A Textile Institution at the Foot of Sacre-Coeur

Parler Paris Nouvellettre^®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 • Paris, France

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Dear Parler Paris Reader,

One of the things you will discover when furnishing a Paris apartment or other home in France is that the cost of linens by comparison to American sheets and towels is about double. They haven't yet had the shopping pleasure of such stores as "Bed, Bath and Beyond" or "Linens and Things" where you can purchase a duvet cover for as little as $29.99 or bath towels starting at $5 each in a zillion different colors.

At the BHV, their own house brand duvet cover for a double bed starts at 49€ (about $70) and their bath towels start at 17,50€ (about $25). Ikea offers linens at a bargain, but then that requires a trip to the suburbs and a way of getting all the heavy packages home which may be an expensive taxi ride.

So, if you're making a move here or setting up a home, you have a few money-saving solutions, including shipping the linens (just be careful that anything you ship won't get hung up in customs with duty to pay on your shipment!) or packing an extra suitcase filled with your favorite bargains (I can't tell you how many times I've tossed in a set of sheets or two before heading back to Paris!). (Keep in mind that bedding sizes vary. Be sure to check the American sizes in inches against the European sizes in centimeters. Here's a great site for reference: international-bedding-size-conversion-guide)

Personally, I chose to do none of the above to replenish the stock of linens for the rental apartments, Le Provençal and Le Saint-Tropez. Instead, I made a trip to one of my favorite spots in Paris -- the Marché Saint-Pierre at the foot of Montmartre where linens are at moderately bargain prices, but where the shopping is total eye-candy!

A costume-designer friend who knows every shop in the "quartier" agreed to join me for the little excursion after a typically French lunch at Le Ronsard Café (13 Place Saint-Pierre, 75018 Paris). From the café, there is a drop-dead perfect view of Sacre-Coeur and while the food is not something you'd 'write home about,' it provides a good taste and a full belly for a spree among the fabrics, trimmings and linens.

If you're in the market for fabrics for dressmaking or draperies along with all the "mercerie" (haberdashery) one could possibly dream of, these few streets surrounding the main store is sure to have everything you would need, plus a lot more. The Marché Saint-Pierre calls itself "an institution" with over 60 years of central presence in the world of textiles. And while that may be a bit of an overstatement, there is no doubt that an afternoon there will stir your creative juices.

Within less than an hour, I managed to purchase duvet covers and pillow cases in many different colors to match the respective decors plus a new bedspread amassing four bags weighing too much to carry home on my own. Thank goodness for Paris taxis for door-to-door service!

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

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P.S. The first edition of the Expat Expo will be held this weekend on the 4th, 5th and 6th of February 2011 at the Parc Floral in Paris. Expat Expo caters for all expatriates in France whether they are executives or managers, pensioners, students, property owners or investors, but also those who are preparing for a future expatriation. Visit http://www.expatexpo.fr/ for more information.

P.P.S. It's the year of the rabbit! Don't miss the Chinese New Year in Paris beginning tomorrow with lots of special events. For more information, visit http://www.paris.fr/

P.P.P.S. Don't forget our next Parler Paris Après Midi meeting is Tuesday, February 8, 2011 and every second tuesday of the month, 3 p.m. To 5 p.m. (Closed august)...then read about our new program beginning in March! For more information, visitparlerparis/apresmidi.html

Marketing and Making Your Parisian Mark

An Oyster Lunch After La Marché Bastille

Marketing and Making Your Parisian Mark

Parler Paris Nouvellettre^®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, January 31, 2011 • Paris, France

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A Note from Tom Regan

Dear Parler Paris Reader,

My daughter told me not to miss the Andrée Putman Retrospective exhibition at the Hôtel de Ville, that I would ‘freak!’...and she was right. It took too many weeks before I found the time to sneak in an hour before closing at 5:45 p.m. on Friday afternoon while the line to enter in the freezing cold was its briefest.

Until a few years ago, I didn’t have a clue who she was. Then, at an event at the City Hall, one of the many galas celebrating “Paris, Capital de la Création,” she spoke and presented awards to young designers. A French friend attending with me was impressed by her presence, but to me she meant nothing.

Why hadn't I known about Ms. Putnam’s designs when I was developing a hunger for checkerboard and harlequin patterns? She was busy marketing modern classic designs via her company, Ecart International; inventing boutique hotels in major cities such as New York, Cologne and Paris; creating movie sets for Peter Greenaway; designing china dinnerware for the Air France Concorde and jewelry for Christofle. Her interiors include the Guerlain flagship store on the Champs-Elysées and private residences in Dublin, Miami, Paris, Rome, Shanghai, Tel Aviv and Tangiers. Her recent project in Hong Kong with its 21 stories is appropriately named “The Putman” and she says of it and her most successful projects that they are “the perfect balance between discipline and revolt.”

My daughter was right. Don’t miss the exhibit!...on until February 26th and open every day except Sundays and holidays at the Hôtel de Ville de Paris. For more information, visit:paris.fr/

Saturday afternoon I set out to peruse the annual winter sales before they disappear and we go back to paying full retail price on everything. Things are well picked over by now and the “nouvelle collections” are starting to take over more retail space than the mark-downs. The first shop to step into was an immediate success purchasing...guess what(?)...one pair of black slacks and one black skirt...at almost half price. (If you read lastWednesday’s nouvellettre®, then you know that these two items fit to a tee into the perfect Paris wardrobe).

A zillion stores later, winding my way down rue de Rivoli, through the “BHV” for a bit of torture (packed with people!), then on to rues Vieille du Temple, des Francs Bourgeois and Turenne, not a single other item called out from the sale racks to be taken home. The only other items to make their way to my arms were two bags of tea from Palais des Thés: Noix de Coco (coconut) and Earl Grey. If you haven't already braved the crowds, know that the sales officially end February 15th.

It seems crazy considering the city’s largest open-air market is a 10-minute walk from my apartment, but I hadn't visited the Marché Bastille in literally years. Excursions to the market ended when I no longer had anyone for which to cook except for myself and occasional dinner guests. Then, I entirely gave up cooking for myself and even guests started to suffer from lack of invitations. The refrigerator got clean and neatly organized with just the essentials (less is more in Paris): bottle of champagne, bottle of white wine, jar of pickles, jar of mustard, can of coffee, bottle of milk, carton of fruit juice, a few eggs (old, I'm sure) and butter. I'm very proud of its minimalism as I eat in a restaurant or café virtually every meal now even though in another lifetime friends who regularly came to dinner once called me the “Pasta Queen.”

There were a few reasons to go to the market Sunday morning with friends. One was just for fun and act like a tourist, another was to purchase fresh oysters for Sunday lunch and a third was to purchase artichokes for a dinner I am actually going to attempt to make Wednesday night for a small group of very close friends. It’s been a tradition for 14 years to make marinated artichokes on February 2nd. This date has personal significance and artichokes are the symbolic vegetable. (I can see you rolling your eyes. To that I say, “Don’t ask. You don't want to know.”)

The Marché Bastille is THE open-air market of France. It’s the largest in Paris if not all of France with four aisles of stands from Place de la Bastille along boulevard Richard Lenoir to the Bréguet-Sabin Métro station. Don’t go there hungry, don’t go without a big marketing cart and don’t go if you don’t cook, because it may torture you to see the fabulous fresh and prepared foods without buying everything you see.

(This week my sister living in New Orleans sent photos of a recent meal she had just to torture me: Louisiana blue crabs, crawfish and shrimp boiled in Zataran’s spice mix. That wasn't nice of her, was it?)

There is one stand at the market that offers a dozen different kinds of herring! If you think you can't choose between one “primeur” (fresh produce) or another, just seek out the ones where there is a queue, because the regulars will know it’s either better or cheaper than the others. The fresh fish and seafood stands make me swoon, since I’ll eat anything that swims in the sea and the spice stands are not only beautiful to look at for their warm colors, but heavenly to just visit for their intoxicating scent. The merchants can often be quite entertaining – each may behave like a kind of ‘showman,’ proud of his/her wares and willing to stand out in the freezing cold or sizzling heat for hours to serve up goodies and “schmooze” with the customers. Plan on striking up lots of fun conversation with the merchants, as well as fellow-purchasers.

I bought six large purple artichokes. The merchant couldn't tell us what the difference was between the green and purple ones – so I’ll guess we'll find out if they are tastier or not Wednesday night. I also came home with a bag of raw almonds, a bag of tiny black Niçoise olives, a few lemons and a kilo of green beans...no where near as much as if I were to regularly cook!

When I returned home, "by sheer coincidence in my email in-box was a note from old friend, Tom Regan, with a 'greeting card' -- "Just got back from the market and had to take a photo of the beautiful fresh fruit that helps make Paris living so very special!" How apropos was that?!

The market is open Thursday from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. and well worth a special trip. Just so you know, by Wednesday night, we will have eaten all that and the fridge will be perfectly clean again...until my daughter arrives Friday from New York, goes to the market and messes it all up again!A la prochaine...

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

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P.S. IMPORTANT NEWS: Since October of 2003, Parler Paris Après Midi has been an opportunity to meet with other Parler Paris readers, come for drinks, share information about what it takes to create a life here and to make friends. It's been fun and we've enjoyed every minute...but now we want to make Après Midi even more useful and fulfilling!

Beginning March 8, 2011 a guest speaker of note will come to talk about a topic of interest and then open the floor for questions and discussion!

There is no charge, except for what you drink or eat and La Pierre du Marais does request that at least one item is ordered (that's why we can do this at no cost!)

Our goal is to provide a forum of discussion where we can all learn a lot about living in France as well as a way to make friends! And we hope you will find this more fun than ever!

The speakers will be announced in advance, so be sure to read Parler Paris to learn who!

BUT DON'T FORGET OUR NEXT MEETING IS...FEBRUARY 8, 2011 AND EVERY SECOND TUESDAY OF THE MONTH, 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. (closed August)

For more information, visit parlerparis/apresmidi.html

Monday Nights in Paris are Never Blue

Shakespeare & Company Bookstore

Parler Paris Nouvellettre^®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Wednesday , May 13, 2009 • Paris, France

• Printer Friendly • Parler Paris Blog • Community Calendar • Recommend to Friends •
• Don't miss a single issue of Parler Paris! "Whitelist" Parler Paris by adding "bonjour@parlerparis.com" to your address book.

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Sylvia Beach Whitman and Her Father, Geoge Whitman, June 2006 at the Palais du Luxembourg

Dear Parler Paris Reader, Monday night has long been THE night in Paris to climb up the narrow red stairs at the Shakespeare & Company Bookstore to the tiny room overlooking the Seine lined in bookshelves and bench seats. It is here that we have heard some of the world's most famous authors talk about their trials and tribulations as writers as well as the words from own books leave their own lips. Thanks to the legendary bookstore, Monday night is never blue. Scroll Down to Read on...

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Parler Paris Nouvellettre® continued... It always amazes me when someone arrives in Paris who DOES NOT KNOW all about the renowned bookstore, that had its beginnings with Sylvia Beach in 1919 when she opened the first English language bookstore in Paris at 12 rue de l'Odéon. It quickly became the center of Anglo/American literary culture in Paris and frequented by the most illustrious writers and patrons. The bookstore's legendary beginnings and utopian ideals were carried forward by George Whitman when he reopened it in 1951 under the same name and with the same philosophies. George, now well into his 90's, has the good fortune of having a beautiful, young, smart, sweet and adoring daughter who is carrying the legend with her as if on a magic carpet ride. Her name, appropriately, Sylvia Beach Whitman. I have particular admiration for Sylvia, as a "guiding light" and "shining star" on the English language landscape in the City of Light from which she draws her glow. This past Monday night, the room was filled to the brim with admirers of Cara Black author of "Murder in the Latin Quarter" and Leighton Gage, author of "Blood of the Wicked." Both authors were fascinating to hear -- both of the same publisher, both writing similar kinds of murder mysteries -- one whose books are set in Paris, the other set in Brazil. In my quest to bring you a 'slice of life' in Paris from the Anglophone community, here's a short video of Cara Black's talk at Shakespeare & Co., as she introduces a French criminal inspector who was in charge of the Princess Diana investigation and with whom she has worked to verify her research for her books. Click here to be at Shakespeare & Co. with Cara Black, Leighton Gage and the rest of us!: We'll be back there Friday night to hear the participants of the Paris Poetry Workshop read their work, after the results of the week's work, so join us from 7 to 9 p.m., 37, rue de la Bucherie, 5th and meet many of those responsible for this legendary establishment that just improves with age, thanks to the youth Sylvia brings with her.

A la prochaine... Adrian Leeds Editor, Parler Paris Share this article with a friend... Respond to Adrian

P.S. To read the report from yesterday's Parler Paris Après Midi, click here: http://www.parlerparis.com/apresmidi.html and plan on seeing you next month!

The Art of the Parisian Lens

The Eye Behind the Lens, The Object of the Lens and Those Who Just Get a Thrill
Photo by and of Erica Simone

The Art of the Parisian Lens

Parler Paris...
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Wednesday , November 12, 2008
Paris, France

Dear Parler Paris Reader,

Some of us like our eyes to be behind the camera lens. Others like to be the object of the lens. And then there are those who just get a thrill from the end product of the union between the eye and the object of the eye.

Luckily for photographers, videographers, collectors, aficionados and the like, the month of November in Paris celebrates the art of seeing and being seen as immortalized on a one-dimensional surface in black and white or color...during the bi-annual "Mois de la Photo."

In the late 1980s, I became interested in photography as art. My eye was not behind the lens, nor in front of the lens, but just one of those who got a thrill from the end product of the union between the eye and the object of the eye. Tad Beckman of Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, California, describes photography as art in this way: "There are three fundamental components of what we call art. First, is the artist; second, is the medium; and third, is the art work. All three, clearly, are interrelated. The fundamental idea, however, is that the artist produces an art work within a selected medium." He cites many of the photographers whose work you'll have a chance to see this month during the "Mois de la Photo" (read his entire article at www4.hmc.edu)

The 15th edition kicked off October 27th with more than 90 exhibitions, seminars, conferences and films at museums, galleries and other venues all over the city. American photographers have a rather impressive showing.

The Bibliothèque Nationale de France, site Richelieu is showing 320 photographs taken during the 1970s by American photographers (through January 25, 2009), such as Diane Arbus, Mary Ellen Mark, Gary Winogrand, Lewis Baltz and others you'll recognize if you're at all familiar with those behind the lens whose work marked an era.

"L'Art de Lee Miller" at the Jeu de Paume, site Concorde on until January 4, 2009, is well worth a detour. I saw these same beautiful images in San Francisco this past Summer in the showing at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA).

If you've never had the pleasure of visiting the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, then now is a good opportunity to see his work along with the work of "Walker Evans, American Photographer" (on until December 21st).

Part of the celebration includes the annual "Paris Photo" Fair opening tomorrow (November 13-16) at the Carrousel du Louvre with about 100 international galleries and the "Salon de la Photo" also opening tomorrow (November 13-17) at the Parc des Expositions, sponsored by the SIPEC (Syndicat des entreprises de l'Image, de la Photo et de la Communication).

So, whether you prefer to have your eyes behind the camera lens or to be the object of the lens, or one of those who just gets a thrill from the end product of the union between the eye and the object of the eye...do not miss the "Mois de la Photo" in Paris and all it has to offer to heighten your visual sense.


A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

P.S. The crew from House Hunters International (HGTV), three good-looking and personable guys (including one Frenchman who transplanted himself in Los Angeles many years ago to develop his videotography career), is here once again filming the completion of the second program in which we've had the pleasure of participating, featuring Mary Schiller and her husband, Jeff Ballinger, New York residents who came for a whirlwind search (only six days) to find a pied-à-terre that would make the perfect 'home-away-from-home' and a profitable vacation rental on a small (by Paris standards) budget. It will be a few months before it will airs, and of course, we'll keep you posted, but for now, if you'd like to see our last House Hunters International Episode (HHINT-402), "Settling Down in Paris," visit http://www.hgtv.com for show times.

Chasing Art and Other Paris Adventures

Sunday Dining at the Jacquemart-André Museum

Parler Paris...
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, October 20, 2008
Paris, France

The Queue at the Grand Palais, 11:15 a.m., a Two-Hour Wait Not Participating in the "chase" at the Jacquemart-André Museum Garden A Google Eye View on Rue Charlot and Rue de Bretagne

Dear Parler Paris Reader,

Chasing Paris Art

No one appreciates art more than the French. The minute an art exhibit opens (or much before), advance tickets get sold out and lines to enter form outside the museum doors. Sunday is of course, the worst day to worm your way in amongst the art-lovers, but if that's the only free day you have, then so be it...but one must be clever to enter.

Rule number one is to start out early in the a.m. While much of the city is recovering from Saturday night's revelry, or leisurely enjoying their traditional Sunday lunch, art aficionados are gearing up for rain or shine to catch a glimpse of a Picasso, Van Dyke or Walker Evans.

Knowing the queues could be around the block, we chose three exhibitions in order of popularity, each within a Métro ride away and set out on the 'chase.'

"Picasso et les Maîtres" at the Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais (on till February 2, 2009) was top of the list, but so it was for hundreds of others, too. At 11:15 a.m., there was already almost a two-hour wait to see the works of the great masters from which Picasso drew inspiration and "the ways in which he twisted their ideas to suit his own creative endeavor."

Back on the Métro we hopped for only two stops to the Musée Jacquemart-André where the works of one of Europe's greatest ever portrait painters, Anthony Van Dyck, has been brought from collections all over the world to be exhibited. Luckily, the line wasn't quite out the door by 11:45 a.m., but we waited a good 15 minutes to get tickets and do a B-line for the Café Jacquemart-André for a Sunday lunch prior to visiting the museum.

The museum was at one time the private residence of "a pair of inveterate collectors who devoted their entire lives to building their artwork collection" -- Edouard André (banker) and Nélie Jacquemart (his wife). The café overlooking the garden is in the overwhelmingly splendid former Dining Room of the mansion, with Brussels tapestries and a Tiepolo ceiling. There is no more elegant setting for a very affordable and finely prepared luncheon fare. We were fortunate to get one of the last tables before the queue was out the door and into the garden.

No wonder, we call a goatee beard a "Van Dyck!" The portrait artist surely inspired the style, worn with elaborately curled mustaches and a tuft of hair on the chin. Only the women he portrayed escaped the facial hair! Many of the aristocratic men in his portraits wore long hair and beautiful pearl earrings...not too different from many of the denizens we encounter in Le Marais!

Exiting, having successfully chased and caught the art we were seeking, there were others, perhaps tired of the chase, just enjoying the garden and the midday sun on their faces...unbearded, but wearing earrings, nonetheless.

If you're into the 'chase,' then get ready for the biennial "Mois de la Photo" from November 2nd to December 1st, when the profile of photography and its status is raised "as an exciting art form." I'll save the Walker Evans exhibit at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson (on until December 21st) for the next 'chase.

36 Hours in Paris

Thirty-six hours in Paris simply isn't enough. But, New York Times journalist Seth Sherwood tried -- exploring exclusively Le Marais over one weekend and reporting on his findings of what's hot and what's even hotter. No doubt, since moving here 11 years ago, by sheer chance, what was then a scruffy little enclave in the center of the city has turned into the chicest part of town. Quelle chance! (I'd rather be lucky than smart!)

Read all about it: 36 hours in Paris --

Ogling with Google

Ogle the earth using Google, particularly your favorite places like Paris. Reader Larry Levy went "gaga" when he discovered he could see his own apartment on rue Saint-Martin using Google Earth. It's almost as good as being there yourself. Here's what you do:

1. Go to http://earth.google.com/
2. Download and install the program.
3. Search for your favorite address on the planet.
4. Click on any little camera icon. A box with a photo of the area opens.
5. Click on "Show full screen." A fish eye enlarges.
6. Turn the "eye" so you can see 360 degrees, just as if you were there!

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

P.S. Get Out and Vote!

If you still have questions about how to vote absentee, can't decipher the forms or still need your ballot, contact the Democrats Abroad France Voting Assistance Officers:

Tony Paschall, Telephone: 01.45.85.20.77, vote@paschall.fr
Barbara Tucker, Telephone: 01.43.26.05.34, barbht19@aol.com