In my new life as retiree my blog is my biggest entertainement and before anything else, I like to thank everyone of my readers and followers to stay with me over the years since November 26 2010 !!! Thank you !!! I decided to trim some of my older posts in my series Some news from France and condense them as not to lose the most important parts, me think, of them, Therefore, this is my new work, the condense news of my belle France, Hope you enjoy it as I.
Some news from France XXIII March 4, 2011
Talk about resto the stars of Michelin, just came out the new ranking 2011, and already a great talk in the city and region. You have the following statistics ; 25 restos of 3 stars so 10 in Paris. 76 restos of 2 stars so 14 in Paris, and 470 restos of 1 star so 45 at Paris, and 20 in the Ile de France region. The 3 stars in Paris are , Le Meurice 1er, L’Ambroisie, 4é. L’Arpége, 7e; alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, 8e, Le Bristol, 8e, Ledoyen, 8e, Pierre Gagnaire, 8e L’Astrance, 16e Le Pré Catelan, 16e, Guy Savoy, 17e. The 2 stars are the Carré des Feuillants, 1er,L’Espadon,1er,Le Grand Véfour,1er, Passage 53, 2é, Relais Louis XIII, 5é, L’Atélier de Joêl Robuchon St GErmain, 7e, Thoumieux de Jean-François Piége, 7e, Apicius, 7é ,L’Atélier de Joêl Robuchon -Etoile, 8e, Le Cinq, 8e, Lasserre, 8e, Senderens, 8e, TAillevent, 8e, La Bigarrade, 17e, Michel Rostaing, 17e, Gordon Ramsey au Trianon, Versailles .
May 14-15 for the Salon de la Revue des Vins de France 5th edition at Palais Brogniart, or the Bourse, my event every year since,subscribe to my wine magazine too.
Some news from France XXIIII March 6, 2011
I was yesterday in my second home, the Chateau de Versailles, walking all over and inside as they were showing the exhibition of the Thrones of the world, or Trônes en Majesté beautiful chairs where kings and queens sat in their official duty of monarchs all spread throughtout the palace property indoors. From Popes to emperor of China, to pharaoh of Egypt to Spain Carlos III to the French, magnificent exhibition. It will lasted until june 19
At Musée Maillol, 61, rue de Grenelle, 75007 from March 16 to July 31 2011. The great Spanish painter and sculptor, Miro le Sculpteur.
Some news from France XXV March 8, 2011
Futuroscope in Poitiers had a banner year in 2010 welcoming more than 130k visitors than in 2009. This is a futuristic site in the centre region of France. Phil Collins tell of his retirement from the music world,and it will be a loss !! 40 yrs of great music, we will have the CD’s. Thanks Phil. All about deco animalier or the animal decoration in our life is going to be at the Musée d’arts decoratifs now until November 1 2011,
Some news from France XXVI March 11, 2011
You probably have heard the cost of gasoline/diesel is going up, well everywhere ,but here it was high already historically because of higher taxes, now is going thru the roof. The regular gas SP95 octane has average 1,50 € per liter (about USGallon 7.71 USdollar). My diesel or gazole consumption has going up in a few months from 1,12e per liter to the current 1,33€ per liter or about 6.84 USdollar per US gallon( poor folks in Florida alarming because over there is about 2,49 for regular gasoline lol!!). The increase in car pooling has already seen a 16% raise in the last month.
The 4th adventure of Astérix and Obélix the French series that created a park a la Disney is coming out in october 17, 2012, entitled “God Save Britannia”. The actors playing the movie will be Edouard Baer and Gérard Depardieu for the two main characters invented by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo. Catherine Deneuve will play the queen of England, Fabrice Luchini will be Julius César, as well as Valérie Lemercier,the Québec born Charlotte Le Bon, Guillaume Gallienne and Vincent Lacoste will be part of the team for the movie;heavy hitters here !
The Grand Palais has an exposition call «Nature et idéal : le paysage à Rome; 1600-1650, Carrache, Poussin, le Lorrain», or nature and ideal the passage by Rome years 1600-1650AD with great arts until june 6th.
Some news from France XXVII March 14, 2011
The national museum of antiquities located at the Chateau Saint Germain en Laye (Yvelines dept 78) is showing now the 13 ed of spring of poets or printemps des Poétes , At the musée des Beaux-Arts at Tours you can see the expo ” Richelieu à Richelieu” , showcasing the grandeur of the castle decorated, and enlarge by the Cardinal of muskeeteers fame and power of France at the time. The expo will run until June 13 2011. And if the Grand Palais expo was not enough or no time or were not here, the American inspired Mona Bismarck Foundation is showing Gustave Courbet (master of realism),
And last, we had a blast this past Saturday at SQY (Saint Quentin en Yvelines) south of Versailles to celebrate at the bowling center ,my oldest son birthday 19. We had a blast with plenty of good drinks, great game of bowling, and many goodies in food and gifts with his brothers and friends.
Some news from France XXVIII March 16, 2011
There is an expo Vision d’Egypt at the Bibliothéque Nationale salle Richelieu ,until June 5 2011. The Egyptian art and Arab art on display by the collection of Emile Prisse d’Avennes. He became an egyptologue ,archeologist, and ethnology expert with special interest in Egypt where he spent two tours one in 1827 to 1844, and another from 1858 to 1860.
Some new French expressions to note and it changes with the times always ,really so you thought you knew French huh, n’est pas ce pas vrai mes amis ::) When we say Avoir la Barry White (is to have the voice coerse the next morning of partying) , and Se faire flûter (is to be abuse of you make a fool of you), Bling, à composer ( create something chic), Un lieu surstaffé (there is nobody but clients), Baronner (to tell the verbs derive from the place you frequent), Le triple off (you are more off than off the record or way off), and Avoir une vitalité hybride (to have multiple love relationships). cheers ::)
A new concept in hostals is already open in Paris, St Christopher’s with plans for a brasserie restaurant by the Rotonde de la Villette in July/August next and another hostal by Gare du Nord planned,
Some news from France XXVIIII March 19, 2011
Parking a car in Paris will be more expensive. Not only all the laws to make the use of the car less viable will be hit with another downer, higher parking fees. Eventually it will be a city of like London with area congestion fees and all, lol!!! and I love my car, will be in by the Tour Eiffel tomorrow mornings. The hourly charges of 3,60€ already in the districts/arrondissements Ier, IIe, and parts of the VIIIe, IXe, XVIe , XVIIe with the highest charges in Paris will be extended to the totality of the first 7 arrondissements 1-7. In Montmartre, the north of the XIIIe and great part of the XIIe. will have the rates increase from 1,20 €, to 2,40 € !. The arrondissements XVe, XIXe and XXe will remain at 1,20 € per hour.
The Château de Chantilly after some renovations will reopen its season of events. The Grandes Ecuries have all been redone its roofs to the original designs from 1721. The jardin a la Anglaise or English garden will continue to have renovation work done until 2012 , and the oldest section in the castle dating from 1718 the Salon de la Musique has been entirely renovated to its origins. All ready for the event Les Feux de Chantilly next June 17-18.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs has an exhibition until May 8, 2001 of wooden toys over the times good for kids, call “Vilac 100 ans de jouets en bois” Also until May 8 2011 at the musée Jeu de Paume on the jardin des Tuileries, there is an exposition entitled ” Sociéte Réaliste Empire State Building” the museum of the Police, Musée de la Police, it is located in the hote de la police of the 5éme arrondissement , 4, rue de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève fourth floor, and started there by commissaire Lépine in 1909 . It traces the history of the Paris police from the 17C to our days.
Another good one, I wont missed it for the world, the Le Salon de La Revue du vin de France, at the Bourse de Paris, Palais Brongniart, metro Bourse on May 14-15 2011, 10h-19h about 250 winegrowers from the best in France will be there as well as some internationals.
Some news from France XXX March 25, 2011
A survey by the firm Entreprise & Prévention has found out the French prefer to drink alcoholic beverages at home. The general breakdown is 80% at home and 20% outside. The ones at your own home comes out on top with 49%, with family,friends or colleagues is at 31%, in a bar is 5%, discotheque is 4%, restaurant or brasserie 4%,and in a Café 4%. Just fine with me and my thoughts. The same survey talks about the purchase of 74,7 liters of alcoholic beverages per household in 2010.
For the music lover there is the exhibition of “Georges Brassens ou la liberté” at the Cité de la Musique , Parc de la Villete,75019 until August 21 2011
The islands in and around Paris, most know about Ile de la Cité, and Ile Saint Louis in central Paris. However, do you know Ile de Chatou in my area of Yvelines dept 78 (Impressionists territory and I was by there yesterday ) , Ile de l’Abreuvoir at Champigny-sur-Marne bordering the river Marne in dept 94 Val du Marne, between the 16éme and 15éme arrondissements, the Ile aux Cygnes, old digue of Grenelle, its an artificial island of 890 meters long ( 2937 ft) and 11 meters wide (36.3 ft), in the bois de Vincennes you have the lake Daumesnil , and it is link by two the ile de Reuilly and the Ile de Bercy, famous too by impressionists painters you have the Ile de la Jatte or also call Ile de la Grande Jatte share by the towns of Neuilly-sur-Seine and Levallois-Perret in dept 92 Hauts de Seine, the Ile de Puteaux long of 2 kms is shared by the towns of Puteaux and Neuilly-sur-Seine in dept 92 Hauts de Seine, the site of an old Renault car manufacturing plant and today waiting rehabilitation sits at Boulogne-Billancourt, dept 92, the ile de Seguin, first a military camp and today a regional public park sits at Issy-les-Moulineaux, the Ile Saint-Germain, and last the Ile d’Amour is an island of the river Marne on the limits of the town of Bry-sur-Marne, dept 77 Seine et Marne.
Some news from France XXXI March 28, 2011
And lastly ,was walking around the area of Paris 19 last week around Villette, Jaurés, and Crimée so took some pictures because its one area of Paris on the up and up, hightly renovated and great interest for locals and visitors alike
Some news from France XXXII March 30, 2011
The new hotel Shangri-la is making its sounds around Paris already with a grand restaurant inside, L’Abeille or the Bees.It will be specialise in French cuisine with seafood at its main best. I did not eat but was there yesterday and the service and staff are very pros and friendly, something to keep in mind.
If you want a day to relax with a great view of Paris come to the parc des Buttes-Chaumont (75019) was around there last week and it is superb. The view with a pause at Rosa Bonheur, 2, allée de la Cascade , the climb to the Temple de la Sibylle . The view over Paris is romantically gorgeous at the top of the île du Belvédère, however be prepare in summer heat to have a large crowd there.
A place for arts, see the Monet-Rodin duo while walking the marvelous gardens of the Musée Rodin ,the go inside to see the manuscripts, documents, and portraits/busts that associate these two great men, the painter and the sculptor friends.
Something dear to me the price of real estate is going up and up in France, and especially on the Paris region. The average rental is 17,8€ per sq meter in ile de France Paris region. while only 10,30€ in Aquitaine, and 12,30€ in the cote d’azur. The price of buying property is over the roof in Paris with the 6éme at 11120€ per sq meter, 4éme 10500€, 5éme 9530€, 1éme 9410€ ,8éme 9030€, and my beloved 16éme only at 8430€ per sq meter. A rise of 21% from 2009-2010. These couple with a slight rise in the fees of Notaires or notary public that here handle the real estate transaction of from 0 to 6500€ 4%, 6500-17000€ 1,65%, 17000-60000€ 1,10%, and over 60000€ 0,825%.
There you go folks, a big task but a work of love to keep the best, me think of these wonderful older posts over the years, These are what I think worth keeping of my older Some news from France series, and I thank you, Again, hope you enjoy this post as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 