Ok so this is any regular Tuesday on a sunny day warm and nice in my beautiful Morbihan 56 . I like to tell you about about some ideas for visiting my belle France and others. Also, I gather some strenght and will be back traveling starting this Friday ,first on business to the Americas; coming back and going out again to Barcelona, Spain. So stay tune.
For now here are the latest from France.
First some glamour as in Paris, and Chanel. At the Porte Aubervilliers (19éme). The roundabout overlooking the ring road, pose this past Monday night the first stone of the “Fashion Factory” of the prestigious house of Chanel. The building, which will come out by the spring of 2020, between Paris and its neighbor of Seine-Saint-Denis dept 93 Aubervilliers is dedicated to the craft companies that work for the house Chanel. The 25 000 m2 of the future factory of the Porte Aubervilliers. In the long run, more than 600 artisans should work there. The news here: Chanel in Aubervilliers
And Chanel here: Official history of Chanel
Do you like the outdoors, not much into them but now out west more and more getting the knack of it. Here are some suggestions for your next visit.
Sled dog rides in Fontainebleau (77) petting huskies and being dragged by a pack of 12 wolf dogs we learn that huskies like to live in packs and need to spend time out, that feeding them costs 800€ per month. From 10 years olds; in the forest of Trois Pignons (three gables), in the forest area of Fontainebleau-la-Forêt (77). Every day at 8h30, 10h and noon, duration 1h30. Rate 40€ from 10 years,30€ for the youngest. Accessible to Disabled people. Reservations at tel +33 (0) 6.32.68.82.26. or on www.evasion-canine.fr
In Rambouillet until the beginning of October, you can hear the deer in the forests of Ile-de-France and Oise from 12 years old. At the Espace Rambouillet, route du coin du bois to Sonchamp (78). Until October 3rd. 36€ in the morning (6h30) or 41€ in the evening (18h30), including meals. Tel +33 (0) 1 34 83 05 00. Reservations and information here: noises in the forest of Rambouillet
More at the Espace Rambouillet, after having climbed all to glimpse deer, wild boar and roe deer, after having taken for Tarzan on the Green Odyssey, we walk a little to the forest of Eagles. There, three times a day, is played a funny ballet orchestrated by a team of falconers who offer flying demonstrations in the sky particularly impressive. 30-minute show at 11H30., 15h30. and 17h30 p.m. on weekends, 11h., 14h. and 16h30 weekdays. Price: show included in the entrance to the Espace Rambouillet (from 8 to 15€). More here: At Rambouillet the Eagles will land
These sweetest animals , the Lamas really win you to be known and let themselves be tamed in the blink of an eye, even by the youngest children! No way to mount them, but simply to guide them with a lanyard. The complicity is in a matter of minutes. The 4 km walk back into the woods is very nice. Every day except Sundays. 2-hour course, package: 40€ for four persons. By appointment at tel +33 (0) 6.13.63.44.83. located at 1, source d’Eclimont Fontenette, Abbéville-la-Rivière (91). More here: The Lamas at Abbeville-la-Riviére
An attendance survey of the Parc Royal de Marly (78) is currently online on the site of the city. At the end of the 17C, king Louis XIV had made the Domaine de Marly a pleasure residence dedicated to the holidays. At the time it welcomed a castle for the king ,destroyed in the 19C, and twelve pavilions reserved for his guests. Today remain as vestiges the water trough and the basins. More here City of Marly on the promenade
The Villa Viardot in Bougival (78) received Saturday morning a donation from the French lottery games (FDJ). The mansion occupied in the 19C by the most famous singer of her time, Pauline Viardot. The walls, the roof, everything that has sheltered the love story of Russian novelist Ivan Turgenev and Pauline Viardot, is indeed in a pitiful state. In the salons of the mansion, Daudt, Flaubert, Goncourt, Sand, Zola, Berlioz, Wagner or Saint-Saëns came to speak music, literature and even politics. The greatest European artists of the 19C have passed here. It is on its way to be renovated but more money is needed. More here: Tourist office of Bougival
Centre Européen de Musique de Bougival (CEM) or European Music Center of Bougival (CEM) a music pole of excellence with European influence on the lands of Georges Bizet, it will become a place entirely dedicated to the composer and Carmen , the most played opera in the world he had composed in this villa on the banks of the Seine river in 1874. The neighboring dacha of Ivan Turgenev, which hosts the museum of the Russian writer, is also associated with the project. More here: Presentation of the idea in French CEM
The National Forest of Montmorency is a vast Chesnut trees forest located only 20 km north of Paris. This forest is a real asset for the territory: the largest forest of the Val-d’oise, It welcomes nearly 5 million visitors per year. Former Royal hunting forest, it stretches over a hilly area dotted with historical sights, ponds, lookouts, remarkable trees. To these natural and cultural riches are added to the north the magnificent landscapes of the valley of Chauvry. The forest of Montmorency is proposed in the classification in “Forest of protection “. It is in the Val-d’oise department 95, and includes the towns of Bouffémont, Domont, Piscop, Montmorency, Saint-Brice-sous-Foret, Montlignon, Saint-Leu-la-Foret, Saint-Prix, Béthemont-la-Foret, Chauvry, Taverny, and Aldilly. The altitude is between 94 and 195 meters with a surface of 1,970 hectares. Main species of trees here are chestnut, 70%; oaks, 11%; precious hardwoods, 6%; beech, 2%; birch and other deciduous trees, 5%; resinous, 1%.More on the town of Saint Leu-la-Fôret webpage : Tourist office of Saint Leu o Montmorency
On July 16, 1804, Louis Bonaparte, brother of the future Napoleon I and future King of Holland, buys, together with his wife Hortense de Beauharnais, the two castles built at the beginning of the 17C and, after having demolished the upper castle, brings together the two parks in a vast and pleasant property of nearly 80 hectares. Very attached to Saint-Leu, Louis formed the wish to be buried in its Church. died in Italy on 25 July 1846, his body was brought back and buried solemnly in Saint-Leu on 27 September 1847 alongside his first two sons and his father Charles Bonaparte.
The city of Saint-Leu 95 (an Imperial City) is served by the line H, line connecting Paris-Gare du Nord to Valmondois. The RER line C is also accessible from the Franconville-Le Plessis-Bouchard and Montigny-Beauchamp train station. More on the city here: Tourism of Saint Leu on Napoléon
The houses of the artists in Paris or not far from Paris. All these writers, painters, sculptors, singers or even French architects who disappeared years ago, are still immortal today. We continue to discover their works, to admire their talent, to learn about their lives. And we can also visit the mansions of these famous artists, from the inside for some, from the outside for others, and even explore those transformed into a museum. Some of my favorites over the years have been:
Maison de Victor Hugo : One of the most famous artist’s houses to visit in the center of Paris, on the second floor of the Hôtel de Rohan-Guéménée on the sublime Place des Vosges. Victor Hugo will stay there 16 years from 1832 to 1848. This house is now a monographic museum where you can admire its period furniture or its bed and discover new exhibitions regularly. 6, Place des Vosges. official maison Victor Hugo Paris
Maison de Balzac :Direction Passy, this time it is in the heart of the 16éme that the author of the human comedy lived almost 7 years. The Balzac Pavilion houses a museum dedicated to its life and a library of more than 23 000 monographs and periodicals, numerous documentary files and archival holdings. Some works from Balzac’s personal collection are also exhibited in the work cabinet. Located at 7, rue Raynouard. Now in renovation check site: official Maison de Balzac Paris
The Maison Le Corbusier (Roche): We remain in the 16éme, where is the apartment-Atelier Le Corbusier on the 7th and 8th floors of the Molitor building, built by himself and his cousin Pierre Jeanneret. Le Corbusier will have lived there from 1934 to 1965. After a two-year restoration, the studio apartment, manifesting its architectural thought, has reopened its doors to the public since the end of August. Located at 10, Doctor-Blanche Square. Tourist office of Paris on Corbusier
The Maison d’Edith Piaf: In the 16éme, Boulevard Lannes, not far from the Bois de Boulogne, the Môme(kid)last lived from 1953 to 1963 in an apartment at street level with her companion Jacques Pills. This apartment has witnessed the parade of the greatest Parisian composers of the time. This is where Edith Piaf composed non je ne regrette rien (no I don’t regret anything). Located at 67 bis, Boulevard Lannes Not a museum now private but here is a nice video on FT in French: Video on last home of Edith Piaf in Paris
Other on museum of Edith Piaf: Tourist office of Paris on Piaf
At Giverny, we can visit the charming colorful Maison de Claude Monet where he painted his famous series Les Nymphéas. The flower gardens of this house make it more charming. Reading room, workshop lounge, kitchen, private apartments, the whole house is visited. 84, rue Claude Monet , 27620, Giverny. Official Maison Claude Monet
The Maison de Van Gogh: Direction Auvers-sur-Oise, at the Auberge Ravoux, where the painter Vincent Van Gogh stayed a few months from May to July of 1890 in a modest room of 7 m2. It is in this room No. 5 that the painter will have ended his days. The suicide room has remained intact since July 29, 1890, and has never been rented again, by superstition. Located at 52-56, rue du Général de Gaulle – 95430 Auvers-sur-Oise. Official maison de Van Gogh
The Maison de Gainsbourg : The House of Gainsbourg still is not visited, but it is however a cult place of pilgrimage for the biggest fans of the singer of Bonnie and Clyde. It is rue Verneuil, in the 6éme, that one can admire these graffiti, drawings and other proofs of love made by many lovers of the French song that dress the facade of the house. Located at 5 bis, rue Verneuil . the daughter Charlotte try to create a museum but still not. More on this article in French from Le Figaro: Le figaro on house of Gainsbourg
The Maison de Dalida at Rue d’Orchampt (18éme) on the heights of Montmartre is a special 1900-style hotel that the singer Dalida bought in the 1960’s. She lived 25 years in this oasis of calm in the middle of the city. The view of all Paris is sublime and the wings of the Moulin Rouge are visible. The place Dalida is also not far from this house. Located at 11 bis, rue Orchampt . official maison de Dalida
The Maison de Brassens: The Villa Santos-Dumont, hidden in a charming rural impasse covered with greenery of the 15éme, was the home of Georges Brassens from 1968 until his death in 1981. He wrote some of his most famous songs, such as the le Gorille (Gorilla), Le fossoyeur (Gravedigger) and Margot. Located at 42, Villa Santos-Dumont. Gavroche private webpage on Brassens Paris
Musée Rodin: Now the flagship museum housing the most beautiful works of Auguste Rodin, it is in this sumptuous 18C mansion in the 7éme that lived the sculptor and his famous mistress Camille Claudel. The gardens of the house also host other major works. Located at 79, rue de Varenne. official Musée Rodin Paris
Musée Eugène Delacroix: The painter will have lived the last years of his life, between 1857 and 1863, in these apartments close to the Church of Saint-Sulpice. He is also responsible for painting one of the chapels of the Church. The apartment, the Delacroix workshop and the lush garden are to be visited in the 6éme arrondissement located at 6, rue de Furstenberg. official musée Delacroix Paris
Musée Gustave Moreau : This is a building of the 9éme arrondissement transformed into a museum by the painter Gustave Moreau. It was in his lifetime, in 1903, that this mansion in the bourgeois interior and the Louis XVI decoration exhibited his works. The museum retains a total of about 14 000 works. Located at 14, rue de La Rochefoucauld. official Musée Gustave Moreau Paris
Musée Ary Scheffer : This French painter of Dutch origin considered one of the most representative artists of Romanticism lived in the heart of the Nouvelle Athénes, below the Butte Montmartre. On the edge of the garden courtyard, he had two workshops built, one to work, the other to perceive. Today we find the most refined collections at the Museum of Romantic life. His museum is at 16 rue Chaptal. official musée de la vie romantique Ary Scheffer
Musée Bourdelle The studio apartment of Antoine Bourdelle, French sculptor, was transformed into a museum. It is in the district of Montparnasse that we find the numerous works in bronze, marble and plaster of the painter, but also a part of his personal collections. He lived almost 45 years in this house. The painter will draw several projects of buildings, until imagining a museography, but the museum won’t be realized in his lifetime. Located at 18, rue Antoine-Bourdelle (15éme). official musee Bourdelle Paris
And there you have another wonderful trip on my belle France and the most beautiful city in the world ,Paris. Hope you enjoy the ride, and I thank you for your loyal following.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 