OUT-OFTHE-BOX
gifts NEED A LUXURIOUS GIFT FOR SOMEONE SPECIAL IN YOUR LIFE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON? WE FOUND A FEW OPTIONS THAT WOULD WORK FOR THAT PERSON WHO HAS EVERYTHING THEY WANT OR NEED OR SOMEONE WHO LIKES A GIFT WITH A LITTLE THOUGHT BEHIND IT.
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Julia Saunders with guide Kathleen Newlove. Photo by Kathy Saunders
A PAL in Paris What if you could pay for a best friend in Paris? Kathleen Newlove is just that. I first met her when I was a graduate student at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. She worked for the travel company hosting a study abroad program in Paris. She found restaurants, shopping, nightclubs and sightseeing shortcuts for the group of students and our professor. Newlove is a native of the Netherlands. She speaks seven languages and has spent years working and living in Los Angeles and many more years in Paris. Her English is perfect and her confidence is unwavering. She makes a living like so many Parisians, doing a number of jobs. Trained in marketing and event planning, she teaches classes at a local college, works as a private guide and plans events. In Los Angeles, she helped produce the Governor’s Ball, one of the premiere after-parties of the Academy Awards. In Paris, Newlove does all the prep work for her visiting clients. She will meet you at the airport or your hotel. She can arrange transportation and housing, create itineraries and suggest restaurants. Before a recent trip, she emailed a detailed proposal including
shopping, sightseeing and eating. She made all restaurant reservations and helped translate. If you want rooftop bars, she can find them. If you want to dine in view of the Eiffel Tower at night, she will get you to the right restaurant. She knows many of the restaurateurs in the city as well as the chefs. She can make a call and get a reservation when the hotel concierge comes up short. On a recent visit, she even persuaded a chef to completely alter his prix fixe meal for one picky eater in our party. And, she knows her way around all of the quaint neighborhoods and shopping districts in the city. If you want to visit the store where Julia Child bought her cookware, she can take you there. Newlove charges $1,000 for every 24 hours on the clock. It’s a bargain if you want personalized service and someone who will answer the phone no matter what. She’s also very flexible. When we decided we were too tired to dine out at a fancy restaurant one night, Newlove took us to a neighborhood bistro with the best cheese course and baguettes we’ve ever had. Contact her at ParisBFF@knewlove. com. — Kathy Saunders