Archive for November, 2012

Join the Letter-writing Campaign against Skyscrapers in Paris—Make It Viral! by Mary Campbell Gallager

Friday, November 16th, 2012
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Projet Triangle

Projet Triangle
Image courtesy of Herzog & de Meuron

Along with Rome and Washington, D.C., Paris is one of the few remaining mid-rise world capitals. Offering glorious walks along the quais beside the Seine, with the Cathedral of Notre Dame ahead and the low Paris horizon beyond, Paris is also the world’s most-visited city, with some 28 million visitors a year.

With the blessing of the Mayor and the Paris City Council, however, developers are poised to attack Paris from within. In July of 2008, the City Council decreed that six skyscraper projects of up to 50 stories should be built at the city’s gates. Now is the time for world opinion, Parisians themselves, UNESCO, and the World Monuments Fund, to raise an outcry so loud that it stays the backhoes.

If you oppose plans for skyscrapers in Paris, please join me in the SOS Paris anti-towers letter-writing campaign and make it viral! Mail your letter on November 24 in the U.S., or on December 1 in Europe. Tell your friends! We want to have a million letters opposing the skyscrapers to land on Mayor Delanoë’s desk the first week in December. That’s right before our next anti-skyscrapers demonstration, which will be held on December 8.

Here is the address:

Mr. Bertrand Delanoë (Note the two dots over the E)
Mayor of Paris
Place de l’Hôtel de Ville
Paris, France
75004

U.S. postage is $1.05 or three Forever stamps. Be sure to include your
return address inside and on the envelope.

Here are three templates:

Dear Mr. Delanoë,

There is no advantage in making Paris look like every other city in the world.
Paris is unique!
Paris is Paris!
Skyscrapers will diminish Paris in the eyes of the world.
Please let Paris be Paris!

Sincerely, (or it you prefer, Sincerement)

Your name

or

Dear Mr. Delanoë,

Ville-Musée – Non!
Ville-Bijou – Oui!
No Towers, SVP

Sincerely,

Your name

or

Dear Mr. Delanoë,

Ne gâchez pas Paris.
Do not spoil Paris.
No Towers SVP.

Sincerely,

Your name.

For information about plans for skyscrapers in Paris, here is my recent article on the Classicist blog: http://blog.classicist.org/?p=5475. And here is a short video I made about skyscrapers in Paris: bit.ly/Lta0eH.

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Born and raised in Chicago and trained as a lawyer at Harvard, Mary Campbell Gallagher is a professional speaker, the owner of a business, BarWrite® and BarWrite Press, that offers Continuing Legal Education classes and prepares candidates for the bar exam, and a writer dedicated to the prosperity of New York City’s economy and to the preservation of Parisian urbanism.

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Drinking Beaujolais Nouveau with Chef Nabil Yacoub

Thursday, November 15th, 2012
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Chef Nabil Yacoub with Beaujolais Nouveau

Chef Nabil Yacoub with Beaujolais Nouveau
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Today I interviewed Chef Nabil Yacoub of Le Triomphe restaurant for the “Le Bon Goût” feature of our monthly Paris Insights newsletter. It turns out that today is the release date of Beaujolais Nouveau, so after the interview he invited me to have a glass.

Today also happens to be the birthday of his oldest daughter, who was born on the same day that Beaujolais Nouveau was released 24 years ago. Whenever the family celebrates her birthday, it is with a glass of Beaujolais Nouveau, not champagne!

Read my review of Chef Yacoub’s restaurant in the December 1st issue of Paris Insights newsletter. And look for another picture of him on Pinterest on that day!

Le Triomphe
5, boulevard de Port-Royal
75013 Paris
Tel.: 09.52.88 01.40
Open Mon to Sat noon – 2:30 p.m. and 7:00 – 10:30 p.m.
Reservations advised

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Our New Pinterest Board Features Photographs of Parisian Chefs and Restaurant Owners

Wednesday, November 14th, 2012
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Our Featured Chefs and Restaurant Owners

Our Featured Chefs and Restaurant Owners

We have been writing extensive monthly restaurant reviews for our Paris Insights newsletter since October 2006. One of the elements that makes our reviews unique, we think, is that we interview each chef and include his or her photograph in the review. Until recently, there has been no convenient way to post their photographs in one spot so that the world can see who these hard-working, talented people are. We are pleased to announce that, thanks to Pinterest, we can now draw back the curtain and present them on the world stage!

As always, access to our monthly restaurant review comes with an annual subscription to our newsletter.

And now, to celebrate the launching of our new Pinterest board we are offering, for a limited time, a $5.00 discount off the annual subscription rate of $30.00. That’s a savings of almost 17%! Enter code 57934 in the Promotional Code box of the “Subscribe to Our Newsletter” sign-up form to receive your discount.

Wow! It doesn’t get any better than this! Act now while this offer lasts!

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We participate in Wanderfood Wednesdays. Head over there to explore food from around the world!

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Monique Y. Wells on 60 Minutes

Monday, November 12th, 2012
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Monique Y. Wells and David McCullough at U.S. Ambassador's Residence in Paris

Monique Y. Wells and David McCullough at U.S. Ambassador’s Residence in Paris
Screenshot from 60 Minutes Video Segment

Just when we were despairing that Discover Paris! co-founder Monique Wells might never get the recognition that she is due, we woke up this morning to a mailbox full of messages from friends in the U.S. declaring that they saw her on 60 Minutes last night. What a surprise! We rushed to our computer and watched the 60 Minute video segment and indeed, there she is at the U.S. Ambassador’s reception that was held on May 25, 2012 for two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough. Monique had approached Mr. McCullough and asked him to autograph her copy of his book, The Greater Journey — Americans in Paris.

Monique Y. Wells and Tom Reeves at U.S. Ambassador's Reception for David McCullough

Monique Y. Wells and Tom Reeves at U.S. Ambassador’s Reception for David McCullough
Screenshot from 60 Minutes Video Segment

To top things off, when we closely examined the video segment, we spotted ourselves standing together while we listened to Mr. McCullough’s talk. In this photo he lets out a cheer because he had just kissed British-American film and stage star Olivia de Havilland, who was attending the ceremony. Oh, lucky man!

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Bay Windows on Rue Descartes

Saturday, November 10th, 2012
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Bay Windows on Rue Descartes

Bay Windows on Rue Descartes
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

In 1882 a city ordinance permitted the construction of bay windows in wood or metal starting with the étage noble and rising up no more than three stories. Oddly enough, the ordinance required that the windows be removable, which accounts for their fragile-looking elegance. These bay windows are located at 29-33, rue Descartes in the 5th arrondissement. The buildings were constructed in 1897.

Bay windows are called bow-windows in French. They are also called oriels in both French and English.

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Tasting Cocoa Nibs 70% Dark Chocolate

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012
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Cocoa Nibs 70% Dark Chocolate

Cocoa Nibs 70% Dark Chocolate
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

We stopped by Ambré & Sucre on avenue Gobelins and purchased a 100g tablet of Cocoa Nibs 70% Dark Chocolate from Corinne Blum, the proprietor of the store.

The chocolate contains crushed cocoa beans (nibs) that have been caramelized. When the chocolate is allowed to melt slowly on the tongue, a hint of the caramel coating of the nibs becomes apparent. The caramel is not strong, however, as the nibs provide more texture than they do flavor. When the chocolate is bitten into, the chewy nibs give a satisfying crunch. The chocolate itself is velvety and slightly sweet, leaving a strong chocolate aftertaste at the back of the tongue.

Ambré et Sucre

Ambré et Sucre
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Ambre & Sucre is the sole distributor of Cachet brand chocolate in Paris.

Ambre & Sucre
10 bis, avenue des Gobelins
75005 Paris
Tel.: 01.43.37.39.64
Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Metro: Gobelins (Line 7)

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We participate in Wanderfood Wednesdays. Head over there to explore food from around the world!

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Building at 5, rue Vésale in the 5th Arrondissement

Saturday, November 3rd, 2012
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Electrical Substation

Electrical Substation
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

This building of iron and brick standing at 5, rue Vésale in the 5th arrondissement used to be an electrical substation of the Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d’Electricité. It once provided electrical power to the Gobelins quarter, but now serves as an emergency shelter for needy families.

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Paris Insights Monthly Newsletter — Adieu Paris, We Hardly Knew Ye

Thursday, November 1st, 2012
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SOS Paris

From left to right: Jan Wyers, Secretary General of SOS Paris; Monique Amy, Representative of the 16th Arrondissement; Christine Nedelec, Vice-Secretary General; Monique Dior, Editor of SOS Paris Newsletter

SOS Paris is an association founded in 1973 for the purpose of defending the city’s architectural heritage. In October, I had the opportunity to meet with four members of the group to learn what can be done to safeguard the beauty of the city that is falling prey to politicians and developers who seem not to care about preserving its historic character. Read my account in this month’s Paris Insights.

Bonne lecture!

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