Newsletter #96: January 2010

IN THIS ISSUE:

* New Emmaüs Bric-à-Brac Store at Le Cent Quatre
* Supermarkets Open Sunday & Nights
* Automatic VAT Refund Machines at Airport
* An Alternative to Traveler’s Cheques
* Autolib’ is Here! 
* Nightlife News: Gioia at VIP Room and Changes at La Loco
* A New Kind of Restaurant Guide
* Green Paris Website
* Food Review: Maoz Falafel
* Organic Pet Food Shop Online
* Stravinsky Fountain Gets a Facelift
* Bikes Allowed Both Ways on One-Way Streets
* Freemasons Museum Reopens
* Gold in Them Archives!

* New Emmaüs Bric-à-Brac Store at Le Cent Quatre *

Emmaüs, the non-profit charity which collects and resells old clothes, appliances, furniture and kitchenware, has opened the first of ten new Emmaüs Bric-à-Brac stores at Le Cent Quatre (104 rue d'Aubervilliers, 19th), the community arts center up by the Parc de la Villette. A great way to get some cheap, useful things for your pad, while helping Emmaüs create social reinsertion jobs for those in need. Open Wed-Sat 3-6pm.

* Supermarkets Open Sunday and Nights *

More and more Parisian boutiques and clothing stores are staying open on Sundays, but for most of us who live here, it’s the supermarkets that we miss the most. Now there are a few dozen Franprix and Carrefour Market shops open Sunday mornings or up until 10pm or midnight during the week. You can find the ones closest to you on the French website, www.dimancheaussi.com. Search for “Hypermarché/Supermarché/Alimentation” by city, or even other categories, such as Pharmacie, Librairie, Jardinerie, Bricolage, Opticien, or Equipement Automobile. A handy site to keep in your bookmarks.

* Automatic VAT Refund Machines at Airport *

If you want to be sure to get your VAT refund before leaving France, you can now do it automatically at the red “Pablo Detaxe” machines (you need to go before you check in and after you pass through security). Since November they are available at Roissy, Orly is “coming soon”.  If you can’t figure out the Pablo system (or find one in your terminal), there are still 23 Travelex stands where you can get instant cash VAT refunds at both airports. Do yourself a favor and find the exact location before you leave home.

* An Alternative to Traveler’s Cheques *

Travelex now offers “Cash Passport” Mastercards which you preload with your vacation funds and use just like a credit card when traveling (PIN and signature protected). The big difference is that it’s not attached to your bank account, so if it gets stolen no one can clean you out. It’s a bit like buying Traveler’s Cheques, except without the hassle. There are fees and certain limits, so be a responsible consumer and read the fineprint before signing on for your next trip.

* Autolib’ is Here! *

For those who have tried and adored Zipcars back in the USA, you’ll be happy to hear that Paris finally has its own cheap and easy car sharing system in place, called Connect by Hertz. The annual subscription is €120 (this is an intro price, will go up), with the price per hour starting at €4, gas included (7-hour maximum rental). You have to have a valid driving permit (foreign ones accepted) with a clean record for past year, a credit card to reserve, national ID or passport, and proof of address in France (“justicatif du domicile”). So far there are 76 cars (Opal Corsa’s, BMW Mini’s, and Fiat 500’s) in 60 locations around Paris and Val d’Europe (EuroDisney/La Vallée Village), let’s hope that’s enough! I can imagine most of the cars will be taking trips to Ikea. ;)

* Nightlife News: Gioia at VIP Room and Changes at La Loco *

A sleek new Italian restaurant called Gioia (pronounced “Joya”) just opened up this week on the top floor of the VIP Room (188 rue de Rivoli, 1st), with huge glass windows overlooking the dancefloor. The menu is contemporary Italian, with Parisian nightclub prices (€22 for a pizza), served 9pm-5am. The walls are lined with bottles of Italian wine that rattle slightly with each bass thump from the club below, making it a rather noisy dining experience, but if you were already deafened on the dancefloor you probably won’t notice.

In other news, one of the city’s older clubs, La Locomotive (90 blvd de Clichy, 18th) has been purchased by its neighbor, the Moulin Rouge who renamed it La Machine du Moulin Rouge. For the moment it will be a venue for an “eclectic and accessible” program of live musical acts, but by 2011 the Moulin Rouge will transform it into the Moulin Rouge Resort, a museum/boutique/lounge space for its cabaret. On the plus side, perhaps it will give everyone waiting in line somewhere more interesting to wait than on the sidewalks of Pigalle.

* A New Kind of Restaurant Guide *

A new site called Nouvelles Valeurs has created its own special restaurant review system, based on the “new values” of healthy, environmentally responsible, and well-made food created by artisans. Mind you, these are gourmet bistros, not typical “health food” restaurants. So far there are 15 listed in Paris, and I have no disagreements with any of them, including Frenchie, L’AOC, and L’Ourcine. Can’t wait to see the list grow!

* Green Paris Website *

Speaking of healthy, there’s a new site (there’s one everyday, isn’t there?) on everything “Green” in Paris, called Greenopia. Interestingly, it’s in English (it’s not run by a French company). So far, a basic site of shopping listings, they’re still “getting started” so feel free to send them your own addresses if you want to help them build their site. ;)

* Food Review: Maoz Falafel *

I’ve been a longtime fan of the As du Falafel in the Marais, but a new place has finally won me over. And it’s on my side of the Seine! Maoz has two locations near St-Michel serving falafels to go (a few seats at one location). The big difference is that you get to build your own falafel from the salad bar, so you get exactly the falafel you want (and not one with all of that pickled cabbage that gives me a tummy ache afterwards). Another bonus is that they’re open daily until 1am. Read the full review here.

* Organic Pet Food Shop Online *

I don’t eat junk that makes me feel bad, and I don’t let my dogs eat it either (especially since I have to deal with the other end of it when their digestive tracts get messed up). Like many dogs with allergies or sensitivities to commercial brand dog foods (even the “good” stuff), I’ve been feeding mine organic, healthy dog food for years. And I usually have to import it from Germany or Holland (www.zooplus.fr). But now there’s a new site based in France, Albert le Chien, selling organic, healthy pet products for cats and dogs. They only have a few food brands, but a nice selection of bones, treats, supplements and hygiene products.

* Stravinsky Fountain Gets a Facelift *

The whimsical Stravinsky Fountain, located between the Centre Pompidou and the Eglise St-Merri in the 4th, is finally getting the facelift it deserves. Created in the 1980s by the artistic couple Jean Tinguely (the black and white mechanical sculptures) and Niki de Saint Phalle (the colorful sculptures), the fountain is often drained or the mechanisms that make the sculptures spin and shoot water are not working. It should be finished by the end of the year.

* Bikes Allowed Both Ways on One-Way Streets *

Beginning this month, the City of Paris will be adding bike lanes on one-way streets to allow cyclists to go in either direction, with or against traffic. This is great news for those of us who regularly ride up on the sidewalks or risk annoying motorists who catch us taking short cuts the wrong way down one-way streets. If you’re a driver, be aware of the changes so that you don’t inadvertently mow me down. The streets in the 2nd and the 11th arrondissements will be changed first, followed by the 18th in February. The rest of Paris will be done by the end of the year.  Get the latest news on the “double sens cyclable” and which streets are under “travaux” here.

* Freemasons Museum Reopens *

There are over 100 museums in Paris, some of them quite unique, like the Musée de la Franc-Maçonnerie (16 rue Cadet, 9th). In France, the Grand-Orient is the oldest and most important Masonic brotherhood in continental Europe, created in 1728. The museum, first opened in 1889, is in a modern building that traces the history of freemasonry, showing the contribution of the lodges to the history of France, the origin of the symbols and rites, and the principles of Masonic initiation. Better than a Dan Brown novel! It’s reopening February 11th, and regular hours are Tues-Sat, 2-6pm, admission €6. While you're there at Cadet, have a stroll around my old 'hood, lots of great new shops and cafés have opened in the past few years.

* Gold in Them Archives! *

Browse the Secrets of Paris Archives for more insider tips and tricks to getting the most out of Paris.

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