I feel compelled to share a link to this post from Deux Frontieres for a few reasons:
Enjoy!
Reminiscing about our high school French teacher is a relatively popular hobby for myself and some of my dearest friends. Yet while we can remember seemingly endless tales about Madame, we can remember only the most rudimentary French expressions. That being said, somewhere between reading A Year in Provence and watching Greencard, I remember Madame mentioning the Carte Orange. A stranger to mass transportation myself, it wasn’t until I became a Parisian visitor that I understood the reverance in her voice when she mentioned this handy little card that can get you around the City of Lights.
I hope she’s working on a new lesson.
Here’s the scoop from David Lebovitz:
So what’s happening with the Carte Orange?
…They’re on their way outta here.The Carte Orange is a transit pass that allows you unlimited rides on transit within Paris (bus, métro, tram, and RER) for one week or one month. The only stipulation is that since they’re meant primarily for commuters, the weekly pass must begin on Monday morning and ends Sunday evening. And the weekly pass can only be purchased on Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday. (Long-term passes can be purchased, but you must have an address on the Ile-de-France.)They’ve been sketchy about an exact date when the Carte Orange will be phased out completely, but now it’s part of the Navigo system so there’s no more ticket to pass through the machine; Navigo is an electronic ’swipe’ card which uses a microchip.
Recently they’ve announced that yes, visitors will be able to buy weekly Navigo Découverte passes, which presently cost 16.30€ (plus 5€ for the cost of the reusable pass), and you must bring a photo. There’s photo machines in some of the métro stations, but I strongly urge guests to bring a stamp-sized photo from home where you’re presumably more sane (ie; not traveling) since the machines require correct change, may be confusing, and sometimes don’t work. (If you press the wrong button, you might get a 10-inch close up of your nostrils.) It doesn’t need to be passport-quality, so any snapshot will do.
Carnets of 10 tickets, as always, are also available at métro stations for 11.10€ and in Tabacs, and the new Ticket t+ allows you 1½ hours to transfer between buses, trams, or métros…although not between the bus and métro systems for some reason. Tickets sold onboard buses can’t be used for transfers, which are marked sans correspondance.
There’s a list of 1500 commerces agréés on their site where to buy a Navigo Découverte in Paris, but I can’t hyperlink to it so you’ll have to visit the RATP site and poke around. (The site is in French, although some information is available in English by clicking on the British flag.) The cards are also available at SNCF train stations and major métro stations manned by cashiers.
(Most of the métro stations have gone to electronic machines which take cash and some credit cards if they have a puce, or microchip, which replaced human cashiers. Larger métro stations, for the most part, still have cashiers to buy tickets and Navigo Découverte cards.)
You can also buy a Paris Visite card which costs substantially more but can start or begin on any day. They’re available in 1 (8.5€), 2 (14€), 3 (19€), and 5 (27.5€) denominations. The Paris Visite card offers discounts on various monuments, museums, and other attractions, plus 25% off the Bateaux Parisiens boat, so they’re not necessarily a bad deal. You can buy them online, in advance, from a third-party or during your stay.
Having just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I could not ignore this wonderful news from Our Family in Paris.
“Tres bien fait, President Sarkozy! Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s) are no longer welcome in France. The U.S. may file a suit with the World Trade Organization or heavily tax French imports as a retaliative measure.”
Read more about this development here.
“Advertisers love Paris, but Paris doesn’t like them… Today, the Paris council decided to reduce by 1/3 the amount of advertising space in the city. This will impact not only the space in general but also the size of posters. Thus the 1,000+ 4 x 3 meters (13 x 10 feet) billboards will soon be banned and so will the 6,000 smaller ones that are on display in the windows of shopkeepers and cafés. It will also be forbidden to advertise within 50 meters (164 feet) of a school, on the embankment, in Montmartre, etc. Needless to say that this measure is pretty controversial…”
“Bûche de Noël is a traditional French dessert served during Christmas holidays. It is usually decorated like a log in the forest and ready for the fire. They are usually made from sponge cake and frosted with chocolate buttercream and decorated with sugar, meringue, and marzipan to resemble snow, tree bark, fresh berries, and forest mushrooms.” (The link also includes recipe recommendations for the more ambitious kitchen folks.)
Seeing as how tomorrow is “Two Months to the Dreaded V-Day” and there seems to be a continual cloud of gray and gloom hanging over the East Coast of the U.S. (far more London-esque than Parisian), I give to you the Top Five Most Romantic Spots to Propose in Paris (courtesy of Parisian Party: Tales of an American Wedding Planner in Paris).
Even if pending nuptials aren’t among your 2008 Resolutions, the idea of these places may bring some sunshine to your day. I, for one, have never explored the Canal St. Martin (10th Arrondissement) and would love to on my next visit. Who doesn’t love a little “bohemian chic” Paris-style? And Pont des Arts? Perfect for picnicking with cheese and wine on a mild summer night.
For anyone who loved Madeline or Ratatouille, take heart. The silverscreen will be bringing you more family-friendly French fun soon. Casting has begun for Eloise in Paris.
It has been a week of discoveries. Today’s: DavidLebovitz.com a.k.a. “David Lebovitz… Living the Sweet Life in Paris.”
It’s worth a visit just to scroll through his posts on Paris food markets. You can see how this might appeal to my ongoing weakness for all things of the French and foodie cultures (even if I am just an outside observer of both).
For a little background on Lebovitz here are some highlights from Lebovitz’s bio:
What’s not to love? Enjoy and bon apetite!
Is there anything better than the discovery of a delightful blog you’ve never come across before?
The title says it all. This one is being added to my Google Reader straightaway!
