I Prefer Paris

Parisian Dessert of the Month: Caramel Eclair at Jacques Genin

2012-01-26T06:01:00+01:00

I was on the horns of a dessert dilemma. After packing a few pounds back on during the holidays consuming foie gras and various desserts, I was eager to get back to a less sugar/fat filled regime for the New Year, but then two galettes de rois later (I luckily got the feve in each one, so I think it's is going to be a lucky year), the scale was staying the same. By January 15, I was more than ready but realized I still had to have my Dessert of the Month. In my memory bank of desserts, I recalled the almost obscene looking caramel éclair at Jacques Genin. My dilemma was a sense of duty required me to taste it and report about it, but I didn't want to down the whole thing, however easy that would be for me. I thought of taking someone with me to share it and remembered my friend Mary Gilbert was visiting from Cincinnati that week. Mary had made a date with me to go to Les Enfants Rouges market and Jacques Genin was a hop, skip, and pastry jump away from the market.

Mary brought three other friends with her and we enjoyed some hearty Moroccan food at the market. We headed over to Jacques Genin, one of the most beautiful patisseries and tea salons in Paris and we sat in their comfy, elephant gray leather club chairs. A simple tasting turned into a dessert bacchanal and our table was overflowing with hot chocolate, pastries, chocolates, and jelly candies.

Our caramel éclair was long and shiny, much like the garish 1963 Cadillac my parents owned when I was a kid. The glaze was so shiny, Mary was almost able to touch up her makeup looking into the reflection. I reluctantly cut it in half. We both agreed that the pastry was crispy, almost like a profiterole, which was unusual, because most of the éclairs we have had in the past were flaky. It was also light as air and the caramel cream was intensely flavorful and not super sugary. What was also unusual is that the top of the eclair was chocolate and not caramel, which I thought was a smart choice because most of the time I find the caramel icing too sweet with a waxy consistency.

Mary had also indulged in the dreamy hot chocolate and I, of course had to sample some, plus every one else's dessert (I consider this must-do research for future Dessert's of the Month), plus sampling the exquisite chocolates and jelly squares which came with the hot chocolate. I totally blew my just-a-half-éclair theory and ended up adding about 10,000 calories.

Today is my birthday and not sure what the cake forecast is, but given the fact that everyone knows what a sweet freak I am, I am sure they will show no mercy and the cake will be sinful, rich, highly caloric, and delicious. The trouble is that I am going on a beach vacation in less than a week and don't want my black and white striped bathing suit to stretch so much that it will turn into solid gray. Guess I'll have to do something beyond power yoga.

Jacques Genin
133 rue du Turenne, 75003
Metro: Filles-Calvaire
Open daily 11AM-7PM except Monday
http://jacquesgenin.fr/

I SWEAR I gave the other half to Mary.

Eye Prefer Paris on Twitter

I just launched a fun new daily Twitter post- Paris Photo du Jour. Every day I will post a photo of Paris. Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/eyepreferparis

New Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

I am happy to announce the sale of a new set of prints of my Eye Prefer Paris Photos. I am offering 20 of my most popular and iconic images for sale including my doors, architectural details, statues, and monuments. They will make great gifts for all your Francophile friends, relatives, and colleagues but don't forget to buy some for yourself.

Click here to see photos and for full details including sizes, prices, and shipping. Here is a sample of some of the photos.

New! Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes
I am happy to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Cooking Classes. Come take an ethnic culinary journey with me and chef and caterer Charlotte Puckette, co-author of the bestseller The Ethnic Paris Cookbook (with Olivia Kiang-Snaije). First we will shop at a Paris green-market for the freshest ingredients and then return to Charlotte's professional kitchen near the Eiffel Tower to cook a three-course lunch. After, we will indulge in the delicious feast we prepared along with hand-selected wines.

Cost: 185 euros per person (about $240)
Time: 9:30AM- 2PM (approximately 4 1/2 hours)
Location: We will meet by a metro station close to the market
Class days: Tuesday,Wednesday, Thursday,Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Minimum of 2 students, maximum 6 students.

Click here to sign up for the next class or for more info.

I am pleased as punch to announce the launch of Eye Prefer Paris Tours, which are 3-hour walking tours I will personally be leading. The Eye Prefer Paris Tour includes many of the places I have written about such as small museums & galleries, restaurants, cafes & food markets, secret addresses, fashion & home boutiques, parks, and much more.

Tours cost 195 euros for up to 3 people, and 65 euros for each additional person. I look forward to meeting you on my tours and it will be my pleasure and delight to show you my insiders Paris.
Check it out at www.eyepreferparistours.com

Jacqueline Luckett: Why, Oh Why, Do I Write Paris . . . ?

2012-01-25T06:03:00+01:00

Jacqueline Luckett did one of our cooking classes about a year and a half ago and during our conversation while shopping at the market, I discovered her unbridled passion for Paris. So profound is her love, it propelled her to write two novels about Paris. Her second novel, Passing Love, is hot off the presses and being released today. She describes it as " Two women dealing with lost love, secrets, and betrayal...and how Paris may hold their answers". Jacqueline has written todays blog about her fascination with Paris.

Like a character in my novel, PASSING LOVE, I’m not quite sure where my fascination with the City of Light comes from. I simply know that it’s always been there, and I’m blessed to be able to indulge it every now and then.

The first time I went to Paris, I hadn’t spoken a word of French since high school. I’d longed to see it for most of the twenty years it took me to get there. The memory of conjugated verbs and gender-based nouns took quite a while to dredge up. But I did—for the love of the language and the excitement of speaking French in France. I did tons of research, too, and made plans to see the sites and visit museums. I chucked the list at the end of my first afternoon and learned to walk purposefully, but without intention. It wasn’t until my second visit that I realized that, for me, Paris is like the fat dictionary my parents kept in our living room when I was a young girl. So many words waiting for me to discover them. A book that I could never read in one sitting, but one that I always wanted come back to.

For all of the times I’ve been, I haven't lost my passion for Paris. I hope that I never do. I try my best, each time the navette from Charles DeGaulle shuttles me toward the heart of Paris, to hold on to the feeling I had the first time I saw the city. My awe at the rushing Seine and its many bridges, the tightness of the buildings, the wide boulevards, and, of course, the Eiffel Tower off in the distance, tricking my eyes into believing it lies within my arm’s reach. With each visit, I’ve held on to my “first time” feeling. One I’ve wanted to share. On my first visit I documented my stay with photos. Since then, I’ve documented my trips with journal entries, and those words have turned into two published novels.

English teachers and professors typically advise new writers to “write what you know.” I thought I knew Paris, but I don’t—certainly, not as well as I want to—and that’s why I keep returning, and my characters keep following me. Every trip brings a new discovery. A left or right can yield adventure, an unexpected shop, bakery, theater, bookstore, or café. New York is the only other city where I’ve had the same feeling. But, in Paris, language is the frosting on the cake. Yes, this is why my characters romp about the city, look for love in the faces of strangers, and try to discover themselves in Paris. It’s my selfish way of learning as much as I can about the place that I love.

I write about Paris because I want to relive seeing the city for the first time. Because I want to hold on to the romance of a place where couples kiss often, freely, and without shame. Because I want to revisit all the streets that I’ve wandered and somehow memorialize them for myself, and others, so that I can pick up a book filled with my words, and recall exactly how I felt.

Jacqueline Luckett is the author of two novels in which Paris plays an important part of the story: Passing Love and Searching for Tina Turner. She lives in Northern California and travels to Paris as often as she can to practice French and sit in sidewalk cafés while drinking café crème and contemplating new story ideas.

Click here to order Passing Love from Amazon.

http://www.jacquelineluckett.com/index.html

http://www.facebook.com/Author.JacquelineLuckett
Twitter: http://twitter.com/jackieluckett

Photos by Jacqueline Luckett

New Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

Click here to see photos and for full details including sizes, prices, and shipping. Here is a sample of some of the photos.

Door of the Month: Ave Georges Clemenceau, Ceret

2012-01-24T06:02:00+01:00

I was in the south of France earlier this month and visited the village of Ceret in the Pyrenees mountains. I found this fabulous Art-Deco green metal door with geometric shapes and tiles formed in the shape of flowers on the perimeter.

Ave Georges Clemenceau,Ceret

Special Sale at Red Wheelbarrow Bookshop

The Red Wheelbarrow English bookshop is having a special sale.

25% off all hard-bound non-fiction books
Selected children's hardbound PICTURE books: 12€
Selected paperbound picture books:10€
plus, buy 2 paperbound children's picture books on sale, and get a 3rd one free
(= 3 paperbound children's picture books, 20€)
there's also a big table in the center of the shop, with every paperbound fiction title on the table only 10 euros (plus, buy 10, get an 11th free = 11 paperbound fiction books for 100 euros)

Please support them and buy some books.

22 Rue St Paul 75004
Tel. 01 48 04 75 08 Metro: St. Paul

Open 10AM to 7PM everyday

Eye Prefer Paris on Twitter

I just launched a fun new daily Twitter post- Paris Photo du Jour. Every day I will post a photo of Paris. Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/eyepreferparis

New Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

Click here to see photos and for full details including sizes, prices, and shipping. Here is a sample of some of the photos.

Interview with Vicki Archer of French Essence

2012-01-23T06:02:00+01:00

Vicki Archer is the face and voice behind the popular lifestyle blog French Essence. I am delighted to have the personal scoop from the French style guru.

How did your blog French Essence come about?

I started blogging about three and a half years ago after my first book, MY FRENCH LIFE, was published. It was a way to be in touch with my readers and to connect with people who have a love of all things French like me.

You have published two successful lifestyle/travel books. Where and how did you come up with the idea for the books?

MY FRENCH LIFE is a celebration of my love for France… in a way it was a thank you to a country that had so graciously opened her doors and welcomed me in. FRENCH ESSENCE is a more intimate look at life in Provence where the focus is on ambience, style and beauty, the qualities that I feel distinguish life in France. I worked closely with photographer, Carla Coulson, on both books and she has an incredible ability to translate my heartfelt thoughts about Provence and France in general, into photographs. Her images reflect so beautifully the joy I feel about living in Provence… I think that they say in pictures what I could never express in words.

Please tell us about your home in Provence.

I live on an olive farm about five minutes from the village of St Rémy de Provence, which is about one hour from Marseille. This rural area is called the Alpilles, because a mountain range of the same name dominates the landscape. Our property was an abandoned fruit farm and over the last twelve years we have established an olive grove, resuscitated many of the fruit orchards and completely renovated the farmhouse. Our home is simple, made of limestone walls and with a traditional terracotta roof; shutters protect the windows from the heat in summer and the cold of winter. The interior of the farmhouse is quiet and I have leaned towards the soft taupes, creams and whites… these neutral shades seem to work well in southern France.

Which French women today do you think exemplify French style?

I think it is the women that you see everyday on the streets of Paris that exemplify French style. There are many famous female French icons of all ages… who are utterly gorgeous and superbly stylish… but for me… I have always found that the greatest inspiration is to be found people watching from the cafés of Paris. A wander around Le Bon Marché in the 7^th arrondissement, a browse through Colette on the Rue du Faubourg St Honoré or a little lunch at Merci in the 3^rd will have your style barometer through the roof…

What are the essential things a Parisian apartment must have?

If I had one… (How I would love one… is there anyone who wouldn’t?...) I think my wish list would include a parquetry floor and paneled ‘boiserie’ walls in that heavenly French pale grey color… with a faded patina that really only works with time… contemporary furniture from Christian Liagre … and… as this is dreamtime talk… a view of the Eiffel Tower … That would all be pretty fabulous…

Are you working on a new book?

Not at the moment… I have decided to concentrate all my efforts into my blog French Essence. I love the day-to-day involvement with my readers and I enjoy that it is written in real time… almost like a diary. I find that blogging is a way to share ideas, to be creative and to make connections with like-minded Francophiles. My readers inspire me every day… to write more, to take photographs, to make a record of my year and to observe French life as it happens….

You have collaborated with photographer Carla Coulson on both books. Please tell us what that experience was like and how you worked together in fulfilling your vision.

Carla and I are very in tune when it comes to working together. I am not sure how it works or why it works but it just does. We understand each other, we are both perfectionists and we don’t stop working until we have found what we want. Although we are very different personalities and we have our own individual styles I think we really resonate together. She has not only a wonderful eye as a photographer but also she is technically superb… She has been able to capture my dream of living in Provence and her images show the emotion I feel for my home. This year we will be working together once more, creating images for a photo library… I style the set ups and Carla takes the photographs. It always surprises me how many different images we can produce together… it’s as if our ideas never run dry… I hope they never do. The most important element about working together is that we laugh and we have great fun…

If you could invite one person, living or dead for dinner at your house in Provence, who would it be?

I know that I should be inviting someone hugely famous or gorgeous or sexy or naughty or even infamous… and that this is my opportunity to dine with the good and the great… but I am going to tell you the first person that came into my mind when I read this question…my daughter… Why? Because she has moved to Kenya for her work indefinitely and I miss her more than I could ever would have imagined… So if I could click my fingers, clap my hands or rub a magic bottle and conjure her up for just a second I would… and plus… she is the funniest dinner companion I kno w...

You also live in London. What are some key lifestyle differences between London and Paris?

Five words… The English and the French…
Seriously though, it is a little hard for me to comment because I have never lived in Paris… I have spent a great deal of time there but it’s not the same and it is certainly not the same as living in St Remy de Provence… Think ‘country mouse’ versus ‘town mouse’…
As for London… I love it. It has taken some time because I have always been much more of a Francophile than an Anglophile but London has crept up on me and I have become very fond of her funny old-fashioned ways. Actually that’s what I like most about London… the old world nature of the city, the way that politeness and manners still count. As green and glorious as London is nothing can compare to Paris in terms of architectural beauty. Paris is a city of grandeur and glamour… and that is not a view I would ever tire of…

Please describe a perfect day in Paris from morning till dinner.

There are many ways to spend a perfect day in Paris and the one thing I know about my visits to Paris is that I can’t do everything I would like to do in one day. I usually take the train from London or Avignon, depending on where I am and I decide before I arrive what area of Paris I will spend my day. If I am working with Carla I will head straight to Le Marais and parts of the 3rd… shop, have lunch, take a few snaps… enjoy the people watching… If I am in Paris on a weekend I will head to the marché aux puces at Cligancort… spend the day and see what fabulous finds I can come home with…On a Sunday if I want to take it easy I might spend the morning in the Jardin du Luxembourg… and the afternoon in a museum… My favourites are Musée Rodin and Musée Jacquemart- André…
There is no one perfect day in Paris…

All photos by Vicki Archer

http://frenchessence.blogspot.com

Vicki's Amazon shop and link to buy her books: http://astore.amazon.com/wwwvickiarche-20?_encoding=UTF8&node=2

New Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

Click here to see photos and for full details including sizes, prices, and shipping. Here is a sample of some of the photos.

Menton Part Five: Jean Cocteau Museum

2012-01-20T06:01:00+01:00

Today is a bonus post. My Menton posts would not be complete without a mention of Jean Cocteau. One of the other reasons I went to Menton was because a new Cocteau museum had opened the week before I arrived. My timing for this post today couldn't have been better, as there was a full page article about the museum in the Herald Tribune and the New York Times yesterday.

Writer, artist, sculptor, poet, and filmmaker, Cocteau had a great affinity for Menton. In the 1950s he was commissioned by the city to create a series of public artworks including the Salle de Marriages (Marriage hall) for the city hall. So inspired by Menton, Cocteau later designed his own museum in an abandoned fortress on the water in the center of the city.

The new museum designed by Rudy Ricciotti looks striking against the azure blue sky with its white wings, loosely forming a labyrinth. It mostly houses the collection of Severin Wunderman, who formerly owned the Corum watch company from Switzerland. Wunderman owned the largest private collection of Cocteau's work and the museum has 2,000 works including 1,190 drawings, prints, paintings, ceramics, tapestries, jewelry, books and manuscripts. It also includes 172 photographs relating to Cocteau and 278 works by artists such as Picasso, Modigliani, and Di Chirico. Divided into seven themes, they explore the important phases of Cocteau's career including the play Les Enfants Terribles and Mysteries which features his films and poetry such as La Belle et la Bete.

Although the new museum had a comprehensive view of Cocteau and was more educational, I found Cocteau's spirit came through much more in his own small museum. The stone mosaics on the outside and his plates and amusing beachside paintings inside had such a simple charm to them.

New Eye Prefer Paris Photos for Sale

Click here to see photos and for full details including sizes, prices, and shipping. Here is a sample of some of the photos.