Author Archives: Parisian Fields

Unknown's avatar

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.

Cheap eats

The very first time we went to Paris as a couple, we took along a book called Cheap Eats in Paris by Sandra Gustafson. This was in the days before the Internet and iPhones made restaurant recommendations easy to find, … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The photograph I didn’t take

It was winter and we were walking back to our rented apartment in the 14th arrondissement from Monoprix, with a borrowed buggy filled with basics – toilet paper, dried pasta, yogurt. We traipsed down a road called rue Campagne Première. … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris art, Paris film, Paris history, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Jules Verne in the Métro

As a young boy, I longed to live in the fantastic worlds of Jules Verne, to explore the depths of the ocean in the Nautilus with Captain Nemo. I had not told Philippa this, but as we set off to … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris history, Paris metro, Paris museums | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Nine minutes, twenty-one seconds

A recent New York Times article pointed out that the traditional division of Paris into Left Bank / Right Bank might be giving way to a more East-West distinction. (Some people will say that has long been the case.) And … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris gardens, Paris history, Paris maps | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Notre Dame du Travail: more than meets the eye

If I had to pick only one place to visit on a trip to Paris, it would be Notre Dame du Travail. What makes it so special? It starts with the eye, but there is more than meets the eye. … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris churches, Paris history, Paris quartiers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Leeks Vinaigrette

I have my favourite French food writers, but among my best-loved cookbooks are those by Canadian food writer Lucy Waverman and the English Nigel Slater. Recently, I came across the following words by Slater that got me thinking: Sourness in … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris food, Paris markets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Goosebumps

One day, at a flea market, I bought an old board game called Le Jeu de l’Oie (the Game of the Goose). I was attracted to it because I had seen a reproduction of a similar board in a newspaper … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris flea markets, Paris nostalgia, Paris popular culture | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

A tricycle built for work

Head down and shoulders hunched, the lead cyclist pedals furiously through the streets of Paris. He is barely a cycle’s length ahead of his closest pursuers. Anxious onlookers line the streets. We are not witnessing the final moments of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris history, Paris popular culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The queen in the tower

Last week, Norman posted his picture of a “melting bicycle” and it got me thinking about the place and time we saw it. Then a reader wrote in and asked about places to stop and sit in the Marais, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris history, Paris markets, Paris street art | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Still life with bicycle

Paris has a long association with cycling. Consider the early 19th-century velocipede craze or Art Nouveau advertising lithographs by artists such as Alphonse Mucha. Since it began in 1903, the Tour de France always ends with a dash into Paris. … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments