Paris - If you Need a Reason, Go for the New Museums

When I was a student in Paris, I loved to spend lost afternoons in the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in the Marsan Wing of the Louvre Palace on the rue du Rivoli looking at dusty cabinets full of ceramics and fraying tapestries. It was a quiet oasis in a bustling part of Paris which had masses of beautiful objects but little popular appeal. Those days are long gone.

Following a 10 year, €35 million refurbishment, the recently reopened decorative arts museum is a stunner, and if ever there was a case to be made that France has “owned the luxury goods space” for the last 500 years, the case is made brilliantly in the Musee des Arts Decoratifs. Each one of the 6,000 objects on display literally screams at you, “Look at me! I am beautiful”. This may be the stuff of everyday life, furniture, fabric, porcelain, wallpaper and toys, but it is definitely not life as we know it. From the “over-the-top” bed of the courtesan who was the inspiration for Emile Zola’s scandalous novel “Nana” (just imagine what went on there) to the re-creation of Jeanne Lanvin’s 1920s apartment, this is all fabulous stuff fabulously displayed.

The excellent English language audio guide tells the story of 500 years of French savoir faire and style with just the right combination of detail and narrative. There is now a restaurant in the museum that serves lunch and dinner daily and a huge and very good gift shop. If you are of the persuasion that “knick knacks” could never be as interesting as paintings, this museum will change your mind. Interest has soared since the museum reopened on September 15 and if you do not want to wait in line, be sure to either purchase a museum card or pre-book a ticket on the website or through FNAC .

But such is the richness of Paris’s cultural offering that the Musee des Arts Decoratifs is only one of three superstar museums to open or reopen its doors to the public this year. Jeff, Eloise and I made half-assed attempts to get in to see both the new Musee du quai Branly, Jacque Chirac’s €200 million monument to ethnic and primitive art on the Left Bank and the recently reopened L’Orangerie where, after long delays, a completely new space has been built for Monet’s mesmerising water lilies, but in both cases, with no museum passes and no pre-booked tickets, we took one look at the lines and went elsewhere. We also did not go during the late nights which both museums offer. The bottom line is that these places are too popular for spontaneity.

Just standing outside the enormous and radical Musee du quai Branly sitting outrageously in the 7th District, one of the grandest of grand Paris neighborhoods, is enough to signal that something completely different and exciting is going on here. Everyone says, as they have with the Tate Modern in London, that the building, not the collection, is the experience. In a way, who cares? I just want to get in and see the thing. Ditto for the Water Lilies.

It may seem counter-intuitive to the NoCrowds ethos to recommend going to precisely the museums everyone else is trying to see and yes, sooner or later, the crowds will lessen as the opening of some other celebrity monument steals their thunder, but I can’t help believing that if the Branly and the rebuilt L’Orangerie are half as fun and exciting as the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, then it is worth fighting to get in to see them while the paint is still fresh and they still have their mojo.

Musee des Arts Decoratifs
Tuesday – Friday, 11 am – 6 pm; Saturday and Sunday 10am – 6 pm
107, rue de Rivoli
Metro to Palais-Royal, Pyramides or Tuileries
Admission - €8 - €6.50 for students and seniors
Phone – 01 44 55 57 50
http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/

Musee du quai Branly
Tuesday – Sunday, 10 am – 6:30 pm
Late opening on Thursday until 9:30 pm
37, quai Branly
Metro: lena, Alma-Maceau
Admission - €10
Tel: 01 56 61 70 00
Fax: 01 56 61 70 01
http://www.quaibranly.fr/


Musee de L’Orangerie
Open everyday except Tuesday, 12:30 – 7:00 pm and 9:00pm on Friday
Jardin des Tuileries
Metro: Concorde
Admission: €6.50 - €4.50 for students and seniors
Tel: 01 44 77 80 07
http://www.musee-orangerie.fr/
Information-orangerie@culture.gouv.fr

Photo of "Nana's Bed" by Philippe Chanoel from the Musee Les Arts Decoratifs' website

Take your Parents to Paris

To borrow a phrase from John F. Kennedy, we are the parents who accompanied Eloise to Paris and we have enjoyed it.

According to Eloise, Paris is Europe’s most parent-friendly city. She argues that parents are contented and easily distracted because the city is beautiful, the food is good and romance abounds. She goes on to say that contented, distracted parents make easy prey for the hidden agendas of children. Looking back on our recent visit, and the fact that we hardly ever disagree about what to do in Paris, I think she is on to something.

Take, for example, our visit to the Jardin des Tuileries. On the surface, this expanse of formal, neo-classical greenery smack dab in the centre of the city between Concorde and the Louvre feels like a place built for grownups. You might imagine that we strolled around enjoying the aesthetics, and we did. But we also ended up financing several carousel rides on a lovely belle époque “work of art” and several sessions of enthusiastic jumping on the in-ground trampolines. We did get to sit on the benches in the autumn sun while Eloise played in the action playground with all the children who were also on their school holidays and Jeff got to admire their mothers. Everyone was happy.

You can also take as an example our lunch at the Grand Colbert where we retreated after the morning in the Tuileries. Again, you might think the Grand Colbert, housed in a historic monument with a fabulous belle époque interior that was featured in the movie “Something’s Gotta Give” with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton, is best for geriatric trysts, but, Eloise knows that a renowned and bustling brasserie is always a fine place to take your parents. While we were busy with our excellent lentil salads watching the midday show, Eloise was able to do unmentionable things to her plate of snails (one of which flew across the room) without invoking the attention or irritation of her parents or the maitre d’hotel who took rather a shine to her.

This was also the case the morning we devoted to shopping. “Mom, why don’t we go to Bon Marche?” (the most fabulous and exclusive department store in Paris). Of course, I’m a sucker for that approach. The fact that we spent most of our time in Bon Marche in the toy department buying these little animals known as Sylvanians (Calico Critters in the U.S. and “Sill van knee yan” in Bon Marche) is not surprising. The fact that later on we also managed to find a very chic and inexpensive Christmas dress down the road at Du Pareil au Meme also speaks to how well a girl can do when her mother is carried away by the elegant retail experience that is Paris.

In the Luxembourg Gardens, Eloise also managed to keep us busy. We got to watch her set a new record on the carousel where children collect rings on a stick as they go around. We got to enjoy a perfect Gallic display of pique as the British school children on holiday took over the action playground from the beautifully dressed pre-schoolers and even better dressed Mamans. Afterwards, when we suggested going to Polidor, (where a three course lunch during the week will only set you back €11), she conveniently reminded us to be sure and go to the bathroom before hand as “this is the place where you have to go standing up”. She also, conveniently, ate the desserts from our three course menu.

And finally, it was Eloise who suggested that we make a special visit after Polidor to see the Unicorns at the Cluny Museum of the Middle Ages. Unlike my not-so-brillant idea to try and get into the Branly ( the new museum of tribal art) where the line wound around the building and down the street, the Cluny was an oasis of calm, no lines, no crowds, just impressive architecture, a good gift shop and some very good unicorns.

So if you are looking for a city where it is easy to keep your parents contented and entertained, where they will be well treated in restaurants and where spending money in stores comes easily, Eloise strongly suggests you look no farther than the City of Light.


The Grand Colbert
2, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
Tel: 01 42 86 87 88

Cremerie Restaurant Polidor
41 rue Monsieur-le-Prince 6e
Tel: 0143-26-95-34No credit cards

Le Bon Marche
24, rue de Sevres
Tel: 01 44 39 80 00

Du Pareil au Meme has branches throughout Paris

National Museum of the Middle Ages – the Baths and Hotel de Cluny
6, Place Paul Painleve
75005 Paris
Tel: 01 53 73 78 00

The Happy Buddha off the King's Road

What’s fast, delicious, fun, cheap, perfect for children and will get you in all kinds of trouble if you say the name out loud. Phat phuc – which in Vietnamese stands for Happy Buddha.

Phat Phuc is an authentic noodle bar which can be found in an open air courtyard just off the Kings Road in Chelsea where seven days a week, the genial proprietor serves delicious rice noodle soups and a generous dose of philosophy from a decorative noodle cart brought over from Ho Chi Minh City. And you've got to love the fact that this is a cart with its own website!

You can sit outside either around the cart or at the few small tables nearby. If you like your food with conversation, sit at the noodle bar. Powerful heaters are fired up when things get cold but eating outside is all part of the novelty.

The menu is pretty much soup made with “pho” a clear broth with a choice of vegetables, beef or chicken, but the price is extremely reasonable ( about £6) , the bowls are large and the quality and freshness of the ingredients is excellent. Springs rolls are on offer for £2.20. As the lady sitting next to me yesterday remarked, “I live here. This is so much better than a sandwich.”

Phat Phuc is a real gem that drives a bulldozer through the conformity and pretentiousness of its surroundings. Students, ladies in Hermes scarves, shopkeepers and shoppers all communing over steaming bowls of healthy fare. Brings the kids but not lots of cash and enjoy the show.

Location - opposite Heals and next to the Chelsea Farmer's Market at 151 Sydney Street down the steps by the flower stall.

Tel: 07870 393863 or info@phatphucnoodlebar.com

Open daily from 12:00 to 5:00

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1001 Guidebooks and How to Select the Best

Standing in front of the shelves marked “London” in my local bookseller, I already knew I was in trouble. I was planning to write a quick survey of London travel guides but faced with hundreds of titles, and with no developed criteria for selection, I ended up sitting for two days in the basement of Nomad Books, a good independent bookstore with an excellent travel section, going through their inventory. It was a daunting experience. Of course, the usual suspects were there: Fodors, Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Insight, Time Out and Michelin Green Guides, but so were the guides for every variety of person or interest: London for Children, for Grannies, for Gays and Lesbians, for Food Lovers, for Teenagers, for Design Freaks and Shoppers. I began to wonder how one city, even a city as vast and varied as London, could support the 1,712 guides which I found on Amazon.

After two days at Nomad and countless hours on Amazon, I’ve tried to boil my survey down to the following observations:

There is not a huge difference amongst the big players.

Yes, Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Michelin Green guides, Insight, Fodors and Time Out have probably worked hard to differentiate themselves but from an information perspective, they all do a good job of providing lots of background and detail, covering the sights, accommodations, shopping opportunities and restaurants in different price categories and neighbourhoods. They all provide good summaries of the city’s history and stuff that is useful to know when you are planning your visit. They all cost more or less the same thing, somewhere in the range of £10/$18.50. They may think they are different, but they do pretty much the same thing. Once you start drilling down, you can make your selection based on criteria such as:

If you want lots of good graphics and visuals – Go for either DK Eyewitness or the AA Key Guide

If you like consistent rating systems – Go for Michelin Green Guides or Fodors

If you want your guide to have some energy and attitude – Go for Lonely Planet, Rough Guide or Time Out. If you don’t like ads in your guidebooks, feeling as I do that paying full freight for the book is enough, then Lonely Planet is the way to go.

The London e>>guide offers on-line updates but I went online and saw nothing special about the website. This format also promotes the use of podcasts as part of self-guided walking tours, a topic that I would like to explore in a subsequent post.

Many of the main providers also offer stripped down or condensed versions such as Lonely Planet’s “Best of London” and Time Outs “Shortlist” but I would argue that unless you are an absolute fanatic about the weight and size of what you carry around, there is no real reason to buy these formats. Go for the full monty and make your own selection.

The specialists guides rarely seem worth what they cost or weigh in your daypack.

I plowed through them all, Grannies, Lesbians, Children, Food Lovers, Museum Lovers, Design Lovers and more and found most either fall back on the same information that can be found in the comprehensive guide (just arranged differently) or suffer from annoying formats or amateurish production values, or are loaded with ads. Most are too limited to rate the real estate or weight they would claim in your day pack.

In general, I think Time Out does the best job of slicing and dicing their stock of information for London into specialist formats such as Time Out “Eating and Drinking”, “Health and Fitness” “Shopping” “Students” and “Gay and Lesbian”.

But as a rule of thumb, when in doubt, go for a comprehensive guide from a major provider and slice and dice according to your own interests and whims.

There are exceptions to every rule.

If I were to go to London with only one book in my bag, it would be the tiny City Secrets - London edited by Robert Kahn which is a highly subjective, wonderful little book about London written by contemporary novelists, artists, playwrights, curators, poets, architects and others of similar status. Like a typical guidebook, City Secrets divides London into neighbourhoods, sometimes reporting on a major monument or popular restaurant but also providing a massive amount of quirky, idiosyncratic and useful information. It is also the most beautifully written of all the guides.

For example, the section on Hyde Park covers the Serpentine and Albert Memorial but also provides a useful piece about how to find and participate in the softball game which has been played by expatriates Americans opposite the Knightsbridge Barracks for more than 40 years (April to October). And as many times as I have been to Osterley Park, before I read City Secrets, I never knew that both Thomas Jefferson and John Adams had been turned away in 1786 for their failure to acquire tickets in advance – even in the 18th century it pays to call ahead.

There is a surprising amount of information packed into this tiny book. Many would say it is no substitute for a proper guidebook, but when I was last in Rome, the only book in my bag was City Secrets - Rome and I was delighted with the way this book helped us discover the city. If you want to see London through the eyes of articulate people who know and love this town, for my money, City Secrets London is all you will need.

Shopping for Children's Clothes in London

Years ago, my husband visited a Gap store in Washington, D.C. while in the US on a business trip with an arm long shopping list. He proceeded to buy dozens of pairs of pants and t-shirts in different little boy sizes. The sales girl had seen it all before. “So, you must be from Europe. You’re the fourth guy in here today buying like that. Hey, don’t they have kids’ clothes in Europe?”

Well of course they did, but at the time, European children’s clothes cost at least twice what was on offer at Gap, were not as durable and could not match the peerless informality which became Gap’s trademark.

But the tables have turned and now I am often asked by both continental and American friends visiting London where to go for low cost, high fashion children’s clothes. It’s not that London is an inexpensive town, perish the thought, but it has become a great place to pick up some cutting edge children’s fashion at bargain basement prices as well the more expensive English classics.

Top Ten Stores for Childrens’ Clothes in London

H&M

Fast-forward fashion at rock bottom prices. Everything from ski wear to party dresses and accessories. Don’t expect great quality but children tend to grow out of their clothes before they wear out anyway. My nine year old daughter found most of her favourite things here this autumn. We bought bags and bags of stuff for £50. With outlets throughout London, the nicest children’s branch is at High Street Kensington. Alas, it is always crowded.

Zara

Similar to H&M but with better made and nicer things at slightly higher prices. Zara is famous for getting copies of high fashion designs from the runway to the shops at lightening speed. If you want the latest trends for very competitive prices, Zara is hard to beat. Nicest children’s branch just opened off the King’s Road at the Duke of York Square and was completely empty when I was there last week.

Marks & Spencer

Always good for staples such as jumpers (sweaters), underwear and socks and well worth checking out because occasionally M&S has something that is so good you can’t believe it. For example, Eloise and I recently found a £34 faux sheepskin fur coat that is so glamorous, the lady at the till (cash register), told Eloise she would look just like a movie star, and typical of M&S, its machine washable as well. Best children’s branch is either at the main Oxford Street store or High Street Kensington.


Gap

Similar inventory as in the US and the look does get tiring but if the sales are on, and to compete with the likes of H&M and Zara they often are, 50% to 70% discounts are common and it is hard to argue with the quality.

Next

Trendy to the point of tacky, but when they get it right, the clothes can deliver good value.


Trotters

Well made, good looking classic clothes for the aspiring middle classes at prices that are high enough to be reassuring. No bargains here but nice stuff if you need it. More selection in smaller sizes. A good shoe department where we were able to buy a perfect pair of trainers (sneakers) that no one else had in stock. They also have a children’s hair salon. Stores can be found on the King’s Road and Kensington High Street

Monsoon

For pint sized bohemians. Lots of sequins, silks, fancy knits and bright colours. Good party dresses at reasonable, but certainly not cheap, High Street prices.

Jigsaw

Similar to Monsoon but a bit more conservative. Best children’s branch is on the Fulham Road near the Brompton Cross and Bibendum.

Rachel Riley

If price is no object, but romance is, then this is my favourite children’s shop in London. Sadly, Eloise won’t touch the stuff. Too tasteful. Beautiful smocked dresses and pinafores, round collared shirts, Fair Isle sweaters and smart night clothes. Stores in Knightsbridge and Marylebone.


Boden

And finally, this is the catalogue retailer who has become a one-stop shop for the British middle classes. The clothes are well made, fun, smart and sensibly priced. What they are not is trendy, cutting edge or complicated. Perfect for holidays in Cornwall or Martha’s Vineyard. If you, like me, hate to shop from catalogues, then you can visit their only shop (in London) which is on Hanger Lane and next door to the Park Royal tube stop on the Piccadilly Line.

Let's Do the Time Warp - Again

London in the 80s, Lady Diana Spencer and the rise and rise of the Sloane Ranger. Well, social archaeologists, it is time to brush off your head bands and head for Foxtrot Oscar on Hospital Road in Chelsea where the tribe of Sloane is alive and well and enjoying two squares a day in their eminently likeable canteen.

I joined a group of friends there recently for lunch during the week. It was a hoot. The room and décor are nothing to write home about but the unpretentious, almost scruffy feel of the place is relaxing and club-like, as if it would be bad form to try too hard. The menu is full of English schoolboy favourites which the regulars have enjoyed eating since birth. Old menu stalwarts such as eggs benedict and hamburgers were really well prepared and reasonably priced. I read somewhere that even Gordon Ramsey, whose 3 star restaurant is nearby, can sometimes be found at Foxtrot Oscar enjoying a hamburger. Since we are on the topic of celebrities I should mention that everyone who has reviewed this restaurant, except me, seems to have been seated next to Prince William. It’s that kind of place. And even though, with our big broad American accents, we were obviously not members of the tribe, the service was friendly and welcoming. As I was sitting there with my girlfriends, it struck me that this was the absolutely perfect place to go for Sunday lunch, read the paper, nurse a wicked hangover and time travel.

Lots of visitors come to London in search of lost time. You can find them hanging around the “Old Curiosity Shop” near Lincoln Inns Fields and the crosswalk on Abbey Road. That’s all fine if you are chasing Dickens or the Beatles but if you harken back, as I often do, to a moment when the world’s attention was drawn to a young woman in wellies who worked in a kindergarden, you can recapture it all, plus eat a pretty good meal at a fair price at Foxtrot Oscar in Chelsea.

Foxtrot Oscar
79 Royal Hospital Road
London SW3
Tel: 0207 352 7179
Reservations recommended

Photo of the cover of the 1982 "Official Sloane Ranger Handbook"