A great article appeared in today’s New York Times, where Sofia Coppola takes you on a wonderful tour of her favorite places in Paris. There to film Marie Antoinette (opening October 20), Sofia has really learned a lot about the city. She plans to stay there when she has her baby in December.
The article is a great read, and makes you feel like you’re there again, if only for a moment!
Approximately 200 of the 650 workers at this high end hotel are striking after the American hotel group Starwood changed their working conditions. Their complaints include ever-changing shift patterns and being spread too thin, having to do jobs that they were never hired to do. They are asking for more hires to fill these jobs and a compensatory bonus.
Guests, typically used to hushed classical music and quiet whispers, are greeted in the lobby with approximately 100 strikers, loud talk and bongo drums. Some find it quaint, while others are not pleased. Especially when the bar is closed due to the strike!
Starwood has recently purchased a number of Paris hotels, including the Intercontinental which is now a Westin. It is said that they are experiencing their fair share of bumps in the road as well. Perhaps they could learn from Disney who had to bend their rules to fit into France, rather than making the French conform to the American way.
Paris City Hall released a report yesterday claiming that while Paris contained 190,000 canine inhabitants in 2002 there are only 147,000 today. This report was based on 4,000 households.
The wealthiest neighborhoods of the 16th and 8th arrondissements in the west of the city still have the largest dog populations.
Why the decline? Most likely it has to do with the clampdown by the city council against owners who allow their animals to leave their “crottes” on the sidewalks, officials said. Offenders of the new rules now risk on-the-spot fines.
