Coming Home

Though I didn't say so here on Paris Cheapskate, I spent three months last fall and winter bouncing around between Paris, New York and Arizona. The result was a new perspective on what it means to come home, and even what home, itself, is. If you'd like to read more about that, I'm thrilled to have an essay about it featured on the fantastic site Narratively. Tell a friend!

Pro Tip: Cosem Paris Walk-In Clinics

(It won't be like this... but the Google Image Search was too awesome. Illustration via Pulp International)

Here is one Paris pro tip that seemed too important not to share but one I hope you'll never need: how to find non-emergency medical help in Paris.

Disquaire Day 2013

Say what you will about it being a dying breed, but I read recently that vinyl record sales have been increasing since 1993 and continue to do so, particularly spiking in sales over the last couple of years. That news makes a hipster like me very happy, as I am comforted in the knowledge that the soft whir of dust noise and forced order of songs (complete with intermission as you turn the vinyl over to Side B) may continue to prosper, at least for a little while longer. For fellow hopeless nerds, rejoice in Record Store Day, known as Disquaire Day here in Paris, a celebration of record stores. All over town, record stores will have special prices on certain vinyls and some will even have live performances. For a complete guide to celebrating Disquaire Day in Paris, check out my article on Girls' Guide To Paris, and to find out how to celebrate near you, check out Record Store Day's official website.

More Cheap Paris Art: HPrints Vintage French Ads

(1923 La Vie Parisienne cover, $23)

I'm a huge fan of vintage ads. Many days when all of the advertising we're bombarded with every day get to me, I wonder if someday I'll look back on today's ads with the kind of marvelling wonder with which I see a Bernard Villemot print from the '60s. But right now I have good news for my fellow penny-pinching vintage ad lovers: I've stumbled upon a vertitable treasure trove of vintage French ads from all decades of the 20th century. From fashion prints to old Vogue and La Vie Parisienne covers to auto and lingerie ads, HPrints has everything your vintage-loving heart desires. You can find old ads for luxury brands like Givenchy, Balenciaga, YSL and Chanel, cosmetic ads from Lancôme and Guerlain, auto ads promoting the likes of Peugeot, Citroën and Rolls Royce, even booze ads for Hennessy, Cointreau and Campari. HPrints sell only original prints, mostly from periodicals and never later reprints, so you know you're getting an authentic vintage print. And what's more: they are cheap as hell.

Cheapskate Special Deal: Pictours Paris

(Photo courtesy of Pictours Paris)

My friend and fellow expat Lindsey Kent has the perfect job: one that takes advantage of both her talent, her passion and her temperament, is completely unique, and is perfectly suited to her adopted city. As the founder of Pictours Paris, Lindsey goes around town with visitors and takes photos of them on their Paris travels, capturing moments in front of some of the city’s most beautiful monuments as well as its hidden nooks and crannies. Photographing lovers and newlyweds as well as families and groups of girlfriends, Lindsey has seen it all in the City of Light.