Paris1972-Versailles2003

Hi y’all well lovely sunny nice 16°C weather in Versailles. The days are summer again, and even folks heading to the beaches where during the week it even went up to 31°C!!! The next 10 days temps will be from 8°C to 26°C and sunny.

I am here just getting ready to pack my things for my moved to Brech,near Auray,near Vannes, department of Morbihan in Brittany, France. My next home for me and soon for the rest of the family. The schools transfers have been asked so paperwork heavens we are in. I was just exchanging with some friends in Paris by Chatelet yesterday, and told them it will be my record intact of a new home every 7 years since my birth. Amazing isn’t it? Well goes to show you ,I am a globetrotter for real!

The Chatelet area of Paris was loud ,noisy and full of folks, there were a congregation playing drums by the Place Victoire,and we had some nice beers in Au Trappiste, 4 rue St Denis, my all time best place in Paris for a happy hour. It will be missed but I am sure with my luggage new ones will be found ,and the rich history of pedmar10 will continue to grow.

Tonite will pick up my oldest son at his job in Versailles, and we all heading for a tex-mex dinner at El Rancho,just by the rive gauche train station in Versailles. Then tomorrow ,well its Mother’s day in France, May 29,and we will have a Champagne dinner at home with flowers and all compliments of me,and finish packing for my head trip to the Morbihan.

Had encounters with many friends over the last few days, saying until next time, never goodbye as I only will be 5 hrs by car and 3h52 by train ride away ,but the wisdom of  the internet will keep us close, and we will meet again one day by Paris or in my area. I have only but great reviews of my new area, it seems every French person I spoked to love it.

In other country,area matters ,the Institute Great Place to Work (GPTW) came up with the best companies to work in Europe,and you guess it Microsoft came out on top. The next 2’4 places were by Amgen,Mars,Cisco Systems, 3M,NetApp, MacDonalds, SAS institute, WL Gore, Kelloggs, Diageo, Hilt, Pepsico, Accenture, Fedex,Novo Nordisk,Télefonica, Medtronics,Baxters, SC Johnson, Novartis,Abbott,Quintiles, Mundipharma, and Danone.

The Grand Paris Express, the automatic metro around Paris is a Go; the project will be from 2017 to 20275, and it will carry by 2025 2 millions additional passengers. It will circumvent Paris to connect with existing lines and carry the extend of travel well beyond the inner core of the city. Nice map here compliments of Le Figaro newspaper.

In the Domaine de Saint Cloud, a beautiful royal park just outside Paris in Hauts de Seine dept 92 you can have a nice brunch on weekends  ,the fountain has 24 spouts of water at the  allée de la Glacière. It is on every Saturday and Sunday from 11h30 to 18h,until October 30 ,2011. cost for the brunch all you can eat is 35€ adult, 20€ child.

Other great summer terraces in the city are Jaja,  3, rue Sainte-Croix- de-la-Bretonnerie, 75004. Tél. +33 01 42 74 71 52. every day from  12h -14h and 20h -23 h. Menus at 16 € and 21 € (lunch). Right in the Marais inside the courtyard of a mansion from the 16C, trés belle!  Another by a quaint bohemian area near Canal St Martin is Philou, 12, avenue Richerand, 7501 . Tél. +33 01 42 08 00 13. Open every day except Sundays and Mondays ; lunch brunch at 25€. Try the mille feuille fruits rouges or napoleon with red fruits. If you want to be under the Arc de Triomphe and eat in a splendid terrace then come to  L’Arc, 12, rue de Presbourg, 75016. Tél. +33 01 45 00 78 70. Every day except Saturdays(at lunch)  and Sundays . Menu carte from  50-70 €. valet parking available of course. Webpage for a very chic place isat http://larc-paris.com/ .  Another one in my favorite area of Paris is La Grande Verriére,at the  Jardin d’Acclimatation, you enter at metro Sablons, bois de Boulogne, 75016. Tél. +33 01 45 02 09 32. open every day from  10h-19h. Menu-carte at 35 €. webpage http://www.jardindacclimatation.fr/article/la-grande-verriere/  Cant get any open air than this one in Paris, and great for kids too. And the more popular and central La Terrasse, 7e floor of the store Galeries Lafayette (Mode side), 40, bd Haussmann, 75009. Tél. +33 01 73 71 90 50. open every day except Sundays from 12h-18h. Carte from 20-35 €.

Tomorrow Sunday is Mother’s Day in France, this year it falls on May 29th. If not at home like us, as we use the day for packing, you can go to the great Pinacothéque de Paris and see the exposition by Hugo Pratts  where you will see more than 150 aquarelles many not known to the general public and historic plaques including about 164 of the mythic “Ballade de la mer salée”. There until August 21st, webpage http://www.pinacotheque.com/en.html

As summer is coming some nice spots in the city for a picnic (pique-nique)  and layout is allowed are the following places,Les Jardins des Francsbourgeois-Rosiers, 35-37, rue des Francs-Bourgeois (75004). Just behind the Maison de l’Europe, hidden a bit but wonderful place for a stop and snack. The jardin Catherine Labouré, 29, rue de Babylone (75007), just next to the old veggie garden of the convent  Filles de la Charité de Saint-Vincent-de-Paul. A wonderful place, the Square Villemin, av. de Verdun/rue des Récollets/quai de Valmy (75010). Located between the gare de l’Est and the canal Saint-Martin, at the old location of the convent des Récollets,this square is the biggest green space in the 10éme arr. The Parc Floral , Esplanade du château de Vincennes, route de la Pyramide (75012) wonderful place indeed and a nice jazz festival from June 11 to July 31!!   With a great views over the boats on the Seine and the tour Eiffel you can go to the Ile aux Cygnes, Allée des Cygnes (75015. You entered it by the pont Bir-Hakeim, at the foot of the statue of Liberty,just 11 meters wide( 36.3 ft)  but gorgeous lookout and picnic.  The Parc André Citroên, Quai André Citroën, rue Saint-Charles (75015).  A great all time favorite and one of my first visits to a park in Paris back in 1990 is the Parc Monceau,  35, bd de Courcelles (75017); you go on the main alley from the dome ,past the fourth smaller alley into the great green area .The Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, 1, rue Botzaris (75019).  And some not so obvious but available are, Jardin du Palais-Royal. around the main fountain, quick they are taken fast, Rue de Montpensier, 75001 . Jardin de l’Observatoire, two green areas are allowed for picnics at the end of the luco. Av. de l’Observatoire, 75006 . And ,the  Pont des Arts. a great place to see Paris like a postcard hanging underneath the river Seine. Quai du Louvre (75001)or place de l’Institut (75006).

And lastly but not least, the Paris Air Show is coming to town!!!  Love Aviation so this is big for me. My US University ERAU will be in town, and in addition to the festivities of June 22nd, we the alumni will be having a dinner at the prestigious and oldest aviation club in France, The Aero Club de France, 6 rue Galilée, Paris 75016. near the Arc de Triomphe. You will see me there ::)  To see more take a look at this webpage http://www.paris-exception.com/uk/individuals/restaurants-in-paris/paris-hotels-particuliers/l-aero-club-de-france.html

Again do not forget the Grandes Eaux Musicales at the Chateau de Versailles nor the night events going on now.

I will probably, most likely, take a time away from my blog as will be moving, starting a new job in a new area ,and internet access might take a few days from my new home. However, I will be back better than ever ::) Stay tune, and happy weekend, and if French, Happy Mothers’s Day tomorrow May 29th. I wont have mine but she will be in my heart, thanks Mom.

Enjoy it, Cheers!!!

Well I am back with some time after spending my days between the Morbihan and Yvelines departments in France. The weather has been beautiful no rain, sunshine, temps over 20°C, with lows of 5°C in the mornings. Traffic has been fabulous around Rouen, Caen, Rennes, and Versailles.

I will test Paris again with my car on Monday,and will have lunch with my family Sunday in my wonderful Yvelines at Bougival. Ready for a new beginning as it seems moving will be shortly, my jobs takes me all over France (lucky me) and some foreign countries as well (nice) ,however, I am in the process of securing a permanent high level management position in the Morbihan area, that if done (will know by june 1) might make me move there permanently, money talks and bs walks as we said. Its about 5 hours by car from Versailles so it will still be at driving distance for long weekends in this area.

The new thing going on in the Bretagne region is at Quimper, where the Musée des Beaux-Arts (fine arts museum) has until August 31,2011 the exposition, “De Turner à Monet, la découverte de la Bretagne par les paysagistes au XIXe” or from Turner to Monet, the discovery of the region of Bretagne by the painters of the 19C. This is the information to come and official webpage http://musee-beauxarts.quimper.fr/htdocs/infos.htm

If you are closer to Paris this weekend there is a celebration at all gardens in the area, its call the Fete de la nature or nature’s feast.  For example, at bois de Vincennes, you will discover the biodiversity; at Jardin des Plantes, there are guide visits with the gardeners and visit of the tropical agronomy garden, search of treasures by the little ones at the Jardin d’Eole, etc. To know more of each celebration see the official webpage.  www.fetedelanature.com

Many folks visiting Paris asked about flea markets and gadgets sales in Paris so these are call vide greniers or brocantesand they are plentiful with the nice weather we are having, here are some of my favorites places over the years.Paris 16 arrondissement 
Vide-greniers
Saturday as much as 200 stands from 7h to 19h 
at Avenue de Versailles , metro Porte de Saint Cloud line 10

Brocante
Saturday and Sunday about 100 stands at  Avenue Mozart , metro Ranelagh line 9.

and this is the site in French with information about all vide greniers in France, I have it on my region Ile de France that covers Paris/Versailles.http://www.les-vide-greniers.com/brocantes/braderies/en/ile-de-france

If you want the authentic traditional bread ( pain de campagne cook in wooden oven) in Paris go to one of my favorites at  Moulin de la Vierge, 64, rue Saint-Dominique, 75007. Tél. +33  01 47 05 98 50. This is their webpage and all their locations, the site is in renovation, http://www.lemoulindelavierge.com/ . One of the most active and best in the city with implantations internationally already is Eric Kayser, his bakeries are all over Paris but I have try the ones at the 16arr at 79 ave Mozart, and St Germain en Laye at 3 rue de Pologne/3 rue de Poissy.  webpage http://www.maison-kayser.com/ He serves at the palais d’Elysée and Joêl Robuchon the chef amongst others.

For one of the best club sandwich in Paris and excellent view of passerbyers, the must in Paris head for Café de l’Alma,5 ave de Rapp,75007.It has wifi and great tapenades as well from Provence. Great views, friendly service. webpage http://www.cafe-de-l-alma.com/ and right on the same area why not combine it with a great movie afternoon at La Pagode, now showing Minuit à Paris or midnight Paris the new Woody Allen movie about Paris and other things ::) located at 57, rue de Babylone,75007 ,metro Saint François Xavier, line 13 ,Vaneau line 10  , Sèvres Babylone,line 10 and 12 plus Invalides on RER C , webpage http://www.etoile-cinemas.com/salle/pagode/44/98-informations-pratiques.html

I had my tries at Locomotive the discotheque next to the Moulin Rouge, now the more younger tells me theMachine du Moulin Rouge (the Moulin Rouge owns now)  ,the new name, it kicking well and high in the area nights under the moon.  Great DJ’s of Paris plus a rock ,electro combination in music, with live concerts. Ideas in the near future to built a brasserie in its roofstop and a suite on top of it for a nice finish ::)  located at 90, bd de Clichy (75018). Tél. +33 01 53 41 88 89. webpage http://www.lamachinedumoulinrouge.com/

Coming out a bit out of Paris just over the Seine river towards La Defense but first stopping at the city of Neuilly sur Seine in dept Hauts de Seine no 92.  The city of Pres Sarkozy of France, and 37 hectares (91 .3 acres) of green spaces with the famous  parc de Bagatelle ,and the well hidden but nice parc de la Folie Saint-James , at  34, avenue de Madrid, and undergoing renovations now. The elegant headquartes of Chanel are based here too at 135 ave Charles de Gaulle. Also the cinemas Gaumont with a nice museum on movie history Musée Gaumont, it is at the basement of the HQ of the company Gaumont at 13 Rue du Midi, 92200 Neuilly sur Seine, metro Porte Maillot line 1 and RER C, webpage http://www.gaumont-le-musee.fr/

 The great pizzeria with the great views on the avenue and arches is Il Giardino at 144, avenue Charles-de-Gaulle, tél. +33 01 47 47 05 05, no web by Metro pont de Neuilly line 1. For a more refine seating and evening meal try the Vivin at 114 ave Achilles Peretti, no web tel +33 01 46 24 19 19, metro Pont de Neuilly line 1 as well. The avenue Achilles Peretti is the one behind the main ave CDG and is more of the city lifestyle area, the one I go most on business. Further more, for an authentic view of old Paris or nearby, and French tradition try the Guinguette de Neuilly (do come for the terraces). its an institution in the island in the middle of the Seine call île de la Jatte right over the Pont de Courbevoir, that preserves its authentic canoe or small boat stop of old, and gave birth to the tradition of these boats on the Seine.  Located at 12, bd Georges-Seurat, tél. +33 01 46 24 25 04 . I have the gorgeous webpage in the directions page in English http://www.la-guinguette-de-neuilly.com/english/situation.html

And back in Paris proper the Aperos de Bordeaux are in town, this is wine tasting of course from Bordeaux region (simply the best !) around some amuse bouché or hors d’ouvres around the city, the two tempting this year for me are at L’Escargot Montorgueil, 38 rue Montorgueil,75001, line 4 metro Etienne Martel, now web; on June 14  with  Flavio Nervegna. and on June 8 at the Point Ephémère , 200 Quai de Valmy, 75010 with an expo of vinyl records and books with the DJ of the set of  Dirty Sound Système, with the founder of label Dirty. webpage is with directions at http://www.pointephemere.org/spip.php?article6

And going back towards the west this time Normandy at Caen the museum of Normandie there will have an exposition as part of the celebration of the 1 100 years of the founding of Normandy by the Viking Rollon with the treaty at Saint Claire-sur-Epte. The program is call the Viking Russia towards another Normandy.  The webpage with the agenda is at http://www.musee-de-normandie.caen.fr/agenda/resultattotal.asp . The museums has tariffs from 3 to 7€  depending on the exposition, and you can get there once in Caen (Paris gare St Lazare) at Tramways A or B, stop or arrêts St Pierre or Université. The train and bus stations are about  5 minutes from the chateau by tramway which where the museum is.

And closer to me ,dont forget the Grandes Eaux Musicales are on throught October 31 2011. Discover the gardens of the sun king Louis XIV at the sound of baroque music and water spouting at great speeds from fountains and canals. Schedule is for the Grandes Eaux Musicales the Saturdays and Sundays from April 2nd to October 30th as well as June 2, and 14 july and the tuesdays of May 24 to June 28th from hours of 9h to 18h30. The Grandes Eaux Nocturnes (night time) are all Saturdays from June 18 to September 3 from 21h to 23h30 hours . The admission to these are as follows

Grandes eaux musicales from  6 to 8 € ,free for less than 5 yrs old.
Grandes eaux nocturnes from 18 to 22 € ,free for the less than 6 yrs old .official webpage in English for updates and current info is at http://en.chateauversailles.fr/homepage

Have a great rest of the week and weekend everybody.

Well here I am on a leisure Sunday morning, the gang is already in their electronic moods, mother cooking some dessert, and papa on the blog ::)

It is a bit cool but the sun is trying to go up so usually afternoons are warmer. I am getting ready for another week of hectic running back and forth. I will be in the Morbihan area of Bretagne Tuesday ,before I do my car maintenance check.

Next saturday one of my son is going to a birthday south of Versailles, while the other two are going shopping in La Defense. On Sunday we will have our going out dinner at Chez Clement before I head back out to the Morbihan again.

We love the Chez Clement restos and the one in Bougival in my department Yvelines no 78 is historical. You have four rooms with exquisite decorations such as véranda Saint Michel, color glass mirrors of Champs-Elysées, Rotonde de Petit Clamart, or flower garden of Bougival. This restaurant was founder by Clement Blanc , the same who started in the butchery business founded in Paris the popular Au Pied de Cochon near Les Halles.  The restaurant at Bougival is enclosed by 2 hectares of gardens (5 acres), and the original here was the local famouse Coq Hardi. The location is at  15 bis, quai Rennequin Sualem, 78380 Bougival, Tél. +33 01 30 78 20 00; this is just off the N13 that linked Saint Germain en Laye with Versailles and its just across from the Seine river passing by here. the chain webpage is at http://www.chezclement.com/ we come here regularly so if in the area ::)

Next we are getting ready to show a dvd on Bretagne for places to visit eventually, part of the family planning. Even on a weekend we hardly ever stay home, so much to see here, in the la belle France. If you want to see more of this UNESCO world heritage site, at the gulfe de Morbihan check out their tourist webpage http://www.morbihan.com/

I might have to come back into Paris by thursday next, depends on the meetings, but it will by by fontaine St Michel area. Always on my car, my second home. Driving and taking all the scenary is the best way to travel and see France at its best. Regardless of all those travel books, driving here is very easy. I will probably have my lunch at the cafe just facing the fontaine,Saint Severin. Lovely views, nice contempo place, great service, and lovely food.  3, Place St Michel ,Tel +33 01 43 54 19 36 ,just coming off metro Saint Michel.

School is winding down here, mai has its vacation at the end of month,then june and for some july is vacation of summer ,my oldest will wait until august as he is working man like us… While late last month, they went on their school trips, one to Pont l’Eveque and the other to Val Cenis in the alps ,the other working man stay with us to visit nearby towns on weekends. some of the photos are here for their trips.

Also, I was honored to have a visit by one of my favorites persons from my previous travel forum ,he came all the way from Australia with a group of about 19 Aussies. We had a blast at Cafe du Commerce,51 rue du commerce,75015. The service,the food and the wine was good. But must important the company we share and the love for travel was shown. Its not everyday you finally see someone you have been sharing travel tips and memories over the years and suddently you are seating next to each other chatting like we have known each other for years….Thanks Wal. My old camera broked just days before and leaving Vannes I purchase a cheap one that was water proof encaissing for 3 meters lol!(10 feet). The crunker will be going for developement this coming week for sharing here. He is still driving around France like a rabbit and into Switzerland and Italy before coming back to France. Maybe I can still catch up with him again at Versailles ::)

Let me give you my favorite walk around place Saint Michel, and some buildings to see, just an overall hints to see on your next visit. ok. The place Saint Michel ,one of the must to walk by in Paris, amongst many I know, I know. …right there you will see the Fontaine Saint Michel, an architectural  symbol of Paris.However, right the kiosque that sells postcards, newspaper etc on the west side of the plaza ,you will find one of the smallest street in Paris, rue de l’Hirondelle.  You entered on the old Paris , Hirondelle, Gît-le-Cœur, Grands Augustins, tour de Nesle ,these are buildings from the 18C and sometimes 17C with names intact.  rue Gît-le-Cœur give you the idea of a romantic leyend but in reality it means  Gilles le Queux (that means “cuisinier” or cook in old French).  At this street my dear French teacher was born, she still strong at 90 living in the USA where I first learned my French in Perth Amboy, New Jersey!

You continue on by que quais and you will come to the Hôtel des Monnaies ,built in 1771 with a long facade of 120 meters (396 feet) that made legal tender coins until 1973. Continue on the quais by the Seine and you will come to the Institut de France, Mazarin creates a college of four nations that in 1775 became the Institut de France on the old site of the Tour de Nesle, and today it houses the famous French institution like the Académie française (founded1635),the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres (founded  1663), the Académie des sciences (founded 1666), the Académie des beaux-arts (created in 1816) ,and finally the Académie des sciences morales et politiques (founded 1795).  if you turn at the quais here into rue Bonaparte, just there you will see a building, that is the  école nationale des Beaux Arts or the National fine arts school.  The building is between rue Bonaparte and the quai Malaquais. The oldest section is the chapel dating from early 17C and was erected for the the Couvent des Petits-Augustins. Here it was the first French museum during the period of the French revolution and the Empire !!!  If you continue on rue Bonaparte you will come to the old Church of St Germain dés Prés, one of the landmarks of Paris.

Continue on rue Bonaparte and cross blvd Saint Germain, take a left
into the  rue du Four and then a quick right into the rue des Canettes.
it is the same rue or street since 1260! with plenty of small bars to have a nice old world new beer!  Plenty of student area for the last 400 years! and right after you come to place St Sulpice , and the church built in 1643  and it was the queen Anne of Austria who put the first stone on the construction. Its two towers of 70 meters high (231 ft) its four meters higher than Notre Dame! and made famous for the Da Vinci Code movie.Just by the church on the rue de Saint-Sulpice , on the north side of the church, take the rue Garancière to its end, and you will be in front of the Palais du Luxembourg( now the site of the French Senate), and the beautiful garden or jardin du Luxembourg. You continue on the rue de Vaugirard (the longest street in Paris),then turn left on  rue Rotrou, at its end you are at place de l’Odéon in front of the theater of the same name. The Théatre de l’Odéon was built in 1782 to house the French theater. It was the centerpiece of the student revolts of May 1968. Get around it to rue Racine at the west of the plaza turn quickly left to head on rue de l’Ecole de Médecine. Here you will be walking in an old gallo roman road between two winegrows, its sidewalk to the left you go down to see a plaque to honor Sarah Bernhardt, a large door give access to the Couvent des Cordeliers or the refactory as it all that is left of it that served as meeting site for the Jacobins during the French revolution.

Coming down on the  rue de l’Ecole-de-Médecine, you will arrive at the  carrefour de l’Odéon (not to be confused with the place de l’Odéon). This is one of my favorite areas in Paris to hang out by the way.  You will a statue to Danton,  at the same site where the house that he lived during the French revolution!!. On the other side of boulevard Saint-Germain, you will see many buildings of standing this is the street cour du Commerce Saint-André. This cour or passageway was open in 1735. At the beginning it was twice as big but needed to slim down to create the boulevard Saint-Germain . Here lies the famous, just that Cafe Procope ,and from here the attack on the Palais des Tuileries was planned in June 20 and August 10, 1792. In the middle of this passageway, you have a discreet door not always available for passing but if you can will take you to wonderful place of beauty call the cour de l’Hôtel de Rohan. It was actually before the Hôtel des évêques or bishops resident hotel of the city of  Rouen. Inside it has 3 small courtyards in succession with one of the most medieval and renaissane ambiances still preserve in Paris. You can see the last  “Pas-de-Mûle” of Paris (stone that serve to help the horseman mount the horse), finally you will leave this fairy tale place by the  rue du Jardinet.

You take the rue du Jardinet until the end, on its crossing you will come to a street call rue Serpente, then take your left to rue Hautefeuille. You will see a small tower or tourelle in French. Nobody is sure of the name of the street rue Hautefeuille, some think it was the site of the  Chateau de Hautefeuille ,and other a Roman temple, for certain is one of the oldest streets in Paris . At no 5, you will discover the beautiful tourelle or small tower giving to the street , and it is the most important proof of the old Hôtel des Abbées of Fécamp , that was built first in 1292 then rebuilt during the renaissance. If you continue to the end of rue Hautefeuille, you will find your starting point at the place Saint-Michel. Voilà , is it Paris gorgeous ::)

Enjoy it. Cheers!!!

Here is a cool breeze today, and I am home this morning telling myself well what? So went up to the vexin français natural park near me and just drove around visiting places for a next post. the weather is cool indeed and the sun is hot ,go figure these times. Rain is announced for the weekend oh well times change so fast. At these times always come prepare with a rainjacket.

A test for Paris, from June 1st  to August 31th the police in the Champs-Elysées area will have electric tricycles to ride on !!! They chose the California USA base  T3 i Motion  equipment. Some other cities like Nice already use Sedways.  The T3 i Motion can turn 360° angles and with speed of up to 40 km/h.(25 mph) ,they are 1,38 m long (4.55 ft)and have a 50 kms autonomy with recharge electric in a few hours.

Some irregularities found in the giving of the lighting contract for the city of Paris, so the prefet of  IDF is filing suit to have it removed and bring back to bidding. Yes, the places you see lit at night such as  Arc de Triomphe, Louvre, Panthéon, etc (not includes the Eiffel tower) as well as ten of thousands of lamp posts and red lights in the city  ,the contract was for 800M€  given to  Bouygues and Vinci, for Ten years was attacked by the prefet of ile de France region  Daniel Canepa. It seems to me its political more than anything else.

Due to the increase in highway death the region of Ile de France where Paris/Versailles are will enforce the highway safety including the idea of eliminating the warning panels on over speed on the roads now shown. Any excess of speed of more than  50 km/h  over the legal limit will be qualify as a crime,which means the driver could face prison terms and not just a fine. Alcohol while driving the level stays at 0,8 g (with between  0,5g and 0,79g, it is a fine or taking of points),however anything over that will be penalised with 8 points!! (we have max of 12 or no more license).  The telephone cellular/mobile will have the sanctions increase as well by given you a fourth class penalty which means 4 points and min of 90€ fine. This is just dandy before the summer vacation big time in France, again another political motivation deal as elections are next year.

Coming on summer indeed, so here comes the tartes au fraises or strawberry pies abound. The recent survey by Le Figaro shows the best in Paris to be Gérard Mulot, 76 rue de Seine 6éme. Jacques Genin, 133 rue de Turenne 3éme, Dalloyau, 101 Faubourg Saint-Honoré 8éme, Ladurée, 16 Rue Royale 8éme, and my favorite Carette at 25 pl des Vosges 3éme came in 8th place.

My other passion is eating out ,see my blogroll at the bottom of my blog for Cityvox, I write reviews in French there; the 2011 ranking of the best restos in Paris by the locals came out as such,the list is 273 strong with a rating of 3,5 or more from max of 5 stars. So just glad to know some of my favorites are in the top 10 such as Chez Chartier, Le Chalets des Iles, Le Vin qui Danse, etc.  Some other of my favorites towns and my marks wre there are at Lille where Chez Max is on top, Nantes ,La Cigale 2nd, Strasbourg, Le Tire Bouchon,3rd, Lyon, Brasserie Georges 1836 , 1st. Restaurant d’Olivier ,9th. Bordeaux, Au Bouchon des Chartrons, 6th, La Belle Epoque, 10th, see them all here http://www.cityvox.fr/bienvenue_france/LancementSelection

Come and enjoy a nice meal in the beautiful gardens of the Maison de l’Amérique latine in Paris, nothing latin american in the meals ,all is French ::) Plus see over 10 sculptures in bronze by the Mexican artist Juan Soriano (1920-2006) in the  Cour Ovale  until July 13 from tuesdays to saturdays at 14h. metro sulferino rue de bac, 217 blvd Saint Germain; webpage for the Maison at http://www.mal217.org/ 

The event Paris,quartier d’ êté will come back this year to its usual place at the Palais Royal in the cour des Invalides. There it will host dance, music,cinema from July 14 to August 9th,especially dont missed the free nights on July 14  The Manganiyar, a great spectacle of Indian music and dance,and the August 9th the show of the movie under the stars, of  Duellistes, of Ridley Scott, and Hôtel des Invalides  of Georges Franju. webpage http://www.quartierdete.com/

The IN place for the best of Spanish products is Bellota Bellota at 18, rue Jean-Nicot, tél. +33 01 53 59 96 96 , this is celler and grocery store with the best hams iberians, oils, and canned goods. You can snack on site midday and evenings if a bit pricey. webpage http://www.bellota-bellota.com/

The new movie by Woody Allen is out,  Midnght at  Paris, (Minuit à Paris) is a rave, all is looking forward to see it , another American dream for Paris, and this one is just as good as the other ones, Paris Je t’aime !!! This is what Mr Allen said at the Le Figaro newspaper which I am translating here,  “I felled in love with Paris in 1964, I was writing one day for the play of the movie what’s New Pussycat. I was staying at the Hôtel George V. This adventure lasted 8 months! At the end I was thinking of staying permanently.  I would have been able to purchase a small apartment on the attic types, and lived at the heart of Paris city of Lights. I was young, single,and love this city. I spent my times on the Champs-Élysées, to read wholly the books at  library Shakespeare & Company,or just walked in the streets of the  Quartier latin. However, all my friends were at  New York. Alors, and I stop thinking about this dream. I regret a bit today having done that decision”.  A bit more on the interview, He stayed for the movie a the Hotel Bristol, and ” One more time, it was marvelous, like all New Yorkers we like to walk a lot , and I love to walk on parc Monceau, go on by the quais or edge of the Seine river, take coffee at the Saint Germain area, and cross the bridges over the Seine, like the sumptous  pont Alexandre-III”  In the last film  there are scenes at Maxim’s and the Moulin Rouge, lower end of rue Mouffetard, and high on the montagne Sainte-Geneviève. ­ And as he told in mid voice, ” Paris, its  New York, but a bit more beautiful !”.

Cheers, yes Paris is eternal, a movable feast but so is France ::)

Well I am away from my area but need to give you some updates. The weather is gorgeous sunny and warm, its right in Spring and it shows Summer ::)  temps in the Paris/Versailles axis will be from 9°C to 21°C for the next 10 days and rain is announce from May 15 on.

I am by Vannes, Morbihan and its also very sunny, and pleasant with nice breezes from the nearby Gulf/Ocean. The temps here are similar only highs will be 24°C and no rain in sight.

Something about French consumers , a study done by INSEE, the French govt statistical arm, says, the French are in 7th place in the ranking of big spenders in Europe. Leading the way are the UK and Luxembourg. The French spending habits are 13% above the average for the UE The French, eat more fish than the Germans with 18% higher consumption then the EU average.  They drink more alcohol than the British with 20% above the UE average! ,and smoke less then the Spaniards with 28% less than the UE average.

The 64th edition of the Festival de Cannes is approaching tomorrow opening. Over 50 films will be shown to decide the winners by May 22nd with Robert de Niro as chairman of this year edition.  The official webpage is here http://www.festival-cannes.fr/fr.html

From May 27-29, the Festival de l’Histoire des Arts will take place at the Chateau de Fontainebleau ,a gorgeous theme of the folies or looney periods of  Erasmus; all about it at the official blog http://festivaldelhistoiredelart.com/

In the theme of the European Museum Night, the Chateau de Versailles will open the Petit Parc by 20H30 to create an event entitled “Nuit et bosquets, un bestiaire à Versailles” or nights and forests, a dresserroom at versailles. The activities will start by 21h30, by the cour d’honneur, the castle will remain closed. webpage http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover-estate

For all your gourmet needs, and great shopping from the best in the world go to the Epicerie de Longueil at Maisons Laffitte; one of my favorites hanging grounds, and coffee stumper place. Grand city dotted with a nice castle and horse racecourse of fame. The grocery store is at 28 avenue de Longueil which the main street to your left coming out of the train RER A from Paris. webpage http://www.epiceriedelongueil.com/accueil.htm

Walking along the Paris 15éme arrondissement the other day ,went to see a friend  from Australia visiting Paris, and took some extra time before arriving to past by the Parc  André Citroen, near the Seine river, metro Javel ,Balard or RER blvd Victor, done on the old automobile factories of Citroên. Here you have two small gardens call  “jardin blanc” ,and  “jardin noir” (these are between rue Saint-Charles and rue Leblanc), and are link to the main garden. There is a huge lawn square in the middle, bordering this square there are 6  serial gardens separated by a cascade and id with a metal color each such as gold/Or, Silver/Argent, and Green/Vert or Red/rouge. At the end  there is a garden in movement or “jardin en mouvement” ; it is like a prairie in a natural state with flowers. to the south, there is the canal with more cascades and statues or nymphées,a cave where water spout with force. webpage http://www.parisinfo.com/sites-culturels/1283/parc-andre-citroen

And one of the best shopping in Paris is at Rue du Commerce, in the Quartier Grenelle, arrondissement 15 of Paris , especially a Sephora store with beautician services inside! And the good wine store Le Repaire de Bacchus at 86 rue du commerce; also a great bouillon , today converted into a cafe resto call Le Cafe du Commerce at 51 rue du Commerce, more on this later post ; and Gerard Darel at 24 rue du Commerce for great ready to wear outfits.

Expo at the Petit Palais ,the work of Charlotte Perriand , one of the great creators of furniture in the 20C,now turning into photography to re discover her . More than 380 photos and 70 furniture pieces are on display; from her entrance into the shop of Le Corbusier and  Pierre Jeanneret in 1928, http://petitpalais.paris.fr/

Musée de Quai de Branly is showing the Mayas exhibition on Guatemala, 160 pieces of exceptional value will be on display. from 6 june to october, http://www.quaibranly.fr/en/programmation/exhibitions/soon/maya.html?S=1%252

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of France, Fréderic Lefebvre is going after Expedia, Hotels.com,and TripAdvisor for attack their false recommendations.  Such as saying the hotel is full when in reality it is not!!!  Announcing promotional tarifs when in reality they are the normal prices!!! or downgrade a 4 stars to a 3 stars/ This is part of the division of fraud of its ministry that is after informations that are tricks of the game!. To stop these gimmicks the DGCCRF  have ask to demand the  tribunal de commerce de Paris or the high court in commercial matters for fast and expedient investigation into these matters  for a legal process started in April of 2010 against these outfits by the Hotel union in France Synhorcat. And now it is all over the news in France, article in French by Le Figaro, http://www.lefigaro.fr/conso/2011/05/10/05007-20110510ARTFIG00466-l-etat-s-attaque-a-l-hotellerie-en-ligne.php

Intercontinental Hotels Group announced a gain of 69 M $ for its first trimester of 2011,28% increase in net income and 9% in revenues . Disneyland has reduced its losses by 13%  for a take in of 82?9 M€ for the year 2010-11. Ascott is coming to France !!  They just bought the property of the old Hôtel Costes K and a vacant nearby building ,that once the transaction over, it will be the new hotel in Paris name Ascott Arc de Triomphe Paris.

Anish Kapoor opens at the Grand Palais, under the lights of the Parisien skies, the interior of this creation like a Leviathan, high of 35 meters (115.5 ft)  will be the more or less scary. It is a spectacular plonge into a pre historic cave. A experience of the sensors and métaphysical like that of Stanley Kubrick in 2001, the Space Oddysea.  http://www.grandpalais.fr/en/News/Current-programme-in-full/p-468-lg1-Current-programme-in-full.htm?action=search&page=1&evt_periode=next&evt_lieu=0&x=49&y=9

A new place to sample out in the Morbihan,  at Vannes, La Pierre à Griller,30 ter rue Thiers; Tel +33  02 97 42 65 07. Great grill meats and wonderful steaks for a change in a seafront town. no web reservations at lapierreagriller@yahoo.fr . menus from 11,70€  just in front of Hôtel de Ville or city hall.

Cheers and looking forward to be back in my area.

And just in, the Normandie region is celebrating 1100 years of their foundation read all about it and festivities schedules in the official webpage for the events here http://www.happybirthdaynormandie.com/?lg=en