Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

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Your Survival Guy in Paris: Peking Duck

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When you land in Charles de Gaulle airport, taxiing to the gate can feel longer than the flight. It’s big. And if it’s not a long taxi, it means you might be closer to home than the gate. That was us on this trip. And unfortunately, before deplaning we had to wait until the wheelchairs were available. My daughter Izzy recently had ankle surgery from a cross country running injury, and much to her despair (“Dad it’s embarrassing”) we were on the wheelchair list. We were joined by all the other crips including an overweight gentleman crutching forward with a duty-free bag of smokes, … [Read more...]

GE Stokes the Yellow Vest Fire

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In Paris recently, I saw the sad but determined looks on the faces of the Yellow Vest protesters. They are angry about France's decreasing competitiveness, and that their jobs are being threatened or eliminated. Every Saturday for months now they have assembled in France's cities to mark their discontent, and they have received little in the way of a response from the Macron administration. The influence of the Yellow Vests and other unhappy Frenchmen was apparent in the recent EU parliamentary elections, in which President Emmanuel Macron's party was trounced by that of nationalist … [Read more...]

Your Survival Guy in Paris: Scooter? Never!

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Does it make sense to take your children to Paris? In their teenage years, communication is a barrier—never mind the language—and keeping everyone happy can be a challenge. On day two of our recent trip for example, after his breakfast of waffles and chocolate croissants, my son Owen asked about our plan for the day. Our plan? Really? I told him his Mom and I were going to lunch at Joel Robuchon’s, and he and his sister would be going to Café Bonaparte with Nanna and Grandpa. “Let’s rent scooters,” he suggested. I looked up and shook my head no. “Dad,” he said, in a … [Read more...]

Paris Update: Notre-Dame, Protests and Your Survival Guy

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Having just returned home from another incredible trip to Paris, I want to share some quick highlights from “Your Survival Guy’s” perspective. If you want to experience one of the handful of Palace Hotels in Paris, then you want to go to our favorite home away from home: Le Bristol. If you’ve watched Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris starring Owen Wilson, then you know the arrival scene at Le Bristol. Recently while the hotel showed the movie in the bar, Wilson happened to be in the lobby and popped in to check it out. Only in Paris. If you’re visiting Paris this spring, don’t … [Read more...]

Happy Easter: Meet the Man behind the Sweet, Parisian, Macaron

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Standing on the steps of the Madeleine church in the 8th arrondissement, looking down Rue Royale, you can see the Place de la Concorde. Where Rue Royale meets Rue du Faubourg Saint Honore, across the street from Gucci, you’ll see the mint green awnings of maison Ladurée, home to the macaron (pronounced mah-kuh-ron)—meringue like cookies, the color of Easter eggs, sandwiched with an emulsified filling. Groupe Holder is the private baking—not banking—conglomerate owned, founded and controlled by 77-year-old Francis Holder. The company is comprised of Ladurée’s 85 shops in 50 countries, the … [Read more...]

Knife Attack: Your Survival Guy in Paris

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Update 7/20/2018: With news out today of a terrifying knife attack on a bus in Berlin, I want readers to revisit this post I wrote on May 15, 2018 about a knife attack in Paris. “Did you hear the gun shots?” a friend asked. “No,” I said. When the knife attack occurred, we, like many other families on a Saturday night in Paris, were out to dinner. In fact, we didn’t learn about the attack until much later. In retrospect, I’m surprised no one at our restaurant told us about it or warned us. Part of me believes they knew the situation was under control and didn’t want to ruin our night or … [Read more...]