You’re about to realize your dream: living in Paris for a month. You found an apartment, booked your flight, and learned how to ask for les toilettes.

You imagine strolling through the city, taking in the sights, hanging out at cafés, and being…Parisian.  Of course, part of the fun of travel is making new friends. As much as we love French hospitality, local Parisians and expats aren’t always hanging out in cafés looking for tourists to befriend. If your plan was to strike up conversation with the local artists over espresso at your neighborhood bistrot, you might want to think up a slightly more elaborate back-up plan. Just in case.

Michel NGUYEN; Yuwen Teo

Plus, maybe your idea of Paris includes escaping the tourist traps and discovering truly local haunts – great live music at an otherwise unassuming dive bar, or a fantastic meal at your neighborhood restaurant. With a dash of creativity, there are plenty of original ways to meet people and experience a little of the true Paris. Here are a few ideas:

Gael Sagueton

• Jim Haynes’ Sunday dinners. Jim Haynes, an American ex-pat, has been holding Sunday dinner at his apartment in the 14^th arrondissement for 30 years. You will meet plenty of Americans, but also people from France and other countries. Make your reservation early, as Jim’s apartment is small and can only hold about 50 people. If it’s a warm and clear night, he’ll accept more people as the crowd spills outside. After making a reservation, contact Jim on Sunday morning to get his building code and plan to arrive at 8 pm sharp. A donation is suggested, but you don’t need to bring anything else.
• CouchSurfing. This organization connects locals who have a little extra sleeping space with travelers looking for a place to stay for free. Beyond finding a cheap place to rest your head, it’s also a great way to meet locals and see a city through their eyes. CouchSurfing has groups in most major cities; the Paris group is very active, with over 60,000 members. Every Monday night, Parisian members meet at The Lions pub for trivia night and in the summertime, picnics are organized in parks all over the city. On any given day, you can find half dozen things to do: meet someone to go sightseeing, attend a party at someone’s home, join a vegetarian brunch… Once you sign up, go to the Paris group page to connect with locals and travelers looking for things to do in Paris.

Christophe Verdier

• Practice your Franglish. Franglish (it’s actually called that) is a group of French and English speakers that meets every week in Paris. The concept is kind of like speed-dating-meets-language-lessons over drinks, but rather than dating, it’s a way to make friends. You first chat with one person for 7 minutes in French, followed by 7 minutes in English. You switch partners and languages several times and recent transplants will be happy to know that your French doesn’t have to be perfect.
• Join organizations or volunteer. The American Library in Paris, the largest English-language library in Europe, puts together a number of events and opportunities for expats to mingle, including author readings, discussions, art and photography exhibits, and a book club that meets monthly. They’re also always on the lookout for volunteers. Whether or not you attend worship services at the American Church in Paris, you’re welcome to partake in the yoga, karate, or Scottish dancing classes they offer, among others.

Gael Sagueton

• If you’re in Paris to get away from your fellow Americans, try the Expatriate Party – a social group for ex-pats from all over the world. They put together events such as Cinema Night, Zoo Day, Karaoke and a Sunday morning run.
• For more ideas, check out other ex-pat sites like AngloInfo Paris.

Gael Sagueton

Clearly, opportunities for mixing and mingling with locals and expats abound in Paris. If this list just filled your Paris agenda with a little too much activity, remember that there’s also nothing more Parisian than leaving room for the unexpected, as you sip an espresso on your local café terrace… Who knows what might happen!

Related Links:

• La Mom comments on the strange expat slang time warp
• Jennyphoria on the highs and lows of visa trouble in France
• Meetup.com also organizes lots of getogethers for American expats in Paris

Written by Nicole Gustin for the HiP Paris Blog. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.

When I popped home to the UK in November, London was already in full festive swing with Christmas trees, festive songs and neon lights galore. Sent back with a Cadbury’s chocolate advent calendar adorned with an oversized Santa, I was ready to start the Christmas season with a bang.

Making Magique

Yet once back home across the pond, I realized Paris hadn’t joined in on the fun yet. I was ready to start in on my advent calendar and temperatures were plunging, but where were all those tell tale signs that our favorite mid-winter festival was fast approaching?

This set me thinking. What exactly is a Parisian Christmas? What happens in the cold windy days leading up to the big event? I set out on a mission to discover the seasonal delights that France’s most romantic city had to offer.

Little Brown Pen

Shopping

Although the Christmas shopping frenzy begins relatively late in Paris (thankfully, shops only step into gear at the end of November), once it gets going, it really gets going. Stores go all out with light shows and designer-crafted window displays – always tasteful, bien sur. First stop? Paris’s iconic department stores. Whilst London has toy-filled Hamleys and elegant Harrods, Paris showcases its trademark sophistication with Les Galleries Lafayette and the neighbouring Printemps, where Karl Lagerfeld’s touch marks this year’s displays: think Chanel-clad rock ‘n’ roll dolls strumming their electric guitars and 20m Christmas trees.

Conclusion: a little slow off the starting blocks, but Paris comes through in true style.
Printemps: 64, bd Haussmann, metro Havre Chaumartin
Galleries Lafayette: 40, bd Haussmann, metro Chausee d’Antin – Fayette

Little Brown Pen

Markets
December in Paris wouldn’t be complete without a good dose of Christmas markets. The stalls clustered along the Champs Elysees are beautifully situated (one of the most luxurious streets in the world all lit up with golden lights – what more could you want!) with the roaring traffic detracting only a little from the romantic scene. I highly recommended warming up with some mulled wine, nibbling on roasted chestnuts (a French Christmas favorite) and finishing it all off with a chocolate dipped apple.

Conclusion: Christmas markets are a key Parisian Christmas ingredient. They may not be big or overly original, but they are brimming with seasonal good cheer (with a little help from the steaming vin chaud).
November 19 – January 2, 2012, Avenue des Champs-Elysées to the Place de la Concorde ( Metro Champs Elysées-Clemenceau or Concorde)
For a full list of Paris’ neighborhood Christmas Markets, click here

Carams

More Christmassy excitement

What else does Paris have store for Christmas-lovers? Having diligently wandered the streets, I’ve definitely had my festive fix for 2011.  My highlights include:

-    The illuminated Ferris Wheel at the Place de la Concorde
-    The elegant lights in the cobbled rue Montorgueil
-    The giant Christmas tree outside Notre Dame cathedral
-    The temporary ice skating at Hotel de Ville
Although Christmas cheer may hit the French capital a little late, Parisians certainly know how to do the festive run-up with taste. If we’ve missed anything, please drop us a comment with your favourite Paris Christmas moments below!
Wherever you are this Christmas, I wish you all a joyeux Noël!

Stop by the Corner

Related Links:

• The NY Times has some great tips on what to do in Paris on Christmas Day
• Here’s a funny post on the French love for fake Christmas trees… truly inexplicable. 
• Paris By Mouth has a great list of restaurant recommendations open for Christmas in Paris

Written by Victoria Wall for the HiP Paris Blog. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.

The daily menu at Lantana

From Gare du Nord to St Pancras in just over two hours? Do you really need another reason to hop on the 8:13 Eurostar and spend the day in London? Vite, mes amis! Allez à Londres!

Where the delicious flat whites at Lantana are made

The key to tackling the jolly old British capital in just a day is to focus on a select few neighborhoods—and fuel up on caffeine immediately after arriving. Both can be accomplished at Lantana in Fitzrovia, a relatively quick walk west of the San Pancras train station. The toasted banana bread with blueberry butter is divine and a “flat white,” more delicious than the best café crème, will put a spring in your step all day.

Gorgeous furniture by Designer’s Guild

Once caf’ed up, head to nearby Marylebone, where the shopping is as spectacular as the architecture. A stroll down Marylebone High Street will reveal everything from colorful home accessories at Designers Guild and Emma Bridgewater to beauty supplies at Space NK and Boots.

A selection of cheese at La Fromagerie

But the real jackpot is Daunt Books. The two-story Anglo bookstore has so many great titles, along with a massive selection of travel tomes, that you’ll probably need to fortify yourself from all the browsing around the corner at La Fromagerie’s Cheese Room. This glass-walled walk-in is a stinky den of creamy delights from all over Europe. (Eat your heart out, Frenchies!)

The beautiful space at Daunt Books (Hannah Swithinbank)

Next, head south through chichi Mayfair, making your way to The Wolseley for a proper lunch. This London classic offers everything from chopped chicken salad to grilled sea bass to scones, and it’s just a few doors down from Fortnum & Mason so you can pick up pretty tea tins and other food bits and bobs for friends back in Paris.

Afternoon tea at Fortnum & Mason

With your belly sated, it’s time to feed your mind on art—contemporary art at the Tate Modern. Meander south through Green Park, peek at Buckingham Palace (you’re in London, after all), and carry on through the lovely Saint James Park. London is a massively sprawling metropolis with barreling double-decker buses and hordes of tourists, but the plentiful green trees are lush and utterly transporting.

Rachel Pasch – Making Magique

Once at the Thames, hop on a river bus from the Westminster Pier to Bankside. This quick trip to the South Bank is about the price of a Tube ride but filled with sightseeing ohhs and ahhs and photo opps, and lets you off right near the museum. The Tate Modern, located in an old power station on the South Bank, is such a cool building it’s worth going just to check out the grand, sloping Turbine Hall. But do due diligence and check out modern masters such as Francis Bacon, Jenny Holzer and Anish Kapoor.

Chutneys for your pork pie at Borough Market

The day is getting precariously short but, before heading back to St Pancras, visit London’s oldest food market, Borough Market (open Thursday – Saturday). Even if you don’t pick up a chocolaty brownie or savory meat pie, or stop at the always-mobbed Monmouth Coffee, it’s a visual delight of fresh produce, fish, baked goods and local wares.

Tea jars at Lantana

Since London traffic—especially on the Tube—can be so brutal, make your way back to St Pancras. Worst case scenario, you have a little time to kill before your 20:02 train, and can take a glass of bubbly at the longest champagne bar in all of Europe, located on the second level of the station. But if time is more limited, head to WHSmith and scoop up some Brit mags and Cadbury chocolates to savor back in Paris.

After such an exciting day, you may need to take a cab so you don’t miss the train! (Josh O’Sullivan)

Either way, be sure you’ve booked a Standard Premier ticket, so you can enjoy dinner, drinks and free magazines while chunneling back to gai Paree—arriving at Gare du Nord with plenty of time for un verre at Chez Jeannette.

Related Links:

• Looking for a place to stay in London? Our Chelsea vacation rental flat is impeccably located, and has its own garden!
• The London Foodie shares London foodie faves.
• For great pubs and restaurants in London, Emerald street knows the scoop.

Written by Amy Thomas for the HiP Paris Blog. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in London, Paris, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.

Bonjour!

The winter months are absolutely wonderful in Paris. The lines are shorter at our favorite museums and sights, and the restaurants put their best foot forward for the locals - steak frites never tasted so good!

Since we’d rather be in Paris in December, January and February, we’re offering you an amazing opportunity on Friday, November 25, 2011.

The dining room in our Penthievre apartment

Instead of spending Black Friday* braving the crowds for lackluster deals, you can spend that day with Haven in Paris. On November 25 only, we’ll be offering amazing discounts on stays in December, January and February, including 20% off all 1-week, low season visits. Now that’s a deal to write home about… from your perfect pied-a-terre in the city of light!

The master bedroom in our Penthievre apartment

Contact us now to begin planning your Paris visit, and we look forward to finalizing all the details on November 25th.

Warmly,
Erica, Genevieve, Maggie, Ariel and Andrea
The Haven in Paris Team

Our Lagrange apartment, located on the Left Bank around the corner from Notre Dame

A few notes:

• Offers cannot be combined; we will honor the best rate.
• This discount applies to 1-week visits in most apartments from now through February 29, 2012, and excludes December 18, 2011-January 4, 2012.

All bookings must be secured with a signed rental agreement between 12:00 am-11:59 pm EST on November 25th. The sale will be honored for all emails sent to Haven in Paris during these hours; we will do our best to answer all emails promptly.

Related Links:

• To check out our Paris vacation rental apartments now, click here.
• To contact us to start planning your Paris holiday, click here.
• To take a look at our great special offers, click here.

The master bedroom in our Lagrange apartment

You’d think that as a travel photographer who’s endlessly enamored of Paris, finding infinite inspiration for things to shoot in the City of Light would be proverbial cake. Well, you’d be wrong. At least where this Francophile photog is concerned!

My problem with Paris (and what a wonderful challenge to have) is that after so many visits, what was once a mysterious new wonderland to discover and dissect through the lens is now a favorite, intimately familiar old haunt. So when I found myself “stuck” in Paris for two weeks last spring per that little volcanic kerfuffle in Iceland instead of down south in new-to-me Nice, I was actually un peu perturbed.

After settling into the reality that I’d be in Paris awhile — and potentially a really long while if that blasted Eyjafjallajökull didn’t pipe down already, I finally began to relax and reflect on how best to start a fresh relationship with this city I had captured through my lens so many times before. In the end, I don’t know what I was so worried about! With a few simple adjustments to my habitual Paris routines, seeing the city anew was easy.

Even though you’re not in Venice, go ahead and get lost.

Armed with my trusty copy of Michelin’s Paris par Arrondissement, I wandered sans worry. One of the most important things I learned was to take the time to explore and absorb at a leisurely clip – day or night. Rather than defaulting to the subway, the bus became my primary mode of public transportation. Better to survey large, unfamiliar chunks of the city that way, and scout new nooks and crannies to tackle à pied. Similarly, if I did ride the metro, I used it to reach pockets of Paris that I’d never seen or strolled before. It was fantastique.

Get up early, or stay out late.

As on any trip, I set my alarm to rise and shine before the sun and the city. I love doing this and particularly in a place like Paris, both for the dreamy photo opps and for the priceless experience of watching timeless cityscapes come to life. Plus it’s just about the only way you’re going to score some private time with landmarks like La Tour Eiffel. Unless you’re willing to stay out way after dark, which isn’t really my thing, but man — talk about interesting photo opportunities.

Make your own photo scavenger hunt.

Paris is so much more than its famous landmarks, and I had a blast reminding myself of this simple fact. Architectural elements are a favorite focus of my photos, and on this trip I found myself obsessed with collecting as many of the city’s old ornate doors as my camera’s SD card would hold. And if you have a love of street art as I do, Paris is a jackpot; so many stellar examples and such a fun theme to hunt, especially if you hone in on one or two artists. On this trip I discovered the work of Leo & Pipo and enjoyed keeping my eyes peeled for their quirky installations all over town.

Take another look at the landmarks.

I thought about skipping the city’s typically touristed suspects, having enjoyed them already over multiple trips past. In compromise, I picked a few and made a point to see them anew, too. I tried to compose my shots from a variety of vantage points and distances from the subject. Mixing it up this way and folding in additional variations like time of day can make for spectacular shots. A stroll through Paris at either the Golden Hour (the hour just after sunrise and before sunset) or the Blue Hour (also known as twilight, this is the hour just before sunrise or after sundown) can also turn up some brilliant, original light combinations. And one night at the Louvre, I really did see something for the first time — the Mona Lisa!

Related Links:

• Didier Gauducheau, one of Haven in Paris’ favorite photogs, also offers guided photography tours of Paris
• Europa Photogenica also offers photo tours throughout Europe
• Do you have pictures of Paris you’d like to share and maybe see featured on this blog? Check out the HiP Paris flickr group! We would love to hear from you.

Written by Marisa Williams for the HiP Paris Blog. All images by Marisa Williams. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.

The beach in Nice: Marisa Williams

Years ago I set my eye on the goal of purchasing a “pied-à-terre” in Nice for a long list of reasons:

1. Nice is nice. Let’s face it, it’s the Riviera, the Côte d’Azur, the land of the rich and famous with the blue Mediterranean Sea, balmy weather, palm trees and Italian flavor. What could be so bad?

2. Property in Nice and its environs is increasing in value on a steady basis. With an international airport and an active port, the blue coast is France’s second hotspot after Paris. This makes Nice, and just about all of the coast, an excellent real estate investment.

Nice - Marisa Williams

3. R and R…the moment one lands at Nice’s contemporary and easy airport, and you head toward Nice down the Promenade des Anglais under the swaying palms with the sea at your side, the stress just melts away. Traveling to Nice from Paris is fast and inexpensive, making weekend getaways about as easy as it gets — a perfect antidote to the cold, gray, rainy winters in Paris.

4. Rental potential of vacation apartments, particularly for the North American market, is ripe for business. While the British and Italians are well served by their own compatriots, Americans have been overlooked. Americans want and expect a higher standard of luxury and service than their European counterparts know how to provide. From a business perspective, Nice was looking awfully nice.

Cute streets in old Nice Marisa Williams

But, I discovered that doing business in Nice isn’t so nice. The Niçois have their own way of doing things, very different from Parisian style, and that takes some getting used to. After a few rough bumps, I decided that the fifth reason for purchasing there was, in fact, to pave the way for Americans and to protect them along the way, allowing the burden to rest on my shoulders instead of on theirs.

In one personal situation where the purchase was retracted during the 7-day cooling-off period known as the “délai de rétractation,” instead of hoping to recuperate the loss of the purchase by offering more properties (an American approach to keeping the client), the seller’s agency actually issued a letter in writing saying: “Dear Madam, We do not believe at all in your good intentions and are sure that even if we had business to propose, we would propose it to everyone but you. Good riddance!”

Nice –  buildings and passageways: D’Alk; Julieta Alvarez

In another, the Notaire representing the seller became exasperated with the final negotiations between buyer and seller and actually refused to stay and assist her client, leaving both the buyer and seller on their own to complete a few final decisions and review the complicated pre-sale agreement without her mediation, stating, “When you’re ready, I’ll send in my secretary for you to sign!” (Isn’t it her job to be legal advisor and mediator!?)

In yet another, after receiving a full-price offer in writing by a willing buyer, the seller tried to reduce his capital gains tax from the sale by claiming to have another buyer willing to pay him cash ‘under the table’ — an illegal transaction in France. While this is done, it’s not so openly ‘tossed around,’ given its illegal implications.

The main beach by the Promenade des Anglais in Nice: Erica Berman

Recounting these trials and tribulations is not meant to scare the would-be buyer, but to emphasize that an investment can be made in Nice with great confidence, as long as it’s done with professional help that acts on behalf of the buyer to protect him or her.

After much deliberation and trial and error, I’ve purchased an apartment in Nice, in the district known as the “Carré d’Or” — just a short walk to the beach on a pedestrian street of the city’s chicest shops. One of our clients is purchasing the adjacent apartment and by the end of 2011, we will have two luxury apartments to accommodate a total of 10 people in a beautiful “bourgeois” building ready to accept guests.

This is just the beginning of a new and exciting adventure on the Blue Coast of France.

The famous Promende des Anglais walkway in Nice: Erica Berman

Related Links:

• HiP Paris friend Rosa Jackson, a Nicoise herself, shares one of Nice’s most typical dishes: the Pissaladière
• Tartelette has another recipe of a typical dish of the region, Les Petits Farcis
• If you are interested in buying in Nice, feel free to get in touch with Adrian directly at adrian@adrianleeds.com

Written by Adrian Leeds  for the HiP Paris Blog. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.

For years, everyone—especially New Yorkers—has been clamoring for the death of the cupcakes. Let those pastel-colored, frosting-slathered, sprinkled-adorned, oh-so-cute sugar bombs be over! Can we puh-leeze move on?? And it would appear, with Ladurée’s arrival on Madison Avenue, New Yorkers may finally get their wish: the macaron could soon trump the cupcake as the sweet du jour.

Ladurée’s new NYC store, and its line of fans (Amy Thomas)

Of course Parisians are well acquainted with Ladurée, the 149-year-old salon de thé that purportedly invented the macaron. But with the exception of savvy New Yorkers who used to raid the Champs-Elysées store for a box of Technicolor two-bite treats, and then proudly parade their pale green shopping bags around the Upper East Side, the French brand has remained an exotic import to New Yorkers. Which explains the two-hour queues.

Ladurée macarons (Yuichi Sakuraba)

To be fair, by the time I made it to Ladurée, three weeks after it opened, the line was down to a 15-minute wait. As if I were a macaron virgin, the dauntless teenager in front of me who had previously waited hours for a Ladurée hit, told me the sweets “were totally worth the wait.” Meanwhile, a well-coiffed, apron-outfitted mademoiselle regulated the door, not only to control the floods of groupies, but also to keep the inside of the boutique cool for the delicate douceurs.

The line in front of Ladurée’s new NYC store (Amy Thomas)

The maiden New York outpost is a more modest affair than the ones in Paris. There are 15 macaron flavors—including the only-in-America cinnamon raisin, seasonal options (strawberry-mint, green apple) and perennial favorites (lemon, cassis)—along with a small selection of chocolates; financiers and madeleines; plus packaged jams and teas. And although they don’t sell viennoiseries or gateaux individuels, you can bring home a candle, journal, tote bag or other branded accessory to prove you’ve broached the famed patisserie’s doors.

American macarons, still Ladurée (Vivian Mac)

Within another week or two, Ladurée’s lines shouldn’t be any longer than the ones in Paris. But when the full-blown salon de thé opens in Soho next spring (yes, really!), the macaron madness should be just as over-the-top as the cupcake craze has been.

Ladurée, 864 Madison Avenue, (646) 558-3157. Open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 6. Macarons in 15 flavors are $2.70 each.

Related Links:

• HiP Paris friend Robin Locker (My Mélange) also stopped by the NYC store
• Refinery 29 also wrote about the opening, and they have a lovely slideshow of the store’s interior
• Here’s a little timeline of the macaron’s success Stateside

Shades of Italian architecture

I did a very bad thing.  I left Paris to spend some time in Naples.  There are some jealousy issues there.

Since I moved to Paris, I have never spent as much time in another European city as I have in this Italian port town. After just a week of feeling and acting like a local, I knew I was in love with Neapolitan culture. People actually stop you in the street to help you, to recommend which souvenirs to buy, or which beach to visit. Literally, pull up a chair and join the street sitters – it is Mediterranean culture at its best.

Everyday life – Italy

On my last day, I feared returning home to my first love.  The piazzas, the sun that turns your skin a leisurely brown, the gesticulating yet welcoming Italians – how could I leave this? Paris all of a sudden seemed lacking in so many Italian essentials – and not just the perfectly ricotta-filled cannoli. What’s worse, I knew Paris would be able to smell my new Italian love affair all over my clothes.

A Genovese stoop

Thankfully, as I started walking through the City of Lights again after my week of Italian bliss, the familiarity of it all made me feel at home. All of the things I usually take for granted stood out a little more –the things that, as a visitor, I didn’t have with my Italian fling.

I strolled past my favorite bakery, du Pain et des Idées, and I realized that Parisian bakeries, with their choices of fresh baguettes and sweets, far outnumber those in Naples.  I loved Napoli’s cannoli and biscotti, but not every bakery I found carried my favorites or baked them to perfection. That rarely happens in Paris, but all too often I take this abundance and expertise for granted.

Scooters, a part of daily life in Italy

After taking the metro back from Gare du Nord, I realized that Parisian transportation, efficient and varied, is something I often forget to cherish.  After dodging scooters in Naples for a week, I was more than happy to hop on the metro and whizz past the loud, zigzagging scooters zipping down pedestrian streets.  Don’t get me wrong, nothing seems more romantic than a scooter ride through an Italian town, but after you’ve almost gotten run over 18 times, the veneer on this fantasy starts to fade.

Back in Paris

Strutting along the streets lined with people sipping drinks, it dawned on me that Parisian cafés, while a hallmark of the city, are so often overlooked.  I forget that I can just sit in a café for hours reading or writing with a café allongé next to me.  In Naples, we threw down our tiny, albeit superior, espressos at the bar without the leisurely people watching inherent in Parisian cafés.

Parisian cafe culture

Lugging my Limoncello-laden bag along the boulevard, I was thinking about how sweat-drenched I must look to passers-by. My fellow Parisians were so put-together, and there I was, in dire need of a shower and clean socks, imbued with the laissez-aller attitude towards fashion Napoli had drawn me into after just one week.

And even though the Parisian sun was beating down when I arrived, powdery Parisians surrounded me everywhere I went – despite, presumably, having just returned from their month of requisite August vacances. Call me vain, but I was delighted to discover my Napolitan-sun-soaked-skin was the tannest of them all.

Montmartre, Paris

Although I was tempted by Naples’ Mediterranean delights, more than anything, my summer fling helped reinforce my devotion to my one true love. Give me my boulangeries, fromageries and, yes, even my powdery white skin, and I’ll leave the cannoli, pizza and biscotti to the Italians.

Related Links:

• Gomorrah Girl -  Photos from another Napoli
• We love Andrew Grosso’s Italian experience in Florence
• Back in Paris, Bryan writes about La Rentrée on his blog, Where’s Bryan
• We love to daydream about living here

Written by Bryan Pirolli for the Hip Paris Blog. All images (Genova and Paris) by Erica Berman. For our amazing rentals in Paris, Provence & Tuscany check out our website Haven in Paris.

Spending a summer in Paris is a dream come true, but as the Parisians rushed away to enjoy the famous French summer holidays, we got a bit envious and started dreaming of our own escape into the countryside. Thankfully, we were in for a treat: a day trip to one of the most famous regions of France…Champagne! We were invited along by Sydney Kruger, owner of A Tasty Side to Life, a private tour service that specializes in unlocking doors to some of the best small producers of the region.

Picked up in the morning by a private driver, Sydney, a girl who knows her way to my heart, had croissants waiting for us in the car. As we made our way out of Paris to the fresh air of the countryside, she filled us in on the history of the region (still one of the least visited in France), and gave us some great information on how champagne is actually made. By the time we arrived at the first vineyard, we had enough knowledge to taste like the pros.

Rosé champagne. Lesser known and still delicious.

Many of the small producers of the region are closed to the public, but Sydney’s tours specialize in getting access to those vineyards that the public might otherwise not be able to see. Our first stop, le Gallais, was typical of the Champagne houses she seeks out for her clients. This tiny Champagne house owned by an Armenian family is located on just 4 hectares of land from which they produce 11,000 bottles a year.  Madame Clicquot (of Veuve Clicquot) had her hunting lodge on the vineyard grounds (calling it a lodge is a bit of an understatement, it was an amazing chateau), which the family is now carefully restoring. What is most amazing is that the vines are hand pruned and picked by just two men, Herver Gallais, and Dominique, his right hand man. Dominique himself personally showed us around. It was truly a gem to discover and enjoy, and one we would have never found on our own!

The next stop was a gourmet lunch with Elisabeth Vollereaux at her Chateau Les Aulnois a Pierry, a luxury bed and breakfast tucked away in the heart of the region. The gorgeous, jewel box rooms that we toured were absolutely to die for. Sydney often arranges accommodations here for guests looking for a longer séjour in Champagne. We took some time to relax in the topiary garden (because we’d had a tough day so far), before tucking into a delicious salad made of vegetables grown on the chateau grounds. After, we sampled a few cheeses from the region and topped the meal off with Vollereaux champagne from Elizabeth’s family.

It was with slightly wobbly steps that we made our way across the village to our last producer of the day, Michel Lenique. This award winning champagne house was founded in 1768 and produces several different cuvées.  After sampling most of them with Michel’s sister (yes, after almost 250 years, it’s still a family business), we toured the ancient caves.

Champagne and Sydney

Finally, like all good things, our day came to an end and we had to bid au revoir to our new favorite region of France.  We floated back to Paris on a sea of champagne bubbles and a trunk filled with cuvées!

Sydney, Ariel and Andrea after a fun day of tasting!

For more information on A Tasty Side to Life, check out their website. Also, don’t miss Sydney’s delightful blog.

Related Links:

• Not Drinking Poison‘s funny take on a champagne tasting
• For wine tastings in Paris and trips to the Champagne region, check out O Chateau
• Le Best of Paris covers Les Caves Taillevent, a fantastic wine store in Paris with expert sommeliers to advise you on your choices

Written by Ariel for the Hip Paris Blog. All photos by Michael Tucker. For our amazing rentals in Paris, Provence & Tuscany check out our website Haven in Paris.

Corsica: the (not-so) hidden gem of France. It’s that droplet in the Mediterranean, the little spot on the map that’s always got better weather than you.  It’s a small island spattered with tiny coastal towns, separated by mountains with winding roads so narrow, a pair of mountain goats would have to walk single-file.  My girlfriend’s people come from there, so we decided to take a trip to discover this place, these people, and if possible, avoid any mild-mannered political arson that might come our way.

Now, to imagine a Corsican, take a French person who talks like an Italian and spends all day at the beach, et voila!  Corsican identity is fierce.  You can’t find a store, street, or product that doesn’t bear the proud Corsican flag.  Corsicans admit they’re known for being a bit lazy, but certainly not lacking in ambition.  A common postcard has a Corsican flag running up the Eiffel Tower with the motto: “yes, we can”.

As you could assume from the place that brought us Napoleon (the dude, not the dessert treat), Corsicans are tough.  You’ve never seen so many serious faces relaxing at the beach.  There’s also quite a bit of mafia down here.  The term ‘vendetta’ was basically started in Corsica – or Sicily; there’s actually a pretty serious vendetta going on about who really started it.  On the flip side, Corsicans are a genuinely welcoming people – all you need to win their affection is to share their appreciation of their homeland.

And luckily, it’s impossible not to love the tiny enchanting towns, lonely seaside highways, orange mountains driving from the edge of the sea, and neighbors who bring you fresh tomatoes from their gardens.

Rather than list the litany of Corsica’s invaders, suffice it to say that the island “has been occupied continuously since the Mesolithic era”.  So on occasion they’re known to welcome summer vacationers with some good-natured quirky local antics, like spray-painting over French versions of town names, or setting houses on fire.  On our visit, we happened to be downwind of one of those fires.

The first and only time I saw a concerned look on the face of a Corsican, which shall henceforth be known as a universal cause for panic, I knew there was trouble.  The smoke plume emitted a fierce heat and orange glow from the house just across the street.  Time to go, right?  So we grabbed the important stuff and got the hell out of dodge.  While gawking just beyond the path of the flame, a white SUV slides to a stop and the driver says, “I’m your cousin, come with us”.

Watching the smoke rise from his patio not far away, I realized that you have to act like a family here, even if you aren’t.  If the easiest way to put out a fire is with an airplane, you may have a while to wait before the French authorities make their way over. In the meantime, your neighbors are all you’ve got. In the end, the house was spared, just barely.  The fire took a curious turn away from the house, crossing a small street and a highway and avoiding the houses on our side and a chicken coop on the other.  Our mysterious cousin took us back home where we returned our ‘important items’ to their places – for me, computer/camera/passport, and for my girlfriend, clothes/makeup/other clothes.

We never found out if it was arson and we probably never will.  But you learn more about a place in a time of crisis than you do confined to the walls of Club Med.  Corsicans are defined by their shared isolation, but also by their fierce solidarity. Plus, they were smart enough to stay put in paradise.  So if you’re crazy enough to ever leave, you’re not Corsican.  But if you’ve seen this place, worked up a decent tan, eaten a perfect meal and stared out at the sea with the powerful urge to do nothing, you’ll at least understand a little bit of what makes Corsicans tick.

Related Links:

• HiP Paris fave Badaude has her own seaside escapade
• For some summer food inspiration, check out The Cook’s Atelier andEat Boutique
• In Paris news, David Lebovitz hits  up Frenchie Wine Bar

Written by Charlie Almond for the HiP Paris Blog. All images by Dave Bloom. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.