Paris1972-Versailles2003

Once settled in at work ,here I am again.  We are getting ready for another trip on business to Paris ,and then Madrid and then Mexico city, while in the meantime, there is this.

The Festival d’ile de France from Sept 8 to Oct 14, in 26 different sites all over the region, the official webpage is at http://www.festival-idf.fr/2012/blog/  You have free transport by navette bus at  5€  roundtrip that will allow you to hook up with the concerts from Paris (free from Cergy for the concert  New York,at  Domaine de Villarceaux). The reservation by telephone is obligatory at +33 (0) 1 58 71 01 01. There is a pass to attend at least 3 concerts for 17€ per concert!  For the young under 26 the price is 10€ per concert!!  Click on the map on the site and will take you to each concert venue for more information.

Some new happening in Paris, to open early September the change of the resto Sensing , that becomes  Guy Martin Italia (19, rue Bréa, 75006. Tél. +33 01 43 27 08 80).webpage http://www.guymartinitalia.com/  Same site but new menu  100% transalpine, new cave and new kitchen team.  The opening of  La Dame de Pic(20, rue du Louvre, 75001), by September 10th.  At the head will be the 3 michelin star chef  Anne-Sophie Pic (Valence)  that is ready to invest in Paris with simple dishes.  Welcome opening mat at  Ma Cocotte, restaurant design by  Philippe Starck,at the flea market of  Clignancourt(110, rue des Rosiers, 93400 Saint-Ouen Marché Serpette Tel +33 01 49 51 70 00).  After a bit of delay it should open by early October under chef  Philippe Amzalak (restaurant Bon, 75016).  It will have space for 250 persons open 7/7 , it has programmed some tapas for the aperos and simple dishes for snacking easy to go down.

More new ones,   Pierre Sang in Oberkampf, http://pierresangboyer.com/  a restaurant open to the people .  And by September 27 the second restaurant of the Palais de Tokyo ,13, avenue du Président-Wilson, 75016),it will be led by chef Gilles Malafosse  (of Petrus,75017) see webpage of museumhttp://www.palaisdetokyo.com/fr/lifestyle/saveurs/le-nouveau-restaurant . The taking over of Grandes Marches, 6 pl de la Bastille, 75012 by the group Joulie that already has in its carte some like ( les Congrès Maillot and Auteuil, Sébillon, Auberge Dab, etc…webpage as my link below blog http://www.cityvox.fr/restaurants_paris/les-grandes-marches_9989/Profil-Lieu ). Ready to open in October. Also, the third Nanashi inside the store Bonpoint, rive gauche at 6 rue de Tournon, 75006 where the chef  ­Kaori Endo  is in charge, webpage http://www.nanashi.fr/ . Finally, there is a second Stube, passage Verdeau(75009),to begin in the fall to conquer the lovers of currywurst and  strudel. webpage http://www.lestube.fr/

The hotel Costes is growing, after purchasing the neighboring hotel Lotti  at my old job street rue de la Castiglione (75001) the owner  Jean-Louis Costes will add about 40 additional suites that were confied to the decorator par excellence  Jacques Garcia, the transformation will begin in at the end of next winter.http://www.hotelcostes.com/ and http://www.hotel-lotti-paris.com/hotel-le-lotti-fr.html lovely photos on both ::)

Some chic Parisien in lovely places where the decor and food says PARIS : my short list. At the old pool  Art déco du Lutetia, dates from 1935  remodeled by  Hermès since last year, cher but glorious Le Plongeoir chez Hermès 17, rue de Sèvres, 75006. Tél. +33 01 42 22 05 39. open every day except Sundays from  12h-19h.Carte around 25-30 € (for teas and pastries ). http://fr.stores.hermes.com/Europe/France/Paris/Hermes-Sevres

Inside an old butcher shop, you find the most refine Argentinian in Pari, Anahi  49, rue Volta, 75003. Tél. +33 01 48 87 88 24.  Open all the evenings from 20h to midnight. Carte about  50-60 €. For the lovers of beef, big portions, my link as below in my blog http://www.cityvox.fr/restaurants_paris/anahi_5173/Profil-Lieu

An old fish market now a fish restaurant with lot of anglo expats community of Paris presence,  Fish la Boissonnerie 69, rue de Seine, 75006. Tél.+33  01 43 54 34 69. Open every day. Menus: 26,50 € (lunch.), 31,50 and 35 € (dinners). Love that tuna in mango sauce lol!!!http://www.cityvox.fr/restaurants_paris/fish-la-boissonnerie_5754/Profil-Lieu

We arrive at a marvel of Spanish touch now Joselin, this is and old bank with huge volumes and the deco very theatrical , all in gold; including a  chesterfield  in golden leather! ,and all dress up in red!! wow!  To boot it has an inmense hall all laid with tiles and with columns and pylon original of the bank. Well enough of description, the food is fantastic love that espadon in plancha, it is at the   Banke Hotel (part of Derby hotels) , 20, rue La Fayette, 75009. Tél. +33 01 55 33 22 22. Open every day . Formule: 29 € (4 small  entrées, 1 plat and 1 café gourmand).Carte at about  60-70 €.http://www.derbyhotels.com/en/hotel-banke/restaurants/josefin-127.html

Daniel Cremieux, modist and designer from men’s clothing to a lot more, see the main store at 28 rue Boissy d’Anglas 75008 http://www.danielcremieux.com/iphone/stores.html My wardrobe. And right by the church at 9, place St Augustin, 75008, see the store of Charles le Golf, http://www.charleslegolf.com/  and Armand Thiery, 45 rue Caumartin, 75009, http://www.armandthiery.fr/e_commerce/magasins.cfm

See at the musée des Impressionnismes, 99 rue Claude-Monet, 27620 Giverny, http://www.mdig.fr/ The exhibition of Delacroix à Signac designs of the Dyke Collection until 31 October, admission 6,50€ ,the evolution of designs in France from 1830 to 1930.

In my wonderful Versailles, the expo  of  Les Dames de Trianon  showing in a nice combination of portraits, the women who made the palace famous, Queens, Imperatrices ,favorites of the kings and queens as well as princesses.  on until October 14, admission is 10€ , held at the Grand Trianon, http://en.chateauversailles.fr/grand-trianon– 

And last a game, just showing in French news journal, GEOCASHING, seems like a lot of fun, and I will participate.  You have to hide something, and then give others a clue to find it. You can keep what you find or re hided again for the next participant. Fun!!! http://www.geocaching.com/

Until next time, have a great TGIF, Cheers

Here I am on a sunny leisure day and again its time to write about France or Paris , what came first? Hehehehe, well Paris all wants to hear even if there are nice things in other places like Bretagne=Brittany for example ::)

We have in Paris coming up the jazz festival de la Villette, a wonderful event in a magnificent arena. August 29th to September 9th 2012.  All the practical information is here in French but fairly easy to read by all, I think ;http://www.citedelamusique.fr/minisites/1209_jazzalavillette/infos.aspx

One of my favorite chocolatier belge is Léonidas. There might be better but this is very good, and stays nostalgic with me as it was the first box of chocolates I purchase for my girlfriend now wife way back in Meaux, then Paris, then Brussels, and now Vannes. They are very good and recommended, here is the webpage for the Paris region stores, http://www.leonidas.com/pralines?id=SHOP2EN&country=74&place=paris&btnSearchBrown.x=12&btnSearchBrown.y=5

My nostalgic favorite garden in Paris is the jardin des tuileries, because I worked across from it for most of my time in Paris. This was the park i came to relax, drink, walk, and see and be seen in Paris. It was the park that I waited to give time to meet someone in other parts of Paris and not seen to arrive too early ::) It is an inmense park garden in the history of Paris. I like to give some background info that I have gathered over the years. It was Catherine de Médicis in 1564 that had built a palace on the site of the tuilerie ( an old roofstile factory that did it for the fortress of the Louvre). During 3 centuries the Palais des Tuileries  knew of its inmense parties, the revolutionary conflicts, wars, the arrival of the Empire (Napoleon), etc. On May 23 1871 the revolts of the commune or city of Paris set fire to this wonderful palace that eventually was demolish by the city of Paris in 1882.  The stones were purchase by ambassador of Russia ,and sent them to Corsica  where a new family castle was built in  Alata( Chateau de la Pointe today). Many including I ,are trying to build it again to the identical in a private effort of gigantic proportion, we have a webpage http://www.tuileries.org/ . In 1664 king Louis XIV mades some changes and renovate the palace to his taste like corinthians columns of marbre. He decorates the hallways that joined the palace to the louvre (today pavillon marsans and pavillon de Flore).  He stops the parties and meetings here as he prefered first his birthplace at St Germain en Laye and later Versailles. king Louis XVI lived at Versailles, when the revolts started and they go to get him, the king comes back to occupied the palace on October 1789, by the February 1790, the  jardin des Tuileries is the center of revolts again due to the departure of the aunts of the king.  During the month of April that follows another group of revolts stops the king Louis XVI to go to Saint Cloud . On June 20 1792, the people invades the palais des tuileries and put their red caps (bonnet rouges) on the king’s head.  The defenders of the king were beheaded.  The palace is now comes to be call  Palais-National. At the place of the theater known as the Salle des Machines or machines room, they change it renovates it and rename it the salle de la Convention. On this salle or room that we enter by the terrace des Feuillants, on January 29 ,1793,  is where Louis XVI is judge guilty and sentece to death in his presence. The great party of the supreme council is held at the gardens in 1794.

Napoleon I ,also lived in the palais des Tuileries. The family of Bourbons lived here too after the restauration of the monarchy. Then again, on July 29 1830 the people attack the palace and after the royal troops were defeated the king Charles X goes into exile.  The branch cadet who stays in the palace ends up as the senior branch of the house of Bourbons.  Again, on the war of 1848 the king Louis Philippe and queen Marie-Amélile runs from the palace des tuileries towards Honfleur where a boat will take them to England in exile by a boat that was anchored at Le Havre.

After this , it was try to use the palace as a hospital ,then as a fine arts museum without success.  In 1852, the palace comes back ,the President of the Republic  Louis-Napoleon (Napoleon III) give a bals dance in the Salles des Maréchaux still holding the traces of the last revolution.  In March of the same year, the palace open the session of the Senate and Representatives at the same room or salle.  The President and the member of parliament swear allegiance to the new constitution here at the palais des tuileries.  Louis-Napoleon does renovation again ,and he puts the four busts of Racine, Voltaire, Corneille, and Moliére.  You see and the story goes, you see and I had told you here , it is impossible to find in a small space something to majestic of souvenirs and history. We ,all who love this place will prove to the observing readers on the same terrain, to collect the most rich emotions and historical anecdotes and to start with their most smallest of misteries of the Parisien life, their dreams and hopes.  In the Senate in 1882, Jules Ferry, the minister of Education, and fine arts swear to have it rebuilt to its identical form or similar  in the  name of the government ; lets hope other governement listen and read, and it can become a reality. It is a magical place, full of history of France and Europe.

In another, German impressionism comes to Quimper near me at the musée des Beaux-Arts, until October 2012, webpagehttp://www.mbaq.fr/expositions/en-cours/article/exposition-temporaire-die-bruecke/backto/accueil/

At the musée de l’Armée in Paris, they have a exhibit on the funnies or comics done by Gen Charles de Gaulle, until October 18,  2012 webpage http://www.invalides.org/program.html

And you are looking for something different to do in Paris, how about a cruise on the canal by Parc de la Villette, where the boat will cross the rising bridge on the  rue de Crimée and cross the  Bassin de la Villette  before seeing the great Rotonde de Ledoux. Then ,adventure with the levy of the Récollets where you will see the Hôtel du Nord . You will discover the canal Saint Martin in all its poetic turns with romantic passarelles with fishing boats and even those doing theater anchored about . You will go for 2 km in almost darkness under an underground vault filled with light holes of extreme beauty.  We come out of this underground marvel into the Port de l’Arsenal and the grand Bastille  that you can look up its 52 meters high ,and you enter the river Seine!. wonderful do it ! goes out at 14h30 you get there on metro porte de pantin line 5.  You can do in in reverse order from Musée d’Orsay, adult cost is 16€ see more here http://www.pariscanal.com/port-d-embarquement-du-parc-de-la-villette/paris-19/tabid/13365/offreid/6f83fe3d-ada8-4e35-87be-76e42dd5816d/page-de-detail.aspx

Another good site for Paris, and they do food cooking lesson, see it all here in English, and they have one coming on Food tour of Montmartre on August 25th, see site http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4059947412

And enough for now, next for me is Carnac tom, Quiberon friday, and the weekend who knows heck is too far ahead lol!!! Cheers.