I’m writing this month’s story from the U.S. where I’m visiting loved ones and walking around slack-jawed by the cost of everything! Paris, it seems, is softer on the wallet.
I have a handful of other features and conversations planned in the coming weeks for subscribers so stay tuned! Until then, a few reads that caught my attention recently:
WINE THEFT AT LA TOUR D’ARGENT
Should we start taking bets now on how soon this $1.63 million wine theft from Paris’s most iconic restaurant and wine cellar will inspire a film adaptation? If you didn’t know, La Tour d’Argent has a cellar stocked with 300,000 bottles and 15,000 different references, making it one of the largest collections for French wines in the world. (Wine Spectator)
THE ART OF PLATING
I particularly appreciated the style names attached to the decorative plating we’ve seen across France for many many years. Evidently, these trends are becoming more prominent on restaurant tables in the U.S. (New York Times)
THE GRAND DAMES OF CHEESE
During my recent research, I came across this wonderful cheese story again by Emily Monaco (that I was quoted in!) and smiled all over again. Paris without its trailblazing cheesemongers wouldn’t hit quite the same! (BBC)
A NEW STRATEGY FOR VEJA, FRANCE’S MOST SUSTAINABLE FOOTWEAR
Remember this interview with Veja cofounder Sebastian Kopp? There’s more news to report about the company’s initiatives, now with a nearshoring strategy for Made in Europe, Sold in Europe. (Vogue Business)
On top of this, the brand just opened Veja General Store, a repair shop a block from the Canal Saint Martin. Don’t chuck your stuff, repair them!
TRIBUTE TO ROBERT BADINTER
If you didn’t know about one of France’s most venerated former public officials, Robert Badinter, it’s time to read up on his legacy. The former defense attorney, who died earlier this month, is single handedly responsible for putting an end to the death penalty (by guillotine!) in France when he became the minister of justice in 1981.
“His efforts may have spared the life of the man responsible for having deported Badinter’s own father to a Nazi death camp during World War II. That was Klaus Barbie, “the butcher of Lyon,” a notorious SS officer whose extradition to France, from Bolivia, Badinter pursued as justice minister.
Barbie was a monster, but Badinter was glad he was spared the guillotine; courts should deliver justice, he said, not vengeance.”
(Read more in the Washington Post)
DID YOU KNOW…
That Paris is one of the few cities in the world that calculates the carbon footprint of its territory, including emissions from air traffic and food consumed by residents? (Bloomberg)
With traffic jams accounting for 13% of CO2 emissions in Paris, the city is adding more bike lanes, new stations for the Velib shared-bike system and 3,000 more Velibs. It’s working on the pedestrianization of big squares like Trocadéro, Iéna and Concorde, and increasing the number of lanes dedicated to buses, cabs and carpooling. After the Olympic Games in the city this summer, Paris plans to implement a Limited Traffic Zone in the city center, with travel restricted to pedestrians, cyclists, public transport and certain authorized vehicles. (Source)
SPEAKING OF THE OLYMPICS:….CAN PARISIAN BALCONIES WITHSTAND THE ENTHUSIASM?
File under: something else I hadn’t thought of but makes sense to consider. Has the city properly done the same? TBD. (The Guardian)
Some good news, however: the bouquinistes or Seine-side booksellers will be able to stay put during the Olympics after all. (NYT)
RELATED: MAYOR HIDALGO’S WAR ON CARS CONTINUES
Mayor Hidalgo’s latest referendum to rid the streets of Paris of cars (and other unwanted motorized vehicles) has inspired a number of takes—most critical of the fact that the vote’s turnout was so shamefully low that the results couldn’t possibly hold up. But they will! I most appreciate the thoughts from my friend
(who previously contributed an essay to my newsletter), an urban strategist who views these measures from a different stance. I highly recommend you take the time to take in his analysis, here.BOOK REMINDER!
This is unrelated to news but very much related to some messages I’ve received from readers who have looked to buy my second book, The New Parisienne in the U.S. at independent booksellers and found that it wasn’t available. Fortunately, they were plenty content to wait a bit longer while the bookstore ordered it in for them! In this case, it was not available at the main McNally Jackson shop in Soho but was available at other locations, nor at Books are Magic.
Small bookstores don’t always hold onto large quantities of books, particularly not hardback books like mine that take up space. However, it’s very easy for them to order the book in if you aren’t in an absolute rush! And the reason it’s important to do so is that it signals to the bookseller that there is interest around the title and that they should order a few copies to keep on the shelves. It’s the same in Paris but my books have been consistently available at all the best Paris bookstores, like Shakespeare & Co, Galignani, The Red Wheelbarrow, and Smith & Sons, and at Merci.
You can also use Bookshop.org which supports indie booksellers and is a great alternative to Amazon.
And teaser: A rosé wine book I worked on last year is being released at the end of April (see here)! If you’ve been a fan of Château d’Esclans, including their cuvée Whispering Angel, you might like this celebration of rosé. Cheers!
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This plating article is so interesting! (And I agree, we spend time between SF and Paris, and Paris is much, much "softer on the wallet.")
I'll whisper this,shhh,I've seen a number of 'comparison" you tubes,one deliberate but you know,watch one others pop up. These tell me that the price of,to take one example six eggs,six standard,basic,medium hens eggs is way out of kilter between USA + England. I can't speak for European countries but I have heard same applies. How is six hens eggs cost $8 in USA that does not translate to £2 at most basic price in UK. Makes me feel glad most British farmers held back from going full USA farming mode as was urged to do post WW2 + think the French were totally right to hold on to their small,"inefficient" "money losing" family farms. I'm glad the French put PEOPLE before MONEY. So the argument was for low cost input high output high production efficient farming to achieve cheap food for the masses.....but I'll stop now before I get any deeper down this rabbit hole and I can take my tin foil hat off!