Scam Free Paris

I love Paris almost more than my kids! OK, not quite that much, but I sure love it enough to go back there as often as possible. The minute I've said my thank you's to the apartment owner or manager and run over to the windows to listen to "my" city, I breath a sigh of relaxed contentment. It's the city that makes me feel, as the expression from French translates, "Comfortable in my own skin." That says a lot.

But it is a big city! And with an average of 70,000,000 visitors each year, there's bound to be people looking to profit from them - and not just from selling cheap souvenirs. Yes, there are people who attempt to make a living by scamming you.

I don't like to think about this side, but most big, bustling cities have the same issue. When I ran across this article yesterday (link below,) I thought it was a "cold sore" on my favorite city that I needed to share.

When I read the article, I realized I had seen some of these tricks, but my strict "city" policy of not speaking to people who approach me (except for directions) kept me un-scammed. Here's a quick summery of some that are used.

1. Sometimes, people approach you with a "petition" to sign. They always seem nice and the cause seems legit, but apparently the long text about the "cause" contains "agreements" that you will pay them a large sum of money - I presume to make them go away.

2. There are people who make a pretty friendship bracelet while you stand and watch them craft it for you. Unfortunately, they make it so tight that it cuts off your circulation and you are extorted to got to the ATM and give them your money to get the blood flowing again.

3. You look down and find a ring and being a good person, pick it up and try to find it's owner. Unfortunately, someone is there to tell you the ring is yours - for a price! They might also try to convince you it's a ring of good fortune.

4. Ooops, did you drop something? There's a sound like you've dropped something and when you look all around to see if you did, you are distracted enough for someone to snatch your wallet.

My advice is always to look as little like a tourist as you can. But this can be hard when you are speaking to your travel mates in your language and while you are awestruck by the monument or site that has just taken your breath away.

I'm thinking that the most likely spots for these people are:

• Around the Eiffel Tower
• Around the Arc de Triomphe
• In the Latin Quarter, especially around Place Saint-Michel
• On the Parvis de Notre-Dame (the cobbled stone area outside of the cathedral)
• In front of the Louvre, especially in the Tuilleries Gardens
• On the steps of Sacre Coeur where people hang out
• The area around the Pompidou Center

This is in no way a complete list.

Nor is it a reason not to visit those areas.  Simply put off people who approach you - just walk on by, say "Non, merci," keep your attention on your wallet and bags, and enjoy!!

Looking for more advice on how to enjoy this great city? Please visit Paris Made Simple information about planning your perfect Paris Vacation!

Original Huffington Post Article

Tour 13 Paris: Cutting edge art - beautiful, raw, but fleeting.

Paris is always a jumble of preservation, tearing down, and building up. It is my most favorite thing about the city. It's what makes every trip different and exciting. The "Paris Tour 13" is an example. Cutting edge art - beautiful, raw, but fleeting.

The realities of large cities are that there are always less savory and romantic parts. Most people who visit Paris visit the key sites and leave with a glittering impression of a cosmopolitan city steeped in history - fancy buildings, glittering gold leaf, and polished parks.

But looking beyond the center of the city, you will find rich neighborhoods full of students, immigrants and people struggling to make it to next week. These are also Parisians living the reality of their lives on the edges of glitter.

For more information and pictures about this art "instillation" see:

http://butterflyartnews.com/2013/10/01/paris-la-tour-13/

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/Default.aspx?pageID=447&GalleryID=1747

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Favorite Movies About Paris - Part One

FRANTIC  1988 with Harrison Ford and Emmanuelle Seigner
Admittedly, this movie only gets mediocre ratings. But I love the interaction between the two main characters and that it shows a lot of Paris, including the gritty side. Paris seems more polished now than it was back in the mid '80s.

It also holds some definite fascination because it must have been filmed when I lived there. How did I miss running into Harrison Ford??? As I look at some facts from IMDb.com, I see it was filmed in areas of Paris I never went. Darn it!

THE DA VINCI CODE (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) 2006 with Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou

Lots of people know this movie. Although only the beginning and end of the movie are actually in Paris, it does show some beautiful scenes in some of the most well known, glamorous areas of the city.


LA FEMME NIKITA (Special Edition)  1990 with Anne Parillaud and Jean-Hugues Anglade

This is one of my absolute favorite movies ever. Besides being filmed in Paris, it's just a great story. I'm not sure the movie got a lot of publicity in the U.S. but it of course spawned an American version Point of No Return (of offense to Bridget Fonda, but after seeing the original, I hated this movie) and a TV series that I've never seen but made it 5 seasons.

This was the first time I ever saw Jean Reno, whom I love. His role wasn't big and was pretty gruesome, but I still think of him as "Victor - nettoyer (the cleaner)". I also love Tcheky Karyo whom you may know from Addicted to Love and GoldenEye.

THE NINTH GATE 1999 with Johnny Depp, Frank Langella, and Emmanuelle

Seigner (see Frantic) I love this movie because, well, Johnny Depp and Emmanuelle Seigner are in it. It begins in NY, but moves to Paris and then to the countryside. The story is fascinating.


If you are planning a trip to Paris, or would like to, visit Paris Made Simple.

Celebrating France's National Holiday

Many people don't know that Bastille day, or "le quatorze Juillet" as it's more commonly called by the French, is their version of the American 4th of July. But what are they celebrating?

There were lots of events that lead into the French Revolution. But it's generally recognized that the events on the 14th of July 1789 was the beginning - and the reason for the celebration.

On that day, the revolutionary mob stormed the infamous Bastille prison where the kings had housed political prisoners for generations.

The interesting thing was, that Louis the XVI had only seven prisoners at the time, including the Marquis de Sade! They also lived in better conditions than most of the mob that freed the prisoners.

When we were in Paris last summer, we celebrated with the Parisians!

For more about our adventure, Celebrating Bastille Day.

Here's a video of the fireworks, disco style! Starts a bit slowly and is dark but works into a beautiful display, silhouetting the Eiffel Tower and the huge disco ball!

 

If you are planning a trip to Paris, or would like to, visit Paris Made Simple.

Visiting the Louvre Museum

 Last night I was watching my hero, Rick Steves, visit Paris. His tour of the Louvre got me thinking and wanting to share.

Although the Louvre Museum does not make my "Must-See"  list, many people consider it impossible to visit Paris and NOT visit the Louvre. The reason I don't include it in my list is simple because of the size and time it takes to visit. There are so many museums in Paris, many of which can be enjoyed in a half-day, leaving plenty of time for other enjoyments, that I prefer that approach. But that's my personal way of enjoying the city, and not right for everyone.

For those that want to see the Louvre, take Rick Steve's advice and don't try to see it all at once. With prior planning, you can choose the collections you want to see and leave others for another day. Visit the Louvre's official web site to help decide what you want to see. Then, I suggest you save LOTS of time by buying and picking up your tickets in advance - this allows you to skip to the front of the line, which can get very long indeed.

Here's a great teaser from one of Rick Steve's show:

 

If you'd like more information about enjoying your own trip to Paris, visit www.ParisMadeSimple.com.

Snack Time - French Style

Fresh Figs

Fresh Almonds and Rose

 I first discovered the wonderful ritual of goûter when I was an au pair one summer. I was 16 and my Aunt had put me on a train to meet a family who did not speak French. I would be taking care of their kids for "les vacances." I learned so much during those four weeks, like the word for broom, diaper, and every possible ingredient for rice salad. I learned you can not make pancakes Americain from French flour and all about the love and joy a family can share during a relaxing vacation together.

But back to le goûter. Since the French eat dinner later, like 7pm or later, you really need to fortify yourself about 4pm. This was the time I got our chocolate bars, cookies, pastries, a fresh baguette, milk and other amazingly wonderful goodies. The kids always just ate what they wanted and walked away. But since this was new to me, I gained weight!!

Years later when I lived in Paris, I worked for a family in Paris near the Buttes Chaumont. I would take the metro up to this exotic neighborhood and pick up the elementary school aged boy at school and walk him home. And there was, once again, a never ending spread of goodies set out by the very nice Algerian housekeeper. Since she knew I was broke, she would stuff me with crepes and cheese and bread. I was always so grateful to her. 

So whenever I go to France with my family now, I always make sure to have a hearty goûter. And this afternoon, I am craving a good selection of French food to satisfy my taste buds and my soul.

If you'd like more information about enjoying your own trip to Paris, visit www.ParisMadeSimple.com.

One of Each, Please

OK, Just These for Today

Marzipan Fig and Pig

Giant Meringue

Pate, Cheese, Olives, Normandy Butter, Tomatoes, Apricots

A Baguette and a Surprise from the Patisserie

Our Parisian Apartment

I have to say that for the price, we had the BEST apartment in Paris!

Travelling with my husband and 12 yr old daughter meant that I wanted some space. We went for two weeks and let's face it, family vacations can get tense. So being Americans, space is important. But in Paris, space is premium!

We ended up with an amazing 3 room apartment with a balcony, wi-fi, washer/dryer, huge flat screen with cable, and a dishwasher! It was a very secure building and had an elevator.

One thing about Parisian spaces. Sometimes the configurations are weird. Most of the time, people are working with 100 yr old plus buildings. I can't even imagine what it must be like to retrofit these old structures.

This apartment was truly beautiful. Not fancy, but each room was large and had all we needed. The central room was the kitchen, dining table, pantry, and had a couch. There were two floor-to-cieling double windows which opened out onto the terrace. Flanking this room was a bedroom with a queen sized room, desk and an amazing amount of closet space! There was also a floor-to-ceiling window which opened onto the terrace. On the other side of the kitchen was a huge living room with two high quality futon couches/beds. There was also two floor-to-ceiling windows in here too!

All the windows were modern with double glazed glass. This made the apartment quiet. We were on the street side and just off of a major boulevard (Magenta) so there was noise. But hey, it's the city! And we were a mere 1 minute walk from the metro. The other nice thing is that we were easy walking distance to either Gare d'Est or Republic metro stations. Since both are major hubs, you can get everywhere from there. And the RER comes right into the Gard de Nord (right next to Gare d'Est) right from the airport.

Although we were not in the elegant city center, we had a less expensive and equally convenient neighborhood. It was a five minute walk to the Canal St. Martin and the whole neighborhood has an amazingly cool vibe! It's young, hip, and friendly.

So all of this was about 500 euros less per week than anything else I can find for this amount of space.

 For more information and help planning your trip to Paris without breaking the bank, visit ParisMadeSimple!