All stories about "Suzanne Hollands"

Getting Laid in Paris

Not entirely without reason, French prefer to think they have a monopoly on sex and seduction (as well as on food, literature, culture, architecture . . . .) A recent survey claimed they are "the most sexually active people in the world". In the popular imagination, Paris still resonates with the same sauciness as it did at the turn of the 19th century. The sexual life of Catherine M a 2002 memoir by the art historian Catherine Millet, was replete with graphic descriptions of sexual escapades in Paris swingers' clubs and the Bois de Boulogne, bringing us all up to date.

To get you in the mood with general pick up places, start with the obvious: the terrasse of your local café: people like to start by flirting pretty much everywhere. If you just start returning that eye contact the rest should follow naturally from there. Some more particular places follow after the jump.

Continue reading "Getting Laid in Paris"

Paradise Found in Paris

Not a million miles away from la Place de la Bastille is what Paris' premier erotic bookstore La Musardine's owners described as "the most exclusive sex club on the Planet." If you'd like to explore eroticism with an aesthetic and elegant flavor you need to find some way to gain admittance to Betony Vernon's Paradise Found. The location is secret, but the address is very central -- minutes away in Bastille, shoppers go about their mundane errands. The address is known only to Paradise Found members; new members must be sponsored by someone already part of the group. So what's going on behind the velvet drapes?

Continue reading "Paradise Found in Paris"

The Next Stop? The Fire bird.

It could be said that the Latin Quarter and the St Germain des Prés area have become a tad, bourgeois. They're still terribly fashionable but les Enfants Terrible have been migrating to the Northern and Eastern parts of Paris for years. Thankfully designer Khier Eddine has just launched a new boutique, L'Oiseau de Feu (no website yet). A genuinely jaw dropping window display will lead you in off the little street not far from Metro Odeon. Inside the clothes don't disappoint, they are innovative and perfectly curated. The store also has one of the best selections of Mata Mari clothing in Paris, also carried now at Galeries Lafayette http://www.galerieslafayette.com/international/index. but we'd rather you patronize this innovative new shop.

Next stop on the Rive Gauche is Next Stop not so far away between Metros St Michel and Odeon at 58 rue Saint Andre des Arts. A beautiful street but sadly a proliferation of creperie and sandwich grec (gyros) eateries has somewhat tarnished it's splendor in recent years. Next Stop literally is stopping shoppers in their tracks with their stunning installations in the windows. Tempted inside you'll find clothing by Rik Owens, Jeremy Scott and various young designers who you won't yet have heard of but soon will. There's also a record store and in-house DJs. Even more refreshing it's 100 per cent attitude free.

L'Oiseau de Feu
10 rue Dupuytren
75006 Paris
Metro Odeon

Next Stop
58 rue St Andre des Arts
75005 Paris
Metro St Michel or Odeon

[Text+Photo: Suzanne Hollands]

Previously: We Missed Paris, Eats Walks and Leaves In Paris, Top Ten Bars in the World Sets the Bar High, Paris Gets Another Tower, I Feel Insignificant

Eats Walks and Leaves in Paris

It's impossible to ignore the huge part food plays in the culture of France. It would be impossible to imagine any Frenchman spending his "lunch-hour" hunched over PC, a trying to balance a take-out sandwich, a mouse and a telephone). Just accept it, food is the number one topic of conversation, leisure pursuit and way of spending money, be it in fine gourmet stores or restaurants.

To get the low-down on all you've ever wanted to know about French cuisine (and sneak in some questions about the French) is a day with Paule Caillat founder of Promenades Gourmandes. Paule's cooking school in the Marais is legendary and she is the most no-nonsense feisty instructor (classes are small and intimate with only 3 or 4 attendees). She has a tight timescale to keep to you'll start on the dot at 9am, Marché Richard-Lenoir where she steers round to the best stalls and explains the secrets of finding the best produce. "Check the cartons", she whispers. "See those over their are wooden and it means this produce comes straight from the farm, those plastic ones are imported" (we are trying to stick to buying the best quality fruit and vegetable which are currently in season).

Continue reading "Eats Walks and Leaves in Paris"

Paris: City of Bargains?

On your next trip to Paris, bring an empty suitcase and hope you get an extra luggage allowance. Paris is a ciry of shopping but a little known fact is that the locals are a thrifty lot, of course it's all done in the best possible taste. To score the major bargains, schedule your stay to coincide with a members-only private sale in one of the espaces around central Paris. Access to sales featuring an extensive list of brands at knock-down prices (John Galliano, JP Gaultier, Chloé to name but a few) is available for a small annual fee. Espace Catherine Max for €30 a year outside France and Espace Voltaire from €15 per year are two of the best. The more general site for members-only sales (in French) is Shopping Actu which covers less big names but you'll still see the odd Valentino sale popping up - just print the invitation online, it's free entrance.

Continue reading "Paris: City of Bargains?"

It's A Hotel, It's A Gallery, No..It's Paris!

Most innovative gallery space award in Paris goes to Café au Lit A gallery which pays for itself by doubling as a boutique hotel. Slick design by Didier Fiuza Faustino means you'll live alongside the art. In Paris as elsewhere, rent is the one thing that often stifles young galleries. The bright-eyed young upstarts who want to show experimental art or unknown artists but are often forced to show more commercial/sellable work - gotta pay the rent. The jeux de mot of the name may be a little pretentious, as most artist statements are:

"café au lit combines the three basic elements of experiencing contemporary art: temporality, sociability and intimacy. The name of the project is a play on the familiar "café au lait" and the colloquial French phrase "qu'a fait au lit?" - who wet the bed? Hence, the project name recalls the first association of the self with the object, recognized since Freud's Psychoanalysis as the fundamental experience of creative work: "I did it! I made that!"

The café au lit apartment offers you an intimate tête à tête with the in-situ-artwork of Berlin-based painter Gabriele Basch.
The rental price for itinerant art-lovers price compares well with a traditional hotel at 250 euros for a weekend or 500 euros a week (for a couple). You can live with the art and enjoy the delights of Quartier Mouzaia in 19eme near Parc Buttes Chaumont. Café au Lit is a great base to explore the Eastern Paris hot spots of contemporary art and the Centre Pompidou and the Marais' galleries are just a 10 minute ride by Metro.

[Text: Suzanne Hollands]

Previously: Cheap Chocolate By the Gross, Hotel Le Placide, You Say Lager, Et Je Dis Oyster, Emerging Neighborhoods in Paris

Paris's Emerging Neighborhoods

Just out from the Mairie De Paris is this map of the most deprivedareas of Paris, where they are investing in 211 million euros this year alone. Parisians pay high taxes but at least the money is being invested in the city and it's inhabitants, including the most needy 350,000.

Attached to each area, there is a list of the number of inhabitants, the percentage of those under 20 years old and the percent unemployed (chomage). The 24% foreigners we're not talking about foreign buyers but mostly African and Maghrebin (North African) immigrants.

Continue reading "Paris's Emerging Neighborhoods"

A Gridskipper Guide to Le Palais Royal

Back in the time of Louis XIV, the Palais Royal was a house of "ill repute." Today however, it's a haven in the middle of the city, where you can have a picnic lunch or do a spot of luxury shopping. Around thirty top-notch boutiques line the regal arcades. There are also (very exclusive) private apartments on the floors above. In fact, one such apartment was the home of Colette--France's greatest female writer--who famously had her lunch sent up every day from Le Grand Vefour restaurant which is still the place to go when you have cash to splash.

Continue reading "A Gridskipper Guide to Le Palais Royal"

Passage du Grand Cerf

Covered passages can be found peppered through the 1st, 2nd, and 9th arrondissiments, but if you're not on the lookout, you can easily miss these beautiful shopping walkways. The character of each varies. Passage du Grand Cerf -- next to the rather insalubrious (but gentrifying) rue Saint-Denis area, crossing with rue Dussoubs -- is definitely worth more than a peek for the young design talent it hosts. Inside is a mix of mini-boutiques, restaurants, ateliers, and furniture shops. Brazilian restaurant Angi's at no. 2 is a great place for a sandwich, and at the other end of the passage is a furniture shop selling cute French door handles for €5 a pop. Other notable include MX , a very hip designer who makes jewelry from pearls, and the As'Art African art gallery. In May and October, the area hosts Les Puces du Design, a sort of rummage sale dedicated to furniture from the 1960s and 1970s. Whatever day you visit Passage du Grand Cerf, go in the afternoon; some shopkeepers seem to be rather sleepy and only open after lunch.

Passage du Grand Cerf [Official site]

[Suzanne Hollands]

Previously: Montaigne Market, Sunday Market at Marche d'Aligre, Rue Saint-Placide Cheap Shopping, Au Pain Bien Cuit, Dessine moi un Bijou

Sunday Market at Marche d'Aligre

For East Parisian thirtysomethings, there's only one place to be seen on a Sunday morning -- Marche d'Aligre, schlepping around in their trendy sandals for the week's groceries. The market is one of the less chi-chi in Paris, and the stall-holders are pretty aggressive when it comes to marketing their wares. Some will stop you on your way past and try and force-feed melon or cherries or whatever fruit is in season. In the heart of the square the market surrounds is the (slightly more genteel) Marché Couvert Beauvau-St-Antoine; it's a section of permanent stalls, and one of the last covered markets in Paris. Here you'll find a poultry specialist, tons of cheese stalls, and lady selling homemade Mauritian specialties such as real ginger cordial. The area's North African character means if you want to get cheap products like henna, rosewater, or harissa (the fiery paste from the Maghreb made from chili peppers, garlic, and cumin), you'll find them in the permanent shops surrounding the market itself. There's also an open air flea market selling secondhand clothes, shoes, and a pretty cool hat stall.

Continue reading "Sunday Market at Marche d'Aligre"

Rue Saint-Placide Cheap Shopping

Feeling the Paris pinch? Take a stroll down the rue Saint-Placide in the heart of the tres cher 6th arrondissiment. At the end of the road, you'll find one of Paris's most famous department stores, Le Bon Marché, and foodie's paradise, Le Grand Epicerie . But on your way to splash the cash, you can check out a street that's a treat for bargain hunters.

Continue reading "Rue Saint-Placide Cheap Shopping"

Ivy Paris @ La Chapelle Saint-Louis de la Salpetriere

Tomorrow night a group of international artists will pull together a large exhibition which will raise the roof on one of Paris's most historic churches. Artists from around the world - 25 in all - will take over La Chapelle Saint-Louis de la Pitié-Salpêtrière for a single day spectacular on May 4th. La Chapelle of la Salpetrière is one of the most interesting artist launching pads in Paris, having hosted exhibitions by Nan Goldin, Anselm Kiefer and Anish Kapoor. Ivy Paris will include works ranging from video installations, painting, photography, acoustic pieces, embroidered sculptures, collage to a "shelter" made out of plastic bags. All of these works will be nestled in the sacristies in the church, creating a "cosmic mélange" between contemporary art and contemporary Catholicism in one of the most historic churches in Paris. (Built by Le Vau in 1660, who also designed Versailles). The evening of the opening will feature wine and Djs, with an afterparty at Batofor. (Caution: annoying, noisy site.)

[Suzanne Hollands]

Previously: Mmm..French Food..In Paris, Avant Garde Art on Rue Louise Weiss, Iaudioguide City Podcasts, Paris for Cheapskates, The Northern Paris Colette

Avant-Garde Art on Rue Louise Weiss

You want to see the real contemporary art scene in Paris? You'll have to schlep a little. Get off the metro at Chevaleret (line 6) and head for rue Louise Weiss, rue Duchefdelaville, and rue du Chevaleret. The galleries in this part of town will give you a taste for the up-and-coming young artists -- some, but not all, from Paris. Opening hours can be a little erratic, so check before heading for the 13th arrondissiment.

Continue reading "Avant-Garde Art on Rue Louise Weiss"

The Northern Paris Colette

So you like to go off the beaten track, eh? Well, stray far from the rue Faubourg St Honoré and your smart hotel, and you can take a walk on the wild side. Dodge the guys in hoodies hanging outside McDo and turn into rue Letort, just round the corner from the last stop on Line 4, Porte de Cligancourt. Next to a building that looks a bit like a parking lot, you'll find Kodjo, an art gallery/boutique/bookstore/place to hang out. The fashion is fantastic and not too expensive either for the one-off pieces on offer. A kimono-style dress/jacket by Florence Fontaine caught my eye, and I fell in love. She's styled a who's-who of French music stars from Daft Punk to Air; now she's working mainly on her own clothing line. Books available at Kodjo are artist-produced magazines, fanzines, graffiti, or created from some other kind of DIY ethos. The first time I was there, I found a free French punk fanzine from 2002.

Continue reading "The Northern Paris Colette"

Minisock Rocks Paris

For a "style capital," Paris can sometimes feel more than a little conservative to those used to the street looks of, say, New York or London. But without a doubt, I've found the hottest fashion accessory of the moment and the best thing I've seen since landing here three year's ago. All thanks to designer Delphine Murat, who has created the sexiest socks in the world. The "Shanghai" above is my favorite, but there are socks for every occasion, except perhaps visiting your new boyfriend's parents. The Minisock is available at Murat's boutique on rue Saint Roch as well as a few other shops; online orders can be sent in via email.

Delphine Murat [Official site]
Minisock [Official site]

[Suzanne Hollands]

Previously: Paris Shopping Shortlist, Paris Mop-Up, Colette Revisited, Ozwald Boateng's English Food in Paris, Marais Shopping

British Art in a French Gallery

Among the flood of museums and galleries in Paris, the Jeu de Paume is worth a visit, with photography, video and film exhibitions alongside a series of lectures and courses (some in English). There are two Museum sites, one at the Place Concorde and another in the Marais, inside the magnificent Hotel de Sully.

Currently, the Concorde space is in the midst of a Craigie Horsfield exhibition. Over a 35 years career, the British artist has worked in photography, film, theatre, installation, performance, dance, sound and architecture. His idea of the "social project" means that many of his works were made in collaboration with other artists and explore how we think and interact together.

Horsfield's photographs are large-scale black and white works with a tactile-esque surface that results from a peculiar, labour intensive developing process. They are labelled with "Do not touch" signs, which just heightened my desire to "feel" the images.

My favourite was "El Hierro Conversation", a film/sequence of images and vignettes from the Canary Island of El Hierro, shown in a darkened room where each of the 4 walls was a floor-to-ceiling screen. Thankfully, the Jeu de Paume kindly provides two beds/reclining sofas inside.

Jeu de Paume [Official Site]
Craigie Horsfield [Frith Street Gallery]

[Suzanne Hollands]

[Photo: Frith Street Gallery]

Previously: Black Calvados, Lamppost Dancing, French Farm Fair, Michelin Star-Crossed, Paris Mop-Up

Paris Shopping Shortlist

Paris and shopping are two words which go well together but it's more fun to scope out the new designers than schlep down Faubourg St-Honoré with the Eurotrash. Montmartre is a great place to see what younger French designers are up to—and Les Créateurs des Abbesses is a good place to start.

Rue Houdon by Metro Pigalle has seen an explosion in the number of trendy boutiques and galleries in recent years. Like Anis at no.19 where designers Galina and Sandrine, have converted their shop into a working atelier. Visit the shop and you will see them cutting and stitching their collection together in the workshop behind the till.

Nearby is Pamp'Lune, on the angle of rue Houdon at no. 4 rue Piemontesi. They sell childrens clothes made from bold 70's fabrics, not the usual wishy-washy pastels, more like miniature versions of Sharon Stone's leisure wardrobe in "Casino".

Across the street at no. 16 is Patricia Louisor. It's not exactly high quality but the designs are clever. Cheap and cheerful if you just MUST have a new top for a night out.

No. 20 is Series Lemitees by Mag & Val with some great Japanese fabrics, inspired jewellery and handbags. Strictly for Chloe/Cacharel type girls.

But the best of the batch is the Caverne a Fripes vintage clothing store in the basement of no.25, run by an aging Dandy who hardly raised his nose from deep in a book by Chateaubriand. I found an original Breton top in the perfect size for 10 euros.

Tatiania Lebedev's boutique has been here (no. 23) for about two years but has undergone a re-fit. The Russian designer's clothes have a more hard-edged feel, more of a Hoxton or Williamsburg look than Paris. The choices of fabric are great though with materials like industrial denim and red leather coming into use.

You'll hit rue des Abbesses at the top of the hill so reward yourself with a café crème or a beer at local dive Le Saint Jean bar/café on the corner.

Paris: Capital de la Creation [Official Site]
Les Créateurs des Abbesses [Official Site]
Patricia Louisor [Official Site]

[Suzanne Hollands]

Previously: Black Calvados, Lamppost Dancing, French Farm Fair, Michelin Star-Crossed, Paris Mop-Up

Piss Factory

The wire sculpture above was created by artist Stéphane Monnet, inspired by his recent stay in the City of Lights. I myself finally found out why so many men are pissing in the streets of Paris. It's simply a question of manners. I understand from French etiquette guru Tamiko Zablith that it's considered very bad form -- nay, a manieres felony -- to excuse oneself to go to the toilet/bathroom/restroom during dinner at a restaurant or private home. Before dessert. Or just to be on the safe side, don’t do it at all. The French are good at holding it in. Kids are taught to "go" before leaving home, and as a result, childhood bladder infections are top of the pops in France. Maybe those who have to fait pee-pee in the passages, Metro stations, or even right in front of St. Michel Fontaine (facing the crowds) are just busting to go after a long, involved French conversation which ran on after five courses.

[Suzanne Hollands]

Previously: Bonjour from Paris, Europe Underground, Willy Ronis: Paris Portraits, Mapping the City, Canal St.-Martin: The New Marais?

French Farm Fair

If you really want to understand France, you need to understand French food -- and the best place to start that voyage of understanding is the Salon International d'Agriculture, which is about more than just washing cows. Don't eat before you go, as you'll need the space for plentiful French cheese and other produits du terroir (regional produce). Surprisingly, given the historically protectionist sentiments of French producers, there is also a section for world produce (offering freebies galore) with stands from Italy, Switzerland, Turkey, and Mali. The best thing is for foreigners: It's free. Just take your passport to prove you're not French. Perhaps in anticipation of the "needs" of certain non-French visitors, there's even a McDonald's France (pronounced "Mac-Dough") stand. The French apparently really believe that all Americans want to do is eat burgers, and they're willing to oblige that desire. The festivities take place February 25 to March 5 at the Porte de Versailles. Be warned when asking directions to the nearest resto -- you may well be pointed in the direction of McD or KFC.

Salon International d'Agriculture [Official site]

[Suzanne Hollands]

Previously: Michelin Star-Crossed, Café de la Place, Pershing Hall, Buddha Bar, Falafel Paris: Chez Marianne

Romantic Paris

I had to give up my obsession with staying in boutique hotels because I rarely leave Paris -- except for long-haul trips to far-flung places where they don't have boutique hotels. But it would be fun to head across town on Tuesday and have a romantic evening in the 9th arrondissement, in the area once known as Nouvelle-Athènes (around métro St. Georges, and the churches Notre-Dame-de-Lorette and Sainte-Trinité). This is where George Sand, Frederic Chopin, and Gustave Moreau lived and worked, and where you will find the Musée de la Vie Romantique that commemorates their era and work. Not far away at 9, rue Navarin, you’ll soon find Hôtel Amour, the latest venture from mononymous graffiti-artist-turned-entrepreneur Andre (creator of nightspots like Paris-Paris, Le Baron, etc.). Andre describes Hôtel Amour as "like an English club, but a bohemian Paris version." The joint has rooms designed by Marc Newson and French artist Sophie Calle, who famously masqueraded as a Venetian chambermaid for three weeks in her 1981 installation piece, "The Hotel." The downside is I’m not sure if Hôtel Amour will be open in time for this year's romantic slushfest.

Musée de la Vie Romantique [Official site, in French]

[Suzanne Hollands]

Previously: L’Art du Robot, I V Y Paris, Hotel 123, Musée du Quai de Branly, Art Closing and Opening