La Tête dans les Olives

The newest Paris boutique to specialize in extra virgin olive oil – La Tête dans les Olives – sells olive oil from small family farms in Sicily, and much more.

Owner Cedric Casanova, himself from Italy, takes the Sicilian growing season to heart. Olive oil is his mainstay: he sells in bulk for the frugal cook, in 25 cl bottles for tasters and souvenir hunters, and in a myriad of sizes in between.

Varieties include biancolilla (an excellent accompaniment to fish), cerasuola (an old, drought-resistant variety with a fruity aroma), nocellara del belice, (extracted from bright green fruit, slightly bitter, with aromas of artichoke and green olive).

Products arrive according to the growing season. New olive oils appear after the October harvest; then it’s oranges from November to March. Cheese, sun-dried tomatoes and figs, capers – even preserved tuna heart – each has their time and place.

Welcome to Italy, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.

Musée d’Orsay Undergoes Renovation

The Impressionist wonder, Musée d’Orsay, has closed its top floors as part of a major renovation. The changes will bring improved lighting, increased security, and better visitor flow when Level 5 reopens in March, 2011.

Major museum holdings are still on display in specially redesigned rooms on the ground floor. Manet’s “Déjeuner sur l’Herbe” and “Olympia” remain at the d’Orsay, along with the large realist paintings of Courbet and the early works of Monet and Cézanne; Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works; and paintings by Ingres, Delacroix, Degas.

About 240 works will travel during the renovation. The De Young Museum in San Francisco will show Van Gogh’s “Bedroom at Arles,” Whistler’s Mother, and Manet’s “Fife Player” as part of its exhibit “Birth of Impressionism: Masterpieces From the Musée d’Orsay,” May 22 – Sept. 6, 2010.

A second show at the De Young will focus on “Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cézanne and Beyond: Post-Impressionist Masterpieces From the Musée d’Orsay,” Sept. 25, 2010 – Jan. 18, 2011.

The d’Orsay will continue to hold temporary expos, including an excellent temporary show, Art Nouveau Revival, which looks at the influence of Surrealism in France, psychedelic art in the US, and other art movements on Art Nouveau. Until Feb 4, 2010.

Isadora Duncan at Musée Antoine Bourdelle

Emile-Antoine Bourdelle was a student of Rodin, and later became a well known sculptor in his own right. His large-scale works are displayed in the building where he once worked, which was wonderfully renovated by architect Christian de Portzamparc about 10 years ago, near Tour Montparnasse.

Boudelle’s work is at once emotional and graceful – and the museum’s current temporary expo, “A Living Sculpture,” highlights both of these elements, as it explores the artist’s relationship with dancer Isadora Duncan.

Bourdelle first met Duncan in 1903 (Rodin introduced them), but it wasn’t until 1909 that Bourdelle saw Duncan dance on stage. He proclaimed her his muse. Commissioned to decorate the facade for the illustrious Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Bourdelle would watch Duncan’s performances, then return home and sketch for hours.

This five-part expo traces Duncan’s life and career through photographs, artwork, and documents. It examines works by other contemporaries, including Rodin, and examines the relationship between Duncan and Bourdelle through works of art. Until March 14.

Eat, Play and Smoke at Derrière

Pssst – do you know about Derrière, in the Marais?  The restaurant’s name refers to its location, an alley, derrière a few other buildings. They opened last fall, and refused to give out their phone number. Which only got the buzz going faster.

They finally went public with their phone number – though there is no website, so it’s still a bit of a puzzle.  Cuisine is French, servings are generous, and prices are in line with designer restaurants.

And the decor: retro apartment chic, with menus designed by Ich & Kar, and there is a ping pong table where diners can play between courses.

Another secret: they have a fumoir (indoor smoking has been banned in Paris) that you enter through a Narnia-like armoire.  Two sittings, 8 and 10pm.  Reserve at least 5 days in advance.

Derrière, 69, rue des Gravilliers 75003, tel  01 4 4 61 9 1 95

On-line Tickets and Champagne at Eiffel Tower

Whether it’s your first Paris visit, or your fifth, time is precious. Now you can save time in one of the city’s most visited sights – La Tour Eiffel – by buying your tickets on-line.

It’s easy: Select your language at the official tower website, and click on the “Save time – buy your ticket on-line” link. Choose your destination (2nd floor or top), number and ages of visitors, date and time you’re planning to visit. The site will offer alternatives if the time you’ve selected is not available.

Pay by credit card, and print your ticket at home. The website also lists a local (Paris) customer service phone number and a FAQ page (in French) if you need help.

Be advised: purchasing on-line limits you to a specific time and date. If you’d rather be spontaneous, you’ll still have to buy tickets at the base of the tower. But theoretically, the real-time ticket line should be shorter, since other visitors are pre-buying.

How to spend the time you’ve saved? If you’re visiting the Tower at night, you can toast your good fortune (and the 360º view) at the new 3rd floor Ephemeral Champagne Bar, open 5- 10:30pm. 10 euros for a glass of champagne.

Christmas Eve with Magic at Double Fond

Make fun your focus this holiday season, and spend Christmas Eve at Double Fond, a café-magic theater in the Marais.

The night starts with dinner at 7pm – with waiters performing magic tricks as they serve a succession of 27 small courses. First come the verrines (with components layered artfully in a small glass, the word verrine refers to the glass, translating to “protective glass.”)

Next comes finger food; foie gras; tartinettes (toasts spread with luscious tartinades and fromage); tiny salades; sophisticated canapés – in all, 19 cold offerings, 7 warm, and 4 desserts. Champagne, mineral water and wine are included.

The hour-long magic show follows at 9:30, with celebrated musicians Philippe de Perthuis and Jean Pierre Crispon. You’ll even receive a small magic gift. Cost is 90 euros per person.

Mate Mon Sac for Designer Bags and Bangles

Dreaming of a designer handbag at a reasonable price? A high end piece of jewelry for a special event?

Check out Mate Mon Sac (Look at My Bag) – an innovative business model, and a treasure trove of new and vintage accessories for sale and for rent.

Owner Maud Fourier-Ruelle, a 35 year old Parisienne, spent the last 12 years working as a buyer for top fashion houses, including YSL and Sonia Rykiel. Her new web-based boutique is brimming with gorgeous wares, and she makes it easy to find what you want.

Search by type of product, shape, event, budget or designer – and if you’re not sure what would go best with your wedding dress or evening gown, email or call Maud and she’ll advise (she speaks fluent English).

Items can be shipped (call to get a price to delivery outre mer). Or pick up your bijoux at Maud’s office in the 7th.

On my wish list? A sparkly pink Sonia Rykiel vintage ring, 100 euros; a silver embossed YSL bag, 495 euros to buy or from 45 euros to rent for the week.

Moulin Rouge Celebrates its 120th Anniversary

The famed Moulin Rouge puts on 2 shows a night, 365 days per year – during which 600,000 spectators enjoy 240,000 bottles of champagne.

Now lovers of nightlife have even more reason to celebrate:  the world-famous cabaret just marked its 120th anniversary.

The Moulin Rouge, with the famous red windmill on its roof, was opened in Paris on October 6, 1889, by Catalan-born showman Joseph Oller. The cabaret has become known as the birthplace of the French cancan, which is still performed there.

Stage productions are lavish, with extravagant costumes, dramatic lighting, and moveable stages.

The cabaret’s current revue, Feerie, has been performed on the Moulin Rouge stage for 10 years.  The show includes dancers, acrobats, magicians and clowns.  While some 150 performers audition at a time, only 3-5 are chosen.

A new revue is expected to be staged by 2012.

2 boulevard de Clichy, 75018 M: Blanche

Romantic Paris – One by the Five

The trendy Five Hotel – a design hotel that’s best described as both funky and elegant – has opened One by the Five, a single suite luxury hotel across the street.

One by the Five is over the top, with lacquered walls, a lounge draped in red velvet and outfitted with a mirrored bar; a private dance floor; flat screen TV in the bathroom; and fiber optics that make lying in the king-size, cantilevered bed seem like you’re sleeping among the stars and clouds.

All these details add up to romance; the suite is located in a quiet neighborhood on the edge of the Latin Quarter, and is popular for honeymoons, engagements, and couple getaways. Price starts at 760 euros per night for a 3 night minimum.

3, rue Flatters, 75005, M: Port-Royal

G. Detou

Chocolate guru David Lebowitz calls G. Detou his epicenter of food in Paris. The store carries everything a cook or baker needs, with a particularly rich assortment of chocolates: they sell my favorite bars, by Michel Cluizel as well as other French chocolatiers including Bonnat and Weiss; tubs of Valrhona praliné; chocolate chips (hard to find and très cher in Paris) in kilo boxes.

Browse the tidy wooden shelves in this small shop, and you’ll find caramel bits, Medjool dates, true Dijon mustards, decadent canned fish (mousse de thon, mackeral in moutarde à l’ancienne); glass jars that gleam from the inside out with hand-picked fruit from Gascony.

The store is a bit off the beaten path, on the lovely, quirky rue Tiquetonne, near Les Halles.  A visit will fill your mind with dreams of decadent eating – and your shopping bag with treats and easy-to-pack souvenirs.

58 rue Tiquetonne, 75002, M: Etienne-Marcel