Give a man a fish you feed him for a meal. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for life. I have a similar philosophy about travel. I love teaching people how to get out there and explore our world. And every good explorer needs a great map. Editions Blay Foldex knows all about good maps.

They also seem to get visitors who wish to eschew all things tourist. Things like maps, so they have created a collection of trés stylé maps (9€) that even the most discrete traveler would be confident whipping out of his pocket. Naturally, I chose their orange map, but I loved the Tiffany blue one so much I was sorely tempted start adjusting the contents of my handbag.

I found my map at L’Ecume des Pages, one of my very favorite stores in Paris. An independent book seller, L’Ecume is walking distance from chez moi and is open until midnight 6 nights a week. Oh, and it just happens to be next to “my” Café de Flore. My perfect late night out involved a flûte at the Flore, with their Kettle pepper chips, followed by a leisurely perusal of the stacks at L’Ecume, and if I score, a return to the Flore for a late night read over a cup of Verveine tisane.

Beyond maps, L’Ecume is full of fantastic holiday gifts; art books, bandes dessinées, and travel guides. They even have a collection of books in English. This is where Mr French picked up one of the most romantic gifts he has given me. Driving home one evening he heard the description of a book he was sure I would love. He made a brief detour, double parking to run into L’Ecume and purchased Les Déferlantes, a book about love by the seashore that is pure prose in poetry. I’ve read it twice, a habit I reserve almost exclusively for Jane Austen. I’ll never know what it was they said about the book that inspired Mr French to make dinner wait that night. I suspect it was something like this, “Written in very easy French. The language was so basic even a 1st grader could read this book in a weekend…” Whatever the dialogue, I love this book, which reminds me of another great holiday gift, a book you have loved and believe the giftee would love.

What has been your favorite book of 2012?

L’Ecume de Pages / 174 Bd St Germain, 6e / 01 45 48 54 48

AFFORDABLE ART

Not easy choosing art for another. Can’t be too large, and you don’t want to spend a fortune, in case they hate it. But sometimes its worth the risk. Especially when you stumble into a shop like Fabien Breuvart’s Images&Portraits at the Marché des Enfants Rouges on the rue Charlot in the 3rd. The shop is dedicated to anonymous vintage photos and has treats for everyone.

A black and white shot of some surfer dudes in Biarritz is perfect for the beach bunny in your life, while the traveler may love an ancient shot of Angkor Wat. Photos range from 1€ to a few hundred euros, so you can even make a personalized collage of things your giftee loves. Or photocopy a bunch to make your own wrapping paper.

Some people really love vintage photography. Like really love it. They love it so much that they were devastated when Polaroid declared bankruptcy and announced the end of Polaroid instant film. Instead of crying about it, they went into action and started ‘The Impossible Project‘ an International Initiative to save instant film technology. These were some pretty dedicated folks, opening stores full of cameras and Polaroid photos across the globe to finance their endeavor. And the PROJECT WORKED!!! Recently they announced new instant film technology that they’ll be producing in large quantities. Their Paris store is short stroll from Images&Portraits and has old photos, revamps vintage Polaroid cameras and the film itself. A perfect gift for the budding photographer. Maybe they’ll start by documenting your holly jolly Christmas celebrations!

Images&Portraits /Fabien Breuvart Photographies / 35-37 rue Charlot, 3e / 06 65 23 95 03

The Impossible Project / 77 rue Charlot, 3e / 09 54 18 67 82

Sleeping with Paris

(brief note / today is the 12th hour of the12th day of the 12th month of 2012, and while I have no idea where or why, this is a really big deal somewhere in the world – HAPPY WHATEVER THIS POSSIBLY MEANS!!!!)

No, this is not a lesbian tell-all in which I reveal having slept with sleeping with an over-publicized under-nourished heiress. Sleeping with Paris is an eBook that tells the tale of ‘a sassy, young French teacher who is two days away from moving to Paris with the love of her life and from fulfilling her dream of studying at the prestigious Sorbonne University in France.” from there Mlle Sassy tumbles through adventures in love and un-love à Paris.

Kissed in Paris is the author’s second title and throws up the high jinx of a young girl who finds herself in bed with a man who is not her fiancé, then awakes the next morning to find he has absconded with her trust and her engagement ring!

These quirky romances become even more adorable when you meet their quietly intelligently, absolutely charming author, herself once a sassy young French teacher who has had so much success with these books that she now has a book deal with Amazon’s publishing wing and has retired from teaching to become a full-time novelist. Even more impressive is that she makes Paris come so alive from her S Californian home. Talk about inspirational!

Not all your giftees will be fans of Paris, or romance novels, but book recommendations of any kind are always a fantastic idea.

A GIFT FOR YOU!!!! (or someone you like) – Juliette is giving away a Kindle copy of Kissed in Paris to a FindingNoon reader. Just drop send an email to sylvia (at) findingnoon.com and I’ll add it to the drawing. Please note that your email address WILL NOT be used again. Not for any marketing of anything, not even this blog. All email addresses will be trashed immediately following the drawing which will be held (ready for it?) Christmas Day

The gift that keeps on giving

Today is my birthday, so I’m featuring my very favorite gifts of all… and PLEASE, should be be feeling generous, do not be shy (I really like the chick on the Advent calendar, hint, hint).

Not everyone  is in love with the idea, but my family has gotten into the tradition of giving donations in each others name as a gift.

There are a lot of charities out there and it is hard to know where to start. My daughter M started at Le Bon Marche!!! Yes, we realize that LVMH does not need our €€s, but every Christmas a small group of individuals in wheelchairs come out to sell holiday cards (10€) just outside the rue de Sevres / Velpeau entrance. M has been buying her cards from the same gentleman for over a decade now and he still recognizes her despite her metamorphosis from skipping little 5 year old to the teen she is today!

E has a soft spot for Heifer International, so when her Bat Mitzvah came up, instead of gifts, she asked for cows, goats and flocks of chicks (10-25,000$). Heifer International gives the livestock to struggling families in rural areas across the globe. The families receive a potential source of revenue, a source of nurishment and, to ensure that it is the gift that keeps on giving, these families are required to donate one of their animal’s offspring to another family in need. The girls have given Mr French a flock of chicks to support his passion for all things poultry, while any French man would understand the importance of geese, ducks and rabbits (all available). This year Heifer International has a uniquely French idea… the gift of cheese, which includes the dairy producing animals required to make fetas, chevres and mozzarellas. They even have garden gift baskets and honeybees for the vegetarians in your life!

Two other charities I am a big fan of are ;

Arbor Day Foundation
Supports tree planting (4$ +) everywhere from suburban America to the rainforests of Central America, the Arbor Day Foundation is committed to to reforestation; preserving ecosystems and restoring wildlife habitats while fighting global warming. And their gift donations include tangible like chocolate, or wooden blocks your giftee can enjoy.

Doctors Without Borders
I had to include a French organization, and Médecins Sans Frontières maybe the most successful international charity to come out of France (50$ +). Every day, Doctors Without Borders field staff provides urgent medical care to victims of armed conflict, brings emergency relief in the aftermath of natural or man-made disasters and fights deadly epidemics. Your generous support helps make it possible.

The love child of a geek and hipster who calls himself an “urbanist à l’ame d’artist”  begets Urbacolors, a really great app that lets you track, find and record street art across the globe.

Once upon a time there was an “urbanist à l’ame d’artist” who spent three years of his life photographing street art in Paris and where ever else his travels would take him. One day this hipster runs into a computer geek cum app whiz and Urbacolors is born.

Absolutely free, Urbacolors lets your track, find and record street art ACROSS THE WORLD. Sharing addresses and competing with other ‘collectors’ for th emost points. Using Urbacolors you’ll find fabulous street art. Real masterpieces like the face I did in collaboration with Gregos, that has magivcally disappeared, but has been preserved for posterity by Urbacolors (merci foxie et permalien).

And if that wasn’t cute enough, Mr Hipster happens to be the chéri (and fiancé) of the beloved and belovable Ellacoquine who has been tracking  girlie street art across the city. C’est trop chou!

I know, a free gift. That’s cheap. But with gifts, it really is the thought that counts. One of my favorite gifts of all time is the playlist of inspirational work out music my daughter has put together for my solitary runs. It didn’t cost her a thing, but there is nothing cheap about a gift that shows you’ve really though of a person and their passions.

To be honest, I am not much of an app geek, so I don’t have a long list of really great Paris apps I love, but there are a few FREE ones that I simply can’t live without. Like;

Paris toilettes, or (if you notice, this post ended mid-sentence. That is because as I was writing I started sneezing and sneezing and sneezing until I had to call SOS Medecin and found myself in bed, a state of delirium. Weirdly enough, the Dr prescribed steroids and I am already back at the keyboard in less than 48 hours. In case you’re interested, steroids set your metabolism into overdrive, so I am eating everything in site while loosing weight. I heart steroids)

Nike+, for a great way to follow my speed, distance and time no matter where in the world I slip on my sneakers and head for a run.

LeFooding, for dependable restaurant reviews, and a geo-localisation service that lets you find the nearest standout food establishments to where ever you are in France. Even if the nearest address is 100km away!!!

Allocine, for what film is playing here in France and when, teamed with the IMDB app, it is da’bomb for sounding like a savvy aficionado of the 7th art.

The BIG three musuems: the Louvre, Pompidou and d’Orasy all have apps that I love, too.

AND FOR THE SUPER savvy, social media débutant in your life, regardless of what apps you choose, be sure to have them Like the FB pages and follow them on Twitter, when possible. Sounds obvious, but people forget and then they’re thrilled to be in the know while on the go!

Go Commercial

You know that tv show Mad Men? You know the least attractive female star on the set? The one who comes up with snazzy lines trying to sell things like cigarettes and slide carrousels? Yes, well, by day, that is me. Except, well, I was pretty clear about it when I was pregnant.

Anyway, I write ad copy for a living. And while I sometimes wonder if the world really needs another chewing gum, I pretty much love what I do, I mean, I get to play with words all day long. And get paid for it.

Which explains my passion for advertising art. Not that I collect it in large volumes, but I do enjoy an occasional moment spent flipping through the stacks of ads, posters and marketing memorabilia at L’Art de la Publicité antique shop in the 5th. The owner is passionate about his collection, so photos are not allowed and you kind of have to be immune to the ancient aromas of cigarette that have permeated his floor boards. But its worth it as you find hidden treasures like the Chanel card game (30€) I found during my last,  visit illustrated by IZAK to sell their ALLURE fragrance.

But ads don’t necessarily have to be on paper. France’s famous café culture has inspired some fantastic advertising tableware, like the Ricard carafes and Pernod ashtrays that were designed to please men. And mysteriously, they do! Especially those living far from Paris, yet nostalgic their students days lingering at a café over a couple of Gauloises while admiring the legs of all the prettily clad girls swaying by.

You can find this memorabilia at Caféware in the Village Saint Paul in the Marais. And if they don’t have exactly what you were looking for, there are another dozen antique dealers who might!

And finally, there is Jane. Jane? Jane. Marney, the 1930’s silent film star who stares benignly at me from my living room wall as I type this post. She was a British actress who starred in French silent films. Kind of like the movie The Artist, only in reverse. Jane traveled from the Jura to San Francisco and has now followed me back to Paris. I love Jane, but she is not for sale. There are, however, countless advertising posters for sale on eBayand I particularly like this dealer’s site (and prices).