copyright 2011 Lisa B. Falour, B.S., M.B.A. all rights reserved LISA, INC. (EURL) cutecatfaith.com Saint-Denis has a border contiguous with the City of Paris, France, but has its own history, in many ways older and more important than that of the former "Lutêce." FOLIES D'ENCRE is an independend bookstore. There is another bookstore by that name in Saint-Ouen, nearby, but they are not affiliated. I plan to acquire and read the book STILL MISSING, but it is in English, and the independent bookstore here stubbornly carries only French language books. There isn't much market for English reading materials in France. My writer and zinester friends seemed very frustrated I was not able to promote their works here much. There is little or no market for English language reading materials in France. Our excellent library system ("médiathèques") do now have a huge foreign-language book program. They offer DVDs, videos, CDs of music, and all sorts of books, magazines and newspapers. They do have computers, but e-mail or any purchasing/commercial activity on them is forbidden. Wifi is being discontinued in the libraries here, as it was making the workers sick. Le Marché de Saint-Denis is arguably Europes biggest and best market, and it is open every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday morning. Almost anything you can buy in Paris, you can find in Saint-Denis for less. The Hotel F1 on an avenue named LENINE in Saint-Denis is only 39 euros per night, and is usually booked solid by savvy tourists months in advance. You can walk to Paris from here, but it is easier to take a bus or the métro. We also have a tramway and commuter train lines. Saint-Denis had and still has a very bad reputation, but I like it, even though taxes have shot up since Stade de France was built. More than 80 languages are spoken here daily. As the local economy picks up and more and more international companies set up their headquarters in La Plaine Saint-Denis (there is also an island on the Seine, Ile-Saint-Denis, which has its own City Hall), real estate prices have skyrocketed quite absurdly. The demographics are changing in Saint-Denis, in an unexpected way -- older, Caucasian French people are moving in. I've never before lived in a place where the elderly white are on the increase! It is a conveniently placed city, with Paris next door and CDG Roissy Airport so easy to get to. I am often lonely here, but I like Saint-Denis more than I liked New York City, where I lived for 17 years. The green spaces, public services (Saint-Denis is the home of Communism and is known as "La Ville Rouge"), and cultural advantages are astonishing. I have some clips up of the Saint-Denis festival in October, 2010 you might enjoy. The Legion of Honor is here, the world's first Gothic cathedral, part of the outer Medieval wall still stands, we have a canal district, and the largest park in France, La Courneuve, is "next door." It was the farmland for the huge abbey church of Saint-Denis, the number one place of Christian pilgrimage in France for more than 1,000 years. I hope to get my hands on a copy of STILL MISSING soon, and I've taken steps to have it purchased by our regional library system. No success yet, but I'm very persistent. My latest published writing is in FREAK WAVE, second in an anthology series of books. Published by ERETIC, it is priced at 18 euros and if you like Clovis Trouille, you'll want this book, which is mostly images but has text in both French and English. cutecatfaith.com can direct you to a copy. Do not fail to visit the museum of Saint-Denis. In an old convent, it houses the best collection of materials on the Commune (the third French Revolution) I've ever seen. There is something there for everyone, and the price of entry is reasonable. You needn't pay to see the whole place, either. You can just see the temporary exhibits, or the Carmel . . . the chapel is open for free and shows only modern art installations. There are four métro stops in Saint-Denis, and the "Basilique" stop is probably the one you want, right in the town centre. La Plaine Saint-Denis is the home of the world's first industrial zone. The Cinemathèque of Saint-Denis is inexpensive, and has a membership program. In addition to major movies, they always run "other" movies, including many foreign language films in their original versions, with French subtitles.

• published: 19 Jan 2011
• views: 1144