Photo: Laurent Attias
A few years ago, Catherine Sanderson was already one of Paris' most well-known expatriate bloggers. Her site Petite Anglaise had a loyal following of 4,000 visitors who arrived daily to hear the British secretary's stories about Paris, her French lover "Mr. Frog," and their bilingual daughter "tadpole." Then in April 2006, Sanderson's world turned upside down. Her employer, a posh British accountancy firm, discovered her blog and immediately fired her. Sanderson filed a lawsuit, endured a media storm, and eventually emerged with a double book deal from Penguin. She won the lawsuit, launched the first book to rave reviews, and now spends her days writing from a new apartment in Belleville. This is her Paris...
After 13 years in this city, you're now a veteran. But is there any place that held a certain magic when you first arrived in Paris?
My first apartment in Paris was on rue de la Roquette, midway between the place de la Bastille and Père Lachaise cemetery. It was the closest thing to a park in my neighbourhood, and I often used to take a book and spend a few hours sunning myself on a bench somewhere off the beaten track (i.e. as far from Oscar Wilde or Jim Morrisson as possible). I revisited Père Lachaise in the spring - my first visit in ten years or more - and my five-year-old daughter loved weaving in amongst the gravestones and admiring the sculptures. We plan to make a return visit in a month or two, to see the trees in all their autumn glory.
Photo: Mu Foo
Where do you go when you're feeling a bit indulgent?
When I want to spoil myself I head to the Marais for some retail therapy. Branches of many of my favourite shops (Zadig and Voltaire, Et Vous, Les Petites, Comptoir des Cotonniers, Sandro, Muji, to name but a few...) are located in a really compact area (500m2) bordered by the rue des Rosiers, rue Pavée, rue des Francs Bourgeois, and rue Vielle du Temple, with many of them open on Sundays. For my favourite snack - a falafel with all the trimmings - I head to L'As du Fallafel on rue des Rosiers. And for dessert, a slice of cheesecake from one of the nearby Jewish bakeries.
Photo: Roboppy
What's the most extravagent meal you've had in Paris, and what was it like?
For a boyfriend's birthday I once splashed out on a 'menu degustation' at Blue Elephant thai restaurant, which is something of an institution in Paris. I reserved well in advance and managed to snag one of the prized tables for two by the indoor water feature. The setting was gorgeous, the service impeccable and the tiny taster portions of many of their signature appetisers were exquisite - it's really hard to find properly spiced thai food in Paris. However, our dinner was very nearly ruined when we followed our waitress's instructions and began to work our way clockwise around the tray of main courses, intending to start with the mildest dish and work up to the spiciest by degrees. The first dish was the most eye-watering, tastebud-nuking dish I've ever tasted: our waitress had got her instructions back to front. Sadly, my taste buds were in such a state of shock that I couldn't fully appreciate the rest of the meal.
Photo: Mu Foo
Where do you go on a sunny day in Paris?
If I want to sit and soak up some rays, I usually head for the Parc de Belleville with a book or a picnic. You get a panoramic view of the Paris skyline from the highest point of the park, by rue Piat, and the best lawns for picnicking are just below the belvedère, either side of the shallow waterways where you can dip your feet if you begin to overheat. If I fancy a walk instead, we often stroll along the Canal St Martin. My daughter loves watching the barges negotiate the locks, and there are plenty of cafés with outdoor tables along the way if we want to stop for a bite to eat.
Photo: Mu Foo
What's your favorite local place that you wouldn't necessarily recommend to tourists?
My favourite haunt in Belleville is the Salon de Thé Wen Zhou. It's a tiny, unassuming Chinese snack bar which I must have walked past a hundred times without giving it a second glance until the day when, on the recommendation of a friend, I stepped inside. Wen Zhou has since become a firm favourite in our family - and judging by the number of other regulars we've spotted there, we're not alone. My personal favourite si the pork and herb ravioli and my daughter always goes for the sautéed Shanghai noodles, or 'fat worm noodles', as she calls them.
If you were ever to leave this city, what place would you most miss?
I
don't think I'd miss any one particular place. But when I travel
elsewhere I miss the reliability of the Paris métro, I realise how
wonderfully compact and walkable Paris is compared to so many other
capital cities. And I'd miss little things like the smell of baking
bread as I pass a boulangerie, the way you can linger over a single
coffee in a café without anyone passing comment.
Photo: Graphistolage
Catherine Sanderson is currently finishing her second book, due to be published by Penguin in August 2009. Her first book Petite Anglaise is on sale now (UK/USA), and she continues to write about life in Paris on her blog of the same name.
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