Derniere Minute Travel tips

Bear is ready. I am not...same old, same old.
Bear's bag is neatly packed.
Mine is not, comme habitude...
 A French travel tip I noted waiting at JFK. Many disembarking Frenchies had ribbons tied to their suitcase. The better to spot their bag on the carrousel. Who knew?
My secret tip - take New York apples to Paris. Are all French apples mushy?

I took your advice and bought a ticket to the Vedette boat (save 4 euros online).

I bought an NY MTA T-shirt with matching socks. Let Parisiens get directions from my shirt...

One of my all-time top travel secrets is to hide my valuables in a sport bra - Now everyone knows...ahem

A must-do before I leave is buy Fr Girl her Murrey's bagels. Bagels in New York have become monsterous, but posting this picture, I fell victim. I ate 1/2 a bagel. I hope FG doesn't see this...

Deciding which books to take is maybe the hardest...

I'm crazy for Japanese books on Paris, so I'm take this Metro guide. No, I can't read one word of Kanji but I love the graphics.

No matter how much you prep can you ever be ready for a national transit strike/le greve? Next week in France...

I watched an excellent French film, Human Resources (1999 Ressources Humaines) this morning so I'll be prepared.

I got my Place Vendome drawing done, so I'm almost ready. More to come once I'm in Paris!!

BON WEEKEND!

French Films

We're back on the Bateau PBers, this time at the movies...
Can you think of a better way to bone up on your French than watching streaming Fr movies on Netflix? Absolutement pas! Thanks for all the tips on riding the boat in Paris. Now I have to do it!

Have you ever seen a French movie that didn't have at least ONE dinner soiree? Non! Period film, Ridicule (1996-cast:Charles Berling, Jean Rochefort, Fannie Ardent etc) is one of the best and totally au courant in content.

As Fr Girl says,
"At the dinner table you talk about food, not work, work, work."
The Man of my Life (L'Homme de Sa Vie) doesn't disappoint on all counts.

A special fav - I Do (2006 Prete-moi Ta Main cast:Alain Chabat, Charlotte Gainsbourg) - has Parfum expert Alain teaching pretend fiance Charlotte how to behave at an upcoming family dinner.

Even at a funeral, characters argue about how many guests should be at their dinner table! Thirteen will never do, Emmanuelle Beart tells her hubby in La Buche (1999)

Ensemble playing is the norm in French movies - you'll see the same faces over and over. In Change of Plans (Le Code a Change 2009) meaning the door code has changed, a group of friends meet for dinner two years in a row but their lives have changed.

Enroute to the dinner, the wife no longer wants to go, but her husband says,"We've brought a great Bordeaux!"

*According to Fr Girl, a bottle of red (preferrably Bordeaux) is the absolute best cadeaux you can bring as a guest.

Forget flowers, chocolates, and desserts.

My newest fav Fr film is Antony Zimmer (2005)

Bet you never heard of it.

This is the original film Johnny Depp had in mind when he made The Tourist. All the chemistry, tension and excitement lacking in Tourist is here in spades. Angelina can't hold a candle to Sophie Marceau.Who knew? Yvan Attal as lead male is pretty hot. Loved it!

A small quiet, engrossing film with Sandrine Bonaire and Kevin Klein (playing a grumpy old French man surprisingly well) is Queen to Play (2009 Joueuse) Don't miss it.

Any film with Daniel Auteil + Vanessa Paradis together has to be good. The girl on the Bridge (La fille sur le Pont 1999) will keep you on your toes. It's got thrills,chills, romance, toute!

French gangster films are dependable for learning slang and short phrases. Most of them have Alain Delon. Dirty Money (1972 Un Flic directed by famed Jean-Pierre Melville of Army of Shadows)

The new French doc, L'Amour Fou on YSL is at Netflix, another don't miss.

A big fav, Place Vendome (1998)is not available on Netflix yet. But you can watch the trailer with FAB Caterine Deneuve playing a jeweler's wife who finds out her husband was morally and financially corrupt after he's murdered and is left with a pile of stolen gems bla bla bla. I saw the original & would love to see it again Netflix svp.

Meanwhile I'm still plodding on with my sketches of Place Vendome. Hope they like this one...

Bear, who grew up in Paris, has already seen these films. Besides his French is parfait. So he's praticing snoozing sitting up for the AirFrance trek. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Got any good Frenchies to rec? Do tell.

BONJOUR FRENCH FILMS!

PastryParis

There's nothing like browsing old Paris pics to get in a certain frame of mind. Especially when you're supposed to be drawing Place Vendome + gems + perfume bottles etc.
I've yet to ride a Bateau Mouche though I watched Audrey Hepburn ride with Cary Grant in Charade the other day.

Here's a bateaux that will make you want to dream.

Christophe Michalak's Tarte au Citron Meringuee by Susan Hochbaum,

from Susan's new PastryParis gift book.

Susan juxtaposes Paris' most luscious treasures, often in onsite settings, in a whimsical way that reflects their design, colors, ingenuity.

Bear and myself have been tussling over who is going to get their paws on Susan's book.

Bear, being the true Parisian, has, so far, the upper...hand

Visual wit abounds. Look at the sublime repetition of forms in the Laurent Duchene's minty mousse dome sitting on a layer of strawberry jam amidst raspberry coulis whilst facing the Pont Neuf.

Pierre Herme's macarons sit by the Saint-Sulpice fountain, just a stones throw from his shop on 72, rue Bonaparte. Clever of Herme to put his patisserie by a park full of benches for hungry shoppers.

'Bear stop hoarding Susan's book!'

You can meet Susan at WH Smith in Paris on October 20 at 7 PM.

Just be sure to RSVP.
There will be a pastry tasting and champers

I was gazing so intently at Susan's Napoleon/croissant hat, I had to run out of the house and find something to pop in my mouth. Now I know how you feel when visual temptation calls.

I'm lucky a shop nearby carries Balthazar almond croissants. Did you know this is what happens to the day-old left over croissants? They're filled with almond paste, smothered in toasted almonds and sort of squashed down. I always think they look a bit sat on...Still it tasted darn good after drooling over Susan's pictures.

Susan's book will be out on October 11, so mark your calendars and have pastry on hand for heavens sake!

BONJOUR PastryParis!