I Prefer Paris

L’Air des Geants – Almost

Last Saturday morning I read about a new outdoor exhibition L’Air des Geants with 12 oversized inflatable sculptures inside the Parc de Villette. Looking for something to write for today, it seemed like a perfect story.

Parc de Villette is about a 25-minute metro ride from me. I decided to go mid-morning so the park wouldn’t be too crowded, as it was a clear, sunny day right before everybody was going back to work and school on Monday for the Rentree.

I got off at Porte de Pantin station across from the entrance and main plaza of the park, which had a map of where the sculptures were located. I found the first sculpture easily, a giant paintbrush on a building with a strip of paint dripping, Paint the Town Red by Filthy Liker and Pedro Estrellas.

I followed the map faithfully but couldn’t find most of the other sculptures. I would walk up and down several times for each spot of the map, thinking I was losing my mind or I was too stupid to follow the simple map. Upon closer research there was a number of fenced in areas, which had signs for the sculptures, but they hadn’t been inflated yet, there was just a pile of black plastic on each. Interestingly enough the signs and website, which had photos of the sculptures already inflated, said the exhibit started August 27. Apparently someone didn’t get the memo that they were supposed to be inflated by then.

Frustrated and disappointed I schlepped all the way here with only three sculptures mounted, I couldn’t figure out what to do. So I decided to make lemonade from lemons and explored the park, which I had not done before.

Parc de Villette is the third largest park in Paris, spanning 88 acres, built from 1984 to 1987 by architect Bernard Tschumi. The park also houses a number of cultural venues including Cité des Sciences et de ‘Industrie (Science museum), Le Geode, an enormous mirrored geodesic dome measuring 118 feet in diameter housing a Imax theater, Cité de la Musique, Le Zenith music hall, an equestrian center, Grand Hall de Villette, a large exhibition space for fairs and festivals, and the recently opened symphony hall, Philharmonie de Paris. The park is also divided by the Canal l’Ourcq, a 67.2-mile canal, which also joins the Canal St. Martin.

Since it was such a beautiful day there were scores of people and children playing at many activities including running, bicycling, climbing, speed walking, Tai chi, and a yoga class on the lawn, which I was tempted to join. I enjoyed seeing the thirty-five follies, a series of red decorative only structures throughout the park.

Although disappointed I didn’t get to see L’Air des Geants in full, I was happy to have experienced Parc de Villette in all its end of summer glory.

Note: The reason maybe the sculptures were not inflated was there were heavy rains all day on Thursday.

Click here for more info about L’Air des Geants

Click here for more info about Parc de Villette

Paint the Town Red by Filthy Liker and Pedro Estrellas

 

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 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

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: 195 euros per person (about $210)
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.

Best of Eye Prefer Paris: Calanques Boat Ride from Cassis

I am taking a petit vacances/blogging break this week. Since I’ll be traveling this week, I thought it would be appropriate to feature some of my past travel adventures in France. Enjoy and see you next week.

I went to Villefranche with Vincent over the weekend for my birthday to visit my friends Laurie and Blair.

We went on a daytrip on Saturday to Cassis, a small seaside village about two hours from Villefranche. Laurie talked about going in a boat ride of the calanques, which are rocky inlets on the coast made of ancient stone. Everyone agreed it was a swell idea. We thought we arrived too late for the 11:30 boat ride but it turns out the boat was waiting for more passengers and left at 12, so we just made it and scurried on. When we left from Villefranche it was clear and sunny but when we arrived on the boat, disappointingly the sky turned cloudy, marring the azure horizon. I thought I lost my shot at some good photos, but as I took them anyway, I began to see how dramatic the cloud formations were, a type I had never seen before. They seem to make a striated effect on the canvas of the sky.

The first calanque Port-Miou, meaning well sheltered from the wind in Provencal, was a formation of large white boulders stacked to form a wall. There was also a former quarry that supplied the stones for the Suez Canal and the base for the base of the Statue of Liberty. The ship guide pointed out the 12-mile pathway following the coast to Marseille. La Cacau, the second calanque, leads into Porte Pin with Alep pine trees that grow out of the rocks and the last calanque, En Vau, is where rock climbers come to scale the 130-meter cliffs.

After the boat ride, we had a hearty lunch of local seafood at one of the restaurants overlooking the port. Cassis looked like a postcard of the south of France with its color drenched stucco buildings and harbor dotted with small sailboats and motorboats.
I’m experimenting with black and white again. What do you think of my choices?

Click here my article about What to Do in Paris in High Summer on the Wimdu blog

 

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 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

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: 195 euros per person (about $210)
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.

Best of Eye Prefer Paris: Trip to Corsica: Cargese

I am taking a petit vacances/blogging break this week. Since I’ll be traveling this week, I thought it would be appropriate to feature some of my past travel adventures in France. Enjoy and see you next week.

Vincent and I decided it was high time we took a real vacation, as we realized we hadn’t taken one together in over three years. Corsica has been on the top of my travel wish list since I moved here seven years ago and I thought September would be an ideal time to go, as it’s slightly off-season and the weather would still be good.

Corsica is a large island off of the south of France, right above Sardinia, Italy. I was told of its incredible, untouched beauty and was offered much advice about which parts to see. We had eight days and didn’t want to run around too much as we wanted to have a relaxing holiday on the beach, so we had to choose wisely.

Our first stop was Cargese, a small village on the sea. We flew to Ajaccio, the largest city in Corsica and the birthplace of Napoleon Bonaparte, and picked up our rental car. It was a Renault Picasso, and let me tell you Picasso would be turning over in his grave if he knew his estate had given permission to use his name for this mundane vehicle. Cargese was about an hour and fifteen-minute drive north of Ajaccio on the west coast through some daunting and winding mountain roads. As we were driving, we were getting glimpses of Corsica’s natural beauty.

We arrived about noon at the hotel and immediately got into our bathing suits and went to the beach, which was a two-minute walk from hotel. We had lunch right on the beach and just sat there gaping at the clear, azure blue water and the sandy beach, thinking this is paradise. Also, the weather was perfect: sunny, warm, about 75 degrees with a cool breeze, making it comfortable enough to stay in the sun without a beach umbrella. We were very lucky, as the weather remained the same for the whole vacation except for the last day, which was overcast.

The next three days we mostly sat on the beach like lazy slugs, reading, tanning, swimming, lunching on fabulous Corsican cheeses and cured meats, and recharging our batteries from our hectic Paris lives.






Believe it or not, this is the view from the parking lot

We had breakfast every morning in the quant village at the local café. The Greeks founded Cargese in the late 1800s and there is a lovely, small Greek church. Many of the shops carry the local foods they are proud of including cheeses, meats, dried sausages, and wine.

The town is perched on high cliffs and the vistas are more than breathtaking. One of our favorite meals was at a pizza stand that not only had amazing thin-crusted pizza with outstanding Corsican cheese, but also had picnic tables on a grass patch that had a view of the sea and mountains. We munched on our delicious pizza as we watched the magnificent sunset.

Corsica was everything that I dreamed of and it more than fulfilled my visions of it.

Tomorrow I will fill you in on the other place we visited and later on I will share with you about a more than adventurous boat ride we took.

View from our hotel window

Other view from hotel window

Vincent

 

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 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

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: 195 euros per person (about $210)
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.

Best of Eye Prefer Paris: Trip to Nancy: Place Stanislas

I am taking a petit vacances/blogging break this week. Since I’ll be traveling this week, I thought it would be appropriate to feature some of my past travel adventures in France. Enjoy and see you next week.

Ever since I heard that Nancy was the birthplace of Art Nouveau, I had it high on my list of must-see places in France. Nancy is located east of Paris close to Strasbourg and the German border, an hour and forty-five minutes by TGV train from Gare de l'est. I went with my friend Rosemary Flannery, author of the upcoming book The Angels of Paris, for two days, last Sunday and Monday.

We arrived about 10AM and the city was sleepy with little street or people traffic. On the way to my hotel, we passed some supreme examples of the famed Art Nouveau buildings including the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, erected in 1908, and the Excelsior, an historic Belle Époque brasserie built in 1911.

I stayed at the Mercure hotel right in the heart of the old city, close to all the main attractions and the room was clean and comfortable and thankfully it was air-conditioned, as it was warm during my stay.

The centerpiece of the city, which is a block from the hotel, is the stunning Place Stanislas. The breadth and scale is breathtaking (it measures 410 ft. in width and 347 in length) and I can see why it has been named one of the most beautiful squares in Europe.

Place Stanislas is named after Stanislas Leszczyński, the king of Poland (also the father-in-law to King Louis XV), who was named Duchy of Upper Lorraine after the War of the Polish Succession in 1737 and Nancy was the capital city of the region. The square was a clever stroke of urban planning commissioned by Leszczyński to link the medieval old part of Nancy to the newer part of the city built under Charles III in the 17th century. The square would also serve as a place royal to his son-in-law King Louis XV. The architect was Emmanuel Héré de Corny, who was the court architect to the king and the square started construction in March 1752 and was completed in November 1755. The square underwent a massive restoration in 2004 and 2005 which was inspired by the original 18th century plan and is now on the list of UNESCO heritage sites.

The buildings on the square include Hotel de Ville/City Hall, the Opera theatre, Museé des Beaux Art/Fine Arts Museum and there is an Arc de Triomphe, also designed by Emmanuel Héré de Corny.

One of the most magnificent features of Place Stanislas are the lavish wrought iron gates on all four sides with ornate gold swirls and leaves and urns flowing over with golden flowers. As you saw on my post last Friday, I am obsessed with street lanterns, and the single lantern hanging from each gate made me swoon.

We had two of our meals on the square so we could drink in its magnificence as much as we could and the surprise treat was the 30-minute nightly light show in summer on the square after dark, which illuminated all the buildings with cool graphics, sumptuous colors, and historic images.

 

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 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

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: 195 euros per person (about $210)
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.

Best of Eye Prefer Paris: Etretat Sunset

I am taking a petit vacances/blogging break this week. Since I’ll be traveling this week, I thought it would be appropriate to feature some of my past travel adventures in France. Enjoy and see you next week.

After my long day on the beach in Etretat, I went to a restaurant facing the sea. I enjoyed a huge pot of local mussels cooked in the most delicious apple cider sauce with little chunks of apple in it along with crispy frites.

I have seen many a beautiful sunset over the years at various beaches including Fire Island, the Hamptons, Key West, Jamaica, Greece, and California. I have to say Etretat had one of the most breathtaking and unusual sunsets I have ever seen. It’s hard to put the description into words, so my photos will illustrate my unforgettable experience. I photographed the sunset two days in a row.

 

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 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

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: 195 euros per person (about $210)
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.

Door of the Month: 4 Rue Monsieur le Prince

This spectacular door in the Latin Quarter near Odeon has a special feature above it that makes it standout: the beautifully carved limestone window frame.

The building was erected in 1750 as the Hotel de Darlons and Pierre Darlons was the secretary to Prince de Condé. It was also named the Hotel de Bacq.

The window was registered as an historic monument in 1926.

4 Rue Monsieur le Prince, 75006
Metro: Odeon

 

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 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

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: 195 euros per person (about $210)
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.

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Giverny in August

I received a last minute request last week to do a tour of the Monet Gardens and house in Giverny.

We left by car at 8:30AM so we could arrive by 10AM to avoid the crowds. The clients were a lovely couple about my age from Cupertino who were celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary and it was their first trip to Paris. The woman always dreamed of visiting Monet’s house and garden ever since her mother had been there and practically cried at the site of the gardens.

The weather was iffy when we started out but by the time we reached Giverny the overcast sky started to clear. The Monet blue sky started to peek out from the dramatic cloud formations, so the light was perfect for capturing photos. Late summer flowers were in bloom and the dahlias were abundant. The woman said she had never seen such large dahlias before and I replied “They must use some kind of new kind of Miracle Gro”.

All of us loved taking photos, talking about photography at length, and at a certain point there was a spontaneous synchronicity between the three of us while we were snapping away with our cameras.(Actually I used my I-Phone 5, pretty good, right?). I kept on pointing out interesting angles and settings and they followed my lead and I kept looking over their shoulders seeing what angles they chose.

We had a quick light lunch in a picturesque garden down the road from the museum, afterwards whisking the clients to Versailles.

No matter how many times I visit Giverny, it’s always an uplifting experience.

Click here to read an article about Vernon, the town where the train stops for Giverny, by my friend Michele Kurlander

 

 

 

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 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

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: 195 euros per person (about $210)
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.

Interview with Debi Lilly of A Perfect Event

Debi Lilly is a creative force of nature: She is the name behind a mini empire which includes A Perfect Event, the top event planning company in Chicago, a spokesperson and product designer for a line of home decor products for Safeway/Albertsons, author of the book A Perfect Event, owner of a design and home shop, and editor in chief of the quarterly online magazine A Perfect Event.(I have contributed articles to the magazine in the past). Debi was recently named Best Wedding Planner 2015 in the US by Martha Stewart Weddings, Top Event Innovator 2014 by Biz Bash, Top Pinterest Expert 2015 by Refinery 29 and worked for more than ten years on the Oprah Winfrey show as her favorite pro in addition to planning many of her events.

Debi comes to Paris every summer for a month to soak up inspiration and ideas for her business. I sat down with Debi for an interview at her new favorite design shop and cafe,  L’etre Ange (which I introduced her to)while she indulged in their sinful hot chocolate. Enjoy!

When was the first time you came to Paris and what were your impressions?
I spent a semester abroad in college, at Richmond College, London.  We came over to Paris for a great, big beautiful Bastille Day holiday weekend and I feel so madly, deeply in love.  Paris is so beautiful in every way – magnificent architecture, history at every single turn, art and music everywhere we look.  The French value history, and so do I. Every single hotel or 17th Century home on Ile St Louis has a plaque stating when it was built, artists and composers who lived there and when…I just love it.

You have come to Paris every summer for a month for the last eleven years. What is it about Paris that makes you return every year?
The inspiration found in Paris truly feeds my creative spirit for my daily design projects.  France invented Haute Cuisine – so menu ideas, food and cocktail trends here are unlike any other I’ve seen in travels.  Paris is the apex of fashion, style – so floral, color and pattern trends are gleaned from window shopping along the fabric and textile streets of rue de Mail, Place Furstemberg in St Germain, and of course chic St Honore or Marais boutiques.

Maison et Objet is the gold standard design show each January/September, and is truly one of the most beautiful few days I have each year.  Your head could explode there is so much incredible color, style and creativity in every building.   And then, when you leave the show, the romantic streets of Paris Design Week, an overlapping textile expo, literally explodes happy out onto the streets of design houses and shops with live music, cocktails, editors, designers, and more.

Plus, even more beautiful is the deep culture France has around celebrating meals together at the table.  We spend evenings together with friends, and with the children, sit at the table talking, laughing, sipping, tasting for 3+ hours.  Time spent together at the table here is sacred, enjoyed, and the essence of family and friends.  I try very hard to carry this tradition back to the states with me each trip.

What inspiration have you found in Paris this summer so far?
I’m currently designing a new Fall Winter collection for Debi Lilly Design – our floral and home décor collection for Safeway Alberstons Grocery in the US/Canada – and always fall in love with new flower, color, design trends here – like tiny nano bouquets inside Happy, a florist on rue Montorgeuil, or the beautiful bouquets in Dani Roses on rue St Honore.  Dani’s mixing muted, antique hued pastels in coordinating metal containers – like a soft, dusty lavender rose with a burnished, antique silver vase.

What are some of the French trends and styles you adapted into your events in the last few years?
I could talk endlessly about menu and cocktail inspirations I use daily in our events.  Candlearia, in the Marais, “spanks” (or slaps) their herbs on the wrist to release the natural oils and scents before placing them into cocktails.  We don’t throw a party without spanking Candlearia style at the bar.  With all credit given to the origin – of course!

Verrines (tastes layered in a glass) is another huge trend we brought back – you don’t see these in the states – from savory to sweet, starters to desserts – it’s one of my favorite party trends.

What are your favorite home and design shops in Paris?
Tresorerie in Place Republique for housewares, Gien on rue Jacob for new tabletop/china trends, Merci for trend ideas, BHV for the mecca housewares floor, The Conran Shop on rue de Bac for incredible new product designs, Le Bon Marche for gourmet everything, Laduree for patisserie and product display inspiration…plus the gorgeous history of products at Marche Vanves, Marche St Ouen…
 
Who are some of your French style idols?
Christian Dior, now Raf Simons (Did you see Dior and I? Obsessed!) Philippe Starck (I always stay in his hotels, eat in his restaurants) Louis Vuitton, Karl Lagerfeld, Coco Chanel, Carla Bruni, Ines de la Fressange, to name but a few.

You recently opened DL Loft, a Parisian style event space. Can you tell us about the space?
Oh, this space makes me so happy.  It’s our own little bit of Paris brought to Chicago.  We’ve created a space to replicate the famous Salons of Paris in the 17th Century – where like minded friends, artists, hosts, gather to share inspiration, to create, to celebrate.

It’s a fully styled Parisian Loft for anyone to rent – to gather friends, throw a party, style a photo shoot, rent for the weekend and live there.

We spend as much time there as we can – it’s just so beautiful.

If you could create an event for anyone in history, living or dead, who would it be and what kind of event would you plan?
Oh – that’s easy – who doesn’t want to throw a Champagne and cakes party for Marie Antoinette in the gorgeous gardens of Versailles?

http://www.debililly.com/ 

Photo credits- Anthony Tahlier, Carasco Photo, Simply by Suzy, Amy Boyle Photography First photo Richard Nahem

Debi and family

 

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 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

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: 195 euros per person (about $210)
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.

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Palais Royal Bench Portraits 2 Captions

I want to thank everyone so much for sending your clever one-liner and captions for the Palais Royal Bench Portraits 2. Below are photos again with added captions you sent. Photo #6 received the elicited the most responses.

I also want to thank everyone so much for your kind emails and messages yesterday for my 10th anniversary.

Here’s to another great 10 years!

…DARN IT ! …….now was it 38 columns and 52 benches or 38 benches and 52 columns….. -Nancy Lucci

"Will she come!" -Cathleen

 "Those candy canes were delicious, but now I have a tummy ache!"- Linda Lippner

 

Generations in the shade- Karen Anne Donner  

"I think we're being watched...act casual, don't talk, don't leave until I've been gone for 10 minutes." -Marydith Morgn

Sigh. . . I just love les espaces vertes in Paris! -Karen Anne Donner

Bleu, Blanc et Rouge à Paris!- Karen Anne Donner

But you told me we were staying at the George V- Ed Nahmias

Le Plaisir- Karen Anne Donner

Feelin' it- Nancy Stringer

"But ahhh my sweet madame....  I really NEED to see your new French Lingerie! S'il vous plait. ." -Michel Martin

“Crois-moi ma chérie, she doesn’t mean a thing to me.”- Marie Therese

"I know you love me. Do you love me?" -Nancy Stringer

"Cherie....I said "Paris FLING," not ring."- Charlie 

"Honey it really did not mean anything  It was only physical."- Ed Nahmias

Compatibility-Karen Anne Donner 

Ah, my aching legs!-Karen Anne Donner

He doesn't snore al fresco!-Karen Anne Donner

You finally found me!-Karen Anne Donner

Un endroit paisible pour se parler- Karen Anne Donner

Doesn't want to tan his face, hein?-Karen Anne Donner

Let's think about this- Karen Anne Donner

Hasty Departure – Duke Ferguson

Why is Paris litter so much more picturesque than ours?”-Judy g.

The invisible shopper- Karen Anne Donner

You cannot smoke that cigar in Santa Monica- Ed Nahmias

The sipper, the tweeter, the polluter- Karen Anne Donner

Mamie, je t'aime- Karen Anne Donner

We'll always have Paris- Vicki

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 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

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: 195 euros per person (about $210)
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.

My 10 Year Anniversary in Paris

This Saturday, August 15, 2015 is the tenth anniversary of my arrival in Paris. Even though it has flown by, my life in New York seems such a distant memory.

Vincent and I arrived on one of the quietest days of the year, Assumption Day, a national holiday, where almost everything is shutdown. We rented a temporary apartment, sight unseen, in the 11th arr. off of Oberkampf. The neighborhood then was a little funky/East Village like and the apartment was small but simple but home for a short period. The rue Oberkampf was a mix of mom and pop shops and food shops and some run of the mill cafes. Now the area has become hipsterville, a haven for new chefs and restaurants.

What was I going to do in this new unclaimed city I now called home? What adventures would I embark on? What kinds of friends would I have and how would I meet new people?
Little did I know what was in store for me over the next 10 years.

Vincent already knew what he came here for: he was going to make art and films. I didn’t know what I wanted to do but I knew I didn’t want to be a chef or a caterer anymore, as I had done that for 21 years in New York before arriving in Paris. I had no idea how or what I was going to do but I had a clean slate and was looking to reinvent myself.

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would become a tour guide, blogger/travel writer and photographer. These were things I had no knowledge or training in and never even thought about pursuing. (Except for travel photographer. I knew a few travel photographers in NYC and I was always in awe of them, as they got to travel the world. I fantasized about being a travel photographer but had no clue how to go about it, never mind even how to take a good photograph).

The last ten years have been nothing short of miraculous. I couldn’t think of a more rewarding, productive, creative, and enriching way to have spent the last ten years and the cherry on the cake is I get to live in Paris, the most beautiful city in the world.

Click here to read more about my Paris story.

Come experience Eye Prefer Paris live with Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I personally lead. Eye Prefer Paris Tours include many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes, food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks and gardens and much more.  In addition to my specialty Marais Tour, I also lead tours of Montmartre, St. Germain, Latin Quarter, in addition to Shopping Tours, Gay Tours, Girlfriend Tours, Food Tours, Flea Market Tours, Paris Highlights Tours, and Chocolate & Pastry tours.

Tours start at 225 euros for up to 3 people, and 75 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

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: 195 euros per person (about $210)
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.