I Prefer Paris

Easter in Paris 2009

I've been hopping all over town checking out the extravagant Easter displays at chocolate shops and patisseries in almost every arrondissement.

Have a hoppy and eggciting Easter!

Also, have a Happy Passover. Watch this funny video The Passover Seder Symbols Song my friend Judy Goldstein sent me. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awl1KCo_oZ0&feature=email

Easter Tea at Mariage Freres

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.

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

Valentines Day: 9 1/2 Weeks Revisited

The Anne Fontaine  spa is offering quite a Valentines Day package with a massage treatment for two people based on the kinky classic movie from the 1980's,  9 1/2 Weeks. You and your lover (or maybe love slave) will be guests in the VIP treatment room (pictured above) and will each have your own masseur who will sensually massage you for 80 minutes. Afterwards you will be left alone to your own devices in the king sized bath with unlimited Champagne, fruit,  and chocolate. If this doesn't recharge your love battery, I don't know what will.

91/2 Weeks Valentines Day Package- 580 euros for two 
Anne Fontaine Spa
370 rue Saint Honore, 1st. arr.
Metro: Concorde
www.annefontaine.com
Call 01 42 61 03 70 to reserve your private 91/2 weeks kinkfest

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.

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

A Very Gossip Girl New Years

I am a huge fan of the hit American TV show Gossip Girl, which is about the trial and tribulations of  rich upper east side teens who go to a private high school.

A few weeks ago when Vincent returned from New York, he announced that a big New York TV celebrity was coming to Paris for New Years and that he or she would stop by our house. Of course, I tried harder than Lucy tried when she wanted to be in one of Ricky's nightclub shows to find out who it was, but no matter how much I cajoled, manipulated, and tricked Vincent, he would not tell who it was.

So I surrendered to the surprise and went about my business of planning my new Years eve fete. I invited 12 friends and we planned a menu of foie gras, lemon risotto, Caesar salad, Laduree macarons, chocolates, and Champagne.

The dinner started at about 9PM and and at about 10PM  my friend's teenage daughter walked in with an entourage of about 12 friends and the mystery celeb guest.It turned out to be Connor Paolo from Gossip Girl, who plays Eric, the gay younger brother of the main character Serena van der Woodsen. Of course I was swept away and immediately told Connor that I was a fan and religiously watched the show every week. He was just as adorable and sweet as he appears on the show, and we chatted for a while before the restless gang left to go to the Eiffel Tower for the stroke of midnight. After my fill of celebrity, I got back to the party and we celebrated the night away. We had a international crowd including friends from New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Amsterdam.

It was a perfect New Years Eve celebrating with good food, an opportunity to hang out with teenage heartthrob, and most important of all, warm and wonderful friends.

Happy New Year to all and hope you had a great New Years Eve too.
xoxo

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.

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

Happy New Year

Dear Readers,
It’s been a remarkable year and I can’t believe it went by so quickly. I want to thank all my loyal readers for taking the time to read my postings and for your generous comments and emails. My readership has more then doubled from last year, from 400 to over 1,000. Many of you have said that you read my postings the first thing every morning and that it always brightens your day. I am very touched and inspired by that. A special thanks to Cheryl, Mali, Vicki, Maria, Claudia, YSL guy, Lynn, Elizabeth, Barbara, Patricia, John W., Mimi, Maureen, Sandra, Janice, Tomi, Stu, G@ttoGiallo, MadaboutParis, Polly, Jayne,Erica, and Judy for your excellent, informative, and supportive comments. They really make a difference.

I have lots of exciting new ideas for blog stories in 2009 and look forward to sharing them with you.

I’ve met so many incredible people on my Eye Prefer Paris Tours this year from all over the world and some have been generous enough to offer me insider tours of where they live. So watch out, I will take you up on your offers. The other great thing is that I can still share Paris with them long after their tours through my blog and it’s a great way to keep in touch. I receive the nicest notes all the time from them. 

I wish you the very best in 2009 and look forward to your continued generous & supportive emails and comments. I also look forward to meeting you on my Eye Prefer Paris Tours.

Vincent Gagliostro designed the above holiday card. (Yes, that’s me in my disco outfit from the 1970’s with a full head of hair and a 29 inch waist).

Love from Paris
Richard

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.

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

Christmas in Paris 2008

I celebrated my fourth Christmas in Paris last night. Vincent and I had eight friends over for dinner and we feasted on a delicious menu of foie gras, carrot fennel soup, vegetarian lasagne, and two Buches de Noel's from a special patisserie in Montmartre, one chocolate and raspberry and the other chocolate mousse. One of my friends is Danish and she invited two of her friends from Copenhagen. I also had the pleasure of having two friends from New York who are living here for the next six months for their first Paris Christmas. We sang Christmas songs in Danish and English. It was a warm, wonderful Champagne filled evening  with friends around our Christmas tree.

I feel especially fortunate this year to be able to celebrate in this way with the love and support of great friends and loved ones and I am most thankful for incredible life I am blessed with.

I hope all of you are spending the holidays with your friends and family and are thankful for what you have.

Have a merry, warm Christmas.

My friend Rosemary Flannery was kind enough to draw the above festive drawing of the Eiffel Tower just for Eye Prefer Paris. Check out her wonderful scenes of Paris cards at
http://rosemaryflannery.com/sparkycards/index.htm

My Christmas tree

 
Wreath with Chanel ribbon

 

Buches de Noel

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.

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

Christmas 'Round the World

Two friends of mine, Sherry Jo and Sandra, sent me these photos and description of Christmas trees from all over the world. Enjoy and Merry Christmas eve!

Above photo
Before the ball drops in Times Square, the Big Apple turns on its holiday charm with the Christmas tree in Rockefeller Center.

The Capitol Christmas tree in Washington, D.C., is decorated with 3,000 ornaments that are the handiwork of U.S. schoolchildren. Encircling evergreens in the 'Pathway of Peace' represent the 50 U.S. states.

The world's largest Christmas tree display rises up the slopes of Monte Ingino outside of Gubbio, in Italy's Umbria region. Composed of about 500 lights connected by 40,000 feet of wire, the 'tree' is a modern marvel for an ancient city.

A Christmas tree befitting Tokyo's nighttime neon display is projected onto the exterior of the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka.

Illuminating the Gothic facades of Prague's Old Town Square, and casting its glow over the manger display of the famous Christmas market, is a grand tree cut in the Sumava mountains
in the southern Czech Republic.

Venice 's Murano Island renowned throughout the worldfor its quality glasswork is home to the tallest glass tree in the world. Sculpted by master glass blower Simone Cenedese, the artistic Christmas tree is a modern reflection of the holiday season.

Moscow celebrates Christmas according to the Russian Orthodox calendar on Jan. 7. For weeks beforehand, the city is alive with festivities in anticipation of Father Frost's arrival on his magical 
troika with the Snow Maiden.He and his helper deliver gifts under the New Year tree, or yolka, which is traditionally a fir.

The largest Christmas tree in Europe (more than 230 feet tall) can be found in the Praça do Comércio in Lisbon, Portugal. Thousands of lights adorn the tree, adding to the special enchantment of the city during the holiday season.

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree': Even in its humblest attire, aglow beside a tiny chapel in Germany's Karwendel mountains, a Christmas tree is a wondrous sight.

Ooh la la Galeries Lafayette! In Paris, even the Christmas trees are chic.With its monumental, baroque dome, plus 10 stories of lights and high fashion, it's no surprise this show-stopping department store draws more visitors than the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.

In addition to the Vatican's heavenly evergreen, St. Peter's Square in Rome hosts a larger-than-life nativity scene in front of the obelisk.

The Christmas tree that greets revelers at the Puerta del Sol is dressed for a party. Madrid's two-week celebration makes millionaires along with merrymakers. On Dec. 22, a lucky citizen will win El Gordo (the fat one), the world's biggest lottery.

A token of gratitude for Britain's aid during World War II, the Christmas tree in London's Trafalgar Square has been the annual gift of the people of Norway since 1947.

Drink a glass of gluhwein from the holiday market at the Romer Frankfurt's city hall since 1405 and enjoy a taste of Christmas past.

Against a backdrop of tall, shadowy firs, a rainbow trio of Christmas trees lights up the night (location unknown).

Christmas at Arlington Cemetery
Readers may be interested to know that these wreaths -- some 5,000 -- are donated by the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington,Maine. The owner, Merrill Worcester, not only provides the wreaths, but covers the trucking expense as well. He's done this since 1992. A wonderful guy. Also, most years, groups of Maine school kids combine an educational trip to DC with this event to help out. Making this even more remarkable is the fact that Harrington is in one the poorest parts of the state.

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.

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

Strasbourg Christmas Market: Part 2

Here are the night photos of Strasbourg and the Christmas Market. As you can see the city takes on whole different magical quality.

To read the full story from yesterday click here. To see more photos, click on Christmas in Strasbourg in photo albums section on the right sidebar
(For subscribers, you must go to www.eyepreferparis.com)

 

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.

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

Strasbourg Christmas Market: Part I

To get away from all the gloomy news about the unstable economic situation, I purposely made a concentrated effort this year on my blog to show the fantasy Christmas still holds. I took an overnight trip to Strasbourg the week before last especially to visit their famous Christmas Market. As you can see the nice Jewish boy from Brooklyn is mad for Christmas. I was relating a story to someone the other day as to why I like Christmas so much. When I was a kid I had to go to Hebrew school, which I hated, for two hours everyday after school. When I took the bus to go to school during Christmas time, we would pass the Italian neighborhood , where all the houses had the most extravagant Christmas lights and decorations. It was all so beautiful and magical to me, so when i arrived at school and lit the the very plain Menorah and played with the paltry dreidel for Hanukkah(please don't think I am belittling my background and Jewish heritage) it was quite a disappointment compared to my newly discovered world of Christmas . Not until I was a teenager did I celebrate a real Christmas and my partner Vincent is Italian, and he LOVES to go all out for Christmas, so there's never any lack of it in my household. We just finished decorating our tree as I write this.

Strasbourg is in Northern France in the Alsace region bordering Germany and  was founded by the Romans in 12B.C.The  Middle Ages was the golden period of the city when it was a Germanic Holy Roman Empire.  In 1681 Strasbourg became French , and was annexed back to German empire from 1871-1918, so it is equally influenced by France and Germany. In 1988 the city celebrated its 2000 year anniversary and was classified a world heritage site by UNESCO.

Strasbourg's  biggest event each year is the extensive Christmas market which has existed for over 400 years. It centers around the magnificent Gothic cathedral that was was started in 1176 and completed in 1439. Hundreds of merchants load their small stands with everything that spells Christmas. I went with my friend Pam Grant and we tasted, drank, and shopped our way through the market in the morning, taking it all in. After  a delicious lunch at Saint Sulpecce,a  quaint restaurant with traditional Alsace cuisine, Annie Demoulin, of the Strasbourg tourism office, gave us an informative tour of the city. We started at the church, where she went into great detail about its long history and also about  the Astronomical clock that has daily performance at 12:30PM of animated apostles marching in front of Christ. Afterward we we went to Petite France, the former fisherman's, miller's, and tanner's district with half-timbered houses with long sloping roofs dating back from the 16th and 17th century. We passed covered bridges and weeping willows along the river and canals and a horse drawn stagecoach made us feel like we never left the 17th century . A long, slow boat ride completed our tour of the city and now I was eager to see the Christmas Market come alive at night. The red, green, pink,blue, and orange lights were so much more vibrant at night against the brown gingerbread houses and dark red stucco buildings.  We were intoxicated , literally and figuratively by the hot mulled wine, and we sampled anything the generous merchants put in front of us including spice bread, jelly candies,many forms of chocolate, and yummy hot cranberry juice to warm us from the bitter cold.

We continued to walk every nook and cranny of the city, making sure we didn't miss one Christmas display, ornament, light, or stand. Tired, frozen and happy, we thawed out at our hotel that evening, satisfied that we had done it all.

It was interesting to see the sharp contrast of the city between day and night. I documented both in photos and today I am showing the city in the daytime. Yes, the city is festive for sure during the day , but nighttime lights  brings out an indescribable magical quality, which I will show you tomorrow.

Strasbourg Christmas Market
Till 12/31
Strasbourg is 2:20 minutes from Paris Gare de L'est by TGV train

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.

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

Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen-Part 1

I spent my last two hours on Sunday in Copenhagen at the world famous Tivoli Gardens which is the second oldest amusement park in the world, built in 1843.In the heart of Copenhagen, it's the city's most popular attraction with 25 rides, a theater, band stand, restaurants, cafes, and a scenic railroad.  It's founder was Georg Carstensen and he obtained a five year license to build the park from King Christian as an escape for people not to take politics too seriously.

The grounds were all spruced up for Christmas and it felt like a winter wonderland, with Santa on his sleigh receiving children on his lap whispering their Christmas wishes into his ear. A giant wooden reindeer, a tree with red hearts hanging from it, a band dressed in Santa suits, and festive lanterns and lights all over made me feel the Christmas spirit down to my frozen toes.

Today is part one of the photos and tomorrow I will post part two.

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.

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

Christmas in Paris 2008: Hermes Windows

I've enticed, enchanted, and seduced you the last few days with the beautiful windows at Galeries Lafayette and Printemps.

Today I saved the best for last: Hermes. I'm going to smother you with pure luxury and decadence from a silver leather and ostrich horse saddle to a pearl encrusted Kelly bag. With all the doom and gloom about the economy I'm glad Hermes is still pulling out all the stops. Even if most of us can't afford these sumptuous goodies, it's still fun to fantasize.

Hermes
24 rue de Faubourg Saint Honore,1st er
www.hermes.com

Think Pink(Suede)
I might take up boxing

Invite me to this dinner,please!

These babies have my name written all over them. I will happily accept these as an Xmas present.

Don't salivate Ladies

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.

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