Newsletter #108: July 8, 2011

In This Issue:

Summer Reading Suggestions
Vélib' Rentals Now Online
Three Places for a Baguette Sandwich
Rent a car from a Parisian
Tax Deductible Sightseeing
WWOOFing in France

That Green Thing at Hôtel de Ville

Summer Outdoors in Paris

No More Wine with your Paris Picnic?

Cinema Festival and Collector's Market

Day Trips from Paris

* Summer Reading Suggestions *

There’s never a shortage of books about France, and it seems while I was freezing my derrière off this winter, all of my friends were finishing their manuscripts. So here’s a fresh crop ready for poolside perusal during the long summer evenings. Paris Was Ours is a paperback of essays by 32 diverse writers who live or have lived in Paris, and how it affected them, including David Lebovitz, Stacy Schiff, David Sedaris, and Diane Johnson. Unlike most books about Paris, these writers tell it like it is: good, bad, and sometimes ugly (including the story written by a homeless French mother). Olivier Magny’s book Stuff Parisians Like: Discovering the Quoi in the Je Ne Sais Quoi just came out in English two days ago, and he’s doing his US book tour as I write this, so go say ‘salut’ if he’s in your town. Fans of Stephen Clarke’s dry British humor can pick up his latest insider take on the French in Paris Revealed: The Secret Life of a City, covering everything from fashion and cinema to art and sex à la Parisienne. Finally, Jamie Cat Callan takes a look at the French recipe for everyday happiness in her latest book Bonjour Happiness!

* Vélib' Rentals Now Online *

Parisians who don’t want to compete with tourists aren’t going to be happy I’m telling you this: anyone with an internet connection and a credit card can now get a Vélib’ pass. It used to only be possible to get a bike by paying directly at the bike stand, but only credit cards with the microchip (basically everyone but North Americans have these) worked in the machines. But now if you have an internet connection you can register with any credit card, including Amex, right online. And the site is in English. And there’s a helpline to call if you’re having problems. The cost is just €1.70 for a day pass, €8 for a week, or €29 for a year (all of them can be purchased in advance or to use immediately). Life is good!

* Three Places for a Baguette Sandwich *

When I’m between tours or looking for a quick meal while out and about in Paris, I like to grab a baguette sandwich at a café bar. I think many people, not just tourists, are a bit intimidated by the bar – up close to the action, rapid-fire French, and barely enough room to elbow in, let alone find a bar stool. But almost every café or brasserie with a bar also has the bar food menu, and the best thing on this menu is usually the good old standby, the ham and cheese baguette, aka un sandwich mixte. In most places this costs about €3.50 and consists of country ham, Emmental cheese and butter on a baguette. If it’s fresh and these ingredients are of sufficient quality, it can be one of the best meals of the day. My favorite places to stop for these are La Café de la Comédie at Palais Royale (157 rue St Honoré, 1st, across from the Comédie Française), the Petit Fer à Cheval in the Marais (30 rue Vieille du Temple, 4th), and Carette (4 Place Trocadéro, 16th and 25 Place des Vosges, 3rd). Granted, there’s no bar at Carette, but you can order these enormous baguettes to go, as well as adorable finger sandwiches with the crusts cut off, wrapped in wax paper. No surprise that the French still eat more sandwiches than burgers. Vive le fast food!

* Rent a car from a Parisian *

I’ve got an old Renault Clio that I occasionally use to escape Paris with my dogs. Sometimes I’ll let friends use it for Ikea runs. But normally it just sits there in a residential parking space, getting dirty and dented, until I start it up just to make sure the battery hasn’t died (again). It’s so old and costs so little to keep that I won’t bother selling it, but it would be nice if it got more use. I was saying this to one of my Parisian friends and he suggested I sign up for VoitureLib’, an insured car rental service between individuals. There’s quite a selection on the site, from Hummers (€375/day) to cars even more beat up than mine (€15/day). It’s a great way to test a sports car for a weekend or to find a beat-up truck for camping that you don’t have to be paranoid about getting muddy. VoitureLib’ exists throughout France, and includes insurance and break-down service. In French only, alas.

* Tax Deductible Sightseeing *

Many of France’s great museums have non-profit fundraising societies that help raise money for special restoration projects that State money doesn’t cover. Become a member of these associations and you not only get free entrance, special invitations to openings and parties, discounts at the boutiques, and other preferential treatment, you can also deduct your membership fees from your taxes. Of course, this only works if the association is located in the country where you pay taxes. Luckily the great Franco-American amitié is still alive and kicking, so many US-based associations offer memberships as well:

- American Friends of the Louvre (from $500) or the Société des Amis du Louvre (from €60)

- American Friends of Chantilly (from $40; membership deductible from US or French taxes)

- American Friends of the Musée d’Orsay (from $250) or La Société des Amis du Musée d’Orsay (from €130)

- American Friends of Versailles (not sure if they’re looking for new members at the moment, but try contacting them if you’re interested) or Société des Amis de Versailles (from €60).

- American Friends of the Paris Opera & Ballet (access to the private boxes and gala invitations; from $1000) or L’Association pour le Rayonnement de l’Opéra (from €100) 

- Les Amis du Musée Carnavalet (good for free access to all of the temporary exhibitions in the city’s municipal museums and vernissages; from €50)  

- Les Amis du Musée National d’Art Moderne (Centre Pompidou ; from €250) 

There are also « Société des Amis » memberships available at the Musée Delacroix, Vaux-le-Vicomte Château, Musée Cernuschi, Sèvres Porcelaine Manufacture, Musée Guimet, Musée de l’Armée (Invalides)…your favorite museum may have one, too !

* WWOOFing in France *

Looking for a unique way to spend your next vacation, gap year or sabbatical? Why not volunteer to work on an organic, family-run farm in France? World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, or WWOOF, started in the UK in 1971 and today it exists all over the world, bringing together passionate farmers and volunteers who work in return for housing, food and the opportunity to learn more about organic agriculture. A WWOOFing experience in France also lets you practice your language skills and develop cross-cultural understanding beyond what you’d get as a tourist or even an expat living in Paris. For more info and to browse the listings of hosts looking for volunteers check out their (mostly) bilingual website.

* That Green Thing at Hôtel de Ville *

If you happen to pass by City Hall between now and July 15 you’ll see what looks like a grass-covered skateboard ramp, with football field chalk lines and a few random trees scattered about. Honestly, it could hardly be called a garden, but this “Jardin Ephémère” is part of the International Year of the Forest. As weirdly desolate as it looks, and despite the fact you can’t walk or sit on the grass, there is actually a point. Go to the far southern end of the installation, where if you look at it from the belvedere, it all lines up perfectly into the shape of a globe  with trees popping out. It’s actually pretty cool.

* Summer Outdoors in Paris *

We still have a few more weeks to wait before the beach opens in Paris with it double helping in 2011 of sand and palm trees. In the meantime, the Fête Foraine at the Jardin des Tuileries is in full swing every day until 11:45pm (12:45am on weekends). To make sure the carnival noise doesn't ruin the serenity of the gardens (which were actually ripped up for renovations last time I was there), the rides are silent: no blaring music and ring-a-ding rides, just the screams of the kids being spun around and upside down. If you want to be close to the water, check out the latest penuche to open at the foot of the Bibliothèque Mitterrand, Le Petit Bain, a floating concert venue, with a restaurant and rooftop terrace garden. The summer music festivals have also begun, with free jazz concerts every Saturday and Sunday afternoon at the Paris Jazz Festival in the Parc Floral in the Bois de Vincennes (through July 31; entrance to the park itself is €5) and in kiosks throughout the parks and squares of Paris (such as Square Jean XXIII behind Notre Dame, and the Champ de Mars in front of the Eiffel Tower). See the full program on the Mairie’s web site. Check the Secrets of Paris Calendar for many more outdoor summer events.

* No More Wine with your Paris Picnic? *

Not even five years ago it was possible to enjoy a bottle of wine in Paris without any problem, unlike the “no open-container laws” in the United States. But it seems the French kids have finally discovered the "joys" of inebriation and disorderly conduct in public. So now, except for July 14th, drinking alcohol is no longer allowed in Paris’ parks between 4pm and 6am (including the Champ de Mars, Jardins du Carrousel and Square du Vert Galant), as well as along many streets, squares, bridges such as the Pont des Arts and even certain quais of the Seine and the Ile de la Cité. It’s actually quite difficult to figure out the exact areas where one can and can’t drink, so just be aware that you may be asked to dump it out if the police start to do the rounds. If you’re well-behaved and not rowdy, just enjoying some wine with your picnic, then you may get away with a warning. But if you’re stumbling along the Boulevard St-Michel at 1am with an open bottle of Jack Daniels, you’re probably going to get fined and thrown in the drunk tank.

* Cinema Festival and Collector's Market *

The Paris Cinema International Film Festival features new and innovative filmmakers through an international competition, and explores a wide range of cinematic styles (through French Premieres, retrospectives, tributes but also outdoor and special events), in many locations all over Paris. You can reserve spots for the closing Party at the CENTQUATRE on July 13th. The famous Cinema Collectors' Flea Market will be held this weekend (Saturday July 9th and Sunday July 10th) in front of MK2 Bibliothèque (free entrance), with all sorts of cinema memorabilia.

* Day Trips from Paris *

Looking for a fun day out of the city? Versailles feeling a bit crowded? Try a Secrets of Paris Tour to Chantilly to see the thoroughbred race horses in training, to Angers to test some of the Loire Valley’s best wines, or to Reims to see the newly restored Cathedral that just celebrated its 800th anniversary. The Parisians may be gone in August, but Secrets of Paris are here all summer! For details, contact Heather@secretsofparis.com.

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