Driving Green in Paris and More

A cross between Zipcar and the successful citywide bike rental programs like Velib in Paris and Citybike in NYC, Autolib lets drivers rent electric cars at stations dotted around Paris. The brainchild of French billionaire, Vincent Bolloré, the pay-by-the-hour Autolib uses 100% electric “Bluecars". Drivers sign up for annual memberships and then pay by the 30-minute use.

Hugely successful in Paris, Bolloré has expanded the service into Lyon and Bordeaux and has announced that a program using red cars will soon be available in London.

Stateside there are whispers that the program may come to Los Angeles and Indianapolis—stay tuned!


* Photos by Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz)

The Fate of French Baguettes

Anyone who has traveled in France knows how ubiquitous baguettes are—tucked under arms, propped in bicycle baskets, and sold in just about every shop whether a bakery or not.  But what many may not realize is that all baguettes are not the same. Most of the baguettes sold now have evolved as a form of fast-food, with additives and a quick preparation process. Fortunately there are those that cherish the old-style, slow-fermentation technique that gives an authentic baguette its texture and taste.

According to the New York Times, "...in 1993, the government came to the rescue with a decree that created a special designation: “the bread of French tradition.” That bread has to be made exclusively with flour, salt, water and leavening — no additives. The “tradition,” as it is called, is more expensive than the ordinary baguette, which uses additives, a fast-rising process and mechanization, and accounts for about 75 percent of the country’s bread sales."

Anyone who has eaten traditional baguettes knows that the extra money is ever so worth it. According to French-bread expert, Steve Kaplan, you "need to celebrate breads that make your taste buds dance."  

Travelers to Paris who want to taste "tradition" breads can explore Good-Bread Trails in Paris—

Bon appétit!!

Fast-Organic in Paris at Boco

 We first ate at Boco two years ago when we were in Paris and loved it. It was on the short-list of places to try again on this trip and I’m pleased to report it didn’t disappoint!

There are so many things I like about Boco—their commitment to sustainability and organic food (called bio in France) top the list. But a close second is the adorable glass containers they serve their food in (which also support their eco efforts by being washed and reused). After our last trip I bought similar containers to use at home for packing my lunch.

Boco meets the need for fresh, healthy, bio food available quickly. The dishes are prepared in advance and artistically displayed in the front portion of the store. 100% of ingredients are bio, and options include vegetarian, gluten-free, and dairy-free. There are main dishes (we had curried lentils and asparagus pasta), sides (we had carrots and parsnips roasted with cumin), and desserts (we didn’t have one this time, but enjoyed an apple crisp last time we were here). You use a basket to select your items and bring them to the counter to check-out and have your food warmed-up.They also make coffee, tea, juices, and hot sandwiches at the counter if you’d like.

There is plenty of seating to eat at Boco, as well as options to take the food to-go. At the back of the restaurant is a wall of artisan goods for sale (wine, jams, chocolate etc.). 

I had the pleasure of meeting one of the owners while we were eating at Boco. Frederique, was circulating the restaurant with a mother-hen quality—greeting guests and making sure everything was running smoothly. She was lovely and very proud of Boco’s offerings to the Parisian community.

We ate at the Opera Boco location (3 Rue Danielle Casanova), but there are three locations in

downtown Paris, each with its own hours. The Opera location is open Monday to Saturday from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm. I strongly recommend making time to eat here on your next trip.

Enjoy!
Z
To read more about my culinary adventures, please visit www.onebeet.com

Gallete Café for Gluten-free Crepes

I am thrilled to welcome Z from One Beet, a blog about nutrition, good food and recipes, as a guest blogger here on Traveling Naturally and the Green Earth Guides, as she shares her great eco and organic finds while traveling through Europe this year. This month she is in France and offers some great places in Paris to eat.

    It was a rainy afternoon in Paris and we were hungry. We had spent the past few hours walking through the Louvre and needed an energy boost before tackling the Musee d’Orsay.  We wandered through the streets on the Left Bank near the d’Orsay and came across Galette Café on the corner. We were pulled in immediately by the funky exterior and were sold when we read the menu of gluten-free, organic buckwheat galletes.  
    The food was delicious! We shared two savory buckwheat galletes—one topped with a salad, fresh goat cheese, baked apples, and walnuts. The second topped with an artisanal sausage, onion confit, and tomato compote. Gallete Café prides itself on their traditional menu and commitment to local and organic artisans.  There is a nice page on their website that outlines some of the producers they work with (including the buckwheat flour miller). The menu is simple, yet tasty – it highlights excellent ingredients and innovative combinations.
    So what’s the big deal about buckwheat? Buckwheat is actually a pseudo cereal (rather than a grain), so it is gluten-free and perfect for people watching their wheat intake.  In addition, it’s high in fiber, contains all eight essential amino acids, and is a good source of manganese, magnesium, copper, and zinc.
    Not only did we enjoy the food at Gallete Café, we also appreciated the ambiance. The small café is well designed with a clean, trendy aesthetic. The staff was also very friendly and spoke excellent English (they had menus available in a range of languages at the host stand).
    This place is a worth a trip to 2 Rue du l’Universite for a delicious lunch or dinner. Buckwheat galettes run between 7.50 and 12.80 € and the café also serves organic wheat crepes, oysters from Brittany, a range of beverages and artisanal ice cream. Don’t go looking for breakfast, the Gallette Café opens at 12 noon Tuesday through Sunday. Open until 10:30 pm  Wednesday through Saturday, the café closes at 5:00 pm on Tuesday and Sunday.
Enjoy!
Z
To read more about my culinary adventures, please visit www.onebeet.com

Finally! A Portable Glass Water Bottle

My choice of portable water bottle is a perpetual conundrum for me.

Plastic has the longest list of undesirable features. For starters I honestly can't stand the taste of water sitting in plastic. Then, beyond taste, there is the issue of the plastic chemicals leaching into the water causing all sorts of potential health problems. While bisphenol-a (BPA) is the newest culprit on that list, the issues of plastic-leaching containers has been around for decades. Over thirty years ago I worked for the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) where in the early 1980s a brilliant scientist named Walter Hang (who now works for Toxics Targeting) released a ground-breaking report about HDPE plastic (commonly used in one-gallon water jugs and milk containers) leaching into water and milk. While true that harder plastics seem to leach less than softer plastics, the recent BPA reports have shown that all sorts of plastics have potential problems. As if that weren't enough, there is the perennial predicament of the environmental consequences of plastic manufacturing and disposal. So while plastic bottles are light and seemingly easy, they fail as a good choice on many other counts.

The next light-weight option is aluminum. I do not use aluminum cookware or anti-perspirants made with aluminum—any substance that might contribute to my already challenged memory I try to avoid  as best I can. So needless to say, sipping water from an aluminum bottle is not high on my list.

Then there is stainless steel, or at least what we are told is stainless steel. Some may say I am too picky, but I suspect that a lot of what is sold as stainless steel is not, but rather mixed with metals that I would rather not be drinking from.  That, coupled with the metallic taste, makes stainless steel a tempting but non-option for me.

This leaves me with glass or gourds. Sadly, gourds are not practical. Glass would be perfect were it not for it being heavy, highly breakable, and difficult to find the correct bottle shape for both drinking and cleaning (that is, wide enough to clean, but narrow enough to drink from comfortably without dripping everywhere).

You can see why walking out of the house (or lodging when I am traveling) with a water bottle poses such a dilemma for me.

I am happy to report that I have found the answer to my quandary. Based in neighboring Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the Bamboo Bottle Company has designed a water bottle comprised of glass, BPA-free plastic and bamboo.

This is how it works. The actual bottle is made of sturdy glass (made with 51% recycled glass) which can hold hot or cold beverages— a huge advantage over plastic. The mouth of the bottle meets my requirements—wide enough for easy cleaning, while appropriately-sized for dripless drinking. The BPA-free plastic provides the nuts and bolts of the bottle, keeping the glass in its protective and insulating bamboo casing. The components disassemble for cleaning—you can hand wash the glass bottle or put it in a dishwasher (the plastic parts can go in the dishwasher as well, but keep the bamboo sleeve out of the machine and even the sink—simply wipe clean with a damp cloth for the longest life).

The Bamboo Bottle holds just over a pint (16 ounces) of liquid and has a thermos-like feel to it. With the top on, the bottle is 10.25 inches tall and 3 inches in diameter, just making the size-cut for my small hands.

No plastic or metallic after-taste or leaching—check. No exposed, breakable glass—check. Reusable, low-impact materials with a long-life span—check. While close to perfection, I do hold out hope that some day the plastic parts can be made from a sustainable, non-polluting material (the company says they are aiming for plastic-free in the future). Until then, I will be happy with my Bamboo Bottle and cross the search for the perfect water-bottle off my to-do list.

Green Earth Guide Calendars with Full-color Photos

New, just in time for the holidays!
Now you can explore the Green Earth Guide sites from your own home with full-color photo calendars—companions to the award-winning Green Earth Guide: Traveling Naturally Guidebook series.
Six different calendars are available:
(see calendar cover photos at left)
Ireland
Italy
France
Spain
Switzerland
Vermont Organic
To conveniently order online see the Google Checkout box on the right side of the blog. Calendars are $ 14.95 each plus $ 5.00 s/h. If you are ordering multiple calendars, the shipping costs are $5.00 up to three calendars. Over 3, please add an additional $1.50 per calendar.

BYO(E)B to Paris: That is Bring Your Own Empty! Bottle to Use at the New Water Fountain in Paris

In an effort to curb the obscene amount of plastic bottles generated from bottled water consumption, Paris’s public water company, Eau de Paris, has introduced an experimental water fountain gushing with the bubbly - not champagne - but sparkling water, or “Eau gazeuse”. Before you get too excited dreaming about free-flowing Perrier, note that this is public tap water with carbon dioxide added. Fair enough, as that is how most seltzers and club sodas are made. The Paris water supply comes from both groundwater and river sources which are then filtered and processed producing clean water.

This is wonderful for the environment as the French are known for their high consumption of  bottled water. Part of Paris’s Climate Action Plan drafted in 2007 is to increase tap water use and decrease bottled water use. Critical, as the water utility estimates that somewhere in the order of 500,000 cubic feet of plastic water bottle trash is generated in the city every year.

Paris has over 950 public water fountains around the city. The new fizzy water fountain is in the Reuilly Garden (Jardin de Reuilly) in the 12th arrondissement out by the Bercy,  Austerlitz and Lyon train stations. Situated on the site of a former freight train station, the park is now home to a variety of plants including roses, bamboo, heathers, as well as playing fields, a central lawn covering over an acre, and a reflecting pool. The new water fountains have six taps offering both bubbly and plain water - avec and sans gaz.

If you find yourself in Paris, walk or catch a Metro to the Jardin de Reuilly to sample the new fountains, but make sure you bring your own bottle, or two. The closest metro stops to Jardin de Reuilly are Montgallet and Dugommier.

Public Toilets in Madrid, A Rare Breed

A heads up for those traveling to the capital of Spain and hoping for public toilets. While public toilets are fairly plentiful in Paris and other European cities, Madrid seems to fall short even compared with its somewhat rival city, Barcelona. As the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported, there are only thirty-seven supposed public toilets around the city and of these at least eleven are said to be out of order- some for as long as four years!! This brings the number down to twenty-five public toilets in a city of over forty million people not counting the tourists.

It appears that these concrete structures are valued more for the advertising space they provide than the functional purpose of allowing people to relieve themselves. So when in Madrid, best to consider cafes or the train stations as your best source of toilets, and make use of the museum facilities while there. If you do find a working public toilet make sure you have the necessary .30¢ euros for entry. For more on public toilets while traveling in Europe see Toilets and Traveling.

Eggs in Europe

Travelers from the United States may be quite surprised when they are shopping at markets and in stores in Europe to find that eggs are often not refrigerated. In fact they are often not even in cartons, but available for the picking into your own container.

At the markets in Spain you will find stacks of eggs at egg stands - brown, white, ecologico, conventional. In France, Germany and Switzerland the same holds true. Once the eggs are purchased, most people store them in their refrigerators at home, but some will leave them in a cool spot if they will be using them within a few days.

Part of the problem in the United States is that the food is often subjected to what I refer to as "shelf-life syndrome" where the focus is not on nutritional value or freshness but rather on how long the products will last on the shelves minimizing waste for manufacturers, grocers and big-box stores. As consumers, we loose, of course, since we not only get food altered to last far longer than nature intended, but we also miss out on the vitality, the richness and the beauty that fresh, local food offers.

I am afraid that eggs in the United States meet with the same fate, unless you are lucky enough to live where there are small farms, so hence they are refrigerated to help them last a long time.

When egg shopping I would err on the side of organic especially when buying room-temperature eggs since studies have shown that while all eggs run the risk of Salmonella, only about one quarter of organic and free range have the Salmonella contamination found more readily in conventional eggs, with the bonus that organic eggs have been found to contain more Vitamin E, beta-carotene and omega-3 fats with up to  a third less cholesterol than industrial-produced eggs.

Having spent time on a farm when I was a kid and later having had my own homestead-scale farm, I am familiar with the practice of storing eggs on a cool, shaded shelf especially when they will be used quickly.  I think this was, and is, customary for truly farm-fresh eggs. So don't be alarmed or put off by the piles of open-air eggs while you are traveling and be thankful for the culture of fresh.

Thoughts on Traveling, Volcanic Eruptions and Mother Earth

Happy Earth Day - celebrate for a lifetime!

I think it is most appropriate that for the week or so preceding Earth Day that Mother Nature reminded us of her power. While travelers around the world had to deal with flight delays and cancellations as well as commerce being disrupted, the Icelandic Volcano eruption gave the world a pause. What seemed like an eternity to those stuck in airports was really just a few days in an era of constant flights when a part of the globe had a breath of no air traffic. Travel by rail swelled and some people took the cue to change their state of mind and enjoy some extra time wherever they were.

Airline companies have been complaining about how much money per day they lost and about undue flight restrictions, but all would-be travelers I have spoken with agree - as possibly inconvenient or uncomfortable having plans disrupted might be, they would rather be on the ground in one piece than 30,000 feet in the air with a frozen airplane engine - that is what most would call a no-brainer. And if the airlines are wanting to utilize the tenuous risk-assessment model, I suggest they leave that people-unfriendly calculation to the nuclear power industry (where it shouldn't be employed either), and stick to common sense as I am sure anything they have lost is still far less than what a major accident would have cost them.

In New England you learn a bit to live with the mentality of succumbing to Mother Nature. When there is a big snow or ice storm and driving is precarious, you hunker down and enjoy the respite. If you try to persevere in spite of it you usually end up in a ditch -- or worse.

Travelers, businesses and most everyone can heed the lesson and open their minds to a more creative way of looking at the world and what we are"entitled" to as a group of world citizens who feel they should be able to travel whenever and wherever they want. In this false world we have created of instant gratification, and the expectation of instant gratification, maybe we need more pauses. Maybe we should have certain weeks in the year when there is no air traffic (I can hear the screams now) and give ourselves and Mother Earth a literal and figurative breather, allowing for the possibility of changing how we treat the planet and each other.

As more of us humans lose touch with the reality of Mother Nature and her forces and are under the misguided notion that we reign supreme over the earth - think again. The Earth has been here far longer than we have and will surely be here long after we have destroyed ourselves. Whether we humans debate it, ponder it, like it or not -  the Earth does have dominion over us, not the other way around. Thank goodness.


Photo courtesy of NASA: http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view_rec.php?id=2429

Eco-Traveler Alert: Dolphin Shows- Don't Go

Travelers contemplating going to see any Dolphin shows thinking they might be considered "eco" due to the "natural" content - please take note:

These are NOT environmentally friendly and create a horrible (and profitable) trade in dolphins resulting in gruesome deaths for the captured but rejected dolphins.

Please watch the Academy-Award winning documentary, The Cove, to learn more about this issue and the genocide-like horrors that take place in Japan.

Even the best-intentioned facilities require dolphins from the wild. Please do not support this activity. Countries with the highest number of dolphinariums include Japan (34), the United States (31), Mexico (19), Spain (10), Ukraine (7), Turkey (5), Russia (5), Italy (5), Cuba (5), Germany (3), France (3), and Dominican Republic (3).

The Cove - watch it!

Action after Watching The Cove

Some non-profit organizations offering more in depth information about dolphins:
Dolphin Care UK- Information about why "Swim with Dolphins" programs should be stopped

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society offers plentiful information including why worldwide  captivity programs should be stopped

Cousteau Society

See the list of Dolphinariums around the world so you can know what to avoid and also, if you are so inclined, to write letters expressing your revulsion at Dolphin capture and captivity.


Photo: Bottlenose Dolphin - NASA

Brilliant Idea! Sewing Machine Cafe in Paris

A new cafe in Paris with a definitely new twist- renting sewing machines by the hour. How brilliant and innovative! I for one would make good use of this as I always seem to have trouble with my sewing machine that gets dragged out of the closet every few months - or years in some cases. Do I remember how to thread the bobbin? What is the little trick I need to remember so the thread doesn't break? Is it at the correct tension? The list goes on. And there are many things I would sew if I could scoot off to the Sweatshop Cafe and not have to fret over my own machine that probably needs oiling, cleaning and other things I do not want to deal with for a one hour sew.

So you lucky people in Paris can now head over to the Sweatshop Cafe and sew away on one of the ten Singer sewing machines in the cafe for six euros for an hour - or buy a pass for longer projects. Tea, coffee, and pastries are extra. They also offer workshops on sewing, knitting and do-it-yourself fashion.

Next door you can enjoy the delights of Bob's Juice Bar serving up organic and natural breakfasts and lunches including what some feel are the best bagels in Paris.

Sweatshop, 13 rue Lucien Sampaix 75010 Paris; Tel: 09 787 71 54 61; Email: info@sweatshopparis.com; Metro: Jaques Bonsergent (Orange 5); Open: Tuesday to Friday from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm,, Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Bob's Juice Bar, 15 rue Lucien Sampaix 75010 Paris; Metro: Jaques Bonsergent (Orange 5); Open: Mondays to Fridays from 7:30 am to 3:00pm
Bob's Kitchen, 74 rue des Gravilliers 75003 Paris; Tel: 952 551 166; Metro: Arts et Metiers (3 or 11); Open Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, Sunday brunch from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

Cheap Bike Rental Programs Going Global!

In both my books - Green Earth Guide Traveling Naturally in France and Green Earth Guide Traveling Naturally in Spain - as well as this blog, I have highlighted the cheap and wonderful city bike rental programs in Paris, Lyon, Montpellier, Nice, Nantes, Barcelona and Seville. Now I am happy to report that a successful launch of a similar program in Montreal, Canada called BIXI, is being launched in Boston, Massachusetts, Minneapolis, Minnesota and Melbourne, Australia in June. Later in the summer they hope to be operational in London, England.

BIXI operates very much like the other established city biking programs. You can pay for a day, a month or a one year subscription which entitles you to bicycle use for thirty minutes at a time for free or pay a nominal fee for additional time. For 24-hour passes you will need to pay a refundable $250 deposit. Due to the harsh winters in Montreal, BIXI bikes are available from May to November 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The Web site gives details of bike station locations, safety and prices. Happy peddling!

In and Out of Barcelona By Train

Barcelona and Madrid are the two main train and plane hubs in Spain. I have found myself living on either side of Barcelona the last two winters and so have used the Barcelona trains extensively. Below are a few tricks and tips I have learned that should be useful to travelers entering or leaving Barcelona by train. 

There are two train stations in Barcelona -  Estacio de Franca in Catalan (de Francia in Spanish) and Estacio Sants. Sants is the newer station with most of the train traffic including the high speed AVE.

Franca is the old station with marble floors and a grand feeling although much smaller than Sants and with fewer tracks. The overnight trains to Paris, Zurich and Milan leave from Franca. Franca has no stores or services to speak of except ticket windows, an information desk and rest rooms.

The bathrooms have been renovated since I wrote the Green Earth Guide: Traveling Naturally in Spain and now do have toilet paper and toilet seats, but take note and get your toilet paper on the way in as it is only in the entry of the bathroom, not in the stalls.  The sinks are automated all-in-one wash and dry and the stalls now don bright pink doors. 

If you have to wait or have a layover at Franca be prepared with food especially if you have luggage, as there is nothing to eat in the station- not even a newsstand - so be prepared with reading material as well. There used to be a large café/bar at one end of the station but that is closed for renovation with no indication of when it will reopen. The left luggage (consigna) has been closed for years at Franca due to security issues. 

The station is covered but open air, so while lovely in the warmer months, it can be chilly in the winter. In the evening the one heated room is where the information area is with seven or so comfortable chairs, usually filled with travelers waiting for the overnight trains to Europe which leave between 7:00 and 9:00pm.

In stark contrast the Barcelona Sants station is a new large complex complete with shops and food options, and a metro accessible from within the station. If you have luggage you don’t want to lug around, you can leave it at the Consigna (Left-Luggage) lockers at Sants. 

There is a convenient train that runs between the two stations for 1.40 (at writing time). You need to buy a specific ticket at one of the machines for the Rodalies (commuter) trains. The trip only takes twelve minutes between the stations and is definitely the fastest, easiest and cheapest means between the two. The trains run regularly - every fifteen minutes or so. 

To buy your tickets from Sants TO Franca - go to the machines down by tracks 13-14 in the Sants station. At the machine you can choose your language and then must search for your destination (Barcelona de Franca) which will be on the second page of options. At Sants you enter the tracks with your ticket via a turnstile much like the metro so it both gains you entry and validates the ticket.

At Franca there is a machine to the right of the ticket counter near to the security checkpoint. The same thing holds true here – buying your ticket from Franca TO Sants you will have to click on the yellow “other destinations” button to find Barcelona Sants in the middle of the second page of destination options. At Franca you MUST validate your ticket in one of the machines in the hallway where security is prior to boarding the train AND you will need your ticket to exit at Sants so hold onto it. 

If you have a lot of time between trains and are not too encumbered by luggage you can take the metro to the old part of the city and stroll through the streets and up Las Ramblas stopping to have a meal or snack. The fresh squeezed fruit juices at La Boqueria market are especially refreshing for travelers. If you are starting at Franca, I would take the metro one stop to Jaume 1 and then wind my way over to Las Ramblas through the back streets. From Sants, if you don’t want to bother switching metro lines, take the green line L3 to Liceu which will let you out right on Las Ramblas.

For more information about the overnight train see the post Dinner in Paris, Breakfast in Barcelona.

Local Goods and Fun on the Streets of Paris

I feel very comfortable in Paris- sort of like home -which must have something to do with my New York upbringing as it is certainly not due to the language which I barely speak and butcher shamefully. Paris is much prettier than Manhattan and more open as it lacks the tall buildings that hem in Manhattan. Good, fresh food is far more abundant, accessible and less “precious” than in Manhattan since the Parisians expect it. 
 
Littered with one darling café after the next, you could become paralyzed trying to decide what to try and where to sit in Paris. In most cases (not all) you cannot go wrong especially if you are just having a café or infusion (herbal tea). Truly one of my favorite things to do in Paris (and most cities) is walk. I love exploring and each time I am there try to take different streets.....finding new treasures all the time. Fun streets lined with local eats and other fun stores include Rue Montorgueil in the 1st, Rue Cler in the 7th, Rue des Deux Pont on the Ile Saint Louis in the 4th  and of course all the markets that dot the city on any given day. 

If you find yourself in the Latin Quarter on a Tuesday morning there is a small but excellent mixed market around the Maubert Metro stop in the 5th down the street from the organic Phyto Bar restaurant. Here you will find organic produce, some beautiful shawls and clothing (different from the common cheap pashminas and arab-style, keffiyeh scarves sold elsewhere) as well as cheeses, fish and other local products. 

And keep your eyes open for the truly delicious Kayser breads that are not to be missed! The baguettes are usually warm having come right out of the oven. Eric Kayser, a third-generation Parisian baker, is the brains behind the Mayson Kaiser bakeries, making bread from natural leavening using a special machine designed by Kayser to keep the leavening in a perfect state. In addition to amazing breads, you can also buy quiches, tarts and sandwiches at the fourteen stores in Paris (with other stores in Japan, Russia and the Ukraine). You can find Maison Kayser bakeries in most arrondissements. To avoid disappointment, check store location and hours on the website as some are closed on Mondays and others on Sundays. 

If you are visiting Paris in the winter you can ice skate outdoors in front of the Hôtel de Ville (4th arrondissement)- which many confuse for an actual hotel but is how the French refer to their City Hall. For 5 euros you can rent skates and enjoy the rink for free on Monday to Friday from 12pm-10pm, Saturday-Sunday 9am -10pm. This year the rink is open until March 6, 2010. Arrive at least one hour before closing otherwise you won’t get in. Outdoor skating is also available at Place Raoul Dautry near the rail station Gare Montparnasse in the 14th – this rink is only open until 8:00pm during the weekdays but has the same hours as the Hôtel de Ville rink on the weekends. 

Afterwards you can make your way to one of the many delightful cafes and have something delicious to warm you!

Always on the Hunt for Good Bread - Success in Valencia Spain!

While I have found some wonderful bakeries making traditional and artisanal breads in Paris, Barcelona, Barcelona again and Madrid (see posts), I had yet to find any such bread makers in Valencia.

While Valencia is dotted with bakeries, it suffers as does the rest of Spain from a shortage of what I would categorize as really good bread. Happily I discovered serendipitously a bakery just off the Plaza de la Reina that makes a large variety of artesano breads and pastries. Among their offerings are a Pan de Gallego made from wheat (trigo in Spanish) grown in Galicia, the region in northwestern Spain, and Espelta Ecologico made from organic spelt.

One friend of mine who is a bit of a bread connoisseur said after sampling the PanPan Gallego baguette, “Wow I haven’t had bread like that since……well, since I was in Paris.” Tall praise for PanPan. The counters overflowing with breads can be accessed all day during the week and on Saturday mornings, and PanPan could not be more convenient as it is right around the corner from the Plaza. PanPan Atelier, La Paz 1, 46003 Valencia; www.panpan.es; open Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm, Saturday from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Green Travel Bags for the New Year

It is getting easier all the time to make environmental choices when purchasing items as companies get increasingly creative with incorporating recycled materials into their products. If you are in the market for green luggage and packs, you are in luck. Heys and Osprey are two such companies specializing in travel gear.

Heys, a Toronto based company, has been making innovative luggage for over twenty years. They have two green choices in their luggage line. The sturdy EcoOrbis rolling suitcases are made from 100% recycled ABS plastic. These come in four colors (red, black, lilac and beige) in three standard sizes and have 360º wheels and an aluminum handle. Their EcoTex line is made from recycled water bottles and includes duffle-style and accessory bags.

Heys International ships only in Canada. Heys USA ships to customers in the U.S. At Heys USA you can search by state to find stores that carry the Heys bags. In the U.S. EcoOrbis luggage is called EcoCase. The EcoCase is available in more colors and has a different embossed design on the exterior, but the bags like their Canadian counterparts are made out of 100% recycled ABS plastic.

Osprey packs, makers of excellent backpacks in all shapes and sizes, make a line of day-pack and accessory bags out of 100% recycled PET plastic. Their ReSource line uses recycled content in the mesh pockets, binding tape, webbing, buckles and zipper pulls in addition to the overall bag fabric with a commitment to using at least 70% recycled materials in the bags. This means that while the fabric is 100% recycled material, other components of the bags like the spacer mesh may only be 55% recycled material.

These bags made from recycled materials provide great options for the eco-traveler. We can hope that the future will bring  even more options for  ecological products and conscientious travel. Happy New Year.

Dinner in Paris, Breakfast in Barcelona

I have very fond memories of traveling by train as a child, especially overnight trains. White linen tablecloths with china and glassware in the dining cars, and “club cars” where I invariably met other children to play cards with or I-Spy as we stared out of the windows. My memories do not include gross bathrooms splattered with urine, nor miniscule compartments too small for luggage. Since I was smaller then it may be that indeed the compartments were tiny and I just didn’t notice, but I do believe the bathrooms were much cleaner. 

Train travel is still my preferred form of transport, although I will admit to being disappointed on many trains since I hold a high standard from my youth. Certainly a pet peeve of mine is the condition and lack of toilets, especially on overnight trains. Why are they gross now and not forty years ago? People frequented them just as much I am sure.

That said I am happy to report that the overnight train between Paris and Barcelona (and Madrid) is still alive and busy even with dirt-cheap flights available on low-cost airlines. I suspect that if you can afford to travel in Grand Class or First class that the compartment size and toilet facilities are better than those in tourist class.

A word of warning, if you are traveling in tourist class you will be four people to a “room”, which is the size of a large closet. Whoever designed these train cars forgot that people traveling twelve hours or more between major cities might be accompanied with large luggage. There is no luggage storage in the “rooms” or on the train car, so the four people must navigate around the luggage that takes up what limited space there is between the fold-down beds. The toilets are abysmal and inevitably at least one ends up unusable - flooded or plugged.

You might think that these complaints would make it so that I would never travel by overnight train. Not so. I still love the train the best, but simply pine for a slightly more comfortable experience. 

The Paris Barcelona route (there is a separate Paris-Madrid route) runs every night, and the timing of it is such that you can have dinner in Paris, albeit a not too late dinner, and breakfast in Barcelona. I did just that, having gone to Paris for the weekend. I had an early dinner at a favorite organic foods restaurant in the St. Germain area of Paris consisting of a wonderful salad, and then rosemary roasted organic chicken leg with vegetables. Fortunately the Phtyo-Bar is open every day from noon to 11:30 pm so it doesn’t matter what day you are traveling. My meal was followed by a lovely stroll along the Seine and by Notre Dame, then onto the Metro to take me to Gare Paris-Austerlitz for the 8:30 pm (20:30) train to Barcelona. Gare Austerlitz is not far from the Paris Grand Mosque and that is a wonderful place to have tea.

For novices to overnight train travel, you may be surprised when the steward asks you to hand over not only your ticket but also your passport or residence card - this is to avoid having to wake everyone up at 5 am for the border check. As unnerving as it is to hand over your most significant form of identification, everyone does it and there never seems to be a problem.

The train arrives at Barcelona Estacio de Franca at 8:24 am - or close to then. If Barcelona is merely a layover you will likely have to make your way to the other train station in Barcelona, Estacio Sants -- this can be done by train or metro (metro stop is the yellow line Barceloneta around the corner from the train station -take one stop to Jaume 1 for the old part).

In any case, if you are eager for breakfast you can walk or take the metro to the old part of Barcelona - El Raval and Barri Gotic areas. Stroll through La Boqueria market and pick up some delicious fresh pressed fruit juice - there is a wide variety to choose from: Kiwi, Coconut, Mango (my favorite), orange, strawberry, and more.

There are any number of cafes and restaurants to eat at near or along Las Ramblas. A fun and airy restaurant with outdoor seating just one block west of Las Ramblas, north of La Boqueria is Bar Lobo. Here you can order organic coffee or tea, fresh fruit, juices and  smoothies, as well as the “Jane Fonda” breakfast (yogurt, muesli, fruit and organic tea), the “Churchill” (bacon, eggs & café con leche (coffee with milk)), or little sandwiches made on baguette bread. The restaurant has the feel of a loft and much of the food prep is done in the center so visible to all patrons. Bar Lobo, c/ Xucla 8 (on the corner of c/ Pintor Fortuny), Barcelona; open Monday to Saturday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

If you are not in the mood for a full on breakfast you can walk three blocks west on Pintor Fortuny and then up the street Doctor Dou to the Reykjavik Bakery - see Searching for Good Breads post. If you want non-bakery goods you can cross the street and find one of the Veritas natural food stores with produce and other groceries. Barcelona Reykjavik Bakery, Doctor Dou, 12 (Raval), open Monday to Saturday 10:00 am to 9:30 pm.

If you are indeed continuing on to Estacio Sants you can pick up the green line metro at Liceu (no switching) on Las Ramblas or the red line at Plaza Catalunya (you will need to switch at Espanya for the green line).

And enjoy being able to have dinner in Paris and breakfast in Barcelona!

Bon appetit, ¡buen apetito!

A Las Ramblas note: If you take pictures of any of the Living Statues along Las Ramblas please leave money in their containers - this is how they earn their living and some will chase you down if you don’t.

Toilets and Traveling

I consider myself relatively easy going about toilets and bathroom facilities. That is I have gone backwoods camping and once lived with nothing more than an outhouse for almost four years. So it is not that I require luxury. However, when traveling I am amazed at the state of some toilettes.

I have gotten used to traveling with a package of tissues as I often come upon toilets without any toilet paper – and for that matter sometimes with no seat or even toilet! In some Italian, French and Spanish public toilets you will find the toilet paper in a common hallway, not in the stalls, and mere holes in the floor as toilets. These are not so bad as long as you have your squatting muscles in shape and have remembered to gather your toilet paper prior to entering your stall.

It is the urine saturated sticky floors, with used paper and towels stuck in various places, and unflushed toilets full of merde that send me in to winces and shivers. No one is caring for these bathrooms. 

So when I come upon toilets where you have to pay, and others are grumbling about the audacity of charging for urination, I am delighted to find clean, well-tended bathrooms. I would rather piss on the grass or by a tree anytime than go into the gross, urine and feces saturated cesspools that are often available.

In Spain most toilets are free, or free to customers. Do not be surprised, especially in southern areas, if you see people (admittedly usually men) peeing in the street, or by a dumpster or park tree. I would not recommend this since it only adds to the eau-de-pee often wafting from certain side streets.

I am told that in Paris this will get you a hefty fine. Fortunately in France you have a selection of toilettes - both free and fee. Many of the train station bathrooms charge .50 to 1 euro for entry. You can pay more for a shower if you are in need.

In London, many train stations charge for toilet use, but free ones can be found at most department stores and at the Covent Garden Market. 

Not surprisingly, Swiss bathrooms are notoriously clean. At the Zurich main train station you pay 2 Swiss francs for the toilets, but let me tell you it is worth it – you could perform surgery in those restrooms of gleaming marble. In Germany toilets also are generally very clean.

I am afraid that Italy does not share the same reputation as Switzerland and Germany, in fact quite the opposite. But look for fee-to-pee toilets at train stations, and also make sure you make use of the facilities at any cafe or museum you are patronizing.

In most European countries you can get by with asking for the toilette or WC. In Spain you will also see signs for Aseo. 

There are many helpful and funny links in cyberspace about bathrooms. A very comprehensive site is the Bathroom Diaries where you can search over 120 countries for bathroom locations and commentary - WOW! 

Visitors to Paris may want to part with 3 euros and download the Paris Pause Pipi Guide offering a useful guide to the public Sanisettes in Paris.There are also numerous links to Paris specific toilets with two especially good ones at Slow Travel and Colleen's Paris.

And for those who want to be prepared no matter what, you can try the new German invention Roadbag pocket urinal for men or the Ladybag  for women.

Natural Health & Beauty in the City of Lights & Love

Paris is awash with sources of natural health and beauty products. Health food stores large and small carry various lines of personal care products made in France and other European countries. In the Green Earth Guide to France you can find Web sites for all the major health food stores in Paris and search for locations near to your accommodations. Some appealing specialty shops and salons are listed here for your next Parisian beauty excursion.

Anthyllide carries a wide range of natural health and beauty products including high quality essential oils, homeopathic and herbal remedies, Hildegard de Bingen medicinals, and natural body care such as Dr. Hauschka, Lavera, Sante and other natural brands. Anthyllide, 28, rue du Pont Louis Philippe, 75004 Paris; Tel: 140 299 126; Web: www.anthyllide.com; Metro: Hotel de Ville or St. Paul; Open Monday 2:00pm to 7:00, Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Couleur Caramel is dedicated to one hundred percent natural make-up and cosmetics. They use natural ingredients as well as design their packaging with recycled materials. Their organic skin care line comes in refillable! containers! available in 50 and 15 ml bottles. Couleur Caramel is striving for Ecocert and Cosmebio certifications on all, not just some, of their products by the end of 2009. Sold in health food stores and specialty stores throughout Paris and France, as well as in their two “Maquillage Caffès” (make-up café’s) in Paris: Couleur Caramel, 8, rue Nicolas Flamel, 75004; Tel: 148 040 294; Metro: Chatelet; and, 10, rue Jean Du Bellay, 75004; Tel: 140 460 574; Metro: Pont-Marie; Web: http://www.couleur-caramel.com

On rue des Rosiers amidst the Jewish baked goods you will find one of three Paris Florame boutiques filled with their signature essential oils and body care products. Florame, 15 rue des Rosiers, 75004 Paris; Web: http://www.florame.com/nosboutiques-i-33.html. Open every day, Sunday and Monday from 12:00 to 2:30 pm/ 3:00 to 7:00 pm, and Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:30 pm/ 3:00 to 7:00 pm.

And for those looking to color their hair au naturel, L’Atelier des Elfes offers hair coloring using 100% plant-based colorants. They also do Ayurvedic hair and head massages. L’Atelier is dedicated to honoring your hair and the environment – how refreshing! L’Atelier des Elfes, 3 rue Alphonse Daudet, 75014 Paris; Tel: 130 882 254 or 681 638 275; Web: www.latelierdeselfes.fr; Metro: Alesia.