Writer, Editor, Translator
The summer weather has finally arrived, and you know what that means – it’s time for a visit to the local market to stock up on the essential French picnic supplies: fresh bread, cheese, charcuterie, a couple of sun-kissed veggies and a bottle of wine.
Choose a destination from the list below, and don’t forget the candles, some sort of musical instrument, and a blanket.
Heading to Paris? Explore the city like a real Parisian with these new audio walking tours for your iTouch, iPhone or mp3 player. The app includes five neighborhood tours (Latin Quarter, St-Germain-des-Prés, Bastille, Marais, Montmartre), each with over 45 minutes of insightful audio content, an expert guide and audio soundscapes and excerpts from the BBC Archives.
Apple / mp3
Continue reading “Paris Walking Tours app”
Before The Da Vinci Code and The Lost Symbol, the most famous literary thriller involving coded manuscripts, secret societies, and a gruesome sacrifice was Umberto Eco’s Foucault’s Pendulum. An investigation into conspiracy theories and the Templar Knights, a meditation on symbols and language, a serious poststructuralist joke, there’s no doubt that Eco beat Dan Brown to the punch.
Continue reading “Musée des Arts et Métiers”
Ah, the joys of Paris on a budget. Yes, you read that right. Paris may be an expensive place and the five-star indulgences are many, but it’s still possible to enjoy its unique pleasures without draining the kids’ college funds. Stop number one? Notre Dame, the spiritual and symbolic heart of France.
It’s gigantic, incredibly crowded, and overwhelming. But that doesn’t mean that a trip to the Louvre has to end in tears of frustration – for you or your children. It’s all in the planning.
Pass through La Pinacothèque during the weekday lunch hour, and you will soon realise that if there is one thing that rivals a Parisian’s obsession with food, it’s art. Although French lunches can be famously long, many of the daytime visitors to La Pinacothèque had apparently sacrificed their midday meal in order to find a different type of satiation.
This passion for art, and culture in general, is reflected in the vast number of museums in Paris.
It may be really, really touristy, but it’s hard not to love Montmartre anyway. Adding to its list of charms is an incomparable Sicilian restaurant that, despite being just off the main steps up to Sacré Cœur, is figuratively off the map.
Today I got stuck in an elevator. And not just any elevator, but a Louis Vuitton elevator on the Champs-Elysées. An LVMH elevator that was entirely black inside, without any lights or buttons. At first I thought it was some sort of art thing. But after thirty seconds, I noticed that the elevator had not done a single thing, except to trap me inside.
Continue reading “Voyage dans le noir”
The Musée en herbe is a quirky Parisian art museum designed for children from ages 2 to 12. The exhibits are interactive, fun (pop art, street art, etc.), and designed to provide children with a positive museum experience. You can also sign your kids up for a related workshop (1hr) after the tour.
Oenophiles unite! Last weekend was the biannual Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants in Paris (aka The Independent Wine Producers Expo) and Francesco and I marked the occasion by shouldering our Sunday morning paternal duties to hit the bottles. We made some decent discoveries, which included the bizarrely named “3rd Annual Golden Spitter Contest” (as in: How classy can you make spitting out wine look?). Francesco was tempted to show off his finely honed cracheur skills, but ultimately we decided that it would not be a good idea to show up the French at their own game.
Continue reading “Le Cracheur d’Or”