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September 30, 2013

Parisian of the Month: Madeleine Czigler

To kickoff my coverage of Spring 2014 Fashion Week, I have interviewed Madeleine Czigler, who started and developed Fashion File one of the first television shows covering fashion.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I was born in Budapest, Hungary....... fled the Revolution as a small child.... so grew up in Toronto Canada.....

When and why did you move to Paris?
I moved to Paris thirty years ago because of my husband.... he had a really good job offer we could not resist, and since I already spent two years in Paris as a student, I was very happy to get back.

How did you transition from journalism to the fashion business?
When we moved here I was already a news and current affairs TV journalist and producer...working for CBC in Toronto and Montreal. As I had two very small children at the time, I took on freelance missions, which were flexible, and not full time. These were projects that dealt with every aspect of French life: from politics to lifestyle.

When the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation developed a 24-hour news service: CBC Newsworld, they were hungry for content so thought it a good idea to develop e fashion news show to run in the afternoons and weekends.

How did you come up with the idea for the Fashion File TV show and what was the premise?

When Fashion File started in 1989, we had next to no competition in TV.... it was started with fashion journalist Tim Blanks, one producer in New York and one in Paris which was myself. I had very little knowledge of the fashion industry at the time, and actually developed a resistance to it as my father was in the business, and understood the huge amount of work behind the glamour.

The first show I covered was John Galliano's debut in Paris at the Louvre.

This was an era of transition from the old style designers such as Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin, Jean Louis Scherrer, and the heyday of bad boy designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Thierry Mugler and Claude Montana.... great contrasts in style between genteel salon courtesy and frenzied street style excitement
which persists to this day.

You did an interview with Audrey Hepburn. Please tell us about that experience.
At this time M. de Givenchy had a retrospective in the Palais Galliera. We were covering the event and were allowed early access to shoot quietly.
All of a sudden, I had a premonition and asked my crew to come to the backdoor and wait. As we stood there, in walked Audrey Hepburn who was a Givenchy client of long standing. I went up, asked to talk to her and she graciously agreed. As she was talking, I could feel my eyes filling with tears. A very touching presence full of elegance and tenderness....

What were some of the other highlights working on the show?
The most exciting time was the era of the supermodels in the early and mid nineties, when the likes of Linda, Naomi, Christy, Claudia and the gang ruled the runways. They had individual beauty and quirky personalities.... much more homogenous now...

Who is the one person you never got to meet that you would still like to interview?
I am very grateful that I have had great satisfaction in covering all the modern greats of the fashion business...it is the past designers such as Chanel and Dior, Lanvin and Balenciaga I would have liked to talk to!!!!

After leaving Fashion file in 2010 you started teaching at American University of Paris. What courses do you teach and what are some of the key lessons you teach about surviving the tough nature of the fashion business?
Since the show left the airwaves, I am freelancing again and teach part time at the American University of Paris and direct the Fashion Track in the Masters of Art in Global Communications program. I teach fashion journalism and fashion theory.... the great speed in which technology is altering fashion coverage is very exciting.... I try to teach students the realities of the business and the necessity to keep a level head and not get carried away by the glitz and glamour...that is the fun side, which makes all the hard work palatable... and of course that this is not a business for sissies!

Who are some of your favorite designers working today?
Today, my favorite designers are Alber Elbaz at Lanvin, Rei Kawakubo at Comme des Garcons, Haider Ackermann, and Martin Grant.

What do you prefer about Paris?
I now live between Paris and Toronto, and love the contrast in energies...Toronto is raw, new and multiethnic, Paris with its incredible beauty, lifestyle and history will always be close to my heart...

Madeleine with Christian LaCroix

My Apartment for Rent
I am renting my fabulous one -bedroom apartment from November 1- November 16 in the heart of the Marais near St. Paul. For more info email me at [email protected]

Tourslogo4

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 210 euros for up to 3 people, and 70 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

Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour

COOKBOOK-LOGO-little 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.

New Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

I am happy to announce the sale of a new set of prints of my Eye Prefer Paris Photos. I am offering 20 of my most popular and iconic images for sale including my 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.

September 30, 2013 in Interviews, Parisian of the Month | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 26, 2013

Lunch with Lynn/Under 20 Eats: La Jacobine

On my St. Germain des Pres tours I always take clients to the ancient Cour de Commerce St. Andre where the oldest café in Paris is located, Le Procope. There’s an old-fashioned Salon de Thé, La Jacobine that has the most appealing desserts in the window. I’ve always wanted to try them but instead went to Dimanche a Paris for their more sophisticated chocolates and desserts.

Lynn went to La Jacobine a few weeks ago with a friend and said they have an excellent lunch deal. We went at 12PM on a Tuesday and straight away I looked in the window already trying to choose my dessert before I even looked at the food menu, grilling the waiter to describe each dessert.

Already making my dessert decision, I looked at the menu and chose the 15-euro formule of a plat and dessert. I chose coq a vin, which is so rare on French menus these days, and Lynn had the Salad Jacobine. The interior was charming and rustic with wood beamed ceilings and walls and murals with scenes of 18th century France with captions.

The coq a vin was steaming hot and looked so appetizing in a deep red earthenware dish. It was a huge portion, always a plus in my book, and was tender, aromatic, and authentically prepared with carrots, mushrooms, and potatoes in a pool of succulent gravy. Lynn’s salad, also a humungous portion, which she could barely finish, had cucumbers, eggplant, tomatoes, carrots, beets, mushroom confit, green beans, chicken breasts, and if that wasn’t enough, was topped with a piece of delicious, quiche. We were so enjoying our dishes, I hardly thought about dessert, but once we were done, I was more than ready. The banana, pear, and chocolate crumble with crème fraiche served warm was sublime. It satisfied both of my favorite dessert cravings, fruit and chocolate. Lynn had a simple sugar crepe, which she loved and I had a taste too. It was cooked to perfection and not too doughy or sweet. The service was friendly and laid back and Lynn took a special liking to our very attractive, young waiter.

Fully satisfied and more than sufficiently stuffed, we both agreed La Jacobine was a winner and we would go back in a heartbeat.

Lynn’s salad was 16 euros and there was a supplementary two-euro charge for my crumble, since it wasn’t the dessert du jour, which is included in the 15-euro formule.

La Jacobine
Cour de Commerce Saint-Andre
59-61 rue Saint-Andre des Arts, 75006
Metro: Odeon
Open 7 days 12PM-11PM
You can also enter through 130 Blvd. St. Germain
My Apartment for Rent
I am renting my fabulous one -bedroom apartment from November 1- November 16 in the heart of the Marais near St. Paul. For more info email me at [email protected]

Tourslogo4

Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour

New 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.

September 26, 2013 in Lunch with Lynn/Under 20 Eats, Restaurant Reviews | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 25, 2013

David Burke's Writers in Paris: Balzac in a Bag

The spot where I meet my groups for the start of my “Lost Generation” Montparnasse walking tour is at the foot of Auguste Rodin’s mighty, larger-than-life bronze statue of Honoré de Balzac. This walk is about the expatriate writers in this part of Paris of the 1920s, Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, and others. That’s what my walkers are here for. But before we move off on the walk itself, everyone wants to know about this statue -- and rightly so. It is a very strange sculpture with a very strange history to match.

In 1891, Emile Zola talked the Société des Gens de Lettres, of which he was the president, into commissioning a statue honoring the founder of their literary society, Balzac, who had died forty years earlier. Rodin, a great fan of Balzac’s writing, was awarded the commission. He promised to deliver it in eighteen months. After missing several deadlines he finally came up with a model that pleased him: a squat barrel of a Balzac exploding with raw vigor and, other than a band of cloth covering the massive bulge in his crotch, utterly naked. “Indécent et hideux” was the judgment of the literary society.

So Rodin went back to his studio and eventually created the final version: the giant Balzac we see today with the famous monk’s cowl he wore when he was writing cloaking his body from shoulder to foot, a blur of a face, and deep, dark pits for his visionary eyes. Rodin exhibited the work in a full-sized plaster model at the Salon of 1898. The critics threw up their hands. They called it “a colossal fetus,” “Balzac in a bag,” “an obese monstrosity,” “a snowman” … Zola liked it, but he was no longer president of the society, and his role in the Dreyfus case (1898 being the year of “J’accuse”) made him too controversial to be any help to Rodin. The Société des Gens de Lettres rejected the statue.

Four decades later, on July 2, 1939, the statue, now cast in bronze, was installed here on the leafy traffic island at the central crossroads of Montparnasse, the Carrefour Vavin, where the Boulevards du Montparnasse and Raspail intersect, facing the Café Rotonde and Le Dôme. Another bronze casting of this Balzac statue stands in the garden of the Rodin Museum on the Rue de Varenne in Paris, and inside the museum is the “indécent et hideux” version which was so shocking to the literary society.

David Burke is the author of Writers in Paris, Literary Lives in the City of Light, and the personal tour guide of David Burke’s Writers in Paris Walks. To learn about the book and the walks and the writer go to www.writersinparis.com. David is also a documentary filmmaker and former 60 MINUTES writer/producer who came to Paris for what he thought would be a year, but turned into more twenty. He now divides his time between Paris and New York.

My Apartment for Rent

I am renting my fabulous one -bedroom apartment from November 1- November 16 in the heart of the Marais near St. Paul. For more info email me at [email protected]

Tourslogo4

Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour

New 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.

September 25, 2013 in David Burke's Writers in Paris | Permalink | Comments (2)

September 24, 2013

Les Parisiens

Hanging on the outside of the Hotel de Ville are a series of whimsical illustrations by artist Kanako, depicting the harried and quirky Parisian lifestyle, along with clever, satirical captions in French and English. Kanako is the illustrator for the popular website My Little Paris and the book “Les Parisiens”. The book caught the eye of a staff member at the Hotel de Ville and Kanako was commissioned to do a series of 48 drawings and over the summer 1,000 posters were displayed in the Barbès, Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Champs-Elysées neighborhoods. All 48 posters are hanging around the perimeter of the building.

Les Parisiens
Till October 7
Hotel de Ville
26 bis rue de Rivoli, 75004
Metro: Hotel de Ville
http://www.lesparisiens.paris.fr/en
My Apartment for Rent
I am renting my fabulous one -bedroom apartment from November 1- November 16 in the heart of the Marais near St. Paul. For more info email me at [email protected]

Tourslogo4

Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour

New 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.

September 24, 2013 in Museums/Galleries/Exhibits, Parks, Gardens,Outdoors | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 23, 2013

Relais Desserts Noel 2013

My friend Carol got me on the press list to attend the Relais Desserts Noel 2013 at the swanky Royal Monceau Hotel last Thursday.Twenty-four patissiers rolled out their best and brightest (and it goes without saying their tastiest) desserts for the upcoming Christmas holiday. Of course, I was in seventh heaven ogling and practically drooling all over them. Most of them were versions of the classic Buche de Noel and there were so many clever takeoffs on them including one inside a chocolate lattice work cage, one decorated like a Mondrian painting, another that looked like a sleigh with a shiny lilac colored glaze, and another that had simulated logs in chocolate. I nearly went gaga when we were told we could order samples of any dessert we wanted. I had to have some self-control and select a few of them so I wouldn’t go into a sugar coma and be carried out of there. It was all such a pastry blur, I can’t remember what I chose but I do vaguely remember choosing different flavors and one with caramel was the clear-cut winner. It was fun seeing the patissiers in their starched white coats proudly showing off their creations.

Relais Desserts is a 30 year old association of over 200 patissiers and chocolatiers who uphold French pastry and chocolate techniques who are passionate about their craft but also push artistic and taste boundaries to bring forth new trends. They come from over 19 countries including France, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Qatar, and Belgium. They also produce a mouthwatering magazine twice a year in English and French.

After nearly passing out from my tastings, I attended the first Prix d’Excellence where they gave awards to the best patisserie blog, best patisserie book, best patissier, and best upcoming patissier. Luckily afterwards they served Champagne and hors d'oeuvres, so I could stabilize all the sugar I just downed.

http://relais-desserts.net/en/

My Apartment for Rent
I am renting my fabulous one -bedroom apartment from November 1- November 16 in the heart of the Marais near St. Paul. For more info email me at [email protected]

Tourslogo4

Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour

New 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.

September 23, 2013 in Events, Parties,Nightlife,Openings, Pastry & Chocolate | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 19, 2013

Meredith Mullins: Free Floating Redux

Another summer. Another free-floating adventure.
I found myself underwater again this vacation to continue the Free-Floating series—diving head first into any California pool I could find.
Although I'm not a scuba diver, I love the underwater world, full of muffled sound and suspension of moments, where it's hard to tell up from down and reality from reflection.
The series has been challenging. I'm often gasping for air or bobbing to the surface before the shot is composed. My subject periodically floats away. But I persist.
The series is about more than graceful slow motion. It's about freedom—ultimate, gravity-less, no-strings freedom. The quest continues . . .

Meredith Mullins is a fine art photographer, photography instructor, writer for OIC Moments, and Director of the International Fine Art Photography Competition. Her work can be seen at www.meredithmullins.artspan.com or in her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment. She is also available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris. Contact her at [email protected].

My Apartment for Rent

I am renting my fabulous one -bedroom apartment from November 1- November 16 in the heart of the Marais near St. Paul. For more info email me at [email protected]

Tourslogo4

Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour

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.

September 19, 2013 in Meredith Mullins | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 18, 2013

Prince de Galles Hotel

Every once in a while I get a dose of Parisian luxury for a few hours and I get whisked into a fantasy world I could easily get accustomed too.

I was given the grand tour of the newly renovated five-star Prince de Galles Hotel in the end of July. No expense was spared during the two-year, 100 million euro plus renovation. Opened in 1928 and designed by architect Andre Arfvidson, the hotel established itself as an Art Deco mecca. It was named after the Prince of Wales because Edward VIII was supposed to stay there on his visits to Paris, and the location, Ave George V, was named after his father, King George. Over the years, celebrity guests have included Sir Winston Churchill, Marlene Dietrich, Rita Hayworth, Gina Lollobrigida, Michael Jackson, and Elvis Presley, who visited Paris on the weekends when he was doing his military service in Germany in the late 1950s. A juicy scandal erupted when pop singer Dalida tried to take her own life while staying in the hotel when she discovered her lover had committed suicide.

Interior designer and architect Yves Rochon has done a fantastic job of maintaining the original Art Deco elegance, and balancing it with modern, up to date features. The centerpiece of the hotel is the sumptuous lobby with black marble floors, tufted chairs, and a handmade gold chandelier with delicate black shades crafted by Delisle. The finishing touch the day I was there were the gorgeous pink hydrangeas with the biggest petals I have ever seen.

I was escorted to the rooms by the publicist, who first took me to L’Appartement, a two-story suite with over a 1,000 square foot terrace. Spanning more than 2600 square feet, featuring two bedrooms, two living rooms, dining room, and kitchen and a sweeping Art Deco style spiral staircase, I could have easily moved in on the spot, except I can’t afford the 16,000 euros per night price tag unless I start charging 10,000 euros per tour. I viewed some of the other suites elegantly decorated with Persian hand crafted rugs, a hand painted gold leaf mural created by French artist Manuela Paul-Cavallier, leopard print armchairs, and custom designed Art Deco lacquered furniture in Macassar ebony wood.

After my tour, I was invited for lunch at La Scene restaurant. I met the young, 30 year old female chef Stephanie Le Quellec who commands the kitchen and the other restaurants in the hotel. She seemed modest but in control of her large staff who worked quietly in the impressive open kitchen ensconced in black and white marble with thin glass icicles hanging from the ceiling. I went for the 4 course tasting menu (which actually turned into 6 courses) selected by the chef, and a cavalcade of artfully presented plates arrived with tantalizing food combinations. My favorite part of the lunch was after dessert when a secret tower with a glass cylinder on top with a chocolate sculpture inside and lacquered wood on the bottom was put in front of me. With much curiosity I asked the waiter what it was and he proceeded to open up the draws on the bottom which contained a different sweet treat in each one including jellied fruit candies, salted butter caramels, macarons, and chocolates.

Amply stuffed, I walked through the rest of the main floor of the lobby and came upon my favorite part of the hotel. I now proclaim Le Patio the most beautiful outdoor terrace in Paris, so put in on your list of must go to places in Paris. Featuring intricately patterned mosaic floors and columns in rich earth tones, tall palm trees, rattan furniture, black and white striped awnings, I felt I was in a Miami Beach Deco hotel rather than the center of Paris.

The next day I went back to my less luxurious life and had a tuna sandwich from the Paul bakery for lunch. Much like the Sondheim lyrics from I'm Still Here, Plush velvet sometimes , Sometimes just pretzels and beer.

Prince de Galles
33 Ave. George V, 75008
http://www.princedegallesparis.com

My Apartment for Rent
I am renting my fabulous one -bedroom apartment from November 1- November 16 in the heart of the Marais near St. Paul. For more info email me at [email protected]

Chef Stephanie Le Quellec

The mystery tower

Tourslogo4

Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour

New 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.

September 18, 2013 in Architecture, Hotels, Restaurants/Food/Drink | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 17, 2013

Door of the Month: Venice

Since you’ve been enjoying my Venice posts so much-thanks for all your comments and emails- I’ve added one last posting. It goes without saying there are wonderful doors in Venice and here is a selection.

I was so inspired by my Venice trip, I started fantasizing about a new project: I was thinking of living in Venice for a month or two and leading Eye Prefer Venice tours. What do you think? Would you come to Venice and take a tour with me? Last time I put out the word like this on my blog, it started my Paris tours. Checkout the this post from 2006 where I put the word out. http://www.ipreferparis.net/2006/07/its_too_darn_ho.html

My Apartment for Rent
I am renting my fabulous one -bedroom apartment from November 1- November 16 in the heart of the Marais near St. Paul.Email me at [email protected] for more details

Eye Prefer Venice tours? Is this a sign?

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Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour

New 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.

September 17, 2013 in Door of the Month | Permalink | Comments (1)

September 16, 2013

Venice Lanterns

My Venice postings would not be complete without adding my other photo obsession: lanterns. I found some fabulous ones in Venice and my favorites were the street ones with pink glass panes. I have also included some more doorbell photos, which I forgot to post last Thursday. Another treat are photos of glass carafes. I was thinking of entering one of them in a photo contest. What do you think?

If would would like to order prints of any of my Venice series, please email me at [email protected]
The price is $50 per 11X14 inch print plus $6 shipping within the continental U.S.

Tourslogo4

Click here to watch a video of our famous Marais tour

New 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.

September 16, 2013 in Architecture, Travel | Permalink | Comments (9)

September 12, 2013

Venice Doorbells

As many of you know I have certain photo obsessions: doors, lanterns/street lamps, and hanging laundry, to name a few. I happily found a new photo obsession in Venice: doorbells. There was something intriguing about the shiny brass doorbells that reflect Venice and the rugged, chipped stone surrounding them in beautiful earth tones that attracted me to photograph them. I am very excited about my new obsession. What do you think, should I pursue more doorbell shots?