Paris | Anne Sigmon

December 8, 2013December 8, 2013

Celebrate the Holidays in Parisian Style this Thursday, Deceber 12, at Alliance Francaise

Alliance Francaise and the Wanderland Writers will ring in the holidays in style this Thursday, December 12, with une fête de Noël and readings from the new travel anthology Wandering in Paris: Luminaries and Love in the City of Light.

It will be a spirited evening of music, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, door prizes, and readings. Please join us—the event is free and open to the public.

The readings will visit the enchanting worlds of the Paris Opera; the salons of Thomas Jefferson, Berte Morisot, Gertrude Stein and Anaïs Nin; Paris culture du moment, as well as transplanted cultures ranging from a hammam to a Gorille Blanc.

I’ll be reading along with editors Linda Watanabe McFerrin and Joanna Biggar and other authors including Unity Barry, Antoinette Constable, Kitty Hughes, Laurie McAndish King and Cindy Racicot. Hope to see you there.

If you’ll be in the Bay Area that evening, please join us for delicious bites and delightful tales.

Holiday Party & Book Celebration:

Reading from Wandering in Paris: Luminaries and Love in the City of Light

Thursday, December 12, 6-8 p.m.

Alliance Francaise
1345 Bush Street (between Polk and Larkin)
San Francisco, CA 94109
Telephone: (415) 775-7755

Parking is available across the street at 1340 Bush Street

November 8, 2013November 8, 2013

November 22 Book Party will celebrate new Paris travel anthology

Oh la la, we’ll have Paris in mind on Friday, November 22, when we celebrate the new travel anthology Wandering in Paris with a book party and reading at Montclair’s fabulous bookstore, A Great Good Place for Books. If you’ll be in the Bay Area that evening, please join us for delicious bites and delightful tales. The reading is free and open to the public. I’ll be reading along with editors Linda Watanabe McFerrin and Joanna Biggar and other authors including Cindy Rasicot, Antoinette Constable, Kitty Hughes, and Laurie McAndish King. Hope to see you there.

Save the Date:

Reading and Book Party celebrating publication of the new travel anthology
Wandering in Paris: Luminaries and Love in the City of Light

Friday, November 22, 7 p.m.

A Great Good Place for Books
6120 LaSalle Ave. (in Oakland’s Montclair Village)
Oakland, CA 94611
Telephone: (510) 339-8210

August 2, 2013August 30, 2013

Two Evenings in Paris—by San Francisco Bay

If you’re in the Bay Area, come join us as the Wanderland Writers debut the new anthology Wandering in Paris: Luminaries and Love in the City of Light.

We’ll celebrate the book’s publication at two festive launch parties sponsored by Left Coast Writers:
— Monday, August 12, 6 pm at Book Passage at the San Francisco Ferry Building.
–Saturday, August 17, 7 pm at Book Passage Corte Madera.

I’ll be reading along with other contributors. Come join us for good stories, wine, and, of course, a certain je nais se quois.

For a preview, take a look at the travel e-zine Wanderlust and Lipstick.One of my stories from the book, My Phamtom of the Opera, is currently featured there.

http://bit.ly/11K0EU3

September 7, 2012July 11, 2013

Packing for Paris, Part 2: Electronic “Gear”

Packing for Paris is not just clothes. What about all the electronic “gear” we’ll need for a working trip?

Packing is always hard for me. With memory loss and attention deficit from my stroke, it sometimes feels as though I’m running around the house for days trying to determine what I’ll need. Making lists helps.

Here’s the “gear” list I’ve make for myself for a trip this Fall to Paris and other destinations in the Isle de France. I’ll be staying in an apartment in Paris and, outside Paris, in older hotels in small villages–places that often aren’t geared for the proliferation of electronics that seem so indispensable these days.

But first a word on voltage and plugs …

France operates on 220 Volts and 50Hz on AC, while the US operates on 120 Volts and 60Hz. Voltage used to be a bigger consideration than it is today. Now, most computers, cameras, cellphones and e-readers are dual voltage, so the only adjustment necessary is a plug adapter.

Many US heat-generating appliances–like hair dryers, curling irons, or electric rollers, are not. In years of travel, I’ve found voltage converters heavy to carry, difficult to use, and unreliable, especially in older buildings. Instead, I just make sure all my appliances are dual voltage. Dual voltage hairdryers, curling irons, rollers, travel irons, etc. are readily available at travel stores and travel catalogs like Magellan’s. With so many electronics–and relatively few outlets in older hotels, I also now carry a compact dual voltage extension cord.

My Electronics Packing List for France

✔	Item	Don’t forget
	Cell phone	Charging cord
	Camera	Battery charger Extra battery Memory cards Instruction book USB photo loader
	Laptop computer	Charger Extension cord Mouse if needed Extra batteries for mouse I once carried a mouse pad; now I just use a magazine
	E-reader if you have one	Charger
	Travel size dual voltage hair dryer
	Dual voltage curling brush
	Plug adapters, both grounded and Non-grounded
	Dual voltage extension cord
	Lightweight computer bag to carry all this stuff. I like the Keen Adele.

Have I forgotten anything?