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My favorite Paris blogs

If you are following France and Paris, here are a few places I like to watch to get a feeling for the culture and social movements: Ô-Chateau, a Paris wine-tasting company (with champagne cruises on the Seine!) … We’ve always loved following Kristin Espinasses continuing travails as she inserts herself deeper and deeper into provincial French life in her French-word-a-day blog . Using examples from her life with her husband and two kids, she tells funny and often poignant stories of her life in France, including things she loves, hates and is just plain confused by.

Off The Beaten Path in Paris France | Murray On Travel

And, in counterpoint to the previous post on top 5 things to do is this short list of under-rated or under-visited Paris attractiions. … Des Photographies – Collection of Vintage Photographs Musee Carnavalet – Paris art, architecture, and history displays.

…It’s a shame to go to Paris and not slow down enough to get a feel of the rhythm of Parisian life.

Top Five things to do in Paris

Tops on my list used to be a climb to the top of La Samaritaine (sadly, no more) to the free observation deck where you could see all of Paris (like in that famous Willy Ronis photo), guided by a painted tile chart of the names of all the distinctive landmarks on view below. Now, I’d have to replace that with a climb to either the Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame (almost always long lines), or the Eiffel Tower (also long lines). … At least, you can say you saw them, though you’ll spend more time jockeying for position among the tourists than in getting a good view (time that could have been spent seeing the other thousands of pieces that any other museum would build their entire collection around) 3.

AutoLib!? A joke?

While Velib seems like such an organically (in more ways than one) good idea, AutoLib sounds like a dumb idea, and not one that would solve the major issue of traffic congestion in Paris. … THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Published: July 29, 2008 PARIS (AP) — Parisians and tourists so eagerly embraced a citywide bike-sharing plan that was begun a year ago that Mayor Bertrand Delanoë is proposing a four-wheeled version, using electric cars. Under the plan, a driver could pick up a car on the Right Bank, snake up the slopes of Montmartre, then drop it off — and pay only for the minutes spent behind the wheel.

Adieu to the 35-hour workweek in France

Sarkozy came in promising to make changes and this one was a big one for many of our friends who came to see 35 hours as being symptomatic of a decreasing work ethic in France. … Unfortunately, for many white collar workers, who were forced to be out on vacation enough to make the 35 hour math work out, they had to make up the time by increased output at other times, either by staying late or working more elsewhere. … It was a well-intentioned blow for the worker to get back something from “the man,” but ended up hurting French society and decreasing further a positive business environment that fosters the very productivity the workers want to have a share in, threatening the long-term French economy.

Google map directions to Paris from NYC

was like that – every day a new trick or utility that seemed to either amaze or help out. Google also may fall prey to its own success, playing it safe, killing off new product acquisitions after paying way too much for them, trying to “rationalize” its product offerings and business units, or just plain having their shareholders demand more in quarterly earnings, but for now they still have some fun. I tried to run this map from San Francisco, but had no luck.

Op-Ed Columnist – Roger Cohen – France on Amphetamines – Op-Ed – NYTimes.com

A few decades back, when we were young, Joni Mitchell sang of “sitting in a park in Paris, France” but dreaming of California because “I wouldn’t want to stay here; it’s too old and cold and settled in its ways here.” … All our friends saw Reagan era-like restructurings and firings as an immediate effect of a Sarkozy win, but even most leftists felt that a dose of tough love was necessary to bring the young and the unionists to their senses. … , Sarkozy has circumvented the 35-hour week by slashing taxes on overtime, freed up universities, downsized the state functionary community (and mentality), spurred small businesses, cut public spending and set in motion a radical reform aimed at creating a 21st-century army.

‘Hyper-Chouette’ in France

I love it that their top celebrity is ” BHL” as he is referred to in France, France’s most visible public intellectual. … Beautiful branding, logos, colors, matching decks and designed scenes, along with water sprays, a sandy beach, a nautical motif ship for the little kids, and a climbing wall for the older kids.

French Toast: A Salute to Our Favorite Parisian Things for Bastille Day – a blog posting from SeattlePI.com

This short article in Seattlepi.com is a mixture of the definitions of five pastries (good for anyone afraid to point at what they are slobbering over) and then a mixture of five other things to love: Markets, Bakeries, La Duree, and something called “Bagels and Brownies.” … The posting is worth it to just get a quick reminder of beautiful and tasty pastries on every street corner, just a few thousand miles away. … An iconic-looking pastry, the Religieuse is apparently named for its resemblance to a nun’s habit, although we’re not sure if there is any further religious association with its invention.

Velib rental bikes update

They are grey, ugly, and heavy, but there is nothing like like a ride down an empty Paris street in August to invigorate the soul and make you feel like you’re in another age or time. … The stations are only some 300 yards apart, and there are four times as many as there are subway stations, even in a city so well served by its metro system.

…Cost of the bikes, which are made in Hungary, is $3460 3 People have died in Velib accidents, a 7% increase over a year ago, but bike ridership is up 24% .