Wednesday 17 June 2015

Paris bookstore disappear

 

The booksellers has been a staple of Parisian culture for centuries, known as a go-to supply exhausted or unusual reading material - but their life is threatened.

An office with a view (Credit: Credit: Nick Kozak)

An office with a view

 

One of the most important monuments of Paris are the famous bookshops: booksellers who sell their products every day along the River Seine. Bargaining dates to 1400, the booksellers have been known for centuries as a go-to source for reading material exhausted or rare among locals and travelers who come here to find titles like in Vagrant author Colette biting and controversial or the first edition of the French comic strip The Mischievous Lili, from the early 1900s and has never been reissued. The cultivation of about 20 vendors at the turn of the 17th century, there are now about 240 booksellers in Paris. Their traditional green wooden boxes that dot both banks of the Seine, the Musée d'Orsay in the Arab World Institute, with the highest concentration is at the entrance of the Latin Quarter, home of the famous Sorbonne University. (Credit: Nick Kozak)

 

The traveller challenge (Credit: Credit: Nick Kozak)

The traveller challenge

But even with 240 vendors lining the banks, competition does not come often in close positions. The 'booksellers biggest challenge over the past 20 years has been the proliferation of e-readers and Internet access, reducing sales of books and make materials outside the print easier to find. To offset declining sales, many have resorted to booksellers supplement their income with memories, which are technically permitted under the regulations of the city that allows the sale of commercial products from four green boxes is assigned to each vendor. But the movement did not sit well with some of the Items population, triggering a debate between suppliers in about what can and can not sell - and it will change a tradition that has been a staple of the Parisian culture. (Credit: Nick Kozak)

The price of growth (Credit: Credit: Nick Kozak)

Price growth

At the end of 1980, Jean-Pierre Mathias left his job as professor of philosophy to become a bookseller. "When I came to my store, I started selling my old books ... I liked the idea of ​​following the philosophy here without having to be a teacher," he said. Mathias only sells books and engravings; He refused to comply with the increasing number of foreign tourists selling souvenirs. "For me, a book will always be a book, and people who love books continue to buy them. The theater did not disappear with the beginning of the film, "he says with a big smile (Credit: Nick Kozak).

From comics to keychains (Credit: Credit: Nick Kozak)

From comics to keychains

Robert Francis was selling comics in his shop for over 35 years. At first, he said, people came to him, if you were looking for a particular comic story. If you do not, then they do online would. Now it is the opposite: they only come if they can not find online. To compensate, Robert memorabilia collection - including ubiquitous statues Eiffel Tower - has increased in recent years. As residents still come to buy a book or two, he said most of his customers are abroad and are more likely to buy his memories of his comics, which are mainly written in French. (Credit: Nick Kozak)

 

A job with benefits (Credit: Credit: Nick Kozak)

A job with benefits

Items Each is required to maintain their boxes, but beyond that, the work has a lot of freedom. Merchants can set their own hours of light (the stalls are locked once the sun sets); choose the reading material they want to sell; and spend the day enjoying the best views of Paris. Yet many booksellers believe that the city should do more to support tradition as lower sales. One suggestion is that the sellers of electricity installed so it can expand its hours of the night. (Credit: Nick Kozak)

Standing strong (Credit: Credit: Nick Kozak)

Standing strong

Bernard Carver entered the business of selling rare books, 20 years after the arrival of Lebanon without much money. Soon he began living on the streets, he said, and chose comfort in books instead of alcohol. Passion, it binds with certain booksellers. To sell their products, he said, you must be familiar with, boasting that he read everything on your shelf. But even that did not stop the decline in sales, and expressed his anger to the proliferation of sold trinkets. Some marketers have even added folding tables in front of their stalls to expand its collection of memories - a tactic not covered by the regulations of the city. (Credit: Nick Kozak)

A creative solution (Credit: Credit: Nick Kozak)

A creative solution

Many booksellers selling trinkets made in China, including the Eiffel Tower key chains and mugs I love Paris. One of the young traders, George Roman, chose instead to sell antique prints ads created by him and his father, and paintings by students of the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts, conveniently located just behind his store. Therefore, he said, he can sell souvenirs that are made both in France and linked to local culture - a solution, perhaps, taking the best of both worlds. (Credit: Nick Kozak

 

Sunday 14 June 2015

5 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Travel Agent

While internet booking motors have made it simpler for voyagers to purchase their own particular flights or lodging rooms, travel specialists still offer a level of administration and skill not offered by a pursuit bot. "When you book on the web, the booking motor or site just comprehends what information you data," brings up Chuck Flagg, proprietor of a Cruise Holidays office in Canton, Georgia. "They don't comprehend what is really critical to and your gang. It doesn't know whether you are a 60-something who still likes to move it up with local people at the club or in the event that you are OK being around children." Travel specialists likewise may have exceptional livens or evaluating not accessible to the overall population.

Here are a few inquiries that can help you pick the right travel specialists for your needs.

  1. Have you gone to my destination? Whether you're making a trip to Paris or Puerto Rico, inquire as to whether your specialists has been there (and provided that this is true, how as of late?). While manuals and sites offer bunches of point of interest on a given destination, they don't generally measure up to being there in individual. "Book information or internet preparing courses by suppliers is entirely unexpected from encountering it firsthand," Flagg says. Lisa Griswold, co-proprietor of the Atlanta-based Pixie Vacations, who represents considerable authority in arranging Disney get-aways, concurs, including that "you don't know how superb a Disney voyage is until you've encountered one: the delight, the tender loving care, the little additional items, the character association."

  2. What is your reaction time? On the off chance that sitting tight a few days for a reaction to a messaged inquiry is going to make you on edge, ask potential operators when they're accessible and how rapidly you ought to expect a reaction. "A few operators are low maintenance specialists, and they work in the nighttimes," Griswold says. "Some are accessible amid the school day. Others do this full time. It's unquestionably shrewd to see whether your calendar can organize with what your specialists can give."

 

  1. What administrations do you offer? Specialists give differing levels of administration. Some will just book inns and flights and abandon you to fill in alternate points of interest, so in case you're expecting help with supper reservations or ground transportation, inquire as to whether he can deal with those. "A decent specialists is going to help you with any points of interest that you need," Griswold says. "We offer schedule arranging down to what rides they plan to go on, which stops to go in which days and direction that with their suppers."

 

  1. Do you have any confirmations or accreditation? Flagg recommends getting some information about preparing or confirmations to get a vibe for the specialists' skill. For example, in case you're occupying a journey, you could search out an operators guaranteed through the Cruise Lines International Association. Griswold includes that you additionally can ask how regularly the specialists goes to classes to stay current in the business.

 

  1. What charges would it be advisable for me to anticipate? A few specialists charge a level expense or an hourly expense for travel counseling, while others acquire commission from the air transport or lodging booked. "Get some information about charges, whether there are occupying expenses or any sort of retraction expenses," Griswold says. "There are some high rates out there, and a few organizations would prefer not to converse with you unless you're willing to submit."

 

Obviously, while you get some information about the specialists' experience and strategies, she may be testing you also. This can be a decent sign, as Flagg proposes searching for a specialists who asks "why" questions. "This is something online will never ask," he says. "Why would you like to take this excursion? Why did you pick a Disney journey? Did the nourishment offerings settle on this some piece of your choice?" Once a specialists inspires your answers, she will be better prepared to tailor the outing to you and your gang.

 

Thursday 19 March 2015

Chermoula tofu and roasted vegetables

Ingredients

To chermoula tofu

25 g / 1 oz finely chopped cilantro

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, lightly crushed

1 lemon, finely grated zest

½ tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tablespoon olive oil

250g / 9 oz tofu

For the roasted vegetables

2 red onions, quartered

2 zucchini, cut into thick slices

2 red peppers, seeded and sliced

2 yellow peppers, seeded and sliced

1 small eggplant, cut into thick slices

low calorie cooking spray

pinch of salt

Method of Preparation

Preheat oven to 200C / 180C Fan / Gas 6.

To chermoula, combine the cilantro, garlic, cumin, lemon zest and pepper with olive oil and a little salt in a small bowl.

Pat the tofu dry on kitchen paper and cut it in half. Cut each half horizontally into thin slices. Spread generously chermoula at the edges.

Spread the vegetables in a roasting pan and drizzle with oil. Bake for about 45 minutes, until lightly browned, turning once or twice during cooking ingredients.

Place tofu slices on vehicles, side propagation of the highest chermoula and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until tofu is lightly colored.

Divide the tofu and vegetables among four plates and serve.