October 16, 2023 • 16 mins
In this episode, we are heading back to the 15th. It's such a large arrondissement that there is so much to talk about! I speak with my longtime friend, Forest Collins, who actually lives close to four metro stations but prefers to take the line 12 at métro Commerce.
Forest Collins, aka 52 Martinis, is a Paris-based cocktail expert and France Chair for the World's 50 Best bars. She has a blog, a podcast and an iOS app guide to Paris cocktail bars. Her first book, “Drinking Like a Local Paris,” will be hitting bookstores very soon.
https://52martinis.com/
Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/parisundergroundradio
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Credits
Music Credits
Music: Jazz In Paris - Media Right Productions https://youtu.be/mNLJMTRvyj8
About Us
Welcome to Paris Estate of Mind! Join hosts Gail Boisclair and Marie Pistinier as we talk about the good, the bad, the ins, the outs of property rentals and purchases in and around Paris. We'll have topics for renters, owners, and visitors, share questions we are regularly asked, and more.
Have a question for the podcast? Send us an email at hello@parisundergroundradio.com.
Forest Collins, aka 52 Martinis, is a Paris-based cocktail expert and France Chair for the World's 50 Best bars. She has a blog, a podcast and an iOS app guide to Paris cocktail bars. Her first book, “Drinking Like a Local Paris,” will be hitting bookstores very soon.
https://52martinis.com/
Join us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/parisundergroundradio
Find Us Online
Website: https:/parisundergroundradio.com/parisestateofmind
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parisundergroundradio
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/parisundergroundradio/
Credits
- Host: Gail Boisclair. @PerfectlyParis; Website: PerfectlyParis, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
- Host: Marie Pistinier. Lokim on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and Paris Be A Part Of It on Facebook, and Instagram.
- Producer: Jennifer Geraghty. @jennyphoria; Website: http://jennyphoria.com
Music Credits
Music: Jazz In Paris - Media Right Productions https://youtu.be/mNLJMTRvyj8
About Us
Welcome to Paris Estate of Mind! Join hosts Gail Boisclair and Marie Pistinier as we talk about the good, the bad, the ins, the outs of property rentals and purchases in and around Paris. We'll have topics for renters, owners, and visitors, share questions we are regularly asked, and more.
Have a question for the podcast? Send us an email at hello@parisundergroundradio.com.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You're listening to Paris A State ofMind on Paris Underground Radio. For more
great content, join us on Patreonat Patreon dot com slash Paris Underground Radio.
Welcome to Paris A State of Mind. Join us as we talk about
the good, the bad, theends, the outs of property, rentals
(00:22):
and purchases in and around Paris.We'll have topics for renters, owners and
visitors, share questions we are regularlyasked and more. My name is Gail
Broclaire of Perfectly Paris and my cohost is Marie Pistigner of Loking Paris.
Be a part of it. Bothof us are proud members of the SPLM,
(00:43):
the first representative body of furnished rentalprofessionals. Hello everyone in the podcast
world, Welcome back to a newepisode of Paris A State of Mind.
We've had such fabulous feedback about ourlisteners listening to people that actually live in
(01:04):
certain areas of the city that it'syet another episode of this because it's become
my favorite episode too, especially becauseI can get all kinds of my friends
on and find out what they thinkabout living in the area. Today.
I have one of my fabulous friends, her name actually is fabulous. Forest,
just so you know, and ForestCollins is based in Paris and she's
(01:29):
a cocktail expert and a France chairfor the World's Best Bars. She has
a blog, The Best blog aboutParis Cocktails in the World, a podcast,
and an iOS app Guide to ParisCocktail Bars. Her first book,
Drinking Like a Local Paris, willbe hitting bookstores very soon, so you
better put that on your list forshopping or maybe gift giving. Forest Welcome,
(01:56):
Thank you so much, Gail.I'm very happy to be here.
He I am so happy to haveyou on. Finally, I took forever
getting around and getting you on thebloody podcast. It was my fault too,
I was, you know, runningaround kind of crazy this year.
So but we're here now together exactly. So. I know you've spend part
of your time in Normandy, partof your time in Paris. But when
(02:16):
you're in Paris, what a rondesmall are you living in? I am
living in the fifteenth ARRONDI small thatwe found out from previous episodes is one
of the largest and very very diverse. How long have you been living in
the fifteenth I've been living there,I'd say, I guess probably about ten
years, ten eleven years. Ican't remember when Tibo when I moved there,
(02:37):
but about a decade. Wow,time flies when you're having fun,
right, And why did you chooseto live in the fifteenth Was it just
a matter of where you happened tofind an apartment or was it really the
area that you wanted to be in. It was not at all the area
that I wanted to be in.Actually, it was the last the least
(02:59):
area that I wanted to be andTibo and I decided, my partner and
I decided to move in together.And as you know, I was living
in the very lively and fun eighteenthand I loved living on montmart and he
was working in Bologna Biancre, soit was really would have been a difficult,
you know, commute for him everyday if we were living in the
north of parish to get down there. So under duress, I said,
(03:23):
fine, I really wanted to livewith him. I will give up the
wonderful eighteenth and go down to thefifteenth, which sounds super boring and not
at all my kind of thing.And so I did. And before I
did, I did talk to whenI was telling people complaining, Oh,
fifteenth, it's just going to besuper boring. People started to kind of
(03:44):
change my mind. They were saying, no, no, so and so
lives there. So and so livesthere. You know, get to have
a drink with this person, havea drink with that person. They will
give you the rundown and you'll findout it's maybe not as boring as you
expect it to be. And thatis the case. So yes, it
was really kind of capitulated to Tibo'spreference and also, I mean really the
necessity of not having to commute forhim an hour a day, and that's
(04:09):
how I ended up there. Yeah, it certainly makes a big difference commuting
time. An hour going back andforth, that's two hours a day.
That's like ten hours a week.I mean, yeah, it's a lot
of time lost. Yeah, Ithink, well, I think we've all
learned that too with COVID. Youknow, we've all been in these periods
where we get to not do somuch commuting and it is a lot of
(04:29):
time loss. So I think that, you know, it's important to like
the arrondissement where you live, butit's also important that you don't spend all
your time getting back and forth fromother places to your rondezment definitely. So
what is it that you like mostabout the fifteenth Well, I like that
it's relaxed and it's calm, andit feels very real. There's so many
other areas of Paris, especially inthe center of Paris and Saint Germain in
(04:54):
the first and the second and inparts of the sixteenth where you find the
Eiffel Tower, that are so trtouristy and so typically Paris. And I
say that, and you know,in quotes because it's what people expect,
but it's it's not really you know, it's just a very touristy version.
And the fifteenth it's it's really fullof people that are living their lives and
(05:15):
doing their things. It's not overrunwith tourists. There's people doing their grocery
shopping and going to the fruit andvegetalls, and it feels a little bit
like a taste of real Paris.I mean, it is real Pas,
it's my real Paris. It's myreal life. And I feel like it's
you know, maybe not as excitingfor tourists, but it is for those
who come in and they want toget a taste of This is what normal
(05:38):
Parisians do. So I like that. I like the quiet and the realness,
the sincerity of it, so Ithink, and you know, it's
it's and it's also quite pretty,so you know, the buildings are all
the kind of that pretty kind ofwhite and clean, and there's lots of
ten rooftops and and it's got alot going for it. I am kind
(05:59):
of lu and that I have fourmetro stations that are very close to me,
all about the same walking distance,the line ten, the Line six,
the Line twelve, and the lineeight, so I can kind of
go in any direction I went inParis and really easily for my house.
And you know, a lot ofmy favorite friends live on the line twelve.
I can get up to your parteddown on the twelve. I have
(06:20):
many friends who live on the linetwelve. So that's my favorite closest line.
Well, that's nice. And doyou think that because it's I guess
lesser known for tourists, et cetera. Do you think that there's a certain
type of vibe, So is itan area that's maybe better suited for singles,
couples, families, requirees. Yeah, absolutely, there's a vibe.
(06:44):
I think that it is not thebest area for singles. If you want
to kind of get out and meetand greet people in your neighborhood. It's
really great for families. It's goodfor couples, and I'd say it's really
it's starting to skew more and moreto younger families. And you know,
in our apartment building there's lots ofsort of young and fun couples and they're
starting to have kids. And it'snice because there's lots of parks and the
(07:05):
sidewalks are big and it's easy toget your strollers around. But it's not
all just about families, although itis. It's a good Rondis SPMP for
families. It's still relatively affordable.You know, it's got all the amenities
that you need and places to takeyour kids to run around so they can
burn off all their energy in theparks. Yeah, before you take them
(07:28):
back upstairs and drive your neighbors crazywith the kids running around? Is that
what you Yes? Yes, Imean I think that you've been to my
apartment and heard our lovely neighbors children'srunning around and there's I don't know,
steel boots or something, but yes, yes, yes, that aside.
It is. It's very it's afamily friendly, young professional but not like
the I don't know the tenth orthe eleventh where you'd probably go and which
(07:51):
would be more welcoming to singles.That's a good point, and I do
agree with you because when I've beenin the areas at a cafe or restaurant
or bar whatever, just sitting aroundand observing, I definitely do see more
of what you're saying, more families, more couples, people with young children.
In general, I see the oddelderly people. I don't think there's
(08:15):
a lot of elderly right around yourarea, but maybe I notice them left,
So I definitely think you're you're spoton with that. Is there anything
else special about your area that you'dlike people to know about? Well,
I think that, you know,I said before, it's got a lot
going on, and it really does. I think it's got a little bit
of everything. I think it's gotinteresting culture. There's like some really lesser
(08:37):
known museums I love, like themuse Bordel, which is in the In
the fifth there's Les Rouche, whichis the artist residence. Historically really famous
artists have lived and works there andthey still, I think, have studios
where artists can live. So there'sthere's that. You can find the art
in the culture, you can findthe greenery with the great parks, and
it's not you know, there's theGeorge Bressant Park, Citroent Park, and
(09:01):
lots of other little smaller parks,and great food shopping, lots of little
stall you know, your butcher's,your baker's, all of that, and
fun boutique. So I feel likeit's got a little bit of everything.
And then good restaurants if you knowwhere to look. And then also it
is has an unusually high concentration ofKorean restaurants, which is great because I
love Korean food. And then alsothey've got a really high concentration of Persian
(09:26):
restaurants. And the street down thereby bau Grenelle Rudy's Entrepreneur, its nickname
is Little Persia, So you kindof think you're out in a residential a
place that doesn't have much going forit, but it's got a lot of
a lot of really great qualities.Wow. So I had no idea that
it was known as a Little Persia. The area around Rude's Ent. Yeah,
(09:46):
yep, Oh cool. I justlearned something. Every day is a
learning experience. It is indeed,Well, we'll go, We'll go have
food at one of the restaurants,go grab lunch there one of these days.
I would love to. I alsolove that it's got a lot of
Korean restaurants because I love that aswell too. Finally, is there if
there's nothing else that you want toadd about your area? Is there anywhere
(10:09):
in Paris that you would rather live? So you've got your apartment, fairy
godmother that comes down and says,forest, you can live in any area
of the city, in any typeof building that you want. Nothing is
impossible. Where would that be?I don't know. I mean, I'm
really partial to the Rondee spoons whereI've lived before, like the seventeenth and
(10:33):
the eighteenth. I'm not interested insomething fancy like the Chelsea Dzia. I
don't want to be in the eightI don't want to be in the really
lively areas, So I'm not reallythat interested in moving from the fifteenth.
I mean my apartment, fairy Godmothercould get me a much bigger, larger
apartment, preferably with a rooftop terrace. But yeah, I'm very happy in
(10:54):
the fifteenth and I can't really thinkof I don't know. I feel like
I should want to be someplace else, but I don't very happy. It's
really funny, which is it's reallylike, it's great. It's not funny
that you're happy. But what isreally funny All the reasons that you talked
about not wanting to be in thefifteenth in the very beginning, we're also
(11:16):
the reasons where I always said,oh, the fifteenth, are you crazy?
But then I had more and morefriends moving to the fifteenth, and
I thought, what's going on?Yeah, I mean I do. I've
got a lot of I have alot of friends who live in the fifteenth
now, And yeah, we're buildingour community on this side of the river.
I mean, I know almost mostof my friends are are on the
(11:39):
other side. But yeah, usleft bankers, we're banding together and pulling
our friends down to see what thisside of the city looks like. Well,
I would agree that it's not abad area at all. Well,
thank you, thank you. Ialways love it when you come down to
see me there, So we'll haveto make that happen again soon. If
(12:01):
you're enjoying this episode of Paris,A State of Mind. You may also
be interested in our sister podcasts Don'tmiss This. Joined Jennifer Weekly for the
scoop on what's happening in Paris.Paris A State of Mind will be right
back after a word from our sponsors, and now back to Paris A State
(12:24):
of Mind. So thank you verymuch for sharing your thoughts about living in
your area. What I'd like todo is turn over the conversation to you
and you can maybe tell the listenersa little bit more about yourself, how
they can contact you and so on. Sure, I mean, I don't
think there's a lot more than whatyou've covered in the introduction. But yeah,
I've been drinking and writing and thinkingand talking and doing all kinds of
(12:48):
activities around cocktails for a very longtime in Paris, since about two thousand
and six or so, and myblog fifty two Martinis was probably the first
blog in Paris that talked about thecocktail scene here, which was very very
nascent at the time, almost nonexistent. Yeah, totally non exist exactly.
Yeah, We're coming to Paris inthe beginning and trying to get a
(13:11):
cocktail, and they were just themost hideous things I said well, I
better just have wine exactly. Imean, I spent my first probably five
years here just having wine. Becauseeven though so many of the little cafes
and the restaurants of the bar saycocktails on the awning, they're not They're
bad, bad, bad, SoI like to think that I was part
of the initial wave that sort ofraised the I don't know, awareness of
(13:35):
cocktails here in Paris. So yeah, I started writing about them. And
now I've got the app where peoplecan find cocktail bars and a podcast called
Paris Cocktail Talk, where I talkabout the trends and traditions of drinking in
France. And as you mentioned,I have finished my manuscript for Drinking Like
a Local Paris and that will becoming out, well hopefully soon. I'm
(13:56):
supposed to get word from the publisherswhen that's coming out, but it's all
been submitted and so I think it'scoming out the next month or so.
And yeah, and as you saidearlier, I am the chair for the
World's Fifty Best Bars for France,so I get to go and explore a
lot of cocktail bars and help selectthe panels that vote in France for bars.
(14:18):
And that's a very fun role tohave. Yeah, likely more difficult,
I think, yeah, exactly,So no, it's fun. You
know, if it has to dowith cocktails in Paris, probably somehow I've
seen it or done it or beenpart of it or want to be part
of it. So I think that'sit. And you can find me pretty
much everywhere on Facebook, on well, Instagram is where I'm the most active,
(14:39):
and fifty two Martinis. I amalso on Facebook and Twitter as fifty
two Martinis, but you probably won'tsee much activity for me there because because
I can't multitask very well. SoI'm kind of one platform at a time
kind of girl. The number fiftytwo fifty two, five to two Martinis
and you can also check out mysite which is five to two Martinis fifty
(15:01):
two Martinis dot com and has alot of reviews on Paris bars and also
roundups of bars and other cities becauseI do travel a lot, so I
like to share the news for whereI like to drink when I go to
other places as well. And Ithink I think I probably bored you enough
with the details about me. Ithink that kind of covers it. Never
that's perfect. Hopefully our listeners willreach out to you via all of that
(15:24):
social media or read your blog orget your app and so on. But
thank you so much for us forbeing on the podcast with me. Thank
you very much Gail for having me. It is always a pleasure. Thank
you, see you soon, seeyou bye. Hi. Thanks for listening
to Paris A State of Mind featuringGail of Perfectly Parent and Marie of Lokem,
(15:48):
both who are founding members of theSPLM. Paris a State of Mind
is produced by Paris Underground Radio,the Music Jazz and Paris Is by Medium
Write Productions. For more information onthis show and others, go to Paris
Undergroundradio dot com. This episode ofParis's State of Mind was produced by Jennifer
(16:14):
Garrity for Paris Underground Radio. Formore great content, join us on Patreon
at Patreon dot com slash Paris UndergroundRadio
You're listening to Paris A State ofMind on Paris Underground Radio. For more
great content, join us on Patreonat Patreon dot com slash Paris Underground Radio.
Welcome to Paris A State of Mind. Join us as we talk about
the good, the bad, theends, the outs of property, rentals
(00:22):
and purchases in and around Paris.We'll have topics for renters, owners and
visitors, share questions we are regularlyasked and more. My name is Gail
Broclaire of Perfectly Paris and my cohost is Marie Pistigner of Loking Paris.
Be a part of it. Bothof us are proud members of the SPLM,
(00:43):
the first representative body of furnished rentalprofessionals. Hello everyone in the podcast
world, Welcome back to a newepisode of Paris A State of Mind.
We've had such fabulous feedback about ourlisteners listening to people that actually live in
(01:04):
certain areas of the city that it'syet another episode of this because it's become
my favorite episode too, especially becauseI can get all kinds of my friends
on and find out what they thinkabout living in the area. Today.
I have one of my fabulous friends, her name actually is fabulous. Forest,
just so you know, and ForestCollins is based in Paris and she's
(01:29):
a cocktail expert and a France chairfor the World's Best Bars. She has
a blog, The Best blog aboutParis Cocktails in the World, a podcast,
and an iOS app Guide to ParisCocktail Bars. Her first book,
Drinking Like a Local Paris, willbe hitting bookstores very soon, so you
better put that on your list forshopping or maybe gift giving. Forest Welcome,
(01:56):
Thank you so much, Gail.I'm very happy to be here.
He I am so happy to haveyou on. Finally, I took forever
getting around and getting you on thebloody podcast. It was my fault too,
I was, you know, runningaround kind of crazy this year.
So but we're here now together exactly. So. I know you've spend part
of your time in Normandy, partof your time in Paris. But when
(02:16):
you're in Paris, what a rondesmall are you living in? I am
living in the fifteenth ARRONDI small thatwe found out from previous episodes is one
of the largest and very very diverse. How long have you been living in
the fifteenth I've been living there,I'd say, I guess probably about ten
years, ten eleven years. Ican't remember when Tibo when I moved there,
(02:37):
but about a decade. Wow,time flies when you're having fun,
right, And why did you chooseto live in the fifteenth Was it just
a matter of where you happened tofind an apartment or was it really the
area that you wanted to be in. It was not at all the area
that I wanted to be in.Actually, it was the last the least
(02:59):
area that I wanted to be andTibo and I decided, my partner and
I decided to move in together.And as you know, I was living
in the very lively and fun eighteenthand I loved living on montmart and he
was working in Bologna Biancre, soit was really would have been a difficult,
you know, commute for him everyday if we were living in the
north of parish to get down there. So under duress, I said,
(03:23):
fine, I really wanted to livewith him. I will give up the
wonderful eighteenth and go down to thefifteenth, which sounds super boring and not
at all my kind of thing.And so I did. And before I
did, I did talk to whenI was telling people complaining, Oh,
fifteenth, it's just going to besuper boring. People started to kind of
(03:44):
change my mind. They were saying, no, no, so and so
lives there. So and so livesthere. You know, get to have
a drink with this person, havea drink with that person. They will
give you the rundown and you'll findout it's maybe not as boring as you
expect it to be. And thatis the case. So yes, it
was really kind of capitulated to Tibo'spreference and also, I mean really the
necessity of not having to commute forhim an hour a day, and that's
(04:09):
how I ended up there. Yeah, it certainly makes a big difference commuting
time. An hour going back andforth, that's two hours a day.
That's like ten hours a week.I mean, yeah, it's a lot
of time lost. Yeah, Ithink, well, I think we've all
learned that too with COVID. Youknow, we've all been in these periods
where we get to not do somuch commuting and it is a lot of
(04:29):
time loss. So I think that, you know, it's important to like
the arrondissement where you live, butit's also important that you don't spend all
your time getting back and forth fromother places to your rondezment definitely. So
what is it that you like mostabout the fifteenth Well, I like that
it's relaxed and it's calm, andit feels very real. There's so many
other areas of Paris, especially inthe center of Paris and Saint Germain in
(04:54):
the first and the second and inparts of the sixteenth where you find the
Eiffel Tower, that are so trtouristy and so typically Paris. And I
say that, and you know,in quotes because it's what people expect,
but it's it's not really you know, it's just a very touristy version.
And the fifteenth it's it's really fullof people that are living their lives and
(05:15):
doing their things. It's not overrunwith tourists. There's people doing their grocery
shopping and going to the fruit andvegetalls, and it feels a little bit
like a taste of real Paris.I mean, it is real Pas,
it's my real Paris. It's myreal life. And I feel like it's
you know, maybe not as excitingfor tourists, but it is for those
who come in and they want toget a taste of This is what normal
(05:38):
Parisians do. So I like that. I like the quiet and the realness,
the sincerity of it, so Ithink, and you know, it's
it's and it's also quite pretty,so you know, the buildings are all
the kind of that pretty kind ofwhite and clean, and there's lots of
ten rooftops and and it's got alot going for it. I am kind
(05:59):
of lu and that I have fourmetro stations that are very close to me,
all about the same walking distance,the line ten, the Line six,
the Line twelve, and the lineeight, so I can kind of
go in any direction I went inParis and really easily for my house.
And you know, a lot ofmy favorite friends live on the line twelve.
I can get up to your parteddown on the twelve. I have
(06:20):
many friends who live on the linetwelve. So that's my favorite closest line.
Well, that's nice. And doyou think that because it's I guess
lesser known for tourists, et cetera. Do you think that there's a certain
type of vibe, So is itan area that's maybe better suited for singles,
couples, families, requirees. Yeah, absolutely, there's a vibe.
(06:44):
I think that it is not thebest area for singles. If you want
to kind of get out and meetand greet people in your neighborhood. It's
really great for families. It's goodfor couples, and I'd say it's really
it's starting to skew more and moreto younger families. And you know,
in our apartment building there's lots ofsort of young and fun couples and they're
starting to have kids. And it'snice because there's lots of parks and the
(07:05):
sidewalks are big and it's easy toget your strollers around. But it's not
all just about families, although itis. It's a good Rondis SPMP for
families. It's still relatively affordable.You know, it's got all the amenities
that you need and places to takeyour kids to run around so they can
burn off all their energy in theparks. Yeah, before you take them
(07:28):
back upstairs and drive your neighbors crazywith the kids running around? Is that
what you Yes? Yes, Imean I think that you've been to my
apartment and heard our lovely neighbors children'srunning around and there's I don't know,
steel boots or something, but yes, yes, yes, that aside.
It is. It's very it's afamily friendly, young professional but not like
the I don't know the tenth orthe eleventh where you'd probably go and which
(07:51):
would be more welcoming to singles.That's a good point, and I do
agree with you because when I've beenin the areas at a cafe or restaurant
or bar whatever, just sitting aroundand observing, I definitely do see more
of what you're saying, more families, more couples, people with young children.
In general, I see the oddelderly people. I don't think there's
(08:15):
a lot of elderly right around yourarea, but maybe I notice them left,
So I definitely think you're you're spoton with that. Is there anything
else special about your area that you'dlike people to know about? Well,
I think that, you know,I said before, it's got a lot
going on, and it really does. I think it's got a little bit
of everything. I think it's gotinteresting culture. There's like some really lesser
(08:37):
known museums I love, like themuse Bordel, which is in the In
the fifth there's Les Rouche, whichis the artist residence. Historically really famous
artists have lived and works there andthey still, I think, have studios
where artists can live. So there'sthere's that. You can find the art
in the culture, you can findthe greenery with the great parks, and
it's not you know, there's theGeorge Bressant Park, Citroent Park, and
(09:01):
lots of other little smaller parks,and great food shopping, lots of little
stall you know, your butcher's,your baker's, all of that, and
fun boutique. So I feel likeit's got a little bit of everything.
And then good restaurants if you knowwhere to look. And then also it
is has an unusually high concentration ofKorean restaurants, which is great because I
love Korean food. And then alsothey've got a really high concentration of Persian
(09:26):
restaurants. And the street down thereby bau Grenelle Rudy's Entrepreneur, its nickname
is Little Persia, So you kindof think you're out in a residential a
place that doesn't have much going forit, but it's got a lot of
a lot of really great qualities.Wow. So I had no idea that
it was known as a Little Persia. The area around Rude's Ent. Yeah,
(09:46):
yep, Oh cool. I justlearned something. Every day is a
learning experience. It is indeed,Well, we'll go, We'll go have
food at one of the restaurants,go grab lunch there one of these days.
I would love to. I alsolove that it's got a lot of
Korean restaurants because I love that aswell too. Finally, is there if
there's nothing else that you want toadd about your area? Is there anywhere
(10:09):
in Paris that you would rather live? So you've got your apartment, fairy
godmother that comes down and says,forest, you can live in any area
of the city, in any typeof building that you want. Nothing is
impossible. Where would that be?I don't know. I mean, I'm
really partial to the Rondee spoons whereI've lived before, like the seventeenth and
(10:33):
the eighteenth. I'm not interested insomething fancy like the Chelsea Dzia. I
don't want to be in the eightI don't want to be in the really
lively areas, So I'm not reallythat interested in moving from the fifteenth.
I mean my apartment, fairy Godmothercould get me a much bigger, larger
apartment, preferably with a rooftop terrace. But yeah, I'm very happy in
(10:54):
the fifteenth and I can't really thinkof I don't know. I feel like
I should want to be someplace else, but I don't very happy. It's
really funny, which is it's reallylike, it's great. It's not funny
that you're happy. But what isreally funny All the reasons that you talked
about not wanting to be in thefifteenth in the very beginning, we're also
(11:16):
the reasons where I always said,oh, the fifteenth, are you crazy?
But then I had more and morefriends moving to the fifteenth, and
I thought, what's going on?Yeah, I mean I do. I've
got a lot of I have alot of friends who live in the fifteenth
now, And yeah, we're buildingour community on this side of the river.
I mean, I know almost mostof my friends are are on the
(11:39):
other side. But yeah, usleft bankers, we're banding together and pulling
our friends down to see what thisside of the city looks like. Well,
I would agree that it's not abad area at all. Well,
thank you, thank you. Ialways love it when you come down to
see me there, So we'll haveto make that happen again soon. If
(12:01):
you're enjoying this episode of Paris,A State of Mind. You may also
be interested in our sister podcasts Don'tmiss This. Joined Jennifer Weekly for the
scoop on what's happening in Paris.Paris A State of Mind will be right
back after a word from our sponsors, and now back to Paris A State
(12:24):
of Mind. So thank you verymuch for sharing your thoughts about living in
your area. What I'd like todo is turn over the conversation to you
and you can maybe tell the listenersa little bit more about yourself, how
they can contact you and so on. Sure, I mean, I don't
think there's a lot more than whatyou've covered in the introduction. But yeah,
I've been drinking and writing and thinkingand talking and doing all kinds of
(12:48):
activities around cocktails for a very longtime in Paris, since about two thousand
and six or so, and myblog fifty two Martinis was probably the first
blog in Paris that talked about thecocktail scene here, which was very very
nascent at the time, almost nonexistent. Yeah, totally non exist exactly.
Yeah, We're coming to Paris inthe beginning and trying to get a
(13:11):
cocktail, and they were just themost hideous things I said well, I
better just have wine exactly. Imean, I spent my first probably five
years here just having wine. Becauseeven though so many of the little cafes
and the restaurants of the bar saycocktails on the awning, they're not They're
bad, bad, bad, SoI like to think that I was part
of the initial wave that sort ofraised the I don't know, awareness of
(13:35):
cocktails here in Paris. So yeah, I started writing about them. And
now I've got the app where peoplecan find cocktail bars and a podcast called
Paris Cocktail Talk, where I talkabout the trends and traditions of drinking in
France. And as you mentioned,I have finished my manuscript for Drinking Like
a Local Paris and that will becoming out, well hopefully soon. I'm
(13:56):
supposed to get word from the publisherswhen that's coming out, but it's all
been submitted and so I think it'scoming out the next month or so.
And yeah, and as you saidearlier, I am the chair for the
World's Fifty Best Bars for France,so I get to go and explore a
lot of cocktail bars and help selectthe panels that vote in France for bars.
(14:18):
And that's a very fun role tohave. Yeah, likely more difficult,
I think, yeah, exactly,So no, it's fun. You
know, if it has to dowith cocktails in Paris, probably somehow I've
seen it or done it or beenpart of it or want to be part
of it. So I think that'sit. And you can find me pretty
much everywhere on Facebook, on well, Instagram is where I'm the most active,
(14:39):
and fifty two Martinis. I amalso on Facebook and Twitter as fifty
two Martinis, but you probably won'tsee much activity for me there because because
I can't multitask very well. SoI'm kind of one platform at a time
kind of girl. The number fiftytwo fifty two, five to two Martinis
and you can also check out mysite which is five to two Martinis fifty
(15:01):
two Martinis dot com and has alot of reviews on Paris bars and also
roundups of bars and other cities becauseI do travel a lot, so I
like to share the news for whereI like to drink when I go to
other places as well. And Ithink I think I probably bored you enough
with the details about me. Ithink that kind of covers it. Never
that's perfect. Hopefully our listeners willreach out to you via all of that
(15:24):
social media or read your blog orget your app and so on. But
thank you so much for us forbeing on the podcast with me. Thank
you very much Gail for having me. It is always a pleasure. Thank
you, see you soon, seeyou bye. Hi. Thanks for listening
to Paris A State of Mind featuringGail of Perfectly Parent and Marie of Lokem,
(15:48):
both who are founding members of theSPLM. Paris a State of Mind
is produced by Paris Underground Radio,the Music Jazz and Paris Is by Medium
Write Productions. For more information onthis show and others, go to Paris
Undergroundradio dot com. This episode ofParis's State of Mind was produced by Jennifer
(16:14):
Garrity for Paris Underground Radio. Formore great content, join us on Patreon
at Patreon dot com slash Paris UndergroundRadio
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