Free Books, Free Tapas, and Pricey "White Gold"

The European
Vol. 1. Issue no. 50
November 20, 2007
Waterford, Eire

Five reasons why Sens makes sense

by Leigh Fergus

Where can you go if you love Paris, but want more space than in the city and more fresh air than in the suburbs? Does Sens, southeast of the capital, make sense? Here are five reasons why you might want to look here.

1. Easy to get here
It’s less than an hour by train from Paris, with a regular hourly service from both Paris Gare de Lyon and Bercy stations. More trains run this route during peak hours and lunch time—and this train line is rarely affected by strikes. Tickets cost 16.60 ($24.30) euro one-way. It takes slightly longer by direct highway.

2. Low property prices
Property prices here are attractive. Not dirt-cheap, because of the great transport links and proximity to the capital, but not overpriced, either. Property is likely to appreciate steadily—overflow from the neighboring département of Seine-et-Marne shows that commuters are starting to recognize the value of the properties and lower local taxes here.

A two-bedroom country house outside of Sens with a third of an acre garden can be found for 124,000 euro ($180,200) with Agences Ramos--that’s the price of a 250-square-foot studio in Paris. A small village house that needs renovation is going for 74,000 euro ($107,600) with Agence Leader. Or how about a central two-bedroom apartment of 800 square feet for 92,000 euro ($133,400)? From La Margaute.

3. Plenty to do
Sens has a long history and culture. Caesar mentions the Senones region in his records. In the fourth century the Romans made the town an administrative center. The city is home to the first Gothic cathedral in France, much copied around the country. The former Episcopal palace now houses a museum with a rich collection of Gallo-Roman exhibits, including an almost-intact mosaic, and a private donation of Art Deco furniture. You can also see some of Thomas Becket’s vestments in the cathedral treasury—he spent some of his exile in Sens.

And the town offers plenty of activities, from walks in the new Moulin du Tan park to offbeat shows and concerts at the theater, and a lively Monday market. Unlike most French towns, Monday is one of the best days to visit for shopping—and Tuesday is the quiet closed-for-business day. Plus the cost of living is lower than in Paris—any of the bakeries here show prices 20% lower.

4. The friendly people—none of the Parisian cool here.

5. The quality of life
And the food and wine—this is Burgundy, after all, the northwestern corner. Local wines include Chitry, Irancy, and Chablis, and the fragrant marc de Bourgogne, a potent type of brandy. For cheeses, try Aisy cendré goat cheese, the creamy Délice de Bourgogne, and the pungent Epoisses. The town’s very own candy is a hazelnut treat called a bûchette sénonaise.

Why truffle prices doubled this year

by Leigh Fergus

After a particularly dry summer in Europe, the already-rare truffle is becoming even harder to find, especially the white truffle. In the forests of Piedmonte and Istria, farmers are charging double last year’s prices for both black and white varieties of this delicacy. A pound of white truffles now costs more than 2,400 euro ($3,500) and many restaurants are foregoing the “white gold”--or will pass the cost on to you.

Picknicking in a hidden valley in Andalucia

by Mike DeSimone

When the Andalucian sun is too hot for hiking up in the mountains, the locals enjoy walking in the valleys. We recently learned of a hike up the arid bed of the Rio Chillar—pronounced chee-yar—that runs from the hills above the white village of Frigiliana to the beach in our town of Nerja.

As we set off up the dry riverbed, the only evidence of a waterway was the snaking sugarcane which marked the course of the river making its way to the Mediterranean. The trail was filled with Spanish families heading for a day of shady picnicking by a waterfall and swimming hole. Many of the children were in bathing suits and sandals.

After about an hour of hiking, the ground got a little muddy as we rounded a curve, and then we were forced to tip-toe from stone to stone across a stream about 12 feet wide and six inches deep. We walked on the other side of the deepening water for a few more minutes, until we were faced with a choice: follow the locals with their picnic baskets and walk into the water, or turn back and call it a day.

Giving in to the call of lunch by the waterfall, we stepped right into the rocky-bottomed river with our newfound friends, and kept walking up, in the shade of trees. The water soon grew knee deep, and every now and then it came up even higher.

Passing through worn-granite chasms 20 feet high, we marveled that the rivulet running down to the beach could ever have carved these walls of stone. After wading upriver for about two and a half hours, we came to a natural dam and pool of chest-high water and found ourselves among 30 or so Spanish families. As the children swam and played in the pool, the adults laid out elaborate picnics and opened bottles of chilled white wine and sparkling water. We sat on dry rocks to enjoy sandwiches of local cheese and Serrano ham before making our way back downriver.

Non-hikers may be under the impression that the trip down is easier, but it can actually be treacherous. One misplaced step onto a slippery rock sent me spilling backward. Once out of the river and back on dry land, our boots rapidly turned from muddy to dusty as the sun we had trekked upriver to avoid beat down mercilessly.

Fortunately, a small tapas bar, El Bar de Coches de Caballos, the local horsemen’s watering hole of choice, is right there in the riverbed. A tapa such as chickpea stew or potato and tuna salad comes free with a one-euro beer, and that is worth a five-hour walk in the river any day.

Guide to Paris Libraries

by Madeleine Zhang

Bookworms on a budget needn’t despair about being cut off from Anglo or U.S. culture in the French capital. City hall has an extensive network of lending libraries, many of which have an English-language section. In the smaller branches this may mean just one or two shelves of Patricia Cornwell and Dan Brown, but some libraries have a larger section devoted to books in English.

The library on 74-76 rue Mouffetard, in the 5th arrondissement, specializes in crime writing and has a wide selection of American and British detective stories. Even my local source of books and magazines on rue Télégraphe, in the 20th arrondissement offers a good corner of recent novels—from Iain Pears to Joyce Carol Oates.

Other municipal libraries worth checking are:
-80 avenue du Maine (14th arrondissement)—it specializes in English books
-6 rue du Commandant Schloesing (16th)—for its collection of books in foreign languages, including English, as well as travel and tourism books
-117 rue Rambuteau, in the Forum des Halles (1st)—a musical library, with cds, videos, and DVDs as well as sheet music.
-23 rue du Colonel Rozanoff (12th)
-5 Bis rue Buffon (5th)
-24 rue de Rochechouart (9th)

The multi-colored industrial-looking Centre Pompidou on rue Rambuteau (2nd), houses the Bibliothèque Publique d’Information and a sizeable number of works in English. The library and language lab are so popular that the 2,200 work spaces fill up almost instantly and you may face a long wait to get in—entry is strictly limited to the number of work spaces. You can’t borrow material here, however, as it’s open for on-site reference and reading only. The library opens at midday most days, but you have a better chance of finding a seat in the evening, from 6 p.m. until closing time at 10 p.m. Whatever your interests, each section will have works in English, whether it’s molecular science or classical architecture.

And the latest addition to the Paris library scene is the controversial François Mitterrand Library (13th). Dogged by planning disasters from the beginning (many of the most fragile manuscripts were stored in the hot glass towers before reason prevailed), it now offers a comfortable place for researchers to work, with laptop-friendly desks and lighting. You need a reader’s card for access to most of the volumes stocked here—this costs from 3.30 euro a day. More than 600,000 volumes are on the shelves, but a total of 13 million are stored here, most of which you can consult on request. Room G holds literature in English.

Don’t forget also that the American Library in Paris (10 rue du Général Camou, 7th, Métro Ecole Militaire; website: www.americanlibraryinparis.org) has an impressive collection of novels and periodicals that you can borrow for an annual fee of 100 euro (80 euro for seniors, and 60 euro for a child’s membership).

And the Irish Cultural Centre (5, rue des Irlandais, 5th ; website: www.centreculturelirlandais.com), although currently undergoing renovation, will re-open in January 2008. It has a well-stocked library and media center focusing on Ireland and all things Irish.

[Editor’s note: For details about our pick of the best English-language bookshops in Paris, read The European Vol. 1, Issue. 29]