Taking in the Breath of Spring

Parler Paris Nouvellettre^®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 • Paris, France

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Dear Parler Paris Reader,

The House Hunters filming that took place this past weekend in Normandy ended at the foot of the Eiffel Tower early this morning with the scene that will be edited into the beginning of the program -- the moment we all first meet and discuss the couple's wish list for the perfect home in Normandy to house their brood of six children. The weather was gloriously fresh with a bright sun and blue skies. The trees along the Champs de Mars seemed about to burst with baby green leaves as we could feel Spring take hold after this long, gray and rather dismal winter.

The home we filmed on Monday in Normandy was the third of those from which they will have to choose -- all designed to keep you guessing throughout the program as to which of them all they will settle on and settle into. This last one was a sprawling old stone farmhouse close to the town of Argentan that had been completely renovated to perfection by an artist and his wife, leaving not one single detail to question. With five bedrooms, a large yard and a ton of special features, it was easy to how they might want move right in -- except that it was an extra hour's drive from Paris and miles from the nearest school.

Each home they visited had its 'pluses and minuses' -- things one must trade off for others. This is an age-old dilemma, particularly here in France, where it's near to impossible to achieve perfection and where one must always expect to NOT "have your cake and eat it, too." (In French, the equivalent expression is "vouloir le beurre et l'argent du beurre," meaning literally "wanting the butter and the money for the butter.")

All throughout the show, you will see there will be much conversation about just this and like an Agatha Christie mystery, the focus will be on the one who is NOT the murderer, to guarantee the ending will be a big surprise. You will not coax the outcome of the show from me -- so you will just have to have patience until it airs in a few months time.

Last night Kathleen Spivack read her luscious thought-provoking poetry to a devoted group of afficionados at the Village Voice Bookshop. Bookshop owner, Odile Hellier, made a beautiful introduction and then Kathleen devoted much of her opening to memorializing recently passed author, Hazel Rowley. She then proceeded to read from "A History of Yearning," a poem titled "Monet's Path." I couldn't help but think of my recent time in Normandy, having passed by train through Vernon, the town nearest Giverny, Claude Monet's famous and well-visited home and garden:

"You walk into the painting,
you walk down the path
through the bleached grass toward the village:
the cicadas are singing;
you are going someplace

ordinary."

Before leaving the Village Voice, I purchased a copy of each author's latest work and today, began taking in their beautiful words as I did the breath of Spring in Paris. Yes, it has arrived.

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

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P.S.Experience a taste of Provence in Paris! Take advantage of a last minute special price offer for a luxurious stay at "Le Provençal" in Le Marais!...up to six nights for 109€ per night or seven nights or more for 99€ per night between March 25th and April 14th! Never before has it ever been such a bargain during the glorious spring season (and will likely never be again)! No hotel room can compare. Visit Le Provençal and reserve now!

P.P.S. For those who'd like to have a look at the photos from Saturday's Parler Parlor French-English Conversation Group 13th Anniversary Party, click here:parlerparlor.com/events.html

From the Witch's House to the School House and Back

A tasty treat in the "witch's house"

Parler Paris Nouvellettre^®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, March 14, 2011 • Paris, France

• Printer Friendly • Parler Paris Blog
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Dear Parler Paris Reader,

Saturday midday, we lit the candles on the cake, sang “Joyeuse Anniversaire” in both French and English, blew them out, passed around the pieces of cake and filled the glasses with cider to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the French-English conversation group called “Parler Parlor.”

It's hard to believe that was a 'mere' 13 years ago when I met Marie-Elisabeth Crochard, then Director of Berlitz Champs-Elysées, and together we decided to start the conversation group. Internet was in its infancy then, but when purchasing the domain name “www.parlerparlor.com” I saw that “www.parlerparis.com” was also available, so I 'snatched it up.' That's how Parler Paris began – as the communiqué for the conversation group. Funny how things just seem to work out, as if they were just 'meant to be' that way.

After eating too much cake, welcoming a new guest to “Le Saint-Tropez" apartment (Le Saint-Tropez) and uncovering the geranium pots from their winter protective covers, I scurried off to the Gare Saint-Lazare to catch a train to Normandy to have dinner with chef and author Susan Herrmann in advance of filming a new House Hunters International episode the next few days.

I hadn't been to Normandy in a while – too long. It's so easy and fast, too. I purchased a ticket at a machine, hopped on the train that was filled to the brim and within a little more than an hour of a smooth, quiet ride, stepped out into the glorious Normandy countryside. Susan's 15th-century tutor home is in Louviers, a small town 100 kilometers from Paris built on a series of canals with an interesting history.

Susan's house is a tutor style 15th-century sprawling home which was once a convent directly across the street from the gothic Eglise Notre-Dame (13th-century). We've always joked that it was the witch's house – the GOOD witch...only to discover that “in 1642, the nuns of Louviers claimed to have been possessed by the devil, giving lurid evidence during a witchcraft trial that echoed the events at Loudun 10 years ago.” (www.independent.co.uk)

Susan whipped up a scrumptious sumptuous dinner of breast of duck on a bed of quinoa and sauteed okra followed by a “caramelized apple cake” made from Normandy apples (of course) that I topped with rich Normandy cream and pledged to diet the next day. She is so at home and fluid in her vast and well-equipped kitchen that I didn't even notice how effortlessly she constructed a complicated meal within minutes. By 10:30 p.m. with a full belly I crashed in one of the many rooms where one can sleep with a view on the church.

Sunday the filming began at a house in a nearby town that had once been a schoolhouse dating back to 1883. The family of six children with their parents filed out of a van and introduced themselves one by one, the children aged 10 months to 13 years -- four girls and two boys. One was more beautiful and polite than the next. The film crew arrived at the same time, consisting of three Englishmen – a director, cameraman and sound engineer. The cameraman was the same as on a previous House Hunters filming and upon realizing it gave me a big hug.

For the next few hours we filmed the family visiting the four-bedroom house with it's spacious newly renovated rooms and lovely large backyard. Lunch of

Normandy cheeses, “charcuterie” and fresh baguette was brought in for all to eat before moving on to film the family visiting the 'witch's' house on rue Tatin in Louviers. There we played a game with the kids to see if they could count all the rooms that could be used as bedrooms on as many as five levels within the sprawling old house. There were eight, although three are actively used, two are used as offices, one is a guest room and the last two are utility rooms. The best part of the house is, naturally, the kitchen, which every cook would dream of. It's a room you gravitate to and never want to leave.

Today the morning is misty in Argentan, where we will be filming a third house -- about two hours drive from Louviers not far from Caen. When all is done for the day I'll get on a train headed for home in Gay Paree to prepare for more filming on Wednesday with the family to discuss which house they liked best and why. So...stay tuned!

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
(in Normandy)

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P.S. Friday I visited with one of our best lenders to discuss a mortgage for the Nice apartment I am in the process of purchasing. The loan will be partially based on the property and another part on an “equity release” of my existing properties. If you are interested in learning more about how one property can generate more in your investment portfolio, visit French Property Loan for more information or contact John Rule atloan@adrianleeds.com who will assist you – this service is free of charge!