I Prefer Paris

Christmas in Paris 2022: Printemps

For Christmas 2022, Printemps takes us to the circus with Santa as the ringleader for the clowns and trapeze artists swing freely on their swings.

The star-studded inauguration event for the windows in November was hosted by supermodel Cindy Crawford and supermodel daughter Kaia Gerber, co-hosted by Naomi Campbell and Isabelle Huppert.

Check out the new 4,000 square foot toy store on the seventh floor with loads of fun games, toys, dolls, hobby kits, tech gadgets, and board games.

64 Bd Haussmann, 75009

Open 10am-8pm Monday to Saturday

Sunday 11am-8pm

https://www.printemps.com/eu/en

Last Chance to Order Eye Prefer Paris Door Postcards in Time for Holiday Delivery 

I am offering a holiday sale of free shipping on Eye Prefer Paris Door Postcards. In addition, if you want to send them as a holiday gift, I can handwrite a personalized card for you.

For a set of 18 cards, you will save $12, and for a set of 9 cards, you will save $8.

Just in time for the holidays, the Eye Prefer Paris-Paris Door Collection makes a perfect gift for your Francophile friends and family.

IMPORTANT! You must order you cards before December 8, as I mail them from Paris, and it takes 10 days to 2 weeks to arrive to the U.S.

CLICK HERE to order 18 cards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors, 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers. 

Cost: $65 Includes Free Shipping.

CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors.

Cost: $35 Includes Free shipping

CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers

Cost: $35 Includes Free shipping 

Postcards are hand wrapped with love from Paris and mailed in an elegant, French blue envelope. 

Just in time for the holidays, the Eye Prefer Paris-Paris Door Collection makes a perfect gift for your Francophile friends and family.

Red Doors

Green Doors

Blue Doors

Metal Doors

Wood Doors

Door Knockers

Christmas in Paris 2022: Galeries Lafayette

Today I start my annual blog posts where I share the magic and splendor of Christmas in Paris.

The theme of the imaginative windows at Galeries Lafayette for 2022 is a tale of The Planet of Fir Trees, which is based on a book by Claire Castillon with illustrations by Florent Chavouet. Little Annie has a father who doesn’t believe in Christmas and when Nordmann, a fir tree from the imaginary planet Elato, visits her, it convinces the father to believe in Christmas again. Inside Galeries Lafayette, the iconic, towering tree has a sound and light show every 30 minutes, and there’s a Christmas Tree immersive show plus you or the kids can visit Santa’s Workshop.

40 Bd Haussmann, 75009

Open 10am to 8:30pm, Monday to Saturday

Sunday 11am to 8pm

https://haussmann.galerieslafayette.com/en/planet-of-fir-trees/?utm_source=SiteHSM&utm_campaign=noel

Last Chance to Order Eye Prefer Paris Door Postcards in Time for Holiday Delivery 

I am offering a holiday sale of free shipping on Eye Prefer Paris Door Postcards. In addition, if you want to send them as a holiday gift, I can handwrite a personalized card for you.

For a set of 18 cards, you will save $12, and for a set of 9 cards, you will save $8.

Just in time for the holidays, the Eye Prefer Paris-Paris Door Collection makes a perfect gift for your Francophile friends and family.

IMPORTANT! You must order you cards before December 8, as I mail them from Paris, and it takes 10 days to 2 weeks to arrive to the U.S.

CLICK HERE to order 18 cards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors, 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers. 

Cost: $65 Includes Free Shipping.

CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors.

Cost: $35 Includes Free shipping

CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers

Cost: $35 Includes Free shipping 

Postcards are hand wrapped with love from Paris and mailed in an elegant, French blue envelope. 

Just in time for the holidays, the Eye Prefer Paris-Paris Door Collection makes a perfect gift for your Francophile friends and family.

Red Doors

Green Doors

Blue Doors

Metal Doors

Wood Doors

Door Knockers

Holiday Sale on Eye Prefer Paris Postcards

I am offering a holiday sale of free shipping on Eye Prefer Paris Door Postcards. In addition, if you want to send them as a holiday gift, I can handwrite a personalized card for you.

For a set of 18 cards, you will save $12, and for a set of 9 cards, you will save $8.

Just in time for the holidays, the Eye Prefer Paris-Paris Door Collection makes a perfect gift for your Francophile friends and family.

IMPORTANT! You must order you cards before December 8, as I mail them from Paris, and it takes 10 days to 2 weeks to arrive to the U.S.

CLICK HERE to order 18 cards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors, 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers. 

Cost: $65 Includes Free Shipping.

CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Red Doors, 3 Blue Doors, 3 Green Doors.

Cost: $35 Includes Free shipping

CLICK HERE to order 9 postcards: 3 Wood Doors, 3 Iron Doors, and 3 Door Knockers

Cost: $35 Includes Free shipping 

Postcards are hand wrapped with love from Paris and mailed in an elegant, French blue envelope. 

Just in time for the holidays, the Eye Prefer Paris-Paris Door Collection makes a perfect gift for your Francophile friends and family.

Red Doors

Green Doors

Blue Doors

Metal Doors

Wood Doors

Door Knockers

Les Parisiens Restaurant at Hotel Pavillon Faubourg Saint Germain

I stayed at the newly opened, five-star Hotel Pavillon Faubourg Saint Germain at the end of August for one night but unfortunately the Les Parisiens Restaurant was closed at the time for vacation. I loved my stay at the hotel, and had a lovely room decorated in a luxurious, contemporary style, with soft bed linens, and a deliciously comfortable mattress.

The luxurious décor spills over to the dining room of Les Parisiens, with Art Deco curved banquettes in creamy taupe suede, cinnamon color, velvet upholstered chairs, and carpeting embossed with planet like circles. Tables are nicely spaced apart and the lighting is gentle and flattering.

Chef Thibault Sombardier was a finalist on Top Chef France in 2012 and trained in some of the top haute cuisine restaurants and neo bistros in Paris before opening two successful restaurants in Paris, with one of them earning a Michelin star.

Sombardier along with Executive Chef Matthieu Pirola, have created a very appealing and appropriate fall and winter menu and we had a hard time narrowing down our choices.

Vincent had a beetroot hummus, which had a smooth, rich texture and spread beautifully over warm bread. My starter was three, delicate quenelles filled with lobster, bathed in cauliflower soup with hazelnut butter. The quenelles were light and fluffy, and the rich soup was perfect for the chilly fall weather. I’ve always liked pigeon but don’t like to fuss with the bones, so when I found out it was deboned and served in a pastry crust, I was all in. It was served with a tad of foie gras, which didn’t overpower the gamey, venison like texture of the pigeon and there was also a layer of cabbage, to give it some green. Roasted, farm raised chicken in a coconut milk stew with watercress and served with roasted potatoes was very much to Vincent’s liking.

A glass of Médoc, Chapelle de Potensac, 2016 from Chapelle Potensac was full bodied and an excellent pairing with the cuisine.

As much as I was savoring the food so far, the Poire William souffle knocked the meal out of the park. The warm, perfectly crafted souffle along with the Poire William sorbet was remarkable.

Dinner is a la carte but at lunchtime there’s a formule, a main course with either dessert or an appetizer is 34€ and for all three courses it’s 39€.

Les Parisiens

5 rue au Pré-aux-Clercs, 75007

https://en.pavillon-faubourg-saint-germain.com/restaurant-les-parisiens-bar-james-joyce

Happy Thanksgiving 2022

Here is my annual Thanksgiving blog, which I've published before. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and every yearI have publish this French Thanksgiving vocabulary list, courtesy of my former New York French teacher, Luc Georges.

Since Thanksgiving is not an official holiday in France, many ex-pats postpone their Thanksgiving dinner for Friday or Saturday, but some are traditionalists and make it on Thursday. I will be going to a friend's house Saturday night. 

Happy Thanksgiving and be thankful for what you have and for your family and friends. What are you thankful for this year? 

French Thanksgiving Vocabulary

Thanksgiving    le jour de l'action de grâce
autumn, fall    l'automne
colony    une colonie
feast    un festin, un banquet
football    le football américain
grateful    (adj)    reconnaissant
harvest    la récolte
horn of plenty    la corne d'abondance
native    (adj)    natif
(Native American) Indians    les Indiens (d'Amérique)
November    novembre
parade    un défilé
Pilgrims    les pèlerins
settlers    les colons
to share    partager
Thursday    jeudi
tradition    une tradition
traditional    (adj)    traditionnel
treaty    un traité
tribe    une tribu
 
The food served for the Thanksgiving feast varies from home to home, but here are some traditional dishes.

food    la nourriture
corn    le maïs
cranberries    les canneberges
gravy    la sauce au jus de viande
mashed potatoes    la purée
pumpkin pie    la tarte à la citrouille
stuffing    la farce
sweet potatoes    les patates douces
turkey    la dinde
yam    un igname