Around and About Paris By Thirza Vallois For the REAL Lovers of Paris . . . Paris is a collection of arrondissements, each having its own history and distinctive character. Around and About Paris is published in three volumes, each covering several arrondissements, in numerical order, for ease of reference and because this accurately represents the way the city grew. Each chapter consists of an introduction that sets the scene for your explorations of the arrondissement and a section outlining where to walk and what you will learn and experience along the way. Contents & Excerpts Volume 1 From the Dawn of Time to the Eiffel Tower: The Old Territory Arrondissements 1 - 7 Contents & Excerpts Volume 2 From the Guillotine to the Bastille Opera: The Territory Annexed to Paris during the French Revolution Arrondissements 8 - 12 Contents & Excerpts Volume 3 New Horizons: Haussmann's Annexation Arrondissements 13 - 20 The Perfect Spring Gift Buy Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia between now and 21 March 2008 and pay only 28.70 euros You get a 10% additional savings Buy Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia AND the 3 volume set of Around and About Paris for 107 euros This mean an additional 10% savings on the standard price of 31.90 + 79.90 = 118.80 Use the Secure Web Form to order Around and About Paris Volumes 1, 2, 3 &/or Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia Your copies will be autographed by Thirza Vallois. Value for money: Buy the complete set of 3 volumes for 79.90 euros     postage and handling included and save.     This gives you a 20% discount. Bought separately: 31.90 euros postage and handling included per volume     This gives you a 10% discount. Use the Secure Web Form to order Around and About Paris Volumes 1, 2 and/or 3. Your copies will be autographed by Thirza Vallois. Thirza Vallois in California in April & May 2008 Thirza Vallois will be presenting and signing her most recent book, Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia. On some occasions she will also be talking about the Paris of Artists and Writers. Stunning visuals accompany most of her talks. Saturday, April 12, at 6.30pm, Monterey, CA This event will take place in the gorgeous private "all green" home of Mr and Mrs Geoffrey de Sibert on York Hills, above Monterey. Reservations: 1 (831) 625 9854 $10 towards food and wine Sunday, April 20, at 2.00pm, Fresno Art Museum "The Paris of Artists and Writers." 2233 N. First, Fresno, CA Tel Rebecca Caraveo at 1 (559) 229 4866 Monday, April 21, at the Smittcamp Alumni House, CSUF 2625 E. Matonian Way, Fresno, CA Tel Rebecca Caraveo at 1 (559) 229 4866 Thursday, April 24, at 7.00pm, Readers' Books/Sonoma 130E. Napa St., Sonoma, CA Tel 1 (707) 939 1779 Friday, April 25, at 6.00pm, Santa Rosa Alliance Française At the Vista Del Lago Country Club, Santa Rosa, CA Tel 1 (707) 543 8151 Saturday, April 26, at 3.00pm, Napa Alliance Française Napa Valley Lodge 2230 Madison Street Yountville, CA Tel 1 (707) 252 2673 Wednesday, April 30, at 6.00pm, at La Jolla La Jolla/Riford Library The Paris of Artists and Writers, followed by a presentation of the Aveyron. 7555 Draper Avenue La Jolla, CA Tel 1 (858) 552 1657 Monday, May 5, at 7.00pm, San Diego Le Travel Store 745 Fourth Avenue San Diego, CA Tel 1 (619) 544 0005 Tuesday, May 6, at 6pm, San Diego, CA This event will take place at the gastronomic French restaurant, La Bastide Bistro, and will be accompanied by a gourmet dinner. La Bastide Bistro,10006 Scripps Ranch Blvd San Diego, CA 92131 Tel 1 (858) 577 0033 ORDER Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia today.. Sunday Times "There are guides to every aspect of Paris... and then there are Thirza Vallois's extraordinary Around and About Paris. This three-volume walking guide by a long-time resident unveils Paris arrondissement by arrondissement, street by street. Packed with history, anecdote and curiosity, it brings the city alive." Anthony Sattin, Sunday Times ORDER Around and About Paris today. Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia Thirza Vallois' latest book is available now. Order today. ORDER Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia. "It all began in Paris with a riot of wisteria." This led to a chance meeting between Thirza Vallois and Georges and Odette, and to Vallois' love affair with the stunning Aveyron, a mosaic of enchanting landscapes tucked away on the southern edge of the Massif Central. Until recently, this was France at its most quintessentially rural, sealed off from the rest of the country by a rugged terrain, anchored firmly in its distinctive identity and traditions. Today the Aveyron is a dynamic area of astonishing contrasts, where Norman Foster's cutting-edge Millau Viaduct cohabits with ancient Roquefort cheese, the former home of the Knights Templar hosts anti-globalisation rallies, and pilgrims hike the old road to Compostela while Japanese tourists enjoy contemporary cuisine at the 3-Michelin star Michel Bras. A Bridge to French Arcadia is the captivating story of a once destitute corner of France that is now singled out for its unbeatable, idyllic quality of life. More than a travel book to a unique and beautiful area, it is also a portrait gallery of the people of the Aveyron who are building bridges to the outside world. Bridges that will take you on an exciting journey and a mystical quest across the millennia. Thirza Vallois is the author of the highly acclaimed Around and About Paris series and Romantic Paris. She holds several post-graduate degrees from the Sorbonne, including the prestigious agrégation. An acknowledged Paris expert, she is also the author of the Paris Entry to the Encarta Encylopaedia and contributes to radio, television and magazines. She has also written several articles about the Aveyron for the international press. "Entertaining at all times and full of erudition and historical anecdote, she out-Baedekers Baedeker even at his best." Francophonie Do read the Introduction by Thirza Vallois. See a selection of beautiful photos from the Aveyron. What the Media & Readers Have to Say Thirza Vallois is among the world's experts on Paris - her three volume work "Around and About Paris" placed her immediately in the pantheon of contemporary Paris connaisseurati. "Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia" is an implicit acknowledgement that if you seek to understand Paris, you must go elsewhere than Paris. Part travelogue, part literary prose, all true, once again Thirza Vallois has made connections between all of those pieces that go into a place: its history, its cuisine, its relics, its towns, rivers, mountains, farms, crops, animals, and most of all, its people. [...] If the Aveyron is too far away for you to visit - do not worry. Thirza Vallois will bring you there with this latest flower in what is becoming a marvelous bouquet. The Paris Pages This book is not written as a travel guide but a revelation. It delves so deeply into so much of the Aveyron that it brings it to life on the page. And it is so well presented by the author that every chapter is a fascinating read and hard to put down. France on Your Own Thirza Vallois is no stranger to travel writing, and it shows. Her latest book, Averyon, A Bridge to French Arcadia, is an entertaining trip through an area often overlooked by visitors. Often using the present tense, the author creates the feeling that the reader is right there with her. Ranging freely back and forth from the distant past to the present, Vallois paints an inviting picutre of a place intent on preserving its rich history aned traditions while opening up to the future. France Today I would have fared better in history and geography with Thirza Vallois as my teacher. Drawing on her considerable insight into France from her specialist area of Paris – Vallois holds an agrégation from the Sorbonne and is the author of several acclaimed guides to Paris and of the entry on Paris in the Encarta Encyclopædia – she is drawn by a chance encounter in a restaurant to investigate the Aveyron, one of the last vanishing bastions of ‘la France profonde’. Each whimsical quest inevitably delivers a surprise, managing never to sound twee – José Bové and the realities of the 21st century are just as present as the burons and the Knights Templar – nor ever boring: quite a feat when she spends at least four pages on the engineering masterpiece that is the Millau viaduct. French News I always encourage folks interested in writing travel articles to read good travel writing -- you learn a thing or two by studying the masters. In Thirza Vallois, you couldn't ask for a better example. she's just written a spectacularly engaging book about the region called Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia. I urge you to get your hands on a copy of her book and read it ( or any of her books for that matter) with your writer's cap on. Jen Stevens, The Right Way to Travel The covers of this book are beautiful and foretell the gorgeous book you will find inside. I am a relentless traveler and love to read about interesting places when I am at home. This is one of the most amazing books of its kind to have been written in recent years. Ms. Vallois' talent is incomparable! I felt that I was there at her side on every page as she described the beauty of the countryside and the character of the people of the Aveyron. She plants all of this within the historical context of France and those who have passed through it over the past millenium. Treat yourself to an armchair visit to this gloriously remote and "undiscovered" part of France. You will hate to see those final few pages coming--it ends all too quickly as I fell in love with the people, customs, and beauty of the region I could have read several hundred more pages. Richard J. Christison "Armchair Traveler", San Francisco, CA Thirza Vallois, both historian and travel writer, avoids that "just passing through" feeling found often in other travel writing. I always bring to Paris one volume of her three volume "Around and About Paris", so that each trip I can again feel the thrill of learning a bit more about how every part of Paris is a colorful piece of an interconnected and ongoing historical story, and discover new and exciting historical tidbits about even familiar streets. In her new book "Aveyron - A Bridge to French Arcadia" , this same talent for storytelling, along with her childlike joy of discovery, encyclopedic knowledge of history, and her very real personal relationships with its people, lead us by the hand through the geography, the history, and the individuals populating this little known part of France - a hilly and often spectacularly beautiful rural area that is a fascinating mix of the ancient and the modern. Michele Kurlander "Paris lover", Chicago, Illinois Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia 288 pages and 32 pages of colour photos ISBN: 0-9525378-4-2 978-0-9525378-4-7 Price: 31.90 euros including handling and postage and this represents a 10% discount off the list price ORDER Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia today and be among the first to receive a signed copy.    The launch at WHSmith 15 October 2007 for Aveyron, A Bridge to French Arcadia by Thirza Vallois Romantic Paris Romantic Paris is an invitation to join in an around-the-clock and a dream-come-true celebration of the ultimate city of romance. Written by acknowledged Paris expert, Thirza Vallois has the place at her fingertips and gives you the best of the best of romantic Paris. Vallois walks you to all the city’s treasured spots and secret corners, and provides you with a choice of fabulous places – hotels, restaurants, cafés, shops, museums, night life – that she has carefully selected to suit couples of all ages, all budgets, and as varied a spectrum as possible. Read more about Romantic Paris by Thirza Vallois. Romantic Paris. ORDER your copy of Romantic Paris today. Travel/Gift Book 5" x 9" – 288 pages color photos ISBN 1-56656-458-1 paperback 34.90 euros including handling and postage On THIS PAGE you will find: What the Critics Have to Say Attendants' Comments What Internet Readers Have to Say How to Order Around & About Paris Paris In Sites Newsletter On separate pages you will find: Contents & Excerpts Thirza Vallois: Schedule Bookstores & Bookshops About Thirza Vallois Letter from Paris: "Montparnasse Déporté, Artistes d'Europe" at the Musée du Montparnasse Thirza Vallois: Links What the Critics Have to Say "I think we can safely toss all other Paris guidebooks aside. Paris is made for walking and Thirza Vallois' guides are made for Paris. There can be no higher praise than when I say they come close to the standard set of the world's greatest guide book, J. Link's 'Venice for Pleasure'... and they should soon achieve similar legendary status." William Boyd, The Spectator. "Romantic Paris by Thirza Vallois (Arris Books Ltd) is the best book yet from the author of the highly-acclaimed series Around and About Paris. Vallois has a stunning command of this town's history and culture... And her new guide is an unabashed celebration of the capital of romance. Having lived in Paris for over 40 years, she offers us a genuine insiders look at the city's treasured spots and secret corners. Her choice of restaurants, cafés, shops and little known museums is substantiated by excellent tips, for seasoned expats as well as anybody dreaming of coming here." Paris Free Voice Review, by Bob Roberts "If any city in the world deserves this kind of thorough. loving treatment adoration, actually - it certainly would be Paris. This three-volume guide is a complete course in what the streets have to offer and what Parisian history has been all about. Treat yourself to this treasure." From the Booklist "I am convinced that this guide will constitute from now on, for the British lovers of Paris, a reference book which will have the success it deserves." French Ambassador to the UK "Thirza Vallois' "Around and About Paris" has no glossy pictures... but its manner is every bit as alluring as its subject... It's an engaging geographic history, lithely written, full of details, anecdotes, characters - and worlds to discover, no matter how familiar you are already with Paris when you begin reading Vallois captures - and opens up for all to taste - the incomparable sense of the past one experiences walking the streets of Paris. This is a book for those who think of Paris as an urban paradise - the curious gazer, the laid-back ambler, the wanderer, the seeker of this city's wonders. Yes, Vallois provides never-ending temptation to go off and consult... a chapter of Marcel Proust or Simone de Beauvoir, to scramble off to listen to Maurice Chevalier or Edith Piaf, to admire the works of Auguste Rodin or Camille Claudel. For the armchair traveler, these are sweet temptations indeed - all the way, loftily, to the end of a fulfilling journey to the Pere Lachaise cemetery in the 20th arrondissement. Here's to "Around and About Paris". On your next flight to Paris, don't leave home without it." Boston Book Review, Patsy Baudouin. ". . . she [Vallois] has given us a series of guides which will last for years to come. Schools and colleges which encourage project writing will find the three volumes of estimable value for individual enquiry." Alan Smalley, Francophonie, Leeds Metropolitan University. Then again, it might be less strenuous to invest in a good guidebook. Though this isn't the place to conduct a comprehensive survey, several new titles suggest the range of guides now available. For instance, a traveler already acquainted with Paris, or a first-timer who wants to supplement the standard. Fodor's or Blue Guide, now has Thirza Vallois's three-volume Around and About Paris. Vallois, a Paris resident for 30-plus years, takes the reader through the city arrondissement by arrondissement, "so as to allow the city to unfold little by little before your eyes. The names of streets, the geographic location of the city's monuments, the social and ethnic distribution of the population will become meaningful and coherent. You will understand that it is not pure chance that draws the wealthy to the 16th arrondissement or publishers to the 6th. You will find out how and why haute couture started in the 1st arrondissement and why it has recently.Washington Post. "For in-depth coverage of the sights, sounds and smells of Paris, nothing tops Thirza Vallois' "Around and About Paris" books... " Janet Delong, The Paris Free Voice. "For anyone who loves Paris and would like to know more about its historical and literary associations, this is a well-written and astonishingly informative companion." The Times Literary Supplement "Thirza Vallois comes much nearer the mark with her riveting tour history of Paris. It is an unpatronizing, anecdotaal, user-friendly, walking guide to the where, who and why of each building, park and street-name in Paris. If you live in Paris or are just fascinated by it, those books are for you." Boulevards "The reader can sit back and enjoy her [Vallois] enlightening account of the city. She brings alive its sights, walks and gastronomic tradition and punctuates her guide with anecdotes of famous residents." Lucy Yoeman, The European. See also More reviews from the critics... Attendants' Comments In my years of conference attendance, I never once heard the caliber of presentation that Thirza Vallois offers. I had ordered and read several of her books in preparation for hearing her speak, so I was ready for her tone and style...but I wasn't expecting her charisma or the depth of her passion for Paris. (I traveled abroad with students eight times during my 22 years of teaching French at West High, so I'd heard my fair share of professional guides...I thought I had a basis for comparison. I didn't.) Anyone who has been to or through Paris, who has read a book or seen a movie about Paris, who has studied European history or Western societies or literature, will be enthralled by what she has to say. I believe she will blow off your collective socks! Barbara L. Hecker, Anchorage, Alaska Mrs Vallois was such an inspiration and enthusiastic speaker that not only was each student in the audience enraptured, but many of those students then tried to figure out how they could stay longer or develop a career in Paris. In Ms Vallois you will find a fascinating speaker who is very versatile and personable. Amy B. Ellzey, Director International Programs, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California 90263 The lecture illustrated with a slide show, was a wonderful excursion through the streets of Paris, by this lover of this city with amazing depth and insights... International Women's Club - Paris, France Very many thanks for a lively and stimulating address to Club L last Wednesday. The enthusiastic reaction of those who attended told you how well it was received. The excursion that you led to Montmartre was superb. Every time I have met up or spoken with anyone who was with you that day, it was the main topic of conversation. L Club (International Professional Women's Club) - UK section The speaker was fantastic, with tremendous preparation and brilliant arrangement. The National Arts Club - New York City What Internet Readers Have to Say "Would you like to have a personal guide to show you around Paris?" How would you like to have a personal guide as your companion when visiting Paris? A guide that will not only give you a brief history of each and every "Arrondissement" from the first to the twentieth, but as the author states, "a journey into the depths of Paris" and "an invitation to scratch beneath its surface of dazzling vistas and imposing monuments and to probe into the souls and lives of the restless people." Author Thirza Vallois's three volumes entitled AROUND AND ABOUT PARIS accomplishes all of the above and more. Most other guidebooks pertaining to Paris are merely directories that list where to stay and eat with a little history and antidotes thrown in. Vallois's tomes do not contain any listings of hotels, restaurants, phone numbers or web sites. They are, however, similar to information contained in college textbooks and would probably be suggested readings if a course were to be given entitled "Paris 101." Not only are they invaluable tools for the traveller to Paris but also for those of us who are so called "arm chair" travellers and who never intend to leave home. Each chapter is devoted to a distinct Arrondissement describing their unique history and character. These introductions are followed by comprehensive descriptions of the walks you must pursue. After all Paris is made for walking! Very often when visiting Paris we are too much concerned with the usual tourist attractions such as the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and various other well known sites. Consequently, we tend to loose sight of the history and background information concerning the area where we may be lodging or the areas where we are taking our promenades. We are also ignorant of the many "nooks and crannies" that make Paris a city of romance, drama, triumph, tragedy, crime and passion. Vallois has lived in Paris for over thirty years. For eight of those years before writing these guides she "journeyed into the depths of Paris, walking its every street, reading in libraries whatever came my way" as she mentioned in an article appearing in Paris Kiosque No wonder the guides are so comprehensive and detailed. To appreciate Paris is to understand its history and culture. Thanks to authors such as Thirza Vallois we can explore Paris with a greater understanding and enlightenment. *Please note that their are three books: Volume 1 concerns the 1st to 7th arrondissements: Volume 2 the 8th to 12th, Volume 3 the 13th-20th. The ISBN numbersof Vol 2: 0952537834. The ISBN numbers of Vol 3: 0952537826 Copyright 2002, Bookideas.com. Orginally published at Bookideas.com Reviewed by Norman Goldman Courtesy Bookideas, at http://thebestreviews.com/review5281/ Mrs Vallois is a queen - Feel as her invitee in Paris Reviewer: Nantes from Chateau-Bois-Briand, Nantes Pays de la Loire, France Because Mrs Vallois has a love affair with Paris; because she devoted part of her life to this "cause", she is totally convincing. When you read her descriptions of hidden details on houses nobody noticed before, you understand that Mrs Vallois deserves the right to consider herself as co-owner of "the spirit of Paris". Because this "spirit" is something that was invented by the French to be shared with others, feel free to become a "courtisan". Mrs Vallois books are well documented (no need to say). It's like reading an architectural manual plus an history encyclopedia. All this while walking in charming places. I hope the next books will keep this knowledge embedded in a living style and that Thirza will add more illustrations. Buy this book. It will never look old-fashioned! I ordered your three books last week and was amazed to have them delivered yesterday! Even better, I browsed through them and was really delighted with what I found. The critics are right; they are absolutely splendid, really informative and entertaining, too. I shall not only enjoy using them in our explorations of Paris, I shall also enjoy just reading them. Then, just to top off what was already a good buy, I discovered that you had signed them as well! Keith Hunt, UK I want to thank you very much for the wonderful help your guide has been to me in my visits throughout Paris in the past days. Never has any travel book given me the feeling of being accompanied by a true human guide. I already look forward to the next visits on my program. Philippe Piessens, Belgium I have read all three volumes, but being on site made a huge and vivid difference. One of our French friends asked me which guide to Paris I liked the best. There was no contest - yours is the winner by far! Erica Roberts, Berkeley, CA, USA I was simply thrilled to meet you yesterday at Shakespeare & Co tea party - still thrilled, in fact, my favourite author on Paris. I started your 3rd Volume. It's even more interesting to read what you wrote after meeting you. Now I can imagine how you would tell it in your own voice! I cannot imagine, however, how you went through all the information you must have had, choosing what to put in and where. I would have been so overwhelmed, and you do it all with such good humour and good writing. Hae-Jean Noh, South Korea I've just received the books. What can I say, they're simply outstanding and a terrific "helping hand" to all those wishing to spend a couple of weeks in Paris. I've already started browsing through the book and I'm sure I'll get the most out of it. Eduardo Etcheverry, Brazil Let me mention that each time I put your piece together I am simply astounded by the amount of information you have brought together in these books. How did you do this? Norman Barth, The Paris Pages Paris In Sites Newsletter Receive free updates about Thirza Valois and WebFrance International by subscribing to Paris In Sites Newsletter, sent to you by email with information on travel and tourism from about about Paris and France. 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