The Many Glorious Shoes of Paris

This is the Holy Land, the city that shoe lovers all over the world dream about.  Paris is a great shopping mecca, with more stores per square mile than any other city in the world. But for shoe fanatics, it’s paradise. High fashion shoes for women prevail and the high heels match the high prices. Whet your appetite in the swanky shopping districts along the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, Avenue Montaigne, Louvre-Tuileries, and Place Vendôme. Don’t forget the funky independent designers in Abbesses, the Marais, and Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

The essential destination for any fashionista in Paris is Christian Louboutin's flagship store. There's always something magical about visiting the first/original flagship.

This cozy store displays one-of-a-kind shoes in an intimate, exhibit-like environment.
 Not only are the red-soled heels beautifully crafted and flattering, somehow the designer’s creations manage to be comfortable, too. With shoes lovingly presented on illuminated shelves, Louboutin’s Left Bank boutique looks more like an art installation than a shop.

The World's Most Famous Bookshop - Shakespeare & Co.

For half a century, a crowded bookshop set on the Left Bank opposite Notre-Dame, has offered food and a bed to penniless authors - the only rule is that they read a book a day. "Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise" is the revered bookshop's motto. 

In 1951 after World War II , George Whitman a demobbed GI,  had decided not to return to America, had chosen Paris as his home and decided to open a bookstore. George opened his doors midday to midnight, and the deal then is the deal now: sleep in the shop, on tiny beds hidden among the bookstacks; work for two hours a day helping out with the running of the place; and, crucially, read a book a day, whatever you like, but all the way through, unless maybe it's War and Peace, in which case you can take two days.

George took in the beat poets Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso. Henry Miller ate from the stewpot, but was too grand to sleep in the tiny writers' room. Anaïs Nin left her will under George's bed. There are signed photos from Rudolf Nureyev and Jackie Kennedy, signed copies of Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs.

Thousands of people have come through his doors, slept in his shop, eaten at his table, and many of them still write to him, or return.

Boulangeries in Paris

A Baguette, croissant, a pain au chocolat - are all a part of daily French life. Purchased in the morning before breakfast, and again in the evening before dinner. Often placed on Paris street corners, the city abounds with boulangerie - baker shops - of all different types and styles.
In America, most bakeries sell both bread and pastries. But in France, the two specialties aren’t always combined. Pastries are sold at pastry shops or patisseries, and bread is sold at bakeries or boulangeries.
Many of France’s best bakers are fourth or fifth generation, and baking is a well-respected craft in France. In fact, the French government confers a special designation – Meilleur Ouvrier de France (MOF) – on the most skilled practitioners.

The most revered bakery in Paris is Poilâne. Established in 1932 by Pierre Poilane, they still use a wood-burning oven that dates from 1789. Poilâne's bread has won him famous fans over the years: Frank Sinatra and Lauren Bacall used to enjoy a loaf from time to time, and Robert De Niro is a customer. The most devoted patron, however, is a gentleman in New York who wants to remain anonymous. In 1997, he agreed to pay Poilâne $100,000, asking that his children and grandchildren receive a loaf a week for the rest of their lives. "Can you imagine?" Poilâne says, with obvious pride. "In 50 years, he'll be dead, but his grandchildren will be feeding our bread to their children and explaining how they are eating the bread of their great-grandfather!"

Chocolat de Paris

The art of chocolat is a high calling in Paris, with chic boutique chocolate shops all around town catering to the chocophile in search of new sensations. The best Paris chocolate shops are still generally small, family affairs, where techniques and recipes have been handed down through generations - and sometimes over the centuries. Their secret is simple: quality ingredients and painstaking workmanship. Shortcuts and easy methods are shunned.

Robert Linxe, proprietor of the Maison du Chocolate on the fashionable Rue du Faubourg St. Honore, is Paris's undisputed king of chocolate. His wares are very fine chocolates by which one may easily judge the others. All are made by hand, by Linxe and his assistants, in the basement of this former wine and spirits shop.


Taste them and you know what the French demand in chocolates: They are dark and strong, but not overwhelming, and neither bitter nor sweet, but a perfect compromise of flavors, shining with the glow of extra cocoa butter. They are unfussy and neat, and, best of all, they are smooth, with no hint of grit or grain.

Bar Hemingway

The hotel Ritz has always been a favorite of many of the world's wealthiest people and famous people that include King Edward VII, Elton John, Princess Diana, Greta Garbo and Charlie Chaplin. Luxurious suites have been named after some of its previous guests such as Coco Chanel who made the Ritz her home for more than thirty years and Ernest Hemingway who had a bar named after him.

The Bar Hemingway that was named after Ernest Hemingway, as it was his best loved bar, has been restored to its original appearance, with rich wood panelling on the walls and deep leather arm chairs. Adorning the walls there are original photographs that were taken by the author and they provide a record of places that inspired this famous writer.

The Bar Hemingway at the Ritz has been ranked as the best bar in the world by Forbes magazine, plus it is situated right in the heart of Paris near place de la Concorde square.

Under a sweeping decree in 2006, smoking has been banned in every commercial corner of “entertainment and conviviality” — from the toniest Parisian nightclub to the humblest village cafe.

No matter that cigarette is a French word. Or that the great icons of French creativity — Colette to Cocteau, Camus to Coco Chanel — all smoked. Or that Paris boasts a Museum of Smoking.


“We are not taking sides,” said Colin Peter Field, the head bartender at Bar Hemingway who was voted the world's best barman in 2001. The bar will continue to sell 40 to 50 types of upscale cigars and is studying plans to renovate its outdoor spaces to accommodate smokers.

To date there is no ban in effect on porcelain cigars....

Le Soufflé Paris

There are few things more quintessentially French than the soufflé. So, when in Paris…eat lots of them! Many seasoned travelers to Paris know the 1st arrondissement as the district where the Louvre, one of the most famous museums in the world, is located. Yet a fine dining experience awaits you at a small restaurant that is only a ten-minute walk away from the museum.

Named Le Soufflé, the restaurant serves the world-renowned French specialty called the soufflé. This delicate dish is often served as a warm dessert, with chocolate or Grand Marnier as the dominant flavor. But soufflés may also be served as a savory main dish, prepared with meats, vegetables, fish and cheese.

This is a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach; one gets the sense that the waiters enjoy parading past carrying soufflé after puffy soufflé, incorporating an element of performance into grandly delivering and preparing the dishes at the table.

Strawberry Soufflé with Sliced Strawberries
Recipe from Epicurious

Ingredients:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
2 12-ounce baskets strawberries, hulled
7 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 teaspoon grated orange peel
4 large egg whites

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 6-cup soufflé dish with vegetable oil spray. Coarsely puree half of berries, 3 tablespoons sugar and cornstarch in processor. Transfer to small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, about 3 minutes. Whisk in peel. Cool completely.
Slice remaining berries. Transfer to medium bowl. Add 1 tablespoon sugar; toss to blend. Beat egg whites in large bowl until soft peaks form. Gradually add 3 tablespoons sugar; beat until stiff but not dry. Fold puree into whites in 3 additions. Transfer to prepared dish. Bake until soufflé is puffed and golden, about 18 minutes. Serve immediately with sliced berries.

Marché aux Puce St. Ouen - Paris

The marchés aux puces, or flea markets, of Paris are legendary. In fact, the name itself originated at the biggest and most famous, St.-Ouen, just outside the city’s ring road at Porte de Clignancourt, where back in the 1880s an “unknown bargain hunter” looked down from nearby fortifications, observed junk dealers selling scrap metal, rags and old furniture, and exclaimed, “My word, but it’s a market of fleas!”

The same vendors have occupied some of the market stalls for decades, even generations. The scale and scope of the entire Marche aux Puce is initially overwhelming, but actually quite manageable in one to two days. The great variety of items and styles, from all periods and countries as well as its unique atmosphere, put this spot at the forefront of the world's antiques markets. More than 2000 traders set up throughout the fifteen markets and in the many surrounding alleyways. The Marché aux Puces is not only very popular with the people accustomed to going there, but also with those who love to take a walk with a difference.

Caviar Kaspia

A landmark at the Place de La Madeleine, since 1927, dining at Caviar Kaspia has been synonymous with luxurious pleasure and refinement.

Today this Parisian landmark has become the meeting point for writers, artists, food connoisseurs, fashion designers, influential style icons and Hollywood movie stars such as Valentino, Anna Wintour, Gwyneth Paltrow, Katie Holmes, Mick Jagger, Keanu Reeves and David & Victoria Beckham, who appreciate edible luxury of the finest quality.

It is a place of luxury and refinement with its
woodwork and old pictures, porcelains and art objects. The menu is an invitation to taste authentic flavors from the sea and from the land. In addition to caviar as the specialty of the house, a rare assortment of smoked fish, wild salmon, and duck Foie Gras are served. Vodka, the drink of choice at Kaspia, allies itself perfectly with caviar and over 100 different varieties are available.

The caviar jar pictured is actually a Limoges Porcelain Box from Eximious of London.

La Maison des Trois Thés

Deep in the heart of Paris's Latin Quarter, lies a tea-house with more fabulously expensive tea than anywhere else.

La Maison des Trois Thes, an exclusive
tea shop and importer, supplies the
restaurant at the Four Seasons George V,
Pierre Gagnaire, Alain Senderens
and many other top Paris tables,
and is considered to be one of the four or
five most knowledgeable tea merchants
in the world.

The shop was born of Taiwan native
Yu Hui Tseng’s passion for tea.
Tseng comes from a family that’s
been in the business of growing
and selling quality tea for generations
and is considered to be one of the finest
tea tasters in the world. Among the
rarest types on sale are the very best
Oolong teas as well as an intriguing
selection of white, yellow, and aged
black teas.

Art Appreciation - Venus de Milo

Both the Artist and the lover of fine art will delight in the beautiful hand painted miniature Limoges Box reproductions of the great masters such as Renoir, Monet & Van Gogh.

This statue of the Greek goddess of love, currently on display at the Louvre in Paris, France, was discovered on the island of Melos in 1820 ( Milo in modern Greek). The Marquis de Rivière presented it to Louis XVIII, who donated it to the Louvre the following year. The statue won instant and lasting fame. The Venus de Milo is famous for its skilled rendering of the female form, imbued with sensuality and nobility.

The goddess is shrouded in mystery. The missing pieces of marble made the restoration and identification of the statue difficult. According to whether she held a bow or an amphora, she was Artemis or a Danaid. She is popularly thought to represent Aphrodite, because of her half-nakedness and her sensual, feminine curves. She may have held an apple — an allusion to the Judgement of Paris - a crown, a shield,
or a mirror in which she admired her reflection.
However, she might also be the sea goddess Amphitrite, who was venerated on the island of Milo.

A Taste of Paris

A heavenly selection of teas, coffees and pastries from around the world can be found at Cafe Verlet, a traditional French Cafe and coffee emporium in the heart of Paris. Verlet, in business since 1880, is situated near the Louvre and the Palais-Royal.
This Limoges Box appears to be a French Apricot Tart baked to perfection. Below is Verlet's recipe for a similar
Apricot Tart provided by Epicurious.

Apricot Tart

For pastry
8 tablespoons (4 ounces; 12 g) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup (100 g) sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon (180 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons finely ground unblanched almonds

For filling
1/2 cup (25 cl) crème fraîche or heavy (whipping) cream
1 large egg lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons full-flavored honey, such as lavender
1 tablespoon superfine flour, such as Wondra
About 1 1/2 pounds (750 g) fresh apricots, pitted and halved (do not peel)
Confectioners' sugar, for garnish

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch (23cm) fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Set aside.
Make the pastry:In a large bowl, combine the melted butter and the sugar, and using a wooden spoon, stir to blend. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to form a soft, cookie-like dough. Transfer the dough to the center of the buttered pan. Using the tips of your fingers, evenly press the pastry along the bottom and up the sides of the pan. The pastry will be quite thin.
Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake unitl the dough is slightly puffy and set, 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle the ground almonds over the bottom of the crust. (This will prevent the crust from becoming soggy.)
Meanwhile make the filling: In a medium-size bowl, combine the crème fraîche, egg, extracts and honey and whisk to blend. Whisk in the flour.
Pour the filling evenly over the pastry. Starting just inside the edge of the pan, neatly overlap the halved apricots, cut side up, at an angle. Arrange in two or three concentric circles, working toward the center. Fill in the center with the remaining apricots.
Place the tart pan on a baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the center of the oven and bake until the filling is firm and the pastry is a deep golden brown, 55 to 60 minutes. The apricots will shrivel slightly. Remove from the oven and immediately sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Place the tart on a rack to cool. Sprinkle again with confectioners' sugar just before serving.

Jardin de Paris

This Limoges Box depicts the famous poster
by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec that advertised
the debut of Jane Avril at the Jardin de Paris,
a café-concert on the Champs-Elysées. The
daughter of a demi-mondaine and an Italian
count, Jane Avril grew up poor, beaten, and
disturbed. She began her career as a dancer
at the Moulin-Rouge in 1889, developing a
relatively refined style that contrasted with
the vulgar exhibitionism of La Goulue.

A publicity photo of Avril performing
a high kick from the quadrille is thought
to have served as Lautrec's model for the
poster's preparatory oil sketch.

This piece, from Porcelaine Pierre Arquie,
is a limited
and numbered edition and inside the box
'Jardin de Paris' is painted.

Camille Le Tallec

Camille Le Tallec took over the familial hand painted porcelain studio in Paris after graduating from the Ecole de Louvre 1n 1929. For thirty years he continued in the tradition of Vincennes and Sevres porcelain creating treaures for famous individuals such as Queen Elizabeth II and King Mohammed V of Morroco. In 1961, one year prior to his death, Tallec started a fruitful collaboration with Tiffany & Co. Each piece is marked with a L & T motif with two sets of letters. The upper part is a dating code indicating the date of production and the lower code is the initials of the piece's painter. This pretty piece with a ballet motif is dated 1993.

The Artists - Francoise Vialard

Françoise Vialard has an outstanding international reputation in the world of porcelain painting.
She was schooled from childhood by her grandmother, a water colorist, and at 14 she began study at an art school in Paris. Her talent for porcelain painting was discovered in this period and it ultimately became her primary focus.
In her studio in the 7th Arrondissement she works alone and designs and paints each piece herself. Her colors are more subtle than most and she achieves a depth of color and glaze that very few others attempt. She fires a piece, in the course of painting, as many as four times in order to achieve the colors that are her ultimate goal. Few ateliers will do this because each firing puts the porcelain at risk but she is willing to risk the destruction of a piece to bring it to the level of perfection that she demands of her own work.
If you study her pieces you will notice the exquisite detailing, the layer upon layer of color to arrive at the depth that her pieces have, the originality of her designs and the strong sense of antiquity that pervades all of her work. Like the miniaturists who painted portraits on porcelain in the 17th and 18th centuries, to Madame Vialard concern for detail is everything.
She is quite innovative in her overall approach to porcelain miniature objects and it was she who first designed a Limoges box with a working timepiece in it as well as being the first to place a music movement into a Limoges box. She was also the artist who revived the fashion of the tiny 'perfume boxes' which were so sought after in the 18th century. Her perfumes boxes are extraordinary today. They are far and away the most imaginative and the most beautiful in the market place.
Madame Vialard's mark is: "Peint Main" in script, her signature "F Vialard, Limoges" in script, France, in print. The mark is black in its entirety.