"Paris" a Paris Travel Page by ForestqueenNYC

December 27, 2005

Just another update from Paris. Spent a really nice Christmas with the French family with whom I have been staying. Tradition here is: Christmas eve -- raw oysters on the half shell with vinegar and foi gras with appropriate wines and sauterne. I admit to passing on the oysters, though I don't mind them, they are not my favorite. Christmas day -- turkey is traditional or, if you prefer, capon, which I think is better than turkey. There is no cranberry sauce nor pumpkin or pecan pie, and steamed chestnuts with butter are served rather than mashed potatoes. No green vegetables and no sweet potatoes. Always, of course the green salad and the magnificent cheese plate and a clementine for desert. Of course, the bouche noel. Not sure that is spelled right.

Thanks to living with a French family, I am speaking much more than I would have ever dreamed ,although I have a long way to go before I can call myself fluent. By the time I leave Paris in May, I should be feeling quite comfortable with the language.

I will be going to Florence for New Year's eve and will stay there a week before going to Rome for a few days. I am taking EasyJet to Pisa and the airport train to Florence. Will take the train back from Rome, at least as far as Nice. I plan to stop in Rapallo and Santa Margarita on the way and then make a visit to friends in Aix-en-Provence. Then by train on to Paris.

I have taken tons of photos, but will not be able to post any of them until I am back in the U.S.

November 16, 2005 Update

Hi, I have been in Paris for a week now and have started the language school. It is very peaceful where ever I have been and I have experienced no anti Americanism.

I will take a lot ot notes and photos while here, but will not post until I return to the U.S. in May. It is not the way I want to spend my time especially since these computers at the internet cafes are terrible. Will check in every week on the forums, though.
Francesca

Original Posting
This is, so far, the only photo that I can find of Paris. It is of the famous bookstore, Shakespeare & Co. The owner was kind enough to pose with me.

From the website, here is a quote about George Whitman, the owner.

George Whitman is the legendary owner of Shakespeare and Company. He originally comes from Salem, Massachusetts, but for the last sixty years has made Paris his home. George is a bibliophile of such stature that he insists his guests read a book a day and believes himself to be living in a novel. At 91 years old, he has recently retired but still sits as a figurehead above his store.

http://www.shakespeareco.org/

The Lost King of France : How DNA Solved the Mystery of the Murdered Son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette by Deborah Cadbury

Marie Antoinette : The Journey by Antonia Fraser

Catherine de Medici : Renaissance Queen of France by Leonie Frieda

A Traveler's History Of France by Robert Cole

Since I had no computer therefore no internet to spend umpteen hours on, I took up reading again. I must say there were enough rainy days during the time I have been in Paris to read dozens of books, but I only read 15 including those already mentioned. I enjoyed everyone of them.

My reading list is a follows:

Braveheart by Randall Wallace

The Final Solution by Michael Chabon

The Conspiracy Paper by David Liss

The Confessor by Daniel Silva

Standoff by Sandra Brown

The Last Lover by Laura Van Wormer

The Pity of It All by Amos Elon

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

Them by John Ronson

The Men Who Stared at Goats by John Ronson

The last two were recommended to me by the very funny man who works at The Village Voice Bookstore on Rue de la Princess. Them was particularly funny.

I bought these books both used and new the The Village Voice, Shakespeare and Co., The San Francisco Book Company, and the Canadian Bookstore.

2008 Books Read in Paris

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay