I Prefer Paris

June I Need to Do’s: Its Ladies Month- Dalida, Tori Amos,Pina Bausch & Nan Kempner

Dalida, Paris pour Destin
This extensive exhibit is the first one completely dedicated to this wildly popular singing superstar. It commemorates the 20th anniversary of her tragic suicide at age 54 with photos, dresses, videos, films and more, never seen by the public before. The exhibition is free, so take extra time for possibly long lines.

Dalida: Paris pour Destin- till September 8th
Hotel de Ville
Open 10AM-7PM Mon.- Sat., closed Sunday
Metro: Hotel de Ville

Pina Bausch
Pina Bausch’s annual Paris visit at Theatre de la Ville is extra special this year: she is doing 2 programs. One is a revival of a sensational early work Bandoneon, which was the first piece I saw of hers and have been a fan ever since. The second piece is a new work from 2006 titled Vollmond (Full Moon).

Pina Bausch
Bandoneon June 5-11
Vollmond June 16-24
Theatre de la Ville2 Place du Chatelet, 75004
Metro: Chatelet

Nan Kempner
See the gorgeous couture clothes Yves St. Laurent made for legendary New York clotheshorse and classy society dame Nan Kempner. Purchasing 373 of his outfits, let’s say she was more than a fan.

Nan Kempner: Une Americain a Paris- till July 29th
Fondation Pierre Bergé/Yves.St. Laurent
3 Leonce Reynaud,75116
11AM-6PM, Tuesday- Sunday, closed Monday
Metro: Alma Marceau

Tori Amos
The American Doll Posse Tour comes to Paris and Europe.

June 2
Palais de Congres
Porte Maillot 75017
Metro: Porte Maillot
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.

Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

 

Marais Restaurant Find: Fuxia L'Epicerie

Always pining for a good new neighborhood restaurant, I was happy to find Fuxia L’Epicerie, a new Italian restaurant and gourmet shop right down the street from me. The concept, not necessarily new, is Italian food with simple, fresh ingredients.

The ambitious try-to please-everyone menu has an extensive pasta selection broken into four categories: baked (al forno), seafood, ravioli, and with vegetables. I opted for the veal Milanese, which was crispy and delicious but not pounded thin enough, and served with a generous salad on the plate of sun-dried tomatoes, arrugula, and cherry tomatoes.

Curious about the pasta, I tasted friend’s penne with arrugula, crème fraiche, and giant strips of prosciutto and it proved to be a winner.

The contemporary interior was sleek with black slate floors, aluminum chairs, and shelves filled with all Italian products of olive oils, pasta, wines, and vinegars. The smart design with practically no doors made it like an open-air café even sitting indoors.

We skipped the standard but tempting desserts of tiramisu, panna cotta, and mixed red berry tart.

Fuxia hit all the right restaurant buttons: the food was good, portions generous to oversized, service friendly & efficient, and prices right (salads& starters 5-12 euros, pastas12-15 euros, meat dishes 15-18 euros, desserts 6-8 euros).

I went on their website and found out that they have six other locations in Paris, so I can share my neighborhood restaurant with you even if you don’t live near me.

Fuxia L’Epicerie
50 rue Francois Miron, 75004
011 42 72 22 74
Open 7 days, lunch & dinner
Metro: St. Paul (1), Pont Marie (7)

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

 

Paris Mosque

I was doing research for an Eye Prefer Paris Tour the other day, and rediscovered the Paris Mosque. As I walked through the white stucco archway with it’s beautiful wood door and intricate mosaic tile work into the sunken garden, I remembered how much I loved the another world feel of the mosque. It was a cool, cloudy day and the colors of the aqua blue walk ways, the royal blue, mustard yellow, sage green tiles and pink clay columns were even more vibrant. There’s a certain serenity that takes over as you silently meander through. One of my favorite things were the wild vines of pretty pink roses in full bloom. I passed by the prayer hall curious to experience the sacred prayer ceremony but learned it was for Muslims only.

I relaxed in the garden terrace with a glass of mint tea and a delicious pastry dripping in honey. I checked out the restaurant with its beautiful authentic Moroccan interior and the smell of the tagines and cous cous made me instantly crave lunch. There is also a hammam for men and women, which I have not experienced yet but heard it’s one of the best in Paris.

It’s officially called the Grande Mosquée de Paris and was founded after World War I as a tribute and thank you to the Muslim tirailleurs (sharpshooters) who fought against Germany. It was built in the mudéjar style with a 108-foot minaret (lighthouse) and President Gaston Dourmergue inaugurated it on July 15, 1926.

As I left, I sighed as vivid memories of Morocco came to me. I decided I have to make another visit soon.

Grande Mosquée de Paris
2 bis place du puits de l'Ermite,75005
Metro: Place Monge, Censier (ligne 7), Jussieu (lignes 7 & 10)
Open daily except Fridays & Musllim holidays 9AM-12PM, 2PM-6PM.
Admission 3 euros
There are guided tours in French

For more info on hammam and restaurant, click here

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

 

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

 

Metro Station of the Month: Vaneau

The Vaneau metro station, built in 1923, has classic Art Nouveau features like intricate green ironwork and globe lanterns. However, the font on the stone etched Metropolitan sign and the blue tile work seem more Art Deco. The station is located in the 7th Arr. on a calm residential section of the rue de Sévres, a few blocks from the more commercial end near le Bon Marché. There’s a long white stucco wall that runs along both sides of the station with tall green leafy trees overhanging and an inset with a handsome white stone Egyptian statue.

Vaneau
#10 line
Gare de Austerlitz to Boulogne/Porte St. Cloud Click here for more on the history of the Paris metro

Walk like an Egyptian

Bye-Bye Vaneau

My friend, impresario Terrance Gelenter of the site Paris through Expatriate Eyes, produces a series of wonderful and enlightening literary events in Paris. Be sure not to miss his next event, An Evening with Pete Hamill on Tuesday, May 29th. Click here for details.

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

 

Cannes at 60: Happy Birthday!

Attention film buffs: Race on down to Le Bon Marché and see the Cannes at 60 Exhibit. It’s a delightful and fascinating photo exhibit of golden moments from the past 60 years of the Cannes Film Festival. The rows of red movie seats with each year individually embossed on it instead of seat number, with a black & white photo leaning on them, make for a clever and a unique presentation.

The snapshot -like photos accurately depicted the glamour, hoopla, and circus atmpsphere of the festival. On one sidewall were small white photo albums from each year announcing the winner of the Palm D’or, the main prize. I opened the 1967 one and Antonioni’s Blow –Up was the winner and a there was special mention of Frances Ford Coppola as a promising director with his film “Your a Big Boy Now”. On the other wall were famous quotes from the winners including one by Sharon Stone about how Basic Instinct transformed her into a sex symbol.

Some of my favorite photos were a young pre- gubernatorial Arnold Schwarzenegger flexing his biceps, a romantic portrait of hotties Alain Delon & Romy Schneider, Elizabeth Taylor (wearing a tiara & channeling Queen Elizabeth) & Mike Todd, and glamorous bombshells Brigitte Bardot & Kim Novak. Also check out the amusing window display of Paparazzi silhouettes.

The 2007 Cannes Film Festival runs from May 16 – May 27th. For the best and most up to date daily coverage go to my friends Brian & Eugene’s site www.indiewire.com.

"Traveling Sur Cannes ! 60 Ans De Festival De Cannes"
Le Bon Marché
27 rue de Sévres, 75007 Metro: Sévere-Babylone
Mon-Fri 9:30AM-7PM, Thurs. till 9PM, Sat. till 8PM

Essay Contest: Win 5 nights for two people in a luxurious Paris apartment by writing a 1,000-word essay about why you want to visit Paris and what you will do when you are here. Sponsored by
Welcome2France. For full details click here.

Who will be the next Winner?

Paparazzi window display

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

 

On the Streets of the 8th Arr.

I was in the 8th Arr., yesterday around the Champs -Élysées, meeting with various hotel concierges about my Eye Prefer Paris tours. It was a cool, windy half sunny/half rainy day and many of the streets were blocked off to traffic because of the WW II Victory day holiday.

I got off at the George V metro stop and looming large on the Champs-Élysées was a 30-foot poster of Dalida, rising from the dead inviting me to an homage of her music at the Queen disco (photo above).

Dalida was one of France’s most popular & beloved singers. She was plagued with bad luck with her lovers and two of them committed suicide and in 1987 took her own life at 54. She has become a cult figure to old and new generations since her death, much like Marilyn Monroe.

The 8th is a mix of a low key Times Square and a wealthy enclave for the visiting rich, with expensive restaurants, exclusive nightclubs, top designer shops and 4&5 star hotels. The opulent neighborhood ‘s architecture is mostly very well maintained Haussmann style buildings, many with window boxes of radiant white and red geraniums.

As I left the trendy boutique Hotel Tremoille, I couldn’t help but take photos of these 2 classic cars in mint condition.

It’s always a challenge to find a simple and good lunch place in an area like this. There are either fussy expensive 2 -hour lunch restaurants or tacky rip off tourists’ cafes with bad photos of unappetizing food on the menus. I was lucky to find Jour, an American style make your own salad bar and sandwich place. In the cool & clean mint green modern interior I enjoyed a tasty Caesar salad wrap for only 4.50 euros. The salad bar offerings of over 30 ingredients were meticulous in their presentation in small stainless steel compartments and you can make up any salad you want with each ingredient ranging from 75 centimes to 2 euros. Toppings included the usual standard meat, vegetables and seafood but I also noticed some unusual choices like sardines and squid. They are served in attractive large melamine rust colored bowls with mint green insides. A great place for a fast bite, wholesome food, and an under 12-euro price tag.

Jour
12 rue Clément Marot, 75008
Metro: Franklin Roosevelt
Take out and delivery available
Click here for other Paris locations

I stand corrected: On my last posting about Chapelle Expiatore there was an error. King Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette were decapitated on Place de Concorde and buried in a pit in the Madeleine cemetery. I reported that they were decapitated and buried in the Madeleine cemetery. Thanks to Maitresse and Judy G. for pointing that out.

How much is that baby in the window?

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

 

Chapelle Expiatoire: Off With Their Heads

After too much strenuous activity of bicycle riding and badminton in the country last weekend, I pulled my back out to the extent of having to pay an emergency visit to the chiropractor. Dr. Meldener, is located across the street from the Chapelle Expiatoire and I’ve passed this intriguing park many times but never made the time to see explore it. I decided to check it out and take full advantage of the pitch perfect sunny spring day. Chapelle Expiatoire is the former site of the Madeleine cemetery where King Louis XXVI and Marie Antoinette were both decapitated, and buried in 1793. Their bones were exhumed in 1815 and moved to the royal necropolis of St. Denis.

You would never know the headless Marie & Louis were thrown into a pit here, because today it is a small tranquil, lovely park with flower beds, a children’s play ground, and a handsome neo-classical chapel. The chapel, owned by Louis XVIII, was built in 1816 and designed by Pierre François Léonard Fontaine and Charles Percier. It took over 10 years to build and was completed in 1826.There’s a hall, two gantries and a vault, stylized after a Greco-Roman necropolis. Its nine arched arcades within the hall commemorate the Swiss Guards massacred at Tuileries Palace on August 10, 1792, while they were defending the Royal family. In 1862, the cypresses that surrounded the vault were cut down, and a public garden was created, with landscaping that isolates it from the busy and commercial boulevard Haussman.

Unfortunately, the chapel was closed the day I visited but I will go back soon. If you are looking for a peaceful retreat from the hubbub of Paris, grab yourself some lunch, park yourself on a dark green wooden bench and enjoy yourself. By the way, Dr. Meldener is an excellent chiropractor and kinesiologist (he speaks fluent English) if you are ever in need of one.

Dr. Richard Meldener
49 rue des Mathurins 75008
Tel. 01 42 65 87 20

Chapelle Expiatoire
29, rue Pasquier - Square Louis XVI , 75008
Call 01 42 65 35 80 for hours
Metro: Saint Augustin

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

 

May Eye Need to Do’s: Audrey Hepburn/Breakfast at Tiffany’s, John Chamberlain and Lisa Zane

Lisa Zane: Chanteuse Extradonaire
Run to see Lisa Zane, the sultry singing siren perform at the intimate boite, The Swan Bar. She will dazzle you as she torches her way through Porter, Arlen, Gershwin and other classic American songbook standards. Afterwards, she will seduce you in Spanish, French and Greek with her international song set.

Lisa Zane
Swan Bar
165 Blvd. Montparnasse, 75006
Performance dates: Friday, May 4 & Friday, May 18
Time: 21:30
Cover: 10 euros

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (Diamants sur Canape)
Treat your self to this all time favorite Audrey Hepburn film and romantic classic with the French title Diamants sur Canape (diamonds on the couch). Moon River, wider than a mile, I’m crossing you in style, someday…

Breakfast at Tiffany’s (new print, V.O.)
La Filmothéque Quartier Latin
9 rue Champollion, 75005
Metro: Cluny, Odeon

Amorino Gelato
Lick the heat wave away with home –made Amorino gelato. Try the ultimate ice cream sandwich- 3 scoops stuffed in a brioche. My favorite flavors: pistachio, crème caramel, nocciola (hazelnut).

Amorino Gelato
12 locations in Paris
Click here for a shop near you

>John Chamberlain Sculptures at Karsten Greve

For over 50 years John Chamberlain has been using car fenders, car carcasses, and metal garbage cans, transforming them into extraordinary, vibrant, and striking sculptures. Don’t miss this important show of 10 early and new pieces.

John Chamberlain
Karsten Greve
5 rue Debelleyme, 75003
Metro: St Sebastien Froissart
11AM-7PM, Tuesday- Saturday
Till June 30th

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