INSPIRATION BLOG
No More Hotels: 10 Reasons To Rent A Paris Vacation Apartment Now
I was born into the hotel business. Literally. My mother was the owner’s private secretary, and my father was the Social Director for an huge upstate New York resort. My mom told me (when I was of age) that I was actually conceived in one of the hotel rooms. It’s no...
Unique Things to do in Paris: Forget the typical Seine River boat and try this instead
In Paris, you can find just about anything from low-brow to high-brow: You can enjoy street art or view the best art in the world in the Musee du Louvre or Musee d’Orsay. You can have a simple sidewalk crepe on the hoof or savor one at an elegant restaurant. Watch the...
Haricots Verts with Roasted Walnut Oil Vinaigrette
In my early years of visiting Paris there was one thing that drove me mad. No, it wasn't the language barrier (Je me debrouille, I get by), the less than pristine metro (I like a little "grittiness") or the perceived aloofness of Parisians (on the contrary, I find...
Where to Buy Groceries in Paris (plus, a delicious recipe from my mushroom man)
I’ve always been an adventurous traveler. Plop me down in the center of a major city and I’ll have its public transportation system figured out in a jiffy. A lovely, but off-the-beaten-path restaurant? Yes, leave it to me and I’ll find it. So, you might be surprised...
You can have these Hidden Paris Parks All to Yourself
I own this lovely little, if somewhat cheeky, book called Paris Versus New York. In this publication, the two most well-known cities in the world are compared side-by-side, illustrated in a series of paired images. Paris has baguettes, New York has bagels. Paris has...
Scent and The City: An Exclusive Look Paris Parfumerie
Some people remember a destination by what they see, some by what they hear. For me, it's what I smell. From the sweet aroma of ripe mangoes that grow in Thailand to the dank, familiar stench of the New York City subway, I often close my eyes several times a day to...
Skip the Eiffel Tower … Here’s Where to Go for a Real View!
Seeing Paris from the Eiffel Tower is one of those bucket-list musts, but would it be such a faux pas if you took your view of this beloved city from somewhere else? I’m half kidding about missing the Eiffel Tower – what lies beneath the tower ( a fascinating bunker)...
My French-Dreamy Interview with Famed French Girl in Seattle Blogger, Veronique Savoye
There are bloggers who write about Paris and France and then there is French Girl in Seattle. For seven years, French native and U.S. resident for over twenty years, Veronique Savoye (a.k.a. French Girl in Seattle) has regaled her readers with her passion for the...
My Spirited Interview with Queen of Cocktails Forest Collins
The queen is alive and well in Paris ... the queen of cocktails that is! It’s no other than Forest Collins, the doyenne of the cocktail scene in Paris and founder of 52Martinis.com, an online guide to the best cocktail bars in Paris and other small batch boozy news....
My Saucy Interview with Romance Writer April Lily Heise
Ask someone to characterize Paris and “romance” is usually at the top of their list of adjectives. But while most people’s vision of French amour looks a bit like a fairy tale, Paris’ foremost romance writer, April Lily Heise, in her romantic misadventures as her...