I Prefer Paris

Lunch with Lynn/Under 20 Eats: Yafo

Restaurants and food shops specializing in one or two items have been springing up in Paris in the past five years with great success; éclairs, Madeleines, jellies/jams, Iberian ham, meatballs and cream puffs are proudly represented with their own shops.

Yafo Café, specializing in houmous, is the new kid on the block. Owner/chef Lotan Lahmi originally from Israel, worked as a pastry chef at Laduree and later at the Prince de Galles Hotel before burning out and returning to Israel. Doing some research in his homeland, he thought of a new restaurant concept to bring back to Paris. The ubiquitous houmous of Israel, the equivalent of snails or steak tartare in France, was the choice Lahmi made to bring to Paris but serving it in a new way, gearing it to the French palate.

Bowls have become a food trend in Paris in recent years, whereby restaurants and cafes take large bowls and stack them with healthy or organic ingredients such as quinoa, roasted vegetables, tofu, wild rice, salad, kale, sweet potatoes and sprouts.

Yafo serves houmous with the same approach. Vincent was my lunch date this month and he chose the houmous bowl sprinkled with lentils and mine had slivers of roasted chicken with chopped fresh herbs. The houmous was smooth and didn’t have the usual strong garlic aftertaste, which sometimes upsets my stomach a few hours later. Lotan explained he put less garlic in his recipe to adjust to the French palate, which doesn’t like super strong tastes or spicy food. The chicken in my houmous was moist and flavorful.

Yafo also offers three daily side salads for only 3.5 €. We had one portion of Israeli salad (enough for two) with the freshest chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, toasted pita croutons and herbs. The taste of the simple but delicious salad brought back fond memories of the salads I enjoyed on my trip to Israel.

Another house specialty is the homemade rose scented lemonade, a refreshing summer delight.

With barely enough room for dessert, so we shared a chocolate sablé made with tahini, which makes the sablé extra moist, as they can sometimes be dry.

The décor of Yafo is plain, with two high white tiled counters with bar stools and copies of well known mid-eastern cookbooks including my favorites from Yotam Ottolenghi, the master Israeli chef.

The only drawback of Yafo is it’s not close enough to my house to become a regular.

Yafo only serves lunch now from 12PM-2:30PM, also with takeout service, Monday to Friday but may expand its hours in the fall.

Sorry to tease you but Yafo is closed for August.

Yafo
96 rue d'Hauteville, 75010
Metro: Poissonniers
https://www.yafo-restaurant.com/

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

Meredith Mullins: Stealth Photography

My photographic philosophy generally excludes stealth photography. I don’t shoot and run.

Although I am a street photographer, I prefer to make a connection with my subjects, even if that connection comes after the “decisive moment” (sometimes you have to grab the moment when you can and build the relationship later).  The connection adds depth to the image and strengthens the story.

With that said, I’ve been riding the metro and RER a bit more of late (lots of visitors; lots of trips to the airport). And, since I’m not addicted to texting, I take time to study my fellow travelers—each in their own world. Hundreds of unfolding stories.

As it turns out, stealth photography is not difficult with an iPhone (if you remember to turn off the sound of the shutter). And, as it turns out, I rather like capturing moments when the world is unaware. We humans are so very interesting.

So, I’m adding stealth photography to my repertoire. I still don’t shoot and run. I just shoot and pretend to text.

Meredith Mullins is a fine art photographer, photography instructor, and writer for OIC Moments and  Her work can be seen at www.meredithmullins.artspan.com or in her award-winning book, In A Paris Moment. She is available for private photography instruction/exploration in Paris and also teaches WICE photography classes. For more information, contact her at [email protected].

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

Air Bnb Marais Foodie Experience

Last year Air Bnb contacted me about a new service they were offering called Experiences, which offers experiences by locals connected with their rentals. Essentially they searched for people in their host cities, not necessarily tour guides, to give their guest(s) a unique experience that they possibly couldn’t do on their own and which also exemplified their city or area.

Paris is one of Air Bnb’s largest markets and I was flattered that they chose me. I decided to create a Marais food experience, giving their guests a tour of all the yummy food and gourmet shops in my area and introducing them to some the local shopkeepers, many who I have known for years.

The listing for my experience was first posted on Air Bnb in the middle of June and within the first week, I lead my first experience. My Eye Prefer Paris Tours are private but with the Air Bnb guests, it’s a mixed group, so it was a slight adjustment to have a mix of people, which I actually found to be fun. During the course of a typical experience we will taste eclairs, cheese from an award winning cheese shop, foie gras, a baguette from a boulangerie that won the prize for the second best baguette in Paris, macarons and samples from the Jewish food shops on the rue des Rosiers.

I’ve now lead about twelve experiences since then and I’ve already met such a wide variety of people from all over the world including Australia, Germany, the Philippines, England, Belgium, Norway and the United States.

A lovely lady Michelle is a well-known food blogger www.greedygourmet.com from England and she kindly wrote an excellent post on the experience with detailed information and photos. Click here to read.

Sometimes I receive inquiries from single travelers or people on a budget about my Eye Prefer Paris Tours about whether I can add them into one of my existing groups but I have to unfortunately tell them no; but now with the Air Bnb Marais Foodie Experience I can now accommodate them with a less expensive alternative.

The Air Bnb Marais Foodie costs 70€ per person and lasts 2.5 hours. It also includes food samples.

For more information or to book, go to this link

https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/45362

I look forward to sharing my yummy Marais with you!

Top photo courtesy of Michelle Minnaar.

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

 

 

Christian Dior, Couturier du Reve

Every year there’s at least one must-see exhibit I urge people to see and if they have to, plan a special trip here to see it. In 2016 it was the Shchukin Collection, an exhibit, which showed one of the greatest art collections of the 19th century, owned by Russian collector Sergei Shchukin.

For 2017 it’s without question the Christian Dior, Couturier du Reve. Marking the 70th anniversary of the legendary fashion house, it’s an all out, grand celebration that is truly exhilarating and magical.

This is just not another fashion exhibit with a bunch of beautiful clothes; it traces in great detail the how the label started, evolved and ultimately became the powerhouse it is today.

Christian Dior was born in 1905 in Granville, France into a wealthy, upper class family. He had a keen eye for art and antiques and with backing from his father he opened an art gallery in 1928. Although the gallery was successful, Dior had to close it when his father went bankrupt after the Great Depression and could now longer invest in the gallery. Dior went on to become a fashion designer, learning his craft with two couture houses, Robert Piguet and Lucien Lelong. In 1947, with an investment from the richest man in France, Marcel Boussac, Dior opened his own couture house. His first collection took the fashion world by storm by creating a whole new form of dressing a woman’s body, with cinched waists, soft shoulders and accentuated bust line. It was coined The New Look by Harper’s Bazaar fashion editor Carmel Snow, and it made Dior instantaneously famous around the world for its bold yet feminine style. Dior and his New Look also put Paris back on the map as the center of the fashion world,after it lost its luster during WWII.

In addition to beauty, Dior was also about brains and business. The label grew to include shoes, perfume, jewelry and accessories and exporting its glamorous look internationally. At one point, it accounted for part of the gross annual product of France. Things took a tragic turn in 1957 when Christian Dior died of a heart attack at age 52 and the house tapped a very young but talented designer, Yves Saint Laurent. After a badly received collection a few years later featuring leather jackets and street style clothes, Saint Laurent was fired. A succession of other noted designers followed including Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and today’s director, the first female, Maria Grazia Chiuri.

In the massive 30,000 square foot exhibit taking over most of the museum, Christian Dior, Couturier du Reve, extensively covers the original collections of Christian Dior followed by a series of rooms by the other designers with over 300 designs.

The curation of the exhibit is exquisite, ensconcing the visitor in a world of beauty, inspiration, flowers, art, and of course, stunning clothes. Densely packed in the beginning with artifacts from the personal collection of Christian Dior including photos, postcards, drawings and other tidbits but later on it opens up to display mostly the clothes.

My favorite part was the vitrines with collages of dresses, miniature dress forms with miniature outfits, hats, shoes, jewelry and gloves, all arranged in different color palates ranging from white, to blue, to yellow, to green, to red and to black.

So do what you have to- rob a bank, hire a babysitter for the kids, sell some stocks, tell the boss you have a French emergency- to see Christian Dior, Couturier du Reve.

Till January 7, 2018
Musee des Arts Decoratifs
107, rue de Rivoli, 75001
http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/en/exhibitions/current-events-1322/musee-des-arts-decoratifs/christian-dior-couturier-du-reve

Make sure you buy tickets online or ahead of tome to avoid the lines.

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

 

July 2017 Instagram Photos

I’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors in the warm summer weather doing tours all over Paris this month. The trees are all in their full green and summer flowers are in bloom.

It’s also the time of the year for a bounty of summer fruits and vegetables overflowing at the markets and food shops.

Enjoy July in Paris!

If you still haven’t followed me on Instagram yet, here are my tags. 


@eyepreferparis


@parisian_doors

Mandarin Oriental Hotel

Lavender plants

Courtyard rue Jacob

Le Colbert

Fresh berries rue Saint Antoine

Eggplant at Place Baudoyer market Marais

Elvis and Marilyn on pink Cadillac

Courtyard on rue des Grands Degres

Hydrangeas at Richard Lenoir market

Fresh oysters at Richard Lenoir market

Courtyard on rue Visconti

Garden at Musee de la vie Romantique

Happy father's day eclair

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

 

Les MaquerEaux

Paris Plage on the right bank of Paris has been a popular fixture since it first opened in 2002. Closing a section of a highway running along the Seine for a month period during July and August, it was an experiment by then mayor Bertrand Delanoe to give relief to city dwellers who couldn’t leave Paris for vacation in July and August. It supplied the closest thing to a beach, which included sand, beach chairs, chaises and umbrellas. In proceeding years it’s become a cultural phenomenon and so well received it’s expanded to other areas of Paris including the Left Bank and Bassin Villette, also expanding its activities to include live music, restaurants, bicycle and tricycle rentals, a lending library, volley ball and water sports.

Last summer Mayor Hidalgo decided to shut down the highway permanently to cut down on the amount of cars entering the city and reduce pollution. It now gives access to pedestrians, bike riders and runners all year round.

One of the newest restaurants to open since the new changeover is Les MaquerEaux. Started as a casual bar and café on Quai de la Hotel de Ville last year, this summer season they’ve added a peniche with a restaurant.

We walked onto the peniche last Monday and it looked spanking new with a community dining table made of blonde wood covering the length of the boat along with handsome Jean Prouvé style chairs. Along the two sides were barstools with counters. We were seated on barstools overlooking the calm Seine.

Brazilian chef Alexandre Furtado has created a small plate menu –now becoming the norm for most new Parisian restaurants- focusing mostly on seafood and shellfish sourcing small top quality producers around France. My friend and I perused the menu with much curiosity and decided to get adventurous.

We loved our first few side dishes, especially the sweet potato gnocchi, a new lighter twist on the old favorite, which is usually too doughy for me and quinoa with wild rice, crunchy shrimp bits and nectarine slices was so delicious a second plate was ordered immediately.

Our single oyster served out of the shell with Champagne ices and caviar tapioca looked gorgeous but there was a bitter, alcohol after taste that killed the taste of the oyster. The mackerel was a much wiser choice with a crispy skin and soothing passion fruit.

The boat gently swayed with the current of the Seine and we watched the sun set as dozens of various style boats sailed down the river making the water swirl in front of us.

Fruit and chocolate were two great desert flavors to balance out our fish heavy meal and we indulged in a chocolate crumble with citrus fruit and a financier with thyme and lemon with red fruits and a dash of pepper.

When we arrived at 7:30 the restaurant was empty but when we left at about 10 it was bustling with the 30 something in crowd.

The restaurant is open Tuesday to Sunday, from 4PM.
The casual terrace is open 7 days a week 12PM to 1AM.

Quai de l'hôtel de ville - Pont Louis Philippe, 75004
Metro: Pont-Marie
https://www.lesmaquereaux.com

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

Chinatown San Francisco Tour with Dorothy Quock

When I was in San Francisco last month for Vincent’s film After Louie, I took a tour of Chinatown on the strong advice of a friend of mine. Mind you, since I had a busy tour schedule working everyday for a month straight without a day off before I left for San Francisco, the last thing I wanted to do was a walking tour.

Tired and a bit jet lagged, I joined my friend Gerry on Saturday morning at 9:15 for the tour. It wasn’t so much the tour of Chinatown Gerry raved about, it was the tour guide, Dorothy Quock. Gerry met Dorothy when he as living in Hanoi and found her most charming and later took her Chinatown tour when he was in San Francisco.

Somehow there was a mix-up with the tour company Dorothy works with and she didn’t arrive until about an hour later. Appearing as a petite wisp, hardly five feet, Dorothy was anything but; as little as she was, she had the stature and command of someone twice her size. Fanned out in a bold print Chinese blouse with a high neck and covered by a black jacket with a red satin clasp, black pants and a thick red hairband, Dorothy emitted a quirky but elegant personal style. (She would be a perfect subject for Seth Ari Cohen of the popular blog Advanced Style).

She welcomed our group with nay-ho, the word for hello in Chinese and lead us through the busy streets and alleyways of Chinatown recounting the history step by step. An authentic Chinese teashop owned by a friend of Dorothy’s was the first of many of the shops where she knew the shopkeepers. We were given a demonstration and tea tasting by a well-dressed young man who handled the tea with such precision and gentility.

I became enamored with the tenement buildings with brick painted in standout colors with enamel painted fire escapes hovering above, the bold graphic type of the Chinese characters on the signs and the facades with faux Chinese temples.

A grocery store had had crates of bok choy, plastic tubs with fresh tofu, and shiny purple eggplants, ingredients for an authentic Chinese meal. The herb shop, with an intense odor of exotic and foreign herbs and roots, put a smile on my face as I recalled the Woody Allen movie Alice, where Mia Farrow goes to a Chinese herbalist in New York and after she takes the remedy the doctor recommends, she becomes invisible.

A touching moment came when Dorothy showed us the building she was born in and described how she grew up in Chinatown, moved out of San Francisco when she married and returned to lead tours, having come full circle.

We were taken to a storefront Chinese temple decorated in flashy colors with an altar with ornate figurines and bowls of citrus fruit. On one of our last stops, a Chinese general store, I found the perfect gift for a friend’s birthday, a red satin purse stamped butterflies.

Dorothy, at age 83, was tireless; she never stopped to sit down once during our three-our tour. I also noticed her beautiful hand gestures and fluid body movement, later learning she’s practiced Tai Chi for many years.

After the tour I chatted with Dorothy, sharing my experiences as a tour guide and we agreed that meeting people from all over the world was the best part of our jobs.

Dorothy wrote a lovely email a few days after the tour to thank me for coming and also suggested her other tour, "CHOW CIAO !!" ( Chinatown / Barbary Coast / North Beach ) Multi-Cultural Tour.

The tour I was on had an optional visit to an authentic dim-sum restaurant, which I didn’t do.

The company Dorothy works for is Wok Wiz and below is a link to Dorothy’s description.

http://www.wokwiz.com/about/tour_guides/index.html#quockd

Please mention my name if you reserve a tour.

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eye Prefer Paris Book of the Month July 2017: French War Brides: Mademoiselle & the American Soldier by Hilary Kaiser

I’m sure you are deep into your summer reading, but if you haven’t finalized your list, please make room for French War Brides: Mademoiselle & the American Soldier by Hilary Kaiser. It’s an eye opening account of a topic in American history that is sometimes overlooked. According to Hilary, following both World Wars I and II, about 6,500 Franco-American marriages took place between French mademoiselles and American soldiers, be they “doughboys” or GI’s.

These women, who came from different parts of France and diverse backgrounds, would later cross the Atlantic to join their husbands, settle in various corners of America, suffer culture shock, and adapt to marriage in a foreign land of postwar plenty with varying degrees of success. Despite these difficulties, like many other immigrants, they got on with it and survived.

As the compelling oral histories and the historical introduction and conclusion of Hilary’s book show, most of these women did, in their own way, live the American dream.

 French War Brides: Mademoiselle & the American Soldier is now available on Amazon as a paperback and an ebook.

How did you enjoy Theft by Finding: Diaries 1977-2002 by David Sedaris?

The first person to leave a comment about Theft by Finding will receive a free copy of French War Brides. Click here to comment.

Please support Eye Prefer Paris and order French War Brides on Amazon link below.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0984004335/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=ipreferparisn-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0984004335&linkId=d272bf88afa5f18e784178366266b673 

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

Louis XIV, Fire King Fireworks at Versailles

I was invited last Friday night to the Louis XIV, Fire King Fireworks at Versailles. I had been to fireworks before at Versailles but this was a different event.

Produced by Groupe F, the company in the past has put together shows for the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016, Eiffel Tower fireworks in 2014 and a special light show for the millennial celebration at the Eiffel Tower.

The show celebrates the extraordinary festivals Louis XIV produced after 30 years of construction of the Chateau de Versailles. Titled The Pleasures of the Enchanted Island, it amassed the most brilliant and best artistic talent of the time for the King and his court and the centerpiece was the dramatic fireworks.

The Gardens of the Orangerie is the setting for the spectacle, a beautiful backdrop with manicured lawns. It was a sultry night as the sun was starting to set when I arrived at 9:30PM. At 10:10, the blue hour when the sky is that special color before it becomes dark, the lights when out and the show began. It turns out Louis XIV is the host; outfitted in a royal blue coat with bellowing sleeves, court shoes with bows and a white wig, he is illuminated in white neon and fluorescent tubes of light. He guides us through the various stages of the show with fireworks, spits of fire, a light show and figures covered in white pin lights setting off a variety of sizzlers and sparklers. His tableaus include Mars and war, representing the young victorious sovereign, the god Apollo, a symbol of youthful beauty and protector of the Arts, Jupiter, king of the gods and the symbol of supreme power.

The one-hour presentation was spectacular, a visual explosion of light, color, and form along with music fit for a king.

If you are in Paris this week, do not miss enchanting evening.

July 11 and July 14 are the last dates for Louis XIV, Fire King fireworks.
Click link below to purchase tickets
http://www.chateauversailles-spectacles.fr/en/spectacle/reservation/2509

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

July 2017 Eye Need to Do’s: Christian Dior, Couturier de Reve, Alvin Ailey, Versailles Musical Fireworks & Ballet de Cuba

Christian Dior, Couturier de Reve
What is surely to be the most anticipated exhibition of the year, Christian Dior, Couturier de Reve celebrates to 70th anniversary of the famed couture house. The show traces the meteoric rise of the iconic label, starting with decade long reign of Christian Dior himself till 1957 when he passes away, followed by a succession of other designers including Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons and currently, Maria Grazia Chiuri. Over 300 haute couture gowns are on display along with fashion photographs, illustrations, sketches, documentary photographs, letters and notes and advertising documents, and fashion accessories, including hats, jewelry, bags, shoes and perfume bottles.

Musée des Arts décoratifs
107, rue de Rivoli, 75001
Till January 7, 2018
http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/en/exhibitions/forthcoming-events-1365/musee-des-arts-decoratifs/christian-dior-couturier-du-reve/ 

Alvin Ailey
American dance company Alvin Ailey has enjoyed an enduring success among Parisian fans in the last decade, now with its fifth appearance. Blues Suite, Ella, Revelations, In/Side, Exodus and other beloved pieces are in the program this season.

July 4 to July 22
1 cours de l'Île Seguin, 92100 Boulogne-Billancourt
http://www.lesetesdeladanse.com/en

Versailles Musical Fireworks
Musical fireworks at Versailles promises to be on of the most spectacular events of the summer. King Louis XIV staged a major event in 1564 in the gardens of Versailles, which included fireworks. The tradition carries on in 2017 with flames, fireworks, video, luminous figures and fire bearers.

July 6,7,12, 14 @10PM
http://www.chateauversailles-spectacles.fr/en/spectacles/2017/louis-xiv-fire-king-2017

Ballet de Cuba
The internationally acclaimed Ballet de Cuba returns to Paris after a long absence. Legendary director Alicia Alonso will stage two classic dances, Don Quixote and Giselle.

Salle Playel
252 rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, 75008
July 9 to July 20
https://www.sallepleyel.com/concerts-spectacles/danse/le-ballet-national-de-cuba-cours-en-public_e83

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