All through the month
of August we'll be blogging a few choice nuggets from The Mothership – that's
www.walks.com, the main website of London Walks. Our From The Archive series is
written in the main by London Walks' Pen David
Tucker and will feature practical tips on joining in with a London
Walk, some general London info as well as some more "off the beaten
track" bits…
Paris Walks
If you're off to the City of Light, well be sure to try a Paris Walk or two. Paris Walks is owned and operated by our good friends, Peter and Oriel Caine. They're an English couple. They've lived in Paris for many years. They – and their superb team of Anglo-American guides – do a wonderful series of guided walks (in English) in Paris. Thanks to Eurostar it's so easy to get there now – it's two hours and twenty minutes city center to city center. So we go a lot...five, six times a year. And we love their walks – go on two or three of them every time we're there. Indeed, I'm proud to say one of them – their French Resistance walk – was whipped up especially for me (David). It's the Peach Melba, so to speak, of Paris Walks!
Here are the Paris Walks contact details:
Paris Walks 12 passage Meunier 93200 St Denis, France
Telephone: (33) 01.48.09.21.40 Fax: (33) 01.42.43.75.51
e-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.paris-walks.com
And while I'm at it, here's a Paris restaurant recommendation. Try Polidor. It's on Rue Monsieur Le Prince. (Incidentally, the San Francisco Bookshop is in the same street - and you can usually pick up a copy of the Paris Walks leaflet there.) Nearest metro is Odeon.
Polidor is very French. It's been doing its thing forever. Wonderfully atmospheric. Red checked tablecloths.Old brass. House red served in bottles that are museum pieces. Very cheap. Very cheerful. It's always open. Packed out with a fun Left Bank crowd: Sorbonne students, arty types, journalists, savvy tourists, etc. And good hearty fare.
And for a chaser? Well, where else? Jean-Paul's et Simone's cafe. Bien sur.
A London Walk costs £9 – £7 concession. To join a London Walk, simply meet your guide at the designated tube station at the appointed time. Details of all London Walks can be found at www.walks.com.
