chocolates from the mayor

by Kylie

Apparently, the Mayor of Paris offers those Parisians of a "certain age" a box a chocolates at the end of the year.

This is the interesting fact I learned today.

Here is this year's box -

From what I understand, this is something that was started by a previous mayor as a way to encourage fuzzy feelings for reelection and has since become somewhat of a tradition. This is also something that perhaps the current mayor would like to "supprimer"* - which would not make him very popular and perhaps discourage his reelection. Hence, at least for the time being, it's still a line item in the budget...

*supprimer = delete or eliminate

parisian postcards

by Kylie

as some of you heard on the show a week or two ago, we are doing another postcard exchange! there are twenty postcards waiting to be sent to twenty of you!

those of you who are in the right time zone to watch us record live got the jump on everybody else, but we just may have a few left...

so if YOU want to get a postcard from US - send an email with your postcard request and your address to katiaandkyliemac[at]gmail[dot]com and get the ball rolling. we'll pop your postcard in the mail after we receive yours, and don't forget to let us know when you have received it!

we are looking forward to plastering the walls of the Not-Coffee-Table-Studio (TM) with your postcards.

mini liberty trivia

by Kylie

question: there are three replicas of the statue of liberty in paris. where can they be found?

The Abbey Bookshop, 20th Anniversary Celebration

by Katia

The Abbey Bookshop, one of my favourite English-language bookshops in Paris, is celebrating it's 20th Anniversary on the 1st July 2009.

The thing I love about this place (other than the fact that in the cold winter months you can rest assured that Brian will always have some hot wine ready so you can warm up from the inside) is the generous piles of books, stacked higgledy-piggledy all over the place, making it difficult to navigate the narrow shop without knocking something over. And I immediately feel at home as soon as I walk in the door. I like to think that if I owned a bookshop, this is what mine would be like.

There is going to be a bunch of fabulous authors signing books, music and food! And it's taking place in the Saint-Séverin cloister, just around the corner from the shop - how cool is that? So... see you there?

The Abbey Bookshop, 25 rue de la Parcheminerie, 75005 Paris

(ps. last night I made Brian come out to pose for this shot, and he dragged out Alex(?) and his Canadian flag. Awesome.)

Differences between France and Australia #1,928

by Katia

When sending a meal back to the kitchen in France (for example, the chicken skewers were not properly cooked and you're really not a fan of salmonella), one feels guilty for having bothered the waiter. And one feels that one must apologise profusely for having taken up their time.

In Australia, it would oftentimes be the waiter who would feel guilty and who would apologise profusely. And the manager might come out to apologise profusely. As might the cook. And then you'd get a free drink.

Obviously, this is yet another sweeping generalisation amongst many sweeping generalisations we like to make (in reality, waiters in Paris, at least, are quite professional and take their job more seriously than many waiters in Australia), but in every sweeping generalisation, isn't there a tiny grain of truth?

An evening stroll

by Katia

The days are getting longer, and I love strolling through Paris at sunset. When the city is bathed in golden light, I understand why countless artists are inspired by her beauty.

Location : Pyramide du Louvre, courtyard of the Louvre museum, Paris

they spoil all our fun

by Kylie

no breakdancing.

as seen on "it's a small world" - disneyland paris (the third happiest place on earth.)