Giverny to Rouen

I was fortunate 2 weeks ago to visit Monet's home in Giverny. The sun was out so fall colors could not have been more spectacular. Many visitors do not have to to visit the small and newly renamd Museum of Impressionism which is a shame as they do create interesting exhbitis and now that theu have changed their name an are partners with the Musee d'Orsay they have expanded their focus. Giverny is not a place you want to spend a full day. 2 to 3 hours is sufficient and then lunch. What do you do in the afternoon?

Well if you like impressionist paintining you should head up to Rouen, not more than 45 minutes away.

Rouen is home to a Musee de Beaux Arts which holds a unique collection of Impressionist paintings, which by charter it is not allowed to lend out so you have to see it there or not at all.


Also a collection of beautifull Delacroix paintings and other works from the Belle Epoque. So highly recommended.




Nearby, is also an absolutely fascinating musems of iron objects, the Musée le Secq des Tournelles which has a very large collection of locks and signs. Also, highy recommended and a good visit just to break up all that color overload.



And of course you have to visit the cathedral, which Monet painted over and over again at different times of the day. If you are staying over night during the summer there is a fantastic light show, which is projected on to the facade of the Cathedral. Add music and you have a unique impressionistic experience.

David Levovitz & Friends Talk About Sweet Paris

Wednesday evening after a day spent in Giverny and Rouen I rushed back to the American Library in Paris to hear three food writers talk about the sweeter aspects of life in France. David Lebovitz, Alexander Lobrano and Dorie Greenspan.

Unfortunately, I missed Dorie's talk and walked into the middle of Alexander's recounting of some of his most memorable desserts. I have read many of his reviews and find them to be excellent. I often look at his blog to see where he's been recently. I always have the sense he is giving us the real story. Not the guide book rubbish so I highly recommend giving him a read.

He was followed by David Lebovitz who most French chocolate fans know already so no need to say much other than he comes across as very likeable and and awkwardly funny in a rather endering way ( You can buy his book here). I have read a number of his twitters and they are always wuite humerous. He also said that readers often write to him and ask him for Macaron recipes. His answer is basically you can't make them in the US like you can here. You just have to come to Paris to eat them or make them. I agree. Its a sort of metaphysical thing.

Japanese Chocolate Makers in Paris

This was my first visit to the Salon at the Porte de Versailles. Each year it is advertised heavily all over Paris and having resisted the urge in previous years, finally broke down and went to see what all the fuss was about.

As one enters the Salon du Chocolate, you are overwhelmed by the crowds and huge stands built by commerical makers like Nestle, Cote d'Or, de Neuville and the ever so strange color coded booth of the chain Jeff de Bruges, which you can find in malls and market streets all over France.


There was a long line outside the Magnum ice cream stand blocking the way, as they were giving away free mini vanilla ice creams coated with chocolate. Very commercial but good for the kids. 'Big Kids' that is. The 'Little Kids' didn't stand a chance.

As you wade through the first level of chaos you literllay fall into a circular central area (I mean arena) where demonstrations, catwalks and other 'Gladiatorial' spectacles take place. It was jammed with on lookers hoping to get a free piece of "cake", and they did. Got to feed the mob because you know what happened last time!


Moving forward one starts to find some of the more interesting and innovative chocolate makers like Pierre Marcolini.


Close by was Bonnat, one of my personal favorites, who makes chocolate bar / tablets using cocoa beans from around the world. I approach eating their chocolate as if I was doing a wine tasting, evaluating and comparing taste, aromas, aftertaste, texture and so on. Theses are available in the US by the way.

One aspect of this show is too highlight creativity in design. There was JP Hevin with his colored balloons and high heel shoe that really did look like the texture of brown leather. He is known for his Chocolate Pret a Porter.



Jacques Bellanger, President of the World Chocolate Masters displayed an interesting chocolate 'Green Man' mask? Hmm...


At the very back of the room was a chocolate dessert demonstration, which I found very hard to see
and it was in being given in French. That was the sign to leave.



After 2 hours and a few yummy tastings, I decided it was time to head out and find something salty to eat. And I did. It was a very delicious salted caramel chocolate from Sadaharu Aoki, one of two Japanese chocolate makers at the show. The presentation looked more like the cosmetic counter at Shiseido than a chocolate store, but of course you might expect that.


As I left, I noticed a section dedicated to children. I'm guess it was there to help get them addicted early on.


I wonder if the stand was sponsered by the Dental Association of France! What do you think?

The Greatest Temple of Macarons in Paris

Of course, living in Paris has it's temptations. It is impossible to resist the fragrant, colorful, and luscious macaroons. I have to use the word luscious because when you bite into that ultra thin crust and break through to the soft fluffy, squishly, brighlty,and colorful combination of egg whites and cream you can not help but think of Marie Antoinette dressed in magnificent pastel silks, eating macaroons with champagne. The Royal French antidote to low blood sugar. Today I tested out the route for our new tour to visit some of the current bastions of Macaron Greatness in a vintage Citroën 2CV. I was floored when arrived at the new Laduree in the 8th arrondissement.

You walk into a low-lit 19th century tea room decorated with Belle Epoque scultures holding wooden shelves, with stacks of pale colored 18th century style packageing. On the right people are seated at tables eating breakfast and directly in front of me was a very long line of people waiting to be served their take-out desserts. Dressed in black, with white gloves and looking like they are staring in the Phantom of the Opera, was a red lipped sales girl handeling a pale pink crusty heart shaped Macaron with blood red raspberries pressed into the cream with the utmost artistry. They are handled with such dexterity and care you could imagine they were Burma rubies in a luxury jewelers on Place Vendome.


As you slowly pass by the line of greedy-eyed customers, forced to wait for their 60 seconds of satisfaction, you start to perceive an otherworldly glow from the end of the room, which draws you closer and closer. The noise from the waiters moving around the room, and the hustle and bustle of continual entering and exiting of the salon, starts to fade as you are enveloped by a quiet neon glow and you experienc a sensation of floating.


You penetrate an invisible barriers that separates the 19th century from the future. Time stops and all you can think about is a 2001 Space Odyssey. A French sales girl answers a question about lunch in a cold and deliberate manner. She reminds me of one of those humanoid robots in Blade Runner who is deceptively beautiful, but if you don't watch your manners she will incinerate you with her Ray Gun without even a flicker of her Chanel mascara.


If Art Nouveau was re created in the future from a few design concepts this is what it would look like. I am really impressed. I have seen photos of the new interiors but being there was tastier.

Wine Tours in Paris - When You're Good, You're Good

Last Thursday we did our 69 euro Left Bank Wine Promenade, where clients get to spend 3 hours tasting wine in local Latin Quarter wine bars with our wine expert, the charming Charlotte. It is one of the most popular tours we offer and I sometimes go on it myself when we have corporate groups. It is always great fun!

I was surprised to hear that Antoinette Azzurro a person who offers expensive private tours (so I have read) through her site Paris Personalized had booked the tour for herself and a friend through one of our authorized online re-sellers at City Discovery.

Charlotte phoned me after the tour and was quite upset because Azzurro had copied every word and even asked many times to repeat things so as to not miss anything at all. She said she was going to take our Right Bank Wine Tour as she had enjoyed it so much. Charlotte was not amused! In fact, she was quite miffed that Azzurro tried to steal her original anecdotes and script in such a dishonest way which she has worked hard over years to develop. And, on top of that use the content in her own tours at 5 times the price.

I can understand how Charlotte feels, but at the same time I felt a certain satisfaction that Manstouch clearly provides exceptional service and experiences for its clients at such reasonable prices.

Well. That's the Truth About Paris. You gotta roll with the punches.

In Search of The Red Balloon

The Red Balloon is the 1956 short and magical movie about the adventures of a young boy and his balloon which follows him as he moves through his local neighborhood of Paris. I saw the film at a very young age and it was probably my earliest visual experience of Paris. I rediscovered the movie after I moved to Paris and had thought that it had been filmed in Montmartre but after checking I discovered it was filmed in Menilmotant.



Last Sunday a friend and I decided to get on our bikes in search of Old Paris. Off we went from the 7th . Past the Muses d'Orsay, the Louvre, Bastille and north past the cemetary of Pere Lachaise. Finally we arrive at rue Menilmontant, where one can still get a glimpse of the old streets and buildings. now many of the apartment buildings sit on top shop fronts selling Middle Eastern food and clothing or telephone stores offering low cost calls ot Lagos or Marrakech. We arrive at a cute cobbled stone street. Views like this are disappearing.



It's a little quite even for a Sunday. Where is everyone? Somehow we went off course heading north not east and ended up in Belleville, where thousands of people had gathered for a huge street market with hundreds of stalls filled with locals and their throw aways trying to introduce them back into the value chain and squeeze out a few sous.

As we walked through the streets amazed by the morass of people, clothes and stuff we came across a welcomed relief - Villa de'L Ardour - a gated community of the most charming private homes.


There are quite a few of these around Paris and occassionaly you can get in without the access code. We could have been on a small island off the coast of Brittany.



I never did find my red balloon. I'll have to go back - some day.

Paris Patrimoine and Napoleon's Legacy

From time to time, the windows of my apartment start to vibrate. It's usually a sign that a helicopter is landing at the Ecole Miltaire with President Sarkozy or some other important military Brass. (military school)
This weekend is European Patrimoine or Heritage weekend when buildings normally closed to the public are opened to satisfy everyones endlessly curiousity about what goes on inside them and to just see how they imagine the "other half " live.

I thought it a good idea to visit the Ecole Militaire and Riding School since I live right across the street. It was here that Napoleon Bonaparte graduated in 1785. The weather was perfect and a welcomed change after a few days of the most depressing grey "Northern English" type weather. I wanted and see for myself what was going on behind the stables. Yes they keep horses too for officers and their families.

The buildings themselves are a little disappointing architecturally, eventhough I managed to take a few interesting photographs. This is clearly an "all working and no play" place during the day. The evenings are sometimes given over to "coming out" type parties for well-connected, clean-looking teenagers with wind blown hairstyles left over from their vacations in La Boule and Dinard.


One of the highlights is the Saint Louis Chapel where at 3pm today there will be a concert but I'm off the Jacquemart Andre museum for tea. Another interesting visit is the military library, which houses original leather bound books from the 18th century including 3 volumes from Napoleon's expedition to Egypt
.

What was really fascinating was actually across the street, In the front of the Champs de Mars, an area once used for military drills, Marchemondiale,crowds of people were demonstrating for peace and non violence.



There were cool African bands and dancers dressed in vibrant red.


A strange turning of the tides. I wonder what Napoleon would have thought of this band marching outside his window.

A Woodstock Brunch by the Paris Canals

It was Sunday. The sun was shining as it does at the end of the summer. A gentle autumn breeze felt invigorating and I decided to follow up a blog I recently read, which featured a 6 euro weekend Brunch inside a "Brocante" on the banks of Canal St Martin in the 10th arrondissement. (What's a Brocante you ask? A gathering of locals and dealers who sell anything from old clothes to vintage stereos that don't work and even antiques) . Sounds interesting - No? The Canal was littered with locals taking in the rays and sipping wine at places like the trendy Chez Prune.


The sound of clinking glass floated over the canal competing with the buzz of cameras shutters from the passing tourist boat as it glided silently on its way to the next loch.


Le Comptoir General advertised "BROC Dej" (Brocante Dejeuner). Its not a gathering of ex-Maharishi followers who just arrived in from Pondicherry selling certificates for "boundless possibilities" a new age knock off of "Indulgences" to pay for a store/resto expansion. There was a sign on the outside pointing to a building at the back of an alley. I'm already getting that Woodstock feeling. Yes! I used to live nearby in Germantown. A young woman was sitting on a door step eating. Clearly she worked there on a break eyeing the inquisitive newbies as they move hesitatingly toward the dark entrance. Crossing the threshold one finds oneself in a long line of Bohemian dressed locals with vegan complexions and that "oh so down to earth attitude" hoping not to miss the best food bargain in Paris. Is that California Dreamin I hear?


It was true! 6 euro for bread and jam plus unlimited hot drinks and juice. It was about 2 o' clock and the industrial size jam jars in the center of the tables looked like they had been given a good going over. Kids were strewn all over the place and in the back of the room there was Creche where they could be dumped with their sticky raspberry and blackcurrant hands joining multicolored building blocks in miraculous ways.


A second room at the back had tables with leftovers, clothes, organic honey and other paraphernalia.



This is more than a restaurant. It is a true "third place" for bleary eyed locals to roll out of bed and into a bath of endless coffee. If you want a community experience and on a budget this is a great place to come. If you prefer your jam in you own jam jar then probably it is not so just walk next door for a drink at Hotel du Nord, a place well know to forein film enthusiasts.


or for something more invigorating rent a Velib bike and coast down the road to the Bastille.