something special about the calm and tranquility of falling snow that seems to damper all of the annoying and unnerving sounds of a city.

It's the perfect weather to watch an old French movie.

I'm hosting Juju who is convalescing in my guest room after a wisdom teeth extraction. Last night we watched Diabolique, Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1954 horror classic which is said to have greatly inspired Hitchcock's Pyscho. It's a Paris based movie, well St. Cloud actually, but other than a couple interior glimpses of the city's morgue that still exists on Quai de la Rapée, we don't see any Paris shots. Nonetheless, it's beautifully shot in black and white and will capture any audience's attention, young or old.

This week I also watched Louis Malle's Elevator to the Gallows (1957). This is another thriller type movie that's action packed with a story line that is meticulously woven together in that way that only classic French movies can be. This is a movie for the Paris fan who wants to see wonderful shots of a Paris d'antan (of yesteryear) and those who want to be held in the grip of a movie that slowly reveals itself.

In watching old movies, especially French ones, I'm often flabbergasted by the rich story lines, complex characters and great acting. I ask myself, how has modern popular cinema lost all of these things? These movies have staying power and should be celebrated and most importantly watched and re-watched.

I have the luxury of accessing a wonderfully stocked personal library of films here in Paris. Access that is graciously provided by friends of mine who spend several months here at their apartment on the rue des Martyrs. Going to H&J's is like being able to go to the a little left-bank movie theatre with only 20 seats that just happens to be showing a movie that you love or have always wanted to see. Oh how I miss being a student and picking up the Pariscope and going to see random movies during the middle of the day.

If you're looking for an excellent supplier for old French movies on DVD (often wonderfully restored and including lots of extra features), check out Criterion's selection: http://www.criterion.com/ and Janus Films : http://www.janusfilms.com/

For those of you here in Paris, take a moment to profit from this rare sight of white stuff. Slow down, watch a movie, have a milk shake (good for those who just had their wisdom teeth pulled), drink a nice cup of tea or better yet vin chaud and enjoy!

Paris manèges gratuits !

2009-12-06T14:45:00.002+01:00

For a translation of the title, 'Paris Carousels for free !'

To celebrate the holiday season, the mayor of Paris has offered rides on the carousels below free of charge from December 20 through January 4

Hours : Daily from 10h-19h00

List of carousels that you can take a spin on courtesy of the city of Paris :

· Parking place de la Bourse (2e)

· Square du temple (3e)

· Place de l'Hôtel de Ville (un manège côté rue de Rivoli, un autre côté Seine) (4e)

· Bordure du square Saint-Médard (5e)

· Place Saint-Sulpice (6e)

· Place Joffre (7e)

· Place de la Madeleine (8e)

· Boulevard Rochechouart, à la hauteur de la rue des Martyrs (9e)

· Rue du Faubourg Saint-Martin, à la hauteur du Square Villemin (10e)

· Place Léon Blum (11e)

· Avenue Daumesnil, à la hauteur de la mairie du 12ème

· Place d'Italie (13e)

· Angle avenue Jean Moulin et avenue du Général Leclerc (14e)

· Place Raoul Dautry (15e)

· Place du Trocadéro (16e)

· Place du Docteur Félix Lobligeois (17e)

· Square Willette (18e)

· Place Armand Carrel (19e)

· Place Gambetta (20e)

Funny that the dates coincide with the exact dates that I will be in Canada with my daughter for the holiday season. Does someone not want Yasmin on the carousels ?

Paris outdoor skating

2009-12-06T14:35:00.003+01:00

If you are a lover of ice skating, the city of Paris will have outdoor skating from December 18 until March 6th at Hotel de Ville in the 4th and Gare Montparnasse in the 15th.

At Hotel de Ville, you will have your choice between two courses over a space of 1635 square metres, one which is designed for novices like me (yes, not every Canadian is a good skater, sorry to shatter any stereotypes !).

At Montparnasse, there is a synthetic surface of 770 square metres that will be set up and there will be a special area for very young children.

Access is free and skate rental is €5.00.

Hours :

Montparnasse : Monday through Friday from 12h-20h00
Hotel de Ville : Monday through Friday from 12h-22h00

Both are open on Saturdays and Sunday at 9h00

Happy skating and enjoy some hot chocolate or vin chaud afterward to warm up again !

The Golden Age of Dutch Painting

2009-12-05T20:27:00.000+01:00

http://www.pinacotheque.com/

This was an exquisite show, well worth the wait, the pricey admission and the crowds.

And how can you not like anything Dutch? This inspires one to try out the new and improved and shortened Thalys (www.thalys.com) train to Amsterdam in just 3 hours 18 minutes!

My advice is to go early during the day, or around 9 PM on one of their 'nocturne' evenings.

Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T19:27:00.000+01:00

For all of you people celebrating Thanksgiving in Paris, check out the ever so appropriately named épicerie américaine Thanksgiving, located in Paris's 4th district.

I had to pop down there for a can of Libby's pumpkin pie filling and they had a full shelf of the stuff. Their home-made cranberry sauce made from real Ocean Spray cranberries is delicious and keeps well in the fridge well beyond the holiday.

They also take orders for all the turkey day fixings.

Stop in any time of the year for all of those things you miss!

Here's their link:

http://www.thanksgivingparis.com/

Lunch in the Loft!

2009-11-17T10:29:00.000+01:00

This past Sunday I had the pleasure of accompanying a friend to a very interesting and enjoyable culinary experience: Lunch in the Loft.

Lunch in the Loft is a multi-course gourmet meal complete with wine pairings served in the très parisien loft that belongs to Miss Lunch and her companion located in the 11th arrondissement.

The concept is simple: 8 guests (most of whom don't know each other prior), a great meal and fabulous company. The guests are usually a mixture of many backgrounds and nationalities. On this day, we were American, English and French and the conversation switched very fluidly between French and English without any awkwardness and would not intimidate even the monoglot.

I tend to shy away from these types of meet-ups having frequented so many of them in my first few years of living here in Paris as an expatriate. However, this was different and the lunch offered a great arena for discussion and most importantly, each of us was there as a food-lover so if the conversation lulled, it only allowed us to concentrate on our fantastic lunch and the gastronomic talents of Miss Lunch.

I would highly recommend this event to anyone who loves food and meeting interesting people all while being welcomed into someone's welcoming home.

Thanks Miss Lunch and Miss P. for a lovely Sunday afternoon!

Booking ahead is essential as there are only 8 places at the table. If you're an out-of-towner, do contact Miss Lunch well in advance to book your spaces.

See the for more details, menu and reservations:

http://www.lunchintheloft.com/Lunch%20in%20the%20Loft.html

Taxi, Taxi!

2009-11-06T10:38:00.000+01:00

G7 Taxis has rolled out a new entirely English speaking taxi line this year. We're elated here at PerfectlyParis as it allows our guests to order a taxi directly from the apartment telephone without having to go through all of the French prompts on the other taxi lines!

They also take reservations up to 24 hours in advance. I highly recommend using this call-ahead service before an airport or train station departure as taxis can be scarce during peak hours. There is no charge for the reservation. The driver simply starts the meter when he is dispatched to come and pick you up (from my experience, usually 4-7 Euros is on the meter when the driver arrives at the pick-up point).

G7 English Line: 01 41 27 66 99

The great thing is that you immediately speak with an operator, all of whom speak fluent English! You can also specify a larger vehicle if you're a group or for luggage.

Please note that the operators are required to speak English with you, so for all of you bilingual people out there, just speak English with them.

Morning Coffee!

2009-11-04T09:51:00.002+01:00

I must say that we're pretty disgusted here at PerfectlyParis that we now have a brand new Starbuck's at Place Blanche and now at the Place de Clichy.

Didn't we move away from North America to get away from this?

I, like everyone, long for a good coffee à emporter (take away), but I'm sorry, Starbuck's is just bad coffee! Anyway, at most cafés you can usually convince them to make you a few shots of espresso in a Dixie cup to go.

What bothers me is that Starbucks (along with many other factors) are chasing out the lovely, and often very wonderfully tacky, Parisian cafés that have become a dying breed. I'm talking about the kind where you can stand at the bar and read your horoscope on the back page of Le Parisien all while soaking up the local ambiance and eavesdropping on your neighbor's conversation. Here the coffee is often 1 € and the charm is free. And you don't look silly walking down the street with a 20 oz. paper cup.

In conclusion, take note of these new Starbuck's outlets only in the case that you need a public restroom.

Here are a few little coffee expressions that may be useful when you go to a café in Paris:

un café : a single shot of espresso

un café allongé : espresso with hot water, or americano, most similar to “American” coffee

une noisette: a single shot of espresso with a dot of nice hot milk foam on the top, or sometimes just a shot of espresso served to you with a little pitcher of cold milk for you to add yourself

un café verre d'eau : an espresso served with a glass of water

un café serré : a short shot espresso, more similar to an Italian coffee, more concentrated but actually contains less caffeine as caffeine content is based on the duration of which the water has touched the coffee grinds, less contact equals the less caffeine.

un café crème (or just un crème) : espresso with steamed milk and froth (like a latte)

Italian Invasion!

2009-10-28T08:56:00.001+01:00

I don't know how we did not know about this place before, but it has to be one of the best pizzas that I've eaten in Paris.

I was introduced to the restaurant by a fellow member of the Montmartre rental mafia who had been taken there by none other than a FRENCH PERSON (who apparently loves pizza).

Anyhow, I'll cut to the chase. They rarely answer the phone, but keep calling back as it's essential to book whether it's lunch or dinner. The dishes are simple, mostly pastas, risottos, meats, the atmosphere cosmopolitan, and the pizzas big enough to cover two dinner plates.

For two, I'd recommend getting one pizza and an antipasti plate or a salad and sharing as the pizzas are huge.

The location is suburb and requires a map as it's tucked away in a passage next to the Edouard VII theatre near the Opera. So if feels like a cultural outing, too.

Check it out!

Paparazzi Opera
6, Square de l'Opéra Louis Jouvet
75009 Paris
01 40 07 92 56

CondeNast Traveler and The Perrin Post

2009-10-24T12:31:00.001+02:00

As a special to readers of CondeNast Traveler and The Perrin Post, we are offering a 15% discount for anyone booking stays of a week or more in the month of November.

Hurray and take advantage of it !!

Renoir at the Grand Palais

2009-10-22T10:06:00.002+02:00

For those who are afraid of lines, I would highly recommend going to see this fabulous show highlighting the second portion of Renoir's career, on a Monday evening at 19.00. The Grand Palais is open until 22.00 and that leaves ample time to explore the expansive and fascinating exhibition.

Of course I had seen countless Renoirs in my time here in France, but it was especially meaningful and informative to see them all in one spot and to see so many that had crossed oceans back to their homeland to be hung for this show.

Like anything else the Grand Palais does, this is a biggie and should not be missed.

We bought "coupe-file" or "cut in line" tickets early at Fnac, but they were unnecessary at 19.00 on a Monday as there was no line.

On the weekend, go at your own risk as the lines can be staggering.

Renoir in the 20th Century goes through 4 January 2010.

We're still here!

2009-10-22T09:54:00.001+02:00

Hello everyone! First let us apologize for our long hiatus here at the PP blog! We've both been busy here in Paris and elsewhere.

Fall has officially arrived and the days are getting progressively shorter and more grey. However one must look on the positive side of things and think about building fires, the festivities of the holiday season and most importantly, a time when we can eat the luscious, heavy French food without guilt (until spring).

The format of the posts may change slightly for a quicker approach as I don't think anyone who has never written a blog can realize how much one can toil over a few words posted on a website!

But we hope to return to our roots here on the blog and shoot out interesting tidbits, factoids, restaurant selections or clin d'oeils on Paris.

Parties in Paris and the Voisinage Part II

2009-09-28T23:11:00.002+02:00

Well, I thought I would update everyone on the continuing saga of parties, neighbours, et al...

Saturday night was an absolute massive fête chez moi !! I think we were around 70 people (goodness me !!). Things were going relatively fine and in control with the constant influx of people along with their bottles of champagne (obligatory for entrance to the party !).

Then, however, I heard a late night knocking on the door...

I opened the door and saw a plethora of people... "Oh, my !" I said. "How many of there are you ?!" The answer was, "12 and we each brought a bottle of champagne !" Oh dear, I thought to myself, this is the beginning of the end ! Will my neighbours ever speak to me again ? Will I be sent an eviction notice ? Will they call the police ? They arrived very late (probably around midnight or so) and I am sure they had been consuming a few cocktails before.

What to do... what to do.... well, in they came with their champagne and entourage. I decided it was best to supervise the group for fear that things would get out of hand.

Instead of the previous 'soirée soft' that I was thanked by neighbours for, I was having the 'soirée' of the century.

Things wound down at about 5.00 in the morning and, although I woke up early, I decided to stay in bed until 10.00 before I started the obligatory cleaning. It started with the dishes and slowly worked its way to the floor (which had to be washed twice as it was so filthy !).

In the end, a neighbour complained (in the typical fashion of writing a comment on my note instead of knocking on my door- I must say that is annoying !!!). I could, however, absolutely understand it for this party (did I mention that it finished with guitar playing and singing on my balcony ? 'Roxanne', 'Stairway to Heaven' and more rock favourites...).

This morning, I kindly informed my guardienne of the madness and mayhem experienced on Saturday evening and told her to refer anyone to me as I would be happy to apologise to them. I also added that she could tell anyone who complained that they will be happy to know that I will not host a party at home until 2010 !!!!!

Next party is set to be sometime in the first half of November and guess what I will do...

RENT A PLACE !!!!!!!

Vive la vie du voisinage...

Julie et Julia

2009-09-17T16:20:00.000+02:00

My day off yesterday happened to coincide with the French release date of the movie Julie et Julia (Julie & Julia), so I decided to check it out. This movie is probably old news to you all in the States or elsewhere, but we're a little slow over here when it comes to movies.

The film is based on two real stories revolving around the life of Julia Child and a woman named Julie Powell who decided to write a blog about her attempts to cook all of the recipes in Julia Child's famous tome Mastering the Art of French Cookery.

The movie is split up into segments based on Julia Child's years in Paris and elsewhere (based on her book entitled My Life in France) juxtaposed with the more modern day bits about the blogging of Julie Powell.

I have to say, the film was entertaining enough and certainly had some high points, but I felt a bit as if the Julie (modern) parts were too sappy and a heavy handed. The Julia parts were quaint and endearing, if a bit heavy handed on the interpretation of some of Julia's mannerisms and characteristics.

One of the best parts was glimpsing our very own bakery located at 48, rue Caulaincourt in the movie! It's the lovely old fashioned one with the painted ceiling and the original facade (and great breads). I actually think that I may have been in our apartment Classic Paris (46, rue Caulaincourt) the day they were shooting as they had closed the street down entirely and there were many people running around in period dress.

Nonetheless, it was worth the 4 Euro admission (la rentrée du cinéma was going on - a festival allowing all access to all movies for 4 Euros), but anyone interested in France or food should definitely check out Julia Child's book first.

On a side note, on a recent trip in August through Santa Barbara, CA, I lucheoned at what was once supposedly Julia Child's favorite Mexican restaurant - Super Rica Taqueria. The place, or more of a "joint" as I'd say, is pretty much just a taco stand in the middle of a no-name street. The line was wrapped half-way around the building, which was certainly a good sign and much worth the wait. I wonder if Julia got to cut in line?

Parties in Paris and the Voisinage

2009-09-14T15:24:00.003+02:00

Parisians love to have friends over if the size of their apartments permit it and they are happy to have parties that go into the wee hours. If, however, you are the one having the party and your neighbours (voisins) have to listen to it, they can sometimes be less than happy.

As a result, it is customary to put a notice in the entryway of your building indicating the date and time of your party. Every time I have a fête, I do just that.

This past Saturday, I hosted the birthday party of a good friend of mine. As usually, I put a note downstairs to let my neighbours know. I always add in my note that they can come up and have a drink with us (but they rarely do).

I live in a rather bourgeois building but all of my neighbours are quite friendly and pleasant. They are all more or less young and have a child(ren) like me so we always try to consider each other when it comes to noise and there are generally no problems.

...unless, of course, you happen to be the only neighbour that is 60 something and rarely goes out or socialises for more than a few minutes with the other neighbours...

After my sign was posted downstairs, this particular person wrote on my note that they were more or less not interested in hearing about my party as they had their own plans for Sunday morning which involved getting up early and, as a result, she needed a good night's sleep.

I read the comment. I then reread the comment. I started to think about the comment. Then I thought of what I could write in response. Being the 'good' neighbour, however, I wrote and said nothing to them.

In the end, this was a good thing as I did not have to. A few of my neighbours wrote comments wishing us a happy fête and one neighbour stopped by saying they could not make it but offered a bottle of champagne for the party.

The event carried on until 4.00 in the morning and the noise level was reasonable. The next morning, I had a note under my door from the neighbour who said they had something to do on Sunday morning thanking me for having a 'soirée soft' which was, in the end, kind.

One would have thought that the story would have stopped there...

I was on my way out for a lunch appointment today when the same neighbour came up to my flat saying that everyone in the building was complaining about the comment she wrote and, in hindsight, she should not have written it (I personally would have never written such a comment so I had to agree with her).

I told her that I had not said anything to the neighbours other than the person who came up with a bottle of champagne (she had indicated that she was him on the comment she wrote which I assumed was an accident).

I told her that he was very upset that I could have thought he would have written such a comment but I said I knew it was not him but the person across the hall (her).

After my conversation with her, I went downstairs on my way to my lunch appointment (which I was almost late for at this point) only to see that the guardienne of my building was waiting to speak with me.

She and I have a great rapport. She told me that the neighbour had said something to her about the party. Her response was that it was each individual's right to have friends over and, if they are considerate regarding noise, it should not be a problem. The discussion went downhill from there between the two of them...so much so that my guardienne does not want to say anything more than hello to her now.

In addition to this, one of my other neighbours complained about the woman who wrote the comment on my note. In turn, he wrote a comment on my note saying that the woman was being unreasonable and he was sick of her complaining every time people had a fête.

As I was talking to my guardienne, this same man came downstairs to put out his rubbish and said he hoped I had a lovely party. I said I did and apologised if there was any noise. He and his family heard nothing but said that he was ready to sign a petition to try and get the woman who complained out of the building. She had apparently went to speak with him after speaking with my guardienne and before coming up to see me.

The neighbour who wrote the initial comment said she wanted to 'make peace and not war'. Unfortunately, I think she has started the latter !

It is very nice to have the support and consideration from the other people in the building.

This is why we ask our guests to keep noise at a minimum in the apartments and common areas plus to take off their shoes when walking in the apartments. We do not necessarily get 'friendly' with our neighbours in Paris (as in any big city) but we do not try to annoy them either.

I have a fear though...

In 2 weeks, I will be having ANOTHER party to celebrate my birthday and that of several friends. I am not sure what war it may start in my building but I will keep all of you posted if there is an update.

Wish me luck on Saturday, September 26 !!

Welcome to la vie parisienne...

Transportation to/from airports to Paris

2009-09-07T13:13:00.002+02:00

Everyone ALWAYS asks how to get to or from Paris by Metro and RER. My answer is to take a taxi or book a car service instead. You will find out that very few of us who live here actually go to and from the airports via public transportation.

When you arrive at CDG, if you want to take the RER/Metro to the city, you have to drag your stuff through the airport to the correct terminal. Once there, you wait in line to get your tickets for the RER and metro. You then need to figure out what track to go to in order to catch the RER to Paris.

Once on the RER, you will take it to the city (people get out at Gare du Nord if going to the PerfectlyParis apartments). From there, you need to change to the Metro and be sure to get on the correct line going in the correct direction.

After you are on the Metro, you will take it to whatever other line you need to change to and then, eventually, get out from the underground to see what Paris actually looks like !!

There are ALWAYS stairs in the Metro stations so remember that all of this running around is done with your luggage.

I tested the RER/Metro system recently from CDG as I had to drop my daughter at the airport. We went to CDG by taxi but as I had no luggage, I decided to use the RER/Metro to get back home.

Firstly, the line was long and somewhat confusing in its layout as within the same area, you can also purchase tickets to go outside of Paris.

Secondly, there was not one foreigner in the RER who knew what stop to get off so they were all asking the other people on the train...

Thirdly, it took almost twice as long for me to get from CDG to my home and, even though I did not have any luggage (could not imagine if I did !), I found it rather a waste of time sitting there without doing anything or seeing anything.

A one way ticket cost about €8-9 per person and a taxi costs about E40-50. For a little bit more, it is definitely worth the time, trouble and effort it takes to use public transport from CDG since it is more often that you would be travelling with at least one other person.

Once in Paris, however, I wholeheartedly recommend using the Metro and buses as the system is VERY efficient !

Metro Scams: Beware!

2009-09-07T12:19:00.001+02:00

Upon checking in some guests on Sunday, I was reminded of an old scam that visitors should be aware of when taking the RER (commuter rail) from CDG!

Most credit cards from North America work differently than those from France and other European countries. The cards in Europe have a microchip, or puce in French, and they require a pin code when making any purchase, similar to the pin code we would use to take money out of an ATM. In France, upon making any purchase with your credit card, you must always enter your 4 digit code and this code is used in the place the signature that we're used to in North America. Most American and Canadian credit cards are valid here in France except for purchases that are made at any type of automatic machine where there is not a physical person to swipe your card (Metro ticket machine, gas pump, Velib' bike stand, etc.).

The scam goes as follows:

After you arrive at CDG and you decide you'd like to take the RER with all your luggage (why would you do this?) you must buy a ticket to get into Paris. The line is usually very long and it can be tempting to use the automatic ticket machines. These machines, as mentioned above, will only take credit cards that have a chip in them and some will take cash (in euros, of course). Your other option would be to go to the ticket window (where there's a real person working) and allow him/her to swipe your card. Often tourists get to the machine to find out that their card doesn't work. The scammer will circulate and wait for this scenario and swoop in and act like a friendly Parisian and offer to make the purchase on their French credit card in the exchange for cash. They often say they are buying you a week-long pass or something similar which in actuality is a single use one-way RER or metro ticket. They will profit the difference from the cash that they gave you, telling you the tickets that they have just purchased with their credit card will be good all week. You will find out differently when you try to reuse the tickets they sold you!

One more reason to take a taxi or book a car service when traveling from train stations or either of the airports upon arrival in Paris!

Dining in Montmartre

2009-09-03T15:01:00.002+02:00

I should not do it, I know; I should not let out secrets of all our favourite restaurants in Paris but some are just SO good that they have to be shared !

Last night, I went to dinner at my favourite Italian restaurant in the area with Brenda and John who are visiting from Canada (my home and native land !). It is called La Pizzetta Piu Grande and is in the neighbourhood of many of the PerfectlyParis apartments.

I usually order the pasta with black truffles but suggested that to John while I had their risotto dish of the evening which, lucky for me, had black truffles as well. Brenda had a delicious filet de boeuf which melted in your mouth. Of course, we started with wonderful appetizers as well but you can see all of their details through the link below:

http://lapizzettapiugrande.com/

After dinner (which started with a cocktail, wine through the meal and a couple of limoncellos), we went to my usual bar in the area for some beer served my Pascal, bartender and friend. This all finished with me having to walk (or is that stagger) up 6 flights of stairs at my building because the elevator was hors service (out of service).

There are so many amazing restaurants in the area and we will list more of ones we like as this blog progresses.

Bon Appétit !

La Rentrée Part II

2009-09-03T14:35:00.001+02:00

When September starts, there is a definitely a change in the vibe in Paris.

Yasmin, my 5 1/2 year old daughter started school yesterday. She has been going to ECOLE MATERNELLE (preschool) since she has been 2 1/2 years old but started CP (Grade 1 for those North Americans reading this) on Wednesday.

The preparation for her list of 'fournitures scolaires' has been ridiculous !! Alright, I guess it is the Canadian in me but I seem to remember having everything provided for by the school. For starting GRADE 1 (who know WHAT she will need NEXT year ?!), she needed the following:

2 pencil cases
1 HB pencil
1 B pencil
1 blue ballpoint pen
1 black ballpoint pen
1 green ballpoint pen
1 eraser
1 tube of glue (but you cannot get the glue stick apparently !)
1 roll of scotch tape
1 pencil sharpener with a reservoir (is that an English word ?) for the shavings
1 20 cm ruler ?!
1 compass (sorry but she is only in GRADE ONE !)
1 pair of scissors with rounded edges
1 blackboard (do they not have a big one that the teacher writes on ?!)
1 set of pencil crayons in assorted colours
1 set of wax pastels (All right, this request almost drove me to drink more than usual !!! I looked in at least a half dozen stores and could only find oil based pastels so I ended up getting extra large crayons - let's hope Maman does not get in trouble with the teachers for this)
1 set of fine point markers in assorted colours
1 set of thick point markers in assorted colours
1 shoe box to arrange her things for painting
1 fine paint brush
1 medium paint brush
1 thick paint brush
1 flat paint brush
1 paint brush roller (another difficult object to find- THANK YOU BHV !)
1 set of paints in assorted colours
1 goblet for painting
1 cloth to use while painting
1 blouse, shirt or clothing protector for painting

Again, did I say my daughter was only 5 1/2 ?...

Vive la rentrée indeed :)

Velib in Paris

2009-09-03T14:08:00.002+02:00

Here is an article written by John, one of our wonderful owner at PerfectlyParis, regarding the use of Velib, rental bicycles in Paris provided by the RATP (metro system) :

http://bytesnbikes.blogspot.com/2008/08/im-currently-in-paris.html

La Rentrée

2009-09-03T12:07:00.000+02:00

Welcome to our blog! After a very busy and relatively sunny and warm (by Paris standards) summer, we've decided to start up our own blog with various tidbits, quips, advice or other random nonsensical Paris stuff that may be of interest to you whether you're a true Parisian or one at heart. And what a better time to start than la rentrée.

la rentrée means a lot of things to me. It means the end of summer, battling my way into the metro, those back-to-school bottom-of-the-stomach butterflies, a slight chill in the air and those pesky tan lines. It also means getting back in the swing of things, party planning, seeing friends that I haven't seen in a whole month and getting down to work! It's a bit hard to take after spending most of August in Paris enjoying the solitude of this city and lolly-gagging at cafés while most Parisians are on holiday outside of the city. During five summers in Paris, I only made the mistake once of going away for most of August. I will never do that again. August is a time to enjoy the quiet that we rarely otherwise experience in this very active city. Now I relish my time in Paris in August and try to stick around for most of it if possible! This year, I opted for only a one week sojourn away from Paris and after my return on Monday, I found Paris back in the swing of things!

Most tour books and experienced Parisian travelers will tell you to avoid August in Paris because of annual restaurant and shop closures and the potential for hot weather (especially after the heat wave of 2003). I beg to differ. The only annoyances are simply having to strategically plan your dinner reservations by finding places that are still open and ensuring that you have a good quality fan. The streets of Paris are easier to navigate with less people, the buses and metro empty and a certain tranquility reins over the city. I think it's a wonderful time to come explore Paris (but really, when isn't a good time?) and check out the summer offerings of Paris Plage, cinéma en plein air, and of course all of the usual sights that never close down.

But all good things must come to an end, right?

Let's just say, we're happy to be back in the swing of things and are looking forward to another fun-filled and exciting fall season in Paris. Thanks for joining us and stay tuned for another post soon!