Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Spoken Word in Paris

Friday, April 2nd, 2010
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David Barnes
Founder of Spoken Word in Paris
(c) Discover Paris!

Our feature article in this month’s Paris Insights is about Spoken Word, an open-microphone event held Monday nights at a bar called Culture Rapide. Founded by David Barnes, an Englishman living in Paris, Spoken Word provides an opportunity for aspiring poets, writers, singers, and actors to read or perform their works before a friendly audience. Each participant gets five minutes to give his or her presentation. On the two evenings that we attended, we enjoyed presentations of poetry, songs, comedy routines, and improvisational acting. On one of the evenings, we watched a short film about a star-crossed love affair between a robot and a human, created by a young woman for a film class project. People of many different nationalities participate, mostly in English, but some in French. Spoken Word is a great occasion for travelers to Paris to experience the vibrant cultural mix of the city, whether as an observer or as a participant!

A Cultural and Social History of the City of Light at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
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Much more than a book about crime in turn-of-the-20th-century Paris, The Crimes of Paris by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler (New York: Little Brown and Company, 2009) is an absorbing cultural and social history about the City of Light during the period known as the Belle Epoque. In careful prose, the authors describe a number of important discoveries and achievements in science, technology, art, and literature, and recount the impact that these new forces had on those who lived during this era. As suggested by the book’s cover, murder, theft, and detection form the basis around which the authors weave their narrative, but they also develop other themes, including the public’s fascination with crime and with criminals who triumph over the forces of law and public order.

Readers who seek a good crime story that builds to a climactic denouement might feel frustrated with the seemingly deliberate, uneven manner by which the narrative unfolds. However, for those who have the patience to read through the chapters, their reward will be keen insight into the spirit of the age, before that world was swept away with the onslaught of WWI.

Presentation of Paris Insights at the Alliance Française of Salt Lake City

Thursday, March 4th, 2010
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The Alliance Française of Salt Lake City has invited Monique Wells to present Paris Insights: The Best of History, Culture, and Contemporary Life in Paris on Sunday 7 March at 3 PM.

Location: Gore Auditorium at the Gore School of Business at Westminster College, Salt Lake City.

Admission is free!

Welcome to the Paris Insights blog!

Sunday, February 28th, 2010
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Seventeen years ago my wife and I moved to Paris to experience a more slow-paced and culturally enriched lifestyle.  Our love affair with the city grew with each passing year, and our desire to share our knowledge of, and passion for, Paris grew as well.

In 1999, we founded Discover Paris!TM , a travel planning service for the Paris-bound traveler.  In 2000, we began publishing a monthly newsletter about the City of Light, and in 2008 we published Paris Insights – An Anthology,  a full-color anthology of the best of those newsletters.  This is our Premium edition, and it is available on Blurb.com. In 2010 we published a black-and-white edition, which we call the Travelers’ edition.  Paris Insights – An Anthology has received numerous favorable reviews, and the Travelers’ edition is available on Amazon.

Encouraged by the response that we have received with the publication of our book, we recently decided to publish this blog of our observations about life in this eternally-fascinating city.