I Prefer Paris

Connie Fredericks Malone: A Great Online Concert

I met Connie Fredericks Malone in 2013 when she wanted to share with me about her sister Carole Fredericks, who moved to Paris from Boston in 1979. Carole went on to have a super successful singing career with the group Fredericks, Goldman, Jones, which sold over a million records and she also put out three successful solo albums. Unfortunately, Carole died unexpectedly in 2001 at the age of 49 while on a fundraising tour of Dakar. The family was shocked, and grief stricken, and Connie wanted to continue Carole’s legacy of her charity work and also keep her music alive, so she formed a foundation to promote both. The original reason Connie reached out to me was because she got the city of Paris to place a memory plaque on the outside of the building Carole lived in near Montmartre. Connie thought it would make a good blog story, which I agreed. We met and instantly hit it off and we became fast friends. Click here to read the original story on my blog. 

Connie is an accomplished singer herself, coming from a musical family, and her brother is Taj Mahal. Connie and her husband Jim live in upstate New York but come to Paris every year for about two months, staying in Carole’s apartment which the family kept after her death. 

A few years ago, Connie performed at a friend of mine’s cabaret club in Paris, Club Raye and I finally got to see her sing. She has a wonderful and full ranged voice and is a warm and endearing performer. My friend’s club closed the following year, so Connie no longer performed in Paris. 

Unfortunately, Jim and Connie couldn’t come to Paris the last two years, so I really missed seeing them. Last month Jim sent me a YouTube link to a charity concert Connie sang at her local church and I was blown away. Her voice took on a whole new range and dimension than when I saw her in Paris. Her voice was deeper, richer, and more soulful. The concert is divided into three parts, and the middle part was an incredible catalog of hymns and gospel songs that are at once rousing and moving. The rest of the concert Connie sings a parade of jazz, standards and show tunes with ease, grace, and fun, and she also dedicates a section to Paris and French songs.   Best of all Connie wears a different, fabulous hat in the last two sets. Make sure you watch it to the end because Connie sings an old Nancy Wilson song that is rarely performed, and she changes the tempo and makes it her own. It’s a knockout for sure. 

Click here to watch the concert. There are some speeches in between sets, so just fast forward if you don’t want to listen to them. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. 

Thank you Connie for making the gift of your singing is available for us to watch. I am listening to the concert as write this blog post. 

https://www.conniefredericksmalone.com

I am thrilled to launch my Emily in Paris Video Tour today. The video stars moi and is directed and filmed by my partner Vincent Gagliostro. In the almost 25-minute video you get to experience seeing many of the locations where the show was shot, the fascinating history of them, and you will receive insider scoops about Paris. An added bonus is you can watch my onscreen singing debut in the video, singing a verse from a classic French song. 

The price to watch the video is $12. Click here to send $12 to my Paypal account, and after I receive your payment, I will then send you the link to watch it. I request that you don’t share the link with anyone else. Please note that any order received after 10pm Paris time, I will send the link to the video the next morning. 

 

Funny Girl in Paris

I first saw the film Funny Girl in 1969, at the impressionable age of 13 and was blown away. The film had an immeasurable impact on my psyche and I had never before witnessed such a spellbinding force of nature on screen such as Barbra Streisand.  I eventually wore out my eight-track soundtrack, learning every lyric, gesture, pause and breath by heart. 

When I saw the Theatre Marigny was mounting a production in Paris, I was ecstatic. It’s almost inconceivable that there has never been a Broadway revival since it was first staged in 1964 and now it was coming to Paris for the first time. Whoopee! 

Certainly my expectations were high and I was also biased by the Streisand effect, so this was going to be a tough test to win me over. 

Before the curtain opened, the house lights dimmed to a soft light and as the orchestra played the overture, my pulse started to race with excitement hearing some of my favorite tunes, live. 

The first act was well performed and staged. Christina Bianco had all the right qualities to play Fanny Brice- funny, brash, feisty, vulnerable, and nervy, and performed her songs well, but she didn’t seem to have that je-ne-sais-quois charisma needed to bowl us over. Also sometimes the orchestra seemed to be playing a beat too fast and if felt like Bianco was sometimes one beat behind trying to catch up. Nicky Arnstein, played by Ashley Day, is a handsome hunk with impeccable manners and effortless charm, who serves his role well. Not until the end of the first act did Bianco really start commanding the stage with a rebel rousing, can’t-keep me-down rendition of Don’t Rain on My Parade, which brought the house down with an avalanche of well-deserved applause. 

It’s only the second act the production comes into its own. The perfect marriage starts to split at the seams and in the dramatical moments in between the songs, Bianco and Day, show off their excellent acting chops, sometimes moving me to tears. Bianco beautifully fulfills her part in the second act as the mature Fanny Brice, still a fumbling mess around her beloved Nicky Arnstein, trying with all her might to love and keep her man, no matter what. He ends up going to jail for eighteen-months for embezzlement and his sudden and surprise visit to Fanny in her dressing room comes just a few minutes before she is to go on stage. He announces that he wants to end the marriage because she will never understand him and in return Fanny, with heartbreaking vulnerability attempts one last desperate act to save her marriage, before she realizes it’s over. She then goes on to sing a heart-warming and sometimes heart wrenching version of The Music That Makes Me Dance.

I was humming all my favorite tunes from the show on the metro coming home and Bravo! to Christina Bianco for creating a fierce and formidable Fanny Brice, making her a memorable Funny Girl. 

Do not miss this production if you are in Paris or if you have to, make a special trip. 

Funny Girl 

Playing until January 5, 2020

Marigny Theatre

Champs Elysees 

https://www.theatreinparis.com/show/funny-girl?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Dynamic%20Retargeting%20-%20all%20products&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI48Ks3fTk5QIV1YTVCh06owTDEAAYASAAEgIOSPD_BwE

In my latest  A Bite of Paris video, I've taken a break from food tasting to visit my friend Jessica at La Vaissellerie, my favorite tabletop, dish ware, and kitchen shop, located in the Marais. 

Click here to watch or link below 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGfIOVl7188&feature=youtu.be 

Please remember to hit the LIKE button if you like it and SUBSCRIBE button to subscribe to my channel.

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.

 

Inauguration of New Organ at Chapel of Versailles

I had the pleasure of being invited to a very special music event  last week. The chapel at Versailles inaugurated its new organ and there was an introduction and mini-concert for a small, select group. 

The design of the organ was inspired by an André Silbermann organ at the Museum of Decorative Arts of Strasbourg dating from 1719. Silberman was one of the great organ designers of the 18^th century. The production of the new organ was executed by Quentin Blumenroeder, a manufacturer of organs and harpsicords in the tradition of antique instruments. It took more than 3,000 hours to complete the organ and a team of of more than 10 artisans included a sculptor, gilder, painter, cabinetmaker.

The new organ was covered in a dust-cloth and once the audience sat down, Quentin Blumenroeder commenced the inaguration and the dustcloth was removed to reveal the stunning white and gold masterpiece. He shared in great detail about the building and execution of the organ in a passionate manor. 

After the introduction, a series of well-renowned organists including Ton Koopman, Jean-Baptiste Robin, Fabien Armengaud, Nicolas Bucher, and Gaetan Jarry, played various classical pieces. Another smaller organ was on stage and at one point there was a duet on both organs. 

The sound wafted over the entire chapel, filling the space with beautiful harmony and I closed my eyes for a bit to absorb and get lost in the music.

There was a lovely Champagne and hors d’oeuvres reception after the organ inauguration in one of the side rooms of the palace. 

August in Paris- My Marais Apartment for Rent August 16 to August 29 

I am renting my Marais loft from August 16 to August 29 (Dates are flexible). Contrary to popular myth that Paris is closed in August, most shops, restaurants, and attractions are open in Paris, especially in the Marais. The weather is usually beautiful, temperatures in the high 70s to low 80s Fahrenheit during the day, dropping into the mid 60s at night. In case in gets warmer, I have an air conditioner in the bedroom and a large fan in the living area. 

Minimum rental period is 7 days/one week, price 1500€ for 7 days/one week, 2900€ for 14 days/2 weeks. 

Conveniently located by the Saint Paul metro, in the heart of the Marais, the apartment is a spacious one-bedroom 750 sq. ft. loft  with 12 ft. ceilings, decorated in chic Mid-Century Modern furniture and sleeps two people in a Queen size bed. Amenities include washer/dryer, 16" flat screen TV, dishwasher, internet connection/Wifi and free long distance calls to the U.S.  The apartment is located on the second floor with a large elevator

Please email me at [email protected] if you are interested. 

If you love salted butter caramels, please watch my newest A Bite of Paris video about Henri Le Roux, the man who actually invented the salted butter caramel.

Click here to watch or link below

https://youtu.be/Am22oSA_UYc

Please remember to hit the LIKE button if you like it and SUBSCRIBE button to subscribe to my channel. 

 

 

 

 

Dita Von Teese in Jean Paul Gaultier’s Freak Show

The modern day Queen of Burlesque, Dita Von Teese is joining the cast of the Paul Gaultier smash hit show Freak Show for only seven performances, January 22 to 27, 2019. 

Von Teese and Gaultier are big fans of each other and are ecstatic to be collaborating together. 

Freak Show, is an autobiographical musical and dance show about world famous fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier. Running since October 2018, it’s been loved by critics and audience alike, selling out most of its run. 

Von Teese is a global star, bringing old fashioned burlesque to a new generation of admirers for over two decades, elevating the art form to a new level. She gets her cue and inspiration from burlesque queens and pin-up girls from the past including Gypsy Rose Lee, Betty Grable, and Betti Page. Her last show “The Art of the Teese” played internationally to standing room only audiences. 

If you haven’t seen Freak Show yet, now is a great opportunity to see this terrific show. Click here to read my review from last October. 

Dita Von Teese in Jean Paul Gaultier’s Freak Show 

January 22-27, 2019 

Follies Berger  32 rue Richer, 75009 

https://www.foliesbergere.com/uk 

Please don't forget to RSVP to Pauline Bernard event@hotel-pont-royal for the opening of my photo exhibit on February 5. 

Philharmonie de Paris & Cité de Musique

A new, major concert hall was inaugurated last week, Philharmonie de Paris. It is now the premiere classical concert venue of Paris, replacing Salle Pleyel. In the works for 20 years, construction was started in 2006 and it was designed by Jean Nouvel. The 2400 seat venue has superior acoustics and the International New York Times applauded the sound in a review last week. The original budget was 170 million euros but has soared to 390 million euros and it took almost twice as long to build than first scheduled.

I went to photograph the outside the week before it opened and was surprised the structure wasn’t completed yet. There were holes on the outside and cranes were still filling in the missing panels. Workers failed to finish the building before the opening but the show must go on and the hall opened on schedule on January 14, much to Jean Nouvel’s chagrin, as he purposely did not attend in protest to the hall opening before its completion.

Philharmonie de Paris is part of Cité de la Musique, a complex of buildings dedicated to music that includes another smaller music hall, music museum, and music conservatory.

Cité de la Musique is located in Parc de la Villlette in the 19th arr., a former slaughterhouse that was transformed into a 35.5 hectare public park in 1987, part of Francois Mitterand’s urban redevelopment plan.

One of the reasons Philharmonie de Paris is located in the 19th arr. near the banlieue and close to the outer rim of the city was to attract a younger and more diverse audience. Ticket prices reflect that goal, with tickets offered for as little as 10 euros. The hall will also include world music and jazz concerts.

Below are photos of Philharmonie de Paris and other buildings in the Cité de la Musique.

221, avenue Jean-Jaurès
75019
Metro: Porte de Pantin
http://www.philharmoniedeparis.fr

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.
 

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

 

 

 

Club RaYé

I met Kein Cross two and a half years ago when he was my Parisian of the Month in July 2011. Kein is a highly successful interior designer and entrepreneur based in New York who also has a home and personal care products website. When I met him he had recently rented the most adorable, tiny house in Paris right down the street from me. We have become friends and we see each other frequently.

Forever the creative entrepreneur, last summer Kein told me he was working on an exciting new project: a piano bar and nightclub. He invited me to see the space located on a quiet side street off of rue Montorgueil.  It was a grimy, rundown former warehouse on two floors with harsh fluorescent lighting. Kein walked me through every inch of the space relating to me in full detail about how he was going to design the club. It was hard to imagine a glamorous nightclub would emerge from the rundown mess.

Tuesday night Kein invited me to come to the finally finished club, his baby. I walked through the doors remembering the unkempt mess from the summer and was knocked out: Kein had meticulously transformed the space into a super glamorous club reminiscent of the Art Deco clubs you used to see in 1930s movies. Kein has been obsessed with wide black and white stripes since he was a kid and uses them freely throughout the club on the banquets, napkins, plates, pillows, the waiters uniforms, the urinal in the men’s room, right down to the wrapping on the bathroom tissue rolls.  In fact the club’s name means striped in French.

The focal point of the room is the white lacquered grand piano and the excellent player played some of my favorite American standards including Here’s That Rainy Day and The Days of Wine and Roses. What’s clever about the piano is the mirrored wall and ceiling behind it, so no matter where you are sitting in the room you can view the piano player.

My friends Michelle Lollo and Caroline Nin joined me and Kein sat our table. I am not a cocktail drinker but I indulged and had a Pisco Sour, a concoction of pisco, lime juice, bitters, and egg white. It was light and refreshing with a citrus tang and light foam on top with not too much alcohol.

Kein sent his London based chef Simon Bannon to New York to train at Kein’s favorite Italian restaurant Rafele. Kein generously had the chef send out some of the signature dishes from Rafele including the scrumptious arancini (fried rice balls) and delicate rolatini (eggplant leaves stuffed with cheese).

The pricing of the cocktails is very fair at 12 euros each, as many other bars, especially the ones at the high end hotels charge 18 to 25 euros and almost all the small plates were priced at 10 euros.

Kein, Michelle, Caroline and I spoke at length about how almost all the piano bars in Paris had disappeared over the last decade and how there were no intimate, sophisticated places to go anymore, especially in the Montorgueil area that had mostly casual cafes. We all agreed RaYé, was the solution.

Downstairs inside a 13th century cave that was once a nunnery is the Kafka Bar, the more intimate lounge used for private parties and receptions.

What was supposed to be a quick drink from 6:30 to 8PM and then back home stretched till about 11PM, as Kein insisted we have more drinks and food.  As we were heading home to crawl into bed after more than efficient amounts of booze and food, Michelle and I ran into some friends a block from the club and they insisted we come with them for a drink on the spot. We returned to Club RaYé and we practically closed the joint at 12:15PM. A super fun evening was had by all.

Club RaYé
26, Rue Dussoubs, 75002
Open Tuesday to Thursday, 5PM to 12AM, Friday 5PM to 1AM, Saturday 7PM to 1AM
www.clubraye.com

Kein and partner Jane Sudler

Kafka Bar

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

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.

 

 

Remembering Carole Fredericks

Last year I received an invitation from Connie Fredericks to attend the unveiling of a commemorative plaque of her late sister, recording artist Carole Fredericks, which was installed by the city of Paris outside the building she lived in for ten years.

I couldn’t attend the unveiling but kept in touch with Connie. Connie emailed me in April to say she was coming to Paris for two months and wanted to meet me so she can tell me about her sister.

I met Connie and her husband Jim for lunch and we hit it off immediately. They now live in upstate New York but had lived in NYC most of their lives. Connie was a singer and actress and of course we talked forever about New York theater, movies, TV, music, etc. and Jim worked as a counselor in the New York City school system. Connie comes from a talented musical family: her older brother is Taj Mahal and her sister Carole was a much loved and renowned singer in France. As much as I loved talking to Connie and Jim about life in New York, the main purpose of the lunch was for Connie to share about her sister Carole’s legacy and memory.



I was fascinated by Connie’s story of Carole.

Raised in Springfield, Mass., Carole moved to San Francisco after high school and started singing backup on Taj Mahal’s recordings and also establishing herself in her own right by joining the Oakland New Generation Gospel Choir.

Singing in a French restaurant in Napa Valley in the mid-70s, Carole got her first taste of France. The restaurant owners turned Carole on to the legendary story of Josephine Baker, encouraging Carole to make the bold move to Paris, where they believed she would prosper like Josephine. Inspired by their belief, Carole arrived in Paris in 1979 and within weeks was working as a backup singer. She learned French quickly and was soon singing backup with major recording artists including Vanessa Paradis, Johnny Hallyday, Céline Dion, and Serge Gainsbourg.

In the late 80s, Carole was approached by Jean-Jacques Goldman, a Grammy winning singer, musician, and music producer and the second best-selling recording artist in France after Johnny Hallyday, to record with him.They went on to form the group Fredericks, Goldman, Jones and their first album sold over a million copies, now turning Carole into a superstar singer in France. She went on to have numerous successful recordings in the 1990s with three solo albums and five with Fredericks, Goldman, Jones. In between recordings and singing engagements Carole tirelessly raised money for various charities including Make-A-Wish Foundation, Amnesty International, and the Pan-African Children’s Hospital in Dakar.

On June 7, 2001 Carole died unexpectedly while on a fundraising tour in Dakar at the tender age of 49. Shocked by Carole’s untimely death, the family grieved. Her sister Connie didn’t want her sister’s vibrant music and unique voice to go into obscurity, so she started a foundation to preserve Carole’s legacy. 




At the end of lunch, Connie gave me one of Carole’s CD’s and I liked her versatile style and mix of soul, R&B, and jazz and soulful, melodic voice.

I was now much more curious about Carole and Connie invited me to for a drink at Carole’s apartment. (Connie inherited the apartment and has kept it mostly intact with Carole’s belongings). Located right near the Jules Joffrin metro in the 18th arr. near Montmartre, the apartment was modest and cozy. I was taken by the warmth and the rich memories, with dozens of photos with friends, family, singers, and musicians, all smiling. The gold records and awards also impressed me. If one didn’t know who Carole was and was in the apartment, you could tell it was who person had a full and rewarding life. One thing that touched me were the hats all around the apartment, and Connie told me Carole adored hats and amassed quite a collection.

Afterwards we went to dinner at a local Lebanese restaurant and feasted on mezze platters. Connie shared with me about the ongoing work she was doing with Carole’s legacy, including a foundation that promotes teaching French culture and language in schools through music in the U.S., and a website preserving her memory which features sales of the CD’s and posters and ongoing news.

Connie and Jim came to my photo opening and we are now good friends, and I can’t wait to see them next year on their annual visit to Paris.

http://www.carolefredericksfoundation.org
http://www.cdfmusiclegacy.com

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

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.

 

 

Caroline Nin Hymne a Paris

I wrote in my April Eye Need to Do’s last week about a cabaret show Caroline Nin Hymne a Paris, a tribute to Edith Piaf.

I was invited to the opening last night and brought Vincent and two French friends of mine. The venue was a small theatre tucked away on a tiny street/alleyway in the Marais that in my eight years of living in the area have never been on. The intimate theater was in a cave underneath with ancient stone walls, an almost clichéd place to see a chanteuse singing Piaf.

I saw Caroline once before last year at a cocktail bar and she sang mostly American standards. I liked her voice and style but I felt there was something missing. Perhaps because it was a cocktail bar and I was distracted by people talking in the background.

The show started at 8PM and Caroline looked stunning when she took the stage. She has the face of Catherine Deneuve with blonde hair and deep, dark eyes and the body of Marilyn Monroe, showing her voluptuous curves in a close fitting black, bare shouldered slip dress.


Right away I was mesmerized by her voice and movement and never took my eyes off of her for the entire performance. Her versatile singing style goes from sultry and sexy, to tender and poignant to forceful and dramatic all with ease and grace. Not only is Caroline a gifted singer and song stylist, she is a captivating storyteller. I was on the edge of my seat as she introduced insightful anecdotes about Piaf before almost every song, giving them a whole new meaning. For instance, Caroline told a tragic story about how Piaf’s greatest love, prizefighter Marcel Cerdan, died in a plane crash on his way to see her in concert in New York and how she still performed that night. Another great story was about how Piaf wrote La Vie en Rose and how the song was rejected by some of her peers and almost never got published. When Caroline sang La Vie en Rose, it had a whole new depth to it that I had not experienced before. I love when singers sing a song that I have heard hundreds of times before and make me feel it’s the first time I ever heard it and that’s exactly what Caroline did.

Hymne a Paris captures the true essence of Piaf and I now truly know who Piaf was in a way I never have before.

Vincent, my friends, and I were invited to celebrate Caroline’s triumphant night at a nearby café and we all toasted her with flutes of Champagne.

If you live in Paris or visiting between now and the end of June, I urge you not miss Caroline Nin Hymne a Paris.

Caroline Nin Hymne a Paris
Every Wednesday, 8PM, April 10 to June 26 

Essaïon Théâtre

6 rue Pierre au lard, 75004
To book tickets call or text Michelle Lollo at +1 33 (0) 7 77 25 37 64
Please mention Eye Prefer Paris when you book and receive a special discount

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

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.

 

Caroline Nin at L'etage

I was invited to hear a friend of mine's friend sing at a new cabaret/piano bar Sunday night starting after 10PM. I usually don't go out that late on a school night, especially Sunday, and I almost declined the invitation. But then I said to myself, sometimes life is a cabaret old chum, so I came to the cabaret.  I didn't know the singer or the venue but I liked the mystery of that. Would it be cute and corny or was it going to be gay and glamorous? Luckily it was the latter, and the singer's name was Caroline Nin and the place was L'etage, located on the second floor of the new restaurant Les Jalles.

Les Jalles is on a deserted street off the Blvd. Capucine right by the Opera and I had to walk through the restaurant, which was a beautiful but pricey affair to go upstairs to L'etage, the cabaret space. It was a cozy, dark room with low sexy lighting, comfortable, plush club chairs, a long bar, and a black lacquered piano. It was decorated in a faux Art Deco style but it almost passed for a real Art Deco nightclub except the only thing missing was a sultry chanteuse. Well, my wish was soon fulfilled when Caroline Nin took the microphone: she was long and leggy, smashingly dressed in a tuxedo with sky-high heels and sporting blond hair. Very modern day Dietrich. She had a smooth, crooner style voice and jumped from Cole Porter to Fats Waller to Edith Piaf effortlessly. I also liked that her singing didn't overtake the room or demand your full attention and I didn't feel uncomfortable chatting my friend during the performance.

There was an impressive cocktail menu and apparently the mixologist is highly regarded. Soon as I sat down I was served a glass of ice water with lime even though I said I was waiting for a friend. Service was off to good start and it was attentive and caring all night. I had some non-alcoholic concoction with a strong ginger tang to it with fruit juices. There was a small bar food menu but they were out of four of the seven items I ordered which I found annoying since it was not that late and I was hungry. They were able to eek out three dishes and although they were good they were too precious and puny. A charcuterie plate for 9 euros consisted of 10 paper-thin slices of only one type of sausage. Not my idea of a real charcuterie platter.

What I liked best about L’etage was that it was an informal place to drop by and hear some soothing music, enjoy a cocktail, and relax in an intimate space, all without a cover or minimum, which is rare in Paris these days. Sunday night is not the most exciting night in Paris but Caroline Nin at L'etage is changing that.

You don't have to eat at the downstairs restaurant to get into L'etage. L'etage is open 7 days a week till 2AM.

Caroline NIn will be appearing at L'etage the rest of June at 10PM on the following dates:
June 10, 11, 12,17, 18, 19, 24, 25, 26 

For more info on Caroline's performances at the bar go to www.carolinenin.com

L'etage at Les Jalles
14 rue des Capucine, 75002
Metro: Opera or Madeleine
www.lesjalles.fr

Above photos courtesy of Carla Coulson

 

In addition to my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, we now offer Eye Prefer New York Tours, 3-hour walking tours of New Yorkís best neighborhoods including Soho, Meatpacking/West Village & Tribeca. Tours cost $195 for up to 3 people and $65 for each additional person.Come take a bit of the Big Apple on an Eye Prefer New York Tour!

Come experience my blog ìliveî with my Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I lead. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris. www.eyepreferparistours.com
 

 

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotteís professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.

Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.

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

Stacey Kent at L’Olympia

I can sum up Stacey Kent’s concert last night at L’Olympia in two words: Intelligent Jazz.

Intelligence was the word running through my mind all as I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this perfect evening of musical bliss. Stacey Kent has all the essential elements of a remarkable jazz singer: great song choices, unique phrasing, a strong, flawless quartet accompanying her, and most important of all, a smooth, effortless, honey-dripped voice. But her thoughtfulness in every word, gesture, and song is what makes her special.

She opened with a song that I love that is rarely performed, “So Many Stars”, so right away I was sold.

Petite and gamin-like with short cropped hair and an elegant, simple black dress, she reminded me of the genre of what I call the quiet, classy, white singers from the 1950’s & 60’s that included Anita O’Day, Irene Kral and Blossom Dearie, whos style contrasted the bolder scat styles of Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and Betty Carter.

Another trademark of a great singer is the ability to seamlessly switch song genres and styles, and she went from sexy “Samba Saravah”, to a quirky “Show Me” from “My Fair Lady”, to Stevie Nicks “Landslide”, to a breathy French version of “I Wish You Love”, effortlessly. Most of the selections were from her new “Breakfast on a Morning Tram” CD, and she sang some original songs that her husband and saxophonist Jim Tomlinson wrote with Kazuo Ishiguro, including “ The Ice Hotel”, a smart, romantic ballad destined to be a standard.

The crowd loved her as much as I did and at the end of the concert, after an eternity of thunderous applause, she graciously sang four more specialties for her encore.

The now meaningless and mundane “What a Wonderful World”, overused as an anthem in commercials selling beer and diuretics, was transformed into a reflective, poetic ballad and it made me rediscover the beauty of the song.

Stacey Kent, you have a major new fan.

Here are some sample tracks from the CD. Enjoy!
The Ice Hotel
Samba Saravah
What a Wonderful World

www.staceykent.com

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.

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