womantraveler

Paris: Know Your Wine Words

The French can write volumes on a single sip of wine. Here's an insider's lexicon of more than 60 nouns and adjectives that the savvy connoisseurs use to describe the experience. Combine the bolded words -- which are favorable -- into remarks like, "This wine is harmonious, with great finesse and grand character," or "A good nose, with a lively body and firm strength." If your assessment falls into the not bolded descriptions, mai oui, choose another wine.

Bouquet or "nose": zero, insignificant, light, slightly developed, medium, appreciable, good nose, very good nose, great nose

Equilibrium or harmony: Very unbalanced, unbalanced, hollow, modest, lightly balanced, balanced, harmonious, rich, perfect

Straightforwardness or clarity: Turned, sour, unfavorable, uncertain, relatively straightforward, very straightforward, clear, very clear

Finesse or elegance: Vulgar, crude, common, "whatever," ordinary, fine enough, great finesse, extreme finesse

Body or structure: Skimpy, meager, thin, light, lively, full, very full, heavy, very heavy

Character or personality: Inexistent, muted, neutral, subdued, good character, full of personality, great character, earthy, very earthy

Acidity or "nervousness": Watery, angry, flat, smooth, normal, vigorous, acidic, ripe, caustic

Strength: Lethargic, flabby, tender, substantive, round, firm, tough, bitter, rough

Evolution or aging: Stodgy, not suitable, early fruit, young, done, composed, oxydized, passé, used up

Paris Guide

Here are recommendations from women travelers and their friends for a great Paris experience.

Restaurants

Left Bank

Brasserie Balzar, 49 Rue des Ecoles (5th), tel: 01.43.54.13.67, popular Left Bank hangout

Cafe Rostand, 61 Place Edmond Rostand (6th, across from Luxembourg Gardens), tel: 01.43.54.61.58

C'est Mon Plaisir, 8 Rue Falguiere (15th near Montparnasse), 01.42.73.07.02

Chez Clement (chain), 9 Place St. Andre des Arts (6th -- and other locations), 53. 01.56.81.32.00, www.chezclement.com

Chez Henri, 9 Rue de la Montagne Sainte Genevieve (5th), 01.43.29.12.12

Chez Maitre Paul, 12 Rue Monsieur-le-Prince (6th), 01.43.54.74.59

Fish la Boissonerie, 69 Rue de Seine (5th near Rue de Buci market), especially for seafood lovers and wine lovers

Le Coupe Chou, 11 Rue de Lanneau (5th), www.lecoupechou.com

Le Petit Pontoise, 9 Rue de Pontoise (5th), 01.43.29.25.20

Reminet

Le Relais d'Ile

Les Bouquinistes (or Les Bookinistes), Quai des Grands Augustins

Thoumieux, 79 Rue St-Dominique (7th), telephone 01.47.05.49.75, busy bistro with traditional favorites

Right Bank

Benoit, 20 Rue Saint Martin (4th), tel: 01.42.72.25.76, old-time bistro

Grizzli Cafe, 7 Rue Saint-Martin (4th), tel: 01.48.87.77.56

Le Grand Vefour, 17 Rue de Beaujolais (Palais Royal area, 1st), telephone 01.42.96.56.27 (email: grand.vefour@wanadoo.fr). Expensive, so go for lunch.

Paris: Best of Le Shopping

Wandering around Paris for more than a week, I made a list of the shops that don't always make the guide books and thus might not be on your list . They're worth checking out. Why? In a city that has a true embarrassment of riches, these are the places that stood out, kept me happy, showed special flair among the competition, and weren't unreasonably pricey. I tend to duck the touristy shops, although some are included because they have something worthy of attention, and focus on "the real Paris," where the Parisians shop.

Bookstores

The Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore, 22 Rue Saint Paul, 4th Arrondissement, telephone 01.48.04.75.08. Email-- good.reading@wanadoo.fr.

With so many English-speaking people in Paris, there are several English language bookstores. While Brentanos and Shakespeare & Company have well-established and deserving brands, The Red Wheelbarrow in the Marais is the place to which I will always return. It's a small independent bookstore choc-a-block with the familiar and titles and editions of novels that you may not find in the US.

Clothing and Accessories

Window shopping and browsing are a delight  for the senses and full entertainment, but here are some places where I actually closed a deal. Why? Inviting window displays, originality of merchandise, something really unique, especially friendly staff, and good value. Stick with these areas -- great art to wear in the Marais (3rd and 4th Arrondissements), funky fun in the Latin Quarter (5th), and classy high fashion in the 6th and 7th (Left Bank). Hot this spring? Pastels (again) especially lavender, tangerine, light teal and grass green, whimsical decoration of all kinds (buttons, bows, ribbons, patchwork details), capris, shoes and handbags of all colors, every style hat in straw and in any color (including cloche and fedora), bijoux, bijoux, bijoux...

A la Bonne Renommée, 26 Rue Vieille du Temple, 4th Arrondissement, telephone 01.42.72.03.86. Exquisite fabrics with intricate details in "le patch," the contemporary patchwork sensation so hot this season, and incredible hats and scarves in this store built from a designers' workshop. Here you can count on discovering that one-of-a-kind item that will last past one season, both in quality and in style.

Atelier Thochim, 46 Rue Mouffetard, 5th Arrondissement, telephone 01.43.37.06.54. Jewelry, scarves and accessories. Thomas and his staff have great taste and can help you choose what honestly looks good on you (and what doesn't). The Rue "Mouffe" gets a bad rap among some people because it's student-y and tourist-y; however, there are some very cool shops and classy bargains, so I suggest putzing through the neighborhood.

Carale, 31 Rue Descartes (which becomes Rue Mouffetard), 5th Arrondissement, telephone 01.44.07.01.53. Jewelry, scarves and accessories. I was attracted to the window display of necklaces and earrings of buttons, only to find them inside in virtually every color combination.

Galleries Lafayette, 40 Boulevard Haussmann, 9th Arrondissement, telephone 01.42.82.34.56. This grande dame of department stores on the Right Bank near the Opera has extensive selections and reasonable deals on the accessories and jewelry floor (1st), particularly in pretty things for your hair and great handbags, including a particularly large selection of Longchamps.

Imex, 8 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 3rd Arrondissement (also Le Marais), telephone 01.48.87.14.76. Buttons and laces to the left and ready to wear clothing, especially a large selection of coats and sweaters, to the right. My girlfriend and I were charmed for more than an hour among the buttons and ribbons that a surge of creativity tempted me to redo all my shirts with individualized distinction. I thought better of it after a few moments but nonetheless walked out with a couple of stylish faux furs and some unusual scarves.

Le Bon Marché (Rive Gauche), 24 Rue de Sèvres, 7th Arrondissement, telephone 01.44.39.80.00. This stylish department store used to be a "good deal" (and thus it's name) but now it's on the scale of Bloomies or Saks. Yet, the designer boutiques are carefully chosen, inviting, and tastefully selective in displays that do not suggest mass shopping "a la department store."

Monoprix (multiple locations). This chain starts with cosmetics and finishes with a small but practical selection of clothing and accessories. Ever-seeking scarves, cosmetics and perfume, I discovered some real finds in the Monoprix on the Champs Élysées (8th) and on Rue Rennes off Boulevard St-Germain (6th).

Paris at the Table

Womentravelers ask me if it's possible these days to have a great meal in Paris without breaking the travel budget, given the sharply declining value of the American dollar against the euro. My answer is a resounding "yes!" -- and on a regular basis. After 25 years of traveling to France, I continue to marvel at how respectfully and lovingly the French treat a simple meal. Years ago the founder of the French Institute of Taste told me emphatically, "We eat two meals every day -- why should they be dreary? If the goal of life is to be comfortable and feel good, why waste the experience of a meal?"

The good news is that still holds true, economic volatility aside, in all price ranges.

One evening during my latest Paris trip, my friends and I chose Les Bouquinistes (you'll also see it spelled Les Bookinistes, Anglicized for the secondhand bouquiniste booksellers along the Seine). Located at 53 Quai des Grands Augustins in the region of these riverside bookstalls in the Left Bank 6th Arrondissement (01.43.25.45.94), this Guy Savoy resto was emblemmatic of nearly all my Paris encounters with food. Its understated uptown decor (butter-yellow linens and olive and eggplant trim) joins warmly attentive service and spectacular cuisine. For three of us the total was about $80 each, with three courses and wine -- not to mention two comped glasses of wine by our server. That's equivalent in cost to a moderately priced dinner out in LA, DC, New York and even smaller US cities, and the entire experience was much greater in value.

For appetizers, Anne and I each chose the plate of three kinds of lightly marinated fish (carpaccio style), while David selected the poached egg on asparagus. Our main courses were inventive combinations of ingredients (scallops and mashed potatoes with dried seaweed, seared seabass on spinach, and lamb and polenta) served uniquely on white china of various shapes. We enjoyed a bottle of red Saumur ("Chateau de Targe") from the Loire Valley and sparkling water, and finished with a triage of unbelievably lush crèmes brulées (nougat, passion fruit and pastachio). Portions were generous but the overall effect was neither rich nor heavy.

Volumes have been written on extraordinary French meals, and I will leave the finer points of the current situation to the critics. But as a womantraveler, solo and with friends, for me the thrill of eating in France is as basic as strolling through the open-air markets and established shops in every neighborhood where residents walk daily to purchase their provisions. The array is encyclopedic, and you walk away believing that the world is, indeed, abundant with wonders. How many varieties of fish or shapes of cheeses or categories of oysters can there possibly be? The French seem to know and present them every morning for themselves and their guests to enjoy.

On balance, dining in Paris remains a reasonable -- rather than horrifying -- commitment for the pocketbook. (Of course, you can always spend $200 on yourself if you want -- and it's well worth it if you can.) Fast food, sandwich stands, and quick crepes aside, it's easy to find a 2- or 3-course lunch for under $25 and a similar dinner for under $50, not out of line with US prices. My experience was very consistent -- at a brasserie in the Marais one day, Anne and I collectively had a delicious bouillabaise, quiche, six fresh oysters "fine clair", two glasses of wine and two expressos for $25 each. Dining solo on another occasion at a neighborhood restaurant specializing in southwestern French cuisine in the Latin Quarter, I had two courses with wine for $30.

I took the train one Sunday to the Loire Valley to visit an old friend, and we took our midday meal at the local "Hotel de France" for $25 each (plus a bottle of wine). After my opening salad, my plate was brimming with a lightly sauteed fish accompanied by pureed broccoli and other assorted vegetables. That evening in his sister's home, we switched to a light vegetarian supper of brown rice topped with steamed mushrooms, along with a salad and a Chenin Blanc produced by their father M. Poulain ("Côteaux du Loir") in 1946 and patiently waiting to be plucked from the refrigerator.  It had turned ever so slightly, but as they talked about its origins in nearby soil, I felt very close to both earth and heaven.

Here are more Paris restos recommended by womentravelers and their friends:

The Woman Who Saved Paris

On the top of the Left Bank hill housing the dramatic Panthéon monument seen from afar across the city stands a particularly inspiring church, the Église St-Étienne-du-Mont, one of the spiritual centers of Paris. In a special shrine within the church lie the remains of Saint Geneviève, the patron saint of Paris, who in the 5th century is said to have saved Paris from Attila the Hun through her prophesy. Her memory is revived each morning at 8 a.m. when the bells in four bell towers awake the neighborhood in a sustained medley -- and sound out the hours and half hours and other special holy times throughout the day.

On this site in the 6th century in the basilica of Sainte-Pierre-Saint-Paul, King Clovis -- who had converted to Christianity under the guidance of Saint Geneviève -- along with Queen Clothilde and Geneviève herself were buried. The present church, still used as a parish church, is a worthy stop in itself, built over centuries and incorporating a number of architectural styles, primarily Gothic. Other unique features include the rood screen (or pillared gallery), the only one in Paris, and a remarkable organ. It also contains the remains of mathematician/philosopher Blaise Pascal and playwright Jean Racine. Perhaps more importantly, however, the church houses Saint Geneviève's reliquary, which was revered until the French Revolution, then destroyed and her ashes thrown into the Seine by a gleeful mob. But in 1803 a bone fragment was recovered and placed in a reliquary now above the altar of the church.

With another womantraveler, I walked reverently through the church and absorbed its very personal history. We learned, for example, that the tower bells even have names --Charles, Marie, Étienne, and Geneviève. Before leaving, I scribed a prayer to Saint Geneviève asking her to stand by the dear ones in my life.

Paris: Solo on the Left Bank: Part 2

Paris is a magical history tour. Armed with any number of Paris guidebooks as well as specialized tours, you can experience your choice of centuries in a full or half day by strolling through the districts (or Arrondissements) of the central core of the city, which evolved from particular eras into a collective whole. One reason my favorite area of Paris is the Left Bank (Rive Gauche) and its core areas of the Latin Quarter and St-Germain-des-Près is the geographical compactness of history dating from the Roman era to the 21st century.

In a city known for creating trends -- and rejecting them just as easily -- the 6th Arrondissement (which centers in St-Germain-des-Près and includes some of the Latin Quarter and Montparnasse) has been a vital center of fashion as well as intellectual and religious life for centuries. As I live in a city where history is measured in decades, the experience of moving through centuries in a half or whole day is breathtaking.

Patricia Wells Talks Parisian Cuisine

In her more than 20 years in Paris, food critic and connoisseur Patricia Wells has steeped herself in the culture, traditions, restaurants and home cooking of Paris and of France. Her authoritative book, The Food Lover's Guide to Paris, 4th Edition, has more than 400 pages of info on dining, cooking schools, specialty foods, wine bistros, markets and more.

I first interviewed Patricia in the late '80s about her book, Bistro Cooking, which has served as one basis of my home cooking when I want to prepare French food simply in my own kitchen. Not only has Patricia written several books on the topic, she also now runs her own cooking classes and keeps writing books, the next one on vegetables. I caught up with Patricia for an interview that updates the Paris food scene for women.

Paris: Solo on the Left Bank, Part 1

The heart of Paris for me will always be the Left Bank, and now as a solo womantraveler here, I particularly advocate this lively and compact Latin Quarter area for women alone or with girlfriends. In a relatively small and historic area of the 5th and 6th Arrondissements (extending into the 7th), the range of options is extensive (from funky to sophisticated). It's built on the original Roman origins of Paris and includes many important landmarks. The University of Paris and famous schools (like the Sorbonne) are centered here, bringing an intellectual, hip, and cosmopolitan air in the narrow streets, which are also filled with every imaginable shopping and dining opportunity. Compared to the big-city atmosphere of the Right Bank, it's easily manageable for hours on foot and, though busy, not noisy. The flowers in the markets, even in the snow and rain, are gorgeous and warm.

It's good to have some destinations in mind but not to be over-prepared so you can discard your original plans without worry. For any traveler, receptivity to the new plus openness to looking at the farmiliar in new ways are essential to a satisfactory experience; serendipity and discovery are natural partners. Importantly, don't try to pack too much into one outing -- it'll feel like a chore and a, well, job.

Here are some suggestions and highlights for a wonderful day through the 5th-7th, or take it in chunks. To feel comfortably fashionable (branchée), put on a jacket or sweater and a terrific scarf, perhaps a discreet beret if it's windy. The excellent scarf, wrapped with élan, is the key. Do not, absolutely do not, wear white sneakers or running shoes, jeans or shorts. We all can do better than that in Paris, after all, and we should.

Start at the Seine River at Shakespeare & Company, the renowned bookshop opened by American George Whitman that carries on the tradition of early 20th century ex-pat Sylvia Beach. Crawling through the stacks is, in fact, a wonderful all-day outing in itself. Across the river on the Île de la Cité is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, now being cleaned to reflect pale sandy hues. Follow the river past the bouquinistes  (secondhand booksellers) with vintage and relatively new books, prints, and art along the river and equally interesting stores of the same variety on the street side. I could spend my entire trip in bookstores in Paris, filled with books in all languages, and am resisting purchasing a few this time.

Turn into the winding streets of the district along Rue de Seine and stop for lunch at  Fish la Boissonnerie in an old half-timbered building. With about 40 seats and a bar for 6, you'd never detect that this restaurant is owned by New Zealanders and a Cuban-American -- unless you hear them discussing orders for their companion restaurant Cosi (specializing in sandwiches) across the street and La Dernière Goutte wine store around the corner (6 Rue de Bourbon Le Château, 75006 Paris, 01.43.29.11.62). Open 7 days a week, the wine shop offers Saturday wine tastings and carrying cases for easy travel. Especially great about Fish la Boissonnerie are the daily changing menus and the vast wine collection of the proprieters reflected on the pages-long wine list and daily wine specials. Following a pureed carrot soup finished with a little cream and cumin, I opted for a Loire Gamay Pierre Bise wine with my seared cabillaud fish over steamed spinach and circled by a balsamic vinaigrette sauce. The helpings are generous and the spectacular lemon-orange tarte at the end almost finished me off!

With such wonderful food, how do French women stay thin? One of my theories (and more on this topic another day), they walk as I did for the next couple of hours. In other words, I took my exercise by people-watching and shopping through the book stores, funky/chic shops, and street markets, topped off with active window shopping of the chic Left Bank stores -- from Sonia Rykiel (whose boutiques now go around three sides of the block between Blvd. St-Germain and Rue des Grenelles, Armani, the department store Bon Marché and dozens of shoe, jewelry, clothing and accessory boutiques for women mixed in with intruders such intruders as the Gap and Burberry, which the French love.

For a break, as it is oyster season -- and what a wonderful to stop with six sweet oysters on the half shell and a glass of dry white wine -- as I did at Les Jardins de St. Germain on Rue du Dragon. Or, if you're into something hardier, La Rhumerie recommended by some French friends for its vast selection of Caribbean French (and other) rums on Blvd. St-Germain just east of the Église St-Germain-des-Prés (166 Blvd. St-Germain, Paris 75006, 01.43.54.28.94, www.larhumerie.com).

Paris: Le Tout Jazz

Paris is a haven for jazz lovers, and Parisians take pride in knowing more about American jazz than Americans do. My friends introduced me to a real find -- a neighborhood haunt better than a late-night club -- Crocojazz, 64 Rue de la Montagne Sainte Geneviève (01.46.34.78.38) in the 5th Arrondissement, where Gilles, the manager with an encyclopedic knowledge of jazz and blues, holds forth 5 days a week until 7 p.m. (except for the lunch hour, and he is closed Sundays and Mondays). The tiny one-room shop is a lively scene of habitués and visitors seeking serendipitous discoveries or a collector's item in the stacks, boxes and shelves of popular and hard-to-find music.

Gilles is a "prof" and a therapist. He digs deep into his rich knowledge of jazz and blues for our benefit, but also listens to our musical needs and -- voila! -- comes back with a handful of CDs that respond to our tastes. He's happy to preview the music after carefully opening the LPs and CDs so as not to destroy the packaging. He comments on what we're hearing musically as if he were there when the session was recorded. The habitués add further details from visits to New York, Chicago and LA. 

Interestingly there are hundreds of LP records in his shop, and I ask why, since most Americans have tossed their record players and scratched records. "Vinyl," as the French call LPs, is much higher quality -- and Crocojazz has originals dating back to the '50s and '60s.

There are lots of small music shops in the area, which is a student quarter near the Sorbonne, particularly along the main streets of the 5th and 6th Arrondissements such as Boulevard St-Michel, Boulevard St-Germain, and Rue des Écoles (where the sister shop Crocodisc, with other types of music, is located at 42 Rue des Écoles). But we who gather this lively Saturday afternoon to listen to music and share tales of great jazz and blues moments in our lives happen to be the age of the students' parents. I walk out with more than a half dozen CDs -- including bluesmen Jimmy Reed and Elmore James, jazz pianist Bill Evans in 1956, trumpeters Lou Blackburn and Freddie Hill (recorded in Hollywood in 1963), trumpeter Chet Baker at the beginning of his career, and Sarah Vaughan with Clifford Brown in New York City in 1954. Before the end of my trip, I'll be back for more, bien sûr. Like some Django music from his Quintet of "Le Hot Club" of France.

Paris a la Carte

This is not about food, but about the many ways you can lose yourself (in a very pleasant and creative way) in a city like Paris.

I love the open-air markets, and every day, despite the snow, there is one to be found nearby in the 5th and 6th Arrondissements (districts) on the Left Bank (and anywhere else in the city for that matter). Imagine the snow-covered ground -- and the most beautiful tulips in yellow with red tinges sitting there waiting for you in the market. Or a fresh fillet of sole, an artichoke, a bunch of thyme and a Gamay red wine from the Loire. I start the morning in the market at Place Maubert near the intersection of the 5th and 6th Ar. on the Left Bank, seized first by a cashmere paisley pashmina (about $38) to wrap around my jacket like the French women do (it is said all you need to look great in Paris is a great jacket and an even more terrific scarf with the most elan flourish). I buy some sardines, zucchini and olives for dinner.

Next I trek through snow-covered Luxembourg Gardens on the Left Bank, entering from Boulevard St. Michel. Despite the weather, two tennis courts are busy and three joggers are carefully hustling along the ice-mud paths. Years ago I spent lovely spring days there reading on the emblematic green chairs. On to Gare Montparnasse to purchase a train ticket for the next day in the country. I pass the famous bistros, where jazz-age artists and writers hung out in the 1920s -- La Select, Le Dome and La Coupole (102 Blvd. du Montparnasse, 43.20.14.20), each featuring fresh oysters and decide that I wouldn't go to the somewhat tired area unless I had another reason to do so.

Instead, I choose Cafe Le Rostand (Place Edmond Rostand, 43.54.61.58) on the edge of the Luxembourg Gardens in the 6th by the Boulevard San Michel entrance, and delight in the cliches and idiosyncracies of the Parisian scene for a couple of hours. My glum waiter arrives in jeans, a wool waist coat, tie and light blue oxford cloth shirt, a white napkin draped over his tray-carrying arm. I cheer him up by ordering a glass of Beaujolais (Brouilly) and what turns out to be an afternoon-long Camembert sandwich on a baguette. We are situated in a cafe stretched along the sidewalk, wrapped in plastic and tarps for the inclement weather -- warmed by California-style outdoor heaters -- and ripe with theater. To one side is a French woman with close-cropped red hair and a chirpy Pug dog, wrapped in a black sweater (the dog) and sitting in his warm dog bed that she carries with her like a back pack. Monsieur Pug decides to nip at the elegant black poodle next door, sleeping beside her owner from Seattle (whose name is Bud and who wears a black French beret to blend in easily).

I discover that I inadvertently have chosen the smoking section, as the cigars are lighting up all around me -- but I note that the non-fumeur (non-smoking) section next door is devoid of anyone interesting and only has 3 patrons in the entire time I am there. So today, to lose myself in Paris, I capitulate to cheese (which I very rarely eat), a glass of wine before 5 (which also is unusual) and cigarette/cigar smoke to experience more deeply the Paris scene, such as the young woman in the other direction in magenta hair and a tangerine coat (evidently pink and orange are hot again for 2005) and the woman a few tables away drinking hot chocolate and speaking forcefully on her cell phone.

The braided green and gold rattan chairs are lined along the wall, and next to me sits a young couple -- she American and he French -- lighting up their Marlboros. Oddly, the Frenchman asks the waiter for directions to the nearest Starbucks, but the waiter has no clue what he's talking about and the American girl explains in fluent French. So, I then again remember that Paris is ultimately about contradictions, and Sarah Vaughan sings "April in Paris" on my new CD as I write.