[This is a sponsored post]

If you haven’t already planned your spring or summer vacation, you still have time to do so and it would also be a great time to plan any trips after the summer. Once you book your accommodations, whether it’s in a small hotel, luxury spa, eco resort, chateau or any number of places to temporarily call, “home,” you can then relax a little and roughly plan what you’d like to do and what you’d like to see. The latter planning is the easy part. The former, that is, finding perfect accommodations, is the hard part.

With the Directory of Hotels, you won’t have to worry too much as you can easily search for the type of accommodations you love. If you’re the kind of person that prefers to stay away from the big chain hotels where your experience is impersonal and extremely drab, this directory can steer you toward an experience with more personality. Do you need to unwind during your next holiday at a secluded spa hotel? Would you rather be in a bed and breakfast so you can experience life with the locals? Or, would you like more of a romantic, cozy, chic hotel with a postcard perfect view of the Eiffel Tower? Whatever your preferences and needs, no matter how specific they may be, you’ll be able to find exactly what you’re looking for at the Directory of Hotels because they specialize in this kind of “Boutique Hotel” experience.

In addition to a unique, comprehensive list of international accommodations from which to search, the Directory of Hotels features articles, reviews, fun facts of places worldwide, travel, product and fashion tips, and travel videos. They even offer a newsletter and a travel blog. So, perhaps for your upcoming vacation you can consult the Directory of Hotels. That is, if you’d like to find the most fabulous hotel stay for your next trip.

Link: Boutique Hotels

Been wondering what to call certain breads in France? Want to know where they originated? Here are some of the French Breads by region. I’ll try to find a clearer version and post it later.

Want to see the cheese map? Cheese Map of France

[via Strangemaps]

We once saw David Lynch in-person and he’d mentioned that he likes to paint, then bite his paintings… Alrightee then. Anyway, I do love his films and his artwork sometimes reflects the same kind of vision he projects on films.

In case you can’t make it in-person to see the David Lynch exhibition at the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art in Paris, you can access parts of it online and see the virtual version. Click on English, then click on “What’s On” then click on David Lynch: The Air is on Fire, then Views of the Exhibition.

Otherwise, the exhibit is running until May 27, 2007.

Maybe I’ll go see if there are bite marks on the paintings…

David Lynch: The Air is on Fire (’til May 27, 2007)
Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art
261, Boulevard Raspail
75014 Paris, France
tel (+33) 1 42 18 56 50

Métro: lines 4 and 6, Raspail or Denfert-Rochereau station
Bus: 38, 68
RER: Denfert-Rochereau

Hours: Open every day, except Monday, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Open Tuesday evenings until 10 p.m.

Admission: 6.50 euros
Reduced price: 4.50 euros (students, under 25, Vermeil cardholders, Amis des Musées, unemployed)

[via twitchfilm]

From the LAist:

“Venerable French magazine Cahiers du cinema (yup, it’s still in existence) today launched its first English language edition, which will be available both in print and online for an annual fee. For $45, English-language readers will now be able to subscribe to a year’s worth of the magazine (11 regular issues + 1 special issue)…”

Read the full post

Tags: france, Cahiers+du+cinema, french, films, movies, critiques

[Disclosure: This is a sponsored post.]

Every now and again, I receive email from people asking me to suggest moving / removal companies to France or from France, and unfortunately, I haven’t been able to offer much help previously. That has changed recently after being contacted by Schumacher Cargo.

If you’re looking for a company to help you ship your belongings to or from France (from practically any destination in the world), you might want to consider using Schumacher Cargo. They’ve been in business for 30 years, have a long list of client testimonials and have a multitude of options to fit your specific needs. You can get a free quote on their website, too.

They’re a one-stop moving company so-to-speak, meaning: they do everything from moving household goods and furniture, to moving cars and container cargo by your choice of sea or air. You can have your goods go door-to-door, airport-to-airport or port-to-port, or any combination therein. Flexibility seems to be a standard service.

Lastly, it looks as if you don’t need to worry too much about where your cargo is at a given moment in time, because you can track it every step of the way via their online tracking service.

Important Information you might want to know from their site:

“Schumacher Cargo Logistics utilizes insured, secured and bonded facilities. We provide warehousing, packing, crating, trucking and loading services out of our own warehouses here in the USA. * Los Angeles * Houston * Chicago * Miami * New York. We also own and operate our own companies in the UK, The Netherlands, Denmark & Norway, all other worldwide destinations are covered by our affiliated organization member companies.”

For more information:

Schumacher Cargo
Website: Moving Service to France
Email: Contact Schumacher Cargo

[Photo courtesy of Chris Schauflinger]

If you wanted to take a historically deeper look into the City of Light, here’s somewhat of an eco-tour of Roman Paris that might be of interest to you. “Eco” only in the sense that you take the visit from the comfort of your computer since it is an online tour. No driving, no flying anywhere = no carbon (dioxide) footprint traces, just you discovering life in Paris during Roman times. And no tired feet!

The site is filled with information on the history, architecture, antiquities and daily life of Lutetia (Roman Paris), traces of which are still visible.

Take the Tour of Paris, a Roman City

Tags: france, french, lutetia, paris, romans, paris+a+roman+city, online+tour

Ouverture Facile means “Easy Opening” and refers to the fact that this game starts out easy. But after that, there’s nothing easy about it. Though, it is fun and challenging. It’s a riddle game that doesn’t spell out the riddle in words but in ideas and pictures and you have to figure out what you must do to move on to consequent levels. You may get stuck somewhere at times but it might be helpful to step away and think about it a while, then return to it the next day or a few days later. This isn’t a mindless game (not dissing mindless games though!) Ouverture Facile will put your brain to work so at some level, you feel like you’re not really wasting time when you solve each level.

Tags: france, french, games, riddles, ouverture+facile, online+games

Sorry to remind you but Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, so instead of the usual box of chocolates, bouquet of roses and homemade dinner by candlelight, why not try something different this year? Ok, this doesn’t have to be for Valentine’s Day. I just thought I’d remind you about it. Oh, I’m not knocking the above gifts. I love all those things; this is more about offering different gifts.

The French company, Wonderbox, offers unforgettable experiences in a gift box. Buy an adventure or package and have it sent in a gift box to the recipient. Examples: The Turbo box, choose from several different adventures in speed. Race a Lamborghini, Ferrari or Do some loops in an airplane; The Adrenaline box: white-water rafting, bunging jumping etc.; Calmer activities in a box include wellness retreats, gastronomic evenings, hot air ballooning, champagne tasting and more.

I like the idea that you can buy someone a box of one free fall from an airplane in France (you have a long list of locations to choose from). Though none of the package experiences are really novel, they do seem fun in any case, plus the idea of having one place to find a whole variety of adventures is fairly convenient and nifty, I think. Lastly, the “unforgettable experience in a box” idea is a cool marketing twist that basically “repackages” what they are selling, both literally and figuratively.

The only thing I find missing is the transportation to and from, but perhaps that is in the works. Like, for example, there’s a box you can buy that is an evening out to have a bottle of champagne with friends at a palace or luxury location. Wouldn’t it be even more perfect to add the limousine ride that picks you up from home, then takes you to your destination and back home?

Wonderbox

Tags: france, french, wonderbox, gifts, unusual+gifts, valentines+day, skydiving, hotairballoning

[Disclosure: I was contacted to write a short review about HotelReservations.com, so while this is a sponsored post, the opinions expressed within it are still my own.]

HotelReservations is an American-based online hotel reservations portal, where you can book a variety of accommodations: hotels, motels, B&Bs and condos located in nearly all countries worldwide for your next trip. Their database is quite extensive so you have many places from which to choose. Secondary to hotel reservations, are vacation packages which may include hotel plus car rentals and flight reservations. The hotel system however, seems to be the focused activity here.

Upon launching the site, I wanted to determine out how user-friendly the online experience was, so I did several different searches and queries, based on some trips I have coming up. The first thing I noticed was that the…

(more…)

Do you know where the Kingdom of Lesotho is? Then, I think you’ll get a better score on this game than I did. It tests your knowledge of world geography. You will see a name of a country on the screen and you must locate it on the map (use the zoom in or out if necessary but work fast) and click on it. You have a certain amount of time and if you guess incorrectly, it takes away more of your remaining time. Try it and see if you actually know your geography as well as you thought. I think I need to study my geography a bit more as well as my history (my score was 52. I don’t think that’s very good because I think that is out of 100, I’m not sure. That’s an F+ if we were in class!) The only thing I wished this game did was to flash the correct country on your wrong answers, so you can know where they are.

Do you know the world?
Play Now

Tags: world+map, flash+games, countries, geography, test, game+design

You’ll find stunning black and white photos from this photoblog “nyclondon” by Rob Gardiner. Despite the blog’s name there are photos from all over the world, but what particularly caught my eye, was this series of photographs called “Paris through a Pinhole” where Rob takes photos of Paris landmarks with a pinhole camera.

Paris through a Pinhole is in three parts:

Paris through a Pinhole Part 1

Paris through a Pinhole Part 2

Paris through a Pinhole Part 3

This new widget for Mac allows you to see the last five news items, the top six dowloaded software titles and the last five software downloads added to the French website LogicielMac.com. by Thomas Vignes

Note: in French

Download it now

I’m not sure how I stumbled upon this site but I am getting progressively into photoblogs and sites with just images. Maybe I am getting too lazy to read? I dunno. Anyway, here’s a good one from Damien Debin from Nantes. He shoots really beautiful photos. You can rate the photos on his site too.

Photo Addiction

Tags: travel, france, french, photos, photographs, nantes, photo+addition

I don’t think Lulu would mind very much that Lulu Lundi was pre-empted this week. Afterall, the theme is still a Boston Terrier in France.

This is the absolutely most adorable (next to Lulu) Boston Terrier, Bosco. He is sooooo cute!! I love the dot on his head. Unlike Lulu, Bosco was born in France and now lives in Southwest France with his dad, Greg.

You can find Bosco on the site called, Orr d’oeuvres, which is an interesting personal blog by a retired US diplomat living in France. Read about life in France, thoughts, experiences, food and adventures with the community of Lauzerte.

It’s always fun to see what other expats are doing in France…

Visit Bosco and Greg here: Orr d’oeuvres

Tags: travel, france, southwest, boston, terriers, bosco, expats

If you’re a student, you can find flights to a number of destinations for mega cheap if you book with Student Universe. I just looked at this site and right now; you can find a roundtrip flight from New York to London for $205. LA to Paris is only $499. So cheap! How can you pass that up??!

From Student Universe:

StudentUniverse is the online travel service that enables students to travel for less. By negotiating with the major airlines on their behalf, StudentUniverse provides students with exclusive, significantly discounted airfares. From destination guides to a proprietary booking engine, StudentUniverse is the leading online resource that allows students to research and purchase reduced-cost travel products online. Founded as a student travel agency in 1992, StudentUniverse launched its online presence in January 2000.

Check out: Student Universe

[via travelpost]

Tags: travel, france, cheap+tickets, students, discounts, airlines, roundtrip, europe

Today will mark the day in history where French government votes on the issue of Apple’s evil DRM, the digital restriction management attached to each song, which controls the use and access of digital media content on mp3 players and computers. Will they allow Apple to keep this controlling element on downloaded songs? Hope not, but me thinks, oui – We’ll see what happens later on today…

Luckily, there are some alternatives. Enter: Starzik. Despite its weird tagline, “Get hit easy!” this French digital media service is pretty cool. Available only in France for now, Starzik offers songs without any digital rights management attached to them. By negotiating specific contracts with independent digital music distributor, The Orchard, Starzik will be able to offer more than 600,000 tracks of DRM-free music from three major labels and thousands of indie labels. The number of available tracks should grow in time too. Most of the tracks will be offered in different formats: mp3, WMA, Ogg Vorbis, FLAC and AAC. Music categories include: ambiant/diverse, chanson francaise, movie/tv soundtracks, classical, dance/house/techno/electric, children’s music, jazz/blues, Celtic and music from Brittany, world music, pop/rock, rap/hip hop/r&b. There are also training mp3′s available for body building and diet/fitness.

Songs/tracks are 1 euro and albums are 9 euros but you can find many free downloads on the site as well. Some of the music is really old and there are a lot of unknown artists – but just like with all things, if you dig and explore you could be led to some hidden gems.

Visit Starzik

Related: Apple Computer Stores and DRM in France and National Assembly’s Midnight Meeting to Propose Laws on Digital Rights

[via Macworld UK]

Tags: france, drm, itunes, french, music, downloads, starzik, apple

Are you a discreet, techy traveler? Do guided group tours make you cringe? Do you like to seeing things at your own pace? Are you too shy to ask for directions when in a city like Paris where you do not speak the same language? Are you too lazy or embarrassed to learn some French when you’re traveling in Paris? Are you independent and want to figure out where everything is on your own? Have you found those double-decker city tour buses silly? Do you not want to get lost? (because you do not like asking for directions or want to be caught with a big, flopping in wind, touristy map?) Should I quit asking so many questions? Yes.

The digi-guide is probably the best alternative to using a traditional map or taking a tour while in Paris. You’re given a GPS plus a PDA packed with information (photos, spoken and written commentary). Languages available: French, English and Spanish (Italian will be available next week and German will be offered by the end of July) You have 40 “tours” to choose from in three different categories:

“Les Best of” includes 4 tours: 1) Best of Paris – follows a path that takes you to the main landmarks of Paris; 2) Best of Seine – will be a relatively smooth trip along the Seine; 3) Best of Shopping – will empty your purse at the best shopping places on the Rive Droite (right bank); 4) Best of Shopping does the same as 3 but on the Rive Gauche (left bank).

Les Parcours de jour covers 2 areas in which the first will take you through the center of Paris: the 2 islands, le Marais, Bastille, Latin Quarter, Saint-Germain, Left Bank, Paris 1900, Paris Luxe, Around the Louvre, Chatelet les Halles. Part deux takes you farther out from the center and to the les touristy venues: Auteil-Passy, Montparnasse, Alesia – Montsouris, Butte au Cailles, Saint Marcel, Paris Moderne, Promenade plantee, Pere Lachaise, Paris Multiethnic, Paris Populaire, Canal St. Martin, Grands Boulevard, Montmartre, Batignolles, Monceau-Etoile.

Les Parcours de nuit offers a list to liven up your evenings: Bastille, Belleville, Grands Boulevards, Etienne Marcel, Saint-German, Butte au Cailles. For all of the tours you’ll have a selection of restaurants, bars and clubs.

How does it work? (Click here to see the demo)

1. Reserve a digi-guide. Use the online form to begin. The digi-guide can be delivered to you in Paris. Cool!
2. Pick and/or customize your own tour.
3. Start at a designated Metro, set your GPS then forget about it by putting it in your pocket or purse.
4. Follow the pink line on the PDA and you’ll be well on your way to taking a tour of Paris, made by people who live in Paris.

Prices
1-Day Digi-Guide Pack is 30 euros ($38), while the 2-Day Digi-Guide Pack is 50 euros ($63). Additional days cost 15 euros ($19).

For more information: Visit their website: Digi-guide or Contact the Digiguide Team

A Note: I’d sent them an email to ask some questions and they responded within minutes…on a Sunday!! Needless to say, their customer service will probably be excellent. [via gizmodo]

Tags: france, travel, french, paris, gps, digiguide, independent+tours, hate+maps, technology

A photographer friend of mine once sent me a photo of a cactus from a dessert in the southwest (U.S.) that was perfectly in the shape of a heart, and he didn’t digitally manipulate it as he didn’t know how to use Photoshop let alone even knew what Photoshop was so it was simply a beautiful photo of this heart-shaped cactus. Since then, I notice heart shapes in nature.

How could I not post about this stunning heart photograph? This aerial photo taken above New Caledonia, an overseas French Territory in the Pacific (Southwest) Islands, is by photographer, Yann Arthus Bertrand. It’s a semi-aquatic swamp forest (called a Mangrove) that has naturally created a heart! He’s taken aerial photos from all over the world and has posted them on his website, where he offers them as desktop wallpaper, which is nice since most people will never get that same perspective and will have to live vicariously through his aerials.

He’s also taken beautiful photos of farmers with their animals in France. They are amazing. You can see that cows, particularly the white Charolais breed found mostly in my neck of the woods in Burgundy, are HUGE!

Visit his website: Yann Arthus Bertrand

Nevermind that many of us eat these very cute and cuddly animals, Pigs in France is a new website specifically for smallholders who raise pigs in France. (Though, I’m going to come to the site to see the adorable piggy pix. Look! The one on the right looks like he’s smiling.)

Dedicated to keeping rare and endangered breeds of pigs from extinction as well as advocating proper methods of raising pigs in a natural, comfortable environment, Pigs in France features news and articles related to pigs, including information and news on regulations for pig keepers in France, pig feed and more. Smallholders (owners of 50 acres of land or less for agribusiness) with pigs can also submit questions to be answered online in their Q&A section or participate in the forum.

Pigs in France

Oftentimes it takes someone else’s hard work and vision to see something artistic in something like manhole covers. As an ex-Paris resident, I’ve seen a lot of the city’s manhole covers because, well, you HAVE to look down at the ground more intensely and more often (compared to other cities) to watch that you don’t step in…anything unpleasant, if you know what I mean. I do remember seeing some cool covers, then got quickly distracted by the task at hand.

This website shows a large collection of manhole covers from all over France, and some of those only live on this particular website because the originals have been replaced. Consider it an online Manhole Cover Museum. There are some very cool designs, so take a look and see. You gotta love the sense of humor coming from the designer that created the cover that looks like a face (pictured above).

Take a look at the 172 Manhole covers here: Manhole Covers in France

It’s never too late to plan for a vacation, even this summer’s vacation to…France! Yahoo’s “Farechase” has just gone from beta to full public release – which means it’s ready for you. This travel service searches several (seemingly ALL) travel brokers to find you the best deal in airfares possible. So when you buy your plane tickets, it won’t make you cry.

I did a search for flights from Paris to Los Angeles and was pretty impressed by the features that come with this little service. The prices are broken down into the times of departure because that makes a whole world of a difference in price, apparently. It also lists all of the nearest airports for each city, which is a really nice option. Yahoo also incorporates the use of their mapping system, called Yahoo Local (still in beta), and it’s neat because with it, you can look for hotels that are close to where you’d like to be based. Need to chase that fare?

Yahoo Farechase

Tags: travel, services, yahoo, farechase, hotels, mapping+service, airfares

This is one of my favorite art blogs; it’s a fun place to visit when you can and it is bound to put a big smile on your face or put you in a good mood (if necessary ).

Del4yo is a Bay Area-based French artist, and you can find her beautiful and playful art work on her website, Non dairy Dairy. Be sure to take a whimsical walk with her in Sausalito.

This is Mitchu, the cutest chair hugging Parisian cat I’ve ever seen. He has loved this white chair ever since he was a kitten, according to the post at the cutest blog ever, Cute Overload. If you need a daily “Awwwww” and warm fuzzy feeling to start the day, I definitely recommend visiting Cute Overload for all things cute. I especially love the hedgehog photos and of course, puppies of Boston Terriers and Pugs. It is almost too much to handle. Cute Overload

Tags: france, french, paris, cats, cute