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    For those who don’t just travel, they experience.

    • Posts by Sarah Raymond:

    • Outside Chez Janou restaurant on a pretty cobblestone street corner in Paris is one of our favorite places for classic French food.

      Paris in Three Days: Favorite Spots Then Vs. Now

      Once upon a time, I worked in the Paris tourism industry. It was 2008, Haven in Paris (boutique apartment rental agency that is now Haven In) had begun to take off, and I had the good fortune to get hired as its first full-timer and startup maven-in-training. I was based in New York, but was able to spend some time in Paris getting to know, the city and their portfolio of beautiful properties — including the teeny-tiny studio I would call home (yes, it really does have Sacré Coeur views from the shower). It was a dream job, totally worth celebrating Obama’s election from afar.

      Flash forward a decade (!!) to this August and my first work trip back to Paris since 2010. This time around, I’d just begun a global role for Context Travel, a connection initially made in my Haven in Paris days. Again, it made sense for me to come to Paris for a spot of training — though this time only for three days. Naturally, I called Erica, the owner of Haven in Paris at the time, to share the happy news. It even turned out that their Hôtel de Ville apartment I’d been admiring was free for a short last-minute stay, which added to the feeling of coming full circle.

      So off I headed to Paris, wondering just how many of my old haunts I could cover in three days. As it turned out, I had a true “then vs. now” experience, visiting none (zero!) of my tried-and-true favorites and instead trying a number of great new spots.

      Here’s my new Paris shortlist, a combination of top “now” spots from this past trip and my “then” favorites I can’t wait to revisit . . .

    • Paris Souvenirs: What You Shouldn’t Leave France Without

      Images courtesy of Marvin Shaouni, Cesarastudilo, Quinn.Anya Just like any other major city, Paris has its fair share of kitschy souvenirs on offer. Indeed, the word souvenir itself is French. And I’ll be the first to admit that I still have the mini Eiffel tower that my best friend brought back for me years ago. […]

    • Romantic Paris: Valentine’s Day in the City of Love

      Photos: fineartamerica.com, littlebrownpen.blogspot.com, www.azurs.net Paris has long been known as the City of Love, and with good reason. It is a place full of beauty, from the winding Seine river reflecting the city lights to the Sacré-Coeur Basilica perched upon the hill and the iconic Eiffel Tower that distinguishes its famous skyline. Even the classic rooftops […]

    • Maison & Objet: Home Fashion Invades Paris

      Object of Sound collection by NOCC studio. Image courtesy of NOCC. As if Parisians weren’t already chic enough with their fabulous clothing and accessories, this weekend the city throws its twice annual home fashion show, Maison & Objet. And fashion show it is indeed – much like the runway shows, Maison & Objet has a […]

    • Vincennes en Anciennes: Vintage Cars Come to Paris

      The 2009 Traversée de Paris in Montmartre.Photo courtesy of Association Vincennes en Anciennes Next Sunday, January 10, head over to check out the Traversée de Paris, an event put on by the Association Vincennes en Anciennes. Starting at about 8:15 in the morning, 500 vintage cars, motorcycles, and buses of all nationalities will parade through […]

    • Une Lichette de Beaufort

      Slice of Beaufort, much like the lichette sliced by my fromager.Photo courtesy of terre-des-fromages.com. On my last trip to Paris, I was on a mission to try as many new cheeses as possible. The problem, though, was that I was there alone; and more often than not, I was buying cheeses that I would be […]

    • Introducing MenuPages Paris: Profiles & User Reviews of Parisian Restaurants – in English!

      Image Erica Berman Last month saw the introduction of MenuPages for diners in Paris and London. With restaurant listings by arrondissement, neighborhood, and cuisine, this English language website proves to become a valuable resource for Anglophone travelers to Paris. Long a staple for residents of and visitors to New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and […]

    • Le Beaujolais Nouveau Est Arrivé! (Well, almost…)

      Photo courtesy of French Wine a Day While those of us in the U.S. look forward to the fourth Thursday of November – our beloved Thanksgiving holiday – in France, it is the third Thursday of the month that has become a day to celebrate. It is on this day that producers of Beaujolais Nouveau, […]

    • Cheese: Secrets for Storing Your Finds from the Fromagerie

      Clockwise from the blue cheese: Roquefort; Bouchon de Sancerre; Tome Fermière; Rocamodour Ever wonder why, when you buy cheese in a proper cheese shop, it comes wrapped in a piece of lined wax paper?  Until I lived in France, I always thought that plastic wrap was the way to go.  It was only when a kind fromager […]

    • La Petraia: An Unforgettable Tuscan Meal with Chef Susan McKenna Grant

      Photos courtesy of La Petraia, Michael Grant & Sarah Raymond In the US, the vast majority of food & grocery shopping is done in supermarkets. We cook with canned beans or tomatoes, pre-butchered meats, and shrink-wrapped cold cuts – or consume industrially prepared foods – rarely stopping to consider where exactly these things come from. One […]

    • Italian in Paris: La Pizzetta (più grande)

      Photo Erica Berman Many people come to Paris craving traditional French cuisine: boeuf bourgignon, croque monsieur, omelettes at lunch… the list goes on. And it’s true that the French create amazing dishes. Sometimes, though, it’s nice to have a bit of variety. This impulse is what led a group of us to La Pizzetta Più […]

    • Train Travel in France – Fast, Pleasant & Eco-Friendly

      Photo www. jaunted.com. Today, the last Sunday in August, people all over France will pack their bags, shutter their vacation homes, and make the voyage back home – many to Paris. In the U.S., you might picture cars stuffed to the gills with bags and family members, hours spent stuck in long traffic jams. And […]

    • Paris by Vélib’

      Photo Erica Berman The nice thing about Paris is that it’s small for such a major city; a lot of things you might want to see and do are within walking distance of each other. The Louvre is not far from the Marais, from which you can stroll over to the Ile St-Louis & Ile […]