Parrot's Henri Seydoux Paints a Picture of His Vision #tg09

At their offices in Paris earlier this month. We started with what is current but also had a peak of what's coming in Q1 under embargo. No phones. No cameras. No video. And yes, there was a back channel joke about the deep dark secret unveiling and the NDA.

To Taste Paris is to Know Paris

The French have always taken food seriously. They still do. My most recent trip to Paris continued to surprise, amaze and remind me that we still have a lot to learn about presentation and timing. About originality and flavor. About ambience and style. About taste that lasts. Lingers. Fulfills. Adds.

J'Go near the Odeon, which also has a great selection of wine

Fish soup at a restaurant in the Marais on a cold December night

At a pub in Montmartre

Lamb at Les Editeurs on Carrefour

Le Christine on 1 Rue Christine

Le Pre Grill on 17 Rue Saint-Severin

Les Fous De Lile on 33 Rue Des Deux Ponts

Even the most basic catering performs

Les Bougresses in the Marais

The Greek Too Know How to Sing and Dance

In Mythos Resaurant in Paris' Latin Quarter.

Think Orange is all Phones? Think Again #tg09

The Traveling Geeks learn about Orange's latest developments - Lionel Fumado and Stephanie Hospital tell us more.

French Startups Give us a Sample #tg09

We received an overview of of MXP4 in Paris earlier this month, a start-up who develops, publishes and markets innovative tools and applications for musicians and record labels.

The goal? To provide a richer interactive digital experience for users. Imagine being able to trade music with fellow musicians or create a new composition from an existing mix.

Vincent Castaiget of Musicovery gave us a demo and talked to us about where they felt the music industry was headed and where they fit in.

Musicovery has a plug-in for iTunes, which allows you to listen to your own music library according to the mood you're in or are after. 

The plug-in displays right to the Itunes application window Musicovery’s mood/dance matrix. Songs from your music library are played directly and a simple click generates a playlist. It's fairly simple to set up. 

We also heard the latest from Feedbooks' Hadrien Gardeur, a service that allows you to discover thousands of public domain books and original books from new authors that you can read on any mobile device.

They also offer a publishing service to create e-books or you can contribute to their collection of public domain titles.

Int13 is a French developer of next-generation games for Smartphones.

The team recently added their own AR library and are including augmented reality techologies to mobile phones. They're currently working on a handful of new releases, including:

- Crazy Kart 2 (online racing game)

- Gems (multiplayer puzzle-game for Smartphones and PCs)

- Kweekies (Mobile augmented reality artificial life game)

- Invisiballs (Kind of augmented reality billiard)

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Music on the Streets of Montmartre

Even though its only 33 degrees, music warms the heart and soul on a cold December day on the streets of Montmartre.

To Savor Pleasure is to Know Pleasure

If you've ever spent a considerable amount of time in Europe, you'll notice that your tastebuds 'change.' When you return to American soil, the bread somehow tastes processed as does every other grain in your cupboard. Even the salt and pepper doesn't taste quite right.

It takes awhile but soon your taste buds adapt and ignite and as for the rest? The rest is just full of one magical moment after another.

I found myself having orgasmic moments in 30 degree temperatures, decked out with gloves, leotards, 3 pairs of socks, hat, and a woolen scarf. As my hands turned a deep blue, I stood in the middle of a pedestrian street while diving into triple dark chocolate cakes, paying tribute to the gods above me who introduced me to Paris.

Repeat visits were made to: Girard Chocolatier, La Maison d Chocolat on Carrousel du Louvre, Roger Patrick on Old St. Germain, Jeff de Bruges Exploitation and Las Maison Du Chocolate both on Rue Sevres.

There there's Amorino, which now has a couple of locations in NYC, PSG De Neuville, Les Paris Gourmands on Rue Des Archives and lastly Tunisian specialties from an incredibly creative and colorful little 'bright blue' place along Boulevard Saint Germain called Masmoudi.

Pavlov and the Crepe

Ever have a moment when you hear or taste something and suddenly you’re back in time to a moment and the world disappears?

Pavlov never forgets. The body never forgets – it’s one of the reasons neural linguistic programming works as well as it does.

My first visit to France was to Paris; I was a mere pup with a group of American high school kids and our focus was study. History. Facts. Legends. Wars. Traditions. Art. Food wasn’t even on the agenda.

Still a mere pup and on a budget, I spent a few months in the south of France a year or so later. I ‘camped’ with 7 Europeans and Australians in a hotel room in Nice and my days were spent sampling crepes inland and along the entire coast.

I became an expert of sorts. I could tell whether the eggs were fresh and the cheese was local or imported. What I didn’t realize at the time was that the French crepe had become embedded in my system. Literally.

Since then, every time I set on French soil, it’s as if Pavlov takes over. If I don’t have a crepe in my hands within 24 hours, finding one becomes an obsession.

Ahhhhhh France, I’m craving a crepe.

Ahhhhhh France, where’s my crepe?

Ahhhhhh France, why am I not eating a crepe?

Ahhhhhh France, give me a crepe damn it.

Behind the Scenes with Pearltrees #tg09

The video clips take a deeper look at Pearltrees from behind the scenes with Patrice Lamothe at their Paris office last week. The second video is with Francois Rocaboy about how and why they got started.

Below is a shot taken of some of the engineers and product masters behind the machine.

MobileGlobe's Yoann Valensi on Cheap Calls #tg09

MobileGlobe's CEO Yoann Valensi hosted Traveling Geeks for a dinner last week in Paris in the Marais. His mission is to make mobile calls cheap and easy from anywhere in the world. Listen to why you should care.