Look good on a budget!

Thinking about shopping during your next  trip to Paris but don’t want to ruin your budget? Then avoid the boutiques of the expensive designer clothes where wealthy tourists are ready to pay exorbitant prices. Do instead what many elegant yet budget-conscious Parisian women do: turn to marques dégriffées (shops of discounted designer clothes from going-out-of-business sales), and dépôt-ventes (consignment shops where wealthy Parisians’ cast-offs go for a fraction of their original retail price). Shopping in either is shame-free; in fact, it’s considered shabby chic.

Looking for something to wear to that special event this summer? Try rummaging through the marques degriffées boutique Fifty-Fifty on rue Corvetto (8^th); it’s like raiding your friend’s closet and paying a mere pittance to call these designer clothes your own. Regularly rotating designers like Givenchy and Marc Jacobs, Fifty-Fifty always has something for special occasions or night on the town.

You might also just walk up and down the Rue d’Alésia in the 14^th, between the Avenue du Maine and the rue Raymon-Losserand (metro: Alésia or Plaisance): there are several stores, shops, and open markets here that show either last year’s collections, marques degrifées, or bargain-priced shipments for quick sales.

Consignment shops are plentiful. The dépôt-ventes will often not accept anything less than designer clothes of the highest brand, and even then, they must be spotlessly clean, with no buttons missing or threads pulled, so you are assured the highest quality in used clothing.

Excellent values at Depot-Ventes

The Dépôt-Vente de Buci-Bourbon is a like a garage sale slumming with a champagne flute in hand. All the great designer clothes are found here, perhaps only a season or two past. You may find an exquisite silk Christian Dior dress with a matching jacket or duster, or a classic Channel two-piece suit that never outwears itself. Another excellent one is Chercheminippes, found at 102, 109, 111, 112, 114, 124 rue du Cherche-midi, Paris 6^th. There are several stores here: for women, for men, for children, accessories, shoes, etc. For fabulous fur values, try Michel’s Artisan Fourrure at 130 ave Mozart in the 16^th (métro Chardon Lagache or Eglise d’Auteuil). Have your own mink coat restored there, or shop for a great value right there. And anywhere along the beautiful pavilion of the Palais Royal you’ll find several boutiques selling yesterday’s styles at yesterday’s prices.

And if you find the perfect quelque chose in one of these shops, play the Parisian game: never let on where you purchased it. Budget shopping done right.

Click here for more information on great group tours to Paris

Joan of Arc

This year France is celebrating the 600^th anniversary of Jeanne d’Arc, known as the Pucelle d’Orléans, or the Maid of Orléans. So where can one learn more about this iconic French figure?

• Visit her native village, Domrémy-la-Pucelle in the region of Lorraine in Eastern France. There, you can roam through the family home where she was born in 1412 and visit the church where she was baptized. The museum in Domrémy is dedicated to her life and times.

• In the city of Orléans, where as a young girl she famously repelled English invaders during the Hundred Years War, visit the Centre Jeanne d’Arc which houses a huge collection of documents relating to her.

• In the city of Rouen in Normandy, Joan of Arc was condemned for heresy and burned at the stake by the English occupiers of that city, in 1431. Here you can visit several sites commemorating the heroine: the Pucelle’s Tower where she was imprisoned before her trial, the Boideldieu Bridge where her ashes were scattered into the Seine, and the flower garden at the Place du Vieux-Marché which now marks the place where she died.

• For armchair travelers curious about the French heroine, sources abound. Just published this year is the 1,000-pageJeanne d’Arc, Histoire et Dictionnaire, as well as a fictionalized biography by well-known French author Max Gallo. Numerous biographies have been published in English as well as French, including those by Régine Pernoud, Andrew Lang and even Mark Twain.

• Joan of Arc has been the subject of many films, as well, including the 2005 documentary entitled Joan of Arc: Child of War Soldier of God, the 1948 movie about Joan of Arc starring Ingrid Bergman, and the classic silent film made in 1928 by Carl Dreyer: La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc.

St Valentine’s Day in France is celebrated widely. From silly gifts to flowers/chocolates/jewelry to exotic get-aways, the fête succitates joy, fun, and romance.

Romantic dinners in restaurants abound, travel agents post signs of couple’s cruises, and lingerie shops have a field day. Whether one waits for it with great expectations (“What’s s/he going to do?”) or with trepidation (“What should I give him/her?”), St Valentine’s has a special meaning for each of us. The advice one gets in magazines in France is to not worry about it but…just participate. Here are a few paraphrased suggestions:

First of all, they suggest knowing what the other wants/expects. If you’re coupled up, one should be attentive to the needs and wants of one’s partner. Find out ahead of time what the expectations are; don’t be caught up short. It’s a bit like a mirror; one should reflect what the other is thinking/desiring.

There are always the classic gifts: perfume, jewels, flowers or plants, but also trendy gifts such as cooking or wine-tasting classes. It’s also an opportunity to take time out for the couple, to organize something you can do together…a nice dinner together in a special restaurant, a romantic couple’s massage, a spa day or weekend. And the small details count, as well: breakfast in bed, your turn to do the cleaning up or take baby out.

Most of all, St. Valentine’s should be fun and spontaneous. According to a recent survey, only 40% of French couples celebrate the day; the other 60% know that St. Valentine’s Day happens all year long.

Some recent figures:

• 58.4% of French live together as couples
• 39.5% of French couples celebrate la Saint Valentin;
• 30% of French men intend to offer a gift of between 60-100 E for Valentine’s Day ($85-$140)
• 8,7 = the number of times per month the French have sexual relations (both men and women)

Vive l’amour!

La Chandeleur: February 2^nd

It’s crepe time in France! On February 2^nd Americans have Groundhog Day; the French have…. la Chandeleur, or the fête des chandelles (candles) which translates as Candlemass in English, referring to the blessing of candles which traditionally took place on this day. For Roman Catholics, it’s the feast of the Presentation of the infant Jesus at the Temple, occurring forty days after Christmas. But the origin of the holiday is in fact pagan and today many traditions and superstitions are associated with it. Here are some fun things you can do to celebrate la Chandeleur with your friends and family (or French teachers: with your students!)

• Have a crepe party and try your hand at flipping crepes ! Faire sauter des crêpes is something of an art form in France. For good luck, hold a coin in one hand and with the other, toss the crepe into the air when it’s time to cook it on the other side. If you manage to catch the crepe in the pan you will have good fortune in the coming year!

• Enjoy the crepes with sugar, jam, chocolate, or Nutella.

• The traditional drink to accompany crepes is hard apple cider (which can be replaced by sparkling apple cider sans alcohol!)

• Create ambiance for this fête de la lumière by lighting candles around your house.

• Learn the French rhyme: “Quand la Chandeleur est claire, l’hiver par derrière; Chandeleur couverte, quarante jours de perte!” (If February 2^nd is clear, no more winter to fear; if the Chandeleur is overcast, forty days of winter to last).

Bonne fête et bon appétit !

The Mysteries of French language: The Subjunctive

If you’ve been struggling to learn French and master its many grammatical rules, take heart. You’re in good company. French can be a tricky language to learn, and even French natives make mistakes. There are rules, of course, but there exist so many exceptions that rules usually only apply about….80% of the time. Just when we think we have mastered, say, the order of multiple object pronouns, adverb formation, or how to form a question in French we discover, to our chagrin, a whole slew of exemptions and exclusions. What is a French learner to do?

Case in point: when to use the French subjunctive, le subjonctif? All agree to use the subjunctive after il faut que (it’s necessary that) and il n’est pas clair que (it’s unclear that) to convey obligation and uncertainty, respectively. In other cases, however, the answer is not so clear-cut.

For example, what about il semble que (it seems that) and il est probable que (it’s probable that)? Grammar books would say that while the former expression takes the subjunctive; the latter does not. But ask two native French speakers and you might get two different responses.

Avant que (before doing) and après que (after doing) seem to solicit the same confusion. The first expression is followed by the subjunctive; the secondis not. However, time and time again the subjunctive can be heard after the expression après que, by native French speakers! On French television! Ciel!

To both native speakers and French-learners alike, many of these “rules” seem downright illogical. (Why on earth would the verb “to wish” in French take the subjunctive, but not the verb “to hope”?)

Since we are in the same boat, so to speak (dans le meme sac), perhaps we should simply appreciate this beautiful language for what it is: un mystère, and enjoy the journey.

Besides, you’ll find that the French will very much appreciate your attempts to speak their language, for they know how slippery it can be. And when you find yourself stumped over a certain “rule” in French, you might just look around, grin unashamedly, raise your shoulders and exclaim: C’est français!

You can learn more about subjunctive and various conjugations by reading here.