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, CLXI July 6, 2017
Built in the 15C and then renovated it has a privatif Chapel with a pylon bearing a gothic inscription and a Virgin with a Child. I am talking about the Chapelle Saint-Fiacre in Pluvigner and from Saturday July 8 to Sunday September 17 and from 10h to 18h you can tour it free ,Follow that up with the renovated Chapelle in the Chateau du Rimaison , 7,Route de Landaul in Pluvigner; dating from the 20C with elements coming from older chapels ,it has beautiful stained glass windows and a sculpture tribune with stand. Open for visits any day except September 4, 5, 11, 12, 16 and 17. From Saturday July 8 to Friday September 15 from 12h to 22h, admission is free Over at Vannes, we have the new casino de Vannes opening finally on Wednesday July 12 at 20h. The new casino was done just behind the current place in the Parc du Golfe. It will have an spectacle room to do concerts , bar-brasserie and a restaurant. Games will have 100 machines and one or two tables extra than previously.
It is time again for the Fêtes Historiques de Vannes that will be this year from July 13-14 over the National Day holiday (old Bastille day). For the 32nd edition is the period of the Belle Epoque that will be showcase. An important period in the history of Vannes because it coincided with the arrival of the train in 1866 that allow the city to gain in fame and tourism. The programme will have festival like promenades with exposition of of old vehicules and group concerts by local and foreign origins; during the two days you will see about 400 figurines with costume of the period to bring you back more than 200 years. While at the wonderful Château de l’Hermine, the exposition Cycl’expo will trace starting Thursday the history of the draisienne and bicycle. Four old vehicules will be in demonstration in the garden of the ramparts. A firework spectacle will close out the day each night. Two promenades will be done end of day ,the first will leave at 16h30 from the Church of Saint-Patern, to arrive at the courtyard of the middle school of Jules-Simon(right next to the hôtel de ville). The second promenade will leave the square or place Maurice-Marchais (hôtel de ville) by 17h and will traverse the ramparts. At 22h30 the two will merge in the old town walking around up to the gardens of the ramparts
At the Palais de Tokyo, Laurent Le Bon retraces the history of the mise en scene in realty relief or Dioramas; Until September 10th
And the circus time is here: The tent of the Cirque Plume will be installed in the parc de Parilly around Lyon to see the « La Dernière Saison », Spreading the art of the circus with pictorials and music this will last about 2 hours with vibrant portraits. It will be at the Les Nuits de Fourvière. Bron, Until August 5, The always wonderful Festival d’Avignon is up for its 71st édition,held from July 6 to the 26. It will come to the Japanese Satoshi Miyagi to put a classical scene such as « Antigone » of Sophocle,in the Palais des papes (July 6-12). In parallel, Olivier Py, will present a Roman scene auto biography and political such as the « Les Parisiens » in the FabricA(Juy 8-15). There will be water in the Cour d’honneur. it will have a flame lyric in the ultra modern theater localted about 800 meters from the ramparts
Some news from France CLXII July 13, 2017
we are enjoying a long weekend. Tomorrow is National Day in France ,July 14, for some visitors it is known as Bastille Day. Even President Trump of the USA is in Paris. Invited by French President Macron for the centenary anniversary of US troops entering WWI in France. They will be a parade from 10h ; where the 1st Infantry Division US will march first along the avenue Champs-Elysées. And the US Air Force Thunderbirds will do a fly over. I just took one photo from my TV for representation of the event. Activities at the Grand Arch de la Defense, from 21h30 The Panthéon celebrates the Republic from 13h to 19h free admission FG Garden Party at the Hippodrome de Saint Cloud (92) from 17h to 02h, Grand Bal under the roof of the Grand Palais from 20h free admission with reservation Concert du Champs de Mars from 21h to 23h free admission, and in front of the Tour Eiffel firecrakers from 23h to midnight ,free admission
And of course, my beloved Versailles ,more traditional French; the Louis XIV spectacle , the king of fire in the Chateau de Versailles from 22h There will fireworks in Versailles !!!
Colette ,213 rue Saint-Honoré , the historical store will be closing by December 2017. The original family is still there with Colette Roussaux , and her daughter Sarah. they started in the area of Sentier by Colette and her daughter coming out of the school or École du Louvre, to joined her mother and founded the store. A Paris institution store and so sad will be closing its doors
In its 24e édition, Paris Jazz Festival will invites you to the Parc Floral until July 30th Henri Manguin ,the Joy of Color at Giverny ,musée des Impressionismes. Until November 5. Check out the expo in the musée jeu de Paume, from “La vie Folle” of Ed Van der Elsken to the contemporary art of Oscar Murillo of Colombia; see it Shops to learn starts at the museum or Grand Musée du parfum; 73 rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, 70 years of Christian Dior in Paris: The story a designer of dreams in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 107 rue de Rivoli (1st) until January 7 2018.
Some news from France CLXIII July 18, 2017
Night evenings and workshops on gardening are organize all summer long here at Café Renoir inside the museum or Musée de Montmartre, 12 rue Cortot (18eme) On the occasion of the Transalpine immigration program Ciao Italia, the Palais de la Porte Dorée will have a big parvis terrace with the best from the Dolce Vita. The palais is at 293 avenue Daumesnil (12eme) until October 15 The Mona Bismarck American Center open for the first time in summer with a musical program dedicated to the pop culture USA. DJ and groups will be live with cinema projections all taken care by Bonhomie with food and cocktails. 34 avenue de New York (16eme) until end of September
You have to climb and descend to the Seine river facing the tour Eiffel and entered in the Palais de Chaillot as going to the museum or musée de l’Homme, and continue. Daytime is sompteous and nighttime with the light on the Eiffel is sublime. Enjoy the Le Café de l’Homme 17 place du Trocadéro (16eme) High on a building in the Ménilmontant ,the Perchoir has a great terrace, with patient on street level with a long line of guests always ready to come here. The plus is once inside the views over the roofstops of Paris is sublime with the lights of the Church of Ménilmontant and further the Basilica of Sacre Coeur. Le Perchoir, at 14 rue Crespin-du-Gast (11eme)
The grand magasin Au Printemps Haussmann continues with its renovations. After the move of the Mode Homme (mens fashion) in the rue du Havre to a building in the boulevard Haussmann , followed by the renovation of the L’Enfant (children) and la Maison (house deco),now its the turn of the cosmetic beauty space or Beauté to renovate itself. The new space is dedicated to perfums and cosmetics open its door Monday. It has created the space in a building in the rue de Provence and rue de Caumartin with 3 000 m2 space in three floors
From now you can enjoy the swim in the basin de la Villette (19eme). IT will open at 13h the first swim site in the city. It is a floating structure with 100 meters long split into three spaces and a beach with cabins, showers, palms all in the quai de Loire on the south side of the basin. It is with free admission every day from 11h to 19h until the end of Paris plage 2017 September 4th. For security reasons,the entry will be limited and with order; no more than 300 swimmers at a time and no more than 1000 each day. The aviary and the palmarium are all advantages that add to the splendor of the botanical garden. The whole thing is covered, so you can get lost regardless of the mood of the weather. Parc Floral, Jardin Botanique de la Ville de Paris, 3, avenue de la Porte-d’Auteuil (16eme).
For November 2018 the Festival International du Film , a new name in Compiègne for the centenary of the WWI peace or Armistice The Château du Plessis-Brion opens again in summer. From this coming Friday to August 31st you can see the castle with foundations of a feudal fortress that you can tell better in the gothic cellars and other parts from early 16C. It is the only renaissance castle in the Oise region and this year for the first time you will have treasure chases for the kids. Le château du Plessis-Brion, 2, rue de l’Eglise
The latest expansion of France’s treasures is the Centre Pompidou to open temporarely in 2019 at Shanghaï ; in the district of West Bund –Xuhui. An art district of Shanghaï that extends over several kilometers on the west of the city along the quais of the river Huangpu. In this same area you have the well known museum of the célèbre Yuz Museum.
Some news from France CLXIIII July 25, 2017
There will be a great looking back on Steve McQueen in the gallery or galerie Joseph, 116 rue de Turenne. Bringing many facets of the actor, great fan of speed and car collector. Expo until August 30th. With more than 200 works of art from Van Gogh projected in the walls of 12 meters high in the Grande Halle de la Villette to invite you into the passages, village scenes , wheat fields, and sunflowers of the painter. This exposition is to discover the work of his last three years of his life. Wonderful. Until September 10th From where came the Dragons? A vast subject to discover in 4 000 m2 of exposition space. The DragonLand takes you in to discover this phenomenon and from theory to practice with explanations. You will discover 30 dragons in animation. In the Paris Expo, porte de Versailles, until September 3rd.
A new hotel , talking about the Hôtel National des Arts et Métiers, only 600 meters from the Centre Pompidou, with 66 rooms, a trattoria, a cicchetteria (Venetian tapas) , bar with cocktails, the L’Herbarium. All done with cement, granite, terrazzo and hard wood.
You see her white silhouette high in the hill of Montmartre in the 18 arrondissement/District of Paris. The view from the Sacré-Cœur over the roofstops of Paris is Worth the climb. Some, like me think is one of the best if not the best. From the steps of the Basilica built in the end of the 19C, Paris looks infinite. We go by the rue Georges-Lardennois or the stair on the avenue Simon-Bolivar, this is the Butte Bergeyre , 19 arrondissement/district that ends with about hundred meters high. At the summit in a range of trees you see the arrows of Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. At this height you should know it’s name came from a stadium named after Robert Bergeyre, a rugby Player killed at the age of 20 early in World War I. The hill opened in August 1918, today the sport complex is gone but it held the France Cup of football/soccer in 1920 , You go to the park or parc de Belleville and you can see the Beaubourg, (centre Pompidou) where you see the tubes/pipes of it, and behind the golden dome of Invalides. From here you can continue seeing the stars of Paris , such as the Library or Bibliothèque François-Mitterrand, and the tour Eiffel ,and all the way to Mont Valérien ( the highest point and a great view of Paris, my favorite) . You can see the Church of Notre-Dame-de-Paris,and it’s square towers as well as the tour Montparnasse; with a keener eye you can see on clear days the Sorbonne , and the palais de Chaillot!
The magical rooftop of the Institut du Monde Arabe is freely accessable and guarantee quiet place at 77 meters high. You can see the Cathedral de Notre-Dame-de-Paris and the island or île Saint-Louis. At the Zyriab you can taste the mint and oriental sweets. This is at 39, Boulevard Saint Germain , 5th arrondissement/district You can go to the Parc de la Villette, and do a stop at the Philharmonie de Paris where the roofstop is freely accessable. Take the monumental stairs with metallic covers and on the third floor the elevators/lifts will carry you to the third floor or parvis/ belvédère. You have reach the artificial hill of architect Jean Nouvel. The view is almost 360° on Paris. You see a range of trees with modern buildings but farther you see the tour Eiffel and tour Montparnasse on one side. On the other side you see outer Paris such as Pantin, Aubervilliers, and Les Lilas. The location is Le Belvédère de la Philharmonie de Paris, 221 avenue Jean Jaures, 19 arrondissement/district.
Saint Germain en Laye. The city has received the prize on the 23rd edition of the contest « Les Rubans du patrimoine » for the restauration of the ramps of the caves or Grottes , that were one of the last vestiges of the Château-Neuf (where louis XIV was born and today the castle is gone); the castle there call the vieux is now housing the archeological museum. The city finally restored the walls of Lions or mur des Lions in 2016.
Some news from France CLXV July 28, 2017
The rooftop of the Cité de la Mode et du Design always offers you splendid views on the city. The décor of the terrace on the roofstop changes every week with a new ambiance zen and impressive ; get there on Gare de Lyon or Gare d’Austerlitz
Do you know Auteuil, ,,Paris? Well this is one area I know well as used to come by here with my car , yessss car into Paris center for many years… However, I did some serious walking as well ,and will tell you a bit of a walking tour you can take. First ,you start at the Porte de Saint-Cloud (metro line 9) and go direction rue Michel-Ange. You will see along the way many buildings from the 1930’s. You turn right on the rue Parent-de-Rosan and you will see the old Auteuil, magical area with an eerie cementary wall done in 1800. Behind this wall , you can take a look into the subdivision of Villa Claude Lorrain and take a walk along the street rue Parent-de-Rosan to discover other charming subdivisions such as Emile Meyer, Dietz-Monnin, and Cheyson. You, then climb onto rue Boileau, a magical street of old Paris. Passing the boulevard Exelmans, (great one and not much walk by visitors) you will see further evidence of beautiful Paris with buildings such as the hôtel Danois, today the Embassy of Algeria. Take a look at the Art Nouveau style of the Hôtel Roszé further up the street. You will come to the neighborhood or hameau Boileau , and it’s famous Normand house, maybe you too will be lucky to find the folks there to give the digicode to go inside. Continue on towards the nice imposing Church Notre Dame of Auteuil that I passed so many times by car and on foot couple times into the rue Molitor and avenue Chardon-Lagache,where you will see the Metro entrance with a retro look . The Church here is a building in roman-byzantine style built in 1892. Once inside , the sun light will shine at the end of the day and makes the interior very celestial romantic nice indeed. While in the area do not forget to see the pool or Piscine Molitor, the hidden garden of the station, and try some wonderful chocolates at chocolaterie servant, while at the brasserie auteuil get a nice drink while playing in the central pool table and up its rooftop. Perfect Paris.
On the side of the cemetery or cimetière du Père-Lachaise there is a hidden garden all natural (not so hidden now ::)) simply call the Jardin Naturel, at 120, rue de la Réunion (20eme). You have another cute one small on the French style kind of hidden in the very public Marais. It is at the end of a small street with it’s back on the hôtel d’Ecquevilly (17C) old name, very romantic ambiance. Square Saint-Gilles Grand Veneur-Pauline-Roland 9, rue du Grand-Veneur (3eme). ou, then come to a more secluded garden in the square Roger-Stéphane just steps from the store Bon Marché . Several romantic corners and a basin with a small cascade. Location at rue Récamier (7eme). And of course, until the garden on the rooftop of the store BHV Marais with a vertical vegetable garden . BHV Marais Roof Garden, 52 , rue de Rivoli (4eme)
And on one of the unique museums of Paris , the old Musée Guimet you have a tranquil place with basins, small bridges of stone and bamboo transporting you to the Rising Sun ambiance of Japan. You see the galleries of Budhist pantheons nearby to discover the art and culture of Japan as well, with tea ceremonies in all. Musée national des Arts Asiatiques Guimet, 6 place d’Iena, (16eme).
This is the new Clichy-Batignolles. The origin of the name Batignolles has been difficult to determine for sure. It is thought of it comes from «bastidiole» meaning little country home, that later came to «Bastignolles» , and finally Batignolles, The village was attached to Clichy located just outside Paris city limits. In 1830 Batignolles and Monceau were raised to a town and in 1860 detached from Clichy and attached to Paris. The arrival of the railroad change the district with the construction of the train station or gare Saint-Lazare (1842) and later the goods station of Batignolles (1844). This is the area that grew in artistic fervor with the arrival to lived here of Edouard Manet helping as well the impressionists movement. His shop and house were here. Starting from 1870, they gathered at the Café Guerbois, 9 avenue de Clichy with his friends. Frédéric Bazille, also had his shop here and were visited by the Renoir, Cézanne, Sisley, Monet,and many others such as Emile Zola. At 11 avenue de Clichy in the house Hennequin, founded in 1830, you can find material on the artists of today. On the literature side, this district had visitors and renters such as Alfred de Vigny rented in 1838 at 1 rue Nollet, Paul Verlaine lived on the streets of rue Nollet, rue de l’Ecluse and rue Lemercie and buried at the cemetery of Batignolles. Stéphane Malarmé lived at 89 rue de Rome where he received his friends Paul Verlaine, Oscar Wilde, André Gide, Paul Valéry, Paul Claudel, for his famous literary meetings the “Tuesdays at the Rue de Rome”. Many performers are link to this district too, such as Barbara born at 6 rue Brochant, Jacques Brel lived at the Cité Lemercier and creates his famous song Ne me quitte pas here! I stayed in hotels here and park for free while visiting the rest of the district and Paris
Let’s drive, train, bus over to Le Havre. This city is celebrating its 500 years! Call a summer in Havre or ” Un été au Havre”. Many events on the city previously wrote in my blog . Rebuilt after WWII from ashes (90% destroyed) it is now a city worth visiting into the real France ::) Many activities are programmed
To finish this post, something I like all my life, inspired even to know about Paris , Madrid, Key West, and Havana, the great Ernest Hemingway. Some of his spots in Paris are here to follow as July 21st was his birthday. In 1921 after marrying Elizabeth Hadley Richardson, he decided to come to France to continue his writing skills honing as a correspondance for the Toronto Star in Europe. This was a great timing as in the 1920’s Paris was the Eldorado of Americans. In Paris, Hemingway discovered the new lectures and work on his style on the side of such influential personnages as Sylvia Beach, Ezra Pound, James Joyce, and Gertrude Stein that take him under their wing. He lived for a while in a hotel of the 6eme arrondissement/district; the Hôtel d’Angleterre, 44 rue Jacob (6eme). The Hemingway , also, lived on a small T2 one bedroom apartment in the 74, rue Cardinal Lemoine (5eme) (now building with 21 apartments on 5 floors) from 1922-1923. At street level or first floor of the building there was a music hall and it was nearby the Place de la Contrescarpe. It is on this apartment that Hemingway wrote amongst others the novels “My Old man” and the famous “Paris est un fête” ( a movable feast) the later posthume that tells his crazy years in Paris. Created by Sylvia Beach an American librarian and editor in 1919, the library boutique came rapidly a point of research and encounters by the English and American writers that lived in Paris. here Hemingway borrows and buys many books,and discovered Tolstoi, Dostoievski, Eliot, Joyce, but also, Flaubert, Stendhal, and Henry James. At the times the library company Shakespeare & Company was located at 12 rue de l’Odéon, but today it is located at 37 rue de la Bûcherie, (5eme) Also, Adrienne Monnier the companion of Sylvia Beach opened in 1915, a library at 7 rue de l’Odéon (6eme) , the house of friends of books sort of my amateur translation of «La maison des amis des livres». The libray also lent books and regularly organizes séances of public lecture. Today, it does not exits anymore (today building of 12 apartments in 5 floors) but you can stop by to imagine the story and the cultural dynamist of the times. You,can also, stop by Chez Lipp for a potato salad and a beer or at Pré-aux-Clercs where the menu was 12 FF and a bottle of wine 60 cents!!! WAS, not anymore !!! Brasserie LIpp, 151 boulevard Saint-Germain (6eme), Le Pré-aux-Clercs, 30 rue Bonaparte (6eme).The encounter of Hemingway with Gertrude Stein, an American poet, writer, dramatist, and feminist made great teaching on the automatic writings as Hemingway normally did not remember than what he wish to remember , however thanks to her and those of Ezra Pound , he ends by discovering his own style. Gertrude Stein is today known to have participated in the development and diffusion of the literature and modern art. It was her who shape the young artists as a lost generation for the mores of the wars. Her apartment in Paris was at 27 rue de Fleurus (6eme) ;now a building with 26 apartments in 6 floors. Paris is eternal, see it at least once in your lifetime, and then…..dream on, you will be back, and like me for good in France.
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 