Author Archives: Parisian Fields

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About Parisian Fields

Parisian Fields is the blog of two Toronto writers who love Paris. When we can't be there, we can write about it. We're interested in everything from its history and architecture to its graffiti and street furniture. We welcome comments, suggestions, corrections, and musings from all readers.

Reminders of Paris in Greenwich and London

Ah, Paris! We still love you, and we’re coming back, but you have a rival. Thanks to the generosity of Alison and David, we had the use of a superb flat in Greenwich for a week. And perhaps because we … Continue reading

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One address, many stories

“What’s that building with the dome, there, on the right?” Norman pointed to a building shown in a stereographic photograph of the Champs-Elysées he had recently bought at an antique photo show. The photo had been taken from the top … Continue reading

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Propping up Parisian trees

Paris. City of light? Yes. Bridges? Indeed. Trees? Absolutely. The trees and their changing colours are one of the marvels of Paris. But it is no accidental marvel. Parisians work hard at maintaining their trees. Paris abounds in small parks … Continue reading

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Mary Callery, sculptor and collector

Last February, I wrote a blog about the Villa d’Alesia, a small street of artists’ studios in the 14th arrondissement. In my research, I came across a photograph of Henri Matisse taken by Brassaï in 1939. The title was “Matisse … Continue reading

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Walking on cast iron in Paris

Every day, hundreds of thousands of feet pound, skip, saunter, or slog across them. Yet very few people stop to look at the cast iron embedded in Paris’s roads and sidewalks. Some pieces are intricately designed; many glisten with the … Continue reading

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Come walk with me in Paris

I have a confession to make. I have been moonlighting. That is, I’ve been writing for some other Paris blogs and websites, and recently, one of them published two walking tours that I created. Walking tours, whether the group or … Continue reading

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Tracing the tracks of Paris chimneys

As we walk past the restaurant Monsieur Lapin on the rue Raymond Losserand in the 14th, my eyes are drawn upwards to a ladder of iron steps embedded in the wall. We are looking at the other half of a … Continue reading

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One thing leads to another

We both like to listen to Web radio while we work. We were particularly pleased to discover that Radio Classique, which we listen to in Paris (at call number 101.1) is available on the Internet. (Go to the site, click … Continue reading

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Seduced by the chimneypots of Paris

Many a seduction starts by looking through a window. The allure of chimneypots started to seduce me as I gazed through the generous windows of a rented flat on rue Charlemagne in the Marais. Okay, I liked les mitres de … Continue reading

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The genius of the opera-ballet

On July 10, 2011, the world of dance lost Roland Petit, a brilliant and original French choreographer. His best-known works were not the pretty-pretty ballets of fairies and swans in white fluffy tutus, but human dramas of passion, violence, elation, … Continue reading

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