Paris Paparazzi: Organized tours to track down French celebrities

by Anna Brones on

With their President Nicolas Sarkozy married to a fashionable ex-supermodel, and getting a lot of publicity on account of it, the French are currently consumed by the lives of celebrities. So what better way to feel truly part of French culture than taking part in the celebrity craze yourself?

Browsing through some French newspapers this morning I came across the Paris Paparazzi walking tour run by Parisian travel company Nomade Aventure. It’s basically a Hollywood star map inspired tour infused with some French flair; running around the city of lights — and apparently, stars — in the hopes of crossing a famed French celebrity hiding behind big black sunglasses. But in all the gallivanting around Saint Germain and Place de l’Odéon, the amount of celebrity sightings probably stays at a minimum.

It’s just another way to experience the romantic French capital. There is one catch however: the tour is only run in French. But maybe that is the only thing that makes something like this bearable.

Climate change may alter wine-growing regions

by Catherine Bodry on

As the world climate warms up, vineyards are feeling the heat: harvests are earlier, wines are coarser and have a higher alcohol content and lower acidity. Why would that be any big deal, you ask? Well, for one, wine as we know it would change — especially the finer ones.

Former Vice President Al Gore addressed wine experts at the Second International Congress on Wine and Climate Change, arguing that “if the temperature rises two or three degrees (Centigrade), we could manage to see Bordeaux remain as Bordeaux, Rioja as Rioja, Burgundy as Burgundy. But if it goes up five or six degrees, we must face up to huge problems, and the changes will be hard.”

Some of the changes we’re likely to see if that temperature rise occurs are the types of wines grown in specific regions — think Champagne in the Champagne region in France. French Champagne producers have reportedly bought land in Sussex and Kent, England in preparation for warmer temperatures (does that mean we’ll have to start calling French Champagne “Sussex”?).

The conference-goers’ expert verdicts on wines affected by climate change should be out soon. Until then, enjoy that Bordeaux while it lasts.

Do chocolate spa treatments leave you sticky?

by Jamie Rhein on

After writing about the chocolate hotel room fantasy weekend and the chocolate spa treatments at the Hotel Hershey, I wondered about others. The idea of a chocolate treatment makes me feel sticky. I have had massages with oil. Those left me feeling slick. Jeannette of Intelligent Traveler who wrote the original post about the Godiva/Hotel Bryant fantasy weekend left a comment on my post that she has had a chocolate wrap and there is a temptation to lick oneself. I can see that.

I have never felt tempted to lick myself after a massage that involves regular massage oil. This chocolate beauty treatment has me curious about its merits. These treatments have been around awhile. In this 2005 article posted at FoxNews.com, Samantha Jonas-Hain writes about her chocolate body tour that took in Hershey, Pennsylvania as well as Ajune Spa (see Godiva Chocolate Body Wrap) and Charm Beauty Salon in Manhattan.

Jonas-Hain interviewed people who attested to the benefits of doing more than eating chocolate. For example, one person said that caffeine stimulates the circulatory system and tightens the skin. One benefit, another said, is that if you use chocolate as a beauty treatment, the smell alone can satisfy your cravings for the good stuff. You might not eat it which can help keep the weight off. So you see, don’t eat the Godiva chocolate you received for Valentine’s Day. Melt it and use it as a facial.

Here are some other places for chocolate spa treatments I came across.

The Spa at Norwich Inn – Norwich, Connecticut. Three chocolate inspired treatments from which to choose.

Four Seasons Hotel George V – Paris. Check out the chocolate body scrub or the chocolate body wrap.

Relâche, the Spa at Gaylord Opryland® Resort & Convention Center, Nashville, Tennessee has a chocolate spa treatment in February only. Hurry.

Poets Cove Resort and Spa— Pender Island, British Columbia – For treatments with yummy sounding names.

Car running on compressed air is almost here

by Iva Skoch on

A French inventor has promised that he will start selling a car that runs on compressed air within a year, BBC reports. The concept, OneCAT, will be a five-seater with a glass-fiber body, weighing just 350kg and could cost just over $5000. More importantly, it will produce no emissions at all in town.

It will be driven by compressed air stored in carbon-fiber tanks. The tanks can be filled with air from a compressor in just three minutes, which is much quicker than a battery car or it can be plugged into the mains for four hours and an on-board compressor will do the job.

It isn’t exactly a beautiful piece of machinery, but it is what’s on the inside that counts, say the French (probably for the first time ever).

This time, a passenger struck a flight attendant

by Iva Skoch on

Just last week, we wrote about a pilot whose mental breakdown caused an emergency landing.

Now, AP reports that a flight from New York to Paris was diverted to Boston last night because a French passenger “struck a flight attendant.” Why? We don’t know. Nonetheless, the American Airlines flight landed safely after 8 p.m. Wednesday night at Logan Airport. The “attacker” was taken into custody.

Is it the cabin pressure that makes people go crazy?

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A commercial airplane with a king size bed? I wonder how much that costs…

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