Photo: Anthony Atkielski, http://www.atkielski.com

Photo Animation: Tuason Racing, http://www.tuasonracing.com/

EASY LAST-MINUTE XMAS GIFT-GIVING: A PARIS EBOOK!: Our newly released eBook about Paris is proving to be a popular Xmas gift item, for yourself and/or your friends and family! This book is for anyone who wants to know more about life in Paris, and live vicariously through the characters, where adventure/misadventure, romance, lust and excess abound! Women love it and men are loving reading it too so that they can learn more about the female perspective.

PARIS FALL ROUND-UP: BEST TIME OF YEAR TO VISIT PARIS! The months of September, October, November and December are my favorite months to be in Paris and the best times to visit Paris. Pourquoi, you ask? Four main reasons: the weather, particularly in Sept. and Oct., is usually great; number of tourists has thinned out; prices on hotels, flights etc. are usually reduced and there are so many GREAT things to do during this time of year. So tuck this away for next year’s trip planning and read on for our fav fall things…

NUIT BLANCHE: How fantastic of the French to create and name a major cultural event after my company name (wink)! France started this popular venue in 2002, and since then, many international cities have adopted a similar event. This year, my friends and I prowled the streets of Paris all night long and experienced so many fantastic, unique things that I couldn’t even begin to describe it all. Except for one special highlight: we stumbled on a huge community outdoor garden inside a private courtyard, complete with long tables and intimate seating areas spread throughout and lit with fairy lights and chandeliers in all the plants and trees and pathways, a beer garden, lounge music/videos, and a Moroccan-style hash and tobacco den featuring huge lounging pillows and giant bongs. We also took in concerts, film festivals, art, photography and multi-media installations and every other conceivable form of entertainment and culture. In Paris, Nuit Blanche occurs on the first Saturday in October.

FETE DES VENDANGES DE MONTMARTRE: Celebrated during the second weekend in October, this is when the grapes are harvested from the vines in Montmartre. About a thousand years ago there were considerably more vineyards here; now there’s just a tiny one near Lapin Agile, at the corner of the Rue des Saules and the Rue Saint-Vincent. Although the few hundred bottles of wine produced largely suck in taste, it’s still fun to attend the parade and all sorts of other activities going on here for the festival.

BEAUJOLAIS NOUVEAU: Beaujolais Nouveau comes at the strike of midnight on the third Thursday in November. In Paris, everyone heads out to their local cafe, resto or wine store to celebrate the newest wine offerings, made famous worldwide by the brilliant marketing strategies of Georges Duboeuf. Beaujolais Nouveau is as about as close to white wine as a red wine can get, mainly due to the way it is made. It’s an easy to drink, fruity wine that tastes best chilled. It also makes a great transitional wine for anyone wanting to move from white to red wines. Wine snobs can just enjoy it for what it is, rather than critique it. Personally, I had some great ones this year.

LE GRAND TASTING: A brand new event introduced this year, this venue gets added as a permanent ‘must-do’ on my list. Held on Nov. 24 & 25, 2006 at the prestigious Carrousel du Louvre at the Louvre Museum, the 30 Euro admission gets you unlimited tastings at 200 stalls, featuring over 1,500 different wines and champagnes, the majority of which are from France. If anyone is still in doubt that the French are the wine gods of the world, this venue should permanently pop their corks! A top sommelier from a local Parisian cooking school took us under his wing, and further helped with our wine education. Most pointedly, he informed us what the big rubber funnel-looking things were for: you DON’T actually drink ALL of the wine that is poured, ladies, you swirl it around in your mouth and then spit it out. OH, REALLY? Also during this weekend, is the Salon des Vins des Vignerons Independents at Porte de Versailles. After both of these events, there is a particularly jovial atmosphere in the metro, with many people transporting huge rolling cases full of wine home and imparting their newfound wine knowledge.

HOW I KNOW I’M IN PARIS: Because I have the same conversation over and over; it goes something like this: French Person: "Where are you from? England? Australia? America? Holland? Ireland?" Curiously, they usually never guess Canada as they peer closely at me trying to figure out my accent. Me: "Canada." French Person: "Canada! But then, why don’t you speak French better?" Me: "Well, because really only a small percentage of Canadians speak French. They live mostly in Quebec and Ontario. For most Canadians, English is their first language, NOT FRENCH, or another language depending on where they immigrated from in the world." French Person: "You sound more like an American or Anglais than a Quebcois." Me: "That’s because I’ve never spoken Quebecois French to any fluent degree. Just some French learned in school and quickly forgotten, like most other Canadians." Constantly explaining why ALL Canadians don’t speak ‘Quebecois French’ is par for the course during my numerous cafe-sitting expeditions. And sorry to inform, my Canuck brethren, but the French don’t consider the language spoken in Quebec to be ‘real French,’ but an amusing, country-bumpkin version of their beloved language. But even though they love to poke fun at it, they love hearing the "accent Quebecois." And the Parisians consider their accent to be the purest of all. Well, I say, sacrebleu and pass the poutine! Happy Holidays!