Children Carrying Christmas Tree
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
Two children carry their Christmas tree home while Mom calls Santa.
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Sunday Morning on Rue Mouffetard – Christmas Is in the Air
December 9th, 2012 Seasons Greetings from Brûlerie des Gobelins!
December 7th, 2012 
Maxime Marcon-Roze, Manager, and Constanza Bouyat
Brûlerie des Gobelins
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
I stopped by the Brûlerie des Gobelins this week and found Maxime and Constanza in a cheery mood in spite of the cold weather that Paris is experiencing. They furnish much of the fresh-roasted coffee that I buy throughout the year. For the month of December they are selling Hawaiian coffee from Maui, the only time during the year that they sell it.
In addition to coffee, the shop offers a good selection of tea, cakes, cookies, candies, honey, chocolates, and jams and jellies.
I first wrote about this coffee-roasting store in 2007, when I interviewed the owner, Mr. Logereau. Mr. Logereau has since retired from the business, but before leaving he taught Maxime his techniques of roasting, permitting Maxime to continue offering the same kinds of coffees, roasted in the same way.
My article about Mr. Logereau and the brûlerie can be found in my book Paris Insights – An Anthology. The book will make a nice gift for Christmas this year. The Kindle edition can be downloaded immediately!
Brûlerie des Gobelins
2, avenue des Gobelins
75005 Paris
Telephone: 01.43.31.90.13
Metro: Censier-Daubenton or Gobelins (Line 7)
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Does Papa Pine for Paris?
December 6th, 2012 
Does your papa pine for Paris? Give him Paris for Christmas!
Travel writer Jim Calio has called our book Paris Insights – An Anthology “…a witty, incisive and always informative compilation of sights, sounds and good advice about enjoying the City of Light…” Better than a power drill or a necktie, it is a gift that offers an insider’s view of the things to love about Paris.
Our book is available in three editions: Premium (full color), Travelers’ (black and white), and Kindle (electronic). Click here to learn more or to purchase now!
Just in time for Christmas—the Kindle edition can be purchased and downloaded immediately!
If you give Papa the Kindle edition, be sure to tell him that a Kindle device is not required to enjoy Paris Insights – An Anthology. Amazon.com provides free Kindle reader apps that allow anyone to read Paris Insights – An Anthology and other Kindle books on any major computer, smartphone, or tablet.
Discover the beauty and passion of the world’s most fascinating city in Paris Insights – An Anthology.
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Our Bon Goût Restaurant Review – Chef Nabil Yacoub of Le Triomphe
December 5th, 2012 
In November, we dined at Le Triomphe restaurant where we tasted fine French home-style cooking and then interviewed its chef, Nabil Yacoub. Read our review in this month’s Le Bon Goût, a monthly feature of our Paris Insights newsletter.
Our newsletter is published monthly as a downloadable PDF file. It is available only to paid subscribers for an annual subscription fee of $30.
If you are not a paid subscriber and would like to download the newsletter, please click here. Enter promotional code 11473309154 to receive a $5 discount off the price of an annual subscription.
Bonne Lecture!
We participate in Wanderfood Wednesdays. Head over there to explore food from around the world!
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A Worldwide Call to Action
December 3rd, 2012 
I Mailed My Letter Today to Mayor Delanoë
Have You Sent Yours?
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
This is a pressing issue that affects all who love Paris.
Plans are being made to construct new skyscrapers in the city—towers that will distort the skyline and disfigure the neighborhoods in which they will be built. A French association called SOS Paris is campaigning to stop this madness.
Please join me in writing a letter to Mayor Delanoë to express your discontent over these plans. The letter may be in English, but should be mailed to him via the post office, not sent by Internet.
Further information about how to proceed can be found on my Facebook page and on the SOS Paris Web site.
If you approve of this campaign, please “Like” my Facebook post entitled “An Open Letter to Mayor Delanoë,” comment on it, and share it with your friends.
And if you are in Paris, join SOS Paris on Saturday, December 8 at 3:00 p.m. at place de la Porte de Versailles to protest the plans to disfigure Paris! See you there!
Click here to learn how you can join the SOS Paris letter-writing campaign against skyscrapers in the City of Light. The time to act is NOW!
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Paris Insights Monthly Newsletter – The Man Who Put Paris in a Bottle
December 1st, 2012 
Francis Gourdin, Oenologist
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
When oenologist Francis Gourdin began working for the city of Paris, his mission was to improve the quality of the wine produced in a vineyard that lies on the slope of Montmartre. It was once a plonk that “made the Japanese tourists wince,” but today, he can proudly affirm that it is a “true red wine.” Mission accomplished! Read his story in this month’s Paris Insights newsletter.
To view a preview of our newsletter, click here.
Paris Insights is published monthly as a downloadable PDF file. It is available only to paid subscribers for an annual subscription fee of $30.
If you are not a paid subscriber and would like to download the newsletter, please click here. Enter promotional code 11473309154 to receive a $5 discount off the price of an annual subscription.
Bonne lecture!
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Yes, You Can Take Action to Stop the Towers!
November 30th, 2012 
Proposed Skyline of Paris
©Jan Wyers
The response to my open letter to Mayor Delanoë has been heartening! Now, please join the international campaign and write your own letter to the mayor of Paris expressing your opposition to the proposed towers. Yes, a real letter, sent by mail. It can be in English and should be brief. Please follow this link to read the guidelines.
Make your opinion heard! Act NOW!
Click here to learn how you can join the SOS Paris letter-writing campaign against skyscrapers in the City of Light. The time to act is NOW!
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An Open Letter to Mayor Delanoë
November 29th, 2012 November 29, 2012
Monsieur Bertrand Delanoë
Maire de Paris
Hôtel de Ville
Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, 75196 Paris cedex 04
France
Dear Mayor Delanoë,
I am writing to express my concern about the current projects to build three more skyscrapers in Paris. Having lived in the city for twenty years now, I have come to appreciate its magnificent architectural heritage and to fear the assaults that are being made upon it.
The beauty of the architecture that makes Paris a world-class city is fading, as modern buildings replace old ones without any regard to the visual impact that their design may have on the surrounding locality. Three new skyscrapers can only aggravate this situation; they will help turn Paris into a hodgepodge of architectural styles, with each new structure vying for attention at the expense of the old and venerable.
We have only to look at the Montparnasse tower for an example of the visual devastation that a skyscraper wreaks upon a neighborhood. It would seem that city planners should have learned a lesson from this disaster and would refrain from planning more of the same. But no! The same battles to prevent the destruction of the city’ priceless architectural heritage have to be fought again and again.
Please stop this madness.
Sincerely,
Tom Reeves
Click here to learn how you can join the SOS Paris letter-writing campaign against skyscrapers in the City of Light. The time to act is NOW!
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Tasting Bellanger Bresil 66%
November 28th, 2012 
Bellanger Brasil 66%
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net
A little more than a week ago, we had the privilege of attending a chocolate tasting at Mococha where we tasted three chocolates produced by Jacques Bellanger. Following the tasting, we purchased a 100g tablet of Bresil 66% and took it home to sample.
The chocolate tablet has a matte, reddish-brown color and a strong aroma of ash and burning wood. It gives a sharp snap when bitten and melts rapidly and smoothly in the mouth. The taste is mildly bittersweet with earthy notes. In short, it is a delectable chocolate!
We participate in Wanderfood Wednesdays. Head over there to explore food from around the world!
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With Thanks – A Free Gift Offer with Black Paris Profiles
November 26th, 2012 
The Black Paris Profiles Kindle giveaway is history! We went immediately to Number 1 on the Top 100 Free list on Amazon.com and stayed there throughout the three-day giveaway. We couldn’t have done this without your support and I want to say
THANK YOU!
Because of the tremendous support that we’ve received, we have decided to continue to provide access to the bonus gift that we offered during the Thanksgiving Day weekend promotion. It’s an exclusive video that we created for Entrée to Black Paris clients. Called “Images of Contemporary Black Paris,” it is a $49.99 value and contains 100 images of sites and scenes of Black Paris that you won’t find anywhere else! It will be available through Christmas Day.
Access to the video is yours for free when you order your copy of Black Paris Profiles ($9.99) by clicking through to Amazon.com from the following Web address: www.blackparisprofiles.com.
P.S. Remember that you don’t need a Kindle device to read Black Paris Profiles. Get the free Kindle reader app that you need here: Free Kindle Reader Apps.
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