Everybody loves chocolate but Chloe Doutre-Roussel is passionate about it. From an early age, she was intrigued by the varied styles of chocolates available. That excitement and curiosity would continue as she tailor-crafted her own choco career, initially collaborating with the famous Pierre Hermé and now with the creation of her own Chloe Chocolat brand. In addition to discovering her own chocolat, Chloe can make your chocolate dreams come true through tailored courses and tours. An encounter with Chloe will bring you to new heights of chocolate delight, however much you may already love chocolate.

We met with Chloe in her apartment near Alésia in the 14th.  White walls, touches of pink, and lots of natural light, everything there seemed to focus on the tasting experience.

Are you parisienne by birth or by adoption?

Chloe Doutre-Roussel : I was born in Mexico from a French father and a German mother and spent most of my childhood in South America. But we came to Paris every year for the holidays. Paris represented vacation for me, and it is mainly the smells of different places that I remember: the “café” where  we enjoyed our hot chocolates, of our favourite French treat “ les escalopes de veau à la crème, champignon et petits pois”, the metro…

At the age of 14, I  moved to Paris and have lived here since.  Now Paris is my base, the place I come to rest, to think , and prepare for my numerous journeys around the world.

In your mind, what does it mean to be a “parisienne”?

CDR : Being a Parisian is to live in Paris long enough to feel it is your home and to live like the typical Parisians: rushing in the underground, working , shopping in the street markets, visiting at least a museum per month, meeting friends at the café,  strolling by the river La Seine or in the Jardin du Luxembourg.

How does being a parisienne translate into the style of your home?

CDR: My home represents myself, my stories, and my beliefs. I don’t support consumerism, so my style is minimalistic, embellished with Mexican decorations, paintings and statuettes; the pictures with my loved ones. White walls,  large windows to get as much light as possible, a small garden protected from the noises of the street. A haven of peace in the heart of a bustling city.

At ParisSharing, you know, our aim is to share with our guests a certain “joie de vivre” of which Paris is an international symbol. What about Paris do you most enjoy sharing with others ?

rue des Artistes, near Alésia

CDR: In addition to the very symbolic and well-know places I already mentioned, I enjoy showing others the neighborhood where I live and that I love.  There are plenty of streets with houses and small gardens,  but you  need to know them to find them. The locals work all week until late, and spend the week end with the family, sharing a hot chocolate and croissant  at Dominique Saibron’s boulangerie, or shopping for their Sunday family meals in the the excellent  fish, cheese and  vegetable shops located on our pedestrian streets. Like most of Paris, it’s a quartier of vibrant living, every day of the week, every hour of the day often until midnight.

Tell us about your work and how you believe it brings “joie de vivre” to yourself and others?

CDR: If  Chocolate were a country, I believe Paris would be its capital.  Paris offers joie de vivre through its amazing chocolatiers and chocolate shops. Through my work, I try to share this joie de vivre with my customers by unveiling the mysteries of chocolate and offering access to best chocolate secrets Paris can offer.  I present the art of chocolate, complete with moments of indulgence !

Where are two or three places in Paris that are particularly dear to you?

CDR: The beautifully preserved  Marais and Ile St Louis.

And finally, how about some of your favorite addresses for day-to-day living in Paris?

Bakeries & Patisseries

CDR: For the bread I like the German style of the Pain integral at organic shops such as Naturalia, or the reknown Pain Poilâne that you can purchase at  any Carrefour and Monoprix.  For the cakes and macarons, I’m fond of Pierre Herme’s collection,  as I worked with him at the time he created most of his cakes..I go to the shop at rue de Vaugirard, metro Pasteur, much less  of a wait than in the other shops.  Ispahan, Mille feuilles praliné, Plaisir sucré….all delightful. For chocolates, Patrick Roger takes me into wonderland: the esthetics and smell of his shops, the chocolate sculptures, the amazing quality of the home made pralinés and marzipans/pistachios, the gorgeous boxes, it is a journey into  the best of fine chocolate.

Restaurants

CDR: For a quick lunch, I recommend the exquisite soup with noodles and Cantonese Duck or shrimps raviolis  at Mirama Chinese restaurant (27 on rue Saint-Jacques.75005 Paris)- for a more healthy lunch or lovely tea time in a cosy atmosphere I prefer Les Pipelettes, 31 rue Brézin 75014- the menus change regularly , fresh, excellent, I usually take 3 cakes after a nice salad.

Specialty shops

DETOU. 58, rue Tiquetonne 75002 Paris Tél : 01 42 36 54 67. Lundi-samedi 8: 30-18:30. M° : Etienne Marcel ou Les Halles. Ingredients for gourmet meals & pastry.

Edition Parfum Frédéric Malle- 38 rue du Mont Thabor 75001.  An Parisan unusual perfume shop, where the « nez » (perfume creators) were commissioned to create a perfum they like and not, as they usually do, the perfume a major brand pays them to develop. A place to discover their portrait, their values and to sniff their creations inside a glass column.

For more about Chloe and Chloe Chocolat, see www.chloe-chocolat.com.

ParisSharing has teamed up with Chloe to make your Valentine’s stay in Paris very special.  See our offer here.

Read the introduction to our interview series “Parisiennes with panache“.

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 !

Here’s a very sweet scoop for you and your sweetheart, and another reason to choose ParisSharing for your Valentine’s escapade in 2012.  We’ve teamed up with Chloe Chocolat, Paris’ up-and-coming boutique chocolate artisan or chocolatier, to help you melt her (or his) heart.

When you book any stay on ParisSharing from February 1st to 18th, we will offer you a chocolate gift from Chloe. You can also pre-order as much chocolate as you’d like, and it will be ready for you in your apartment or B&B when you arrive.

This is not just any chocolate, and you won’t find it just anywhere. Chloe’s creativity is like that of a chef:  she assembles ingredients to create a new and delicious blend.  She has tasted and analysed the best chocolates in the world, and her talent and intuition have given birth to a small collection of chocolate bars, a personal and secret blend of some of the best chocolates in the world. These chocolates are not available on the market, only directly from Chloe and hand-picked merchants.

Indulge while you’re in Paris ! To benefit from our offer, simply request your Chloe chocolatwhen you book on ParisSharing. If you want to see price information for ordering more, see ChloeChocolat.com.

ParisSharing is all about joie de vivre for your stay in Paris. Chloe Chocolat is all about joy and passion. What more can you ask for your Valentine’s stay in Paris ? When you click on any of the chocolate images below, you’ll see a surprise Valentine’s apartment show up. Which will be yours ?

One last thing: if you are hesitating on Paris for your Valentine’s destination and wondered why it’s universally known as a city for lovers, we actually answered that question last year at this time.  You can refresh your memory here.

Joie de vivre in 2012.

For many, times seem to be getting harder, and the New Year carries a full load of uncertainties.

Still, we wish you many rich and rewarding travels in 2012 and remain committed to providing the best value for your stay in Paris, as a couple, a family or a small group.

But that’s only what we sell.

More important is what we share, and what we’d most like to share with you is joie de vivre…a life full of joys, great and small. The sheer beauty of Paris, and the endless sources of pleasure and enrichment that the city offers, will already give you a dose of those joys. Now, just imagine what it will be like to be greeted and hosted by people who share that joie de vivre with you. Imagine staying in homes with a soul where the joy of living is palpable.

In 2012, we’ll be offering you several exclusive Parisian delights, all selected to make your experience of joie de vivre à la parisienne all the more memorable.  Have a glimpse at some of these,  a few of our favourite things, on our Joie de Vivre photo collection.

Stay subscribed to our newsletter to learn about these new delights as they are revealed, and join us on Facebook to give us your suggestions.

Remember, if you live a life that is open to the world, there will always be two places of joy: one that is  your own and one that is called joie de vivre. Thomas Jefferson would certainly have agreed when he wrote : “Everyone has two homelands, their own and La France.”

Join us for joie de vivre this year!

And here are some recently added joie de vivre places to stay from ParisSharing, just waiting for you. Click on photos to see details.

La Parisienne par excellence

Those who hold Paris to be the most (or one of the most) beautiful cities in the world usually also consider its women to be among the most attractive (for men) and envied (by women).

Sophisticated or sultry,  stylish and stiletto-heeled, free-minded or frivolous, the Parisienne has maintained her international reputation over the centuries. As recently as three months ago, a collector’s book was published entitled “La Parisienne dans l’art“. Théodore de Banville is cited there as having written in 1876:

“If you want to know how a Parisienne will act in any given situation, imagine just the opposite of what is customary and you will know exactly. You can be sure that she will always behave contrary to popular notions of elegance and intellect”.

What does it mean to be a Parisienne in 2012? Let us unravel her for you, all the way down to her culotte.

As imagined by Yves Saint Laurent, the inventor of the perfume that bears the name Parisienne, her main characteristic is boldness to do as she pleases. In the current advertising campaign (seen below), she is shown in her black trench coach, strutting across the Pont des Invalides in the wee hours, presumably after a steamy night out.  She seems to have misplaced most of her attire, but fortunately only has to walk a short distance before arriving at her Seine-front penthouse.

Parisienne - Ad by Yves Saint-Laurent Perfumes

Along with the trench coach, a slim-fitting black dress is an unconditional part of her wardrobe. According to Inès de la Fressange, muse of Chanel and one of the most emblematic Parisiennes, every parisienne should own at least five variants. In her book, Parisian Chic: A Style Guide she hints on how to dress like a hip Parisienne. The core doctrine is summarized in this slideshow featuring her daughter, Nine d’Urso, as a model.

The most familiar Parisiennes are those we see (over and over again) on the big screen. Remember Juliette Binoche in the Lovers on the Bridge? Or Audrey Tatout as Amélie ? They have the astonishing particularity, like great Bordeaux wines, of becoming more admirable with age.

Actrice parisienne, Audrey Tatout

Actrice parisienne, Juliette Binoche

Now for the unraveling part. What do Parisiennes wear underneath? Aubade is one of the most famous and successful parisienne lingerie brands. Its advertising campagne “Lessons in seduction” is second to none.

Culotte by Germaine des Près, Bed & Breakfast by ParisSharing

But do Parisiennes wear such things on an ordinary Sunday morning?  We recently scouted out a counter-chic underwear brand called Germaine des Près, based as the name suggests in the heart of the ultra-hip St. Germain des Près. Germaine offers a series of lollipop-style cotton culottes, describing them as quintessentially parisienne: delicate with a fighting spirit, fresh, spontaneous, joyous…maybe a bit stubborn and een fierce on occasion.

Perhaps the idea here is that even the most ordinary clothing item, with a just a “touch of Paris”, invites you into a different mode of being.

If  underwear can’t even be ordinary for a Parisienne, are there any ordinary Parisiennes ?  Do they indeed have a certain je ne sais quoi that captures your attention? For ParisSharing, that is the most interesting of questions, since it is mostly Parisiennes who invite you to stay in their homes, either while they are away on vacation or in a bed & breakfast.

Over the course of 2012, ParisSharing will organize a series of interviews with parisiennes with panache who you may well run into while buying your baguette at the local boulangerie. Many of these will be ParisSharing hosts. We will ask them about what they love in Paris, how they think of themselves as Parisiennes, and their favorite places in the city to dine or shop. Read the introduction to these interviews here.

Until we release our first interview, here are some shots of stumbled-upon parisiennes going about their daily affaires. With an eye for detail, you will see that there is something particularly parisienne in each of them.

By j'faisc'quej'veux on Flickr - click to see more

Ultimate chic on a public bike

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.

Grand Palais -  Of Toys and Men (September 14, 2011 – January 23, 2012)

Of Toys and Men is the history of toys in the western world and highlights the importance of toys in children’s education from birth.  The exhibit is possibly the largest toy exhibit ever featuring thousands of toys from Antiquity to modern day.

Centre Pompidou – Edvard Munch (September 21, 2011 – January 9, 2012)

The Centre Pompidou presents Edvard Munch, l’oeil moderne [Edvard Munch, the modern eye], a collection of eighty paintings, thirty drawings, fifty photographs and a film all shown for the first time in France.

Musee Maillol – Pompei (September 21, 2011 – February 12, 2012)

In 79AD, the city of Pompei was completely buried under lava and ash from the catastrophic eruption of the volcano Vesuvius.  However, the extremely well preserved ruins of Pompei rose from the ashes when they were discovered in the 1700’s.  The exhibit guides visitors through a typical Pompeian home, featuring over 200 artifacts including wall murals, vases and jewelry.

Musee du Louvre – La Cité Interdite – Forbidden City (September 26, 2011 – January 9, 2012)

The Louvre exhibit features 130 artifacts from China’s Forbidden City on loan from the ancient imperial palace museum.  Artifacts range from jade carvings, lacquerware, seals, porcelain and bronzes to personal items previously owned by Ming and Qing Dynasty emperors.

Les Arts Decoratifs – Goudemalion – Jean Paul Goude Retrospective (November 11, 2011 – March 18, 2012)

Les Arts Décoratifs welcomes this grand retrospective of Jean-Paul Goude, the French graphic designer, illustrator, photographer, director and art director. For over 40 years, Goude has been one of the advertising world’s leading “image makers”, who is best-known for his campaigns for such brands as Perrier, Citroën, Galeries Lafayette and Chanel.

Fall is one of the best times of the year to visit Paris, and it’s an excellent time to take advantage of some of ParisSharing’s wonderful apartments at special fall prices.

Baguette "de tradition". Photo credit: Roboppy on Flickr

Over a year a go we wrote about the secrets to finding the best bakeries in Paris. Timeless wisdom, of course.

Still, since life is too short for bad baguettes, and since the price of the baguette has increased by 0,05€ all across the city, we’d like to contrive a more foolproof system for only getting only the best. The quality of bread produced by the some 1200 bakeries in Paris is far from being constant. The good news is that there are about 200 that we can consider as excellent, and these are scattered across the city.

So, wouldn’t it be great if you could always know, in whatever neighborhood you happen to be, where is the nearest mouth-watering bakery? You can’t really follow the masses, because if you could, bad bakeries would go out of business.

You could trust the experts, of course, and go buy a book on the subject (yes, these exist). We’re suggesting another approach….to ask YOU. That’s right, to enable ParisSharing fans and members to tell us the name and address of their favorite Parisian bakery (or just one of them). We will then publish this information on our website,  quartier by quartier.

Would you like to participate? All you have to do is become a fan of ParisSharing on Facebook, then add your favorite boulangerie here. When all is said and done, we’ll get you to vote on the very best one.

To get the ball rolling, here below is  list of some of our favorites. Disclaimer: the bakeries have been selected only on the basis of the quality of their baguette called “Tradition”.  Hint: if you want the best baguette, don’t ask for a baguette, ask for a “baguette de tradition” or simply “une tradition”.

4th: Au Petit Versailles du Marais, 1 rue Tiron

4th: Boulanger Patissier, 29 rue Saint-Antoine (the baguette is called “Le Parisien”)

4th: Au Levain du Marais, 28 boulevard Beaumarché (décor is better than the bread)

9th: Le Petrin Médiéval, 35 rue Henry Monnier (Medieval-style bread)

9th: Mme et M DHEILLY, 10 rue des Martyrs

11th: La tradition du pain, corner of rue Saint-Sabin and rue Daval

11th: Boulangerie (recently opened): corner of Boulevard Voltaire and Jean-Pierre Timbaud

11th: Boulangerie (across the street from the Extra Old Café on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine near Place de la Nation

12th: Le Pain au naturel, Place d’Aligre

14th: le Moulin de la Vierge, rue Vercingétorix

16th : Le Grillon d’Autueil, 65 rue d’Autueil

18th arrondissement: Le Grenier Abesses, 38 rue des Abesses

The rest is up to you!

Read our advice on other simple pleasures, such as the best sandwhiches.