Paris – Eat and Drink Like A European

7 simple tips to "café" like a pro in Paris

August 25, 2015/in café, Paris, Uncategorized/by Craig Bresett

I know café is not really a verb. But I’m choosing to ignore that.

So how does one “café” in Paris? Follow these 7 simple tips from the Paris Tourist Office and your waiter might not even realize you’re a tourist (unlikely, but possibly!).

1. There’s no rush. Drinks are priced to allow you to take your time at the table, chatting with friends, people-watching, reading a newspaper, writing notes or postcards. The waiter won’t harry you. One cup of coffee allows you to sit at the table for quite a long time, but probably not all day.

2. Smoking is prohibited inside all cafés and restaurants, but not at open-air tables. Depending on the breeze, smoke from outside tables can waft into the café. If you’re particularly sensitive to tobacco smoke, choose your table accordingly. This particular little annoyance needs attention, not least because it means that non-smokers are obliged to sit inside, even on a hot and muggy day. Still, it’s a marked improvement on the days when, if you asked for a non-smoking table inside a restaurant, you could well end up just a foot from a ‘smoking’ table.

3. Café means coffee: the correct term for the place where you have a coffee is café-bar, because Paris cafés serve all sorts of drinks, hot and cold, including herbal teas (infusion and tisane), mineral water, beer, wine and pastis….well, just about anything!

4. Cafés serve food as well, from croissants and tartines in the morning to soups, croque monsieur and other lunchtime dishes, to elaborate dishes for dinner. Even though they are not restaurants, you can order the equivalent of a three-course dinner with wine or beer at a café.

5. Many cafés offer service non-stop, meaning they’re open from morning till night. This is useful to know, because many restaurants traditionally close during the late afternoon between lunch and dinner.

6. To call the waiter, say ‘Monsieur’ (not ‘Garçon’). Adding ‘S’il vous plait’, also helps, as does saying ‘Bonjour’ when you first arrive, and ‘Au revoir’. Forget these little niceties, and you could end up waiting longer than you’d like.

7. Tips, also known as the service charge, are included in all the prices printed on menus. So, you don’t need to leave anything additional. Of course, if it amounts to small change, why not?

OneLife Tours is dedicated to the absolute best in European travel experiences. Our Grand Tour of Europe features 3 days in Paris, where you’ll have plenty of time to visit the traditional cafés. Contact our chief tour director Craig Bresett for more information.

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/506116251454697472/4blfsXiS.jpeg[/author_image] [author_info]This blog happily shared with you by Craig Bresett (enjoying a caffé latte) – owner and chief tour director at OneLife Tours. Contact Craig anytime: craig@onelifetours.ca[/author_info] [/author]

Rust Never Sleeps

August 15, 2015/in Eiffel Tower, Europe, Europe Tour, France, Grand Tour, Guided, Painting, Paris, Uncategorized/by Craig Bresett

The Eiffel Tower, that accidental icon of Paris, is under constant threat, and the armed soldiers walking around the base are doing nothing to stop it. Though their presence is accepted and appreciated by visitors and Parisians alike, the threat I’m talking about is perpetual and cannot be warded off by security measures.

The Eiffel Tower is constructed of puddle iron. Puddle iron’s natural enemy is rust. And, as Neil Young so poetically stated – Rust Never Sleeps. Gustave Eiffel, the tower’s eponymous builder, knew this to be the case, and pointed out back in 1900 that the real saviours of the tower would be the painters. “We will most likely never realize the full importance of painting the Tower, that it is the essential element in the conservation of metal works and the more meticulous the paint job, the longer the Tower shall endure.”

Safety standards sure have changed since 1932!

Since it’s initial construction, the Eiffel Tower has be re-painted 18 times – about once every 7 years. It has changed colour several times, passing from red-brown to yellow-ochre, then to chestnut brown and finally to the bronze of today, slightly shaded off towards the top to ensure that the colour is perceived to be the same all the way up as it stands against the Paris sky. Sixty tons of paint are necessary to cover the Tower’s surface, as well as 50 kilometers of security cords, 5 acres of protection netting, 1500 brushes, 5000 sanding disks, 1500 sets of work clothes…and more than a year for a team of 25 painters to paint the Tower from top to bottom.

Probably the most amazing thing about the preservation work on the Tower is that it is done in the same way today (last painting was 2009) as it was when it was first built. No sprayers are used – the entire structure is painted by hand! Today the painters hang from safety harnesses and work their way meticulously (as Eiffel demanded) over every square inch of the structure with their brushes. Notice in the black and white photos the lack of safety equipment in earlier days though.

So here’s to the painters – who ensure that this monument to human ingenuity and icon of Paris remains stable, safe, and open to the public!

Modern methods involve a lot more safety features, but the essential job of painting the structure by hand remains the same.

OneLife Tours is dedicated to the absolute best in European travel experiences. Our Grand Tour of Europe features 3 days in Paris, and of course a visit up the Eiffel Tower (without the lineups). Contact our chief tour director Craig Bresett for more information.

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/506116251454697472/4blfsXiS.jpeg[/author_image] [author_info]This blog happily shared with you by Craig Bresett (getting ready to re-paint my porch railing) – owner and chief tour director at OneLife Tours. Contact Craig anytime: craig@onelifetours.ca[/author_info] [/author]

High season in Europe? What high season?

August 6, 2015/in Escorted, Europe, high season, Italy, Louvre, Paris, shoulder season, tourism, travel, Travel Tips, Uncategorized, venice, Versailles/by Craig Bresett

“When is the best time to travel in Europe?” Great question! I think the answer is “whenever you can!”

I am often asked about the merits of travelling in Europe during the so-called “shoulder” season as opposed to “high” season. Shoulder season is often defined loosely as spring and autumn, and high season as summer. The obvious benefit of summer travel is the likelihood of good weather. The apparent benefit of shoulder season is the likelihood of smaller crowds. However, over the last decade, so many people have heeded the recommendation for shoulder season travel that the crowds have pretty much evened out, meaning that there isn’t really a “high” season anymore. I don’t mean to say that you’re going to see the same amount of people in St. Mark’s Square in January as you will see in July – but really, from March to October you are never going to find yourself alone riding the elevator up the Eiffel Tower, viewing the crown jewels in the Tower of London, or wandering through the Sistine Chapel. I still read this recommendation in travel articles and wonder if the author has ever been to Venice in March or Vienna in October!

Early morning in St. Mark’s Square – crowd free!

So unless you want to brave the probability of poor weather in the winter for the sake of more elbow room at the Louvre, you are going to be travelling in Europe with lots of other people. But if you plan well, you can avoid the pitfalls of the tourist season. For example, it is good to know that many of the big box tour operators bring their huge busloads of tourists to the Palace of Versailles about an hour after it opens. Arrive early and get in first (with a reservation of course) and you’ll have the first hour or so to enjoy the uncrowded rooms of Louis’ XIV’s pleasure palace with just a few other smart travelers. Most of these big tour groups are gone by mid to late afternoon, so arrive later and you get the same experience. Another crowd-beating tip is to understand that Venice is inundated with day-trippers from about 10 AM to 4 PM, most of whom are either coming in from mainland hotels that the big box tour companies use or from cruise ships in port for the day. The key is to stay in Venice proper, and take advantage of the early morning / late afternoon and evening for visiting the most popular places that the day trippers will have on their checklists (St. Mark’s Basilica and Square, the Doge’s Palace, the Rialto), and take in some of the lesser visited gems midday (the sublime artistic masterpiece that is the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, the palace frozen in a long past golden age Ca’ Rezzonico, and many others).

The Palace of Versailles, virtually empty in the late afternoon.

Travel in Europe when you want to, even mid-summer (which, after 10 years of guiding tours, is still my favourite time to be in Europe!) With some research and planning, you won’t need to worry about lineups and crowds.

Have you got a travel tip of your own? Feel free to share it in the comments section below.

OneLife Tours is dedicated to the absolute best in European travel experiences. In addition to providing outstanding escorted tours for small groups, we also offer travel planning assistance for independent travelers wishing to have one-on-one expert advice. Contact our chief tour director Craig Bresett for more information.

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/506116251454697472/4blfsXiS.jpeg[/author_image] [author_info]This blog happily shared with you by Craig Bresett (without a crowd in sight) – owner and chief tour director at OneLife Tours. Contact Craig anytime: craig@onelifetours.ca[/author_info] [/author]

666 panes of glass, and the actual controversy of the Louvre Pyramid

July 14, 2015/in Art, Controversy, France, Grand Tour, Guided, I.M. Pei, Louvre, Louvre Pyramid, Paris, travel, Uncategorized/by Craig Bresett

Trop nombreux visiteurs, pas assez d’espace!

By the 1980’s it was apparent that the Louvre, the world’s most famous museum, had to make a change. The number of daily visitors completely overwhelmed the inadequate entrance area, but art fans kept coming in larger numbers. A decision was made to excavate the central courtyard and create an underground lobby to accommodate all the people. But what about the entrance? Famed architect I.M. Pei (who is still around and working today at age 98!) was commissioned to design a unique entrance to the old palace – a steel and glass pyramid. As part of the package, 7 pyramids were to be built, including an inverted one, but the big one in the centre of the courtyard would serve as the main entrance to the museum. Parisians, who have been known to throw a fit over anything that disrupts the undeniable architectural harmony of their city (for example, they wanted the Eiffel Tower torn down, but that’s another blog topic…) were generally not happy with the futuristic design. An editorial described French President François Mitterrand, who ultimately gave approval to the design, as having a “pharaoh” complex. I don’t think he intended to be buried under the pyramid though! Work proceeded regardless of the controversy, and in 1989 the new pyramid entrance and underground lobby of the Louvre was opened to the public, forever making the museum more accessible and open. I’ve talked to Parisians who still hate it, but most have come to accept it as a unique, if not necessarily beautiful, part of the urban landscape.

Pei’s idea for a steel and glass pyramid was meant to create as little obstruction to the view as possible, while allowing a large entrance area. Do you think he succeeded?

“Controversy” or just fiction?

French conspiracy theorist Dominique Stezepfandt’s book François Mitterrand, Grand Architecte de l’Univers propagated the idea that the pyramid was specifically built with 666 panes of glass and was “dedicated to a power described as the Beast in the Book of Revelation”. Simple counting reveals that there are 673 panes of glass in the pyramid – talk about not doing your research! So much for that goofy theory.

Dan Brown’s immensely popular novel The DaVinci Code asserts that the sarcophagus of Mary Magdalene lies under the inverted pyramid in the Louvre’s underground shopping mall. That, even the author will tell you, is of course just fiction. But it made for an interesting end to the book.

So what do you think of all the modern steel and glass at the Louvre? Let me know in the comments.

OneLife Tours is dedicated to the absolute best in European travel experiences for our small groups. Our Grand Tour of Europe spends three glorious days in Paris, with a special guided tour of the highlights of the enormous Louvre Museum.

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/506116251454697472/4blfsXiS.jpeg[/author_image] [author_info]This blog happily shared with you by Craig Bresett (currently in a room with only 6 panes of glass) – owner and chief tour director at OneLife Tours. Contact Craig anytime: craig@onelifetours.ca[/author_info] [/author]

Shop for clothes like Parisians do

July 11, 2015/in bargain, Europe, European, France, Paris, Shopping, Tour, tour guide, travel/by Craig Bresett

Nobody is going to accuse me of being a fashionista (I’m not even sure that term can be applied to a male?). But I know from having taken thousands of travellers through La Ville Lumière (the city of light) that a “break” from the landmarks and museums most often includes a bit of must-do Paris shopping. Paris is one of the world capitals of fashion and style, and has some very high-end clothing stores where you probably couldn’t even afford a pair of socks. So where do smart Parisians (and travelers-in-the-know) shop? Thrift stores of course!

With so much focus on fashion in Paris, you can rest assured that there are plenty of perfectly good, slightly used, “last year’s” clothes make their way into the many second hand boutiques in Paris and its suburbs. If you can be caught dead (or alive) in something that’s a little (or a lot) vintage, you’re going to find lots of bargains in this otherwise expensive shopping city.

Here are a few Parisian favourites:

LITTLE BOX: This tiny store in the Marais is stuffed with vintage designer clothes, shoes and bags. Not the cheapest prices, but not a lot of junk to sort through either – the stock is well considered before being put out (probably because the shop is so small!) Designer sunglasses can also be found here at less than half of original price typically. The owners are really friendly and helpful too. Just make sure you say “bonjour” when you enter!

77 Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003 Paris

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Little Box: 77 Boulevard Beaumarchais, 75003 Paris

PRETTY BOX VINTAGE: With a focus on real vintage, this store contains some really cool old fashions from the 1920s to the 1990s. Prices vary, but for the really unique stuff, don’t expect bargain basement! This is the place to go if you want to find something you won’t find anywhere else.

46 Rue de Saintonge 75003 Paris

Pretty Box Vintage: 46 Rue de Saintonge 75003 Paris

FREE ‘P’ STAR: This is probably the best of the extreme bargain thrift shops in town. You can buy jackets, pants, dresses, etc. for under €20, or dig through the bargain bins where everything is only €1! Just €1! If you don’t mind jostling a bit in this overstuffed (with clothes and people) shop, you can come away with some real steals!

61 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris (Hotel de Ville store – this small chain has 2 other Paris locations in addition to this one)

Free ‘P’ Star: 61 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris

THE KILO SHOP: This shop probably has the most interesting concept – selling clothes by weight! Basically all the items are tagged either red (€20 per kilo) or yellow/green (€30 per kilo) or orange (€60 per kilo). The stuff is well organized, with lots of men’s clothing (this place is probably the best for guys of the four mentioned in this blog). It’s extremely well organized, with lots of scales for you to check your clothing weight before going to purchase it. Here’s to innovative ideas!

69-71 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris (Le Marais store)

The Kilo Shop: 69-71 Rue de la Verrerie, 75004 Paris

Do you have a favourite thrift store in Paris that I missed? Let me know in the comments!

OneLife Tours is dedicated to the absolute best in European travel experiences for our small groups. If you want your travel in Europe to include plenty of free time built into an outstanding itinerary, we’re your company!

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/506116251454697472/4blfsXiS.jpeg[/author_image] [author_info]This blog happily shared with you by Craig Bresett (wearing a knit cap purchased from the Kilo Shop) – owner and chief tour director at OneLife Tours. Contact Craig anytime: craig@onelifetours.ca[/author_info] [/author]

5 Things to Expect in Paris

May 28, 2015/in discover, Europe, metro, Paris, travel, Travel Tips/by Craig Bresett

Paris is one the world’s great cities, but it can also be overwhelming for a first-time visitor. Here are five good tips on what to expect from travel blogger Christine Gilbert:

How does one write about Paris? Do they talk about the beauty of the city or the vibrant people or the delicious food or falling in love? If they are a travel writer, then most likely yes. It’s impossible to capture the essence of a place in a few sweeping observations, so we invoke images we are familiar with, even if we’ve never been.

This is the exact problem I had when arriving. I had black and white photos of Paris in my mind, romanticized close-ups from some French film in college, where a couple in trench coats embrace in front of Notre Dame and others smoke skinny cigarettes in some café. What film and photos failed to capture is the experience.

I took over 1,000 pictures in four days, and I couldn’t find it. That single picture that would somehow convey the gestalt of Paris: the feeling of walking around for an hour and not making it out the gardens of the Louvre, the way every building for miles around adheres to a certain aesthetic, the awe of standing beneath the massive Notre Dame Cathedral and understanding why it would take 200 years to complete.

So what to expect? Well get the whole quaint little city image out of your head and get ready for a bursting metropolis.

1. The entire city is the attraction. Yes there is the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower, but really Paris itself is a beautiful city. They have very strict zoning laws for buildings, which becomes immediately apparent as city block after city block conforms to the same color palettes and facade styles. There are no brand new sky scrapers crammed in between historic buildings. The entire city feels like it was plucked from the 1800′s and preserved perfectly.

2. You will need to take the Metro (subway). As much as Paris is a city for walking, you simply can’t get everywhere by foot. The Metro is exhaustively well connected, which can make reading the metro maps a little daunting, but once you orient yourself it’s relatively easy to zip around the city. Want to look Parisian? Read a book as you ride.

3. There will be tourists everywhere you go. The German guy next to you had the same idea, “I’ll go to Paris!” You’re just as likely to hear someone speaking English, Russian, German, Spanish, or Arabic as you are to hear French. Even when I was 30 minutes north of the city, I still ran into tourists.

4. Soda will cost as much as your Sandwich. I’m not sure how the math on this works out, but for 3.50 Euros I can get a ham sandwich on an entire baguette. For 3.50 more I can get a mildly chilled Coke. If you’re traveling on a budget (like I was), then opt for a coffee (une cafe about 2 euros) instead.

5. However long you stay, isn’t long enough. I already have regrets about the things I didn’t see. I had enough time to hit a few large attractions, wander the city and get to know the place a little. If I had realized how small a dent I would be making in Paris, I might have planned my itnerary more carefully. Then again, some of my accidential finds where well worth it– like the statue of Moliere I ran into while slightly lost.

Do you have any travel tips for a first-time (or hundredth-time) visitor to Paris?

5 Great Water Experiences in Europe

September 30, 2013/in boat, cesky krumlov, cinque terre, Europe, gondola, Grand Tour, Italy, mediterranean, onelife tours, Paris, raft, Seine, skocjan cave, slovenia, swim, travel, venice, vltava/by Craig Bresett

Humans are drawn to water. There is a universal appeal to the beauty of a waterfall, a small stream, a crystal clear lagoon. Just look at house prices – the closer you are to a coastline or a lake, the more expensive the property. When I share pictures from travels in Europe, I can prove statistically that the ones that have water in them, whether they be the Ligurian coastline of Italy’s Cinque Terre, the Grand Canal of Venice, the Seine River in Paris, or the waterfalls of Plitvice in Croatia, are by far the most popular (they get the most “likes” and “shares” on facebook). But it is not just aesthetics – our attraction to water goes much deeper than the “surface”.

Water sustains life, and makes up more than 50% of our own bodies by weight. It is a powerful force that can bring positive energy (medieval watermills / modern hydro-electric dams) but also unstoppable devastation (tsunamis, floods). And of course there is the mystery – another world exists in the water – one that humans can visit briefly, but never join.

Despite the danger and the unknown, we love to be near the water, on the water, over the water, and in the water. Travelers routinely seek out any available water-themed experiences. Here are a few you should try in Europe:

#5 – Paris, France:

A cruise down the Seine River

I prefer to do this in the evening, when Notre Dame, the Conciergerie, the Eiffel Tower and other riverside structures are beautifully lit up. It’s a good way to relax for an hour or so after a day of sightseeing in Paris. If you are staying in the Latin Quarter area, take the Vedettes du Pont Neuf near Saint Chapelle. If you are staying closer to the Eiffel Tower/Rue Cler area, take the Bateaux Parisiens. You can also splurge and take one of the dinner cruises – reservations and proper attire required. Join us in Paris for three nights on our Grand Tour!

#4 – Cinque Terre, Italy:

A swim in the Mediterranean – any time of year?

I take tour groups to Europe in the summer, when you will see lots of people, locals and tourists, populating the beautiful beaches on the coast of Italy. I also take groups in March, when, on what a Canadian would call a nice warm day, the locals, in their full length winter coats and scarves, will watch in disbelief as a bunch of North American tourists hit the somewhat chilly waves. Hey – you’re there – you might as well have the experience! Both our Italian Experience and Grand Tour feature a two night stay in the Cinque Terre region.

#3 – Škocjan Caves, Slovenia:

Daring to walk high above the Reka River

Disappearing underground in the Karst region of Slovenia, the mighty Reka River becomes visible only to those who venture into the Škocjan Caves. In one of the largest underground canyons in the world (think Grand Canyon, but with a stone ceiling above you) tourists of old used to hug the walls and walk high above the river with only their torches for light. Now with modern railings and lighting, the journey is a lot less dangerous, but still a thrill! Note that you can only enter Škocjan with a guide – click the link for more information. Part of our Best of the East tour.

#2 – Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic:

Rafting down the Vlatava River

Want to enter this beautiful baroque town in style? Rent a raft up river, and float into town! Locals and visitors alike love to cruise down the usually calm river in an assortment of rafts, canoes and kayaks, stopping at one of the many riverside pubs for lunch and a refreshing Czech pils beer. The natural scenery is wonderful, but once you enter the town, which sits conveniently on an “s” curve in the river, it is glorious! There are several raft rental agencies – I recommend the friendly people at Maleček Rafting & Canoe. Our Best of the East and Ultimate Beer Tour both feature a rafting trip into Cesky Krumlov!

#1 – Venice, Italy:

A gondola ride through the canals of Venice

Once a major form of transportation for locals, now a remnant of a bygone era, gliding down these lovely waterways can be a great joy. Expensive – yes. Romantic – depends who you’re with. Best time to go – the evening. Best place to hire a gondolier – debatable, but I wouldn’t hire one at the Rialto Bridge or St. Mark’s Square – the “back” canals are much preferable to the Grand Canal, which you can travel on in a local vaporetto (water-bus) for a lot less money. Campo San Moise is a nice place to hire a gondola. Join us in Venice on the Grand Tour or the Italian Experience Tour.

OneLife Tours is dedicated to the absolute best in European travel experiences for our small groups. If you’re looking for travel with an adventurous spirit, we’re your company!

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/506116251454697472/4blfsXiS.jpeg[/author_image] [author_info]This blog happily shared with you by Craig Bresett (just back from a swim) – owner and chief tour director at OneLife Tours. Contact Craig anytime: craig@onelifetours.ca[/author_info] [/author]