Hello world from my belle France! Not to be away too long from my some news from France, here are the latest with some sad news due to the virus. The temp was nice today sunny and we did some gardening, now it projects to be colder next few days. Have a great time wherever you are and stay safe.
The large contemporary art center of the Bourse de Commerce will open to the public on January 23 2021 (see post). Under the 35-meter-high canopy, which is the heart of the building, the architect Ando erected a concrete cylinder 29 meters in diameter and 9.30 meters high, cutting a second circle out of the initial circle. The side floors have been reconfigured into exhibition spaces of different sizes depending on whether they will receive photography or painting – for example. The total surface open to the visitors will be 6,800 m2 divided into ten spaces distributed over the different levels.
The blues of Montmartre, deprived of the Fête des Vendages or harvest festival. The 87th edition, which was to be held this weekend, will not take place due to Covid. So sad indeed!
The 850th Saint-Martin fair is canceled in Pontoise (Val d’Oise 95). Due to the worrying spread of Covid-19, the event will not mark the start of November. A new blow for the fairgrounds already in great difficulty. Again only sad stories these days!
Due to Covid-19, it is estimated that more than 30,000 bars and restaurants could permanently close; following the new restrictions which were recently announced, the majority of bars and restaurants have had to partially close their doors in France. A decision which, on an economic level, could cause the bankruptcy and the final closure of 15% of establishments in France by the end of the year. The hotel and catering sector is one of the largest in France, comprising 168,000 restaurants and 38,800 bars and cafes. The famous Chef Etchebest alerted the authorities that around 40% of establishments could close in France. The Union of Trades and Hospitality Industries (Umih) considers that 15% of these establishments could file for bankruptcy … before the end of the year. That is more than 30,000 bars and restaurants in France!! Incompetent Macron!!! And this is not all, the virus will still be there at least until next summer 2021 , warns Professor Jean-François Delfraissy, Chairman of the Scientific Council!!!
The St Louis island or Île Saint-Louis will celebrate its Patron Saint. A solemn Mass, procession with its relics, and an exhibition will be held. The 750th anniversary of the death of Saint-Louis will be celebrated this Sunday at the Church of Saint-Louis-En-L’Île where a solemn mass in homage to Saint-Louis will be held.
Paris saffron is harvested!! on the roofs! Since 2018, the Bien Élevées company has installed five urban safranières in the region of Ile-de-France. The 2020 harvest started this week. nearly 2,000 m2 cultivated, in Paris, Ivry (Val-de-Marne 94 ) and Montrouge (Hauts-de-Seine 92 ).
Despite the sling, there was no question of stopping work on the ponds of Corot, Ville d’Avray (Yvelines 78) see post. The Hauts-de-Seine prefecture has responded to strong criticism leveled against the proposed dam at the Corot ponds in Ville-d’Avray. And unveiled its crisis management plan, in the event of a flood. These dikes of the Corot ponds will be transformed into dams.
Gardeners get away from it all at the Chantilly Plant Days. Fans of greenery have access until Sunday to the treasures of the best nurseries in the Domaine de Chantilly on the theme “The world in my garden”. Succulents, cacti, orchids, shrubs, trees, bulb, etc. The 160 exhibitors of the Plant Days offer a huge choice for gardeners. A wonderful event I got to go with my dear late wife Martine!
Electric scooters (Trottinettes) in Paris: the price war is declared. The Parisian market now has only three operators selected by the City: Lime, Dott and TIER. Each can deploy 5,000 self-service scooters. And they are fighting over the proposed rates. An invasion of Paris!
Ile-de-France Mobilités (regional transport org) will finance an additional daily stop in Seine-et-Marne 77 and Yvelines 78 train stations of three TERs, coming from neighboring regions. A helping hand to avoid the frustration of suburban residents who see sometimes empty trains passing by. Line P trains are often loaded in the morning. A TER from the Grand-Est region will make an additional stop in La Ferté-sous-Jouarre (Seine-et-Marne 77) train station in 2021. Overloaded dear!
The Musée de l’Armée or Army Museum looks back on the gigantic shock of 1940. Through extracts from films, newspapers and other documents, sometimes unpublished, an exhibition traces the period that was lived, from May 10 to June 25, 1940, life of the French change. France experienced military defeat, foreign invasion, deaths and injuries from bombardments and battles, more fierce than one might think , the exodus of millions of civilians, the sending 1.8 million soldiers into captivity, submitting to arbitrariness of the Nazi occupier over 55% of its territory, submitting the remaining 45% to a neo fascist regime (Vichy), and finally the plundering of its resources , resulting in food rationing and daily difficulties. These are the different dimensions of this gigantic shock that retraces the exhibition « Comme en 40… » or as in 40, presented at the Army Museum, through a museography certainly classic, but pedagogically effective.
I am often wondered what are those arts in the many museums especially the Louvre or central museum of France. Half of the cases of the theft of Jewish property in France remain unfollowed to this day .The thousands of Jewish artisans and small traders dispossessed in France under the Occupation risk being overlooked by the policy of compensating anti-Semitic thefts. According to historians.
The powerful American gallery Lévy Gorvy settles in Paris, its co-founder explains her ambitions in a difficult context for the art market. Specializing in works by Calder, Fontana, Kooning or Soulages, the powerful New York gallery Lévy Gorvy moves to Paris on October 22,2020 and opens its space with an exhibition of the latest works by the 90-year-old German artist Günther Uecker. The gallery is located at 4, passage Sainte-Avoye, quartier or neighborhood of the Marais in the 3rd arrondissement or district of Paris central.
A Breton flag, the “Gwenn ha Du”, on the pediment of Nantes city/town hall, is what associations meeting this weekend want to achieve. A prelude to a possible attachment of the Loire-Atlantique department 44 to the now region of Bretagne? Yes its about time!! Almost two years after the delivery to the Loire-Atlantique departmental council of a petition signed by more than 100,000 persons asking for the organization of a referendum on “reunification”, supporters of Brittany in five departments are mobilizing; they will meet, on October 10, at the city/town hall of Nantes, to reflect on the “modalities” of installing the Breton flag on the pediment of the city/town hall. Quite a symbol indeed as most feel Breton there anyway!. And the Breton flag now flies to the gates of Nantes as it can be seen in the city/town halls of Saint-Herblain or Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, on the outskirts of the city, where it is seen as a quiet affirmation of attachment to the Breton identity. Imagined at the beginning of the 1920s by an activist of the Breton movement and inspired by the Greek and American standards, the Gwenn ha Du was never the flag of administrative Brittany. It takes up the old ducal flag, to which nine bands were added. The bands representing the historic provinces of Bretagne; including the country of Nantes! Or the Loire-Atlantique dept 44 of now pay de la loire but taken away from Bretagne due to administrative mishandling of history and Vichy and the Coty and the rest of them politicians.
The lapin Chasseur or rabbit in the hunter , recipe of chef Antoine Gerbelle on Le Monde newspaper. One of my favorite dishes in France and we did this one at home too!
Ingredients for 4 to 6 people: 1 rabbit of about 1.8 kg (about 4 lbs) cut into pieces, 4 large peeled shallots, 4 peeled garlic cloves, 100 g of smoked bacon cut into small pieces, 20 g of flour, 250 g of button mushrooms, 3 blanched tomatoes, 3 peeled and sliced carrots, ½ peeled quince and cut into large cubes, 30 ml of young, tangy and slightly sweet white wine (such as late harvest riesling), 15 cl of organic poultry broth , 1 small bunch of wild thyme (or fresh thyme), salt, pepper, olive oil, butter, polenta (raw or precooked).
Preparation: In a large cast iron casserole dish, pour 1 tablespoon of oil and 1 piece of butter and brown the shallots and coarsely chopped garlic cloves. Add the pieces of rabbit and the bacon, brown over high heat. When the rabbit begins to brown, sand it with the flour. Cut the mushrooms and tomatoes into large pieces, sweat them in a pan with a drizzle of olive oil. When the vegetables have melted, pour them into the casserole dish. Add the sliced carrots and the diced quince. Wet everything with wine and broth. Add the wild thyme, salt and pepper. Close the casserole dish and place it in an oven preheated to 160 ° C (about 325 F) . Simmer for 2 hours or 2:30. Serve with very soft polenta and a plain, dry and lively white wine, Marsanne or Chenin. Bon appétit!
Measurement: 1 kg =2.204 lbs. 1 gram = .035 ounces. 1 ML = .03 fluid ounces. Now do the calculations folks lol!!!
Thanks for reading, and remember,happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 