I just saw the film Colette, about the prolific French woman writer Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette. She was born in the French countryside in 1873, but moved to Paris after her marriage to the worldly-wise Henry Gauthier Villars, better known by his nom de plume of “Willy.” Colette became one of the ghost-writers who produced the works that bolstered Willy’s ego and paid for his extravagances.
I won’t go into details, but Colette is non-traditional in every way that you can imagine and eventually wrests her freedom from everything and everyone that tried to limit her. The main roles are played by Keira Knightley and Dominic West and they both should be looking at award nominations for this one. The director, Wash Westmoreland, included lots of true little details about Colette, such as her passion for collecting paper weights. It’s in fairly limited release, but I’d recommend it if you get a chance to see it.
In my last post, I wrote about where to go in San Francisco. This time I’m going to recommend some lovely places to go for a nibble or a full meal. Où manger à San Francisco (ooh man-shay ah san fran-sis-ko) means “Where to eat in San Francisco.” Some, but by no means all, were francophile finds, but all were delicious.
San Francisco Ferry Building
Tartine
Samovar Teahouse
Beacon Coffee and Pantry
After I returned from France in August, my husband and I went to San Francisco to visit our daughter who has just moved there. (Quelle chanceuse!) It’s a truly fabulous city. I was struck by how many French-speaking visitors were there – after English, I think it was the language we heard the most often. And there was lots of francophile inspiration to enjoy as well. Here are some of my recommendations (francophile or not):
The Pier 39 Sea Lions: I could have watched their antics all day! They jostle for position and bark non-stop. It’s the best free entertainment ever!
This spring, I discovered the vast properties held by 
Recently, we visited the delightful 
The interior of the house has elegant bones but contains very little that originally belonged to Eleanor, as all went to her heirs. The guide told us that there used to be two Monets, because Eleanor’s aunt, American Impressionist Lilla Cabot Perry, studied with him in France. She spent nine summers working with 
Thomas Antiquités (98 rue Oberkampf, 11th Arrondissement) This is a charming little shop has many affordable and packable pieces, although the knowledgeable owner, Thomas Annie, told me that someone took a chandelier to Canada in her luggage. I had more modest ideas and picked up a pair of adorable cavorting cherubs that now live on my desk.
Au Bain Marie (59 blvd Raspail, 6th Arrondissement and 56 rue de l’Université, 7th Arrondissement) is chock full of pieces to set a beautiful table – some vintage, some made for them, and some carefully curated. The merchandising is so inventive, it’s worth a visit just to gawk at the thousands of covetable objets.
La Meringaie (41 rue du Cherche-midi, 6th Arrondissement and 21 rue de Levis, 17th Arrondissement) Just down the road from one of my favorite lunch spots (
La Vallée Village is an upscale outlet in a Paris suburb. I’d known about it for years, but thought I’d have to go to great lengths to get there. It was actually very simple: take the RER A to the Val d’Europe station (one prior to Euro Disney), walk through the mall beside the station, cross the parking lot, and there it is. The deals on the big names were quite impressive. And it’s a beautiful place to shop, even with Instagrammable backdrops, with hashtags already prepared.
Paris in Stride
This summer, I finally was able to see a spot in Paris that I’ve been wanting to visit for a few years. La coulée verte, formerly known as La Promenade plantée, is similar to New York’s Highline, a former elevated rail line, converted to a walkway. The former rail line, which extended from the train station at the Place de la Bastille to La Varenne-Saint-Maur, operated from 1853 to 1969. It was transformed in the early 90’s into a charming three mile long garden.
La Coulée verte (lah koo-lay vehrte) can be translated as “the green flow” and that’s what this pathway is like, a river of green flowing through Paris.
