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David Downie’s Parisian Love Affair with Food
"A Taste of Paris, A History of the Parisian Love Affair with Food" is a fun book in David's style. David combines history, travelogue and a personal quest. David's quest this time: "What is it about the history of Paris that has made it a food lover's paradise?" You can follow his Paris food seduction from 53 BC to the present. Bringing Paris food history alive, David presents lots of written culinary activity between the 1300s and 1792 (end of the Ancien Régime) with all the King Louis's, their chefs and the chefs’ cookbooks. David takes us back to the barbarian Parisiis squatting, eating with no tableware and demonstrates how the…
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Prepare Your Visit to Paris, France
Suitcase? Check! Camera? Check! Walking shoes? Check! Reading material? Prepare in advance with some book ideas! Language? Brush up on that French grammar! Frantastique is my Wednesday exercise. Then when I go shopping or chat on the street, those proper verbs just slide right out ... still studying though! Some of the books in my library are Paris walking tours. They provide enough material to stroll through Paris and explore. Another prepares you with a story and history for your Champagne tasting. David Downie's books are walking tours of history. Each chapter of each book weaves a tale of discovery. Tilar J. Mazzeo's book whisks you into Champagne history with…
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Book Review: Paris to the Pyrenées, A Skeptic Pilgrim Walks the Way of Saint James
David Downie’s latest entertaining memoir, “Paris to the Pyrenées, a skeptic pilgrim walks the way of Saint James” is a series of vignettes. The book is multipurpose whose words constantly upturned my lips into a smile or a smirk. They are the stories of his walk across France. It is also a guidebook along a segment of a trail steeped in history. It is a memoir of a skeptic pilgrim’s path to self-help along the Route of Saint James. When your body is falling apart, why not have a personal quest to possess France by walking across it! ….
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Paris Walking Tours
Members of the Paris Tourist Office (Convention and Tourist Bureau) offer numerous opportunities to visit Paris. The Open Tour sightseeing bus is now visible dressed in its red, white and blue stripes. This is the tour bus I recommend as it is linked with the Paris transportation system RATP and the buses are now electric. Sixty-five walks around Paris with Paris le nez en l’air (Paris with your nose in the air). Full of self-guided walks, long and short, anecdotes, maps, quizzes, treasure hunts. However, you will have to use Google Translate if you do not read French. There is a PayPal donation button at the bottom of the page if…
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Buying Books For, About and In Paris
If you want a free guidebook when you arrive in Paris, visit the Paris Tourist Office for guidebooks or download and read them before you arrive. If you decide to buy a guidebook when you arrive, Paris has English language bookstores and guidebooks available at some kiosks, English and French book stores and second-hand stores. "Relay" is a kiosk found in the train stations, airports and in the metros. FNAC is a French bookstores where you might find English language guidebooks. W.H.Smith and Galignani are the largest English language Paris bookstores.
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Book Review: “Intoxicating Paris, Uncorking the Parisian Within”
There is always something useful and something to learn in a guide book. PJ Adams' recent book, "Intoxicating Paris, Uncorking the Parisian Within", is a combination of helpful hints all rolled into one. It is a personal insight, lightweight travel guide with suggestions, partial psychological and psychotherapeutic guide to American and French cultural differences, and a marketing tool for other authors. I was able to identify myself in some parts and appreciated the parts on the cultural differences. "Intoxicating Paris" is a good start for a first-time visitor.
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Bring The Girls To Paris And Find An Apartment
A reader wrote about bringing her girls to Paris. She asked advice on two neighborhoods. Haussmann and Sentier Neighborhoods Neighborhoods change atmosphere from one street to the next in Paris. Unless you are given a specific address, it is difficult to tie down where you are exactly. Paris streets are lit and safe and each street has atmosphere. With central locations such as Metro Sentier and Gare Saint Lazare you are not far from anything. Both areas are close to grocery stores. Around Metro Sentier, for example, if you stay on the north side of rue Réamur, it is quiet because the shops are clothing wholesalers (like my neighborhood in…
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Cemeteries in Paris and Maps
Père-Lachaise Color & Cemetery Information 2018 post Cemeteries from the Mayor’s Office Web site The Mayor’s Office has updated many of the Paris cemetery maps . Keep in mind some cemeteries are private or owned by churches and will not be listed on the Mayor’s page. List of little known places from the Catholic Diocese of Paris. The list includes chapels, more or less private, with historical and artistic significance. Find a Famous Grave in Paris Cemeteries Pet Cemetery – MEMORY, 116 bis bd Voltaire, 92600 ASNIERES (in 2019 celebrating 150 years). Cemetery Maps Visit the Ville de Paris website page Cimetières for maps of the 20 cemeteries in Paris region (Plans des cimetières intramuros (au format pdf) Auteuil…
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Paris Bloggers and Businesses
Everyone comes to Paris for a different reason. Some people come for a visit and stay. Others are drawn here like a magnet or a fly to flypaper, or a finger stuck to paper with super glue! Or it was written in the stars …. Those that write about Paris are as varied as a bouquet of flowers covering subjects as numerous as the petals on a Blue Gem flower. Some who photograph Paris, are drawn to a view as if it is mystical; others to document a moment. It is with pleasure that I share links to Paris bloggers and photographers and artists: Blogs: Out and About in Paris – Mary…
Enjoy Paris Through My Eyes
