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 The folks over at Discover Paris know something about Paris. In fact, they know a whole lot. Tom Reeves (president) and his wife Monique Wells have over 32 collective years of living and working in Paris. If that doesn’t qualify them to provide you with a unique and specialized itinerary for the city of light, then we don’t know what would. They’re also authors (both of them). Did I mention that they really know Paris inside and out? Prissy Mag recently had a talk with Tom and here’s what he told us when we asked him our favorite expat questions.
PM: How long have you been in France and what brought you here?
TR: Monique has been here since June 1992. She came because she was hired by the pharmaceutical company Rhône-Poulenc Rorer to work in their drug safety department. I came in September 1992, to be with her.
PM: What keeps you here?
TR: Our love of French language and culture, pure and simple!
PM: What’s different for you here, versus where you’re originally from?
TR: There are lots of things…not needing a car to get around town, being able to walk at night without worrying about our safety, the sheer beauty of the city, terrific cuisine, easy access to cultural activities, the relative lack of “conspicuous consumption”…
PM: What do you not like about living here, if anything?
TR: The tendency that the French have to say “no” to things, even before thinking about them; the bureaucracy that invades even the most simple things in life; the weather.
PM: What are your favorite haunts?
TR: We both love the Luxembourg Garden. We are constantly in search of good chocolate shops, and I love searching for brûleries (coffee-roasting facilities) that sell a wide variety of fresh-roasted coffee beans. For chocolate, we favor Jean-Charles Rochoux in the 6th arrondissement and Mococha in the 5th arrondissement. For coffee, I like the Caféothèque in the 4th arrondissement.
PM: What do you miss most from your own country?
 TR: Monique misses Texas barbecue (she is from Houston). I miss Annabelle’s U-No and Rocky Road candy bars, and Atomic Fireballs. Are they still sold?
PM: If you didn’t live here, where would you live?
TR: We can’t imagine not living here! But perhaps we would try London if we were forced to choose.
PM: And if you left France, what would you miss the most?
TR: The cuisine and the melodious sound of the language.
PM: Tell us about DISCOVER PARIS.
 TR: We launched Discover Paris! as a personalized itinerary planning service exclusively for independent travelers – individuals, couples, and small groups (6-8 persons) – what the travel industry calls FIT (free independent travelers). We provide our clients with a customized document that features Paris as reflected by their interests, whether that is photography, architecture, African-American history, or food and wine. They use this personalized “guide book” to visit sites on their own, without the encumbrance of a guide or a group.
Due to popular demand, we extended our service to include private, ~2-hour guided walking tours on various themes for groups as well as for the clientele mentioned above. We have served university student groups, and have given some walks for the American Library of Paris. Topics featured on these walks have included the American Revolution in Paris, Paris Was A Woman (20th-century literary women), Black Paris After World War II, and Literary Montparnasse. We were the sole provider for a familiarization trip on African-American Paris sponsored by American Airlines in 2007.
We also offer services such as photography lessons, museum visits, cooking classes, and wine tastings. The photography lessons, museum visits, and the wine tastings are private.
PM: What are your clients like--where are they from?
TR: Most of our FIT clients are African-American. Many have come from cities such as Chicago, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco, but many have come from other places as well. They are interested in the wealth of African/Diaspora history and culture that is found in Paris. The universities that we have served include Stanford, Syracuse, the University of Minnesota, and Claremont College.
PM: What kind of itineraries do people ask for-what are out of towners most interested in when they ask for your help?
TR: Because many of our clients are African-American, much of what we are asked to do involves African-American history in Paris. But we have had some rather eclectic requests over the years – for example, a couple who came over a Christmas weekend wanted only to see Art Nouveau architecture and to have a walking itinerary organized that presented an architectural overview of the bridges that span the Seine. Another request involved scientific activities for two pre-teen boys, and photography and bakeries for their mom.
PM: I'm very interested in your walks. Could you tell us about that aspect of DP?
TR: If you are referring to our private, guided walks, we have several that we have created on various aspects of African-American history. We also provide gourmet walks, including one in what we call the “Gourmet Ghetto” near La Madeleine in the 8th arrondissement, and one that features the Ile Saint-Louis and rue Mouffetard. Our pastry and chocolate walk in the 6th arrondissement has been very well accepted over the years as well. We provide walks on historical and literary themes as well, such as the walk that Monique recently did for the American Library in celebration of Women’s History Month and National Poetry Month.
PM: You also have intineraries on your site? And a newsletter?
TR: Yes we have several downloadable itineraries on our Web site for those who want to avoid the hassle of researching their activities prior to coming to Paris, but who cannot or do not want to spend the money required for a personalized itinerary.
We also write a monthly newsletter ($30/year paid subscription for 12 issues) called Paris Insights, in which we go beyond the stereotypes that most tourists hold about Paris and examine unusual elements of history, culture, and contemporary life here. We’ve recently started a blog called Paris Insights, where we do the same thing, but have the added advantage of being able to interact with our readers about our postings. The blog site is http://blog.parisinsights.com.
PM: Complete these two sentences: Paris is…
TR: The most beautiful, vibrant city on Earth!
PM: French people are…
TR: People just like anyone else, but they have their ways!
To contact Discover Paris! go to their website or
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.
Coming soon, Prissy Mag's review of Tom's book: Paris Insights- An Anthology.
Priscilla Lalisse-Jespersen moved to Paris from New York City in 1999. In addition to being the Editor and Founder of Prissy Mag, she is the author of the novel STOCKDALE. For her complete bio, please click here.
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