And back with my regular news report by yours truly! Times are cloudy and rainy here. I am looking for quotes to redo my front garden and cut down some of the shrub from the side. Many already busy asking me to do in winter oh well la vie est belle in my belle France! Let me tell you the latest of my some news from France! While watching England vs Czech Republic in the euro 2020 playing nowdays due to the pandemic.
Return of the clubs on July 9 and standing concerts on June 30 The executive and representatives of the clubs have agreed to open the doors with mandatory health passes and 75% gauges inside and 100% outside. Concerts with a standing audience will be able to resume from June 30, but with a 75% level and the systematic presentation of the health pass at the entrance. Ok we are moving along the Summer looks awesome in my belle France.
Something to brag about and I will be there; enjoy the Tour de France cycling finest!!
I have mentioned it before but this is big here and in my Bretagne is huge. Cycling is in the blood of the Bretons and even thus we are not bikers can’t help but join in the festivities all the time and of course, the Breton beers are tops! The Tour de France passes near me this 2021!! It brings smiles to the side of the road, dreams of being in all runners, stars in the eyes of fans and not only. It is all of Brittany, mythical and festive land of cycling, which for 4 days gets under its wheel and its light! Yes! I will join in the fun!!! The four stages passing near me in this edition are:
Stage 1 – Brest-Landerneau (Finistére dept 29). The “postcard” stage on Saturday June 26 – 187 km. The lucky winner to launch the 2021 edition is Brest! welcoming this year its 4th big start , a record after Paris! The Finistère stage heads south via Daoulas, without straying from the coast; it crosses Locronan, mineral and radiant, a small town full of character, then Quimper, the capital of art and legends. Climb up via Pleyben and its magnificent parish enclosure … and that’s it, the Arrée mountains are looming. A sublime panorama of the Regional Natural Park, the windy summits of the Armorican massif play with the calves of climbers and your pupils … At the top of a 3 km bump, the arrival awaits the punchers at Landerneau, a stronghold of the contemporary art with alleys steeped in history. (see posts on these towns in my blog)
Stage 2 – Perros-Guirec – Mûr de Bretagne Guerlédan (Côtes d’Armor dept 22). Punch, again and again! Sunday June 27 – 182 km. It’s been 25 years since Perros was not the starting city … and now the Tour returns to stop on the Pink Granite Coast for this second 100% granite coast stage! Exceptional images guaranteed, from Ploumanac’h to Trébeurden and beyond. Follow the coast to the east, then head south, to Saint-Brieuc via Paimpol, the abbey of Beauport and the cliffs from Plouha. Flirt barely with the mountains of Mené, before returning to the heart of Brittany. At Mûr always a theatrical arrival! The mythical climb of 2 km is a must that lights up stars in the heads of all runners, and dreams of a yellow jersey among the little Bretons… For the trouble, as in 2018, it will be climbed twice! (see posts on these towns in my blog)
Stage 3 – Lorient-Pontivy (Morbihan dept 56) My dept province/state the best !!! An imperial sprint Monday June 28 – 182 km .Seeing the riders pass, it would be almost a formality for Lorient, stage city of the Tour for the 13th time in its history … Happy and popular, its DNA goes hand in hand with that of the race ,and enthusiasm is mounting at the prospect of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Interceltic Festival at the same time! Yes!! From south to north, the Morbihan stage heads towards the bay of Quiberon, which is not called “sublime” for nothing … The estuary of Etel, Carnac and its alignments and hop, in La Trinité sur Mer, up in land, in the heart of Breton territory. Passing over the four-way bridge (N165) between Vannes and Lorient, a pretty little port catches the eye. Nestled in the back of an estuary, Saint-Goustan has spanned the centuries, retaining its cobbled streets, its stone bridge, its half-timbered houses and its lively quays. A historic town, Auray is also home to a high place of pilgrimage in Brittany (Sainte Anne d´Auray, and I will be base here to see the tour). Vannes is right to put an “s” in its name. The city is so multiple! Capital of Morbihan, marina, fortified square, medieval city, town of art and history. From the tree-lined quays to 15C houses, the streets are the sweetness of life. Come share this atmosphere! In focus, Pontivy the Napoleonic city, which is with Landerneau the news of the stage , ready to welcome a stage for the first time ever!. A great first, eagerly awaited! The sprint finish at the foot of the Château des Rohan promises to be beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.yes indeed!! (see posts on these towns in my blog)
Stage 4 – Redon-Fougères (Ile et Vilaine dept 35) – Castle life. Tuesday 29 June – 152 km. All the spotlight is on Ille-et-Vilaine, traversed right through its diagonal, from Redon in the south to Fougères in the north. Between land and water, Redon welcomes its first departure. The caravan and the runners then set off due north in inland Brittany, between wind and greenery, towards Bain-de-Bretagne. Then the peloton will take the direction of the “marches” of the territory and the fortified castles which once defended the region. Passage planned in Vitré, the medieval city with a thousand years of history, before finishing with a sprint near the castle of Fougères, the fortress town all in granite.(see posts on these towns in my blog).
Official tour de France webpage in English: https://www.letour.fr/en/
This place of worship has been closed for 15 years, but its reopening day has finally been announced: it’s June 23, 2021! The Samaritane of Paris!!! Discover a lot of beautiful new features: offices, a nursery, social housing and even Cheval Blanc, a luxury hotel with 72 rooms and suites with breathtaking views of the Seine and a 30-meter-long swimming pool. There are also 20,000 square meters of shops including 600 brands, magnificent art nouveau decorations and a magnificent glass roof to overlook the whole. The Samaritane is back sort of at 19 rue de la Monnaie 1st. webpage: https://www.lvmh.com/houses/other-activities/samaritaine/
The Musée de l’Homme offers its first exhibition for families, on the origins of laughter! The Children are the target and should be nice. Webpage: https://www.museedelhomme.fr/en/node/4203
There were the Uber X, Green, Comfort, Sedan. And then the motorcycles. With the lifting of restrictions, Uber wants to relaunch its Uber Moto option, created in September 2020 but forgotten with the confinements. “Premium”, the offer is therefore more expensive. The support costs are 40 euros compared to 1.20 on Uber X. You also have to count 1.60 per km by motorbike compared to 1.05 per km by car. Thus, a 10 km La Défense – Gare Saint Lazare race will cost around 56 euros (excluding price increases) by motorbike. On the driver side, the company also ensures their reliability. They will need to have passed an exam to obtain their license. And they will have to justify three years of license A, pass a theoretical then practical exam in order to obtain their license or justify professional experience in the world of transport. To have their vehicles insured, they must also justify 3 (and sometimes 5) years of personal insurance. The age of the motorcycle must be less than four years. The vehicle maintenance certificate is renewed each year. Ok for whom?
From RER A to metro line 6, several lines will be disrupted by major summer projects on the rail network from this Saturday, June 26 2021 Of course, just in time for Summer and the breakaway from the bondage of the pandemic…yikes! Be aware ok More info RATP webpage: https://www.ratp.fr/en/infos-trafic
Clairefontaine here there are nine football fields/pitches, seven accommodation residences for 200 rooms, including 110 luxury rooms, an auditorium, a medical center, a gym, physiotherapy and balneotherapy area, as well as a dozen meeting rooms … All on one area of nearly 60 hectares of greenery, well hidden away from view, on the northern ridge of the valley. At the Château de Montjoye – or Montjoie -, where since 1998 has proudly stood an XXL reproduction of the World Cup, everything is now done for football. And we are good thanks to this installations.
The residence of the Bleus (France’s teams) is in fact almost 200 years old. It was initially a modest hunting lodge, built in 1830 and called “Mon Jouet”. Enlarged by its successive owners, it did not really take its letters of nobility until the end of the 19C. But it was when it became the property of the English aristocrat Henry Noailles Widdrington Standish around 1910 that the building took on the face we know it today, with its south facade erected in pure British style. During the Great War or WWI, the castle welcomed the war wounded arriving from Rambouillet, at the expense of the Standish family. It was then rented and acquired in the early 1920s by the banker André Lazard, passionate about hunting and floral art. Its orchids gave it real fame. Faced with energy needs, the Château de Montjoye can be seen then endowed with its own power station which will ensure the supply until the end of the years 1950s. It is in 1983 that the FFF, (French Football Federation) in search of a site intended to develop all the technical aspect of the French football, is acquirer of the premises. The center was officially inaugurated on June 11, 1988 in the presence of Pres François Mitterrand and João Havelange, president of Fifa. The site ,also train French referees, and especially young talent of French football within the National Football Institute (INF).
Clairefontaine FFF Centre National de Football: https://www.cnf-clairefontaine.com/le-centre/
The Château de Compiègne relies on the sleigh of Empress Joséphine, wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, to attract visitors. The last acquisition of the Château de Compiègne (Oise 60) belonged to the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. A jewel which should represent one more reason to discover the Carriage Museum. Webpage: https://chateaudecompiegne.fr/en/node/88
A concert on the water to participate (a little) in the restoration of the Ricquebourg castle. called the “Petit Trianon of the Oise”. It was a simple assistant farrier to have the glory of saving the favorite horse of Louvoirs, minister of Louis XIV. He will also have the right to breed and train horses for the royal artillery. What he will do in his castle, built in 1712, in Ricquebourg. It was acquired by the Ridgway family, originally from Pennsylvania USA. They enlarged the castle and transformed the French-style park into an English garden. Ricquebourg remained American until 1914, when WWI broke out. The proximity of the front cost the castle dearly, which was partially destroyed by fire in July 1918. Restoration began in 1925. It was done with a material from the revolutionary era: reinforced concrete. They cemented the cellars, redone the balusters, the concrete handrails. With the frost and humidity, the concrete slammed and caused water to seep in, causing irreversible damage. The castle had been in peril for years. Restoration work related to the Stéphane Bern mission is still ongoing. The Mission Bern weppage: https://www.missionbern.fr/
The Heritage Foundation on the castle : https://www.fondation-patrimoine.org/les-projets/chateau-de-ricquebourg
In Paris, room 601 at the Hôtel du Sentier is the starting point for a full stroll. When he returned from Egypt in 1798, Napoleon decided to pay homage to the land of the pharaohs by renaming the arteries of the Sentier neighborhood or quartier of the 2éme arrondissement or district, in the heart of Paris, with Egyptian names: rue d’Alexandrie, rue d’Aboukir, place du Cairo… On this one stands today a building whose facade, classified, decorated with three large carved faces representing the goddess Hathor and numerous friezes of hieroglyphics, is supported by columns whose chiselled capitals evoke the lotus. The 30 rooms, spacious (a luxury in Paris!), Bright and sober, have windows redone identically on the original model from 1826. The 601 has two major advantages. First, its small windows: they offer several openings on Paris, including a bird’s-eye view of the Cairo Passage , the oldest, the longest (370 meters) and the narrowest in Paris , recently renovated and which s’ illuminates in the evening. Webpage: https://www.hoteldusentier.com/en
The Hôtel L’Aigle Noir Fontainebleau or the Black Eagle Hotel is a 16C building and was one of the favorite vacation spots for the nobility, who accompanied the rulers on their travels to the castle, 100 meters away. The historic four-star hotel is luxurious, but the family room is still affordable. Empire-style carpeting and wallpapers, impressive breakfast room: children will feel as if they are sleeping in a museum. As they leave the hotel, they will come face to face with a pretty old-fashioned horse carousel. Take a tour of the merry-go-round, before going for a picnic in Diane’s garden, just opposite, then visiting the castle and its park, where you won’t escape the boat ride on the carp pond. Webpage: https://www.aiglenoirhotel.com/en/
Ketchup, a generic name given to a thick sauce made from tomato sauce, vinegar and sugar, enjoys such popularity that it seems to pass through eras and pandemics with the same ease as a fresh anisette in the aperitif time. Long criticized for its deplorable nutritional score (up to 22% sugar) and industrial manufacture (it sells twenty-one bottles of Heinz ketchup around the world every second), ketchup is in the process of moulting. While more than 45% of French households say they consume it regularly, more and more small producers are revisiting the original recipe to develop more balanced sauces, less sweet and, above all, made in an artisanal way from local products. To the point of seeing their sales explode and of interest to chefs in gourmet restaurants. One is from my area delicious, the Breton ketchup from the Conserverie des Saveurs, based in Landreau, (44) contains 60% Breton tomatoes and 13% Roscoff onions – all seasoned with Guérande salt. Webpage: http://www.dvfrance.com/groupe-dv/les-entites-du-groupe/47-conserverie-des-saveurs.html
There you go folks, another round in my belle France. These are the latest from my point of view , of course,there are many more. Again, hope you are out in your part of the world and can look forward to vacation time, we are! And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
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