<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"   March 23, 2008  With my new French girlfriends! From left to right: Rachel Rebibo (an amazing fine art photographer), Charlotte Smith (of Via Malaura, an ultra-chic fashion showroom in Paris), Malika Benshila (founder of Via Malaura), and Whitney Spaner (editor at Paper mag\u2013well, okay, Whitney&amp;#039;s not French, but you get the point).  I always say, &amp;quot;Where would I be without girlfriends?&amp;quot; and last night just proves the point. These gracious ladies (in the above pic) swooped in, took two out-of-towners under their wing for the night and showed Whitney and I a truly fab time. We started out at a dark, cozy, authentically Parisian bistro, Vins des Pyrenees, situated between the Marais and the Bastille (two of the coolest neighborhoods in the city), where I proceeded to eat my second whole slab of foie gras for the day along with ratatouille and a fresh, flaky codfish. It was the just the kind of hearty, rustic meal I needed after a long day of walking around getting to know Paris while enduring the biting winds blowing off the Seine.  After taking a group vodka shot at the bar (courtesy of the very sweet bartender), we headed off to a club called Showcase where live bands and great DJs were doing their thing and doing it well\u2013Whitney and I ended up dancing the whole night away, jet lag be damned!  We also met some new French friends that happen to be living and working in New York for the moment\u2013one of them in finance, and the other making violins. Only in Paris would you meet a young, handsome, tall lad that makes violins for a living\u2013how romantic?! So not only do I have a new little circle of Parisian girlfriends, I also got a couple of expat Frenchies to hang out with back in New York. `Twas a fantastic night.  I&amp;#039;m loving this city like no other, ladies, and wishing fervently that I didn&amp;#039;t have to get on a plane tomorrow. Paris Notebook Part Deux coming to you tomorrow. xx   Ratatouille! When I saw it on the menu at Vins des Pyrenees, I had to order it. As the movie implies, it is a simple, homey, comforting stew of fresh vegetables that is the perfect thing for a freezing early-Spring night. The terrine of foie gras I had as a starter here was also excellent\u2013decadent, homemade, and impossibly fresh. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.elle.com/fashion/news/a13159/paris-notebook-part-un-3963/>