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Thank you!
We thank you, our valued guests for staying with us at ParisPerfect and for recommending us to your friends and families. As a small family-run company we want you to know that your enjoyment and comfort are our top priority when you stay with us and your kind referrals are our most important source of advertising. Please feel free to forward this email to friends and family.
We hope to see you again this year!
Tous nos vœux pour l’année 2008.
Qu’elle vous apporte bonheur, santé et paix!
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A Perfect Stay in Paris
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“How does one describe a perfect apartment stay in Paris? We had a wonderful week at our ParisPerfect apartment rental. The apartment was everything as described on the Paris Perfect website, only better. We were delighted to find such a sweet, charming and most importantly for me a very clean Paris apartment. We were in the best possible location; everything was in easy walking distance. The apartment itself had exactly what I hoped it would be...we had our two teenage daughters with us and we all lived happily together in this charming apartment. I don't think there was one thing I wished I had in the apartment... that wasn't supplied by Paris Perfect. I guess the best recommendation I can give is that on the plane ride home I was already planning my next trip to Paris and I will only stay in a Paris Perfect apartment. To Madelyn and Philippe a very big Thank you! We had the best time in Paris and a wonderful apartment rental to come home to after a day of sightseeing etc.”
Pat and Tony Munden.
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Sweet as Sauternes, one of our newest Paris vacation rentals
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Now is an ideal time to begin planning your next trip to Paris, especially if you are thinking of coming this spring or summer. The best apartments book early. Email us for availability and we will happily get back to you right away. We have several new apartments that we are excited to have you enjoy!
We found this apartment gem last spring and immediately named it Sauternes after the sweet, white dessert wine produced in the Bordeaux region. This wine is so rich and intense that it is often served as a dessert all by itself. We imagine your experience savoring the sweet views and amenities of this richly appointed Paris vacation rental. Take the tour and see how beautifully this vacation rental turned out with a combination Provencal and modern style. We especially love the vacation apartment’s location, a corner apartment on a street in the Marais Quartier of Paris. The apartment building is set further back than usual, so you experience a feeling of space when you gaze out the five sets of french doors to the beautiful buildings opposite. There are two long balconies which are delightful to sit out on to appreciate sunny afternoons in Paris.
The story of this vacation apartment purchase is one for the books. The owners had scheduled a day of appointments to show it and could only fit us in late afternoon. Our plea to let us view the apartment earlier was helped when Philippe offered a little medical advice on the husband’s heart condition. We took a quick tour of the Paris apartment, agreed to their asking price offer but as we were writing up the binding offer, the doorbell rang. Uh oh, the husband might have agreed to sell it to someone else. "Did you sign anything?" The answer was no, but they didn’t want to face the would-be buyer, so asked Philippe to answer the door and break the news. Afterwards, the husband said that he preferred to sell to Philippe because he was a doctor who had graduated from the famous Paris internship system ‘les internes des hôpitaux de Paris.’ He confided later: “Les médecins ne sont pas des margoulins.” Doctors are not swindlers. Philippe told him, after he signed that he could introduce him to several ‘margoulin’ doctors, but he appreciated the vote of confidence!
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Gallette des Rois
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Winter in Paris is a warm welcome with tasty dishes and long meals with friends and family, including warm and hearty French dishes to special pastries. I love desserts; one of my favorites is seasonal Gallette des Rois. It is an almond-pastry that is served in French households in January, to celebrate the coming of the Magi. This type of cake with a surprise inside originated with the ancient Roman mid-winter festival Saturnalia, dedicated to the Roman God of Time, when festivities, orgies, and bacchanals anticipated longer days to come.
This delicious pastry cake is traditionally served from Twelfth Night (January 6th, the date the Three Kings reached Bethlehem) to Carnival. In Paris. The galettes or gateaux (cakes) can be found in all of our favorite pastry shops on rue St. Dominique and Ave de la Bourdonnais.
The light pastry with a rich almond cream, that typically arrives with a cardboard crown around it, comes with a twist. Anyone who finds the “fève” in their slice is crowned king or queen for a day, and wears the paper crown. Although fève translates as bean, today it is a little metal or porcelain figuring that can be a chic lady, an old fashioned looking king or queen, or even an insect. A commentator on French culture jokes: "Thus, the 'queen for the day' may also unexpectedly get awarded the heimlich manoeuvre or major dental trauma."
During Saturnalia, a bean was hidden somewhere in the house, even within a loaf of bread, and was sought only by the slaves who were given freedom for the duration of Saturnalia. This festival was transformed by the Catholic Church into a children's festival throughout Europe, reaching its height in France where the child who found the surprise the in the cake was showered with gifts and dressed in regal costume.
Recipe for Gallette des Rois
- 1 pound puff pastry dough
- 5 oz. ground blanched almonds
- 5 oz. (approx. 1 cup) powdered sugar
- 5 oz. softened butter
- 2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon dark rum (optional)
- 1 fava bean or small porcelain ornament to hide inside (optional)
For the cream filling: mix together almonds and sugar. Add the creamed butter, two eggs and rum; mix well together.
Divide the puff pastry dough in half: roll out each half into a 12-inch circle. Lay one pastry round sheet on a (very slightly greased) baking pan. Pour the filling in the middle and spread without reaching the edge. Drop your "fève" in the filling, if you wish.
Top carefully with the second circle of dough. Press firmly all around (with moist fingers) to seal the "cake." Glaze the surface with the remaining beaten egg yolk. (For a little more control over the color, brush the yolk on roughly halfway through the baking – the glaze on our test cake was a little dark.)
With a fork draw some light curved lines for decoration. Make a few tiny cuts on the top (to let out steam during cooking).
Cook for 35 to 40 minutes in preheated 400-degree oven. Oven temperatures can vary; keep an eye on the cake!
Remove when golden. Cool and serve while still warm, or heat up in a warm oven later.
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Choucroute
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The winter months are not complete without Choucroute, a wonderful complete meal of cooked cabbage, sausages and ham -- excellent for cold days. Philippe and I have tried it from many specialists in Paris but the best is from Davoli on rue Cler. We buy it and invite friends to our apartment when we are in Paris. Philippe stocks up before driving back to London in a car smelling like delicious sausages. We call French friends who live in London telling them that Davoli’s choucroite is on the way! We have been clients of Davoli’s for over 20 years and they boast out loud that their clients from London have just called to “chercher un dinner pour 10 personnes a emporter a Londres . We took this picture of M. Davoli who had just opened the shop early one winter morning. Mid-day on Sundays, there is a long queue of clients lined up to buy their Choucroute and many other dishes from artichoke salads to lasagna at this popular store on rue Cler.
Choucroute Recipe
This is my variation of Choucroute that my family likes. It is not as good as Davoli, but will tide you over until you stay with us at Paris Perfect so you too can visit rue Cler again.
Serves 8
Ingredients
- 4 pounds sauerkraut
- ½ Cup butter or duck or goose fat
- 1/4 pound of bacon, large dice
- 3 yellow onions, peeled and sliced
Bouquet garni.
Tie in cheesecloth:
- 4 sprigs thyme (if possible, fresh)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns
- 8 juniper berries, lightly crushed
- 2 heads of garlic, simply cut in half
- 2 ham hocks, scored OR I prefer boneless boiled ham, about 3 pounds, sliced about ¼ inch thick
- 1-2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups dry white wine, such as Pinot Blanc or Riesling
- 2 pounds garlic sausage, kielbasa, or knockwurst
- 1 pound bratwurst or veal sausage -- we love veal sausage
Another possibility is:
- 1 to 2 pounds pork back ribs or baby back ribs, cut into 3 sections
- 1 1/2 pounds small red new potatoes, well scrubbed and halved, if large
- Dijon mustard for serving and a grainy Pommery mustard if available
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Place the sauerkraut in a colander and if it is salty, rinse it briefly to remove some of the salt from the brine. You don’t want to rinse it too much, or you will lose a lot of the flavor. Press to release most of the excess liquid and set aside.
In a large skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of the duck fat or butter, medium-low heat and add the bacon. Cook for 5 minutes, not allowing the bacon to brown. Add the onions and continue to cook until they are soft but not browned, about 8 to10 minutes. Transfer bacon-onion mixture to a large soup pot or oven proof casserole. Add the drained sauerkraut and toss to combine. Place bouquet garni in the baking dish.
Now add the ham hocks, pork ribs, chicken stock, and wine; stir to combine. Cover the pot and bake for 2 hours.
While the sauerkraut is baking, melt the remaining tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over high heat and brown the sausages on both sides. When they are cooked, set them aside.
When the sauerkraut, ribs and hocks have baked for 2 hours and the hocks are tender, remove the casserole from the oven. Cut the ribs apart if you haven’t already done so.
Place the potatoes on top of the sauerkraut. If the liquid has evaporated to below 2/3 full level, add a bit more stock to the casserole at this time. Cover the casserole and return it to the oven. Cook for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are done.
Remove the casserole from the oven again and place the browned sausages on top of the sauerkraut mixture, cover, and return to the oven until the sausages are heated through and the potatoes are tender, about 15 more minutes. Remove the bouquet garni and serve immediately, giving each person receiving some of each of the sausages, part of a hock, potatoes and sauerkraut.
Pass the mustard at the table as a condiment.
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Cassoulet is another other winter favorite, which we enjoy at Thoumieu, our other favorite for French ‘Sud ouest’t specialties.
Our two favorite restaurants for Cassoulet in Paris are:
‘Au Petit Sud Ouest’
46, Avenue La Bourdonnais
75007 Paris, France
Téléphone: +33 1 45 55 59 59
This restaurant changed owners a few years ago and the new owners have remodeled it and transformed the food. Their service with a smile and excellent food at a reasonable price have made this one of our favorite stops.
Thoumieux
79, rue Saint Dominique
75007 Paris
Téléphone: +33 1 47 05 49 75
This brasserie has served French families in the 7th for three generations and is open for Sunday lunch and dinner and you’ll see many French families gathered for the family Sunday lunch tradition.
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Paris travel tips: Museum Passes and Getting Around Paris
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The Paris Museum Pass
www.parismuseumpass.com
Museum Pass: Make the most of your time in Paris by purchasing a Paris Museum Pass in advance. The Paris Museum Pass offers unlimited priority access to 70 monuments and museums in and around Paris. Museum Pass holders avoid waiting in line-ups, and save money compared to combined entry rates for individual museums and monuments. You go in through a special, no-wait entrance; and this can save you up to an hour in peak season. You can buy them at any museum, including the Musee d’Orsay, Invalides, Musée des Egouts (Sewer Tour), or the Musée Rodin. You can purchase 2-, 4-, or 6-day passes—but they must be used on consecutive days. Note: Some museums are free on Sundays; and the pass doesn’t help in avoiding the security lines.
The Métro
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www.ratp.fr is the website you click on for information on the Metro, Buses and the RER. Click on the Union Jack to read in English.
This is the fastest and easiest way to get around Paris. Purchase a 10-ticket carnet (good for both the Métro and the buses), which is cheaper than buying tickets individually. The carnets are available at the métro stations and tabacs. The maps of the métro system are excellent, and you can get a free, pocket-sized métro map from the ticket teller—just ask for a plan. As long as you stay within a métro station, there is no charge for transfers. Just exit one train and follow the signs to your next train—no transfer slip needed. One reminder—most métro lines stop running by midnight. www.ratp.fr is the handy metro website for planning your journey.
Buses
They are convenient and an excellent way to see Paris and there are numerous buses near our Paris apartment rentals so you can hop on and enjoy the sites as you make your way to your destination! Each bus takes a single métro ticket (no transfers), which can be purchased from the bus driver, at a métro station, some newsstands, or a ‘tabac’. Bus stops are well marked and contain route maps. www.ratp.fr is the website to help you plan your bus journey.
Batobus
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www.batobus.fr: A superb bonus of staying in our Eiffel Tower neighborhood is the Batobus, the boat buses which go up and down the river to the most important monuments: the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, Notre Dame, Hotel de Ville, and others. Look for the sign at the bridge next to the Eiffel Tower. There are eight stops and it runs every 15 to 20 minutes.
RER
www.ratp.fr: This is the urban/suburban train. It’s great for getting around Paris, as well, because there are fewer stops than the regular métro. If you’re traveling within Paris, you just use a regular métro ticket. In the 7th, the closest stop is at the Pont de l’Alma Station—just this side of the bridge, on the left. This is a great way to get to the Musée d’Orsay, Notre Dame Cathedral, or the Latin Quarter: fast, frequent, and direct—particularly to get home quickly after a long day of sightseeing or shopping.
Also, use it to go directly to Versailles for a picnic. Or, with one transfer, going in the opposite direction, you end up at Euro-Disney. For these places, you need to buy special tickets at the ticket booth. (For Versailles, just be sure to check the monitor above the platform. The track splits three ways as it heads west. As long as ‘Versailles’ shows towards the bottom of the screen, the subsequent train will get you there.)
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French Word Problem Hell
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Many of you told us that you enjoyed translating the French math word problem, even if you didn’t solve it, so we’ve included another one of our daughter Alexia’s for you. Dare I tell you that it is for the 6th grade level?
‘Francis possède au moins 5 bateaux’ dit José.
‘Non’ répond Dominique ‘il en possède moins de 5.’
‘Peut-être dit Claude, ‘mais il en possède au moins 1.
Combien de bateaux peut bien posséder Francis sachant qu’une seule des trois personnes dit la verite ?
A.) 0
B.) 1
C.) 2
D.) 5
E.) 6
Réponse : A
Les deux premières affirmations sont exactement complémentaires : l’une des deux est forcement juste ! Donc la troisième est fausse. Francis ne possède aucun bateau !
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La Motte Piquet Trivia and Market
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One of my favorite open markets is on Ave de la Motte Piquet, just on the other side of the Champs de Mars from many of our Paris apartment rentals. Who is Avenue de la Motte Piquet named after?
Admiral de La Motte Piquet was the Admiral of the French fleet allied to the American army during the American Revolution. In 1778, John Paul Jones sailed to France. Six days after he sailed, on February 14, 1778, France decided to join the Americans in their fight against the British. As John Paul Jones sailed into Quiberon Bay in France, he and Admiral La Motte Piquet of the French Navy saluted each other with their ship’s cannons. This was the first time the new flag of the Colonies had been recognized by a foreign government, that of France.
Open Markets
Staying in a Paris apartment rental is a fantastic experience, especially if you are located near an Open market. We especially love the 7th because of the Open Markets near our apartments, more than any other arrondissement in Paris. Here are all of the open markets near to our Paris apartments in the 7th with their opening schedules so you can print and save for your next trip.
Marché de la Motte Piquet / rue de Grenelle: Wednesday and Sunday from 7 am to 2:30 pm (Located near La Motte Piquet Metro and the big Monoprix store.) The Motte Piquet Market is one of the most Parisian, possibly because it is located in a less expensive neighborhood, just on the other side of the Champs de Mars in the 15th arrondissement. It’s a pleasant walk from our Paris apartments in the 7th arrondissement, just on the other side of the Eiffel Tower.
I find prices more competitive and have a few favorite merchants: I love the apple merchant located under the metro tramway who has at least ten kinds of apples for sale at any time. Her apple sauce is excellent too. There is another woman who makes the most delicious fruit candies from fresh fruits. Small note: we buy dish sponges here by the dozen because we replace all of our sponges for each new family, one of the small but important touches at www.parisperfect.com.
Rue Cler: Open weekdays, all day Saturday and Sunday mornings. Many of the stores are closed on Mondays.
Saxe-Breteuil Market: Thursday and Saturday from 7am to 2:30 pm.
Marché Ave Président Wilson: Wednesday and Saturdays: 7am to 2:30 pm.
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