Meet: Gabrielle, Gossips of Paris, Tour Guide

 

Friday I met up with Gossips of Paris/les Potins de Paris Gabrielle, Marchioness of Gossip on Pont des Arts bridge for an English walking tour. Gabrielle was easy to spot in her yellow 18th century flowered gown. Plus a gaggle of people held her captive seeking selfies. She started her French gossip tours post-confinement with an emphasis on story-telling & juicy historic gossip rather than the usual dates & architectural details.

She points out how the structure of the Vert Galant at the Pont Neuf It’s made of stones from destruction of the Bastille, orchestrated by entrepreneurial building contractor, Pierre-Francois Palloy in 1789. What’s more Palloy made and sold small replicas of the Bastille. 

He even sold pretty enamel buttons commemorating the event. What an influencer!

The stories go on as we wend our way outside the Louvre. Gabrielle’s 1 hour and a half tours are outside.

At Cafe Nemours we sit down for a drink.  I ask Gabrielle not to smile.

I wanted to capture her classic French ‘Marianne’ profile. “I can’t” she giggled. PB Letter subscribers should recognize this stamp/timbre…the only international self-stick stamp on offer in France ☹️ Her English teacher was from Boston so no problems communicating.

Getting around town requires a giant metal clip to keep her skirts up and her bike has a spray of gray to make it less appealing to bike thieves. 

Clever duck 🦆 Gabrielle gives her guests a map 🗺  of their various stops post-tour. You can book her English or French tours through Airbnb at her website. One hour and a half is 15€ each.

We parted ways and I went off to the Marais to the newly renovated musee Carnavalet, official museum of Paris, to look for Bastille remnants.

Many beautiful period rooms Gabrielle is perfectly co-ordinated to waltz through.

The info plackets are well-placed and illustrated. Plus the English version is highly legible instead of yellow on yellow as some museums do.

A beautiful new outdoor cafe awaits, set among the museum’s labyrinth garden, Les jardins d'Olympe.

On the way home, always Sherlock Holmes, I can’t stop doing berry tarte comparative analysis research🔬

It is near impossible not to browse pastries 🥮 if you live in Paris. Bonne Monday PBers 🫐🍓 🍒❤️🥂🐻🇫🇷