The ParisSharing Blog

Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Image courtesy of Chloe Chocolat

As we announced in our blog entry on the making of a parisienne, ParisSharing will be running a series of interviews over the next few months dedicated to parisiennes with panache. These are true parisiennes, the ones you might stumble across in a local boulangerie, but not just any ones either. Because they all have panache ! Pizazz, if you prefer.

All of the ladies we interview are either entrepreneurs or artists (or both), which means they have something to show and something to say! They are parisienne either by birth or adoption, and love sharing their own version of the city with others. Paris is a place of joie de vivre, and all of our featured parisiennes also have something to say about joie de vivre.

Joie de vivre is what we want our guests to experience when they stay in Paris through ParisSharing, and a good many of our featured parisiennes are also part of our community of local hosts .

We’ll show you some photos of their interiors.  

Of those who are entrepreneurs, many have created new products, services, or brands that exemplify current French culture and trends. Beginning this year, ParisSharing will be teaming up with some of these very same entrepreneurs to make their goodies available to you as guests when you reserve on ParisSharing. We think it’s a great way for you to discover products that you are unlikely to find anywhere else. It’s one more way to make your experience in Paris unique. 

You’ll learn more about these creations through our interviews, as well as the women behind them.  They’ll tell us about what it means to be a parisienne, and how they fit (or not) into the legend. They’ll tell us how they share joie de vivre in their professional or artistic activities, and how they capture that spirit in their interior.

Finally, they’ll tell us about those places in Paris they most enjoy sharing, as well as their favorite day-to-day addresses for bread & pasteries, restaurants, and boutiques.  The stuff that makes up the ordinary life of a parisienne.

Why parisiennes and not parisiens ? Probably for the same reason that a collector’s book was recently published entitled “La Parisienne dans l’art“, whereas no such attention has yet been given to the Parisian man. Maybe next time. Another reason is that the vast majority of ParisSharing hosts and guests happen to be women, who tend to have a more progressive, more trusting approach to staying in other people’s homes.

As a final word of introduction to our interviews, we would like to thank and give tribute to all of our participating parisiennes with panache who make their city so captivating, and give us even more reason to want to visit.  Paris is not just about places, it’s about people!

So, get ready for our first interview, to appear tomorrow !

Contemporary Art Market at Bastille

It was Hemingway who first referred to Paris as a moveable feast. In another sense, life in Paris is also a repetition of moveable feasts in the form of reoccuring fairs, festivals, markets and other events. There is a hardly an official Paris calendar that can keep track of them all.

The Bastille district is particularly well-endowed, with its bi-weekly market on north side of the monument, and it’s annual events on the arsenal side. On roughly the same dates each year (end of October, beginning of November) the contemporary art market (Grand Marché d’Art Contemporain) is held along both sides the canal that feeds into the Seine.

The event is tremedously popular because it allows art enthusiasts to visit 500 exhibitors in one walk-through. Most of the exhibits are held by the artists themselves, and it is always more gratifying to buy art directly from the artist. There is art for just about every budget, and the constant flow of visitors from all horizons makes it less intimidating than the typical art gallery, not to mention more economical. There is no intermediary for in the art market, except for the market organisers, who sell entry tickets for 8€.

This year is the 37th edition, with the theme of “The Eternal Feminine”–an eternal theme in itself.

If you missed out this year, think ahead for 2012 and reserve your nearby accommodations on ParisSharing. Albeit on a much smaller scale (and with no entry fee), you can also experience the weekly Bastille art market each Saturday morning throughout the year.

See more information about the Bastille district.

Was it her shoe?

..that came to hang here?

From feet to the street, from street art to art, this is the story behind the bunches of  talking shoes that currently hang from a cedar of Lebanon in the Jardin des Plantes.

The origins of the hanging shoe phenomenon remain the subject of speculation. Like any social and cultural movement, no one can be exactly sure where it begins and why.

The first hanging Parisian shoe was reported in the Butte aux Cailles neighborhood in the 13th arrondissement. It was a single high-heeled shoe having belonged to a parisienne, perhaps the woman rendered in several works of street art in the same neighborhood. The reasons for which her shoe now hangs gracefully above the street are shrouded in mystery.  Soon after this first shoe, others began to congregate on wires nearby. This second bunch included some men’s sporty models.

What had remained street art took  an officially artistic turn when Malachi Farrell conjured up the bunches of used shoes that now hang in a Paris public park. The work is called “Strange Fruits” and is on display in the Jardin des Plantes as part of Paris’ international contempary art fair (FIAC – Foire Internationale d’Art Contomporain).

The shoes carry on a conversation in the form of a hilarious parody of the Beatle’s song “She Loves You” by Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove. Although the YouTube video clip doesn’t have the best sound, you can hear the audio clearly here.

The “shoe story” is only one of many unique bits of Paris that you can discover thanks to ParisSharing. Through our home sharing approach, we want you to experience Paris in your own, individual way.  Off the beaten path, closer to local culture. Look for your place to stay on ParisSharing today. Come and maybe leave a pair of shoes behind?

A home in Paris enjoyed by guests from Sydney

Almost a sixth of ParisSharing guests come from down under. Considering the distance and the expense involved in such a trip, that’s more than we would expect. Our ParisSharing hosts enjoy Australian guests, who always prove to be open, enthusiastic, and respectful of people’s homes.  Their trip to Paris is often a big  and sometimes once-in-a-lifetime event. We are always delighted to make it special for them. Some write back to thank us, and sometimes (even better) write about us in the paper!

This month features an article in the Sydney Morning Herald from one of our guest Australian families who spend a week in the lesser-known Butte-aux-Cailles neighborhood last spring. It describes the experience of having a historically unique Parisian home entirely to one’s family,  a comfortable and convenient base for discovering local life in addition to all the must-see monuments. The only inconvenience: kids like homes with other kid’s toys and sometimes prefer to stick around and play rather than sight-see!

Read the full article here.

About the same time, we had another ParisSharing member from Sydney offer her apartment for a home swap. As you probably know, ParisSharing offers rentals, home exchanges, and B&B. You can have a look at her offer here. Maybe you’d like to go and enjoy the sunshine and the swimming pool?

Paris for Syndey, anyone?

To arrange a swap, all you have to do is register your own home on the ParisSharing website and then submit a request directly to the owner the home you want to swap with. Unlike most home swapping websites, ParisSharing does not charge you a subscription unless you actually succeed in finding an exchange partner. Lastly, we offer self-catering rentals and B&B as alternative approaches to home sharing. This is because home exchange, even though the most economic option for all parties, is not always easy to arrange since it requires finding just the right match in terms of destination, lifestyle, and timing.

If you have visited Paris before and seen the main attractions – Notre Dame, Les Invalides, Louvre and other hotspots – you may be looking for other ways to enjoy this exciting and vibrant city.  Here are ideas for some of the more unusual things to do in Paris.

Guided Tour of L’Opéra Garnier

Be transported back to the luxury and opulence of the Second French Empire in the 19th century when you take a tour of the palatial L’Opéra Garnier. As you go around this sensational building prepare to be blown away by the sumptuousness of the interiors. At every turn, the surfaces are upholstered in velvet, decorated with gold leaf, or embellished with statues.

Highlights include the Grand Escalier (Main Staircase), the great chandelier in the auditorium, and the painted ceiling by Marc Chagall.

Perfume Making Workshop in Paris

One of the most delightful things to do in Paris is to make your own perfume during a special hands-on class! This enjoyable workshop introduces you to the perfume-maker’s skills and secrets. You will also find out about the origins of Eau de Cologne, which may surprise you. Its birthplace is actually Florence and not Paris or indeed Cologne!

Learn to smell and describe the ingredients of an Eau de Cologne and also gain an understanding of the constituents and characteristics belonging to different families of odours.

Horse and Carriage Tour

This is surely one of the most romantic things to do in Paris! Return to the pre-automobile era as you ride in an elegant carriage drawn by magnificent glossy horses. Enjoy the jangle of the harness and the envious stares of the onlookers. And there is need to worry about the weather – there is a covered top in case of rain and plenty of blankets to keep you warm in winter.

Montparnasse Tower

You may have been up the Eiffel tower, but did you know that the views from the soaring Montparnasse Tower (210-meters high) are even more spectacular? From the 56th or 59th floor of Montparnasse Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Paris, you can see for 40km (24 miles). Below you is the busy city with its famous landmarks – Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides, Sacré Coeur, Musée d’Orsay, the Arc de Triomphe and many more – laid out like a map. The Tower is open every day till late and there is a café on the 56^th floor, where, if the mood takes you, you can sip Champagne while gazing out at a Paris sunset.

Cooking Lesson and Wine and Cheese Tasting

Keen cooks and gourmets looking for things to do in Paris will just love this experience. In a hands-on master-class you can learn to make classic dishes and interact with people who share your passion for French food. You can also enjoy sampling the dishes you have cooked in class as well as tasting some delicious French cheese and wine.

About the author

Guest blogger Vik has been traveling around Europe since 1985, the tip he offers to first time visitors is to opt for skip the queue by booking your Versailles tours online.