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 Aug2020 to Sep2020 !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Some news from France, CCCXIIII August 31, 2020

The Grand Rex, the pharaonic cinema designed by producer Jacques Haïk, camped in the 2éme arrondissement of Paris, has experienced many adventures. It is the only cinema where the public looks up… to the sky. How difficult it is not to be ecstatic, silent, in front of these Greek statues, these gigantic trees and this wall covered with plants with candlesticks. This 5,000-seat juggernaut, whose shape is inspired by atmospheric theaters in the United States. And with the largest screen in France. A 300 m² canvas hanging from the ceiling. From the outside, a protuberance culminates on the gray facade. It’s the projection booth. At the top of a staircase, a Charlie Chaplin dressed as a clown detonates on a fresco of corsairs painted by Mahé . Jacques Haïk was born in Tunis in 1893. From modest origins, he arrived in France with his brother as a teenager. Very studious during his studies, he quickly turned to the cinema and began by exercising small trades as a delivery of reels. At 20, he invested in his own distribution of American films and was the first to introduce Charlie Chaplin in France. He produced around forty films between the 1920s and 1930s. He gave their first roles in talking cinema to Annabella, Arletty, Jules Berry. He made Danielle Darrieux, Harry Baur, Victor Boucher work… He became one of the three biggest French producers. The Grand Rex ,an institution of Paris to see.

Visit the Tour Jean sans peur or fearless John tower. This fortification, built in the 15C, is the last vestige of the hotel of the Dukes of Burgundy. Furniture, decoration and costumes allow the public to immerse themselves in the daily life of the Middle Ages. Open Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. 20, rue Etienne-Marcel 2éme arrondissement.

Lick your chops at the Chocolate Museum. Discover the 4000-year history of cocoa through a unique collection of thousands of objects. You will learn that the Mayans laid the foundations for the use of cocoa but also that the Aztecs considered it to be food for the gods. A tasty journey. 28, bd de Bonne-Nouvelle   10éme arrondissement.

he refined art of Léon Spilliaert at the Musée d’Orsay “Digue la nuit” (1908), by Léon Spilliaert , ink wash and watercolor on paper, Paris, Musée d’Orsay, preserved in the department of graphic arts from the Louvre Museum. Orsay Museum, How sad, Ostend, at night! At least when it’s Léon Spilliaert who paints it. It’s sad, but it’s beautiful: refined, minimal, his views of the Belgian seaside city where the artist was born in 1881 (he died in Brussels in 1946) are unlike anything known, even if we have attempted to classify their author among the Symbolists, perhaps because of his friendship with the poet Emile Verhaeren . As for his portraits, most often full-face, haggard, hallucinated faces, they are akin to expressionism. You can’t miss the exhibition of an unclassifiable painter, especially since it is the first in France for forty years.

Some news from France, CCCXV September 6, 2020

And in my beloved Yvelines they are thinking of eliminating the tolls on the route to Normandy A13! The highway/motorway management company could set up gantries that would replace the barriers. Enough to improve traffic flow and reduce pollution. The A13 toll, which sees 57,000 users pass per day, could disappear in favor of a gantry system. This is innovating could work after all they are making more money than it cost to built and maintained plus the speed tickets lol!

On a lighter news, dealing with transports. In nearby Saint-Nazaire; the largest ocean liner in the world makes its first outing! The 362 meters long ship is not expected to reach Shanghai, its future home port, before 2022. The Wonder of the Seas has changed holds with the help of the tugs because it does not yet have an engine.

The Louvre is also an art school!  open to everyone.  From 15 years old, for junior classes, up to retirees, for free listeners, the Louvre school has been teaching art and culture since 1882. Its classes, which resume on last Friday, are open to all.  Completely integrated into the Louvre from the start, the school moved and expanded 22 years ago in the west wing of the palace.

Crossed by the Loire, the city of the Dukes of Brittany, Nantes, has always been a point of meetings and exchanges. In the 18C, with the rise of the triangular trade, it was the subject of prestigious constructions: opera house, Place Royale … A cultural and artistic heritage that it has preserved over the years. Nerve center, the Passage Sainte-Croix is one of the many cultural centers in Nantes. Until September 27, the exhibition Main d’oeuvre questions the social and political role of the artist through a selection of videos in which hands make and unmake, shape, sculpt and deform. While David de Tscharner hammers a clay ball revealing faces, landscapes and animals, Beijing’s Song Dong symbolizes the fragile and ephemeral character of Chinese urban constructions by crumpling images of Shanghai projected onto paper. An original way to (re) discover contemporary art!

At Val-d’Oise dept 95 with its music festival, Royaumont is resisting. Heavily affected by the health crisis, Royaumont Abbey in Asnières-sur-Oise has bent over backwards to maintain its annual classical music festival, which begins Sunday.

In my always nostalgic Meaux. Seine et Marne dept 77. At the Museum of the Great War, (WWI) carrier pigeons, stars of historical reconstructions. This weekend, parades as well as many re-enactments or demonstrations are planned around the Great War Museum, on the occasion of the 106th anniversary of the Battle of the Marne.

The Festival du Cinéma Américain de Deauville. As every year at the beginning of September, Deauville welcomes a piece of America on its beaches and in its hotels, but especially in its cinemas. Thus, apart from the official competition composed as usual of 15 films, many titles will be added to the selection, which will include 100 in all, divided into 13 categories. This year exceptionally, a dozen films that should have been seen at Cannes in May, but also a well-deserved tribute to the sacred monster Kirk Douglas with a rich program of 12 films to which his name appears in the cast will come to complete the selection.  The 46th American Film Festival from September 4 to 13 at Deauville, Calvados 14 Normandy.

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 Aug2020 to Sep2020 !!! as I.

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