I am getting some help here. I don’t necessarily notice much of this. Maybe length of skirts … but that’s about it. So, what is going on here, in the capital of fashion?

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Over the past two decades-plus, I have spent close to a year in Paris. I prefer to believe that puts me somewhere beyond “tourist” status … but I suppose it does not. Especially in the eyes of the full-time locals. A serial tourist, perhaps. But it is more than enough time to have brought me […]

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Not sure I ever have been in Paris in May. If I had, wouldn’t I have gone to the French Open at least once? The 2012 edition begins Sunday, but the event already is under way. Sort of. With qualifying on both the men’s and women’s side, the backdoor entry for those ranked up in […]

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  I am astounded by the number of people in Paris who smoke. Is it a big number? Higher than normal in the western world? Seems to be. (OK. Yes. It is. Despite smoking being banned, in public areas in 2005 and in restaurants in 2008, the number of French who smoke regularly has risen […]

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Your own Paris apartment! This has to rank high on any International Traveler fantasy list. A Paris pied a terre! Visit when you want! Entertain in your own place! Or close the door and go out to the street to find your favorite bistro. Decorate the place. Rent it part of the year. Sure. Not […]

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A highlight of any trip to Paris is an unhurried dinner party with friends and/or former colleagues. This is a very European concept — or at least not an American one. The four- or five-hour meal. In this case, we were invited to the home of a French couple who are particularly adept at parties […]

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The streets in the 17th arrondisement of Paris had gone dead by 8 p.m. The Italian restaurant down the block was operating, but it seemed as if it was open only to sell take-out pizzas (like the three we bought) to people in the neighborhood. You could feel a sort of hunkering down, and a […]

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A good way to help the time pass, when you’re doing slow laps in the little park at the east end of Ile de la Cite … is to indulge in people-watching. Almost impossible not to, because you find yourself dodging tourists streaming through, on their way to the Maris from the Left Bank or […]

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Predictability is no fun, and those familiar with this blog can guess where we have gone to spend two weeks of vacation. Or as a co-worker put it: “Where are you going on holiday? Oh, never mind.” The answer, of course, is:

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Dog bites man. We have time off and have gone to France. That never happens. We are back for another bite of the “south of France” apple. In the fall of 2010, we reconnoitered this part of the Languedoc north and west of Beziers/Narbonne, north and east of  Carcassonne. And liked it. A lot. (Here […]

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