I Prefer Paris

Christmas in Paris 2011: Les Sapins de Noel des Créateurs

It's that time of the year again, tis' the season, HO-HO-HO, and all that. As always, I reserve most of December to the magical lights, done-up store windows, and an abundance of trees, all to celebrate the Christmas spirit of Paris.

I am kicking off my Christmas posts pre-maturely today, and will start the rest of my Christmas posts later this week.

Les Sapins de Noel des Créateurs, now in its 16th season, is a collection of original Christmas trees from top French fashion designers, architects, and interior designers . Each year the trees are auctioned off for a good cause and this year proceeds will go to Association pour la Vie-Espoir contre le Cancer (A.V.E.C.), a children's cancer charity. Designers/fashion brands this year include Jean Paul Gaultier, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Sonia Rykiel, Pierre Hermé, Trussardi, Chantal Thomass, and Stella McCartney.

You have to hurry to see the trees because today and tomorrow are the last days.

Hotel de Salomon de Rothschild
11 rue de Berryer, 75008
Metro: George V
Open 10AM to 7PM
http://www.lessapinsdenoeldescreateurs.org/indexen.html

Stella McCartney

Pierre Hermé- I would eat the whole tree and go into a diabetic Christmas coma

Jean Paul Gaultier

Stephane Rolland- Mary channeling Lady Gaga

Smalto

Ali Mahdavi

Damien Darocha

Mathilde de L'Ecotais

Chanel- so why isn't it quilted?

DSquared

Jean Claude Jitrois & Jonone

Dior- Trés Chic

Chantal Thomass

Louis Vuitton

Wooyoungmi

Trussardi

Jean Jacques Ory

Les Garcons

Eye Prefer Paris on Twitter

I just launched a fun new daily Twitter post- Paris Photo du Jour. Every day I will post a photo of Paris. Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/eyepreferparis
 

Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

I am happy to announce the sale of prints of my Eye Prefer Paris Photos.  I am offering 17 of my most popular and iconic images for sale including my courtyards, doors, architectural details, statues, and monuments. They will make great gifts for all your Francophile friends, relatives, and colleagues but don't forget to buy some for yourself.

Click here to see photos and for full details including sizes, prices, and shipping. Here is a sample of some of the photos.

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 2 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.

Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. 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

Kusama at Centre Pompidou

When I was at the Kusama retrospective last week at the Centre Pompidou I realized that most people don't know what an amazing and influential artist she is, a true trailblazer in the 1960s and 70s, setting the bar for many contemporary artists of that era.

Yayoi Kusama was born in Japan in 1929 and is an artist that works in many mediums including painting, sculpture, film, collage, and environmental installations. Her indefinable style runs the gamut of different art movements: minimalism, surrealism, pop art, and abstract expressionism. Most of her work is underscored with her lifelong obsession with polka dots and she said, "My life is a dot lost among thousands of other dots". Kusama has had hallucinations since childhood and struggles with mental illness. After living in Tokyo and France, she moved to New York in 1956. She flourished in New York and quickly made a name for herself among New York avant garde artists. She was also political and staged outrageous happenings to protest the Vietnam War, which involved painting dots on herself and walking naked through Central Park. In 1973 she returned to Tokyo feeling mentally unstable and suicidal and has lived in a mental illness facility since with  her studio close by.

The exhibition shows a full range of her works including her films of her happenings and performances, soft sculptures, large paintings, and room installations.

I love the whimsical room installations and the day I was there, both children and adults were staring in wonderment at the mesmerizing lights in one and the captivating polka dots in the other. The brilliant sculptures are simple, soft shapes but resonate a certain mystical power. As playful and whimsical as Kusama's work is, the serious, obsessive nature comes through. My favorite artists are the ones that create a world of their own, a world like no other, and one that you can get lost in. I think that is why I connected with the show so much. Kusama creates a world I have never experienced before. She is often quoted as saying: "If it were not for art, I would have killed myself a long time ago". Here is an artist who is more than obsessed: art is her savior.

Till January 9
Centre Pompidou
Open 11AM to 9PM Wednesday to Monday
http://www.centrepompidou.fr/Pompidou/Manifs.nsf/0/4F8E5815BF637B0CC125782500325246?OpenDocument&sessionM=2.2.1&L=2

Eye Prefer Paris on Twitter

I just launched a fun new daily Twitter post- Paris Photo du Jour. Every day I will post a photo of Paris. Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/eyepreferparis
 

Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

I am happy to announce the sale of prints of my Eye Prefer Paris Photos.  I am offering 17 of my most popular and iconic images for sale including my courtyards, doors, architectural details, statues, and monuments. They will make great gifts for all your Francophile friends, relatives, and colleagues but don't forget to buy some for yourself.

Click here to see photos and for full details including sizes, prices, and shipping. Here is a sample of some of the photos.

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 2 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.

Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. 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

Painting Workshop with Laurie and Blair Pessimer

I met Laurie and Blair Pessimer at a dinner party before the summer and took an immediate liking to them. They reminded me so much of another couple that were dear friends of mine in New York that I knew for over 30 years. They are artistic and quirky (not in any sort of cliched way) and have had interesting careers in the design business and in the art world, much like my friends in New York. Having lived on and off in Paris over the last 20 years, in the last few years they have settled here again and now teach painting workshops.

They invited me to the Jardin du Luxembourg one afternoon last month to checkout one of their workshops. It was a crisp autumn day filled with sun and clouds with the light constantly changing. I found Laurie and Blair next to the bee house in the southwest corner of the gardens with their easels set up, busily painting away. It looked like they were capturing the last leaves clinging to the trees and the ones that had already littered the floor of the garden on their small blank canvases. They looked so happy and cute. It turns out their student had gotten sick but they decided to come to the gardens anyway to paint. I watched Blair skillfully mix colors in what looked like a wooden round cover from a hunk of Camembert. Looking much like modern day Impressionist paintings, I was very impressed with their work. I asked them about how the classes work and the teaching process. Here is what they told me in a much more accurate way than I could write.

“Paint with Me” is a painting workshop, rather than a painting school. Although Blair and I can “teach”, most of the time we just guide people along their own path. We give artists the confidence to paint in public – a kind of “safety in numbers”. We are very organized, and provide all the supplies (acrylic paints, brushes, canvases, easels, etc.) needed to produce a painting in a beautiful French setting.  Our students always leave with some painting they are proud of.

We usually visit sites where other artists painted. I provide pictures and art historical material about wherever we are painting, although all of our painters are most eager to paint, and could likely do without  background material. I persist – one day someone will find Sargent’s painting of the Luxembourg Garden inspirational.

All of our sites are beautiful: whether it is the Luxembourg Gardens, the banks of the Seine, or Monet’s gardens at Giverny. We will also take our painters wherever they’d like to go.  We’ve made day trips to Versailles and other sites outside the city.  I’d like to plan a South of France tour in 2012.

We really enjoy working with painters from all over the world – we mostly lead in English, but of course, we speak French, too.  Our painters have come from intensely different backgrounds – from abstract to realist and much in between.  Maybe Blair and I have been the painters who have learned the most.

I love what Laurie and Blair do and if you come to Paris please take one of their workshops. I promise you it will be a unique Paris experience with two joyous, fun, and passionate artists.

For the full information about their workshops, click link below.
http://www.parispaintingworkshop.blogspot.com/

Laurie and Blair also sell their their wonderful Paris paintings. checkout their other site.
http://www.artnotesparis.blogspot.com/

Eye Prefer Paris on Twitter

I just launched a fun new daily Twitter post- Paris Photo du Jour. Every day I will post a photo of Paris. Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/eyepreferparis

Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

I am happy to announce the sale of prints of my Eye Prefer Paris Photos.  I am offering 17 of my most popular and iconic images for sale including my courtyards, doors, architectural details, statues, and monuments. They will make great gifts for all your Francophile friends, relatives, and colleagues but don't forget to buy some for yourself.

Click here to see photos and for full details including sizes, prices, and shipping. Here is a sample of some of the photos.

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 2 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.

Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. 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

Le Blobterre at Centre Pompidou

Eye Prefer Paris on Twitter

I just launched a fun new daily Twitter post- Paris Photo du Jour. Every day I will post a photo of Paris. Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/eyepreferparis

I don't often write about things for kids but I was at the Centre Pompidou last week and discovered something new that was perfect for kids. Le Blobterre is a new installation by artist Matali Crasset that is a combination playground and artificial garden. A fantasyland of garden green iron pipes and archways, felt flowers, and hanging fluorescent tubes, I smiled as I watched the kids, jumping, running, frolicking, sliding, climbing, screaming, and laughing. The parents looked like they were having as much fun as their kids.

Centre Pompidou has now dedicated the mezzanine space for new children's exhibits and installations approximately every 6 months.

Le Blobterre
Till March 5
Centre Pompidou
Place Georges Pompidou, 75004
Open 11AM to 9PM, Wednesday to Monday
http://www.centrepompidou.fr/Pompidou/Manifs.nsf/0/F41B35F5A8867E8EC12578B7004E8D39?OpenDocument&sessionM=2.2.1&L=2&form=

Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

I am happy to announce the sale of prints of my Eye Prefer Paris Photos.  I am offering 17 of my most popular and iconic images for sale including my courtyards, doors, architectural details, statues, and monuments. They will make great gifts for all your Francophile friends, relatives, and colleagues but don't forget to buy some for yourself.

Click here to see photos and for full details including sizes, prices, and shipping. Here is a sample of some of the photos.

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 2 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.

Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. 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

Sculptures in the Tuileries for FIAC Art Fair

FIAC is the largest contemporary art show of the year in Paris and is always in mid-October. For 2011 the dates are October 20 to October 23 and the major venue is the Grand Palais. This year they have also included outdoor venues, the Jardin des Plantes and the Tuileries. I went to the Tuileries to photograph the sculpture installation yesterday. Typical of the sometimes schizophrenic weather patterns in Paris, the light kept on changing, so in the course of an hour it went from sunlight to gray to dark, threatening clouds and the photos reflect that.

FIAC (International Contemporary Art Fair)
October 20-23 12PM-8PM
Grand Palais
Ave Winston Churchill, 75008
Metro: Champs Elysees-Clemenceau
Admission 32 euros
http://www.fiac.com

Wilfred Almendra-Reconstruction of a Monument II

Urs Fisher -Miss Satin

Jean Luc Moulene-Body Courtesy of the artist and Galerie Bertrand Grimont

Moataz Nasr-The Maze

Antoine Dorotte-Un Misteriosa Bola

Vincent Ganivet-Rivieres

Willem de Kooning-Standing Figure

Danh Vo-Cuivre Repoussé

Adrian Villar Rojas- Poems for Earthlings

Vincent Mauger-La Somme des Hypotheses

Eye Prefer Paris on Twitter

I just launched a fun new daily Twitter post- Paris Photo du Jour. Every day I will post a photo of Paris. Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/eyepreferparis

CONTEST EXTENSION-I am extending the contest below to next Monday, October 24, so you still have a chance to send me your subscriber list.

Eye Prefer Paris Contest
I realize it's been a while since I have had a new subscribers contest and figured it was time for one. I know many of you forward my blog posts to friends, family, and fellow francophiles and many thanks for that. The next logical step would be for them to subscribe.

I am obsessed with increasing my subscriber numbers for a myriad of reasons but one big reason is to attract advertisers. Right now I have 5522 subscribers and my goal is 6500 subscribers by the end of the year.  So please support my obsession and subscribe everyone on the planet you know to my blog.

I will make it simple for you: Please send me a list of the e-mails you want me to subscribe and I will personally subscribe them. My email is rn88@rcn.com. Once I sign them up they will receive an email saying this:
Please check your inbox for a verification message from “FeedBurner Email Subscriptions”, the service that delivers email subscriptions for Eye Prefer Paris. You will need to click a link listed in this message to activate your subscription. If you don't see a confirmation e-mail in a reasonable amount of time please check your bulk/spam folder.

The winner of the contest is the person who has the most people click the activation link. The grand prize is a copy of The Bonne Femme Cookbook: Simple, Splendid, Food that French Women Cook Everyday by Wini Moranville. I just received a copy of The Bonne Femme Cookbook and I have not been this inspired to cook again since my catering days in New York before I moved here. I spent an hour looking through the surprisingly easy to execute recipes that are the staples of most French women. I highly recommend buying this cookbook with 250 mouthwatering, no fuss recipes which are easy to prepare with ingredients that are readily available at your local market.

Wini Moranville, is a food and wine writer and restaurant reviewer. She has spent over 20 summers in France learning the art of simple French cooking which she lovingly shares.

Click here to order from Amazon. Also check out Wini's yummy blog http://chezbonnefemme.com/

I will announce the contest winner next Wednesday, so send me your list right away.

Love the cover

 

In addition to my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, we now offer Eye Prefer New York Tours, 3-hour walking tours of New Yorkís best neighborhoods including Soho, Meatpacking/West Village & Tribeca. Tours cost $195 for up to 3 people and $65 for each additional person.Come take a bit of the Big Apple on an Eye Prefer New York Tour!

Come experience my blog ìliveî with my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I lead. 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.Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris. www.eyepreferparistours.com
 

 

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 Charlotteís 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, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.

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

Palais de la Decouverte

For some inexplicable reason, I have never visited Palais de la Decouverte which is housed on the Franklin Roosevelt side of the Grand Palais. I had my camera in tow when I discovered it last month and was lucky to have a clear, sunny day to photograph the exquisite details adorning the Grand Palais built in 1900 for the 1900 World Exposition. I love the cherubs playing with the lions and the beautiful nymphs intertwined, looking as though they are catching each other from falling. I also like the colored mosaic reliefs of what appears to be bible scenes perhaps from ancient Egypt.

Palais de la Decouverte is a science museum started in 1937 by Jean Baptiste Perrin, who was awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 1926. It was originally part of the international exhibition on "Arts and techniques in modern life" and the government turned it into a 25,000 square meter museum in 1938. Today the museum houses permanent exhibits of mathematics, physics, astronomy, chemistry, geology, and biology

Palais de la Decouverte
Ave. Franklin Roosevelt, 75008
Metro: Champs Elysees-Clemenceau
Open Tuesday to Saturday 9:30AM to 6PM, Sunday 10AM to 7PM
http://www.palais-decouverte.fr/index.php?id=accueil2&no_cache=1

Please click here to watch this dazzling and romantic, video love letter of the Marais, In Love with Le Marais, that was made as a promotional piece for the Paris Marais website my friend Pascal Fonquernie runs. It perfectly captures the essence of the Marais on film and makes it come alive in a magical way.

http://www.parismarais.com/

 

 

In addition to my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, we now offer Eye Prefer New York Tours, 3-hour walking tours of New Yorkís best neighborhoods including Soho, Meatpacking/West Village & Tribeca. Tours cost $195 for up to 3 people and $65 for each additional person.Come take a bit of the Big Apple on an Eye Prefer New York Tour!

Come experience my blog ìliveî with my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I lead. 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.Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris. www.eyepreferparistours.com
 

 

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 Charlotteís 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, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.

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

Zaha Hadid at Institut du Monde Arabe

In the courtyard of the Institut du Monde Arabe, in the Latin Quarter at the start of Blvd. St. Germain, is a shiny, curvaceous white structure resembling a spaceship. It's the mobile art pavilion designed by Zaha Hadid and features a retrospective of the last 30 years of her cutting edge architecture. Hadid originally designed the structure for Chanel in 2008 as a traveling art exhibition showcasing artists designing special edition handbags for Chanel and toured Hong Kong,Tokyo, and New York before arriving in Paris.

Recognized as one of the most respected architects in the world right now, Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, the top architecture prize in the world, which was awarded to her in 2004. She was born in Baghdad, later moving to Beirut and is now based in London. She is dedicated to designing works in mid-east countries.

The futuristic look of the structure is the perfect backdrop to highlight the past and future designs of Hadid, including projects in Cairo, Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, and Dubai.

If you want to see the future of architecture now, go transport yourself to Zaha Hadid's world at the Institut du Monde Arabe.

Zaha Hadid, Une Architecture - Till October 30

Institut du Monde Arabe
1 rue des Fosses Saint Bernard
Place Mohammed V, 75004
Metro: Jussieu
Tuesday to Friday 10AM-6PM, Saturday & Sunday 10AM-7PM
http://www.imarabe.org/exposition/a-la-une

 
 

 

In addition to my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, we now offer Eye Prefer New York Tours, 3-hour walking tours of New York's best neighborhoods including Soho, Meatpacking/West Village & Tribeca. Tours cost $195 for up to 3 people and $65 for each additional person.Come take a bit of the Big Apple on an Eye Prefer New York Tour!

Come experience my blog ìliveî with my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I lead. 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.Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris. www.eyepreferparistours.com
 

 

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 Charlotteís 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, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.

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

St. Germain Street Sculptures

I have noticed a number of striking metal sculptures on the squares of St. Germain in the past weeks.

On Place St. Germain is La Vanité Mise a Nue par ses Thuriferaires from 2009 by Daniel Hourdé made of bronze and wax. Around the corner on Place de Furstenberg is another sculpture by Hourdé titled Colin Maillard from 2007-2008 made of bronze and mixed media.

There's an amusing shiny metal sculpture of a giant pepper by Patrick Laroche in Place René Char, which intersects Blvd. Raspail, Blvd. St. Germain, and rue du Bac. 

Place St. Germain, 75006
Place de Furstenberg, 75006
Metro: St. Germain des Pres

Place René Char, 75007
Metro: rue du Bac

 

 

In addition to my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, we now offer Eye Prefer New York Tours, 3-hour walking tours of New York's best neighborhoods including Soho, Meatpacking/West Village & Tribeca. Tours cost $195 for up to 3 people and $65 for each additional person.Come take a bite of the Big Apple on an Eye Prefer New York Tour!

Come experience my blog ìliveî with my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I lead. 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.Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris. www.eyepreferparistours.com
 

 

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 Charlotteís 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, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.

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

Jean-Pierre Pincemin Sculptures at Galerie Dutko

My friend Lynn turned me on the Dutko Gallery next door to her on the Ile- St. Louis last year and it has become my favorite contemporary gallery in Paris. They consistently show exquisite work, mostly sculpture and paintings by international artists and they also exhibit the most beautiful Art-Deco and mid-century modern furniture. The newest installation by Jean-Pierre Pincemin is another reason why I love the gallery so much.The wooden sculptures have such depth and texture and the colors are vibrant and subtle at the same time. Aspects of the pieces brought to mind some of my favorite artists including the symmetry of Mondrian, the drip like quality of Pollack, and the intense, dark shading of Rothko with the sculptural form of Jean Dubuffet thrown in. However, the pieces are not reminiscent or derivative in any way. Each sculpture is so multi-dimensional that you must view them from all angles, as each angle shows a different perspective.

Pincemin died in 2005 at the age of 61 and a large retrospective of his was held at the pool at Roubaix Museum Beaux-Arts d'Angers and the Musée d'Art Moderne de Ceret in 2010. The owner of the gallery, Jean-Jacques Dutko, was a fervent collector of Pincemin's work, and Pincemin was intrigued by the man that bought so much of his work, he introduced himself to Dutko in the 1980s and they were good friends for over 20 years.


Jean-Pierre Pincemin
Till August 5
Galerie Jean-Jacques Dutko
4 rue de Bretonvilliers, Ile St. Louis, 75004
Open Tuesday to Saturday, 2:30PM-7PM
Tel. 01 43 26 17 77
www.dutko.com 

 

In addition to my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, we now offer Eye Prefer New York Tours, 3-hour walking tours of New York's best neighborhoods including Soho, Meatpacking/West Village & Tribeca. Tours cost $195 for up to 3 people and $65 for each additional person.Come take a bit of the Big Apple on an Eye Prefer New York Tour!

Come experience my blog ìliveî with my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I lead. 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.Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris. www.eyepreferparistours.com
 

 

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 Charlotteís 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, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.

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

Art Saint Germain des Prés

Every spring the association of art galleries in Saint Germain- Art St. Germain des Prés- has a weekend event to promote the galeries of the area. This year the theme is La Vie en Rose avec Ben. From May 19, starting at 6PM to Sunday May 22, over 70 galleries will participate and they run the gamut including contemporary art, modern art, modern design and furniture, decorative arts, photography, and jewelry. These are some of the top galleries in Paris so don't miss this event if you are an art lover. For sure the Champagne and wine will be flowing at many of the venues so drink up and drink in all the fabulous art. The galleries are mostly concentrated on the following streets: rue Mazarine, rue de Seine, rue Bonaparte, and rue Guénégaud.

Click here to download the list of galleries and their shows

Art Saint Germain des Prés
May 19- to May 22
http://www.artsaintgermaindespres.com

Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

I am happy to announce the sale of prints of my Eye Prefer Paris Photos.  I am offering 17 of my most popular and iconic images for sale including my courtyards, doors, architectural details, statues, and monuments. They will make great gifts for all your Francophile friends, relatives, and colleagues but don't forget to buy some for yourself.

Click here to see photos and for full details including sizes, prices, and shipping. Here is a sample of some of the photos.

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 Charlotteís 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, and Friday
Minimum of 2 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.

Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. 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