All stories about "Kristin Hohenadel"

Springtime in Paris, blah blah blah. Despite their proclivity for swing clubs, kinky saunas, and other libertine pleasures, it turns out the citizens of the supposedly most romantic city on earth aren't all born Romeos and sex kittens. Love coaches, bondage, spanking, and sex toy lessons at the city's chicest sex shops: here's a list of useful addresses where Parisians go to keep up their reputations as the sluttiest people on the planet.

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You don't have to cross the channel to dress like a Parisienne. If you're in London and pining for some Parisian style, no need to trouble yourself with an aller-retour on the Eurostar. Just hop on the Tube and head over to W11. Westbourne Grove and Ledbury Road in the heart of Notting Hill is a quiet, walkable, boutique-lined little oasis where you can stroll around, window shop, and spend your cash at top Gallic boutiques that congregate in the area. Even if you're just in the mood for a window-shop and a coffee, Westbourne Grove is a nice place to meander on a sunny afternoon. Make that a beer, and you just may be able to almost convince yourself you're in the Marais. Except that the English-speaking French girls mining these fashion houses are smiling and friendly in a way they'd never think to be on native soil.

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We've already sent you to some of London's best design shops for the home. Here's a list of top design destinations and events for the design junkie in search of modern inspiration and historical perspective. After the jump: 400 years of English interiors at the Geffrye Museum in Shoreditch, the newest work of international design stars at the Design Museum along the Thames, and London's only antiques, vintage, and retro department store.

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Clotilde Dusoulier from Chocolate & Zucchini has developed an enthusiastic following in the five years since she started her Paris-based food blog about her adventures in the kitchen. Her first cookbook, Chocolate & Zucchini, was published last year. And out this week is Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris, a very personal guide to restaurants, markets, food and wine stores, as well as tips on how to understand the Parisian shopkeeper or waiter. Clotilde shared with us some of her favorite places to go when she's not in the mood to cook. All in Montmartre, they include four spots from the book and two additional neighborhood watering holes she selected just for Gridskipper.

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Self-styled boho hipsters, trustafarians, Portobello Road tourists of the world, and fannypack fans of the eponymous movie make Notting Hill a sought-after London destination. This trendster ghetto is a pretty fun place to hang out, with more than enough shopping, restaurants, cafes, and the like to keep you more than amused. If you need a place to sleep, check out this list of Notting Hill digs under £150 a night, including a casually chic b&b in a Victorian mansion, an eccentric 18th-century guest house whose rooms are named after the romantic poets, and a budget address smack on Portobello Road starting at £55 a night.

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France is the largest cosmetics-producing country in the world. The market for organic cosmetics is estimated at around €150 million, and just about everybody is trying to get in on the action. You can find organic and all-natural cosmetics from around the world scattered all over town. We've told you where to go for organic salon treatments, but for all your at-home beauty needs, why not make it easy on yourself and check out the following list of top addresses for beauty buys that are 100% naturel.

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When you're on the road, worrying about reading maps, the horrible exchange rate, and not getting caught in an unforeseen tourist trap can cause you to leave your progressive habits at home. If you are one of those people who likes to eat, shop, and otherwise consume in an organic-when-possible manner, there's no reason to throw your conviction to the wind in London, where organic options abound. Here is a sampling of London's best, from a delicious dinner spot to a new eco lifestyle store from actor Colin Firth to a beauty treatment that involves the application of organic bull sperm to your very own scalp. For more information on how to stay organic in London, go here.

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Paris has its share of cold, corporate, kitchenette-laden apartment hotels for businesspeople on a budget. But that's not what we're talking about here. A few more high-end properties have opened up in Paris over the last few years, offering people who want to rent an apartment the conveniences of someone else's home without the inconvenience of their clutter and unpredictable housekeeping standards. The following list of rental apartments in Paris includes both agencies that specialize in renting well-screened apartments (often for the expat investors who rarely use them) as well as a handful of designer spaces where you can make yourself at home without worrying about your absent host's mail, cat, or unreliable Wi-Fi. These top rentable Paris apartments are for those who are tired of dealing with the crazies on Craigslist -- including luxury digs with an Eiffel Tower view and a hip, new affordable space by Stella Cadente designer Stanislassia Klein that's on the Canal St-Martin.

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The bookshop café was a staple of life in 18th-century London. Back then, one cent granted entrance to a world of caffeine and lofty ideas at what were called "penny universities." The 21st-century London bookshop café is a tad less romantic. Nevertheless, the bookish will find plenty of solace with like-minded souls at these well-established literary watering holes scattered around town.

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It may be true that you get as much design as you pay for, but there's no reason that travelers with a bit of cash should stay in a dusty, dated Paris hotel room. Non-astronomically priced, clean and modern rooms with a bit of personality and style are increasingly available. There's now no shortage of designy hotels on both banks for those who want to sleep in a well thought-out space. Here's a selection of hotels in Paris for the design-conscious with a budget of less than €200 a night. (You may also want to check out our list of modern and moderate hotels from last year.)

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If you are American, calling London cheap is a major stretch. But the truth is that a city this large and lively has plenty of relative bargains and free bonuses if you know where to look. Here's a roundup of where to eat, sleep, shop, and entertain yourself and stay chic on the cheap in one of the most expensive cities in Europe.

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The Euro and the pound -- so strong! And willing to kick the USD's ass at just about every turn. This week at Gridskipper, we take a special look at some of the ways dollar-holders can make their money work harder in Europe. -- Ed.

Sad sacks paid in currently impotent dollars have learned a thing or two about scraping by on simple pleasures in the land of the soaring euro. But even in better times, it's been possible to get by for less on the lovely streets of Paris, where some of the best things really are free. Avoid the "luxury" clichés and tourist traps and live like a local in a country where salaries are low and expectations are high. On a good day, you don't have to throw money around to feel like the richest soul on earth. Here's a round-up on all you need to survive in style on your Paris sojourn -- where to sleep, eat, shop, and more -- whether you plan on staying a day or the rest of your life. As always, we welcome your own adds via comments or the tip line.

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What to get the woman who has everything, particularly if that woman is you? Bespoke perfume (and cologne, for men) is one of the ridiculous luxuries of a certain self-absorbed demographic, with the likes of Chanel and Cartier charging as much as €60,000 for the privilege of having a nose find your perfect scent. On the high end, the prohibitively priced process takes months, so that you just may grow out of it by the time your personal scent is finished. But the desire for personalized scent swings both high and low, and a number of clever trickle-down establishments have also cropped up to capitalize on the desire for custom-made perfume crafted on a simpler scale. Here's a list of "bespoke" perfume options, both high and low, for those who want to smell like something you can't find in Duty Free.

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The great English picnicking tradition is one of the joys of London in springtime. And since the weather is almost right, here's a rundown of the best places to order a portable gourmet banquet to make your picnic a breeze. A ready-made picnic hamper from one of London's top spots usually requires 24 hours' notice, but if you want to be spontaneous, the following list of gourmet food purveyors are also excellent sources for stocking up on high-quality prepared foods to go, even when the weather means you will be picnicking on the carpet, not on the famously green London grass.

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Chocolate-addicted pleasure-seekers for whom merely eating the tantalizing stuff is no longer enough, take heart. London offers many more twisted ways for the chocolate hedonist to get a fix. At the following addresses, you can indulge in a calorie-free chocolate massage, mani, or pedi; participate in an unabashed chocolate orgy in the basement of a London chocolate palace; or get your fingers dirty in a vaguely kinky hands-on chocolate workshop that will teach you how to fabricate the stuff in your own kitchen.

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For all the talk about Parisian chic and the hair salons on every corner, getting your hair cut in Paris can be a fraught experience. Since you never know how it will turn out anyway, why not save yourself at least the agony of overpaying and sign yourself up as a hair model at one of Paris's hair cutting academies? If you happen to be both broke and in need of un relooking, you will be happy to know that many of the big Paris hair franchises are constantly on the lookout for hair models who are willing put themselves in the hands of either beauty-school trainees or professionals who come to brush up on the latest tricks of the trade. Certain centers may require you to part with a designated amount of hair -- these centers are generally reserved for those who want a radical transformation, not a trim. Here's a list of top Paris addresses for a near-free haircut or color, plus where to get a free makeup job.

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The British reputation as tea connoisseurs is overblown, and most locals are content to fuel up with daily mugs of builders brew drowned with milk and sugar. When Americans come to town, they tend to do the fancy tourist high-tea scenario -- which is more about the finger sandwiches than the tea. Nevertheless, a handful of boutique tea salons have popped up in recent years, determined to teach the British what a real cup of quality tea tastes like. At the following highbrow London venues, the discerning tea snob or the merely discerning can choose from hand-tied Chinese green or organic chamomile flowers come teatime. London's top specialty tea spaces range from the uber-chic to the cozy and casual, but all offer only the very best cuppa the world has to offer.

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So there you are in Paris, watching the French people wander by, knocking elbows, making pouty faces, stopping sidewalk traffic for rounds of kisses. "Bonjour!" they shout, but not to you. And then it hits you that the only French people you have talked to your whole trip are taxi drivers and waiters.

Parisians don't talk to strangers, and visitors are always asking for tips on how to break in with the natives. Females walking alone day or night will have no trouble meeting totally available men (attached or not), but if you're a guy, say, or a couple, or simply on your own in Paris and in search of a little no-strings companionship, it can be a bit of a challenge to make a local friend.

Turns out that the best way to meet an actual French person is to pay for the privilege.

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