I Prefer Paris

Lunch with Lynn/Under 20 Eats: Willi's Wine Bar

I received so many offers for guest lunchers for Lunch with Lynn, that if I accepted all of them, I would be 20 lbs. heavier and broke. Thanks to everyone for the out pour of invitations, but since I am such a star blogger, who wouldn't want to go to lunch with me.(There I go again, thinking I'm  George Clooney).

My wonderful and fun tour clients from last year, Doris and Alfred, were in Paris for the week earlier in July and they were so sweet to ask if they can take me for an under 20 lunch. Doris and Alfred are die-hard Florida foodies and they were the perfect candidates.

I chose Willi's Wine Bar, which is right behind the Palais Royal. I have been there many times for a glass of wine but had never eaten there and the food always looked so good. We had a 12PM reservation and the restaurant was empty when we arrived, as Parisians tend to eat at 1PM. I always say the secret to get into a popular restaurant for lunch is to go at 12PM. The restaurant decor is simple but elegant and the walls are lined with the most clever collectible posters by artists that Willi’s commissions every year to create for their ongoing Bottle Art Collection.

I decided to break the under 20 price barrier and go for the 3-course, 26.50 menu and I was impressed the menu had a choice of 4 dishes in each category, much more than the usual one or two that most restaurants have with their formules. I had the warm and cold shrimp with apples, celery, and avocado. The warm succulent grilled shrimp against the slightly chilled salad with crispy apples and celery and smooth avocados was a superb celebration for my taste buds. Doris and Alfred were so fooded out from having 3-course extravagant meals for the last few days in Paris and a week before in Rome, they chose a light starter salad of asparagus and artichoke salad with salsa verde for their main course. It turned out to be hearty enough to satisfy them and they enjoyed the simple ingredients that were as fresh as they come. The stunning presentation of the wild, grilled daurade with eggplant and cherry tomato confit looked like it stepped off the cover of a glossy food magazine. The taste was as perfect as the presentation, with the fish being nice and crispy on the outside and the vegetables aromatic and bursting with flavor. The mostly fruit desserts were so appealing for the hot summer days we have been having. Alfred and I had the cherries confit with almond pound cake and Doris the half spheres of roasted apricots with basil. Serving fresh fruit and calling it dessert I say is a copout, but since the fresh cherries had a piece of cake with it, it made for a very acceptable and respectable dessert I would have anytime. Doris's peaches and apricots were in the realm between dessert and fruit with the basil giving it a distinct twist. 

You are probably wondering when I was going to get to the wine we chose. Shockingly, especially to the waiter, we didn't have any. I know it would be like going to Laduree and not having a macaron, but we decided between the heat and the possibility of becoming sleepy, having wine would wreck out afternoon plans.

It was a great meal and wonderful company, as Doris, Alfred, and I caught up on the year that passed. But there's a small but. After we sat down and presented the menus, we waited for over 10 minutes to order and not one waiter approached us. The restaurant was completely empty and the 3 waiters were engrossed in conversation at the bar, never looking up once to see if we needed anything. I finally had to get up and walk to the bar to get their attention to tell them we wanted to order. After that the service was fine and attentive.

I look forward to exploring another under 20 haunt to dine at next year with Doris and Alfred.

Willi's also offers a plat du jour served at the bar for 15.50 and a two-course formule at 20.50.

Willi's Wine Bar 13 rue des Petits Champs, 1st arr.
Reservations 01 42 61 05 09
Open Monday-Saturday 12PM-2:30PM, 7PM-11PM
http://www.williswinebar.com

Warm and cold shrimp with apples, celery, and avocado 

Wild,grilled daurade with eggplant and cherry tomato confit and asparagus and artichoke salad

Roasted apricots and peaches with basil

Cherries and almond pound cake

 

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/Chelsea & Union Square. 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 “live” 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 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, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.

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

Parisian of the Month: Samantha Carter

I met Samantha Carter at a restaurant last week and we immediately hit it off. I like her warmth and outgoing personality. Samantha is the manager of the premier Pilates and Gyrotonics exercise studio in Paris, Element.  She was kind enough to invite me for a Gyrotonics session yesterday and I felt like a million bucks afterward, with my spine straightly aligned. The studio is modern and spare but the atmosphere is warm and inviting and Samantha made me feel right at home.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born on November 11th 1975 in Brussels.  My first years of child were spent in Brussels but I don't have much recollection on this period since I was very young! My parents moved in the close suburbs of Paris Chatou/Croissy) when I was about 2 years old. I grew up in an international environment with an English father and a French mother. I was sent to boarding school in Kent when I was about 13 years old to receive the old fashion English education!  Moved to Boston for college where I pursued my film studies at Emerson College.

When and why did you move to Paris?
I moved back to Paris 7 years ago after having lived in Los Angeles for 7 years.  I wanted to find myself a French husband and raise my children in France! France is a country that offers many treasures - you have the most delicious food, the most varied landscapes (confined in a small perimeter), elegant women, and you have Paris!

You were in film production before you worked at the exercise studio. Tell us about that part of your life.
As a child, I always dreamt of being part of making people escape and dream through films.  I studied at Emerson College in Boston and moved to Los Angeles after graduation.  I started my production career at Disney Studios as an intern and moved my way up in the production field as a freelancer on commercials, music videos and indies.  My old producer and friend, Erik Press, took me under his wings and taught me all the ins and outs of the business. I was a single workaholic production manager and that life suited me very well until I was coming closer to my 30s!

What prompted you to change from working in film to working in a Pilates studio?
Los Angeles is not only the capital for the film industry but also well known for the fitness and well-being. I began to work out every day to help me manage the stress of the business and got hooked to cardio barre (a mix of pilates and cardio), boot camp and running.I must admit that the Americans and English carry the best gyms and workout studios.  It was very hard for me to find a Parisian studio that
offered the same quality teaching that I had in LA and London.  I met Carol Polakoff, the founder of Element (first opened in March 2003), in 2004 who offered me to work at Element. She is one of the first to have opened a Pilates and Yoga studio in the heart of Paris.  She recruited the best Pilates instructors from New York, Vancouver, and California.  Carol now lives between Los Angeles and New York making movies.

What disciplines do you specialize in and do you also teach the classes? Do you offer massage as well?
Element started off with Pilates and Yoga and we now offer Gyrotonics which is a very good compliment to Pilates. I run the studio as the manager and Verena Tremel is my "associate" who takes care of hiring our new international staff as well as being our master teacher.  We offer classes on the mats (limited to 10 clients maximum) for all 3 disciplines as well as reformer, chair and tower classes (on the machines limited to a maximum of 5 clients) and Gyrotonics (either in group classes on the stools using pole bars), duos or private sessions with one of our instructors.  Element is a studio that keeps discretion for our clients and stays very private. It is considered by many clients as a "little jewel" that has managed to preserve itself. The space is elegant and the disciplines offered lends itself to the Parisian life style.
We also offer our clientele various massages with masseurs who each have their specialties. Clarisse is the girl to call for "massage amincissant" (to slim down and get rid of cellulite - the problem of many women), Swedish, hot stones. Maxime is specialized in shiatsu and Ayurvda which are highly recommended for clients who need to "de-stress" and looking for well-being after a hard winter or difficult period at work.

Do European and or French women have different attitude or approach to exercising than American women? Are French women as obsessed with dieting as American women?                                          I think all women have been obsessed about their weight at least during one stage of their lives. In today's world, we are confronted to perfect bodies exposed in the media (which doesn't represent reality!).  French women (especially Parisians) take very good care of themselves and have femininity
integrated in them since birth!  This doesn't mean that they are sporty types. While Americans are raised with exercising as part of their daily lives (starts at a very young age with school) so they do carry a different approach! The French ladies consider sports as more of a burden while Americans see sports as a leisure!  I would also say Americans are more open to new disciplines.  This is all changing of course as our French clients have become hooked to Element and come to us with a real pleasure to exercise.
       
Tell us about your clientele and do you get many men who do your classes? Do you get many tourists?
 Our clientele is a good mix of international and Parisians. We have people who come from all different parts of our planet.  I would say that 30% are expats who moved to France for work, 5% of tourists (mostly from California and New York) who need their Pilates, yoga or Gyrotonic sessions during their stay in Paris.  They often say element feels a bit like home.  Most of our male clients prefer working on the machines (must be a macho thing!). Some come with their partner as a duo or take private sessions, a few attend classes (I don t know if they come for the beautiful women or the actual class!) Our clients are doctors, therapists, fashion stylists, writers, housewives, students, dancers, artists and business men.

Who are some modern day women you admire and who would you most want to come to the studio?
Simone Veil for liberating the women.  She had the courage to stand up and raise her voice in a men s world!  She was also an extremely brave woman who managed to overcome all the suffering she endured in the concentration camps
-  Tatiana de Rosnay who represents today s world by embracing two cultures and writes both English and French.  I strongly recommend her latest book "Sarah s Key".
 -  Catherine Dolto who pursued her mother s work in child therapy. I consider her the fairy godmother for children.  She makes miracles!                                                                                                          -  Lola Burnstein-Rykiel, who is a young, beautiful, stylish, funny and great communicator.  I think she represents well the young female generation of today and will do wonders in life.

I would love to have Hillary Clinton as she travels across the globe and tries to make a significant  change in people's lives as well as the world  "It takes a village to raise a child".

How did Carol find and create this fabulous space?                                                                           Carol Polakoff and Beatrice Fragnet found the space. This area was famous (and still is) for painters (Chagall, Picasso and many others) had their artist studio in the area.  Our space use to be one before the 1980s (which you can tell by looking at its architecture and windows.  We have this magical light entering the machine room upstairs, and its colorful dome in the mat room ceiling.  Carol has a lot of taste and coming from the movie business transformed the studio in a peaceful and well being space with elegance.  She did a very good job as it reflects well the Parisians lifestyle!

What do you prefer about Paris?
There is so much to say about Paris which is really the most beautiful city  in the world. Every day, I feel like I am walking in a museum with its architecture, and history.  I love sitting in cafes watching the Parisians walk by and sipping my "café créme", I love les jardins du Luxembourg with its exterior exhibitions, having dinner au Café Marly with the pyramide du Louvre standing in front of you, spending my Saturdays at le musée Rodin, taking my children to the old manege on the Champs de Mars, sit on a bateau mouche on a sunny afternoon for a Parisian cruise, buy new dresses at Jerome L' Huillier au Palais Royal.

Element

16 bis de la Grand Chamuiere, 6th arr.

Metro: Vavin

Tel. +33 1 53 10 86 00

Please note Element will be closed for vacation from Aug.1 to Aug. 21

http://www.elementparis.com

Gyrotonics machine 

Pilates

 

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/Chelsea & Union Square. 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 “live” 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 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, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.

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

Meredith Mullins: After Midnight

The midnight hour can be tempting, a door into another world. After midnight, things get wild. Walls come down. Truth comes out. Shadows get darker. Figures become more furtive and fleeting. Spaces once crowded with energy are empty and filled with echo. The virtuoso night wanderers come out to breathe fire on the open quais or play soulful music under the lonely arches. Misty moons and what’s left of the night lights are made even more mysterious or magical by the darkened skies. It’s tempting, this wildness, this stillness, this soul and fire … tempting.

Meredith Mullins is an internationally exhibited American photographer and writer who currently lives in Paris. She is a recent winner of the 2010 Px3 competition, a 2009 winner of the Grand Concours Photo sur Paris, author of the award-winning book, In A Paris Moment (click here to order), and contributor to Paris Magazine and Browntrout travel calendars. Visit www.meredithmullins.artspan.com to see more of her images. Original photographs are available directly through the artist.

Meredith's autumn courses are listed at http://www.wice-paris.org/wice/visual-arts/photography. She is also available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris. Sign up for an information-filled, creative half-day lesson! Contact: [email protected]

 

 

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, 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

Eye Prefer New York Tours

I am ecstatic to finally announce the long awaited launch of Eye Prefer New York Tours. After 3 years of leading hundreds of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, I have decided to also share my special New York, my birthplace and home before I moved to Paris five years ago. My good friend Sherry Jo Williams, a dynamic, vivacious southern gal who is every bit as fun as me (I know it's hard to believe) will be leading the tours.

Eye Prefer New York Tours will focus on 3 unique downtown neighborhoods Meatpacking district and Chelsea, Union Square, and Soho. Just like my Paris tours, clients will experience unique and out of the way shops, important architecture, specialty food stores, and museums & galleries of New York. Here are just a few truly New York things clients will discover:

•    An authentic New York Jewish gourmet shop & deli with freshly baked bagels, traditional smoked fish, and house-made chopped liver

•    New York City’s newest, scenic park, built on an abandoned, elevated railroad track, featuring magnificent views of the Hudson River

•  Designer bargains at NY’s headquarters for discounted Fashion, Accessories and Shoes

•   A specialty Food Market featuring fresh-caught seafood and lobster, customized cookies and decadent brownies, and award-winning local cheese and wine. Also visit the premier source for professional restaurant and cooking supplies in the city

•  Tree-lined rows of land-marked 1930’s red brick townhouses and historic Italianate brownstones from the 1860′s

•  The epicenter of international, contemporary furniture and design and NY’s newest art Museums

        Tours cost $195 for three hours for up to 3 people and $65 for each additional person. Sherry Jo looks forward to meeting you so you can take a bite out of the Big Apple you will never forget!

Sherry-Jo-your NYC Host

 

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, 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

Fete de Tuleries II

 
I couldn't fit all the photos in yesterday's post of the carnival and most of the photos today are of the Ferris wheel with its florescent lights beaming high above the dark city. As I was leaving the carnival from the Tuileries, I noticed the Ferris wheel was reflecting on the windows at the Louvre and got some unexpected bonus shots.

Fete Foraine Tuileries
Till August 22
Open 11AM-11:45PM Sunday to Thursday, 11AM-12:15AM Friday & Saturday, and holidays
http://www.feteforaine-jardindestuileries.com/ 

 

 

Coming soon: Eye Prefer New York Tours

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, 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

Fete de Tuileries I

When I was a wee tot, I spent my summers on the boardwalk in Wildwood, New Jersey where my parents ran a souvenir shop. When I passed the carnival in the Tuileries last week, it brought back happy memories of laughing hysterically from the rides till my tummy hurt, my chin all sticky from the excess of cotton candy, playing games of chance and winning stuffed animals that were bigger than me, being scared stiff in the pitch black fun-house when a monster would come out of nowhere, and teetering high above the beach and boardwalk on the giant Ferris wheel.  I also spent countless hours in the penny arcade playing pinball machines and being mesmerized by the lights and bells, scoring big and winning prizes at skee-ball, and offering to sweep the floors of the arcade so I can get an extra quarter to play another pinball game.

So if you like carnivals and you want to experience them French style (which is pretty much like American style except the signs are more charming in French) take yourself down to the Tuileries and have yourself a ball.

I took the photos at night as the colors are more vibrant and the carnival so much more seductive.

Fete Foraine Tuileries
Till August 22
Open 11AM-11:45PM Sunday to Thursday, 11AM-12:15AM Friday & Saturday, and holidays

http://www.feteforaine-jardindestuileries.com/

 

   

Coming soon: Eye Prefer New York Tours

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, 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

Door of the Month: 90 rue du Bac

Some of my favorite doors have been the ones that are about to be repainted and in their unfinished stage. They look like abstract paintings. Somehow the panels on this door take on a whole other dimension and texture with the white paint streaks contrasting the dark green, the taupey brown  sanded surface, and the lighter green intermingling.

90 rue du Bac, 7th arr.

Metro: Rue du Bac or Sevres-Babylone

 

 

Coming soon: Eye Prefer New York Tours

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, 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

AFTER LOUIE- Vincent Gagliostro's Film Project

Vincent has set up a link on Kickstarter for financial pledges for his film. Each pledge over $10 comes with a reward and the rewards are setup in different tiers. For example, if you donate $10 or more, you receive a limited edition 4"x6" photograph signed by Vincent and the photographs are original stills from the video installation of the original AFTER LOUIE project, for $50 you receive an signed original set of 8"x10" prints from Vincent's notebooks for AFTER LOUIE and a digital download of the completed film, and for $1,000 or more you will get a cameo appearance in the film along with your name in the credits.

Coming soon: Eye Prefer New York Tours

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, 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

Bastille Day 2010

It was calm yesterday afternoon when I photographed the grandstand on the Place de la Concorde (photo above) but today it will be swarming with people watching the Bastille Day Parade starting at the Champs Elysees and ending at the Place de la Concorde. There will be tanks, army trucks, fire trucks, helicopters,marching troops and an air show to celebrate the biggest day in French history. It will culminate tonight with an extraordinary fireworks display lighting up the Eiffel Tower.

There are Bastille day fetes all over he world and if you live in New York or visiting today, I highly recommend going to an event called Let Them Eat Cake: Marie Antoinette's Designing Ways from Child Queen to the Guillotine. It is a discussion and presentation give by my good friend and avid Francophile Maureen Crilly. It should be great fun and something not to be missed.

Here is all the information. Enjoy! 

 

Coming soon: Eye Prefer New York Tours

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, 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

Lavender Fields at the Tuilleries

I was savoring some precious free moments today at the Tuilleries overlooking the Place de la Concorde. I had just finished a business meeting and got there about 7PM. It was still sunny and bright but I sat in the shade in a green iron chair under the trees next to the Orangerie with a delicious, calming breeze wafting over me. Pure heaven. After entering the Tuilleries I felt a rush of Provence with fields of wild lavender on each side of the Place de la Concorde. Speaking of heaven, the entrance to the gates must smell of lavender.

 

 

 

 

Coming soon: Eye Prefer New York Tours

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, 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