Hexagon Accessories

 (Straw/rattan clutch, $35, via Etsy)

Fiesty and energetic Laurie Pike of The Paris Blog has done what thousands dream of doing: she quit her career after 25 years to follow her passion in making handmade accessories. With a background in fashion and a pied-à-terre in Montmartre, she travels to Paris to scour the flea markets, pick up vintage pieces and integrate them into her beautiful, wearable collages.

Best Paris Stories

(Ernest Hemingway at his writing desk, via Melawend)

How to write about Paris? After hundreds of years, what is there left to say about the City of Lights? As it turns out, a whole lot (just look at the blogosphere). That's why Laurel Zuckerman has created and edited Best Paris Stories, a collection of short stories about the city which celebrates its launch tomorrow at the American Library of Paris.

Pro Tip: The Seine as 5th Avenue

(Paris map via Plan de Paris)

When I lived in New York, I took much comfort in the grid system, a concept Paris streets laugh heartily at. Also in New York, I knew that 5th Avenue was as close to a Main Street as we got, since all parallel addresses increased in number the further away from 5th that you went. Luckily, I've learned a little tip about Paris that is equally useful:

Consider the Seine to be your Fifth Avenue. All addresses leading away from the Seine increase in number. (So, right bank: increase northward, left bank: increase southward). Also, addresses running from east/west increase with the flow of the Seine (westward). So if you ever get disoriented or are unsure which direction you're walking when you come out of the Métro, take note of the surrounding addresses and it will (hopefully) help you feel a bit more centered in the City of Lights.

Cheap Drinks: Jeanne & Marcelle

(photo via Facebook)

One of my favorite neighborhood spots is the wine bar Jeanne & Marcelle. Occupying a nook on a sloped street in the 18th arrondissement, Jeanne & Marcelle has a cozy wooden terrace that overlooks the nearby steps and street of rue Diard. It's a lovely place to have a coffee on the terrace, watching the neighbors go by, or to sample some of Guillaume's daily wine specials.

Free Music: Jazz in St. Germain

(photo of Ndidi O via Flickr)

Lovers of jazz, soul and blues are in for a treat as Saint-Germain-des-Pres hosts its twelfth edition of Festival Jazz À Saint Germain from this Sunday, May 20th-June 3rd. Though some of the concerts cost a nominal fee, many of the events are absolutely free!

Dreaming of Zerzura

("Oléron1" by Fred Jagueneau)

For many years at the beginning of his career, Fred Jagueneau was a photographer's assistant to several huge names in fashion photography, including Mario Testino and Annie Leibovitz. In 1994, however, he set off to travel the world alone, to capture the lives and landscapes of the planet's "most remote places and peoples." A marvelous exhibit of some of those photographs is on display now at Galerie Nikki Diana Marquardt.

Entendu: Great French Radio

Obviously, I love music. With online French radio, I can kill two birds with one stone: improving my French and keeping up with the best new tunes. Here are a few of my favorite internet stations to listen to:

Cheap Drinks - Zelda

Zelda is one of those neighborhood haunts that always feels like you just stumbled upon it. On a street just north of the Canal St. Martin that seems continually deserted, Zelda (inspired by Zelda Fitzgerald, an art deco poster of whom graces the main space) occupies a cozy space and offers a selection of both traditional and creative cocktails. (They also sometimes have Yamazaki, my favorite Japanese whiskey, so naturally they're on my list of loves). My friend had this gin fizz-meets-jalepeño creation for 8€, while my wine was 3€:

Pro Tip: The Student I.D.

This might be the biggest Cheapskate move I've ever pulled, aside from putting water in the shampoo bottle to make it last. It has been... quite awhile since I was a college student. But I still have my student I.D., and luckily 1) it doesn't have an expiration date and 2) I still (somehow) look enough like my photo to still use it. A lot of people make the mistake of ditching their I.D. after graduation in a flurry of scholastic freedom, but I've been surprised at how long mine has lasted and continues to serve me! I get reduced prices for almost every museum in Paris (but be prepared to face the occasional request for proof of your birthdate).

I know it might not be the most completely ethical move on my part, but if you still have your student I.D., I would definitely recommend keeping it, and using it! After all, aren't we always simply students of life?

Cheap Art: Red, Yellow and Blue

(Jason Rhoades, Untitled) 

May is the last month to check out "Who’s Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue?", the gorgeous neon exhibit going on at La Maison Rouge. This thoroughly modern exhibition collects neon works from artists all over the world and shows how spectacularly evocative, funny, and poignant trapped, glowing gas can be.