Flight Attendant & Pilot gifts - T-shirts, Buttons, Mugs, Pillows & more...

This is a really cute Internet site that sells everything "Flight Crew" related - There are Flight Attendant and Pilot buttons, mouse pads, t-shirts, baby clothes, mugs, water bottles and cards. Do take a look and see if there's something you like. Some are pretty funny!

The link for this site in here : Flight Attendant Gifts, T-shirts, Stickers and more - CafePress

Enjoy!

Old Airline and Travel Posters - Paris

I Just found this wonderful souvenir shop on the Rue de Rivoli in Paris that sells pretty cool vintage style, travel posters. The name of the shop is Tuileries Images and it's located in 210 Rue Rivoli, right across from the Louvre.

Take a look at the photos I took of some of the posters they sell. Each one sells for 15 Euros unframed. Some are old airline posters for TWA, United and Air France. They also have travel posters for other exotic, world destinations.

Don't miss the small picture I enclosed of a very cute small make up bag?/small tote? with adorable, old airline logos. A great little travel bag that sells for 14.50 Euros.

Tuileries Images
210 Rue Rivoli
(across from the Louvre)

E.Dehillerin : french stainless steel cookware

For serious, aspiring cooks, this is a must visit on your next trip to Paris! E. Dehillerin, a superb cooking supply store famous for it's heavy duty copper pots and other restaurant quality kitchen accessories. Even if you don't cook, you'll enjoy browsing their extensive collection of cooking and baking gear.

If interested in visiting Dehillerin's, head to Les Halles to the corner of Rue Coquilleriere and Rue Jean Jaques Russoe. The store is located on the same side as the Saint Eustache Church. For more information of E. Dehillerin, check out their official website in the following link and enjoy your visit - E.Dehillerin : french stainless steel cookware

E. Dehillerin
18-20 Rue Coquilleriere
51 Rue Jean Jaques Russoe
9-12 am
2-6pm
Sunday - Closed

Au Pied de Cochon - Paris Restaurant

Ahhh, to do the tourist thing in Paris! Not so bad really, if what you do is stop by " The Pig's Feet" restaurant in Les Halles, to indulge in a traditional French brasserie style meal.

Au Pied de Cochon is an institution in the area of Les Halles. It has been around since the days when Les Halles housed the most important food market in Paris (closed since 1970). It specializes in anything/everything pig related - pigs head and frittes (fries), pigs feet, pigs ears, etc. - and it appeals to tourists and French alike.

In addition to pig parts, they also serve traditional french dishes such as French Onion Soup, Escargot, multi-tiered seafood platters, etc. and they serve food 24 hours a day!!!
Also, for the summer, they have a most reasonably priced 16 Euro Menu available at any time of the day.

I had dinner at Au Pied de Cochon this past week and I sat outside in a table of my choice with out having to make a reservation. The service was super friendly and the menu was available in various languages. I ordered a French Onion Soup that was amazing and big enough for two. I also ordered a cold salad with chicken (so, so) and a memorable glass of white wine recommended by my very helpful waiter. My whole meal was about 25 Euros.

Some of my neighbors ordered the pigs feet with frittes (photo enclosed). Others had the huge, double tiered trays of seafood that sold for 45 Euros and seemed large enough to feed two from a single order. Unfortunately, it was too much to eat for me alone, so I had to pass on it , but it sure looked wonderful!

The whole experience was a real French treat! I highly recommend it!

For more information on Au Pied de Cochon, please visit their official website by clicking on the following link. Les Fr�res Blanc | Au Pied de Cochon

Au Pied de Cochon
6 Rue Coquilliere
01-40-13-77-00

Great Food Dictionary for Paris! ...or Rome...

This is a slim and handy restaurant guide for Paris, not so valuable for it's minimal food establishment recommendations, but invaluable for it's alphabetized food dictionary in the second half.

They call it a "French Menu Translator", I call it a life saver! If you ever go to France, you know how difficult it can be sometimes to understand the French food menus of Paris restaurants , even if your French is better than rudimentary. With this little guide/food translator (it is thin enough to fit in your back pant pocket), you will never be unprepared again when ordering a meal in French. It will definitely reduce the risk of ordering something and getting something completely different than what you intended.

This little guide is a definite must, specially in France, where they love to serve brains, kidneys, livers, pig's heads and snails as delicacies in the finest restaurants. No offense to those who love these foods. I just don't want to get them when I'm not looking for them, thank you very much!

So, next time you go to France, if you're like me and you need a little help with your French, pick up this guide before leaving and problem solved when ordering food. You'll never end up with tripe or "boudin noir" if you don't plan on it to start with.

By the way, in case you're going to Rome, they also have a similar guide for Italian Menu translations from the same publisher and if you don't know what boudin noir is, it's blood sausage! Bon Appetite!

Do you have any suggestions or recommendations about Paris you wish to share with us? please send your story to postcards@me.com and we will gladly publish it for you. Don't forget to share this with others, that's how we grow! thanks!

Eating & Dining in Paris: French Menu Translator
Author - Michael Dillon
Amazon price - $9.95 new

iPhone Travel Application - Tipping Tips

Tipping Tips is a very useful and easy to use travel application for your iPhone. It provides you with detailed tipping advice for over 100 international destinations. Pretty handy information for any international flying crew member.

Tipping Tips Features:

-provides an easy to use calculator
-it allows you split the check with up to 8 people
-includes a flashlight in case the restaurant is too dark to see the bill
-lists detailed tipping instructions/customs for 108 countries
-it only costs $.99 cents

If you wish to read more about this applications, please visit their home site at
http://www.snappapp.com/Tipping or check the application description in iTunes.

Do you have any favorite travel applications you'd like to share with us? If you do, just write to us at postcards@me.com and we will gladly publish your story.

Pre-Book your Tickets to the Top - Tour Eiffel

If visiting the Tour Eiffel is in your radar for your next visit to Paris, make a reservation before you go. It will make your wait in line for the elevators way shorter and you will be glad you did. With your pre-booked Internet ticket, you can just walk to the front of the (lengthy) line where poor folks are waiting for the elevators at the foot of the Eiffel Tower for hours in the summer season. With your ticket in hand, you will breeze right in.

So how to pre-book? go to the official (English version) Internet site for the Tour Eiffel. The site can be reached easily by clicking on the enclosed blue link at the end of this paragraph or by typing "Eiffel tower" in google. Once you reach the official site, go to the ticket section. Once there, please note that there are two types of tickets one can purchase, depending on how high up the tower you wish to travel on their elevators. Be sure to print your ticket from the Internet with the bar codes visible. This will be of crucial importance once you get checked in to enter the "fast and short" line to the Eiffel tower elevators at the foot of the monument. La billetterie officielle de la Tour Eiffel

Some important facts you many want to know about the Eiffel Tower before you go:

- DOB - March 31 1880
- AGE - 121 years old
- MADE BY - Gustave Eiffel
- HEIGHT - 324 meters
- WEIGHT - 7,300 tons
- STEPS - 1665

If you expect to dine in the premises while you're there, there are three options available. First, there's the exclusive (and expensive) Jules Verne Restaurant (276 meters up) at the top of the tower. You must make reservations before you show up at their private elevator door located at the foot of the Eiffel or it's a no-go-up for you. Believe me, I tried lying my way in, it doesn't work! If you reserve, expect to pay about 175 Euros per person for their set menu lunch. The second option is the 58 Hour Eiffel restaurant (about 115 meters up) located in the fist level or fist elevator stop. This is a more reasonably priced, attractive bistro that offers choices like burgers for 15 Euros and lunch menus for 22 Euros. Both of these restaurants have spectacular views of Paris. The third and last choice is Buffet, a fast food restaurant located right at the foot of the Eiffel, where one can purchase soft drinks plus hot dogs, pizza or chicken sandwiches for about 7.50 Euros each.

If you have any stories or travel recommendations you wish to share with us, please send them to postcards@me.com - we will be happy to publish them for you.

Eiffel Tower
5 Parc du Champ de Mars
Paris
Metro - Bir-Hakeim