A Woman's Paris ~ Joie de Vivre

Jan Dolphin, author and interior designer. Paris has beckoned Jan many times over the years, and each time she added to her personal travel journals. For Jan, dreams happen when the stars and planets align to spell, “Go for it!” Thus, her book Paris from the Heart was born. Jan is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and has spent her life as an interior designer for private residences and commercial properties: homes, condos, lofts, offices, gyms, and yachts—anything that requires her artistic flair. She resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota. (Website)

Paris from the Heart is an engaging travel guide to ultimate walking tours in the City of Light. Some people get involved in beauty—touching, feeling, possessing, and owning. Others are simply lookers. Creative beauty has always been the legacy of Paris. For centuries it has attracted legions of famous artists, writers, playwrights, fashion designers, poets, and chefs—creativity lives in the walls of this old city.

The sheer size of Paris is enough to intimidate many travelers into going to the popular tourist sites and claiming they’ve seen Paris. In Paris from the Heart, travelers are offered an opportunity to discover the compelling intimacy of the small ancient neighborhoods along with the tourist attractions. Take the guesswork, research, and planning out of your Paris holiday! The six volumes include eight step-by-step walking tours, historical and modern facts, route and sight descriptions, dining suggestions, maps, photos, and journal spaces to provide you with the most enviably dazzling, effortless, and comprehensive Parisian adventure. When you wake up in Paris, simply choose a tour that fits your fancy, grab the corresponding booklet, and enjoy being mesmerized! With Paris from the Heart, absorb the sights, sounds, and ultimately, the soul of this most spectacular city. To learn more about Paris from the Heart: Ultimate Walking Tours to Fun, Fashion, and Freedom and Paris from the Heart Walking Tours (2015) visit: (Website: www.parisfromtheheart.net).

Paris from the Heart is available through Amazon or it can be purchased directly from Jan Dolphin at: (Email: jandolphin@comcast.net). 

FOR SPECIAL SALE PRICE SEND ORDERS TO: jandolphin@comcast.net. You would receive an autographed copy and a special SALE PRICE of $32.95 plus shipping and tax. Checks or money orders only.  

Subscribers, Paris from the Heart: Ultimate Walking Tours to Fun, Fashion, and Freedom by Jan Dolphin, award-winning author, gives us a travel guide to her personal Paris. Free book giveaway to one subscriber ends December 2, 2014. A $ 44.95 US dollar value (Beaver’s Pond Press).

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Praise for Paris from the Heart

“…[Paris from the Heart] I love it! I can’t wait to curl up at night and go through it volume by volume…” —Lidy, French Garden House

“’Paris from the Heart,’ they are lovely paperbacks with great color photos and information on walking tours, day trips and escapades around Paris.” —The Paris Apartment

Excerpts from Paris from the Heart by Jan Dolphin:

“Paris from the Heart” – Paris walks, a traveler’s library (excerpt) 

The Left Bank: La Rive Gauche and the Land of Plenty

The World of Aristocratic Paris

 INTERVIEW: Paris from the Heart

“On ne voit bien qu’avec le cour….” —Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince (1943)

(Translations: “One sees clearly only with the heart”)

AWP: You are the author of Paris from the Heart. What inspired you to write this book collection?

JD: During my first couple of trips I consulted many guidebooks and maps so I could see Paris in an orderly fashion, rather than running from one end of Paris to the other. I ended up with so many notes that those became the start of writing a unique guidebook so others could make good use of their time and have adventures in remote areas of Paris—knowing that they would not get lost! 

AWP: Tell us about the research for Paris from the Heart. What were the challenges, and how did you unfold the story you wanted to share?

JD: After my first trip to Paris, it occurred to me that you could see many interesting areas that weren’t mentioned in most guidebooks. Because Paris is so much larger than I dreamed it would be, my goal was to create order—perhaps because I’m an interior designer. It’s “blue-printed” inside of me to transform chaos into an orderly environment! I also believed that adding colored photographs could help the reader get a sense of what they might love to see.

AWP: During your research for Paris from the Heart, what aspect of Paris wouldn’t you include?

JD: There were certain areas where I felt unsafe and others that looked just like any other historic city, which I didn’t include. There was also too much to see in depth within the areas that were my focus.

AWP: When you started writing Paris from the Heart, did you have a sense of what you wanted to do differently from other authors whose work you had seen?

JD: I wanted the book to be beautiful and easy to follow and to bring the visitor through Paris like a Parisian, without getting lost. I chose streets and neighborhoods that were most interesting, featuring art galleries, shopping, flea markets, major sites, restaurants, parks, and in-depth exploration of these areas. All the most memorable sites are right on the path you would be following on each tour as well as everyday life in Paris.

I also included a book of day tours—most of these taking all day and featuring in depth walks through history. 

AWP: Each book covers a different aspect of Paris, with their varied histories and cultures. Why did you decide to publish your book as a separate set of walking tours?

JD: It is so much easier to take a smaller book with you during the day, focusing on an in-depth look at the area within your tour for the day. Put it in your purse or bag, which makes it user-friendly. I also wanted to make the print larger so you didn’t always need a magnifying glass to read it. The hand-drawn maps make it so much easier to walk through Paris without wasting your precious time being lost or turned around in the narrow streets. Six-story buildings often border both sides of the streets and boulevards, which make it impossible to always get a sense of your direction.

AWP: What was the most surprising thing you learned about Paris?

JD: The condition of public toilet—and the treachery of often getting down to the lowest basement level… I suppose it’s difficult to retrofit washrooms when buildings are so ancient. Just shocking at first when you’re in an awesome restaurant and you encounter, for your first time (unfortunately), nature calling. During one of my walks through Paris, I entered a bar/restaurant by the Luxembourg Gardens and walked downstairs to the Toilettes and entered my first (and last) Pissoir. It was a room with a drain in the middle—smelly and wet—but, when you’ve gotta go, you’ve gotta go!

Hint: Wear a skirt if you want to experience this soon-to-be-extinct toilet.

AWP: Could you talk about your process as a writer?

JD: I’m not so sure I have an organized process—it just seems to happen in its own time and I just follow it through.

PARIS

AWP: What is the secret of Paris’s inimitable style?

JD: Paris style doesn’t seem as rigid as it was probably years ago, but most people maintain a sense of style and elegance. As a whole, they are very much not as outgoing and casual as Americans are. The French maintain their own rules for proper manners. This translates to being respectful: A “Bonjour Madame/Monsieur” goes a long way in breaking through the barrier. I feel that Parisians are proud of their city, their heritage, and expect that you respect this. There aren’t too many cities in the world, which have had such pomp and circumstance. That has to make an impact!

AWP: What makes Paris such an incomparably wonderful city to walk in?

JD: The fact that it’s a walking city rather than a driver’s paradise gives new meaning to strolling. My best memory is of two very elderly women strolling arm in arm and very slowly down the sidewalk; it was so sweet and caring. Someday we’ll all be there and let’s hope we’re strolling in Paris!

I also believe the sounds and the sights of the city keep you actively engaged. There are so many beautiful parks: the Seine active with boats, artists along the banks, and the grandness of the Eiffel Tower taking us on a magical, unforgettable journey!

AWP: What boulevard or street, restaurant or café, department store or boutique offers a perfect snapshot of modern Paris?

JD: I suppose for me it would have to be the mammoth department store in Paris—the Galeries Lafayette… Awesome!

AWP: Is there one restaurant or brasserie that channels everything you love about Paris?

JD: I love Le Grand Colbert, the brasserie featured in the movie, Something’s Gotta Give with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. Le Grand Colbert is located in one of the passages, Galeries Vivienne, in the 2nd arrondissement. The interior is beautiful and very, very French, along with a wonderful menu and wait staff that also speak English. You know you’re in Paris when you step through the entry doors.

AWP: What was your first experience that made you fall in love with Paris?

JD: The first time I went to Paris I was in for a great surprise: I was shocked when the taxi turned into an alley (which was actually a street), with a structure right up to the sidewalk. I couldn’t believe it. I thought I was, maybe, in a slum. Where were the flowers? Where was the quaint Parisian hotel in my dreams? I could barely fit—me and my luggage—into the single elevator about 3 feet wide as I made my way to my room. It wasn’t all that bad. There were some great windows that looked out on an alley and another old brick building, (sigh.) I left my room and explored a bit; and had a great pizza by the Seine and walked back to my “hotel in the slums.” On the way back I walked under a bridge next to the Seine and heard the most beautiful violin played by a lone violinist—I finally knew I was in the Paris of my dreams. And that old brick building next to my window? Well, that building, my friends, was a palace—“Palais Royal!” The message: You just have to roll with it—this is simply what Paris is all about!

AWP: How do you grapple with the cultural differences? Can you share the moment when you knew it had changed for you?

JD: When many of the people I met became friends, I think they embraced my sense of fun and spirit; and that I truly was one of them in my heart.

AWP: What French cultural nuances, attitudes, ideas, or habits have you adopted? In which areas have you embraced a similar aesthetic?

JD: Probably, mostly, in my interior design business. I love the French fabrics that seem to set a certain mood in an interior. Not too many homes I design can escape a “bit of Paris” in their interiors; whether it’s a mood, art, arrangements or a sense of drama. I always come back from Paris with a new designer scarf to add to my growing collection; I don’t just save them—I wear them every time I walk out the door.

AWP: Describe your own “Paris.”

JD: My own Paris consists of persistent memories that top all others. I am captivated by the existing glass-covered forerunners of the shopping malls; very beautiful, fanciful and perfect on those rainy days. They are referred to as “Passages” and truly part of “Old Paris.”

I feel like I belong in Montmartre; its beauty is embedded in my soul. I love that it remains very much intact with the vineyard, cabarets, graveyard, restaurants, small shops, and patisseries and everywhere you turn, art rules! Creativity lives in the old walls of this newest arrondissement with its steep hills and winding, narrow streets that transport you back in time… It truly is its own village.

Memories of strolls through the beautiful gardens of Paris. I don’t even have a favorite; each one guards its own past and at times its own grisly history. The excitement of perhaps discovering something new—even the idea of strolling is new and there is no other place in the world that can top Paris. I was born to shop in Paris. I love the hustle and bustle and love how they have preserved these wonderful, old structures that have soaked up years and years of beauty.

AWP: Tell us something we don’t know about Paris—its style, food, culture or travel.

JD: I would say “style” is the magic word; just to walk down the street and smell the mix of patisseries (bakeries) and parfum (perfume) along with the window displays, which are beyond magnificent, lets you know you have arrived in Paris.

Parisians are the style setters—always have been—and you can’t miss this inherent quality in their lives. Food isn’t always high on my list; I prefer very simple food and very little meat so it’s a matter for me of finding restaurants that serve magnificent salads like salade nicoise, salmon, quiche, vegetables and fabulous breads and pastries. So, if you don’t especially like a typical French meal (featuring meat), you will survive. And, of course, wine takes the place of water—what could be better? “When in France…”

I truly have met wonderful people all throughout Paris: those that remember me each time I arrive like old friends (don’t believe people that say they’re stuck up!). I was in a jewelry store with a friend of mine and we were probably talking and laughing with the owner who insisted on giving me a ring I coveted—for free! Where else does this happen? When I think of culture, I think of my experiences with the people who live there. And mostly they’ve been great—except for the number of times I’ve been pick-pocketed, but most of these deranged people are not French! Beware!

AWP: How did you become a “little bit” French?

JD: Well, I loved fashion. I taught fashion merchandising as well as the history of fashion; I took French language studies in high school and college; I loved French Poodles; I loved French wine; and developed a library of French books with memoirs and the experiences of others. When I got to Paris, I wanted to take home everything! And fortunately I did the best I could. Also, I dream in French, love French music, and French pastries. I always wear a fabulous French scarf and jewelry—nothing plain for me with all that glitters out there just waiting… I guess nobody could truly love Paris anymore than I do. What more can I say?

AWP: You write about the “public” life of Parisians. How do you describe their understated elegance?

JD: I think they have a great “sense” of fashion, which seems to be inherent—mothers teaching their daughters, etc. Even when dressed casually, they feel secure in who they are and find that elusive element that makes a fashion statement; for instance, the beautiful accessories—scarves, in particularly, add such an individual touch,

WRITING

AWP: Your book collection, Paris from the Heart has had a huge impact on Francophiles, travelers and expatriates living in Paris. What do you think it is about your books that make readers connect in such a powerful way?

JD: I think the book series speak to you personally and you become part of my soul. Many travelers have commented that they feel I am with them—and in a sense I am. It also gives them a sense of belonging and security to have everything planned out in an orderly way. Again, it’s like creating smaller cities within the vast area known as Paris.

AWP: Are there things that you feel haven’t been said about Paris that you are trying to explore in your work now?

JD: It’s such a unique city that I’d like to cover more ground in additional tours. There really isn’t an end to my quest to know Paris.

AWP: Could you talk about your process as a writer?

JD: I travelled to Paris many, many times and walked always (meaning, I didn’t use the metro). It amazes me how many people are so proud of seeing Paris from one end to the other on the Metro. What’s with that? Walking enabled me to absorb the sights and sounds of the city, which was crucial in discovering the soul of Paris. I also wanted to be close to the readers who would follow Paris from the Heart—to make it personal.

It took me a year and a half to actually start on the publishing phase. This is really quite embarrassing, but I typed out my first draft on my typewriter—nobody could quite believe this! Then, I had to go out and get my first computer and learn how to use it. I couldn’t have done it without help from Emily, the art director, who you can see is fabulous, and Amy, who helped me with all phases of the book.

AWP: Your life is extraordinary. What’s next?

JD: I’m thinking of full day walking tours and day trips through Paris and beyond! 

BOOKS RECOMMENDED BY JAN DOLPHIN

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland

My Life in France by Julia Child

Imoveable Feast by John Baxter

The Last Time I Saw Paris  by Lynn Sheene

The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson

Almost French by Sara Turnbull

Acknowledgements: Alyssa Noel, student of French and Italian, and Journalism at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and English editor for A Woman’s Paris. 

You may also enjoy A Woman’s Paris® post Photo-ready in Paris: not what you might expect. Barbara Redmond takes you from Café de Flore to rue Bonaparte to Place de Furstenberg in Paris as fashion photographer and author Frédérique Veysset’s Nikon clicked frame after frame, shooting faster and a lot, in the action without posing. Fixing on a place and time that was Paris. (French)

Ballet Flats in Paris: And God made Repetto, by Barbara Redmond who shares what she got from a pair of flats purchased in a ballet store in Paris; a feline, natural style from the toes up, a simple pair of shoes that transformed her whole look. Including the vimeos “Pas de Deux Coda,” by Opening Ceremony and “Repetto,” by Repetto, Paris. (French)

“Fatale: How French Women Do It” – Perfume that rocks the room, peeks at the mysterious ways Frenchwomen manage to appear sexy, smart and recklessly chic from the book Fatale: How French Women Do It by Edith Kunz (used by permission). Includes are tips for applying fragrance and a list of 18 key pulse points to consider.

French Lingerie: Mysterious and flirty, by Barbara Redmond who shares her experience searching for the perfect lingerie in Paris boutiques and her “fitting” with the shop keeper, Madame, in a curtained room stripped to bare at Sabbia Rosa. Including a French to English vocabulary lesson for buying lingerie and a directory of Barbara’s favorite lingerie shops in Paris. (French)

French women do get wrinkles, by Parisian Eva Izsak-Niimura who writes about the super French myth of the coquettish French nymph—her “je ne sais quoi”—in her ballerina shoes, hair effortlessly tied in a messy chignon blowing in the wind, large sunglasses over her naked, no make-up, nevertheless beautiful eyes, and she then continues to define how we are all measured by it.

l’Américaine, by Parisian Eva Izsak-Niimura who writes about the myth of the unsophisticated and pathetically naïve American where book after book and article after article there is the lament of the hopeless quest of the American woman to resemble her French counterpart.

Paris photo shoot in search of the perfect Moroccan slipper, by writer Lisa Rounds who tells of her adventures in the North African neighborhood of Barbès in Paris searching for the perfect slipper in red, of course, for a Cosmo photo shoot. Lisa shares her story of “living the dream,” working for a publishing company in Paris.

A Woman’s Paris — Elegance, Culture and Joie de Vivre

We are captivated by women and men, like you, who use their discipline, wit and resourcefulness to make their own way and who excel at what the French call joie de vivre or “the art of living.” We stand in awe of what you fill into your lives. Free spirits who inspire both admiration and confidence.

Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening. — Coco Chanel (1883 – 1971)

Text copyright ©2014 Jan Dolphin. All rights reserved.
Illustration copyright ©2012 Barbara Redmond All rights reserved.
barbara@awomansparis.com