I Prefer Paris:

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January 31, 2011

Paris Bicycles 2

Here is part two of my bicycle series. It was especially interesting to capture some bicycles in the snow. I also saw bicycles parked in some of the oddest places like on the steps of a church.

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.

January 31, 2011 in Parks, Gardens,Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (4)

January 27, 2011

Epices Roellinger

Master French chef Olivier Roellinger retired from his three star Michelin restaurant in 2010 because of health problems. Wanting to continue in the food biz, he traded in his Michelin stars to open a superior spice shop, Epices Roellinger, with spice creations from all over the world in Cancale where he has cooked for over 30 years. He recently opened a branch on the rue St. Anne and the handsome shop with its dark wood floors and spices from floor to ceiling almost looks out of place on this street filled with fast food Asian noodle shops with way too bright lighting. The focal point of the shop is the vitrine with a sailboat entirely built with cloves and the rest of the shop has smartly packaged spices in glass jars with bold, easy to read lettering on brightly colored labels. Besides the hundreds of whole and powdered spices, sea salts, powders, and peppercorns from Madagascar to Corsica, there is a selection of 20 different aromatic vanilla beans. Those irresistible salted butter caramels from Brittany are stocked along with olive oils, condiments, aprons and cookbooks. Stop by for a heavenly whiff soon.

Epices Roellinger

51 bis rue St. Anne, 2nd arr.
Metro: Pyramides or Opera
OPen 10AM to 7PM, Tuesday to Saturday
Tel. 01 42 60 46 88
www.epices-roellinger.com

Vanilla beans

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.

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

January 27, 2011 in Food & Gourmet Shops | Permalink | Comments (4)

January 26, 2011

Re-Launch of Eye Prefer New York Tours

After some unexpected delays, I am delighted to re-launch 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 my home before I moved to Paris five years ago. My good friend Laurence Waltman will be leading the tours. Living in New York for over 30 years, Laurence was a creative director in the advertising business for many years and is now an actor. He's all around fun guy and his easygoing manner and expert knowledge of everything New York will make your Eye Prefer New York Tour an unforgettable experience. Eye Prefer New York Tours will focus on 3 unique downtown neighborhoods Meatpacking district and West Village, Tribeca, and Soho. Just like my Pairs 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:

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

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

Laurence your Eye Prefer New York host

Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

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

January 26, 2011 in Eye Prefer New York Tours | Permalink | Comments (3)

January 25, 2011

Lunch with Lynn/Under 20 Eats: Les Cotelettes

I had been to Les Cotelettes a few years ago when they first opened and even though the food was good, I encountered a big problem with the service and haven't returned since. A new friend lives right across the street and is friendly with the owners and recommended that I give it another shot. Les Cotelettes offers a 16 euro formule for 2 courses at lunch and was close to my house, so I said why not.

The three owners of the restaurant all worked together for many years as waiters at the same restaurant in St Tropez and became a close knit family. They pooled their resources and talent for restaurants and opened Les Cotelettes three years ago on a quiet impasse off the rue St. Antoine in the Marais. The simply appointed, unassuming dining space is spacious but a little somber during the day, needing a little more lighting. We arrived at 12:30 and it was empty but by 1:15 it was completely filled with mostly French diners. I later learned they were regulars for the most part and I saw my local cheese monger having lunch.

The formule menu offered only two choices of each course. I chose the sauteed chicken livers over salad served with boiled potatoes as my entree. The livers were just the right consistency which is tricky because so many times they are overcooked and dry and the vinaigrette was the kind that's so good that it's always a mystery that you can never recreate it at home no matter how hard you try.

Lynn had the cumin scented dorade with sliced wonderfully buttery carrots and said it was crispy & moist. I very rarely eat rabbit but it was done fricasee style and I like almost anything fricasee style. It was served on the bone and was juicy and finger licking good as I devoured every morsel till the bones were completely stripped. The accompanying noodles were oh so buttery and slippery. We shared a dessert of a straightforward riz au lait topped with strawberry confiture and our spoons kept on bumping into one another as we rapidly dug our way to the bottom of the dish, savoring the creamy texture and sweet taste. The presentation in the china plates with the old fashioned patterns made the food feel like you were getting a home cooked meal that your mom just whipped up.

As we were dining, Lynn noticed a plaque on the wall with the writer Georges Simenon's name on it. Simenon was a prolific writer who turned out over 200 novels in his 86 years,and his most celebrated books were the wildly successful series of 75 novels and 28 short stories featuring Commissaire Maigret.

One of Lynn's favorite French writers is Simenon and much to her delight we found out from one of the owners that Simenon lived nearby and was a frequent patron of the restaurant that was there before.

Les Cotelettes proved itself worthy the second time around with good service and well-executed bistro fare. I will be return.

Les Cotelettes
4 impasse Guéménée, 4th. arr.
Metro: Bastille or St. Paul
Open for lunch Monday to Friday, dinner Tuesday to Saturday
Tel. 01 42 72 08 45

Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

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

January 25, 2011 in Lunch with Lynn/Under 20 Eats | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 24, 2011

Paris Pooches 3: Pooches in Winter

Even with all of their fur, Paris pooches get chilly in winter. Heaven forbid their owners would let them catch a cold, so they dress them up in the most fashionable doggie coats. It looks like Valentino red is the clear cut color to be wearing this season among Paris chiens. Will hats be next to keep their precious ears warm?

Photo courtesy of my friend Lynn

Of course it's Prada!

Burrrrrberry

Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

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

January 24, 2011 in Paris Pooches | Permalink | Comments (3)

January 20, 2011

Gourmet Chocolate Shops in Paris

Paris is one of the culinary capitals of the world so it’s not surprising its home to some of the best gourmet chocolate shops. Artisan chocolatiers with a unique flair for both art and chocolate making, bring the finest of both traditional and eclectic new recipes together. Here are some of the best chocolate shops in Paris to help you plan exactly where you can experience the upmost in chocolate indulgence.

Patrick Roger
With 5 stores in Paris, Patrick Roger offers up the most innovative of artisan chocolate making. His exquisite chocolate shops are more like galleries than anything else and his chocolates each individual works of art. There are no compromises made with the ingredients for these chocolates, sought from around the world to obtain excellence, with cocoa beans sourced from Vanuatu and Ecuador, oranges from Corsica and peat-scented whiskey from Scotland. Winning the title of best French artisan in 2000, a visit to one of Patrick Rogers’ stores is a real indulgence with flavoured treats including traditional delicious ganaches and pralines and the more unusual dark chocolates filled with jasmine flower, salted butter caramel and passion fruit.

108 Boulevard Saint-Germain, 6th arr.
Tel. 01 43 29 38 42
www.patrickroger.com

Pierre Herme
Pierre Herme though one of the world’s most celebrated pastry chefs has also won accolades for his line of chocolates. In his main shop in the Saint Germaine district of Paris you will find a vast collection of exquisite cakes, macaroons and pastries alongside his chocolate creations. Try his version of ‘Death by Chocolate’ a moist chocolate biscuit base layered with velvety chocolate cream, bubbly chocolate mousse and fine leaves of crispy chocolate producing the most perfect of combinations and an explosion of different textures. For the fashionistas out there Herme is the “Picasso of pastry”, according to fashion magazine Vogue.

72 rue Bonaparte, 6th. arr.
Tel. 01 43 54 47 77
www.pierreherme.com

La Maison du Chocolat
First opened in 1977, La Maison du Chocolat sets the benchmark for chocolatiers around the world, created by Robert Linxe who was once referred to as a “Ganache Magician” its main boutiques are located in Paris, New York and London. La Maison du Chocolate is perfect for those who don’t enjoy bitter tasting chocolates as they never use more than 65% cocoa in their creations. Their specialities include world-famous ganaches, truffles and mendicants, slices of chocolate topped with dried food. And if the lures of La Maison du Chocolat treats are too great once you get home you can order the delights online to be delivered to your door.

8 Boulevard Madeleine, 8th arr.
Tel. 01 47 42 86 52
http://www.lamaisonduchocolat.com/en/#/home

Debauve & Gallais
Established in 1800, Debauve & Gallais was officially recognised as chocolatiers to the French court and has since gained a cult following of chocolate lovers and chocolate connoisseurs from around the world. The store, situated in Paris’ Left Bank is a regular spot for the savvy traveller to the city and while once a secret kept firmly in France, Debauve & Gallais has now opened a new boutique in Manhattan. A fantastic place to visit that incorporates both the finest of chocolates and a glimpse into French culinary history.

30 rue de Saint Peres, 6th arr.
Tel. 01-45 48 54 67
http://www.debauve-et-gallais.com

This post has been written by travel blogger Charlotte McCulloch of Simonseeks.com; a travel website offering everything from expert reviews on Paris hotels to hotels in New York.

Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

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

January 20, 2011 in Guest Posts, Pastry & Chocolate | Permalink | Comments (3)

January 19, 2011

Door of the Month: 5 Avenue de l'Opera

I can't find any history or details of this building but it must have been built the same era of the Garnier Opera house, 1860s, as many of the buildings along Ave. de l' Opera are similar. I love the exquisite wood carving and the cherubs with their cute round tummies and tubby legs, just like mine.

5 Avenue de l' Opera, 1st. arr
Metro: Palais Royal-Museé de Louvre

Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

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

January 19, 2011 in Door of the Month | Permalink | Comments (2)

January 18, 2011

Bulgari: 125 Years of Splendor

Although the Bulgari: 125 Years of Splendor exhibit closed on January 12, I am posting some great photos I shot from it. When you walked into the main exhibition hall there was a sculpture with shards of smoked mirrored glass and the reflections of the Grand Palais glass ceiling made for some extraordinary photos in the evening and daytime. I went to the glamorous opening in December attended by Juliette Binoche and Julianne Moore, (I never saw them, and I was mad as hell when they forgot to text me to tell me where to meet them), and went back during the day to see the exhibit because the opening was so crowded. My favorite room of the exhibit was the Elizabeth Taylor room emblazoned with blurry, huge blowup photos of la Liz and Dick with quotes like " I used to get so excited I would jump on top of him and practically make love to him in Bulgari" (Liz Taylor) and " The only word she knows in Italian is Bulgari" (Richard Burton).

Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

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

January 18, 2011 in Architecture, Museums/Galleries/Exhibits | Permalink | Comments (2)

January 17, 2011

New Hermés Shop on rue de Sevres

Hermés on the rue St. Honoré is my favorite luxury store in Paris. When I visit, I bask in all its luxuriousness, feeling the softness of the silk scarves against my cheek and running my fingers across the supple leather products giving myself goosebumps. I rarely buy anything but it's fun to fantasize. In fact, I have a collection of classic Hermés orange boxes stacked on my bookshelves, but they have been getting lonely lately, wishing for new family members to join them. I would be happy to accept any contributions to my collection, full or empty, preferably full.

Hermés opened a new shop on the Left Bank in December, and it is a stunner. They have lightened their approach with an airy, loft-like space on three levels housed in the former Art Noveau swimming pool of the Lutetia Hotel. At the entrance is a flower shop bursting with buoyant blooms by florist Baptiste Pitou and then comes the most dramatic part of the shop: a sweeping staircase made of curved strips of ash wood. Walking down the grand staircase one feels like a decadent showgirl (all that's missing is a feathered head dress and the song " A Pretty Girl...." playing), and the drama continues with the selling floor dominated by three pear-shaped tee-pees using the same strips of wood creating a lattice work effect, projecting interesting shadows. Inside the tee-pees are sumptuous room settings with furniture and home accessories, making me want to move in on the spot. The layout is much more informal than the Right Bank store, and it looks like a concept shop similar to Colette or Merci. In addition to the usual must have bags, wallets, towels, ties, scarves,luggage, and accessories, there is a bookshop with the latest coffee table books and a cafe, Le Plongeoir (The diving board), serving exotic tea, coffee, and pastries. (Beware, the cheapest pot of tea is 14 euros & a cup of coffee is 9 euros, but it's served on Hermés china, ooh-la-la!). The cafe overlooks the shopping floor, a very clever merchandising ploy, so you can stake out your purchases while sipping your tea.

Architect Denis Montel has respectfully maintained the integrity of the space, keeping the original tiled columns and floors, and the ironwork on the upper balconies but at the same time making it contemporary.

My trips to the Rive Gauche will never be the same now as the new Hermés beckons me. Will I succumb? You bet!

17 rue de Sevres, 6th arr.
Metro: Sevres-Babylone
Open Monday-Saturday, 10:30AM-7PM
www.hermes.com

I may have to trade in my Velib for this bicycle

I curled up & took a nap on this couch dreaming it was in my living room

I'll take service for 12 please!

Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

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

January 17, 2011 in Architecture, Fashion, Shopping | Permalink | Comments (6)

January 13, 2011

Paris Snow Week: Jardin du Luxembourg 2

These are the second set of the snow photos from Jardin du Luxembourg, Jardin Robert Cavalier de la Salle, Jardin Marco Polo, and environs. I hope you enjoyed being snowed in this past week.

Prints of all of these photos are for sale. They will be sized at 11" by 14" with a 1 inch white border and printed on Fuji crystal Archive metallic paper with a rich satin gloss finish and are unsigned and unframed.

Cost: $40 per print/3 for $100 plus delivery  Delivery in the U. S.: $11.50 by UPS-2-3 days, $5 by U.S mail Prints will be shipped flat in an envelope with styrofoam noodles to protect them.

How to order: Email me at [email protected]
with the following information.

1. Name of print(s) you want to order and quantity

2.Name(s) & Address(es) you want prints sent to and what delivery option you prefer, UPS or US mail.   I will then send you a Paypal invoice for payment by credit card or by check.

Once the invoice is paid, I will send in order to the photo lab and send you a confirmation of the order, which should take 2-3 days to process. Once shipped, you should receive it in 2-3 days by UPS and by U.S. mail, 3-7 days.