Newsletter #100: August 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010 IN THIS ISSUE:
* Ride-share in France
* English Hairdresser
* French Shoes in Large Sizes
* Get a Loan on Collateral from My Aunt
* Gourmet Haven on the Faubourg St-Denis
* Natural Beauty on a Budget
* French Rock Bands
* Sell Your Mobile Phone
* 7am-11pm Convenience Stores
* Baking Supplies in Paris
* New Paris Bus Tours
* Mark Twain’s Tale of Joan of Arc
* Vespa Scooter Rentals
* French Perfume Samples
* Municipal French Classes
*The Secrets of Paris Blog
* Naughty Paris News
* Secrets of Paris Calendar & Tweets
* Are you on the list?
* Ride-share in France *
Whether you’re looking for a cheap way to get around France or driving your car across the country and looking for someone to share the price of the gas (and to keep you from dying of boredom in those summer traffic jams), have a peek at www.vadrouille-covoiturage.com. This secure site puts together drivers and passengers in a safe and convenient way (and they also recommend how much should be charged based on tolls and gas fees). In French only.
* English Hairdresser *
Had enough of trying to explain what you want done to your hair in French or Franglais? Head down to Stylepixie Salon, where the English stylist Victoria will cut, color, or style your hair the way you want. Her salon is in a cool artsy loft space just outside metro Pierre et Marie Curie (line 7, direction Ivry). Yes, it’s the burbs, but for €65 for a cut or €75 for color, it’s worth the trek. There’s also a little consignment boutique of clothing and accessories, and a huge pile of English fashion and beauty magazines to peruse.
* French Shoes in Large Sizes *
Most Paris shoe stores only have women’s shoes up to size 41 (and even those are hard to find). Of course you could go to the drag queen shoe stores around Pigalle for extra large stilettos, but if you’re just looking for “normal” walking shoes and sandals, try Jean Thiou (17 rue du Louvre, 1st, Tel 01 42 33 57 54). They have women’s shoes from size 31 to 45, and men’s shoes 36 to 50.
* Get a Loan on Collateral from My Aunt *
Parisians are all familiar with the Crédit Municipal de Paris, aka “Ma Tante”, as in “I’m going to get a loan from my aunt.” Since 1777, this financial institution at 55 rue des Francs-Bourgeoise in the Marais has provided residents with loans against collateral, or “prêt sur gage”. So if you’re running low on funds, you can take any objects of value (jewelry, watches, art, antiques, furs, tapestries, fine wines, haute couture gowns, etc.) and receive a loan for 50-70% of what it is valued by their specialists. They then lock your valuable away in a vault until you pay back the loan. You have a year, then you can extend it by paying the interest for another year. If you can’t buy it back, it goes to auction. As an aside, they’ve started keeping honeybees on the roof, and will be selling “Miel de Ma Tante” at the Journées du Patrimoine this September.
* Gourmet Haven on the Faubourg St-Denis *
I was so excited last month when I had tour clients staying in a flat just off the Faubourg St-Denis so I could take them on a tour of one of my favorite foodie streets in Paris. It’s still not a very pretty neighborhood, but I adore Nicolas Julhès’ “Maison de Gastronomie” at #54 and #58. You’ll find some of the best gourmet foods, cheeses, wines, spices, bread, foie gras, home-made ice cream, candies, pastries, teas, sliced meats, mushrooms, a deli, a tearoom, and way too many good things to leave empty handed. Some of the fine Brandy and Cognac bottles in the back are opened for testing, and best of all, they’re open all summer long. Mon-Sat 9am-8pm, Sunday 9:30am-1:30pm.
* Natural Beauty on a Budget *
If you’re used to spending a fortune on organic soaps and shampoos, then you should visit Serge D’Estel’s salon at 78 rue de Vaugirard, 6th (closest metro is St Sulpice). Not only do they have Dr Hauschka facials starting at €30, body treatments from €29, and vegetable-based hair coloring from €33, they also sell their own organic, hand-made soaps (from €1.99), shampoos (from €4.80), and body oils (from €7.20). www.manufacturecosmetique.com
* French Rock Bands *
I’ve been following the French rock scene for a few years now. Not that difficult, considering how small it is! Most of the western world knows about Daft Punk, Air and David Guetta (electronic music of the “French Touch” scene), but if you want to catch the latest French pop-rock bands, who just happen to sing most of their songs in English, check out these quickly-rising stars: Phoenix, Gush, Pony Pony Run Run, and Lily Wood & the Prick.
* Sell Your Mobile Phone *
Ever wonder if your old mobile phone is worth anything? Go to www.love2recycle.fr to find out. If you like the price, register and send in your old phone for some cash. Who knows, maybe that junk in your drawer can pay for a double scoop of gelato at Pozzetto. ;-)
* 7am-11pm Convenience Stores *
A small chain of convenience stores called Chez Jean have opened around Paris, offering all the essentials from 7am-11pm, seven days a week even Christmas and May 1st. Modeled a bit like the stores at a highway rest stop, they have snacks, sandwiches, salads, and hot dishes served at the counter, tables to sit an eat, shelves of dry goods and refrigerated sections with pre-packaged meals, drinks, even an organic food shelf. Flowers, office supplies, a cash machine, lotto tickets, newspapers and magazines, some electric essentials (batteries, fuses), personal care, baby care, and of course, all the wine and junk food you usually find at convenience stores. There are also bathrooms, phone recharge stations, and WiFi. It’s oddly cute yet impersonal, but where else in Paris do you get a bottomless up of coffee with breakfast? Chez Jean, 153 rue Charenton, 12th; 37 rue Fbg Montmartre, 9th; 7 rue Lafayette, 9th; 13 ave de la République, 11th.
* Baking Supplies in Paris *
I won’t go to the overpriced expat food stores in Paris unless I absolutely have to. Many Parisian food bloggers like David Lebovitz have posts about where to find the real thing or suitable substitutes in French stores. For example, a decent brown sugar substitute is sucre vergeoise, which I found at my local health food store for under €3 for a kilo (they also sell non-dairy, non-hydrogenated shortening and margarine). I live near Chinatown in the 13th, so I try and spot the random Anglo-American products on the shelves. Tang Frères has both baking powder and baking soda (bicarbonate de soude), which I also found at the Asian Supermarché on the Place d’Aligre for €6.50 a kilo.
* New Paris Bus Tours *
There was the Open Tour and the Galeries Lafayette red bus tours, now there’s Foxity, the budget option for double-decker bus tours of Paris: top deck adult tickets are €12, students under 25 and seniors over 65 are €10, and kids under 12 are free (one per paying adult). You can also opt for the even cheaper lower deck for €9 (same price for everyone). Combined tickets for the bus and the Bateau-Mouches are €17 (kids €5). The pro: they have a heated upper deck with sliding transparent roof to keep you dry. The con: it’s not “hop-on, hop-off; you get on and stay on for the 90-minute tour (with audioguide). Departs from Galerie de la Madeleine, at 9 place de la Madeleine, 1st, from 10am through 10pm. Reserve your tickets online: http://www.foxity.com/
Another bus tour for night owls who like to party is the Soirée Bus. There’s a pubcrawl bus, for €28, which includes drinks at three Paris pubs, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night from 9pm until the bars close. The second trip is a 90-minute drive around Paris at night with images on 4 flat-screens, a DJ, a glass of Champagne and beverage bar, every Wednesday from 9:30pm for €36/person. Reserve your tickets online: http://www.soireebus.fr
* Mark Twain’s Tale of Joan of Arc *
Many Mark Twain fans have no idea that he wrote a book called “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc” after spending 11 years studying her life and trial in the Paris archives. He considered it his best book, although because it was so completely different in style and subject matter from his previous books like Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, his fans didn’t like it. It was first published as a translation of the recollections of her page and secretary, Louis de Conte, and only later did the public realize that it was Mark Twain (he claims to have written as much as possible based on facts, imagined in his writing from the point of view of her page). And there’s also an article Twain wrote when his identity was revealed, explaining why Joan of Arc was “easily and by far the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced”.
* Vespa Scooter Rentals *
If you really want to see Paris like a local, you should see it on a Vespa scooter. Ciao Paris offers scooter rentals with helmets, insurance and gasoline for one or two people at just €89/day. They’ll even drop it off and pick it up at your hotel or rental flat. You need to be at least 20 years old and have a driving license for a minimum of two years. And don’t forget that priority is always on the right in France!
* French Perfume Samples *
The only thing keeping my perfume addiction in check are the prices. Buying even a small bottle of perfume usually costs €75 and up, and the rare designer perfumes that are hard to find would never be sold at a discount perfume shop, either in Paris or abroad. Wouldn’t it be nice to just be able to buy a few ounces instead of the whole bottle? Three American women have built a whole business around that idea, The Perfumed Court. They scour the planet looking for the latest scents, classic perfumes, and even vintage fragrances no longer made. Then they decant them into tiny, pharmaceutical-grade spray and roll-on bottles and sell them for as little as €3/each so women can have small quantities of their favorite scents, or try new ones without making a huge commitment. Now if they could only open an office in Paris…
* Municipal French Classes *
If you’re a resident of Paris and looking to improve your French without breaking the bank, check out the classes offered by the Mairie de Paris, starting at €80 for 60 hours up to €145 for 120 hours (a semester). Registration is on September 1st, and I hear the classes fill up immediately (and if you look at the price of classes at Alliance Fraçaise or the Sorbonne, you’ll see why).
*The Secrets of Paris Blog *
I’m actually not much of a blogger, I prefer to provide useful information rather than simply musing about my day in Paris (because that could go on forever, and I have deadlines). But the blog does allow me to share what’s going on around town between newsletters. If you haven’t stopped by lately, here are some of the posts you’ve missed:
- an article on Beggars in Paris
- a mini-video of a scooter ride through Paris
- pics from Chantilly’s horse races
- tips on ordering seafood in France
- Three Things You’ll Never See in France
- and many “N’Importe Quoi Photos of the Week”.
- And don’t miss the review of the new chocolate museum,Choco Story.
* Naughty Paris News *
* Secrets of Paris Calendar & Tweets *
Don’t forget to have a peek at the Secrets of Paris calendar for upcoming events. As always, follow me on Twitter to find out about last-minute events and news in Paris…I promise I won’t tell you what I had for breakfast unless it’s *really* interesting.
* Are you on the list? *
If you’ve been getting this newsletter forwarded from a friend, please consider subscribing yourself. It’s free, and all you have to do is enter your e-mail address in the box at: http://www.secretsofparis.com/subscribe.htm. The benefit? You’ll get your own copy sent directly to your inbox every month, and I’ll have a better idea of how many of you are actually reading. Thanks! –Heather
Whether you’re looking for a cheap way to get around France or driving your car across the country and looking for someone to share the price of the gas (and to keep you from dying of boredom in those summer traffic jams), have a peek at www.vadrouille-covoiturage.com. This secure site puts together drivers and passengers in a safe and convenient way (and they also recommend how much should be charged based on tolls and gas fees). In French only.
Had enough of trying to explain what you want done to your hair in French or Franglais? Head down to Stylepixie Salon, where the English stylist Victoria will cut, color, or style your hair the way you want. Her salon is in a cool artsy loft space just outside metro Pierre et Marie Curie (line 7, direction Ivry). Yes, it’s the burbs, but for €65 for a cut or €75 for color, it’s worth the trek. There’s also a little consignment boutique of clothing and accessories, and a huge pile of English fashion and beauty magazines to peruse. Most Paris shoe stores only have women’s shoes up to size 41 (and even those are hard to find). Of course you could go to the drag queen shoe stores around Pigalle for extra large stilettos, but if you’re just looking for “normal” walking shoes and sandals, try Jean Thiou (17 rue du Louvre, 1st, Tel 01 42 33 57 54). They have women’s shoes from size 31 to 45, and men’s shoes 36 to 50. 
Parisians are all familiar with the Crédit Municipal de Paris, aka “Ma Tante”, as in “I’m going to get a loan from my aunt.” Since 1777, this financial institution at 55 rue des Francs-Bourgeoise in the Marais has provided residents with loans against collateral, or “prêt sur gage”. So if you’re running low on funds, you can take any objects of value (jewelry, watches, art, antiques, furs, tapestries, fine wines, haute couture gowns, etc.) and receive a loan for 50-70% of what it is valued by their specialists. They then lock your valuable away in a vault until you pay back the loan. You have a year, then you can extend it by paying the interest for another year. If you can’t buy it back, it goes to auction. As an aside, they’ve started keeping honeybees on the roof, and will be selling “Miel de Ma Tante” at the Journées du Patrimoine this September. I was so excited last month when I had tour clients staying in a flat just off the Faubourg St-Denis so I could take them on a tour of one of my favorite foodie streets in Paris. It’s still not a very pretty neighborhood, but I adore Nicolas Julhès’ “Maison de Gastronomie” at #54 and #58. You’ll find some of the best gourmet foods, cheeses, wines, spices, bread, foie gras, home-made ice cream, candies, pastries, teas, sliced meats, mushrooms, a deli, a tearoom, and way too many good things to leave empty handed. Some of the fine Brandy and Cognac bottles in the back are opened for testing, and best of all, they’re open all summer long. Mon-Sat 9am-8pm, Sunday 9:30am-1:30pm.
If you’re used to spending a fortune on organic soaps and shampoos, then you should visit Serge D’Estel’s salon at 78 rue de Vaugirard, 6th (closest metro is St Sulpice). Not only do they have Dr Hauschka facials starting at €30, body treatments from €29, and vegetable-based hair coloring from €33, they also sell their own organic, hand-made soaps (from €1.99), shampoos (from €4.80), and body oils (from €7.20). www.manufacturecosmetique.com I’ve been following the French rock scene for a few years now. Not that difficult, considering how small it is! Most of the western world knows about Daft Punk, Air and David Guetta (electronic music of the “French Touch” scene), but if you want to catch the latest French pop-rock bands, who just happen to sing most of their songs in English, check out these quickly-rising stars: Phoenix, Gush, Pony Pony Run Run, and Lily Wood & the Prick. Ever wonder if your old mobile phone is worth anything? Go to www.love2recycle.fr to find out. If you like the price, register and send in your old phone for some cash. Who knows, maybe that junk in your drawer can pay for a double scoop of gelato at Pozzetto. ;-) A small chain of convenience stores called Chez Jean have opened around Paris, offering all the essentials from 7am-11pm, seven days a week even Christmas and May 1st. Modeled a bit like the stores at a highway rest stop, they have snacks, sandwiches, salads, and hot dishes served at the counter, tables to sit an eat, shelves of dry goods and refrigerated sections with pre-packaged meals, drinks, even an organic food shelf. Flowers, office supplies, a cash machine, lotto tickets, newspapers and magazines, some electric essentials (batteries, fuses), personal care, baby care, and of course, all the wine and junk food you usually find at convenience stores. There are also bathrooms, phone recharge stations, and WiFi. It’s oddly cute yet impersonal, but where else in Paris do you get a bottomless up of coffee with breakfast? Chez Jean, 153 rue Charenton, 12th; 37 rue Fbg Montmartre, 9th; 7 rue Lafayette, 9th; 13 ave de la République, 11th.
I won’t go to the overpriced expat food stores in Paris unless I absolutely have to. Many Parisian food bloggers like David Lebovitz have posts about where to find the real thing or suitable substitutes in French stores. For example, a decent brown sugar substitute is sucre vergeoise, which I found at my local health food store for under €3 for a kilo (they also sell non-dairy, non-hydrogenated shortening and margarine). I live near Chinatown in the 13th, so I try and spot the random Anglo-American products on the shelves. Tang Frères has both baking powder and baking soda (bicarbonate de soude), which I also found at the Asian Supermarché on the Place d’Aligre for €6.50 a kilo. There was the Open Tour and the Galeries Lafayette red bus tours, now there’s Foxity, the budget option for double-decker bus tours of Paris: top deck adult tickets are €12, students under 25 and seniors over 65 are €10, and kids under 12 are free (one per paying adult). You can also opt for the even cheaper lower deck for €9 (same price for everyone). Combined tickets for the bus and the Bateau-Mouches are €17 (kids €5). The pro: they have a heated upper deck with sliding transparent roof to keep you dry. The con: it’s not “hop-on, hop-off; you get on and stay on for the 90-minute tour (with audioguide). Departs from Galerie de la Madeleine, at 9 place de la Madeleine, 1st, from 10am through 10pm. Another bus tour for night owls who like to party is the Soirée Bus. There’s a pubcrawl bus, for €28, which includes drinks at three Paris pubs, every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night from 9pm until the bars close. The second trip is a 90-minute drive around Paris at night with images on 4 flat-screens, a DJ, a glass of Champagne and beverage bar, every Wednesday from 9:30pm for €36/person. Many Mark Twain fans have no idea that he wrote a book called “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc” after spending 11 years studying her life and trial in the Paris archives. He considered it his best book, although because it was so completely different in style and subject matter from his previous books like Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, his fans didn’t like it. It was first published as a translation of the recollections of her page and secretary, Louis de Conte, and only later did the public realize that it was Mark Twain (he claims to have written as much as possible based on facts, imagined in his writing from the point of view of her page). And there’s also an article Twain wrote when his identity was revealed, explaining why Joan of Arc was “easily and by far the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced”.  _ If you really want to see Paris like a local, you should see it on a Vespa scooter. Ciao Paris offers scooter rentals with helmets, insurance and gasoline for one or two people at just €89/day. They’ll even drop it off and pick it up at your hotel or rental flat. You need to be at least 20 years old and have a driving license for a minimum of two years. And don’t forget that priority is always on the right in France! The only thing keeping my perfume addiction in check are the prices. Buying even a small bottle of perfume usually costs €75 and up, and the rare designer perfumes that are hard to find would never be sold at a discount perfume shop, either in Paris or abroad. Wouldn’t it be nice to just be able to buy a few ounces instead of the whole bottle? Three American women have built a whole business around that idea, The Perfumed Court. They scour the planet looking for the latest scents, classic perfumes, and even vintage fragrances no longer made. Then they decant them into tiny, pharmaceutical-grade spray and roll-on bottles and sell them for as little as €3/each so women can have small quantities of their favorite scents, or try new ones without making a huge commitment. Now if they could only open an office in Paris… If you’re a resident of Paris and looking to improve your French without breaking the bank, check out the classes offered by the Mairie de Paris, starting at €80 for 60 hours up to €145 for 120 hours (a semester). Registration is on September 1st, and I hear the classes fill up immediately (and if you look at the price of classes at Alliance Fraçaise or the Sorbonne, you’ll see why).
I’m actually not much of a blogger, I prefer to provide useful information rather than simply musing about my day in Paris (because that could go on forever, and I have deadlines). But the blog does allow me to share what’s going on around town between newsletters. If you haven’t stopped by lately, here are some of the posts you’ve missed:
Don’t forget to have a peek at the Secrets of Paris calendar for upcoming events, including art fairs, Les Miserables, author readings, chocolate tastings, fireworks shows, and all of the major music concerts coming to Paris through July . As always, follow me on Twitter to find out about last-minute events and news in Paris…I promise I won’t tell you what I had for breakfast unless it’s *really* interesting.
Naughty Paris News
The latest posts on the Naughty Paris website include a review of the “Naughtiest Hotel in Paris” the Seven Hotel (opening next month), and a video-blog by Cynthia Morris of “Original Impulse” where I’m interviewed for the Juju Infusion Episode 16: “What’s Sexy?”
If you’ve been getting this newsletter forwarded from a friend, please consider subscribing yourself. It’s free, and all you have to do is enter your e-mail address in the box at: http://www.secretsofparis.com/subscribe.htm. The benefit? You’ll get your own copy sent directly to your inbox every month, and I’ll have a better idea of how many of you are actually reading. Thanks! This is an opt-in and opt-out newsletter managed by YourMailingListProvider.com (www.YMLP.com). If you want to change the address that this newsletter is sent to, then you need to click on the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the newsletter, the go to the subscription page http://www.secretsofparis.com/subscribe.htm to enter your new e-mail. Same thing for unsubscribing, it’s all done automatically (that way I don’t get sad seeing you go, *sniff!*) |
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