Newsletter #90: March 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 IN THIS ISSUE:
* From Heather’s Desk
* New Dining Reviews
* Paris Nightlife News
* What to do with your Jar of Centimes
* Becoming French
* Dark Walking Tours in the City of Lights
* Buy or Sell Discount Train Ticket
* Find Your French Relatives
* Discount Tickets for Teens on Weekends
* Secrets of Paris Blog & Calendar
* Naughty Paris in London and New York
* Gold in Them Archives
* From Heather’s Desk *
My little brother is in Paris, here for two weeks. It’s his first trip to Europe, so we’ve been visiting all of the traditional sights like the Louvre, Notre Dame, and Arc de Triomphe. We also got lucky enough to enjoy a picnic with friends on the banks of the Seine on the one warm day we’ve had so far this month. Barely recovered from his West Coast jetlag, he got to enjoy a very non-touristy experience: the “bisous” (air kisses given in greeting, one on each cheek). In my defense, I forgot to warn him, but the look on his face when all of the ladies at the picnic came at him, lips puckered, was priceless. I think he handled it pretty well. Of course, being a guy, he only has to deal with kisses from women. We ladies have to kiss *everyone*, lol! - Heather
* New Dining Reviews *
The Secrets of Paris Posse continue writing about their favorite restaurants around Paris in the Dining Reviews section. Graham Cooper reviewed the Italian restaurant Il Naturale, the retro tartine bistro Comptoir des Belettes, and the Canadian Moosehead Bar. Jeanne Suica writes about the new American-style Happy Days Diner in the 6th, Sue Nally reviewed the brunch at Le Quinze in the 14th, and Camille Malmquist recommends Le Pamphlet, an upscale bistro in the 3rd. Finally, you can read my review of Black Dog, a metal bar at Châtelet that happens to have an amazing Argentinean steak house in the back.
* Paris Nightlife News *
The newest Parisian cabaret, Bobin’O, has closed its doors since Saturday for unspecified reasons (some say they have to soundproof it better). According to my PR contact, it will reopen in the winter with a new show. In other news, the recent ban on Open Bar nights still has not gone into effect, so enjoy the last of the “All you can drink” after-works parties while you can. I went to check out the newly reopened “Mood” on the Champs Elysées. It may be an interesting space to grab a bite with its super contemporary décor, but as a nightclub it’s very small and cramped. They probably should have left it as a lounge bar, but when you have to pay an entrance fee to get in and almost €20 for drinks, it just doesn’t seem worth it. Kudos to the Experimental Cocktail Club for the article about their fabulous cocktails in the New York Times last Sunday (and the quote from Yours Truly).
* What to do with your Jar of Centimes *
When I took a sack of small coins to my bank a few years ago, they handed me those little paper tubes to count and wrap them myself. Right. So they’ve been stored in my closet, patiently waiting for the French to discover those little machines that sort and count it for you. And bingo! At the Champion Supermarché in the Italie 2 commercial center (at Place d’Italie, 13th), there is a self-serve machine that counts and sorts the coins for you. One caveat: you don’t get the cash back, but a voucher for the amount to use at the store. Considering this store has everything from food and kitchen appliances to books and clothing, it’s not too hard to find something to spend it on.
* Becoming French *
After almost 14 years living in France, I’ve finally decided to apply for dual nationality. And since so many of you have asked me about this over the years, I’ve been documenting the process as I go through it. Read about it on the Secrets of Paris Blog here.
* Dark Walking Tours in the City of Lights*
Last week I took a tour with Sebastiaan, owner of the new “Mysteries of Paris” tours. If you’re looking for a good stroll through the dark side of Paris, he can take you there! “Explore with us the ghosts & haunted places, the catacombs, the real Theatre of the Vampires, Knights Templar, Marquis de Sade, flying machines, mummies in the Bastille, gargoyles, medieval alchemists, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Phantom of the Opera, Moulin Rouge, La Belle Époque and much more!” Check out his site for details.
* Buy or Sell Discount Train Ticket *
A friend of mine told me about the Troc de Prem’s, where individuals can buy or sell train tickets at rock-bottom prices. They’re usually sold last-minute by people who had to cancel their trip for whatever reason and are stuck with non-refundable tickets. As far as ID vs name on the ticket goes, I can confirm that no one checks your ID against ticket names on trains within France nor on trains within continental Europe (in fact, no one even checks passports anymore going between continental European countries, even by plane). However I have seen Eurostar tickets for sale and I doubt that would work since they’re very strict about passport and ID checks. If anyone actually uses tickets in someone else’s name to get to London on the Eurostar, do let me know.
* Find Your French Relatives *
If you think you might have relatives from France, you can look them up on the French site, Genealogie.com. Type in my name under “Trouver vos Ancêtres”, and I find birth and marriage records dating back to the early 1800s, and even records of French Stimmler’s who naturalized in the US as documented in the 1860 and 1870 census. If your French is pretty decent, you could even find out where your relatives lived, if they were aristocrats, whether they had a coat of arms, and whether they were in any of the chivalric orders. The French are very attached to their own family trees, so their record-keeping is quite thorough, even dating back to the 16th century (well, this is more likely if your relatives were landowners or nobility). Like most sites, you can see only basic info for free, and a membership fee is required to see the actual records.
* Discount Tickets for Teens on Weekends *
If you’re planning on using the Paris metro/bus/tram/RER network a lot in one day, it’s worth looking into the Mobilis card, good for unlimited travel within one day either within Paris (1-2 zones, €5.80) or even to the airports or Disneyland and Versailles (1-5 zones €12.90). These prices apply to adults as well as kids, but on the weekends kids and young adults under 26 years old can get a “Ticket Jeune Weekend” for €3.20 (1-3 zones) to €6.40 (1-5 zones). These can be used to go to Versailles and Disneyland, but for the airport they’re only good if you use bus 183 or 285 (Orly) and 350 or 351 (Roissy-CDG). For more info see the RATP website (oddly, the Mobilis info is only in French, not in the English section).
* Secrets of Paris Blog & Calendar *
Don’t forget to have a peek at the Secrets of Paris blog (www.secretsofparis.com), where you’ll find news about SketchCrawling, stargazing, coffee bean hunting, gardening gifts, and the Vintage Fair on April 4-5. The calendar has also just been updated with some events that you won’t want to miss: (www.secretsofparis.com/paris-calendar).
* Naughty Paris Tour coming to London and New York! *
I’m going back on the road to promote the Naughty Paris Guide at the London Book Fair in April and BookExpo America in New York in May. As usual, I’ve organized some fun events open to the public. In London I’ll be hosting an Afternoon Tea Party at the sexy Bordello boutique on the East End on April 19. In New York there will be another cocktail party at Flûte Champagne Lounge bringing together several authors who write about France in one fun evening (date to be confirmed, stay tuned!). For more info, visit the Naughty Paris Events page.
* Gold in Them Archives! *
Browse the Secrets of Paris Archives for more insider tips and tricks to getting the most out of Paris: http://www.secretsofparis.com/newsletterarchives/
Reader Comments (2)
Looking forward to meeting you one of thesedays.
Bonne journée,
Brigitte
Regarding the "bag of centimes", those are Euro coins, not French Franc coins, which are no longer worth anything.
Regarding the "Troc de Prems", some readers report being sporadically asked for ID with the tickets, so buyer beware. Another reports using a Eurostar ticket with a man's name on it (she's obviously not a "Jim") with no problem.