ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Maribeth Clemente is an American woman passionate about France, its glorious goods, and the wonderful history behind them. After finishing her studies in the United States in International Management and Fine Arts at Simmons College in Boston, she returned to France for a considerably longer stint. In all, Maribeth lived a total of eleven years in Paris. She currently resides in Telluride, Colorado, where she enjoys cycling, hiking, skiing, and the diverse landscapes and culture of the area's Four Corner's location. When Maribeth is not reporting on an interesting travel destination, you’re apt to find her on the mountain (at least in the winter!) where she works as a ski instructor for the Telluride Ski and Snowboard School.

Her love for the discovery of unique finds, ferreted out in off-the-beaten-path places, grew from family jaunts to Vermont country stores at an early age. This same quest for places and goods of character and charm was transferred to France in 1987 when she started a company, at the age of twenty-five, called Chic Promenade. This unusual sort of shopping service arranged visits behind-the-scenes at Paris’s big names in addition to touring visitors around to the Capital’s lesser-known boutiques. After having become acquainted with almost eight hundred addresses, Maribeth narrowed her selection to her favorite five hundred and began to chronicle Paris’s most worthwhile haunts. Entitled The Chic Shopper’s Guide to Paris, this work was published in 1991 by St. Martin’s Press and is now out-of-print.

Meanwhile her files grew for a book about the discovery of the regions of France and the plethora of products that reflect the tradition and savoir faire of the craftspeople of these different provinces. By the end of 1994, Maribeth ended her tour business to devote her energy full time to the tremendous task of researching and reporting on "the best of France." Also published by St. Martin’s Press, The Riches of France: A Shopping and Touring Guide to the French Provinces is the fruit of Maribeth’s passion for French goods and the country that produces them. The beauty of this book is that since the majority of the establishments included within its pages have been around for decades---if not for centuries---The Riches of France won’t go out of date for quite some time.

Maribeth’s following book, The Riches of Paris: A Shopping and Touring Guide (St. Martin’s Press, June 2001), is an update of The Chic Shopper’s Guide to Paris, presented very much like The Riches of France. Here old favorites have been revisited and new discoveries have been added. The second edition of The Riches of Paris was just released in May 2007.

Maribeth is also thrilled with cycling in France, and, of course, the Tour de France, the world’s greatest bike race. Both form the backdrop for her latest work, a travel memoir, entitled A Tour of the Heart. This work is the story of a girly-girl and her bike racer boyfriend cycling around France and then actually attending the Tour de France. During the course of those travels, Maribeth has many adventures both on and off the bike, including the thrill of meeting cycling great, Lance Armstrong.

Maribeth has written about travels for a variety of publications and Web sites nationwide. And since December 2003, Maribeth has taken to the airwaves with Travel Fun, her radio show on travel. See below for more details.

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