October 13, 2010 by Tory Hoen
Julien Hausherr – La Pagode theater’s Japanese style garden
While this list might appear to be a whimsically chosen, feel-good assortment of Parisian places and experiences, I’ll have you know that I agonized over the decisions herein. For instance, I couldn’t bring myself to include two houses of taxidermy (for fear of revealing myself to be a complete freak), so I had to make a heart-wrenching choice: Deyrolle or the Musée de la Chasse? A weighty conundrum indeed. Regardless, I’ve done my best to crystallize my love affair with Paris into ten snippets. Enjoy!
1. Bang-for-your-buck meal: The 12-Euro prix fixe lunch at Robert et Louise. Entrée, plat, roaring fire, convivial conversation with neighboring diners. Can’t do much better than that.
2. Inner-child indulgence: Is it just me, or does the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature make you believe in magic? I’m convinced that the taxidermy fox curled up on a Louis XV chair knows the meaning of life, if only I could get him to open up about it.
3. Street food: Roast chicken from the place on rue Mouffetard (just south of the produce stand on rue de l’Arbalète). Simply put: the chicken that changed my life. Pair with a little Dijon and you will instantly be transported to heaven. Chicken heaven.
Julien Hausherr – La Pagode garden and gilded screen room
4. Rainy day activity: Sneaking off to a film at La Pagode, a charming art house theater that was originally erected as an Eastern-themed ballroom in 1896. Dusty and elegant, it’s the perfect escape. Continue Reading »
Posted in Food, Parisian Living | 13 Comments »
June 18, 2010 by Tory Hoen
I’m recently back in New York from Paris and am suffering a particularly acute bout of withdrawal. I think part of the problem is that the structure of my days changes completely when I cross the ocean. On the European side, time expands and flows and I rarely even know (or care) what day it is. Here, on the rational side of the Atlantic, I’m over-scheduled from morning until night. It goes something like this.
New York Day
• Wake up when my alarm goes off (or when my upstairs neighbor’s alarm goes off—the perils of living in a poorly insulated industrial loft).
• Go running, as need to expend all energy for the day before settling into a chair for the next ten hours.
• Eat cereal. Healthy, practical cereal.
• If have time, stop for an espresso at Euro-favorite Cafe Gitane. Pretend to be Parisian. It’s not the same.
• Brave the Canal Street crush, which involves dodging aggressive pashmina vendors and dozens of dawdling tourists.
• During overcrowded subway ride, contemplate moving back to Paris for the thousandth time. Listen to Serge Gainsbourg to twist the knife in my heart even more.
• Get to work. In essence, I like my job, but I have such restlessness and A.D.D. that it kills me to think I have to spend a day in a chair, when I could otherwise be spending it roaming quiet Parisian streets.
• Post-work, sprint to event / drinks / dinner. Inevitably show up late. Friends annoyed, because they won’t give you a table in New York until all party members arrive. Friends even more annoyed when I accidentally double air kiss them.
• Then stay out too late.
• Then go to bed, way too late.
Paris Day
• Go wandering. On my last trip, I loved heading south from Belleville, crossing the Canal St. Martin, and conveniently finding myself at Du Pain et Des Idées, one of Paris’ best rustic boulangeries.
• Decadent pain au chocolat in hand, I begin my loitering for the day by lounging on the edge of the canal.
• Get restless, so wander through the Marais, stopping at Cafeotheque for a café du jour, before strolling across the Pont Louis-Philippe to the Ile St. Louis, where I install myself at the western tip of the island and gaze off into space for a while.
• When restless again, meander to the Left Bank, stopping to take in the Institut du Monde Arabe, and then strolling over to my old neighborhood, where I stop in at the market at Place Monge and the traiteurs along rue Mouffetard. One shop owner still refers to me as “la plus belle” whenever I see him (I’m always up for some good French-style ego-stroking).
• Inevitably end up lounging by the Fontaine des Médicis, stopping in for macarons at Pierre Hermé, poking around Repetto, and making a pit-stop at Deyrolle (to fuel my inexplicable taxidermy obsession).
• Before you know it, it’s time for an apéro. Convene with friends at Le Baron Rouge for wine. Everyone will be late; no one will care.
Continue Reading »
Posted in Parisian Living | 14 Comments »
January 29, 2010 by Tory Hoen
Gerard Laurent, Pariscool.com
I have that electric feeling that can only mean one of two things: either I’ve put my finger in a socket, or I am headed back to Paris. Luckily for me, it’s the latter. After seven months in North America, I am returning to my other home—a painfully beautiful, limestone-y, cigarette-loving, scarf-wearing, butter-flavored home. Needless to say, I’m giddy with anticipation.
For me (and I don’t think I’m the only one), Paris is a city where my imagination takes flight and I can spend entire days simply wandering, observing, tasting, inhaling, perusing, writing and dreaming. To those who see me as I go about my activities, I probably look like some kind of blissed-out idiot… but so be it. Paris is my happy place, and no matter how many times my shoe falls onto the metro tracks or I am surrounded by a pack of traveling minstrels, nothing can taint my love affair with this city. Continue Reading »
Posted in Parisian Living | 9 Comments »
November 10, 2009 by Tory Hoen
Photo: linternaute.com
What is it about France that makes me feel like it’s OK to drink an entire bottle of wine at midday? I guess it’s the fact that there are so many places that make it easy—almost impossible not—to do just that.
My hands-down favorite spot in Paris for a boozy Sunday lunch is Le Verre Volé, the quintessential Parisian wine bar and living proof that simplicity is the secret to happiness—and deliciousness. There’s nothing better than a leisurely lunch of shared small plates and an interesting bottle of wine, followed by a drunken amble along the Canal St. Martin (I have yet to fall in!), most likely followed by a nap. Afternoons like this make me wonder, “Does life get any better than this?” and I always come to the same conclusion: nope. Continue Reading »
Posted in Food, Restaurant Reviews | 17 Comments »
October 8, 2009 by Haven in Paris
Food blogger, photographer, and world traveler Heidi Swanson reflects on 10 idyllic days in Paris. From the flea markets at Clignancourt to the gelato at Pozzetto to dinner at Le Verre Volé, she hit a number of our favorite spots.
Text and photos by Heidi Swanson, 101 Cookbooks
It’s 5:45 in the morning, the sky is starting to glow ever so slightly near the horizon, and all is still and quiet outside. I’m sitting on my sofa wide awake. My body thinks it’s the middle of the day, and there is no way around it – I’m in for a couple more early mornings before I can shake this jet lag. So. I thought I’d make myself some tea, watch the sun come up, and take a bit of time to share my notes on Paris, before the details of this adventure start to slip my mind. Continue Reading »
Posted in Arts, Parisian Living, Travel | 2 Comments »
