Kasia Dietz is a transplanted New Yorker who has called Paris her home for the last seven years. The “City of Light” lured Dietz into its fabulous web of art, culture and fashion while she was studying International Marketing in London. Ok, there might have been a swarthy Italian too, but she says, “It’s always been a city I dreamt of calling home.”
There are many reasons to complain about the SNCF (French national railways) including their frequent schedule delays. However, when the system works you board the TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse) in Avignon and arrive 2.5 hours later on the platform at Paris Gare de Lyon – génial (brilliant)! Ginger and Nutmeg were in Paris for a quick visit, a weekend of “hanging-out”. As often happens, Ginger was simply happy to be there, and Nutmeg had a plan. They were going to stroll (flâner) the city and do a foodie tour along the way.
It is not easy to change careers or geography at any age. Why is Patricia Sands a possibilitarian? Why did Lisa and Johann Pepin move from Chicago to hunt for truffles in rural Provence? Moving can fall into that “not easy” bucket, where it is seems easier to stick to the familiar than to pack your bags.
Antonia (Toni) Dosik’s memories of her first foreign trip include sandy beaches and seashells. In reality, Mexico was hardly a protracted voyage for a six-year-old kid from Los Angeles, but it was the kickoff for Toni’s travel-centric life.
At 13, Toni began plotting her return to Europe while on a vacation that included visits to England, France, Belgium, Germany, and Switzerland. During college, she took advantage of a study abroad program to improve her French language skills, and to visit Switzerland and southern France. Toni spent a university year in England before racking up extensive travel miles to Provence, Paris, Italy, Serbia, Slovenia and Portugal.
Best in Britain was born in 1987, a small business that sprouted from friends and family asking Toni for help with their travel planning. Toni’s travel bug married her planning talent. She tells me that Best in Britain planned more than 40 trips to England and Wales for people who wanted unique and personalized vacations. Starting…
Old meets new, and France meets the world in this Parisian market. The trendy Marais district, the third arrondissement, spills northward with new housing and retail stores invading previously unattractive utilitarian spaces. In the midst of this budding urbanization is one of Paris’s oldest covered markets. The entrance off rue de Bretagne is unassuming; inside this compact culinary corner of the capital city is an artist’s palate of international cuisines. Market stalls flaunt glorious blooms in soft pastels and vibrant Crayola shades, seasonal fruit and vegetables from farms of Europe are piled high and fresh catch from the seas rest on icy cradles.
It took 11.5 months for Ginger and Nutmeg to make it to Paris, only a 2.5 hour train ride from their Provencal home base. The capital city is one that both Ginger and Nutmeg love and have visited several times. It is entirely possible; that the relaxing rhythm of life in the sunny south had kept them from Paris for that length of time. However, they finally had a compelling reason to venture to l’ile de France, to meet some friends in the city. After, Nutmeg managed to master, the not so intuitive, SNCF website and purchase their train tickets, the rest was easy. The trains run frequently and sometimes even on time. Departing from Avignon TGV, their goal was to feel like real Parisians for three days. Audacious!
Are you a history buff? Nutmeg would like to introduce you to a real find: Beware Madame la Guillotine, A Revolutionary Tour of Paris by Time Traveler Tours, an educational tourism start-up that is capturing worldwide attention. Sarah Towle is Founder and Creative Director of Time Traveler Tours, mobile iTineraries that reveal history through the stories of characters who helped shape their time, enhanced with dash of interactive games. Her first StoryApp, Beware Madame la Guillotine, A Revolutionary Tour of Paris, received accolades as a School Library Journal Top 10 2011 App and Teachers With Apps Top 10 Tried & True Classroom App. It was also recently named a Top 10 2012 Travel App by the World Youth and Student Travel Conference. Sarah’s second title, also on a death theme, Day of the Dead, a journey to the Napoleonic era, is due for release later this year. (more…)
No matter how many times you have been to Paris there is always something to do. If you have never been before the must-do list includes; Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, The Opera, Bateaux Mouches, L’Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre, Champs Elysees, Notre Dame and St Michel. After you have hit the must do list there are endless museums, galleries, great shopping and fantastic neighbourhoods to explore.
Nutmeg and Ginger are in Paris for Gingers’ school trip. The great thing about Paris in February is the hordes of summer tourists are absent. This does not mean there are no crowds but rather that the crowds are made up of more locals, French tourists and Asian school trips. The weather is pleasant at about 5 degrees Celsius, however, it is not spring so requires a good heavy jacket, hat and gloves. There is no snow on the ground so the ladies are all strutting their boots. Nutmeg, as some might agree has a boot fetish so this is a bit like being in a candy store. The boots cover all styles although there is a higher percentage of the black flat sole, zippered, laced or both. Nutmeg packed light so must be content with the one pair she did bring along.
