Searching for a Lost Wine Village in Paris

Parisians often talk about the great travesty that was the loss of Les Halles, a legendary food market in the heart of Paris, fondly referred to as “the belly of Paris”, a seemingly indestructible monument to the great tradition of French markets. It was demolished in 1971 and the hub of all food distribution in the city…

Wet Hot Parisian Summer: A Lost 1930s Nudist Utopia

In Physiopolis, life was better in the buff. Or at least in a bikini, which was as close as one could legally get to public nudity in 1930s Paris. It was here, on an isolated sun-baked island on the Seine, that a titillating new naturiste-nudiste (naturalist and nude) movement sprang forth. Gone were the days…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 706)

1. The marbelised “Literatur” passageway in the Museumsquartier in Vienna Free to wander through, the mural (painted by Austrian artist Johanna Kandl) is inspired by the marbled endpapers used in Baroque book production. The vending machine dispenses literature written by young Austrian writers. Found on the Tess Newall Studio. 2. A Time Capsule Department Store…

The Ancient (and very Naked) Olympics

The original Olympic games got cancelled for 1500 years because … well … everyone was naked. The Ancient Greek Olympic Games, held from 776 BC to 393 AD, so that’s nearly 10 times longer than the modern Olympics have been running (since 1896), were celebrated almost entirely in the nude. While today’s spectators are used…

13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 705)

1. The oldest functioning planetarium in the world Hidden behind a pocket-sized door in a doll’s house-like building in the sleepy Dutch town of Franeker is a room so unique that even a King was star-struck. Explore the extraordinary world created by wool weaver turned astronomer, Eise Eisinga. His creation of a fully functioning planetarium in…

No More Than a Litre of Wine a Day, Recommends a 1950s French Sobriety Poster

Last night I was standing at the counter of our local café on Boulevard Saint Germain, finishing off a last glass of wine after work before heading home for the evening, when I noticed something behind the bar. I thought I must have been reading it wrong (I was on my third glass) because it said in French:…

The Art of Kissing Fanny

There’s a curious expression used in Provence by pétanque players. “Embrasser Fanny” or to “kiss Fanny”, is a small recompense for making a fool of oneself to put it simply. But where does this mischievous phrase originate from? Fanny was a waitress at a local café in the Savoie region or Lyon– no one seems to agree. Watching the…

When Paris Built the Greatest Show on Earth

Forget the Olympics. Forget PT Barnum’s legendary spectacles. It was Paris, in my opinion that wins the prize for putting on the greatest show on Earth. Photographs of the Universal Exposition of 1900 never cease to make my jaw drop. The unrecognisable monuments, the dazzling profusion of electric that earned it the title of “City of…

The Vault

From Paris to Provence in Under an Hour

Escape from Paris? Yes, sometimes even the truest Parisphile needs a little break from the romance of this concrete jungle in exchange for some country air. We arose early to the sun gently warming our toes peeking out from under the duvet and knew, this was our day to escape. But where to…? “Somewhere less…

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Our Zoom Date with a Paris Catacombs Explorer

Welcome to our Q&A with the fabulously entertaining Alexander J.E. Bradley – an artist and urban explorer whose mastery of the Paris catacombs has led us down many a rabbit hole (you may recall our trip to his underground catacombs cinema to watch The Rocky Horror Picture Show one Halloween). If you missed the live…