Here we are again, and the sunshine comes thru nicely these days; we have even had our lunch and dinners in the veranda! Today March 27, we change the hours in France one more ok. As I write ,it is 9h23 or 9:23 a.m. and already sunny nice!! Let me tell you my latest some news from France; hope you enjoy it as I.
Less than two weeks after the spectacular cloud of sand from the Sahara that swept across France, a new sandy rain is coming its way. According to forecasters, it will last until Wednesday March 30th, before a strong northerly wind dissipates it. According to the European institute Copernicus, a cloud of Saharan sand has risen above the Maghreb and is heading towards Italy and France. This time, the sand cloud of the next few days will not be accompanied by heavy rain, but by a very beautiful sun. This will limit the deposit of sand on cars and windows, since the absence of humidity will limit the adhesion of dust. I already had to car wash my car in advance….
La traversée de Paris or the crossing of Paris in vintage cars canceled due to pollution !
The demonstration is the collateral victim of the episode of fine particle pollution which affects Île-de-France this weekend. The prefecture has decided that “only vehicles with a Crit’Air class 0, 1 and 2 sticker will be authorized to circulate” within the perimeter of the A86 from this Saturday (today). Originally scheduled for January 9, the event had already been canceled three days earlier and postponed to March 27. At the time for health reasons. Webpage info : https://www.sortiraparis.com/arts-culture/balades/articles/47058-la-traversee-de-paris-en-voitures-anciennes-2022-annulee-en-raison-d-un-pic-de-pollution
Who says Paris is expensive ! These popular little neighborhood cafes, where you can find home-style cooking in an equally family-friendly setting, are back in vogue. More than 120 Parisian addresses revealed in the « Guide du Paris boui-boui ». Gourmet getaways for less than 15 euros! by Chloé Vasselin, which has just been published (Gallimard, 13.50 euros). A cosmopolitan directory with 120 Parisian addresses classified by district. Examples I know, at Sapori di Parma (7éme), everything breathes Italy ,At 17 Rue Ramponeau (20éme). You Chez Ramona, born in Spain, Ramona arrived at the age of 7 in Belleville, where her mother opened a restaurant which she still manages today. Wonderful real food at good prices in still Paris !! Gallimard webpage : https://www.gallimard.fr/Catalogue/GALLIMARD/Alternatives/Guides-Alternatives/Guide-du-Paris-boui-boui
Monoprix goes to the flea market, The brand is launching an event on the theme of the flea market until April 6. Antique and restored products are offered for sale in 25 participating stores, including six in Paris. The store brand has teamed up with Selency, a site selling second-hand furniture and decorations, for the launch of a unique event, More info at Selency : https://www.selency.fr/blog/selency-democratise-lacces-aux-pieces-uniques-a-monoprix
For info : French companies that have still not made the choice to leave Russia despite the invasion of Ukraine, the Auchan hypermarket. The Decathlon and Leroy Merlin stores ,also belonging to the Mulliez galaxy, Too bad , just saying.
But here comes my Château de Versailles to the rescue of free minds, As promised, the “concert of the Ukrainians” will take place on April 8 at the Palace of Versailles, Three young Ukrainian musicians stranded in France will join the Royal Orchestra for this special evening. The funds will be donated to the Fondation de France. The event is scheduled for 20h (8 p.m.) in the Royal Chapel of the Sun King’s residence. The orchestra will perform pieces by Bernstein, Chopin, Mendelssohn and Mozart. The Ukrainian national anthem will be performed after this concert. Ticket sales open to the public from Monday, March 28. Online sales at:https://en.chateauversailles-spectacles.fr/
or in the Palace of Versailles boutique (Monday to Friday from 11h to 18h, located at 3, rue des Reservoirs in Versailles.
Huchez, the watchmaker who has watched over the bell towers of Île-de-France region and Oise dept 60 for 190 years, The latest update, after climbing 167 steps, we arrive at the top of the bell tower of Church Saint-Etienne de Beauvais , Webpage : https://www.horloges-huchez.fr/
When, at 18h51 or 6:51 p.m. on April 15, 2019, the Paris firefighters were called for the start of a fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral, no one still suspected that there would be hundreds of them converging all night on the Île de la Cité for a historic event. Among them, about thirty rescuers from Yvelines dept 78. Steve Venot, a firefighter from this group, filmed the Notre-Dame fire from the basket of an exceptional machine belonging to the department’s emergency service. The director Jean-Jacques Annaud recovered these images and integrated them into his film “Notre-Dame brule”, or Notre Dame Burns released on the screens this past March 16 2022. Preview at Allôcine : https://www.allocine.fr/video/player_gen_cmedia=19595548&cfilm=284864.html
With its Fata Morgana festival, the Jeu de Paume museum of Paris, invites artists to play with light , Its first festival, dedicated to recent creation, with an exhibition of 26 visual artists and a series of events until May 22, 2022. The term refers to a mirage occurring on the surface of the sea, which conjures up, suspended above the water, a distorted vision of what lies beyond the horizon: a phantom ship, a form of flying oil, a floating island… Under this title, it is indeed the question of perception – its complexity, its poetry and its illusions – which is at the heart of the selected works, signed by twenty-six different artists. Webpage : https://jeudepaume.org/en/evenement/fata-morgana/
The Dior 30 Montaigne boutique in Paris, the new temple of the LVMH group, A gallery, lounges, gardens, a restaurant and, of course, a boutique… In early March, the historic address of the Christian Dior house, founded in 1946 by the couturier, reopened its doors after two years of pharaonic work. Webpage : https://www.dior.com/fr_fr/news-savoir-faire/folder-actualites-et-evenements/30-montaigne
If Cézanne and Kandinsky are cult painters, no painting is to be seen. 140 laser projectors blast 3,000 images and as many colors onto the walls and floor against a background of music by Chopin or Woody Allen. The two new exhibitions of the Atelier des Lumières are the promise of an intense immersive experience. Atelier des Lumières, 38, rue Saint-Maur ,11éme, Until January 2 2023 ,webpage : https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/en/node/1169
I mentioned his prize in a previous some news from France now here is the chef! Arnaud Donckele crowned with three Michelin stars for Plénitude, based in the Samaritaine, in Paris, Plénitude serves a cuisine where vegetables, meats and fish are “simple condiments” intended to highlight the saucier repertoire. Only once in thirty years: that a new restaurant snatch three stars in its first year of existence. Arnaud Donckele has just accomplished this tour de force for the Plénitude table at the Cheval Blanc hotel in Paris, inaugurated in September 2021 in the renovated premises of La Samaritaine , Since 2005, he has been the chef of the Vague d’Or, in Saint -Tropez (Var 83), for which he already obtained three stars in 2013. In 2016, LVMH acquired the establishment and brought the chef into its network of luxury hotels. The group gave him the keys to Cheval Blanc Paris – in addition to Saint-Tropez in 2018. webpage : https://www.chevalblanc.com/en/maison/paris/restaurants-and-bars/plenitude/
During the festival du film policier or detective film festival, from April 5 to 10, 2022 , the public will be able to view some forty works but also enjoy master classes and tributes. To win the European Capital of Culture label in 2028, Reims is mobilizing and building an ambitious policy. This is how the Reims Polar detective film festival was born, imagined by Bruno Barde. Artistic director of the Deauville American Film Festival and director of the Gérardmer International Fantastic Film Festival, he is once again at work for this second edition of the Reims meeting. Webpage : https://festivalfilmpolicier.com/
In the Oise, the major works of the Seine-Nord Europe Canal have begun. After preparatory work started in the fall, the first cranes are investing the towns of Pimprez and Ribécourt-Dreslincourt in order to build quays there. This time that’s it, the “construction site of the century” has started. Construction work on a 150-meter quay has begun. The Seine-Nord Europe Canal will link the Oise to the Dunkerque-Escaut canal, from Compiègne to Aubencheul-au-Bac, near Cambrai. Which will accommodate boats up to 185 meters long and up to 11.40 meters wide, which can contain 4,400 tonnes of goods, the equivalent of 220 trucks. The Canal Seine Nord Europe project : https://www.canal-seine-nord-europe.fr/Projet
The history of the Pavillon de Manse, also called Moulin des Princes, is linked to that of the Château de Chantilly. Built in the 17C to house the hydraulic machine that supplied the fountains in the gardens, it housed machines from the industrial era in the 19C. It will soon be three hundred and fifty years since it sits majestically on the banks of a small river, the Nonette, a ten-minute walk from the Château de Chantilly. Majestic with its white stones under a blue spring sky, it has barely aged. However, the Manse pavilion, built to house the machine to play the “Grandes Eaux” of the royal site, almost quietly disappeared under the vegetation, A site renovated by local enthusiasts ! Official webpage : http://pavillondemanse.com/
Alain Baraton, chief gardener of the Domaine national du Trianon and the Grand Parc de Versailles (Yvelines 78), has just published a book for children. “Their garden explained to children”, published on March 16 by Glénat jeunesse in the “When it’s going, when it’s not going” collection, offers a dive into the world of plants and flowers, with a thousand secrets to understand how they live together. Also, since 2009, he has also been in charge of the Domaine du Marly estate. He is national correspondent of the French Academy of Agriculture and author of numerous books on gardening, plants and Versailles. More info at Gléant in French : https://www.glenat.com/quand-ca-va-quand-ca-va-pas/quand-ca-va-quand-ca-va-pas-leur-jardin-9782344051627
He has almost 6,000 paintings scattered in private collections and museums around the world. Almost thirty years after his death, the painter of Italian origin Pierre Bosco is honored in Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines 78), the town where he settled in the 1930s. He completed his days in Vernouillet (Yvelines 78), where the cultural space and a street bear his name. A tribute exhibition bringing together nearly 270 paintings and drawings is to be discovered at the Manège Royal until Sunday 27 March (today). The pieces exhibited are essentially from the family, or lent by individuals. The panel is large enough to grasp the evolution of the work of the man known to the general public mainly for his horse races, his cockfights or his pelotons of cyclists. In the United States where his work was particularly “fashionable”, especially in the 1960s after an exhibition with resounding success. Witness the paintings that joined the collections of some of the great Hollywood stars of the time, such as Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas. Late but worth mentioning held at the Manége Royal or Royal Armory in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Free admission. The Seine St Germain tourist office on the Manége Royal : https://www.seine-saintgermain.fr/en/file/4931293/lieu-de-prestige-au-passe-militaire-le-manege-royal/
In the Potager du Roi , the “construction site of the century” financed by donations has begun. The third major renovation of the royal garden, whose construction was completed in 1683, is underway. At Versailles, the craze for the King’s kitchen garden made it possible to finance the restoration of a few lines of trellising out of the 68 around which revolves the central square of this nourishing garden, created at the request of Louis XIV. These long frames, several meters long, allow the pear trees to grow in the form of “palmettes”. Wonderful news raising about 70K€ to do this !! webpage : http://www.potager-du-roi.fr/site/potager/index.htm
After two years of interruption, the shearing and wool festival welcomes visitors again until Sunday evening 27 March (today). Transformation workshop, demonstration of herding dogs… Workshops and events offer an immersion in the heart of the wool industry. the Bergerie Nationale of Rambouillet (Yvelines 78). This rather spectacular intervention is the flagship event of the wool festival, organized at the Bergerie since 1986. On a podium set up in the middle of haystacks, the sheep enter the ring two by two and pass through the expert hands of the shearers. . In two days, the Bergerie collects around 250 kg of wool. It is recovered by the association Laine de Par ici, located in Magny-les-Hameaux (Yvelines 78), which ensures its transformation. The Bergerie Nationale watches over some 400 sheep, including 150 Merinos. This breed imported from Spain and reproduced in Rambouillet without any crossbreeding is also the subject of an exhibition, « La Guerre des moutons » or the war of sheeps, presented until April 18 at the National Archives, in Paris. Merinos are sheared later in the season: only their Roman cousins will shed their fleece this weekend. Bergerie Nationale webpage : http://www.bergerie-nationale.educagri.fr/
The Archives Nationales on the exhibition : https://www.archives-nationales.culture.gouv.fr/la-guerre-des-moutons
One of the latest acquisitions from the Air and Space Museum, at Le Bourget, is a miniature representing the flight, on September 19, 1783, of a balloon from the Palace of Versailles. It is the first flight in the world with living beings. On board, a duck, a rooster and a sheep. A fragile gouache on paper, protected by a glass that the ravages of time have cracked. Eight centimeters in diameter on which Jacques Duchamps immortalizes, with delicate brushstrokes, the jubilant crowd in the main courtyard of the Palace of Versailles and a gigantic balloon, rising leaning in the air. This miniature representing the first flight with living beings, in 1783, was acquired by the Air Museum to complete its vast collection devoted to the pioneers of aerostation, webpage : https://www.museeairespace.fr/en
From its height of 12 meters, it has seen five centuries of local history pass by. But at 543 years old, it’s time for a little refreshment for the emblematic halle of Milly-la-Forêt, in Essonne dept 91. The work will last between 10 and 14 months , It was built by Admiral de Graville, after authorization from King Louis XI by letters patent of May 5, 1479, Its role was to host the Thursday market. At the time, the surrounding towns were even prohibited from organizing theirs on the same day. Even today, the Milly-la-Forêt market is held every Thursday afternoon, under the halle. The time of work, it is moved, like all the activities which took place under it, on the place du Colombier. Always a must over the centuries, the halle has been contemplated by the greatest: Kings Louis XI, Henri IV and François 1er, but, also by Richelieu, Madame de Sévigné, and the young officer Napoléon Bonaparte when he was a student of the school. de Brienne in 1786 laid their eyes on this incredible edifice. There were many inns around the halle. Newer visitors include , Jean Cocteau, Jean Marais, Christian Dior, Françoise Sagan or the singer Claude François, when he was staying at the Moulin de Dannemois, passed through the halle. The Milly-la-Forêt tourist office on the Halles : https://www.millylaforet-tourisme.com/en/file/732011/halle-de-milly-la-foret/
The tourist season begins this weekend (26-27 March 2022) in Provins (Seine-et-Marne 77). It is marked by the 20th anniversary, celebrated all year round, of the UNESCO classification of the city as a World Heritage Site. The Provins tourist office : https://provins.net/en/
Biarritz, the former fishing village that became a chic seaside resort in the mid-19C, now attracts ocean lovers and discerning gourmands. The configuration of the Port Vieux beach allows easy launching, even when the swell is heavy. A natural swimming lane rises up to the Rocher de la Vierge, whose metal footbridge is designed by Gustave Eiffel. The Halles at rue des Halles. Open every day (from 7h30 to 13h30, and all year round, the Arostéguy delicatessen there since 1875, has offered the best of teas, jams, charcuterie, spices and spirits, We cross the threshold of Bookstore, 27, place Georges-Clemenceau which houses the former shop of Mademoiselle Chanel, a high place of elegance for the seaside resort of the time. The place has retained a crazy charm: frontage in fir green wood, atypical British-style architecture, reading corner… The walk continues on rue Gambetta, the busiest artery of the city. At the Haitz Pean center, in Anglet, very close to Biarritz, to learn to send the ball back against the wall with your hand or a chistera (curved wicker glove) after a rebound, like in tennis. The typical and essential sport of the Basque Country! This is Biarritz in one day folks, love it, The Biarritz tourist office : https://tourisme.biarritz.fr/en
There you go folks, another dandy episode of my enjoyable posts some news from France! Hope you enjoy it as I. And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 