‘Paris, Paris’

The American Library in Paris (10 rue du Général Camou, 75007 Paris, France; phone +33 [0] 1 53 59 12 60) is a great institution. It has a wonderful collection of books (in English). Even more interesting for the short-term visitor, it runs evening and afternoon programs — book reviews, authors speaking, etc., also in English — open to the public, for a small fee.

I attended a session by two authors on Nov. 16, 2011. One of them, the travel and food writer David Downie, discussed his book “Paris, Paris: Journey into the City of Light” (2011, Broadway — 320 pp., $10.20 on Amazon.com).

I was so impressed by Downie’s charm, deep scholarship and interesting insights that I purchased eight copies of his book for my Francophile friends! It is an unusually interesting work, as it includes history, anecdotes and all kinds of useful and fascinating information about the City of Light. The charm of Paris jumps off every page.

David also gives highly specialized tours of Paris with his wife, photographer Alison Harris, who also has several books to her credit.

The tours are geared to the requests of the participants, and the price varies widely depending on the number of people, the length, whether or not a meal is included, etc. David did warn me that they are “not cheap.” Contact him through www.parisparistours.com.

ABBIE SALNY
Wayne, NJ