In this Issue:
Artist Studio Openings
Unique Souvenirs
SIM Cards in France
Workspace by the Hour
Dogs in Paris
Healthy Paris
Electronic Cigarette Boom
Help Light up the Palais Garnier
Traditional Chinese Tea
The Sorbet Truck
American Musical Theatre in Paris
Paris by Night Tour Scams
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Artist Studio Openings
As the sun begins to creep out little by little, the artists’ studios of Paris open exceptionally to the public, including the Portes d’Or in the 18th’s Goutte d’Or district and Lézarts de la Bièvre in the 13th’s Gobelins district. If you missed the Portes Ouvertes in Belleville, you can still purchase the miniatures “petits originaux” (photo), which support the Association des Ateliers d’Artistes de Belleville, at La Galérie des AAB (1, rue Francis Picabia, 20th, M° Courcelles) and on their website. Check thecalendar for other Paris artist events.
Unique Souvenirs
If you’re looking for interesting gifts or a unique tote bag, France’s iconic daily Le Monde has a black and white all-weather courier bag, and a beige and blue nylon weekend bag in their boutique (80 blvd Auguste Blanqui, 13th, M° Glacière) or online. The Château de Versailles Boutique is turning the vinyl banners from its Lire au Jardin festival into limited edition tote bags and pouches. You can sign up to be notified when they’re on sale on their website. All proceeds go to help with Versailles restoration works.
SIM Cards in France
Many of my tour clients have asked about how to get SIM cards for their mobile phones to avoid the exorbitant roaming fees while traveling in France. One SIM Card is a US-based company worth checking out before you leave home. If you’re already in France or don’t want to be using your own phone, La Poste offers pre-paid SIM cards from €5 as well as pay-as-you-go mobile phones from €34.
Workspace by the Hour
The aptly-named Anti-Café (79 rue Quincampoix, 3rd) is a spacious place near the Centre Pompidou where you pay by the hour (€4) for access to free Wifi, tables, sofas, and open meeting spaces, and a large selection of hot and cold beverages and snacks (photo below). It’s a bit like a private airport lounge, and you can even bring your own food and drink (no hard liquor). You can also pay by the full day or €200/month. It’s truly a deal for what you get! Open Mon-Fri 9am-11pm, weekends 10am-midnight. I read about a similar place called Laptop, which is a bit pricier and you have to reserve your space in advance, but it’s good if you know you’re really working or holding a meeting and need a guaranteed space…and you don’t mind going to the far eastern corner of the 19th. 
Dogs in Paris
If you’re a dog owner in Paris, or would like to become one, or just like dogs, join me with Pedro & Lena for their first political rally on June 8th outside the Mairie du 1ère (the town hall behind the Louvre, outside Louvre-Rivoli metro station) from 2:30pm for the Mon Chien Ma Ville march to promote a more dog-friendly city (ie dog parks) and to promote a more civic-minded population of dog owners (ie those who still don’t pick up after Toto). Another great way to support our four-legged friends is to participate in (or support one of the participants of) the SPA’s Cani-Course Contre l’Abandonon June 30th in the Bois de Vincennes (12th). This 6k run, done with your own dog or a dog from the shelter, helps raise money for the shelter’s annual campaign to stop owners from abandoning their pets when they leave for vacation (sadly, this is a huge problem in France). Each runner has to raise €100 to participate. For dog owners living in France and looking for information on dog sitters, kennels, trainers, groomers, or dog-friendly hotels, consider joining the French dog concierge site, Club Oscar, just €15/year.
Healthy Paris
It might not measure up to “back home”, but while most of you weren’t looking Paris became a healthier place to eat and shop. I was in one of the local health food stores (there are five within ten minutes of where I live in the 13th) called Retour à la Terre and met up with Rrraw Chocolat creator Frédéric Marr giving out samples of his new raw chocolate truffle cubes. Little, brown, addictive. I got two boxes (along with a cart load of nuts and seeds and cereals from the bulk dispensers) to ward off late-night runs to the convenience store for peanut M&Ms. Near the Pomidou Centre I had lunch at a salad bar called Vert Midi (9 rue aux Ours, 3rd, also at 1 rue St Marc, 2nd), with a huge made-to-order salad in an edible bowl and a fresh veggie juice (photo below). They also have healthy hot dishes, and menus start at €8. The downside: they’re only open Mon-Fri 7:30am-4pm. Finally, if you’re looking for high quality essential oils, all-natural organic beauty products, as well as the materials to make your own soaps and creams, check out Aroma Zone (40 blvd St-Germain, 5th). They also have in-store classes every week, and the website has an online catalog and free videos and recipes for learning how to do it yourself (and save some money while you’re at it). Warning: this place is always packed, try and avoid the weekends!
Electronic Cigarette Boom
They say the best way to break a bad habit is to replace it with a good one, and now that electronic cigarettes have become all the rage in Paris, let’s hope the fruity-scented vapor replaces the tobacco tar stink that still hangs over the city’s sidewalk cafés. In the past two months I’ve seen at least five new shops selling only electronic cigarettes open around Paris. La Vaporeuse (24 rue du Vertbois, 3rd) presents its high-end products like fashion accessories (well…they are for some people) perfectly blending in with its Haut Marais neighbors. There’s also Vap Shop (68 rue de Montreuil, 11th), ClopiNette (addresses in the 3rd, 9th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 15th,16th, and 17th) and the not-so-chic VapoStores (in the 5th, 10th and 13th). You will surely see as many of these shops as you see tabacs around town, although the French health authorities are currently trying to decide whether or not the e-cigarettes should be banned in indoor public spaces just like regular cigarettes…stay tuned.
Help Light up the Palais Garnier
The jewel of the Second Empire, Charles Garnier’s Opera House is constantly undergoing restoration works to keep it in tip-top shape And while the City of Paris pays for much of the upkeep, they need some extra help for the decorative details. If you’d like to help out, you (or your company) can “adopt” one of the elaborate lanterns that circle the opera house’s exterior, also known as the Ceinture de Lumière with a tax-deductible donation. Even if you’re not thinking about contributing, do visit the website to learn more about these elaborate illuminations and their different symbolic meanings. For example, there are two different models of Caryatids (the females holding the lamps), Night and Day (Night is the one with her legs crossed).
Traditional Chinese Tea
There are many gourmet tea shops and tea rooms in Paris, from Mariage Frères and Damman Frères to Palais des Thés and Kusmi. But for those seeking authentic Chinese teas, there’s an address in the Mouffetard district worth visiting. La Maison des Trois Thés (1 rue St-Médard, 5th, M° Place Monge) doesn’t have any flashy ads. There are no hipsters hanging out in the tearoom. There are no cakes, cookies, or – mon dieu! – “flavored” teas. Just a beautiful, peaceful, traditional Chinese tea shop with a tables for degustation of their selection of over 800 teas – green, white, black, red – which they grow and harvest themselves, no middle men. Many are rare, all are high-end (prices start at about €18 for 100g and go much, much higher), more suited for tea aficionados than amateurs (unless you don’t mind making a total dork out of yourself like I did when I couldn’t tell the difference between the ten different green teas they kindly opened for me to smell). A rare place of quiet in Paris for an afternoon cup of tea behind the large plate-glass windows. Buzz to be let in, and turn off your cell phone, SVP.
The Sorbet Truck
The closest things I’ve seen to an ice cream truck in Paris is the artisan organic sorbet truck of La Ferme de la Metarie, with 16 hand-made flavors from the classic to the exotic, all made without any additives or preservatives, and made with certified organic fruits since 1986 by the same family. Look for their old-fashioned “Belle Epoch” Citroën truck parked on the Rond-Point des Champs Elysées (at the Avenue Montaigne side), in the Parc Montsouris, in the Parc André Citroën, at the south gate of Luxembourg Gardens (Place André Honnorat), and at Versailles at the garden gate entrance by the Grand Canal and the Carrefor du Trianon from April through October.
American Musical Theatre in Paris
I’m not much of a fan of musicals, but my colleague Bryan is an aficionado (well, he did live in Manhattan), and he is very excited about the news about the American Musical Theatre LIVE!, a non-profit organization dedicated to producing professional musical theatre and educational opportunities in Paris. In English. And to kick off their season, they’re premiering Jason Robert Brown’s Off-Broadway musical hit “The Last Five Years” this June and July. The troupe also hosts open-mic nights and theatre master classes. Time for me to brush up on my “American in Paris” dance moves…
Paris by Night Tour Scams
I’ve saved my rant for the end. One of my June tour clients mentioned in an email today that she had booked a “Paris by Night” bus tour for her late-June visit to Paris. It starts at 9pm. But as everyone who lives (and runs a company) in Paris knows, in summer the sun doesn’t set until around 10pm. And even then it’s still too bright to start the Bastille Day fireworks on July 14th until almost 11pm. So these Paris by Night tours aren’t at “night” at all. Foxity Tours (on www.FranceTourism.fr) writes “Paris, it is 276 monuments, churches, fountains, bridges and canals lit up at night... See for yourself how these sites are illuminated and discover the magic of the capital.” Viator.com also sells a “Paris Illuminations Night Tour” that starts at 8pm (and is over by 9:30pm). Totally laughable. And unprofessional. In winter it’s dark by 5pm, so night tours before 11pm are no problem. And a few companies like Fat Tire Bike Tours start during daylight and finish in the dark, so you capture the sunset before the lights come on. But the fraudulent companies offering “night” tours that finish before 10pm in summer should be sued by their disappointed clients. And shame on the Office of Tourism for not stepping in to prevent these swindlers from giving all Paris tour companies a bad name.
Upcoming Paris Events
Don’t miss the latest events, concerts, expos and shows taking place around town this summer on the Secrets of Paris Calendar, including free French Open broadcast at the Hôtel de Ville, a garden festival at Grand Palais, a Titanic expo, local graffiti art show at La Coupole, vintage brocant, horse racing and horse shows, summer shows and music festivals.
Pedro & Lena waiting for the sun to come out.
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