Archive for December, 2009
Dedham Essex
Located at the heart of Constable Country and situated on the River Stour you will find the former wealthy wool and market town of Dedham. Just a short drive down the A12 from Colchester and perched on the Essex/Suffolk border you will find yourself amongst some of the most beautiful and picturesque landscape in the county.
The River Stour forms the boundary between Essex and Suffolk and provides the many tourists visiting the area with some stunning scenery. This remarkable landscape also features in many of John Constables paintings.
A visit to the Boathouse Restaurant will not only provide a friendly and relaxing atmosphere to enjoy a drink or even a meal but as the name suggests you could also hire a rowing boat and take a leisurely trip down the Stour. If you have the energy approximately a mile and a half down the river from Dedham is Flatford Mill made famous by John Constable.
The Water Meadows of the River Stour make for interesting and relaxing walks with cattle and horses grazing nearby sheep visible on Grove Hill and a varied wildlife.
At the centre of the village is the Parish Church with its 131 foot tower clearly visible. Dating back to the late 15th century this magnificent building is close to my heart as my two Daughters were christened there.
On permanent display at the church is John Constables The Ascension courtesy of The Constable Trust.
So popular is the village that it attracts visitors young and old from across the world and gets very busy during the summer months. This can be confirmed by reading the guest book located in the Parish Church. With adequate free car parking and a coach park just a short walk from the village centre and the River Stour getting to and around this historic village is stress free.
With plenty of places to eat and drink attractions such as the Sir Alfred Munnings Art Museum and the Dedham Art amp; Craft Centre stunning views of the Vale and a warm welcome from the local townsfolk why wait to visit.
Although busiest and most popular in the summer the scenery during the winter months is also not to be missed.
If you plan on visiting this beautiful area please give yourself enough time to explore the many more interesting towns and villages Essex has to offer. You wont be disappointed.
About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;To view this article in its original format please visit http://www.essextouristguide.com/Dedham.asp or for more information and resources on the county of Essex please visit our website via this link: http://www.essextouristguide.com/Paul Sage. Essex Tourist Guide.com
Dallas Shopping Attractions
Dallas is a city with lots to do for tourists. One of its biggest attractions remains the fantastic shopping that is available in the area. If you are new to the area or just visiting you might be interested in learning about all of the shopping venues in Dallas. Keep reading and learn about the shopping centers in Dallas.
One of the best shopping centers is the Allen Premium Outlets located in Allen Texas off of Interstate 75. It has a number of discount outlets including Polo Adidas Gap Guess Nautica Hilfiger and Reebok just to name a few. No shopper can consider their trip to Dallas complete without a trip to the outlet mall.
Another great shopping venue in the Metroplex is Stonebriar Mall in Frisco TX. It is one of the newest and most popular malls in the area and always seems to be packed. It is worth braving the crowds though. With stores like Nordstrom’s Macy’s Coach and Pottery Barn it has it all. In addition to the shopping at this mall there are also many great restaurants and entertainment spots like The Cheesecake Factory California Pizza Kitchen and Dave amp; Buster’s.
Are you looking for a high end shopping experience? If you are then The Shops At Willow Bend are for you. Here you will find such places as Toni amp; Guy J Crew Lacoste Neiman Marcus Coach Montblanc and more. It is also a beautiful mall that is expertly and tastefully appointed. You are sure to love it.
Dallas is home to a number of other great and exciting shopping venues. To name them all however would take a book instead of an article. This article has given you three of the best however and I hope you have found it informative.
About the writer: Learn more about Dallas and Dallas carpet cleaning at the authors website.
Classic Paris: Book-hunting Along The Banks Of The River Seine
Walking through Paris in search of new tips and hotspots for readers of pariseiffeltowernews.com I realized Id neglected one its most classic locations despite the fact that I often take time to skulk around the bouquinistes secondhand booksellers of the banks of the river Seine.
Stretching out for over a mile in the center of Paris with the Cathedral of Notre Dame as a backdrop and with the famous narrow streets and restaurants of the Quartier Latin a stones throw away this has to rank amongst the top of any list of classic Parisian experiences.
Relics of a Bygone Age
To me nothing embodies Pariss essence more than the Seines bouquinistes who have been part of the furniture for hundreds of years now. They are completely unique to Paris: I know of no other city in the world which can boast such an array of book traders.
The first bouquinistes appeared as early as the mid16th Century when they would trade their goods from carts more often than not surreptitiously as they would sell illegal Protestant pamphlets during the Crusades.
It was after the French Revolution however that the bouquinistes of the Seine really began to prosper: they had access to entire libraries confiscated from the rich although it was not until the end of the 19th Century that they were granted the right to permanently bolt their stall boxes on the stone wall of the river banks.
After 1952 the size of the boxes and even their color became officially regulated.
From Current Publications to Priceless Antiques
Today youll find the bouquinistes stalls stretching out for over a mile along both sides of the Seine around the Ile de la Cite from the Pont Marie to the Quai du Louvre on the right and from the Quai de la Tournelle to the Quai Malaquais on the left.
In this idyllic setting and with Notre Dame as the backdrop you can dig up all sorts: antique prints and engravings old issues of Paris Match a major national news magazine maps old books very old books rare books comic books posters postcards souvenirs and other odds and ends.
The stalls themselves essentially consist of boxes bolted to the stone wall of the river bank which are locked up at night. Although some of their goods nowadays are strictly for tourists there are still plenty of rare and priceless items for the serious connoisseur.
You never know what youll come across whilst rifling through the bouquinistes collections and if they dont have what you want some even say theyll find it for you; it is their trade that keeps treasures in circulation that might otherwise perish.
There is even a wellknow anecdote told in Alexander Wollcotts While Rome Burns recounting the time when novelist Anne Parrish found a copy of Jack Frost And Other Stories at a bouquiniste. It was her favorite childhood book back in her days at a Colorado Springs nursery but she’d not managed to see a copy of it until then. The tale goes that whenshe showed her finding to her husband he opened it to find inscribed on the flyleaf “Anne Parrish 209 N. Weber Street Colorado Springs”.
Today the bouquinistes of the Seine number around 250 and their trade is well regulated: they must be open for business a minimum of four days a week no matter the weather or foot traffic and no more than one box out of four is permitted to contain “souvenirs” the rest must be literary material.
Interview with a bouquiniste
Some of the bouquinistes are chatty others less so but I always manage to land on one who likes chinwagging as much as I do. I was lucky to strike up a conversation with 64year old Allain Ferlich a veteran of 30 years on the Quais.
Smoking a Dominican mini cigar and leafing through an old copy of La Gazette the first weekly magazine ever printed in France back in the 1600s as if it was this week’s Paris Match he seems to know every other person walking past his stall. There are no set hours he tells me and I’m not afraid of the heat or the cold. I love to read I’m talkative and I’m curious. So this is perfect for me.
Chez Ferlich the definition of “old” seems a little different than at the average booksellers. I see him flip through a book printed in 1943 which doesnt even make the cut. Most of his books are works of art in themselves: beautiful goldlettered leatherbound volumes written by authors such as Gustave Flaubert and Emile Zola.
Sadly Ferlich is on the point of retiring. Once he is gone it will be up to the City to decide who gets his spot. “They have a waiting list of one or two hundred people waiting to do this” he tells me.
An Endangered Species?
Just like the Panda bouquinistes are a race in threat of extinction. For one thing the underground tour bus park under the Carousel next to the Louvre has reduced foot traffic along the Quais quite considerably.
Then there is the internet the biggest bookstore with which none can compete encroaching on their revenue. This has forced some of the booksellers to turn to the more remunerative sale of tourist souvenirs miniatures and trinkets.
But for those with a passion for books and who value the hunt as well as the books pedigree the bouquinistes will always be irreplaceable so dont forget to drop by and keep one of Pariss oldest pieces of heritage alive and free from tacky tourist trinkets.
About the writer: Phil Chavanne goes on searching the streets of Paris to keep his readers uptodate on the City’s gems best hotels and smart little secrets. To have the best of times in France’s capital read the reviews about Paris hotels and dig into Phil’s Paris travel guide for some great tips and advices to the city.