You’ve no doubt by now noticed that the sites got a bit of a re-design and some things got changed around last week. We wanted to highlight two changes to make sure everyone knows what changed.

The first and biggest is COMMENTS! Registration is no longer required to post a comment on any post. Of course if you already have an account you can still login to ensure your comments are attributed to you, but those who don’t can now post a comment without any long term commitment. Also, on the right you can see some of the recent comments so you’ll always know what the active discussions are. This was the most requested thing we’ve heard from people since our last redesign and we’re excited to see where it leads.

The next change is also something that was heavily requested, and that is a change to the ADS on the sites. You’ll immediately notice fewer of them, but what might not be as obvious is those smaller square ones to the right are specific to this city only and are being sold for a flat rate for a period of time rather than a confusing CPM/traffic/network model. Depending on the city, these range from $7-$175 for a full week. If you purchase one, during that time your ad will be the only one in that spot and will show on every page. We set these up both to make it easier for smaller local businesses to get their ads on our site, and also to help us bring in ads that relate better to our local audiences. Also, keeping these sites online is expensive and every little bit helps.

There are a bunch of other things we changed (including this broadcast function so we can more easily update everyone) but we’ll leave those to you to investigate and take advantage of. Hope you like it, and we look forward to seeing you in the comments!!

Love,
The folks at MBHQ

D’ici au 30 juin, vous pouvez participer au concours “Photographiez votre marché” à l’occasion de la fête des marchés. Voilà une bonne idée pour allier ses courses du samedi (ou dimanche) matin avec une belle aventure ;)

Toutes les infos…

Le parvis de l’hotel de ville se transforme à nouveau cette année en jardin à partir du 13 juin.

Toutes les infos ici (comme d’hab :P )

Tous les détails sur le site de la ville de Paris, ici.

Avec Europe Ecologie juste derrière la liste UMP (en tête) : 2.5 points d’écart seulement ! Je trouvai ça “note-worthy”.

Après la pluie du samedi; le retour du soleil dimanche a incité bon nombvre de parisiens à sortir prendre l’air. J’ai pour ma part été me ballader du coté du marais, et j’ai eu la bonne surprise de découvrir qu’une partie des rues était devenu piétonnes le dimanche après midi!Bon ce n’est pas nouveau (cf les liens ci dessous) mais je n’étais pas passé par là le dimanche depuis un moment… Pour l’historique et des information plus détaillées sur ce quartier, je vous renvoie au blog Vivre le marais et à l’article du parisien sur le sujet.

La mauvaise surprise vient elle des quais de Seine.  Je suis en effet descendue sur les quais ouverts aux piétons (rive droite) pour profiter du soleil et continuer ma ballade.Tout va bien jusqu’au tunnel des Tuileries ou apparait un gyrophare… La première idée est celle d’un accident, mais nous entendons bien vite des klaxons… Les voies sont en cours de réouverture à la circulation alors que des centaines de promeneurs de tous ages sont encore sur les quais !

A postériori j’ai cherché les horaires d’ouverture des berges aux piétons, et il apparait qu’elles ne sont ouverte que j’usqu’à 17h (heure vers laquelle je suis descendue).  Mais aucune information sur les descentes, ni sur les berges n’est affiché!!

Bien que “personne ne soit censé ignoré la loi” il me semble utile que ce genre d’information soit clairement indiqué ou au moins rappelée. Pourquoi n’ai-je pas vu de patrouille de police passer vers 17h pour évacuer les quais?  Pourquoi l’évacuation se fait-elle en même temps que l’ouverture ce qui génère l’exaspération des automobilistes “coincés” deriière les voitures de police et la mise en danger des promeneurs ? Une foi remontée, j’ai par exemple assisté à des seine inquiétantes, comme ces deux touristes japonais qui ont du tranverser la circulation (quasi à l’arrêt heureusement) pour rejoindre les escaliers ou cette grand-mère qu’il a fallut porter pour passer la barrière permettant de se mettre en sécurité!

J’espère que le problème que nous avons observé hier soir n’esy qu’un “cafouillage” passagé.

[From Le Canard Enchaîné, by Cobu]

There are expats aplenty in France, not to mention language students worldwide, who aspire to speak French as fluently as they could. There’s a genuine love for the language for us, and everyone would inevitably tell you, the best way to speak the language is to live within Francophonic society and to interact at all time with native speakers.

Even then, there are nuances that standard text books don’t tell us. Slangs and clever play of words are painfully difficult for non-native speakers to grasp, and expressive phrases pose yet another roadblock to our learning. We sure appreciate all help possible and there is a new learning aid at hand.

Introducing – On va le dire comme ça : Dictionnaire des expressions quotidiennes!

Touted as first of its kind, this dictionary explains the meaning and the use of over 1600 expressions and sayings illustrated using over 5000 examples, and reveals their counterparts in other French-speaking countries. Add in modern languages integration (e.g. Anglophone influence), this dictionary will not even go amiss in a French household.

It doesn’t come cheap, at over €30 a pop, but I suspect its value will be worth more than that for the keen language learners. However, I suspect I know well the meaning of the expression “bling bling” so that will be one phrase I need not learn. ;-)

When one imagines the many pleasures of spending time in Paris, one of the most often repeated is: the food. And lovelies, as a woman from the United States, I can tell you that the day I have to go back and eat in the U.S will be a sad day indeed. The variety, the quality, the attention to detail makes for a delectable city indeed. However, upon arriving in Paris, I realized one small problem; there are so many different types of food establishments in Paris that to the unseasoned traveler, it can be a maze that results in a dejected run back to McDonald’s. Brasserie, restaurant, café, bistro, bar; what do they mean? What type of food can you expect from them, what kind of service? When you walk around Paris for hours, looking at the various landmarks and sights, the last thing you want to do is try and figure out where to get a sandwich and where to sit down to a nice, three course lunch.

Have no fear, my frenchie fiends; Lelle is here!

This is a guide to the types of food establishments to be found in Paris, with a brief overview of typical fare, service type, location, and price.

(more…)

“This is the end, beautiful friend.
It hurts to set you free,
But you’ll never follow me.
The end of laughter and soft lies.
The end of nights we tried to die.
This is the… end.”

Morrison once confessed that “We’re more interested in the dark side of life, the evil thing, the night time.”

(more…)