Cheap Thrills: Hôtel de Ville

(Photo via Wikipedia)

When my mom first came to Paris, we were in the Marais and as we walked past the Hôtel de Ville, I pointed it out to her and she said, "Wow, I wish we were staying in THAT hotel!"

Easy mistake, but it's not, of course, a hotel at all... the "hôtel de ville" of any French town is the city center or town hall. It's where you go to sort out administrative woes and pick up brochures for what's happening around town. But Paris takes the concept much further and its Hôtel de Ville goes way beyond its definition as a city center. This magnificent structure has been around since the 1357 and is so much more than "the city's local administration" (as Wikipedia has described it).

Cheap Paris Opera Tickets

(Photo via La Terrasse)

I'd always wanted to go to the opera. In the past and in other beloved cities I'd gone to the ballet, the theater, and classical music concerts, but never the opera. It's all so fancy and high-class that I have trouble even saying the word without it sounding, well, snooty. Ahhh-prahh. The very idea of it is so Paris: get dressed up, go somewhere fabulous, have a night on the town. So you can imagine how thrilled I was recently to snag tickets to the Paris opera for a mere ten euros.

Paris Cheapskate Summer Music 2013

Coucou mes cheries! As a celebration of all the nice weather, all the free concerts and movies, all the maxin' and relaxin' we've had the chance to do this summer in Paris, I made y'all a little playlist of all the fun summer songs I've been listening to on repeat since June. The list features such chillax artists as Rhye, Summer Camp, Breakbot, Dent May and my two new favorites Kindness and  Majid Jordan. Enjoy!

Do It Right: The Perfect Picnic

It's finally, officially here: proper picnic season. With the emergence of the sun and glitteringly warm, long days, now is the perfect time to get yourself to a patch of grass with some good eats, good drinks and good friends. But before you grab a sandwich at a boulangerie and head to any old park nearby, take a moment to think about it. Because, like everything else in Paris, there is an art to le pique-nique. Luckily, I have way too much experience and have become an expert in how to achieve the Perfect Picnic.

Free Music - Your Soundtrack to Riding Trains

I love cinematic music - tunes that swell with your heart and make you feel as though you have your own personal soundtrack. Maybe that's why I also love making mix CDs, to create those moments for myself. For a recent trip to the south of France, I made myself this little mix to listen to while riding the train, and it is so swoony I had to share the list with you! It's perfect for road trips, train trips, or any kind of traveling that involves watching the world pass by your very eyes as the landscape changes and telephone poles go whipping past in rhythm to the beat in your ears.

* Note: I'm giving away copies of this collection to anyone who asks! Just email me at parischeapskate (at) gmail! 

1. Zebra - Beach House
2. Excuses - The Morning Benders
3. Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second (Strategy Remix) - Starf**ker
4. True Loves - Hooray For Earth
5. California Sunrise - Dirty Gold
6. Vocal Chords - Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
7. Yeah! Oh Yeah! - The Magnetic Fields
8. Cold War - The Morning Benders
9. Om Nashi Me - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
10. Hands - Alpine
11. Random Firl - Late of the Pier
12. Don't Look Away - The Helio Sequence
13. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) - George Harrison
14. In the Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel
15. Postcards From Italy - Beirut
16. Mahgeeta - My Morning Jacket
17. Do You Realize? - The Flaming Lips
18. California - Delta Spirit

Entendu: Great French Radio

Obviously, I love music. With online French radio, I can kill two birds with one stone: improving my French and keeping up with the best new tunes. Here are a few of my favorite internet stations to listen to: