VINGT Paris News

David Lynch Appearing at Publicisdrugstore

Paris darling and world renowned filmmaker David Lynch will grace us with his intellect at Publicisdrugstore on May 6th to promote his new autobiography Mon Histoire Vraie.

The signing starts at 7pm so be sure to get there early, and anticipate wading through the droves of those desperate souls who must know "was it all a dream!?"

David Lynch at Publicisdrugstore
May 6th at 7 pm
129, avenue des Champs-Elysées
75008 Paris
Métro / RER : Charles De Gaulle-Etoile, George V

Espace Louis Vuitton

Orients Sans Frontières: sur les traces de la Croisière Jaune

One lucky Louis Vuitton employee at the brand's flagship Paris boutique rides up and down in a velvet-padded, pitch black elevator all day long. Her unobtrusive black capsule is designed to filter in-the-know visitors from hordes of tourists, and to prepare them for the contemporary art experience that awaits on the top floor in the store's new gallery, Espace Louis Vuitton. "It's a concept," explains the girl, before guiding the elevator upward with a remote control. Well, in that case, let's go. I'm all for strange encounters in the dark.

Vélo Vintage - Ride in Style, On the Cheap!

Paris' Vélib service is great, but for some, owning a bike is the only option. And spending 115 euros on Decathlon's entry level bike just isn't very appealing.

For a while, the only other options have been haggling with sketchy bike shops or braving the classifieds of kijiji and vivastreet, potentially spending a whole afternoon haggling over the price of a broken or stolen bike.

Putting an end to all this fuss is Vélo Vintage in the 18ème.

Employment opportunity - culinary business

An expanding culinary business is looking for a bilingual (French/English) and possibly bi-cultural (US/French) assistant, 8 to 10 hours a week. More depending on the profile. The ideal person is extremely versatile and organized, with a passion for food and products. Strong computer skills are a must. Email us for further information.

Annual Festival d'Avignon

For the Festival d'Avignon in the South of France, artists collaborate to create an atmosphere of dramatics and diverse cultures. A review reported that, "Circus artists and musicians shared the stage with actors and dancers. Their creative freedom was conveyed equally in their mastery of gesture, body and instruments."

The Festival is an admirable dedication to theatrical expression and the ongoing effort to support artistic creations.

Festival d'Avignon
T: +33 (0)4 90 27 66 50
Booking : +33 (0)4 90 14 14 14
E-mail

Le Volets Bleus, Biarritz Pays Basque - Chambres d'hôte de Charme

Not in Paris but worth the trip to the South is Les Volets Bleus, situated about 4km from Biarritz in one of the most beautiful villages of the Pays Basque, Arcangues.

Like the British concept of Bed&Breakfast, but a million miles away in terms of style and panache are French chambres d'hotes.  You are effectively staying in a private home with a few guest bedrooms and often end up being treated like a member of the family.

Ex-Parfumeur, Marie de Lapasse created this exquisitely furnished property made all the more fascinating in that it is new but was constructed entirely from demolished Basque homes, so much so that is really does seem to be an "old soul" - old timber, flagstones and materials provide the ambience.  Great comfy beds and huge bathrooms with antique marble washstands and enormous baths help one settle in immediately.

Jean-Vier and Hélène Darroze

Jean-Vier linen is part of the heritage of the Pays Basque, where in the olden days fabric was cultivated and woven to create SAÏAL, a strong fabric cover used to protect the cattle from the sun.

These days it's transformed into mouth-watering striped tablecloths and napkins (or serviettes if you are non-PLU).

Not normally susceptible, I've noticed a little trend in the l'art de table - black slate serving platters are smidgened with Piment Espelette on a corner and on the other side a crumble of fleur de sel then presented on a berry coloured Jean Vier table linen. This seems to have begun as a collaboration with fellow Sou'Wester Hélène Darroze.

Yes, she of the eponomously entitled restaurant next to the Bon Marché, too expensive for mere mortals like us. Being a woman in a man's world and 4th generation culinary royalty she takes a fair bit of stick.

As we can't afford to eat there, a friend who is a key member of the team cheers us up with tales of the Manuel type antics of the Sommelier with a drink problem who from time to time pours the best wines on the laps of the customers at the 250e a head (without wine) tables.

Meet Tony Curtis in Paris "Certains l'aiment chaud"

Meet legendary actor Tony Curtis in Paris on Sunday, April 27, 2024 for an afternoon of cinema and a question and answer session. The program includes a screening of Billy Wilder's film classic “Some Like it Hot” starring Tony Curtis, Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemon as well as the premier of a new documentary on Tony Curtis and his wife Jill.

Sunday, April 27th, 2024, 14h
Hotel Marriott Rive Gauche,
17 Boulevard Saint Jacques
Paris 75014

Tel: 01 40 16 05 35 (call between 10h-19h) to reserve places in advance at 20 euros or pay at the door, 25 euros. Entry price includes screening of two films and Q&A with Tony Curtis followed by refreshments.

All proceeds benefit the Jill and Tony Curtis horse refuge.
Aaawwwww.

Le Nouveau Carillon - When You Need A Big Salad

If you've just finished a scenic romp aorund the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur and find yourself hungry, walk down the street from metro Abbesses to the corner of Rue des Martyrs. Le Nouveau Carillon sits just at the corner, but pay attention, because you'll most likely miss it on account of a glaringly pink boutique that dominates the scene.

Take a seat at one of the outdoor tables at Le Nouveau Carillon and order one of the Grandes Assiettes Fraicheur… or in English, “The Really Big Salads.”  Yes, a salad. But before you scoff at the idea of ordering just a salad, look first at the description of this just a salad.

‘Le Carillon’ : haricots verts, agrumes, magrets fumés, copeaux de foie gras, échalotes, œuf dur, jambon de pays - 13,00 €

The generous portion of foie gras is worth the price alone, but the magrets, œuf dur, and jambon de pays could constitue a meal unto themselves. It should be noted that there is a certain atmospheric delight in watching Bobos buy surfer shorts and Hawaiian shirts at said exercise in color scheme disasters across the street.

Le Nouveau Carillon
Adresse : 1, rue des Abbesses
Métro : Abbesses

Venue Review: La Maroquinerie

Parisnormale's Jayson Harsin writing for I V Y paris

From the vantage point of Pere Lachaise in the 20th, in the closing pages of Balzac’s delicious Pere Goriot, the hero Rastignac looks down into the mudpit of Paris, seething with moneylust threatening to devour the grand monuments and traditions of an overgrown bourg. Refusing to let it tame him, he vows to don his galoshes and wrestle it to submission.

True to its past, the 20th (along with the 18th and 19th, and a few holdouts in the 11th) is now the arrondissement that peers down on the rest of the city and resists its formidable pull toward disneyesque tourism and suffocating plutocracy, the basin below where many of the once wild jazz caves and cabarets are now full of plump track-suited Americans perusing their Lonely Planet’s and Let’s Go’s.

It’s in the 20th/11th neighborhoods that one still finds a host of little no-name jazz and torch singer joints, squeezed into the communards’ corners around the metro stations of Gambetta, Pyrenees, Menilmontant and Alexandre Dumas. These are the same scruffy sidewalks where Edith Piaf was born on a policeman’s cape and commenced her warbling for a few paltry sous, and from whose hills Guy Debord tumbled down to beller from the bowels of The Spectacle. It is also where one finds the most thriving indie rock, pop, folk, electro clubs in the City of Light: Le Nouveau Casino, La Fleche D’Or, La Feline, Le Studio de L’hermitage, the Bellevilloise—and La Maroquinerie.