Alexandra Makes Chocolates

December 14th, 2012
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Alexandra Whisnant

Alexandra Whisnant
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Alexandra Whisnant presented her chocolates last night at Mococha, our favorite chocolate shop on rue Mouffetard.

She tells us that she fell in love with chocolate while studying for her physics finals at university. Her chocolates were sublime! I’m all for science when it can produce results like this.

Alexandra Whisnat and Marie Gantois, Proprietor of Mochoca

Alexandra Whisnat, Chocolate Maker and
Marie Gantois, Proprietor of Mochoca

Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Alexandra’s chocolates will be on sale at Mococha through Valentine’s Day 2013. More information about her adventures with chocolate can be found on her Web site Gâté Comme des Filles.

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A Last-minute Stocking-stuffer for Your Francophile Friends

December 13th, 2012
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Looking for an inexpensive way to share holiday cheer? Our book, Paris Insights – An Anthology was created with the Francophile reader in mind. Written in a lively, personal style that is both revealing and inspiring, this collection of informative newsletters explores various aspects of history, culture, and contemporary life in the City of Light.

Published by Discover Paris!, Paris Insights – An Anthology contains 33 articles that are grouped into chapters by theme: La Vie Parisienne (Life in Paris), Americans in Paris, Tasty Treats, and Paris, Past and Present. Our article entitled “A Very Merry Paris Christmas” is the perfect way to learn about how this holiday is celebrated in the City of Light.

Just in time for Christmas—the Kindle edition can be purchased and downloaded immediately!

The Kindle edition of Paris Insights – An Anthology is available to give as a gift with free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet! At $9.95, this version of the book is a fraction of the cost of our Premium edition, and you can receive it instantly thanks to Amazon’s Whispernet technology. It is “Read-to-Me” enabled for those who like to listen to books while driving, or those who are visually impaired.

When you give your friends the Kindle edition, be sure to tell them 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.

To purchase, click on the image below.

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Tasting deNeuville Mini-bûches de Noël

December 12th, 2012
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From left to right: chestnut - vanilla - truffle

Mini-bûches de Noël by deNeuville
Feuilleté Châtaigne, Délice Vanille, Truffe Meringuée

Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

The French chocolate company deNeuville has launched a special line of chocolates for Christmas—Mini-bûches de Noël. These are bite sized ganaches, truffles, and pralines, all with a soft interior that is enrobed in a firm chocolate shell. Colored sugar crystals sprinkled on the shell add a festive touch.

We tasted three:

The Feuilleté Châtaigne is a chestnut praline enrobed in milk chocolate. We found the chestnut flavor to be so mild that we could barely distinguish it from the flavor of the milk-chocolate shell.

The Délice Vanille is a ganache that has a creamy vanilla-flavored center encased in a crunchy dark-chocolate shell. I found the center to have the flavor of strong eggnog, which triggered memories of the days when I could drink the beverage without gaining too much weight. Those days are over, so this eggnog-laced nibble is all that I will get for this season.

The Truffe Meringuée is a dark-chocolate truffle containing tiny bits of meringue covered in a firm, dark-chocolate shell.

While industrially-produced chocolates (which these are) are always satisfactory, we nonetheless prefer the more robust flavors of chocolates produced by small, artisanal chocolate makers. We’ll have something to say about the chocolates of an American artisanal chocolate maker in the coming days.

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Sunday Morning on Rue Mouffetard – Christmas Is in the Air

December 9th, 2012
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Children Carrying Christmas Tree

Children Carrying Christmas Tree
Photograph by www.DiscoverParis.net

Two children carry their Christmas tree home while Mom calls Santa.

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Seasons Greetings from Brûlerie des Gobelins!

December 7th, 2012
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Maxime Marcon-Roze, Manager, and Constanza Bouyat - Brûlerie des Gobelins

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
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Paris Insights - An Anthology

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
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Nabil Yacoub

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!

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A Worldwide Call to Action

December 3rd, 2012
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Letter to Mayor Delanoë

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
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Francis Gourdin, Oenologist

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
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Proposed Skyline of Paris

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!

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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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