I Prefer Paris

Christmas in Paris 2009: Ice Magic

I bundled up in my down coat and wool cap last week to see Ice Magic, an exhibition of 50 ice sculptures of famous French monuments and icons. The Eiffel Tower, Rodin's Thinker, Notre Dame and its hunchback, Mona Lisa, the Hotel de Ville, and Django Reinhardt bathed in pink, blue, and green lights, are all frozen in time. If you can brave the chilling temps, Ice Magic is a festive and fun holiday treat.

Ice Magic
Till December 28th
Admission 14 euros adults, 12 euros under 25
Open 11AM-11PM
Jardin des Champs Elysees
Avenue des Champs Elysées, 8th arr.
Metro: Concorde

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte’s professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.

Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 3 students, maximum 6 students.

Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

On the Town at Theatre du Chatelet

New York, New York, it's a helluva town. On the Town at theatre du Chatelet is a helluva revival.

Every holiday season for the past three years, the theatre du Chatelet has produced a classic Leonard Bernstein musical, with the past two seasons seeing excellent full-scale productions of Candide and West Side Story. This year it's the musical Valentine to New York, On the Town, based on the original ballet  Fancy Free by Jerome Robbins.Oliver Smith, the friend that introduced the two, urged them to extend the ballet into a full-blown musical. Bernstein suggested that his friends Adolph Green and Betty Comden, two complete unknowns, write the score and lyrics. On the Town opened on Broadway in December 1944 in the thick of WWII and became a smash hit. The rest is Broadway history with the four of them going on to collaborate on many more successes.

It's a simple story: three sailors on leave in New York for only 24 hours look for love and adventure in the Big Apple. One of the great things about the shows in the series is the commitment by theatre du Chatelet to faithfully revive them to the original Broadway productions. The production values are  glorious with imaginative,evocative sets and colorful period but not dated costumes.  Although there are no standouts in the cast, the true ensemble delivers impeccably with solid performances. Caroline O'Connor, makes her character Hildy Esterhazy,gruff and lovable at the same time.  The orchestra is wonderful delivering Bernstein's brass heavy music with verve.I've forgotten how haunting the song Lonely Town is, and Joshua Dallas playing Gabey, sings Lucky to Be Me with such convincingly sweet innocence, its infectious. The Subway Ride ballet in the end of the second act elevates the production and moves it into pure dance with Jerome Robbins simple and athletic choreography.

It's so rare that one sees a true Broadway musical in Paris, let alone one that is of such high caliber, so if you want some good old-fashioned entertainment that's perfect for the holidays, spend a night On the Town at theatre du Chatelet.

Théâtre du Châtelet
2, rue Edouard Colonne,1st arr.
 Métro: Châtelet.
Tel.: 01 40 28 28 40.
Tickets: up to €95.
Through January 4
www.chatelet-theatre.com

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

A Shaded View on Fashion Film Festival

My friend Diane Pernet, who has what I think is the best fashion blog period, A Shaded View on Fashion, has been give the honor of presenting the first annual fashion film festival at the Jeu de Paume.

Why I think Diane’s blog is the best out there, is that she really reports on the cutting edge of fashion, style, artists, and artisans from all over the world and not the obvious industry fodder about the latest overpriced “it” bag or latest Karl Lagerfeld folly on most fashion blogs.

"A Shaded View on Fashion Film" is a spin off from the successful You Wear it Well Festival. A prestigious jury from the worlds of art, cinema, and fashion will judge a selection of short films produced by designers, photographers, stylists and creators in the fashion world. The festival is a study in the drama, power and personification that fashion evokes and commands on screen. Three documentaries are making their France debut: the 2003 cult Brtish film The Cockettes and two others called Masters of Style about John Galliano & Alexander McQueen.

Read my interview with Diane.


A Shaded View on Fashion Film Festival
September26, 27 & 28
Schedule:
Friday 9/26-6:30PM-9PM,
Saturday 9/27, -3PM-8:40PM
Sunday 9/28-3PM-7:40PM
Jeu de Paume
1, place de la Concorde
Metro: Concorde
Admission:3 euros
http://www.ashadedviewonfashionfilm.com/

Subscribe to I Prefer Paris

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

Journee du Patromoine

Last weekend was the annual Journee du Partimoine, a heritage weekend, where many private Paris institutions, libraries, museums, and archives open their doors to the public. I took advantage of this wonderful event and joyfully visited some of them.

Sunday afternoon I went to the 25th anniversary celebration of the Athenee theatre company, which is housed in the original L’Eden a La Athenee, built in 1880.

I used my press credentials to get in and in front of the theater there was a gentleman dressed in tails guarding the velvet ropes before a long pink carpet that lead to the theater. He asked for my press pass and in a truly hilarious but slightly embarrassing moment, the pink carpet turned into the red carpet as he announced my name on his microphone and everybody in the background applauded my arrival.

Gentlemen Keepers of the Pink Carpet

Taking a moment to recover from my 15 seconds of fame, I entered into this exquisite jewel box of a theater. It was dark and intimate as the lights were dimmed to show off the theater. A light show reflected on the extravagant tromp l’oeil-domed ceiling, with a dangling grand chandelier. I had romantic expectations the chandelier would come crashing down a la Phantom of the Opera. Bordeaux wine colored velvet seats had handsome carved wood frames on them and the carved gold gilded balconies and walls were magnificent.

The second floor reception area was typical Belle Époque design with ornate floor to ceiling windows with mustard yellow frames with leaded glass and a fussy crystal chandelier.



The theater’s namesake is Louis Jouvet, an actor, director, and set designer, who was one of the most important and influential figures
In French theater in the 1900’s.

Theatre Athenee does a mix of classic plays by Genet, Ionesco and Beckett and modern playwrights. This season’s eclectic program has Genet’s "les Negres", Suzan-Lori Parks "Topdog/Underdog"
and Neil Simon’s “The Sunshine Boys”.

When I left, I was a little disappointed there wasn’t a hungry mob waiting outside for my autograph but I got over it. I guess my 15 seconds of fame was really over. In the square there was a stand with beautiful long stem roses in the most gorgeous colors being offered to all who attended the event.

Theatre Athenee/Louis Jouvet
7 rue Boudreau, 75009
Metro: Opera
www.athenee-theatre.com

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour
includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

 

Paris Half –Price Ticket Booth

Want to see “ The Vagina Monlogues” in French or a classic Moliere comedy at Comedie Francaise for half-price?

Take a shot at it and visit either of the 2 half-price ticket booths.

15 place de la Madeleine- Metro: Madeleine
Esplanade de la Tour Montparnasse- Metro: Montparnasse

12.30pm to 8pm Tuesday to Saturday and 12.30pm to 4pm on Sunday

Tickets are half-price for same day only performances
3 euro service fee on all tickets

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour
includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

 

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

 

Bastille Day 2007 Awards

My friend Meredith Mullins, the wonderful Paris photographer who's book " In a Paris Moment" I wrote about in April, sent me some amusing Bastille Day photos, naming them The Bastille Day Awards. Enjoy and I look forward to your comments.

Most Colorful Flyover

Most Ingenious Tourist

Most Regal Soldier

Quickest to Take a Champagne Break

Best Hats

Nicest Smile

Best Shirts That Could Also Be Worn By Your Sister

Nicest Guy

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour
includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

 

The Beyonce Experience

The Beyonce Experience concert at Bercy on Wednesday night was just that: an experience. Whoever thought of the obvious but accurate title knew what they were doing.

Beyonce opened the show in typical diva form by rising up on a moving stage platform to a dark stage in a cloud of smoke. Looking stunning in a silver sequins micro mini dress, she crazily sang her monster hit “Crazy in Love” while gyrating her hips, and swinging her gorgeous head of long golden locks.

From there it was 2 hours plus of non-stop showstoppers.

Her incredibly versatile voice flawlessly sang hip-hop, pop, jazz, sultry-bluesy ballads, R&B, and almost opera. Beyonce has the rare power to entertain an audience on every level. She does it all: classy diva, sexy siren, brassy belter, and Las Vegas go go girl all rolled into one.

The set, a stairway with colored lights changing the mood all the time, was a perfect prop for her to make her dramatic entrances and more gracefully strut her stuff.

In a clever switch, she had an all girl band and backup singers and the only men present were her bare-chested boy toy dancers. The band was phenomenal and each did magnificent solo turns on the drums, saxophone and piano. In a word, the ladies were SMOKIN’.

I also like the fact that she didn’t resort to bringing male rap singers to accompany her to spice up the act. I’ve seen too many female singers mar their concerts with overly aggressive macho crotch-grabbing rappers over taking the show.

Her soulful “Me, Myself, and I” seemed close to the bone for her and was one of her few vulnerable moments. She didn’t forget her roots and sang many of her Destiny’s Child hits. The Dreamgirls set at the end was the perfect wrap-up to an exhilarating and almost exhausting tour de force of unbound energy. Brava, Beyonce!

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour
includes many of the places I have written about including small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

 

Jessye Norman at Salle Pleyel

I had the unexpected and wonderful privilege of seeing Jessye Norman at Salle Pleyel last night.At the last minute a friend of mine offered me a ticket he couldn’t use and with glee I accepted it. This would be the perfect mind vacation from a stressful week I had.

The Salle Pleyel, located on rue faubourg St. Honoré in the 8th, was built in 1927 by the Pleyel piano company, and was fully dedicated to showcase classical concerts and music. Designed by Gustave Lion in the modern Deco style of its day, it became the most celebrated concert hall in Paris. Closed in 2004 for an extensive renovation of the acoustics and architecture, Salle Pleyel reopened in 2006.

I have never been to Salle Pleyel and the simple, clean and meticulous interior reminded me of Avery Fisher Hall in New York. The white walls, the sumptuous red velvet seats and the handsome blonde wood stage with a curved floating wall, were all made for restrained luxury and pure listening pleasure. The stage was set with sparkling black lacquered grand piano.

At 8:05, with no fanfare, Jessye Norman walked on stage followed by the pianist Mark Markham. She looked regal in a royal blue gown with an electric blue train, and gold ballet flats and Mark Markham wore a long black elegant tuxedo. The program, Le Voix Francaises, was all French composers, including Ravel, Debussy, Henri Duparc, Erik Satie, and Francis Poulenc. The first few songs were somber and pensive but later in the program, there were some livelier and more up-tempo pieces. I closed my eyes for a few moments as the music wafted over me, and I floated into musical heaven. About every ten minutes, they would exit the stage for a 3-minute interval. I noticed before every piece, she would pause for a few moments and look down, and it looked like she was waiting for the music to infuse her. She would then look up and subtly turn her head to the pianist to start the next piece. Mark Markham’s sensitivity and flawless command of the piano was perfection. At the end of each piece he would oh so delicately raise his hand in mid-air, waiting for the last note to linger to its end.

I know very little about classical music and almost the last person qualified to review it. I could come up with the usual cliché’s, like the legendary diva gave the performance of her life, but I will spare you. Simply put, Jessye Norman is the purest expression of beauty, grace, and remarkable talent. Her voice reaches into your heart and fills your soul.

After the program was finished, the audience gave a standing ovation, and many fans brought her flowers, each trying to upstage each other by seeing who could bring her the biggest bouquet. With enough flowers covering the piano to keep a small flower shop in business for a week, the usual encore tactics took over. After many bows and a few false last exits, Jessye came back for 3 successive encores, and saved the best for last.

The second encore, a tribute to Josephine Baker, was a sultry, sexy French song I never heard of and Jessye’s delicious playful side finally came out. The last song, “I Love Paris”, was a pure and resounding statement of her love of Paris. I was moved to tears.

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour
includes many of the places I have written about including small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

 

Les Bains du Marais: My Day at an Hammam

I recently received a generous gift certificate from my friends to Les Bains du Marais for the hammam, a massage, and manicure. Looking forward to some R& R, if only for a few hours, I made my appointment on Friday afternoon just in time to unwind from a long and hectic week.

Located on rue des Blancs Manteaux, I walked into the reception area with its handsome dark wood kiosk and wall cases lined with enticing beauty products in seductive packaging. The gentle receptionist said to go and change, relax in the hammam for a while and then the masseuse would come and get me for my massage. I changed into a plush, oversized white terry bathrobe and rubber slippers and went to the café first. I ordered a mint tea and it was kind of decadent hanging out in a bathrobe in the middle of the day and also funny being surrounded by other men wearing the same. The men all seemed to know each other and I concluded this s was probably a weekly ritual.

I went into the large hammam lined with beautiful tiles and I chilled out for a while, inhaling the intoxicating steam. About 30 minutes later, the masseuse called me and laid me on a table, vigorously scrubbing me first with delicious smelling black soap body gel with olive oil. The deep cleansing gel with orange nectar and hibiscus scent is a traditional hammam cleanser used for thousands of years. She then rinsed me with warm water and proceeded to strenuously massage me and the whole treatment took about 20 minutes. A far cry from the slow, relaxing 1-hour Asian massages I was used to, nonetheless, I felt energized.

Next was my manicure, and the manicurist did a bang up job on my cut-up cuticles, which hadn’t seen the likes of her in many years.

I walked out of Les Bains du Marais invigorated and will return to this relaxing urban oasis soon.

Les Bains du Marais
31-33 rue des Blancs Manteaux, 75004
Tel. 01 44 61 02 02
Metro: Hotel de Ville
Note: Certain days are men and/or women only, other days are mixed
Below is the schedule
Women: Mon-11AM- 8PM, Tues. 11AM- 11PM, Wed. 11AM-7PM
Men: Thursday 11AM- 11PM, Fri. 11AM-8PM
Men & Women: Wed. 7PM-11PM, Sat. 10AM-8PM, Sunday 11AM-11PM

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour
includes many of the places I have written about including small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.


Special Offer Extended for Eye Prefer Paris Tours: Until March 15, I am offering a 25-euro discount on any tour booking. The regular price is 175 euros (for up to 4 people) and the price will be 150 euros. To receive the discount, please email by clicking the email tab on theleft side above the Google ads and I will send you instructions.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

 

Rufus Wainwright: Dedicated to Judy Garland Concert

I went to see the Rufus Wainwright: Dedicated to Judy Garland Concert at the Olympia last night. I had been eagerly awaiting this night, as reviews and word of mouth from the New York concert had been glorious.

As I entered the long hallway entrance to the theater, I realized I had never been to the Olympia. A true music hall, this great stage has had some of the most legendary performers including Piaf, Louis Armstrong, Johnny Hallyday, Liza Minelli, the Beatles and of course Judy Garland. When I arrived in the theater itself, it was almost intimate with only about 30 rows of seats and felt I was on hallowed ground.

The crowd of mostly Brits and Americans was anxiously waiting for Rufus, to the point that some even started clapping at 8:10 for the show to begin. They didn’t have to wait long: The handsome 40 piece orchestra played a rousing and dynamic overture and than out came Rufus. He wore a mustard colored Viktor & Rolf suit with purple grey flecks and rhinestone collar. Festive is the best way to describe the mood and the clothes as he belted out “When Your Smiling”. His rendition of “ Do it Again” in a falsetto was sexy and stirring. I am more a fan of Rufus’s style and charismatic presence than actual voice and although his voice was well suited to the music, some of the songs didn’t work vocally.
Musically and lyrically you could see that these were hard songs to sing and at times it was almost like watching someone who had been dared to do this and seeing if they could pull it off. There were times when he bit off more than he could chew vocally by getting winded and sometimes speaking the lyrics, but he was still a joy to watch with his effortless style. Even in the moments where he had to start over again or forgot the lyrics, he handled it so gracefully and matter of factly, that you laughed and stumbled along with him. I think also it was his love and respect for Judy Garland and the music along with this gallant undertaking that ultimately endeared the audience that later gave him many standing ovations.

Some of the other highlights were second act opening of a lively “That’s Entertainment”, ballads “How Long Has This Been Going On” and “A Foggy Day” which were dreamlike, and an adorable cha cha beat “You Go to My Head”. There were guest appearances by his sister Martha, accompanying him and also doing a solo of a heart wrenching “Stormy Weather” but the real surprise was Lorna Luft, who belted out “After You’ve Gone” in her best Liza/Judy vibrato.

Although I had heard the songs so many times before, I was reminded of just how truly genius the music is of our great composers Harold Arlen, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and Noel Coward. Had they and Judy been there last night, they would d have been thrilled that their music and spirit was alive and being well taken care of by Rufus Wainwright.

There is one last concert in London at the Palladium on Feb. 25th.
Tickets

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour
includes many of the places I have written about including small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.


Special Offer for Eye Prefer Paris Tours: Until the end of February, I am offering a 25-euro discount on any tour booking. The regular price is 175 euros (for up to 4 people) and the price will be 150 euros. To receive the discount, please email by clicking the email tab on theleft side above the Google ads and I will send you instructions.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com