1. Stand around a lot.

2. Suck ice cubes.

3. Eat your food cold

4. Take a cold shower.

5. For the first three to five days of the diet, don’t exercise.

This are five suggestions included in Dr. Dukan’s bestseller diet book Je ne sais Pas Maigrir (I don’t Know How to Get Thin)

(Sounds like the perfect diet for Amsterdam’s Red Light district denizens!)

Summer is over and it’s time to do damage assessment: Far too many aperos - wasn’t that Loupiac tasty with the foie gras de canard? Mmnnn, Christina’s sponge cake recipe for Jean-Pierre’s birthday, Daniel and Francoise’s imported rum for poolside rum & Cokes.

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For any of you who’ve spent a little time in France, you may have developed a sentimental attachment to France’s weather reporters, but no real-life weather reporter can stand up to the typhoon that Louise Bougoin stirs up as an ambitious ‘Miss Meteo’ in Anne Fontaine’s recently released film ‘The Girl From Monaco’.

This long-legged bronzed blonde goddess wouldn’t need an extraordinary plot line to keep a film in motion. She exudes enough ‘it’ to mesmerize her co-actors into what one French magazine describes as a ‘jaw-gaping’ Luchini. Nevertheless, Fabrice Luchini snaps out of it long enough to match her charm with the self-searching, and self-conscious attentions of a high-power Parisian lawyer, Bertrand Beauvois, newly arrived in Monaco to try a big case.

Louise Bourgoin may be France’s new ‘Brigitte Bardot’ but I don’t think it’s fair to make comparisons. Two different women - two different eras. In La Fille de Monaco, Bourgoin takes the role of Audrey, an opportunistic gorgeous local girl, who’s perfectly happy to use her body in any means to justify her ends. (That doesn’t seem to need any justification at all). Her icon is Princess Diana (which sets the tone for the potential outcome).

Audrey is admirably well flanked by Fabrice Luchini and Roschdy Zem (who appears as Christophe, Bertrand’s (Fabrice Luchini) bodyguard. In spite of the excellent acting and script - you’ll love some of Bertrand’s rationalizations about seduction and love - all of which crumble into dust when confronted with Audrey, in spite of all this, the film’s plot ends up being a sort of rehashed ‘Flesh and the Devil’ moralistic story. This is hardly the ‘female empowering kind of film you’d like to see from a female director’, but hopefully we haven’t seen the last of Louise Bougoin. Movie script writers, start sharpening your pencils!

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When Swearing’s Okay and When it isn’t

envoyй par domi34

One of the great conundrums of the French language is trying to determine when swearing is okay - and when it isn’t. As France 2 television newscaster, Francoise Laborde discovered this past Thursday night, swearing during station breaks can be embarassing when you discover your heated response to a colleague is caught live on prime time TV. Her remark, “Pourquoi vous m’avez pas dit, putain?” i.e. “Why didn’t you tell me, damnit?” was shocking enough for the newscaster to offer the public an apology at the end of the emission.

She’s not alone. Even France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy’s swearing incident at the Salon d’Agriculture this past February engendered dozens of video reproductions - and embellishments of his snap response ‘Casse-toi, pauvre con!’ when a visitor at the Salon d’Agriculture refused to shake his hand.

Sometimes the media responds with it’s own expletives such Marianne journal’s ‘Putain! Encore 4 ans. (Very interesting commentary comparing the Sarkozy Era to Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal Era!!!)

Hopefully, you’ll never find yourself in a situation, where you’ll find it necessary to swear. On the other hand, here are some basic terms that you’ll encounter in newspapers, on television (even, if by accident), or in conversations overheard while walking down the street. Not heads of state, nor, believe it or not, even men of the cloth are immune. (A Norman priest was reprimanded last year for using one of these naughty words - for which he apologized like the newscaster). Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re bringing home clothes for kids in the family, there’s no place like Paris for finding cool kids clothes - especially in September for ‘Back to School’ or ‘La Rentree’ as we call it here.

Just like their Parisian parents, kids are going to school a lot more casual these days, but little girls - and their moms still like to wear dresses sometimes. Yes, even in Paris parks.

Khaki and camouflage green with a hint of orange are very big this fall in shop windows. You’ll find that French kids’ clothes tend to appear in more muted and sophisticated colors.

Here’s a rundown on the well - known kids shops you’ll find in Paris, starting with some of the chic spots to shop:

Read the rest of this entry »

When Swearing’s Okay and When it isn’t

envoyй par domi34

One of the great conundrums of the French language is trying to determine when swearing is okay - and when it isn’t. As France 2 television newscaster, Francoise Laborde discovered this past Thursday night, swearing during station breaks can be embarassing when you discover your heated response to a colleague is caught live on prime time TV. Her remark, “Pourquoi vous m’avez pas dit, putain?” i.e. “Why didn’t you tell me, damnit?” was shocking enough for the newscaster to offer the public an apology at the end of the emission.

She’s not alone. Even France’s president, Nicolas Sarkozy’s swearing incident at the Salon d’Agriculture this past February engendered dozens of video reproductions - and embellishments of his snap response ‘Casse-toi, pauvre con!’ when a visitor at the Salon d’Agriculture refused to shake his hand.

Sometimes the media responds with it’s own expletives such Marianne journal’s ‘Putain! Encore 4 ans. (Very interesting commentary comparing the Sarkozy Era to Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal Era!!!)

Hopefully, you’ll never find yourself in a situation, where you’ll find it necessary to swear. On the other hand, here are some basic terms that you’ll encounter in newspapers, on television (even, if by accident), or in conversations overheard while walking down the street. Not heads of state, nor, believe it or not, even men of the cloth are immune. (A Norman priest was reprimanded last year for using one of these naughty words - for which he apologized like the newscaster). Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re bringing home clothes for kids in the family, there’s no place like Paris for finding cool kids clothes - especially in September for ‘Back to School’ or ‘La Rentree’ as we call it here.

Just like their Parisian parents, kids are going to school a lot more casual these days, but little girls - and their moms still like to wear dresses sometimes. Yes, even in Paris parks.

Khaki and camouflage green with a hint of orange are very big this fall in shop windows. You’ll find that French kids’ clothes tend to appear in more muted and sophisticated colors.

Here’s a rundown on the well - known kids shops you’ll find in Paris, starting with some of the chic spots to shop:

Read the rest of this entry »

While anyone visiting Paris would notice immediately what an important role the Seine river plays in the city’s geography, it’s actually quite possible to wander through the historic section of Paris and not realize that some of the sights you’re enjoying are actually on islands. I know the first time I visited Paris it wasn’t until much later that I realized the amazing Notre Dame cathedral was on an island - somehow the fact that I’d walked across a bridge to reach it didn’t occur to me. Yes, I’m a bit dense - but I know I’m not alone.

There are two natural islands on the Seine river right in the center of Paris, and they’re right next to each other. They’re not only great places to visit, they’re also key to understanding the city’s history.

Оle de la Citй

This island is the larger of the two and is where the first settlements which later became the city of Paris were built. There have been people living on the island for more than 2,000 years, and it’s still considered the center of the modern-day city. The primary tourist attractions on the Оle de la Citй include the magnificent Notre Dame de Paris, Saint-Chapelle, and the excavated Gallo-Roman ruins underneath the square in front of Notre Dame.

>> Read more about what to do and see on the Оle de la Citй

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Paris Plage may be great in many ways - it’s a free man-made beach - available to Parisians who can’t get out of town for part of the summer - but still, you can’t swim in the Seine - and if you’re looking for topless sunbathers - you’re out of luck.

Contrary to popular belief, nude or clothing optional sunbathing and swimming isn’t ‘exactly’ legal in France. But this is the beauty of France. You’ll find that topless sunbathing is quite common at many seaside resorts. Voila the eternal paradox. A large number of clothing optional beaches and resorts are also easy to find - and to date, I haven’t ever hear of anyone getting arrested for topless sunbathing. >> See Laws

You’ll want to make sure that when you do find that perfect beach to commune with nature that the local community tolerates nudism. In French, the expression for the nudist lifestyle is ‘naturisme’. The best way to do this is to check out some of the ‘official’ or ‘tolerated’ nudist beaches.

Topless sunbathing began as a fad way back in the 1950s when French actress Brigitte Bardot bared her breasts and shocked the world, but according to my Parisian friends who lived in Cannes during the 60s, topless sunbathing really took off in the early sixties for one simple reason.



“We were making our own macramГ© bathing suits. The tops were so easy to slide around to avoid getting tan lines. We eventually just took them off, but you know nowadays, topless sunbathing is simply passГ©!”

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Parisgirl’s dining preferences have changed along with the current exchange rate between the Euro and the dollar. Now, more than ever, I know how eager visitors are to find restaurants, cafes, pubs or delis where you can dine well and still have enough Euros left over for the rest of your visit. Sure, many of us would love to eat at Michelin-star restaurants, but you don’t have to break the bank to enjoy a good meal in Paris. Likewise, if you’re vegetarian, or you don’t care for fussy or trendy restaurants with waiters in starched collars, you’ll love some of the neighborhood bistrots. Show up more than once and you’re likely to be remembered and get a handshake from the owner.

Here are some of my favorites at the moment. They range in style and menus from somewhat formal to very casual, from traditional French fare to traditional hamburgers.

Giufeli

Giufeli, my #1 choice for recent favorites has temporarily closed while it looks for a new location with more ample seating. Hopefully, by the fall season it will be up and running (and retain its reasonable prices)

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The magnificent Gothic cathedral of Notre Dame is so splendid that you really could be forgiven for overlooking - really, for not even knowing about - the other impressive Gothic church on the Оle de la Citй. But once you’ve seen the elegant and ethereal Sainte-Chapelle, you’ll never look at the words “Gothic church” the same way again.

La Sainte-Chapelle is a relatively small church with two chapels (an upper and a lower) that’s completely within the walls of the old royal palace, which is now the Palais de Justice. It’s partly because of the church’s small size that it’s able to architecturally accomplish some of the things that make it so special - including the soaring heights of the upper chapel seemingly without the usual requirement of flying buttresses for support. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

The chapel was built in the mid-13th century by King Louis IX as a place to hold the holy relics he’d acquired - so in one sense, the entirety of Sainte-Chapelle can rightly be considered a reliquary. The relics Louis had purchased (yes, he bought them, as opposed to other rulers over the ages who have just gone and stolen stuff) included the crown of thorns allegedly worn by Christ at the time of his crucifixion and a piece of the true cross, and all the relics cost him almost three times what the construction of Sainte-Chapelle cost. Look at the spires for a representation of the cross, as a reminder of what the church once held. (Don’t look for the relics in Sainte-Chapelle today, however - some are in Notre Dame now, while others were lost during the French Revolution.)

Sainte-Chapelle’s lower chapel was designed for servants who worked in the palace. It’s only about half the height of the upper chapel, and can feel a bit dark (especially in comparison to the light show upstairs), but do take a moment to admire the beautifully-painted columns and the ceiling. You’ll see the trademark French fleur-de-lys painted everywhere. There’s a spiral staircase in the corner that will take you up the stairs to the upper chapel.

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