MY FAVORITE CITY IN THE WORLD IS PARIS. I went there for the first time when I was 13, and fell in love. I’ve visited there intermittently over the years, and every single time, I leave more charmed. I haven’t had much chance for travel much of anywhere lately, so my Francophilia has mostly been fulfilled, you guessed it, by blogs. Mostly, you’ll be shocked to learn, food blogs. Would you like to join my armchair voyages? Read on.
You can almost taste the butter, smell the Gitanes, and hear the symphony of urban sounds a la français if you dig into these wonderful blogs. Well-written and passionate all, they evoke the absolute best of Paris, yes, its je ne sais quoi.
Did I mention, bon appétit?
David Lebovitz
The subtitle of this blog by former Chez Panisse pastry chef and author (of among other delicious titles, The Perfect Scoop) is “living the sweet life in Paris”. That pretty much sums it up. Why should you even try to resist? Divine recipes, great perspective on the city.
Chocolate & Zucchini
Even if her name wasn’t Clotilde Dusolier, you’d be charmed by this sunny Parisienne. She blogs in English about the food she loves to eat, which tends to be healthy, fresh, and, as the name suggests, open to the occasional delicious sweet. I’ve twice given her cookbook, Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen, as a gift, and it gets rave reviews.
Joe Ray
Joe Ray is the English-language partner in crime to notorious French restaurant critic François Simon, who some say was the basis for the Anton Ego character in the animated film Ratatouille. Joe, a wonderful writer, photographer and dedicated food adventurer, writes the English-language section of Simon’s site, Simon-Says, as well as contributing to The Boston Globe. His work is a great resource for planning your own Paris adventure.
Parisien Salon
A team of writers cover everything from music to fashion to food to vocabulary in this lovely site, making it both an instant immersion into la vie Parisienne, and a really useful planning guide. It’s gorgeous, to boot, which never hurts, especially when your subject is the world’s capital of style.
Street Peeper/Paris
Want to know what they’re really wearing in Paris? Look no farther than this site, which shows you exactly what’s au courant on the streets of la belle ville. Delicious. And slightly intimidating.
Alexander Lobrano
Lobrano was European Correspondent for the late, lamented Gourmet (yes, yes, I know, you all already know how I feel about that) and I loved his writing there, but his Diner’s Journal blog (a counterpoint to his terrific book, Hungry for Paris ) is equally delightful. And he remains a great correspondent, meaning, leave a comment with a question, and you’re very likely to get an answer. Love that.
Paris Breakfasts
Carol Gillott is an American artist who, it appears, spends as much time in Paris as she possibly can. (Who can blame her?) Her illustrations of the city are wonderful, and I love her unique perspective on her faves, be they food, fashion, shopping, you name it. She gives you Paris through her own rosy view, and it’s heaven.
Eat Boutique
This delightful food site isn’t precisely Parisian, but since its founder, Maggie Batista, recently moved to Paris for a few months, she’s been posting about her experiences settling in to her new home. Seeing Paris through fresh, awed eyes is a wonderful experience, made even better by a terrific, funny, passionate writer, who also happens to take gorgeous photographs.
Meg Zimbeck
Journalist Zimbeck loves great food, and bless her, she’s not afraid to share her secrets. (If you’re lucky, you might nab a spot on one of her guided food tours.) She’s also irreverent and hilarious. Where else will you see a side of Paris that includes (braided) horses’ asses and breakdancing American tourists?
John Talbott
If you go hunting around Chowhound for restaurant recommendations in Paris, sooner or later you may find yourself corresponding with John Talbott. American by birth, French by choice, Talbott has been writing reviews of his Paris meals for 20 years. His blog gives you not only his opinions, but also a weekly round up of other French critics’ two centimes.
Dorie Greenspan
Author Dorie Greenspan has collaborated on cookbooks with foodies ranging from Julia Child to upstart macaron king Pierre Hermé. She’s lucky to divide her time between the U.S. and Paris. I love her recipes (they WORK!) and I’m partial to her “At Home In Paris” blog category. A girl can dream, can’t she?
What do you think? Almost as good as a real trip to Paris? Where are you going on your spring vacation, lovely sisters?
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Many of my favourite blogs are there… But hey, most of our tv stations come from France, so I’d have to say that my best source of French travel ideas come from the 1 o’clock news. Each week, they have some sort of theme, and you are shown parts of France and traditional aspects of France you might otherwise miss.
Paige, I encourage you to check them out — most of their reports are on the web; look for “Les Magazines de la Semaine”. Here’s the link (I adore jean-Pierre Pernault!):
http://www.tf1.fr/jt-13h/
As for vacation… Prague? Tuscany? Sicily?
We are notoriously bad at making these sorts of decisions! Mind you, we tend to catch a lot of great last-minute hotel deals! Last Easter, we took 10 days for a fabulous trip to Italy — first Torino, then Sorrento, Positano, and that are for a week, Pompeii, Florence with a few side trips to Sienna and the small towns in between, then Modena and back home to Geneva.
We are doing Paris in June, when my “sister” has a book reading and panel at a big authors’ festival. Can’t wait! I love living just 3 1/2 hours from Paris by TGF!
I really like what you have done with your blog.