Paris1972-Versailles2003

I was looking at my posts and realise some are much old and repetitive so as done before will condense these posts into one for you and me, The subject pops up again and can ‘t resist writing on it when I hear some exciting news on them. Let me tell you about some news from France Jan2020 to Mar2020 !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Some news from France, CCXCVIII January 5, 2020

At Rambouillet (Yvelines 78) discover board games from the time of king Louis XV. The new exhibition of the Palace of the King of Rome in Rambouillet presents games that are several hundred years old. Some had to be restored; some details of the games of the goose are clues to life in the time of Louis XV and Louis XVI.

Head to the Chevreuse Valley (Yvelines 78 ), 45 minutes from Paris, for a weekend or more, in order to purify your body and calm your mind at the Hotel Le Barn. This completely restored 19C farmhouse, nestled in a 200 hectare park, has kept the spirit of a family home in the countryside. Had the pleasure of visit it on a business conference full of history, architecture just awesome for a longer stay.

The public transport is modernizing.. In the night test on line 1 for almost a year, the MP14 metro is coming soon! It will carry more passengers for the extension of line 14. 120 meters long, this new train will be 24% larger than a normal metro, with 8 cars against 6 currently. Inside, the noise will be reduced by 40%, the seats will be more ergonomic and the lighting more economical. The equipment should meanwhile reduce the energy consumption of the trains by 20% and bring more comfort to passengers, with more places reserved for people with reduced mobility. While it was possible since September to buy a book ticket or carnet or a Navigo pass on certain smartphones, you can now buy a single ticket and weekend youth tickets. The renovated RER B trains (the one to CDG Paris!) will resume service on the line, which has more than a million daily passengers, but still no double-level trains. These modernized, larger and more luminous trains will already be a great improvement for the 980,000 daily users of line B!!, who suffer frequent incidents and difficult transport conditions (if you work here you know it). We will have to wait until 2025 for much larger trains, the MINGs, to considerably improve passenger comfort. Châtelet, Place de Clichy, Arts et Métiers stations will unveil their modernization this year. Thanks to renovated quays and corridors and refurbished reception rooms, to a recovery and ordering of all components, from floor to ceiling. These actions are accompanied by more legible and more complete signage – intermodal, tourist and urban – new seats, more suitable and more efficient lighting.  Well at least is not all doom!

And how about Paris losing inhabitants yes of course, I know it. Get out into the country side for a better life !!! These are the latest figures from INSEE (gov statistical office). According to the most recent census, Paris has 2,187,526 inhabitants, which represents a loss of 0.5% per year since 2011. An average of 11,000 inhabitants less each year, or -2.4% over five years . According to the census, it is the 15éme arrondissement the most popular, with 233,392 inhabitants. It is followed by the 20éme arrondissement with 195,814 inhabitants, the 18éme with 195,233 inhabitants and the 13éme, with 182,099 Parisians. The 1éme, 2éme and 4éme arrondissements very touristy districts….register the least number of residents with respectively: 16,266, 20,900 and 28,088 inhabitants. In all of Paris, only the 19éme   arrondissement has gained population, with a slight increase of 0.2% in its number of inhabitants, thanks in particular to housing programs set up by the government. The trend will continue in the next few years at least.

A repeat call for one of my favorites. Domenikos Theotokopoulos (1541-1614) is better known by the name of El Greco. Painter of Cretan origin, he stayed in Italy before settling in Spain in 1577. Last grand master of the Renaissance, he was also the first painter of the Spanish Golden Age. This retrospective, the first major French monographic exhibition dedicated to him, highlights his fiery and inventive work, rediscovered at the turn of the 19-20C by the avant-garde. Goes on until February 10, 2020.

Some news from France, CCXCVIIII January 19, 2020

It is a sea or rather freshwater snake which resurfaces. Like others before her, candidate Anne Souyris, head of the environmental list in the 13éme arrondissement, dreams of reviving the Bièvre! , this river buried since the beginning of the 20C in Paris. Based on studies carried out by the Parisian Urban Planning Workshop (APUR) in 2000 and the Paris Region Institute (formerly IAURIF), the project studied at the time by the architect Pierre-Marie Tricaud, and now carried by the ecologist, aims to make the forgotten river flow in Parc Kellerman (13éme), Square René-Le Gall (13éme and the Natural History Museum (5éme). New: the project will also be accompanied by a green corridor along the route of the Bièvre for pedestrians, cyclists and soft mobility. In the longer term and based on feasibility studies, Anne Souyris wants to reopen canals connecting these green spaces and develop a “blue flow” from the ring road at the Porte des Peupliers to the Seine river up to Austerlitz.  This is a political promise as such it rest to her to win and see the outcome. Source: Le Parisien newspaper.  Brief history : The Bièvre is a river that rises in Guyancourt (Yvelines dept 78) and once flowed into the Seine river near the Gare d’Austerlitz station after a 33 km journey through the Essonne (91) , Hauts-de-Seine (92) and the Val -de-Marne (94) departments. It entered Paris (75) at the Poterne des Peupliers and crossed the 13éme and 5éme arrondissements. It was covered at the beginning of the 20C and its route diverted towards the sewers of Paris. If the Bièvre river still follows its natural course for around twenty kilometers, in Paris, there are only commemorative plaques scattered throughout its route today. In Paris see it better at my usual business spot rue de Bièvre, name so because the river passes by here underneath still….

Built in 1679, the Château de Marly (Yvelines 78) and its park only welcomed the Sun King and his friends, far from the noises of Versailles. The museum of the royal domain, which recounts this era, reopens on Saturday January 18 2020. There, the king had built a palace and a garden reserved for the elite of the elite. The Musée du domaine de Marly, which reopens on Saturday after three years of work in a revised version, is working to restore it. Because unfortunately, of the castle itself, only ruins remain: it was destroyed in 1806. The vast park, always very pleasant for a walk, has only kept its plan and some of its many pools , like the l’Abreuvoir. Another wonder was to make Marly an object of fascination across the continent: Its machine! To supply the multiple fountains with gushing water, an ingenious system had to be found. They imagine an immense wooden machine, fitted with 14 wheels 12 m in diameter, to pump water from the Seine 2.5 km below and raise it, in several stages, 160 meters higher. A real scientific performance at the time, which the museum evokes through numerous reproductions but also two interactive models which should make the happiness of the children. As recalled by the paintings and objects in the museum windows, one of the favorite occupations remains the hunting in the park and the surrounding forest. It seems that at Versailles it was entirely business and that in Marly it was entirely for him and his pleasure ”, wrote Racine to Boileau in 1687.

At the Musée de Marly, her portrait, made around 1700, stands enthroned among those of the locals. No wonder: Elisabeth-Charlotte of Bavaria, known as Princess Palatine, is the second wife of Philippe d’Orléans, the brother of Louis XIV. As a sister-in-law, she was practically all of the monarch’s stays in his “second home”. The princess had an easy and inexhaustible pen. Sort of feminine Saint-Simon, more raw, it is even nicknamed the “Ocean of ink” for its correspondence which reaches 60,000 letters! Documents which constitute a very important source in the knowledge of Marly at the time of the Sun King. Musée du domaine royal de Marly (Yvelines 78). The garden park is free.

Maison Georges Larnicol: Georges by his first name is a Breton by birth. Even though he has come a long way since then, the artisanal values of his origins have never left him. With pure butter and coarse salt, the house kouign-amann is, for many of us, the best we have had the opportunity to eat in Paris. The favorite? The kouignettes (smaller kouign-amanns delicious!! ), just to take several without regretting it!! Maison Georges Larnicol ,14, rue de Rivoli ; 4éme Paris too !! Of course in Paris other stores at 19 rue de l’Harpe 5éme and 132 Bd Saint Germain 6éme, and 7 rue de Steinkerque 18éme.

Some news from France, CCXCX February 5, 2020

At Meudon, dept 92 Hauts de Seine, the Wagner’s old house transformed into a vessel by its owner! Spiral staircases as masts, a bay window in the shape of a veil and a mezzanine as a prow. The interior of the building pays homage to the famous German composer, who lived there in 1841. Richard Wagner composes The Ghost Ship here. As part of the Wagner exhibition at the art and history museum, the owner of the composer’s former home welcomed the curious to the house.  You know this is a great area for walks into history and arts , not far from here at rue des Capucins, Stravinsky and Debussy played piano Le Sacre du Printemps or The Rite of Spring, on June 2, 1912. Of course, this event is passé but a good reminder to stop by the house

About sixty works will be divided into several sections (stocks, raw materials, work, values and exchanges) to take an incisive and vigilant look at the challenges that the images conceal. Echoing the work of the same , Le Supermarché des Images promises to make us explore the different facets of this constantly changing universe, and to take a freeze-frame on the complex issues of it. The Supermarket of Images Jeu de Paume Museum, Place de la Concorde(inside Jardin des Tuileries)  8éme.

From the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel , you only have to walk thirty minutes west, passing by the beautiful Forville market, to reach the Villa Eléonore-Louise, at the rear of 24, avenue du Docteur Picaud. Transformed into a condominium and now separated from the sea by multiple constructions, this small castle is the oldest British resort in the city. Its builder, Lord Brougham, originally wanted to go to Italy. Stranded in Cannes, he settled there and lived there until his death, bringing the social life of the small fishing port to heights that he will never leave. Henry Brougham has his statue on rue Félix-Faure, and his grave in the Grand Jas cemetery, on the heights of the city. In the Anglican square, the Lord’s last home is surmounted by a colossal cross surrounded by four cypresses. Around him lie young English men and women of good families, mostly tuberculosis, whom the sun did not save but who accompanies them forever. With Château Vallombrosa and Château Scott, avenue Maréchal-Juin, the Grand Jas cemetery is an essential stop on an English pilgrimage to Cannes.

In Menton, nothing is happier than the cemetery of the Vieux-Château. Completely dilapidated, the Anglican tombs are installed on the site of an old medieval fortress. The last home of the inventor of modern Rugby, William Webb Ellis, flowered as on the first day and dressed in bloodless jerseys, contributes to the charm of the place. From the discovery of the Condamine district –   The City of Menton, Edward VII Avenue still indicates an enamel plaque, passing by the old Anglican church to the sublime Serre de la Madone garden, Menton has many memories of the English . In Nice, the Negresco hotel, on the Promenade des Anglais, arrived after the battle. By 1913 it was too late, the golden age of the British in the city of Carnival had passed. At the Massena museum, next door, a portrait of  Queen Victoria is next to an advertising poster for the Excelsior Hotel Regina, in Nice-Cimiez, built in 1895 precisely to house the sovereign in its west wing. The hotel, transformed into apartments in the 1930s because it was too far from the sea, still overlooks the beautiful districts. But the most vibrant and fragile legacy of the English presence in the city is the small library of the Anglican church in rue de la Buffa. The English-American Library of Nice keeps some 20,000 books in a wet basement thanks to the dedication of volunteers.

Some news from France, CCXCXI February 29, 2020

The countdown begins for PSG which officially launches today Saturday morning the construction of its future campus in Poissy whose delivery is scheduled for 2022. Excavators, bulldozers and trucks will come into action on the 74 hectares acquired by the club in 2016 on the edge of the A 13 autoroute de Normandie. The goal is to develop around fifteen football fields, a stadium with 5,000 seats, but also accommodation buildings for professional players and those of the training center, who will then leave the Camp des Loges, in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. The campus will not only welcome footballers. The handball and judo sections will also be set up in Poissy. The site is divided into three zones with land reserved for professionals and others for young people from the training center. These different spaces will be separated by accommodation buildings to accommodate players. These sets will also include treatment rooms but also classes since the campus will house a Blue and Red school for young people in the neighborhoods and aimed at fighting against school failure. As for the 5000-seat stadium, located near the A 13 highway/motorway exit ramp, it will be used for meetings of European competitions for the PSG women’s team and matches for the reserve team. An agreement was also reached with the city which could use the equipment if the local club, which is currently playing in National 2 were to move up into the upper division. The total investment for the club amounts to almost 300 million euros.

Harper’s Bazaar. First fashion magazine! The Museum of Decorative Arts (on the Louvre) invites us to delve into the epic of the famous American fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar. We will discover a large photographic retrospective embellished with a selection of pieces from the museum’s fashion collections. We are aware of the enormous influence of this iconic magazine founded in 1867, which has helped to spark a new mode of fashion consumption. Sixty sewing and ready-to-wear creations are offered, mainly from the museum’s collections, punctuated with loans of prestigious iconic pieces and are presented in correspondence with their publication in this magazine. The artists and photographers Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Richard Avedon, Andy Warhol, and even Peter Lindbergh contributed to the magazine’s unmatched aesthetics while the journalists Carmel Snow, Alexey Brodovitch and Diana Vreeland finished writing it in the legend. Harper’s Bazaar Museum of Decorative Arts 107, rue de Rivoli- 1éme arrondissement of Paris going on from February 28 to July 14 2020.

Like many successful meetings, this one took place in a nightclub: when they met at New Jimmy’s (ex-Régine, on boulevard de Montparnasse) in 1967, it was love at first sight between Yves Saint Laurent and Betty Catroux. “She is Saint Laurent as she breathes. Its appearance, its mystery, its sulphurous side, an elusive, desirable danger, everything that makes the aura of this house, we understand the magnitude when we meet Betty. The pieces presented in the museum’s exhibition come from the important donation that Betty Catroux chose to make to the Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent Foundation. Betty Catroux, Yves Saint Laurent, Feminine Singular from March 3 to October 11, 2020 at the Yves Saint Laurent Museum Paris 5, avenue Marceau – 16éme arrondissement of Paris.

Some news from France, CCXCXII March 15, 2020

Update.France is going partial confinement as of tomorrow noon Tuesday March 17 2020. Only essentials grocery food shopping, medical visits/pharmacy, and essential workers can go out. There are fines of 68 euros that can go to 135 euros for all those not in compliance. We are ok, lucky to have the system that pays my salary at home and my family. We are bunker down loaded even gas up. So this is war, and we will win it.

In an early morning, 200 bakers came to drop off their little nuggets. A first selection is then made; to compete, the baguette must be between 55 and 70 cm long and weigh between 250 and 300 grams. 157 baguettes were then selected in order to be tasted by the jurors. Rated on 4 criteria – appearance, crumb, smell, taste; two tours were necessary for the 13 members of the jury to set their sights on the perfect baguette. The title winner, in addition to winning a check for 4,000€ , could become for one year the official supplier of baguettes for the Élysée Palace if he so wishes. The winner was Taieb SAHAL Aux Saveurs by Pierre Demours 13, rue Pierre Demours – 17éme arrondissement . In 2nd position: Baptiste LEAUTE from L’essentiel Mouffetard in the 5éme, then Liman TIGANI from the Boulangerie Martyrs in the 9éme, Laurent DEMONCY from Au 140 in the 20éme, Anthony TEIXEIRA from Aux délices du Palais in the 14éme, Khemoussi MANSOUR from Aux Délices de Glacière in 13éme, Ahmed OUNISSI from Boulangerie Lorette in 13éme, Thierry GUYOT from Boulangerie Guyot in 5éme, Giovanni BIANCO from Giovanni boulangerie contemporaine in 16éme and finally in 10th place, Jérôme LEPARQ from Maison Leparq in the 15éme. Now , get your good baguettes in Paris!

Some news from France, CCXCXIII March 20, 2020

SNCF traffic increasingly reduced. Only 15% of mainline trains this Friday, 25% TER and almost more connections abroad, indicates the SNCF. Traffic is 35% on the Transilien network of the Paris suburbs, according to the company. Abroad, the service was suspended to Germany, Italy and Spain. There are still 20% of Eurostar trains to London, 20% of Thalys trains to the Benelux, and, to Switzerland, a Paris-Geneva return trip and a Paris-Basel return trip. The offer is likely to be further reduced in the coming days.

There you go folks, another news post of my belle France! The  news are knowledge on many sights and events wonderlful to have it here condense to keep their history on the best of them. See you in the roads of my belle France, Again, hope you enjoy this post on some news from France Jan2020 to Mar2020 !!! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!