Europe's Best Walks (ebook)

Open Road Publishing has released a new ebook "Europe's Best Walks." The book includes detailed walking tours with color maps and photos of Madrid, Barcelona, Provence, Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin (by Andy Herbach). Additional walks are included in London and Rome (by other Open Road authors). Here's the link to the Kindle version:

http://www.amazon.com/Europes-Walks-Travel-Guides-ebook/dp/B005FY64VU/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1330010062&sr=1-3

Best cities in the world for students.

Berlin has been named one of the best cities for students. Berlin ranked eighth in the world because of its low cost of living. A high number of courses offered by the city’s universities are taught in English. In 2011, 13,500 of the 84,000 students in Berlin were from abroad. On average, students were found to be paying thousands less per year in comparison to students in other top ten cities. Here are the other (more expensive) cities for students:
Paris
London
Boston
Melbourne
Vienna
Sydney
Zurich

The study was conducted by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS), a British education services specialist.

Paris cinemas: La Pagode

On the Left Bank, you'll find one of the most interesting cinemas in Europe. La Pagode is a Japanese-style building surrounded by an oriental garden. In 1895, the director of the large department store Bon Marche' had this structure built for his wife. In 1931, it was converted into a cinema. The ornate Japanese room is a great place to take in a film. info: 7th arrondissement, 57b rue Babylone.

Shakespeare and Company bookstore

This famous bookstore is named after the publishing house that first released James Joyce’s Ulysses. Hemingway and Fitzgerald were patrons. It’s a favorite hangout for expatriates from English-speaking countries. George Whitman, who died this week, ran the Paris bookstore for decades. His daughter will continue to operate the store. It's just across the river from Notre-Dame, so next time you're in Paris, stop in and soak up some history.

Info: 5th/Métro St-Michel. 37 rue de la Bûcherie. Tel. 01/43.25.40.93. Open daily noon to midnight.

Paris shop windows!

Paris has some great displays in shop windows. Here's a shop selling mannequins and another selling interesting purses!

Paris Wine Tastings (in English)

What would a trip to Paris be without wine? Try one of these wine tastings (in English). A great experience!

Monday through Saturday at Ô Chateau: You can try either the Paris Pass Tasting (30€) or the Grand Crus Tasting (120€). 68 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the 1st arrondissement.

Every Thursday at Spring Boutique: wine tasting (six wines with cheese and charcuterie) for 60€. 4pm to 5:30pm at 52 rue de l’Arbre Sec in the 1st arrondissement.

The Passages of Paris

In the 1800s, there were 137 glass-roofed shopping arcades (passages) in Paris. Only 24 remain. The oldest, dating back to 1800, is Passage des Panoramas, 11 blvd. Montmartre (known for its stamps). Nearby are Passage Verdeau, 4-6 rue de la Grange Batelière, and Passage Jouffroy, 12 blvd. Montmartre. Info: 2^nd/Métro Grands Boulevards 

Passages are luminous and practical. The glass roofs not only admit light, but shelter shoppers from rain. 

My favorite passage is in the Passage du Grand Cerf in the 2nd near rue Montorgueil (pictured here). For more information, check out  http://www.passagedugrandcerf.com