The Paris Traveler

This guest post is by Mary Jo Manzanares, Travel & Culture Channel Editor and travel blogger at Flyaway Cafe.
If the thought of a fine bag, a decadent pair of heels, or the feel of the fabric of a finely crafted suit makes you swoon, then an afternoon on the Champs-Élysées in Paris may be your definition of heaven.
Avenue des Champs-Élysées is not only one of the most recognized street names in Paris, but in the entire world, and is lined with luxury and specialty shops, theaters, cafes and restaurants.  Its name translates to "Elysian Fields" a reference to the …read more

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I’m in the process of weeding things from my surroundings as our family gets ready to pack up the last 12 years of our life and come July, all splitting off in different directions as we go through a monumental shift in how and where we live our lives.  As a result, I have been going through things and of course, get caught up and side-tracked in old photographs, magazines, the dilemmas of, “Do I keep this Mother’s Day card from 1987 and where do I pack it if I do?”  All things that take me totally off track from …read more

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I went to see a good friend of mine at her workplace who was retiring after years at a job she loved. I can still remember when JJ first started working there and how happy she was. It was a dream job right off the Champs-Elysées. Not because she met celebrities all the time; she did, but she’s use to it. (Afterall, her niece is a famous French actress and her sister has been married to music royalty for more than thirty years, so for JJ it’s the norm.) No, it was a job she enjoyed doing.
If you’ve spent anytime in …read more

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I recently sent one of my poems (not this one) to be included in the Jack Kerouac exhibit that will be taking place on the 23rd of September in Paris at the Cabaret Pirate in front of the BNF (Bibliothèque Nationale de France), which got me to thinking….  How could I have not seen that my poem, This Is Paris To Me, fits in perfectly with my blog! 
                                                                                     THIS IS PARIS TO ME
Cobble stone streets; and chic cafés.
Strolling down the Champs Elysées.
Going into the Madeleine,
or riding the Bateaux Mouches on the Seine.
That is what you must do and see,
but this …read more

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(After writing about World Cup Rugby for the guys, I thought I would do a post for the ladies this time!) 
Okay, so that beautiful tan you worked on all summer is slowly starting to fade now that the summer holidays are over, and you don’t want to go to a tanning salon. What to do? Well not everyone can be as fortunate as I am to be naturally blessed with a healthy glowing tan!  (LOL!  Don’t forget, I did write in another post that I am somewhat dillusional!)  All kidding aside, it’s hard to keep up that “healthy look” but …read more

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This year’s Tour de France was once again clouded with suspicion on which cyclists were using their own natural power and strength to continue the grueling journey throughout France, and which were steeped in artificial agents to help propel them ahead of everyone else.
When Alexandre Vinoukourov and his team were ousted, and then the next day Michael Rasmussen’s team got rid of him, and finally when Christian Moreni and his teammates left in much the same way all because of doping; I was beginning to wonder if anyone would be left to ride up and down the Champs-Elysées! No need …read more

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Clara over at Tips of All Sorts has five great video clips about Kim Peek who is better know as “Rain Man” depicted by Dustin Hoffman in the awarding winning film by the same name.
It’s part of a fascinating documentary about the man, who some say is, “the world’s greatest savant.” Since the influence of computers and search engines in our daily lives, Peek has also become known as “a living Google”! All I can say is we sat around and watched the videos in awe.
I know, this is a blog about Paris, but so what. From time to time …read more

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I really can’t understand what all the hype is about owning a Louis Vuitton bag! Personally, I prefer Lancel. Perhaps it’s nostagic memories of my first Lancel leather purse more than twenty years ago bought for me by one of my French admirers. Or perhaps it has more to do with the fact that although the price was high, the quality of that bag and all the others I have owned since then have lasted throughout the years.
Lancel began in 1876, but it wasn’t until the early 1900’s that the company began to cater to women’s handbags and accessories, and not until 1976, …read more

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