Here we are again a Sunday, and still raining in Brittany well most of France or snow, and floodings in the South, so lets think of better things to do while in France.
The musée National Gustave Moreau ,14, rue de La Rochefoucauld 75009 Paris, has re open after 6 months closed for rénovations. This was his old apartment and has 3 floors with 1200 paintings, aquarelles and cartoons with 4000 designs by hand done by the master painter. 9000 designs are kept in reserve. Gustave Moreau had renovated his house into a museum before his death so he can leave a legacy of his work for posterity, well thought out. It has a street level floor, apartement in 1fl and big stairs to go from 1 to 2 to 3 floors (French). more here http://www.musee-moreau.fr/homes/home_id24292_u1l2.htm you can go there on metro Trinité or Saint Georges, and bus lines 67, 68, 74, 32, 43, 49.
50th anniversary of France establishing Relationship with China, first country to do so, is celebrated in Paris this year such as “De la Chine aux Arts Décoratifs” at the museum of des arts décoratifs from February 13 to June 29 2014 and “Les Han, l’essor de la Chine impériale (206-220 après J.-C.) ” at the musée Guimet staring in the fall season .Also , at Nice the 13 February the new Chinese year at the Opéra. From March 13 to 20, the Ballet de Shanghaï is presenting at the Palais des Congrès de Paris. The city of Shanghaï is the invited of honor at the book faire the Salon du Livre de Paris from March 21-24 as well as the honor invitee at the Paris Art Fair at the Grand Palais from March 27 to 30. The famous La Fête des Lumières at Lyon will show its colors in honor of China from December 5 to 8.
Grand Palais Nuit de Chine, info at http://nuitdechine.org/fr.php and 50 years of Relationship célébrations at http://www.france-chine50.com/
One of my favorites Musée Rodin is still on until February 14 2014 with Rodin, la lumière de l’Antique , he was always interested in the antiquity , he lived around his antique collection in the Villa des Brillants at Meudon, and later at the hôtel Biron in Paris. http://www.musee-rodin.fr/en
A gorgeous site on Versailles, my favorite town ::) is the Versailles site http://www.gvn.chateauversailles.fr/en/index2.html here in English you will see development of the project for the Grand Versailles , Versailles numérique with all its host improvement for the castle and the city, Versailles 3D ,like you have never seen Versailles before, and the historical perspective of it all in 1620 to 2020 with all the history and international events in the lifetime of the palace museum.
Similar fashion in English for the city of Paris, with all its splendor and history before your eyes, lots of educational information not found in the common travel guides; at Paris Vision, you see the aqueduct, amphitheater, theater, forum, Cluny baths, the early house, St Jacques necropolis, and the rural developments ,see it all here all the way from the first Roman inhabitants, and the river boundaries not just the famous Seine but the equally important in the city’s history ,the Biévre, http://www.paris.culture.fr/en/
Do not missed this expo in royal Saint-Germain-en-Laye, “André Le Nôtre chez Paul et André Vera à Saint-Germain-en-Laye”, its a tribute of these great gardeners to Le Nôtre in the Art Deco movement of the 1920’s. It will be on until May 17 2014 Wednesdays to Fridays from 14h-19h,Saturdays and Sundays from 15h-19h, except closed on holidays. For information local guided visits tel 01 30 87 20 63, the place is at Fonds permanent Paul et André Vera, 2, rue Henri-IV. More info here at the city tourist office page, http://www.ot-saintgermainenlaye.fr/loisirs-et-commerces/sortir/expositions/exposition-a-lespace-paul-et-andre-vera/
down in the Vendée region, we have a retrospective on the WWI, the expositons “Historial de la Vendée présente l’exposition Clemenceau et les artistes modernes : Manet, Monet, Rodin ” until march 2 , 2014, All on the subjects of the newspaperman and the art critics, the Statemens, the lover of Arts and the collectionists, Clemenceau and Rodin, Clemenceau and Monet ,and the men of letters. http://www.historial.vendee.fr/agenda_du_musee.aspx . you can get there from PAris, on the road A11 direction Le Mans, at Angers, take the A87 direction la Roche-sur-Yon or the N160 direction la Roche-sur-Yon, get off at La Roche-sur-Yon, take the D763 direction Nantes, get off at exit Les Lucs-sur-Boulogne on the road D937 ,and from here follow signs to the Historial et Mémorial de la Vendée. By train you can reach the town of Gare de Belleville sur Vie then taxi for 10 kms. or bus from Nantes bus n° 180 stops in the town center than walk about 15 minutes on posted road to mémorial.
And yes ,do not forget there is more than one Louvre now, the annex at Lens on the nord of France is getting more and more visitors each day, a sign there is hunger for the goodies in the Louvre. Lots of work in storage for lack of space and funding, now the one at Lens will be a help. http://www.louvrelens.fr/en/home ; more Lens train station is only 1,5 km from the museum and for the first year there will be a free shuttle bus service. On foot the sites says is only 20 minutes,easy ::)
We just had the fashion week in Paris, and this is the federation site for the fashion designers at least the most important for me are here, see the news in French on the last week’s event here http://www.modeaparis.com/en/news,4/article/haute-20th-to-24th-of-january-2014?archive=1 ,and check out on the same site the forthcoming prêt-a-porter or ready to wear designers for Fall/winter which will be from February 25 to March 5 2014.
Some fashion blogs I was recommended ::) lol!! they look goood! http://www.blondiesnotes.com/
http://www.leblogdebetty.com/ ,,, http://www.larevuedekenza.fr/ ,,, http://www.natachasteven.com/
and why not to kiss in Paris, places to do it better, ok better, ok ::) the Buttes Chaumont by the avenue de marnes and ave darcel off metro buttes chaumont ; with a beautiful view of Paris below you!!! And while at it, come back down and have one of the best burgers in Paris at Mamie Burger, 18 rue Saint Fiacre, 75002 tel 02 01 42 33 97 74; open Mondays to Saturdays from 12h – 14h30 / 19h – 22h30, the resto is small ,tight places but the beef is Worth it, try the Mamie Burger Classic (9,25€ or 12€ with house fries) or the Papi Dédé with grill bacon, melted cheddar cheese , caramelise onions, and pickles, for times like now cold and rainy try the cousin de Savoie coming down with cheese sauce, pepper, caramalise onions, ciboulette and raclette cheese. All yummy good.
And finally on the Chinese deal,plenty of restos in Paris, and believe me I get a lot of request to find them. They are ok, but most are marketed to the tourist and the French who went to Shanghai, or Hong Kong, for me you have to go to the family restos that don’t get much publicity. My all time favorite is not even in Paris but in nearby Suresnes dept 92 , Le Lotus d’Or, wonderful place by an entire family and great traditional food. here is the webpage http://www.lotusdor-suresnes.com/ In Paris proper, you get the second choice at L’Orient d’Or, 22 Rue de Trévise, 75009 tel 01 48 00 07 73 no webpage but cuisine from Hunan province the real one. closest metro Grands Boulevards lines 8 and 9.
Enjoy your Sunday and have a great week ahead. Still raining ::)
Paris1972-Versailles2003 