Place Vendôme
by aquatic
The Place Vendôme has been famous for its fashionable and deluxe hotels: The Hôtel Ritz Paris, which is the Ritz, the Park Hyatt Vendôme, and the Bristol , which Edward VII preferred, now called the Vendôme. Many famous dress designers have had their salons in the square as well as the street the leads to it from The Opera. Since 1718, the Ministry of Justice, also known as the "Chancellerie", is located at the Hotel de Bourvallais located at numbers 11 and 13. Right on the other side of the Place, number 14 houses the Paris office of JP Morgan, the investment bank.
Originally the Place was accessible by a single street and was quiet.
BRASSERIES.
by breughel
In most countries a brasserie = brewery is a place supposed to brew beer. Not in France where a brasserie is a place where one can drink beer, wine, coffee, sodas all the day but also eat breakfast, lunch or dinner.
The difference with a restaurant lies in the fact that the food served in a brasserie is generally (with exceptions) rather simple, less elaborate. Most served are salads, omelettes, toasts and steak frites. Nothing complicated to prepare especially at noon time when the brasseries are often full because employees have lunch there as well as people doing their shopping in the centre.
Do not assimilate the food of a brasserie to that of a Fast Food; there is an ocean of difference. A cultural difference and a dietetic difference. The problem of overweight is linked here to the "Burger" type food and the Parisiennes and Parisiens are, from what I observed, keen on staying slim especially in the areas with luxury shops like around La Madeleine or Place Vendome
You will see in a brasserie that most women eat salad. There are usually a dozen different ones on the menu. But even salad is not cheap in Paris, often around 12 € for a "Salade Caesar" type.
To be slim is a necessity when eating or drinking in a brasserie because the seats and the tables are so terribly close to each other.
Inside is non smoking; outside on the terrace is for smokers.
Take a boat trip on the Rive...
by Zlur
Take a boat trip on the Rive Sienne, you can see all the famous sights from a different perspective, and go under all the wonderful bridges, including the lovers bridge! :) They say something special will happen if you are with the one you love whilst going under it!
Which clan do you belong to?
by aemilys
You may hear the following expressions used to describe people in France: baba cool, gauche caviar, bobo and bcbg. They are used to describe different groups of people within French society and here is what they stand for:
Baba cool is an older term used to describe what we in the US would call a hippie. Think Woodstock. The French also use the term "Peace & Love" to describe anything hippyish (is that a word?). For example, there is a "Peace & Love Hostel" right across the street from where I live.
Gauche caviar (translation left caviar) is a limosine liberal.
Bobo is short for Bourgeois Bohème, so I am not sure how it translated into English but image young professionals living in artsy areas. They are not pioneers but they like to come into areas that have just recently turned trendy. The Marais and the surrounding area in the 11th for example.
BCBG means bon chic bon genre. Just think preppy. They live in the 16th or Neuilly. We all know what they are like. Nothing too ostentatious and usually very conservative.
As I think of more of these I will add them.
*MY* Local Custom is attending church in Paris
by shrimp56
While I am semi-religious and do enjoy the faith aspects of attending a church service in a foreign country, I also go for the music, the architecture and the ambiance. I mean how else do you get to sit quietly [well stand sometimes] in Notre Dame or St. Eustache for a hour without feeling like a total tourist.
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For the record I have attended various church services not only in Paris, but in Great Britain, Hungary, Germany, Belgium, Macedonia and Czech Republic.
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This last time in St. Eustache I was there for the famous organ as well as the service. I noted that there were many more locals than tourists and, although the ages were on the upside, there was a real sense of a lively parish church. Please enjoy my pictures of the church and get yourself over there some Sunday for a super church-going experience. Note: All pictures were taken AFTER the service.
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Pipsqueaks on ponies, Jardin du Luxembourg
SEPHORA, Paris
Foucault Pendulum
July Column, Bastille.
