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ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT TO MAKE YOUR RESERVATION (AND BE SURE TO BRING A FRIEND)!

Living and Investing in France Real Estate Conference
March 21-22, 2009
New Orleans, Louisiana
There is nothing else you can do in less time and as inexpensively to learn all you need to learn to make your dream to live and invest in France come true.

For more information and to register, click here FrenchPropertyconference or email info@adrianleeds.com

Dear Parler Paris Reader,

There's a first time for everything. This was the first time to have gone to the cinema three nights in a row.

For those of you who are film addicts, this may not be at all unusual, but for someone who usually doesn't find the time to see even one a month, it was a record. It wasn't planned -- it just happened that way.

You probably think that we have the U.S. to thank for the motion picture, but guess what fellow Americans, it was the Lumière Brothers of France who invented it. Their first films were two minute reels shown to paying audiences in Paris in 1895. Then at the turn of the 20th-century, Charles Pathé, together with his brother, Emile, under the name, Société Pathé Frères, virtually monopolized the industry having made so many films that he was 'crowned' the "Napoleon of Film" in France at that time.

Suffering from financial woes after World War I put a damper on the French film industry and French film production decreased. Meanwhile, the U.S. film industry prospered by selling their films cheaply in Europe. To protect their own industry, European countries began to set quotas for imported films -- for every seven foreign films imported to France, one French film was to be produced and shown in French cinemas.

This led to a "Nouvelle Vague" (new wave) of young French filmmakers in the late 1950s and 1960s who soon became known as the 'pioneers' of French cinema -- François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Éric Rohmer, Claude Chabrol, and Jacques Rivette who laid groundwork for a new surge of concepts coined as "La politique des auteurs" ("The policy of authors").

The French are avid movie-goers. 2008 was a record year for French cinema abroad, attracting close to 80 million spectators. French film production reached an all-time high last year, and movie attendance rose by 16% against 2007. In 2007, 177.5 million French bought tickets to see a film, but U.S. films took 60% of the market share.

There is no shortage of cinemas in Paris that show "VO" ("Version Original") films -- films in their original language with French subtitles. I can remember during our first months here settling into a seat at the large Pathé Wepler cinema at Place de Clichy being shocked when Lestat de Lioncourt in "Interview with a Vampire" opened his mouth in French, not even realizing there was such a thing as a dubbed film. How naive is that? We quickly left and they were nice enough to refund our money for the tickets.

Since then I've learned to ensure the film is VO before entering and now I read the French subtitles for curiosity. You'd be surprised at how often a 'positive' statement in English is coupled with a translation in French that is 'negative' -- a perfect example of how this culture sees the glass half empty vs half full. For example, a receptionist may say: in English -- "Hold on please." The French translation -- "Ne quittez pas, s'il vous plait."

Most of the theaters that show VO films are in the central parts of the city in major cinema chains. You can count on the UGC, Gaumont and MK2 cinemas on the Champse-Elysées, at Montparnasse, Odéon, Bastille, Les Halles and Opéra to show American-made films in English. Some theaters are decidedly better than others and I often wish I had made a critical review of which have the best seats, best view, easiest box office, best refreshment stand...etc.

After standing in line for 15 minutes to get an "Orangina," the inefficiency of the refreshment stand system was making itself more obvious by the moment. When returning to my seat, now after the pre-film advertising was well underway, my American friend, even after living here more than 30 years, remarked without encouragement, "I know. The inefficiency makes you crazy, right? Wouldn't you just love to teach them how to do it better, faster?"

But they don't seem to care. The seats are all filled. The French don't seem to think the habit of turning up the lights then lowering them again between the advertising and the film starting is anything unusual while our Americans pupil dilation is going haywire. No one talks during the advertising or the film (isn't that refreshing?). At the end of the film, if they've enjoyed it, they applaud.

And my opinion?...

Do I go to French films? Hey -- I'm lucky I got to see these!

A la prochaine...

Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris

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P.S. Be sure to stop by to visit with us tomorrow afternoon at Parler Paris Après Midi! 3 to 5 p.m. at La Pierre du Marais. Bring your good humor and conversation. Visit Parler_Paris_Après_Midi for more information.

P.P.S. Announcing Parler Paris Apartments newest vacation apartment rental -- our largest and most luxurious! Click here to visit "Le Château Saint-Germain" in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, 6th Arrondissement...3 bedrooms, 3 baths and as elegant and luxurious as it gets! Available as of July 11th, so book now!: Parler Paris Apartments, Le Château Saint-Germain

P.P.S. Scroll down to learn more about tomorrow's House Hunters International episode and all the great upcoming conferences and workshops in which you can participate.

SPACES STILL AVAILABLE...WRITE YOUR HEART OUT IN CHAMPAGNE!

Don't delay...Writing from the Heart...a journey into the heart of France, and into your own heart...April 21-27, 2009

For more information visit: /frenchproperty/conference/

HOUSE HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL!...
NEW EPISODE, NEW DATES AND TIMES!
SEE ADRIAN LEEDS AND FRENCH PROPERTY CONSULTATION
ON HOUSE HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL!

For more information, visit Our Community Calendar!

WATCH TOMORROW NIGHT...
***"Settling Down in Paris" - Episode HHINT-1A05
House Hunters International Episode HHINT-402
AIR TIMES:
March 10, 2009 10:30 PM ET/PT
March 10, 2009 2:30 AM ET/PT

***NEW: "Vacation Home in Paris" - Episode HHINT-1A05
AIR TIMES:
March 27, 2009, 10:00 PM ET/PT
March 27, 2009, 2:00 AM ET/PT
House Hunters International Episode HHINT-402

YOU'RE INVITED: SUNDAY LUNCH IN NORMANDY WITH ON RUE TATIN CHEF, SUSAN LOOMIS

Come to On Rue Tatin, Susan Herrmann Loomis' 15th-century Norman retreat, for a sumptuous Sunday lunch. A savory, aromatic world where culinary adventure awaits...

Upcoming Lunches:

• May 24, 2009
• Special Father's Day Sunday Lunch June 21, 2009
• September 13, 2009
• November 8, 2009

For details, please visit /frenchproperty/conference

FROM STORM TO FORM...
A James Navé Creative Writing Workshop in Paris
“Playing with Form and Structure”
24 April, 2009

You've done your Imaginative Storm work. You've generated fragments, snippets, images, and story lines. Now, it's time to play with form and structure...
For more information visit /frenchproperty/conference

READY TO SHOP IN PARIS?
Shopping Walks are Ready to Download, Free of Charge!
ChicWalks.com provides meticulously pre-researched, color-coded shopping walks, accompanied by detailed maps and street views, that can be downloaded to a mobile device of choice, or printed out. Visit www.ChicWalks.com for exciting details!

BE AN OWNER IN THE BEST ADDRESS IN PARIS -- PLACE DES VOSGES

Now you can own a share in an AMAZING "maison" -- more of a house in the country than an apartment in Paris, right smack dab in the middle of Paris' most elegant square -- the Place des Vosges.

For more information visit frenchpropertyfractional.com

MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR UPCOMING LIVING AND INVESTING IN FRANCE REAL ESTATE CONFERENCES...

London
Sunday, April 26, 2009
The International Law Partnership
The Vaults, Holborn Hall
193-197 High Holborn
London WC1V 7BD

Paris
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Chez Jenny
3, Boulevard du Temple
75003 Paris

For more information, visit /frenchproperty/conference

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RESERVE NOW FOR EASTER...Reserve now! Visit
Parler Paris Apartments

Welcome to your home in Paris. Home is how you will feel in a private apartment in Paris that has the "seal of approval" from Parler Paris Apartments and me, Adrian Leeds.

Les Ivoires de Montmartre...
Rue des Trois Frères, 18th Arrondissement
Studio, Sleeps Up to 4

This bright and beautiful studio apartment has been freshly redesigned and renovated with the utmost attention to detail. Located on a quiet one-way street which was made famous by the hit movie “Le Fabuleux Destin d’Amelie Poulain” (yes that Amelie!), it promises you a stay to remember.

La Bonne Nobel...
Rue Nobel, 18th Arrondissement Two-Bedroom (One-Bedroom + Bedroom/Office), Sleeps Up to 4

Rue Nobel is one of Montmartre's most charming streets and staircases -- the romantic Montmartre we now know as depicted in the popular movie "Amélie Poulain." Reserve now! Visit /parlerparis/apartments/rentals/nobel.html

Les Portes de Notre Dame...
Rue des Trois Portes, 5th Arrondissement
One-Bedroom Duplex, Sleeps up to 4

Les Portes de Notre Dame is a charming and spacious one-bedroom duplex apartment centrally located just one block from the Seine and only a few steps from the cathedral of Notre.

Le Montmartre...
Le Montmartre Studio
Rue du Square Carpeaux, 18th Arrondissement
Studio Apartment, Sleeps up to 2

This spacious and beautifully decorated studio has three separate rooms, a full bathroom, a small but fully equipped kitchen with a table that seats two, and a very large living room/bedroom.

Reserve now! Visit /parlerparis/apartments or email: mailto:Apartments@AdrianLeeds.com

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GET TO KNOW THE BEST OF THE GOOD-VALUE RESTAURANTS IN PARIS

Insider Paris Guide for Good Value Restaurants
Written and Regularly Updated by Adrian Leeds

You don't need to be rich to dine well in Paris - you just need to know where to go. Enjoy fabulous three-course meals with wine for just $20 to $35, including tax and tip. Explore more than 200 hand-picked great-value restaurants. Plus, get a pull-out glossary of common food and dining terms found on French menus!

Insider Paris Guides are written for people who love the City of Light. You'll get a Paris insider perspective on Good Value Restaurants... Making a Life... Black Culture... Expat Writers...plus, Practical Paris!

For more information, visit Insider Paris Guides at InsiderParisGuides.com

MEET PARLER PARIS READERS TUESDAY "APRES MIDI."
Next Meeting (Tomorrow) March 10, 2009

The second Tuesday of every month, Parler Paris and French Property Insider readers gather at La Pierre du Marais for a drink and a "schmooze" -- it's an opportunity to meet and chat with other like-minded people and a great way to make friends! Costs nothing except whatever you drink, so don't miss the next gathering on Tuesday, March 10th, 2009 from 3 to 5 p.m.

For more information, visit Parler Paris Après Midi

PRACTICE YOUR FRENCH...OR ENGLISH!
Parler Parlor French-English Conversation Group

GET AN INSIDER'S LOOK AT FRANCE
France Today The Magazine Of French Travel and Culture

France Today is an insider’s look at French culture, people and trends — your savvy guide to off-the-beaten-track places and events in Paris and all over France!

"France-Amerique est vôtre lien privilégié avec la France et la langue française!"

To subscribe, visit France Today or call 1-800-901-6560

Copyright 2010, Adrian Leeds®
Adrian Leeds Group, LLC, adrianleeds.com