Ah, to Be in Paris in the "Jolie Juillet"

Carnaval Tropical de Paris on the Champs-Elysées

Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, July 4, 2011 • Paris, France

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Dear Parler Paris Reader,

The Champs-Elysées was totally blocked off to traffic yesterday afternoon to make way for the Carnaval Tropical de Paris sponsored by the FCTPIF (Fédération Carnaval Tropical de Paris and Ile-de-France. The sun was bright, the air was cool and the sky was a crystal clear blue. It was a perfectly glorious backdrop to a colorful and festive display of West Indies culture. It's not often one can actually walk straight down the Champs with no car in sight...but it's definitely one of Paris' prettiest sights.

The groups gathered on the streets surrounding the Grand Palais to make their way down the Champs -- groups from France, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Reunion Island, as well as Thailand, India, England, Colombia, Polynesia, New Caledonia and others. They paraded, colorfully costumed, elaborately painted and making music mostly of a calypso beat, all in the spirit of their homelands to a packed crowd of supporters. Twenty-four year-old Martinique-born dancer Céline Patole was elected queen and led the parade wearing gold and dancing all the while.

"The purpose of the Federation is the development, organization, entertainment, logistics, communication and any celebrations and ceremonies connected with the 30 some odd associations to which belong, each one bringing its expertise and vision. The primary objective is the continuation of original cultural practices by the youth that often, because of distance, are in ignorance or disregard of these practices."

It's a noble mission -- but it might not have mattered for all the fun everyone was having. This is just a prelude for what's to come. Today the U.S. celebrates its 235th year of independence and on the 14th here in France we'll be celebrating the 222nd year since the troops stormed the Bastille prison marking the beginning of the French Revolution. Seems like freedom is a pretty precious commodity and for it we have fought hard and now we can simply celebrate...although there have been many times we've had to fight to protect it.

To mark July 4th, I am wearing red, white and blue and will go off my usual low-cal diet to eat hamburgers (with my hands, of course!) at Joe Allen, the oldest American restaurant in the city, having opened in January of 1972. On the 13th, you can bet I'll be dancing at the "Bals des Pompiers" and on 14th I'll be picnicking on the Champs de Mars in anticipation of the annual fireworks display...this time with French wine disguised in soda bottles, baguette and "charcuterie."

Ah, to be in Paris in the "jolie juillet."

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
(photo by Julie Vetter)

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P.S. Be sure to mark your calendars for July 12th when Jeffrey Greene will be speaking at Parler Paris Après Midi! Visitparlerparis/apresmidi.html for more information.

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La Grande Dame de Paris

La Tour Eiffel at Dusk

Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 • Paris, France

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Dear Parler Paris Reader,

There isn't much occasion to go to the 16th arrondissement, at least for me personally. Very few friends live in the district, although there are lots of Americans and other internationals who love the 16th for its large and spacious apartments, good schools and easy access by car to the suburbs and industrial parks where many work. Otherwise, it's not a district that is overrun with touristy sights, except for a couple of very important, not-to-be-missed ones, particularly the Place du Trocadero, the Palais de Chaillot and the Jardins du Trocadero -- from which there is no better view of the Eiffel Tower.

"Nuit Blanche" tour operator, Karen Henrich, rented a tiny apartment near the Trocadero for over a month, so I had the occasion to trek across town to see it. Walking through the 16th was a very different experience from a stroll through the Marais. The architecture is eclectic, "Haussmannian" style buildings mixed with more contemporary apartment complexes, and it's more residential than commercial -- not as many independent merchants on street level as in the 3rd or 4th districts.

At dusk, about 10 p.m., we started toward the Place du Trocadero and stepped right down into a park that few people know, but is particularly lovely, private and peaceful. When you follow the path, it takes you to the gardens and fountains on the lower level. Then, if you climb the stairs, you'll land on the plaza between the two buildings which make up the Palais de Chaillot.

As we worked our way down, around and up again, the sun sank and the light changed, therefore changing the mood of the scene and the way La Tour was silhouetted against the sky. Hoards of tourists were on the marble plaza, including us. That's when I realized how living here spoils you with so much beauty surrounding you on a daily basis -- it becomes the norm, rather than what's special.

Karen remarked that she loves to take a group by Métro to the Trocadero as when they exit the station, they are overcome by the surprise and stunning view of "La Grande Dame," the Champs de Mars behind her, all anchored by the Ecole Militaire and the cityscape of Paris at her feet.

This is not a new story, but it deserves to be retold -- as about 15 years ago, walking on the sidewalk in front of Ecole Militaire to cross to the 15th arrondissement, I was adjacent to a man walking at about the same pace. At that hour of dusk, the Eiffel Tower was silhouetted against a bright pink sky and could not have been a more magnificent sight. My compatriot walker never once looked up to admire her, which was so surprising, and I consciously vowed at that moment never to become so jaded as not to notice the sheer beauty of the structure.

Then, it sort of happened. She's there all the time, you see. You can't see her from EVERY point in the city, but from many. And there are lots of occasions on which to be on the grass of the Champs de Mars -- like on Bastille Day for the fireworks or other celebrations (even weddings). If you look up at the right moment in the evening, you might see her sparkle -- "every evening, the Eiffel Tower is adorned with its golden covering and sparkles for 5 minutes every hour on the hour, while its beacon shines over Paris").

The cafés that line the semi-circular place welcome tourists and offer up a broad range of delights. Over a frothy "café frappé" (iced coffee), on one of Karen's last nights in the city before heading west to her Vancouver home, we toasted life in Paris, the beauty of the symbol of the city that was close to being destroyed (1909), but saved thanks to her telegraphic antenna, and just the luck that we had being there at that moment...and every moment in the City of Light.

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
with Karen Hernrich, Tapbooks.org

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P.S. Happy Independence Days: Monday, July 4th in Paris (may you eat lots of burgers!) and coming soon, Thursday, July 14th Bastille Day (get ready for fireworks and the Fireman's Balls)! Stay tuned for more information on all we have in store for us here in France.

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Fête for the Fun of It

Fête de la Musique

Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com

Wednesday, June 22, 2011 • Paris, France

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Dear Parler Paris Reader,

The weather held out till this morning's rains to make for a glorious evening of Fête de la Musique...just like it's supposed to be. We took a table for seven at Ma Bourgogne on the northeast corner of Place des Vosges as early as 6 p.m. to beat the crowds and had a leisurely "apéritif" and dinner before making our way round Le Marais to see and hear the musical sights.

The traffic started to increase and little by little the various musical groups began to set up under the arcades of the Place where the acoustics are particularly resonant. It's here where one finds more classical sounds, a bit of opera, choral groups, string quartets and sing-alongs. We made one 'quick' stop for a coffee chez "Le Palace des Vosges" where one of the thirteen owners, Gail Aboudara, is residing with two daughters and a friend. That's a dangerous thing to do...as the apartment is too conducive to just 'hanging out' and we may have never wanted to leave the luscious chartreuse green velvet sofa and elegant surroundings to hit the streets...but of course, we did.

Making one circle around the square (is that an oxymoron?), we encountered numerous performances and hordes of people, but not one policeman. In fact, it's a recurring theme to discuss the lack of police presence during any of the public events, knowing full well that there are lots of plain-clothes cops around we'd never notice. The authorities do seem to make a point of keeping any appearance of force out of the picture and during events of these kinds, there is rarely any disturbance. The French are so well-behaved, it's almost shocking...these are the people who only eat bread and asparagus with their hands and are taught to fold their lettuce, not cut it, so rowdiness is certainly not part of the culture.

On rue de Sevigné at the door of the "Caserne Sévigné" (barracks) were a group of very handsome "pompiers" (firemen) just watching the goings-on -- a car actually trying to part the crowd in front of a brass band like Moses did of the Red Sea, without running over anyone's toes. On rue des Rosiers, about a dozen young friends had found a friendly stoop on which to park while chowing down on felafel-pita sandwiches (that hopefully they had gotten at the area's best provider -- l'As du Falafel, at number 34, rue des Rosiers).

While wandering along the streets of the Marais, our ears may have been on the music, but our eyes were on the fashions, and in particular, how the shops were planning for today's onset of the Summer Sales (June 22, 2011 through Tuesday, July 26, 2011). I made note of the red shoes over which I've been drooling for months marked down 30% as of today and the Wolford bathing suit I can't afford, even on sale. Expect to see me at the shops today in hopes of scoring.

Place Marché Sainte-Catherine is always a hoppin' spot and this year was no different. The restaurants were all packed with happy outdoor diners and people were dancing up a storm to the pop band on the podium. In the courtyard of the Hôtel de Rohan, a rock band played, sponsored by the Archives Nationales. By the time we wandered north to the Mairie of the 3rd arrondissement, we had sadly missed the rhythms of the Cuban group Wil Campa who had played on the Parvis de la Mairie earlier in the evening...but we didn't miss the young athletic man who climbed the light pole...for no reason at all, other than for the fun of it.

And that's what it's mostly all about...appreciation of the fun of music...playing it, listening to it, enjoying it and the spirit it brings along with it.

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
with Gail Aboudara and Anne Morton

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P.S. Don't miss the special offer to save this summer on the rental of Le Penthouse Voltaire with low season rates for July on bookings of five nights or more. VisitParlerParisApartments.com or email: mailto:apartments@adrianleeds.com for more information.

Paris: Apping Up

Karen Henrich with Her Digital Guide, Practical Paris

Wednesday, June 15, 2011 • Paris, France

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Dear Parler Paris Reader,

Yesterday at Parler Paris Aprés Midi, Karen Henrich, tour operator of NuitBlancheTours.com and ChicWalks.com plus publisher of TapBooks.org spoke about her experience as a digital publisher -- making content available on the new formats such as iPhone, iPad, iPod, iBooks, Kindle and creating pdf versions sold via Amazon.com and others...of her guide, "Practical Paris" and mine, "Adrian Leeds® Top 100 Cheap Insider Paris Restaurants."

She enlightened us with her thoughts about the publishing evolution and how electronic publishing is to reading as electricity was to lighting: candlemakers worried about their declining business when electricity facilitated the light bulb, but look at candles where they are today -- specialty items that cost a fortune! And perhaps, so will our precious paper books now that digital format reading is sweeping the world.

Karen is looking for more content to publish digitally so for those of you interested in publishing your valuable information and enlightening words, contact Karen Henrich by visiting TapBooks.org or emailing getpublished@tapbooks.org.

To read more about the day's gathering and see photos, visit parlerparis/apresmidi.html.

If you haven't already discovered it, the City of Paris is apping up, too. Check outparisapps.paris.fr/apps/Apple to download your favorite apps.

Karen's Paris Shopping app that every shopaholic must have can be found at:chicwalks.com/apps.html

And if you love "My Little Paris," here's the app: mylittleparis.com/nouvelle-appli-iphone.html

Make note and mark your calendar for our favorite festival -- Fête de la Musique on the 21st, the Summer Solstice -- the longest day of the year. Then, check out the app!: parisapps.paris.fr/fete-de-la-musique It's the best way to find out where your favorite musicians are playing.

For those who use and love the Vélib, be sure to download the app to find the nearest stations:parisapps.paris.fr/velib

You'll find me more often in a taxi...so, I love the TaxiG7 app! It really works: parisapps.paris.fr/TaxiG7-- and lots of the other taxi companies are offering them up, too.

This is just the beginning! The city is asking for your ideas on new apps, so click here to put in your two centimes: parisapps.paris.fr/idea

Or if you know one the city hasn't yet listed, be sure to visit parisapps.paris.fr/new_app and let them know what your favorites are!

And if you don't already have your iPhone, iPad or iPod...guess you best head for the nearest Apple Store...Carrousel du Louvre:
apple.com/fr/retail/carrouseldulouvre/ and Opéra: apple.com/fr/retail/opera/

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

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P.S. Also make note, Parler Parlor, the French-English Conversation Group, will be closed for Fête de la Musique, the 21st, so that all of you can take to the streets instead!)

Life is Nuts in the City of Light

It's a Dog's Nutty Life

Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 • Paris, France

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Dear Parler Paris Reader,

At almost 1 a.m. I phoned my daughter to relate the day's events to which she responded, "Your life is nuts."

It got me to thinking about my life in the City of Light and if the 'tornado' in which I live is a result of my own actions or the city within which I have chosen to live. Maybe it's a bit of both, but for either reason, I don't think I'd have it any other way.

It all started out rather normally with several hours of having a computer technician install and fine-tune a new Apple Mac Mini computer, transitioning from years of being a slave to Bill Gates (Windows) to becoming a devotee of Steve Jobs (Apple). (I am suffering through the transition of the operating systems now, so please forgive me for any transgressions electronically related.)

At any rate, this was all as normal as it gets and so was a late lunch at Café Charlot before heading off to our illustrious Notaire's office (property attorney). There I was to sign the "Compromis de Vente" (pre-sale agreement) on the apartment in Nice -- the third I've tried to purchase in the last few months.

Thirty minutes prior to arrival they had received a copy of the "Réglement de Coproprété" (by laws of the homeowner's association). Upon review, the document clearly outlined that rental of any furnished apartment in the building was forbidden. "Quelle surprise!"

Naturally the seller and the agent had assured me there was no issue with the rental of the apartment from the get-go, so had they lied or not known? Or was this version out-dated (1978) and the regulation had been amended at some time since?

With no panic nor real concern, we phoned to get confirmation from the seller's Notaire that they would requisition a copy of the correct and registered document, but that would take another two weeks. I also agreed to sign, but with the contingency that the regulation be changed prior to closing. No doubt, however, is that without the associations' permission to rent the apartment, another will have 'bitten the dust' and I'll be back to square one in Nice looking for another apartment to fulfill my Riviera dream. Ugh. I left under gray skies with a light rain and gusty winds, crossed the Pont des Arts where the "Love Locks" are getting thicker by the minute, and headed to Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

Author David Downie (of "Paris City of Night" and many other books found atparlerparis/books/) and his photographer wife, Alison Harris, hosted a "Meet the Author" event at the Village Voice Bookshop. They spoke, answered questions, signed books and made themselves open and available to their aficionados, one of whom was Diane Johnson, author of "Le Divorce" who graciously attended to show her support. TapBooks.org digital publisher, author and tour company operator, Karen Henrich, joined me to meet the authors and celebrate her birthday over dinner after the event at my favorite bistrot in the 6th -- Le Mazarin (42, rue Mazarine).

At Le Mazarin, an American woman with a group of others sitting at a nearby table was naturally louder than anyone else in the restaurant and without even realizing what I was doing, my first reaction was to blurt out "shhhh!" I even surprised myself, but it managed to make an impression as from that point on the group was a whole lot more respectful of the ambiance and we could no longer hear every word she was saying. Upon their exit, one of them took revenge upon my spontaneous (and rude, I admit!) reaction by knocking on the window of the restaurant, getting my attention and motioning for me to be quiet by raising a finger to her mouth. We both chuckled and without any discourse, understood immediately as Americans in Paris that we really aren't aware at all that our voices are more resonant than most others and tend to boom above the fray.

While at dinner, I received a call with an emergency from one of our rental apartments. As it turns out, a window was pushed in and a trespasser had rummaged through the renters' belongings, stealing all four of their passports, but nothing else. The police were called and when I arrived on the scene, they were trying to communicate between the three officers who spoke no English and the renters who spoke no French.

After a brief investigation of the crime scene, we rode in a paddy wagon with the officers to the local station, waiting two hours (till midnight) only to be told we must return the next day as the clerk on duty had been called off to another emergency. While the wait was just that -- a wait -- the officers were very kind and respectful. The renter and I agreed that the same experience might not have been the same at an L.A. or New York precinct.

Today they will file the complaint then trek to the Consulate to have their passports reissued. It's not all that complicated and by the time they fly home on Friday, it should all be a blurry memory. (Should something like this ever happen to you while traveling in Paris, you can walk in with no appointment to the Consular Section of the Embassy [4, avenue Gabriel, 75008 Paris] between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Visit france.usembassy.gov/pass-lost.html for more information.)

Today the sun is out and I'm prepared for just about anything nutty that might happen while living in a 'tornado' in the City of Light -- as every single day seems like a new adventure, if nothing else, with nary a dull moment to call my own. In fact, often I wish for them...but they never come.

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

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P.S. A few things to remember...

1. Don't miss the newest House Hunters International episode: Historic Country Homes in Normandy -- Episode HHINT-2411H, airing June 12th and July 8th. Visit House Hunters International-Normandy for more information.

2. Plan on attending Parler Paris Après-Midi June 14th when Karen Henrich speaks about "Publishing in the Digital World: Incredible Opportunities for Self-Published Authors to Directly Reach Mass Audiences." Visit parlerparis/apresmidi.html for more information.

3. Jeanne Simonoff, author of "Saving Myself: a Los Angeles Childhood," will be speaking at Paris Soirées Sunday night, June 12th. Visit http://www.parissoirees.com for more information about the event and http://www.jewishbook.me/ to learn more about Jeanne Simonoff.

French Ways and Their Meaning

Cover of "The House of Mirth" by Edith Wharton
(Courtesy of Oxford University Press, Inc)

Parler Paris Nouvellettre^®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Wednesday, February 9, 2011 • Paris, France

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Dear Parler Paris Reader,

Edith Wharton needs no introduction from me. She was an American author (1862-1937) who wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel "The Age of Innocence" in 1920 and was one of the few foreigners in France who was allowed travel to the front lines during World War I. She was "best-known for her stories and ironic novels about upper class people. Wharton's central themes were the conflict between social and individual fulfillment, repressed sexuality, and the manners of old families and the 'nouveau riche', who had made their fortunes in more recent years." In 1919, she wrote about her firsthand observations on French life, much like many of us are doing now, almost 100 years later.

What's fascinating about Ms. Wharton's observances of life in France is that not much has changed in all these years about neither the French nor the American cultures, nor our viewpoints of them!

She wrote: "Americans are too prone to consider money-making as interesting in itself: they regard the fact that a man has made money as something intrinsically meritorious. But money-making is interesting only in proportion as its object is interesting. If a man piles up millions in order to pile them up, having already all he needs to live humanly and decently, his occupation is neither interesting in itself, nor conducive to any sort of real social development in the money-maker or in those about him. No life is more sterile than one into which nothing enters to balance such an output of energy. To see how different is the French view of the object of money-making one must put one's self in the place of the average French household. For the immense majority of the French it is a far more modest am bition, and consists simply in the effort to earn one's living and put by enough for sickness, old age, and a good start in life for the children."

There is no doubt that these ideals still exist and mark our distinctive cultural differences. Americans are still making money as if it is their "raison d'être" (reason for being) and determining their social class by the amount of money and possessions they can amass. All the while the French are still taxing themselves heavily with the goal of providing social programs that give everyone of their citizens the right to a better life. You might note that their social class is determined by their education, rather than their income, as it is in America.

And in regard to education, she wrote: "Real civilisation means an education that extends to the whole of life, in contradistinction to that of school or college: it means an education that forms speech, forms manners, forms taste, forms ideals, and above all forms judgment. This is the kind of civilisation of which France has always been the foremost model: it is because she possesses its secret that she has led the world so long not only in art and taste and elegance, but in ideas and in ideals. For it must never be forgotten that if the fashion of our note-paper and the cut of our dresses come from France, so do the conceptions of liberty and justice on which our republican institutions are based. No nation can have grown-up ideas till it has a ruling caste of grown-up men and women; and it is possible to have a ruling caste of grown-up men and women only in a civilisation where the power of each sex is balanced by that of the other."

Take note here, too, that the word for "education" in French is "formation" and "education" in French means "upbringing." It's still true today that the French view of education is more well-rounded than ours and dips into a deeper set of ideals. The French educational system is highly academic and teaches a broad range of subjects in pre-college class levels, including philosophy, high-level mathematics, foreign language, art and music appreciation. What they miss that American education provides are less academic interests, but necessary to the American culture -- such as physical sports and activities for youth that spur creativity and ingenuity.

On the subject of time, she observed: "This conception of 'business' may seem a tame one to Americans; but its advantages are worth considering. In the first place, it has the immense superiority of leaving time for living, time for men and women both. The average French business man at the end of his life may not have made as much money as the American; but meanwhile he has had, every day, something the American has not had: Time. Time, in the middle of the day, to sit down to an excellent luncheon, to eat it quietly with his family, and to read his paper afterward; time to go off on Sundays and holidays on long pleasant country rambles; time, almost any day, to feel fresh and free enough for an evening at the theatre, after a dinner as good and leisurely as his luncheon. And there is one t hing certain: the great mass of men and women grow up and reach real maturity only through their contact with the material realities of living, with business, with industry, with all the great bread-winning activities; but the growth and the maturing take place in the intervals between these activities: and in lives where there are no such intervals there will be no real growth."

While we're working 40-plus hour work weeks with two weeks vacation a year and 10 bank holidays, the French are working 35 hours a week with no opportunity to 'moonlight' (illegal to hold two jobs) and guaranteed 5 weeks vacation a year plus 14 days of national holidays. They don't think anything of shutting down their businesses for a full month every summer and have no guilt whiling away the time at their favorite cafés. We working Americans, on the other hand, so no benefit in such leisure.

I read Wharton's beautifully written observances as if only the language itself was early 20th-century, not the observances themselves, as so little really has changed about or between. To read "French Ways and Their Meaning" by Edith Wharton online, click here:www.archive.org/

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

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P.S. Yesterday's Parler Paris Après Midi brought in a full house of both regular and newcoming attendees. Read all about it by visitingparlerparis/apresmidi.html and note that next month, we begin our series of guest speakers, starting with award winning author, Kathleen Spivak talking about "How to Write Well and Get Published." So, mark your calendars for March 8th from 3 to 5 p.m. when you'll have a chance to meet Kathleen, learn from her own experience and wisdom while meeting other Parler Paris readers.