No End to the Paris Summer Adventures

Justine Trueman, Abby Gordon and Simon Zutshi

It would be impossible for Paris to be more glorious than it is right now. Finally, Parisians are shedding their winter garb, donning summer frocks and shorts, and exposing skin in celebration of the  warm, sunny weather. The outdoor café tables are hoppin’. Get your seat in the sun early and take advantage of it now — as it may not last all that long…this is not Paris’ normal M.O. (Do I sound pessimistic or realistic?)

There’s been no end to the adventures the last few days, either. Thursday evening many of you joined us at the Property Investors Network launch meeting — it was a pleasure to see so many familiar faces. Speakers included Simon Zutshi, founder; Justine Trueman, host; Jo Simpson, life coach and myself. Simon is a particularly motivating speaker — a self-made success story who has generated millions of dollars by living his 5 golden rules on how to minimize the risks in property. As a young guy, he started with nothing and turned an idea into a property investors dream.

Our own client, Abby Gordon, won the very first Paris PIN prize drawing worth £497, to attend a PIN one-day seminar! Abby is the founder of the really fun and informative Paris Weekender Blog and is also the subject of another upcoming House Hunters International episode that we are filming later this week here in Paris (our 8th!).

(Don’t forget that tomorrow our newest House Hunters International episode airs: “Sizing up the Parisian Suburbs” – Episode HHINT-3803H! Be sure to see it and record it for me if you can! Visit House Hunters International for more information.)

The Paris PIN meetings will usually be on the 4th Thursday of the month, however the next meeting will be held Monday, June 25th, where  associate Sarah Potter will reveal strategies on how you can profit from “Viager” (life annuity) properties and I will be speaking about the current problems landlords are facing with short-term rental regulations, financing property and how to get the best return on investment from French property.

For more information and to book your place for the next meeting. please go to Paris PIN. If you would like to come for the first time, you can use my code “Adrian” in order to gain free entry to the meeting. Just visit the site then click book using a voucher code,” enter contact details, enter the voucher code, click apply and click book! That easy!

Friday evening at the Swan Bar, Cecilia Woloch and her students from USC entertained us with original poems interwoven with the jazz stylings of Parisian musicians Joe Makholm (on piano) and Peter Giron (on bass fiddle). If you missed it, you’re not out of luck, because this coming Monday, June 4th at 7 p.m. you can take advantage of a Poet in Paris, University of Southern California Faculty Reading, a fantastic evening of poetry with Cecilia Woloch, Marilyn Hacker, Jeffrey Greene, Ellen Hinsey, Margo Berdeshevsky, David Barnes and Heather Hartley! It all takes place at The American University of Paris, 6, rue du Colonel Combes, the (Métro Invalides or RER Pont D l’Alma).

To all of you who wrote with suggestions on how to improve my pathetic command of the French language, thank you. To all of you who think I’m even more pathetic than I think I am, thank you, too. You may be pleased to know that I showed up at Parler Parlor Saturday morning and improved it a bit (conversation really works to improve speaking and listening skills) and that when I’m in Nice this coming weekend, I’ll be meeting with the Director of the Institut de Français in Villefranche-sur-Mer, Frédéric Latty, to get his ideas on how I can better master reading and writing…maybe a few weeks on the Riviera isn’t such a bad idea, n’est-ce pas? For more information about language learning, visit our new French Language Learning Web page.

I have not owned a car in 18 years and have not missed this one bit. In Paris there is greater freedom without it, but logistically it was necessary to rent a car — the best way for a group of us Saturday evening to get to a village near Disneyland Paris to help celebrate the birthday of our illustrious Interior Architect, Martine di Mattéo. While we could have taken the RER to Marne-la-Vallée and then a taxi to the house, we were concerned about how we’d get home after so much merriment. Renting the car was a good solution, but as you learn, nothing is simple in France.

Upon arrival at the Gare de Lyon with printed documents in hand from RentalCars.com, we discovered that I had failed to print the voucher and therefore didn’t know which rental car company had our reservation. We stopped in Hertz first — no, not there, then at Europcar — Bingo! But guess what? Without the voucher, no car.

This is when Americans who are used to service with a smile go into a tailspin when coming up against “non” in typical “pas possible” fashion. The agent could not or would not enter the link I had on my documents to his computer to pull up the voucher on our behalf. No, that simply wasn’t going to happen and no voucher, no car.

So, you ask, what did we do? The only intelligent thing to do. I called my technically savvy daughter in New York who pulled up the voucher and emailed it to the agent who could then print it out. Dumb, but true.

Then, we were on our way out to the ‘burbs’…”du gateau” with GPS and four back-seat drivers (I was at the wheel) stuffed into our tiny Nissan rental car. Martine outdid herself in her usual style, opening up her big newly renovated (and quite gorgeous) country home and garden to family and friends for non-stop drinking, eating, dancing (under disco lights) and partying till way past midnight. The enormous cake was complete with candles and sparklers that took her three tries to blow out.

We hobbled out when we knew the coach would turn into a pumpkin, headed back to town, dropping off passengers as we routed it cleverly, finally depositing the car in the garage of one the passengers. What a relief it was to have a parking spot — the bane of any car owner’s existence.

Of course, Sunday, the rented car had to be returned — a whole lot easier than the ordeal of picking it up! And it was a pleasure to walk home from the Gare du Lyon in such beautiful weather with absolutely every single Parisian on the streets walking and taking in the rays, too.

Two special sad literary closing notes:

1. Penelope Fletcher, owner of The Red Wheelbarrow, has put her shop up for sale “fonds de commerce (the location, the lease, the goodwill, the clientele and the name, but excluding debts). Inventory available on consignment or at one-third value. Inquiries can be made to Penelope Fletcher, The Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore, 22 rue Saint Paul, 75004 Paris, +33 (0)1.48.04.75.08.

2. The Village Voice Bookstore will close its doors on July 31, 2012. Odile Hellier, owner, wrote: “With our warmest thanks for having contributed to the cultural life of The Village Voice Bookshop and to its success.” No, Odile, we thank YOU, for bringing us so much joy for so many years. The Village Voice and you will be sadly missed.

A la prochaine…

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

(Adrian partying at Martine’s under the disco lights.)

Respond to Adrian

P.S. My photographer daughter has taken up a new and exciting creative outlet these days (I can’t keep up) — jewelry design and creation! In the words of Erica Simone, “Hey there sweet pumpkin cherry pie, to celebrate the launch of my new jewelry line *MCXI*, I so warmly welcome you to join me on Friday, June 1st for a blowout sample sale! Drinks to be served and new body buddies to be made. Come get your bling on! Friday, June 1st, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Jay Kos Boutique, 293 Mott Street, (southwest corner of Houston), New York City. To see a small preview visit *MCXI* and do tell her “Mom sent you! Contact Erica Simone: [email protected]

P.P.S. This coming July 10th, author Timothy J. Smith will be speaking at Parler Paris Après Midi, about the “Real Life Experiences that Made a Book” and for a sneak preview, tune in to Tim’s new blog, “Before Bottled Water…” to get a tiny but colorful taste of what those experiences are. For more information about what’s to come at Après Midi, including mystery writer Cara Black on June 12th, visit Parler Paris Après Midi