Category Archives: France

Art, France, Lifestyle, Paris

My Favourite Exhibition in Paris this Summer and a Fun Fair

6 Comments
Print pagePDF pageEmail page

I love the Tuileries Gardens in the late afternoon in summer. The crowds have died down and if it’s a fine day, the sunset will turn the Louvre a lovely shade of pink. There are four fountains, each with a different view. Just pick a chair and take it all in! But first, make sure you go to the free Ahae exhibition in a temporary installation on the Concorde end, just before the Orangery.

I’ve now been twice and each time, the effect when I leave the exhibition is the same – a wonderful feeling of lightness and serenity. Ahae is a Korean photographer who took 2 million photos over a period of three years from the SAME WINDOW. Not just any window, of course. He looks out onto a pond, maple trees and mountains. And not just any photographer either. His high-tech equipment includes a 1200 mm lens. The stunning result is often more like an impressionist painting than a photograph.

I particularly like his photos of birds in trees or in flight, although the dragonflies perched on reeds in the middle of the pond are not bad either!

When we left the exhibition, Relationnel suggested we take a walk through the fun fair on the other side. Not really my scene but it was actually quite amusing. The first attraction, for small children, consists of a series of large plastic see-through balls floating on water. Each blown-up ball has a zipper. The operator pulls the ball up onto the landing stage and opens the zipper. The child crawls in, the zipper is closed and the operator sends in a blast of air to fill it again. He then pushes the ball into the water. The children all seemed to be having a whale of a time crawling on the bottom of the ball and making it turn around.

However, when I saw the getting-in process, I couldn’t possibly imagine Black Cat at 3 or even 6 for that matter, being zippered into a plastic ball, having air blasted at her, then being thrown into the water in a ball she couldn’t get out of. I watched the next child come along and was not surprised to hear her scream as soon as the air was fed in. The operator undid the zip and she got out, sobbing. However, another little girl, who had just finished her ride, asked if she could go instead, so I guess it’s something you get used to.

Maybe it’s all in preparation for the most horrendous (adult) ride of all – a large arm with an 8-person swing on each end – that had everyone goggling. Relationnel was fascinated watching the riders’ faces. I couldn’t even look at it without feeling ill!  He said they all looked as though they’d had enough after one round, but it then starts turning in the opposite direction. Strong sensations are not my thing, I’m afraid.

Even the traditional ferris wheel is not within my possibilities but it’s much more attractive, particularly in the late afternoon!

Practical information:
The Ahae exhibition is open every day from 10 am to 10 pm and the Tuileries Gardens from 7 am to 11 pm. Until 19th August.
France, Sightseeing

Monday’s Travel Photos – Orange, France

1 Comment
Print pagePDF pageEmail page

I’ve always thought that Orange was a strange name for a town. Located 200 k south of Lyon, in the Vaucluse, it was founded in 35 BC under the name of Colonia Julia Secundanorum Arausio, supposedly after a local Celt. How it went from Arausio to Auranjo to Orange, no one seems to know but there were so many different populations around at the time that anything is possible! However, it is now famous for its Arc of Triumph on the old Via Agrippa, more than 2,000 years old and in excellent condition, and its Antique Theatre, one of the best preserved in the world. We began the visit with a short film and were then given headsets and strolled around listening to the excellent commentary. There isn’t much else to see in the town, but the Arc of Triumph and the theatre are well worth a visit.

Arc of Triumph, Orange
Arc of Triumph seen from one side
Antique Theatre, Orange
Front stage of antigue theatre

 

Tiers, antique theatre
Behind the tiers in the antique theatre
France, Lifestyle

Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo

16 Comments
Print pagePDF pageEmail page

You may remember back in May when I woke up alive for the 3rd day running after smashing my head into a very low authentic Renaissance beam at Closerie Falaiseau that you are supposed to duck under to go into one of the rooms.

Well, this may just be the sequel.

It’s Monday morning. I wake up with a slight headache, get dressed and have breakfast. I read my emails and discover, to my great dismay, that I have MIXED UP the dates of the big family reunion in Australia and Black Cat and her Dutchman have just bought their tickets, missing the reunion by a couple of days.

I phone Black Cat to see whether the tickets can be exchanged. I suddenly feel terribly nauseous.  I feel so bad that I go and lie down. I sleep for a while and am woken up by the phone ringing in the office. I answer it. A client is asking for a deadline for an enormous translation and I try and concentrate. I actually feel fine. As the conversation comes to an end, I feel desperately nauseous again. I get up and my head starts pounding. I feel a little dizzy. I grab a plastic basin and head for the bedroom.

I sleep again and am woken by skype. The headache and the nausea seem to have disappeared. I go into my office and talk to Leonardo for a while, even phoning my accountant to answer a question about the French company he’s finally getting around to closing. The nausea suddenly hits me again. I make a beeline for the bathroom and, limp and hagged, make my way back to the bedroom.

After a while, the nausea disappears but the headache stays. When Relationnel comes home for lunch, I tell him I need a doctor. He phones S.O.S. medecins (normal doctors don’t do house calls any more and mine’s on holiday anyway). The doctor, looking young and spruce, arrives within ten minutes, which is totally unheard of. It turns out he was very close by. You usually have to wait for at least a couple of hours.

He asks me a few questions, examines me quickly and gets me to sit up. He forces my head suddenly in one direction, then in another.  He crosses my arms and PUSHES ME, almost without warning, on to the bed on my left side. He pulls me back up and asks me if I feel dizzy. He repeats the performance twice, once on my right side and once on my back. By then, the nausea has really set in. He gets me to stand up. The dizziness has disappeared.

He then explains that I have something called “vertige paroxystique” and explains that one of the little crystals you have in your ear to help keep your balance has escaped from its normal home and is causing the problem. Relationnel hears this from the doorway and thinks the doctor’s a complete fake. But I know that he’s right. He explains why he’s ruled out other possibilities – no fever, the fact that lying down improves the nausea and dizziness, etc. I ask how you get it and he says it is usually caused by a head injury, infection, or other disorder of the inner ear, or may have degenerated because of advanced age. I have no hesitation in eliminating the last reason and choosing the first!

He then writes out a prescription to see a physiotherapist and gives me something for the headache and nausea. Relationnel spends the next one and a half hours trying to find a physio who knows what he’s talking about, is not on holidays and is willing to make a house call. He’s about to give up, suggesting that it might improve spontaneously anyway, when he finds someone close by who says it’s his speciality. Bingo!

I sleep for the next few hours. A very friendly young man arrives at 6.30 and explains the crystal business in greater detail. He then does a few manipulations, nowhere near as violent as the doctor’s, and is a bit worried because I don’t seem to have a normal “clinical” case.

He finally leaves, particularly as the nausea seems to have abated and the headache and dizziness have disappeared, saying he’ll come back next day with his infrared glasses to test my pupils. He tells me that I should rest for a bit then get up and about. I do so and by the time Black Cat arrives for our weekly dinner, I’m able to prepare the meal with her help and eat.

Next morning, I feel tired, but all the other symptoms have disappeared.

All I can say is THANK GOD FOR PUSHY DOCTORS!

Cooking, France, Paris, Restaurants, Sightseeing, Wine

Lunch Cruise on the Seine – Paris Restaurants: My Short List for What Stays Open in August (2012) – Gigondas: perfect food, wines & weather… and a good idea

Leave a comment
Print pagePDF pageEmail page

The wonderful weather is more or less lasting so make the most of it! Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, took a lunch cruise on the Seine this week, Abby from Paris Weekender checked out a few places to eat and drink that are staying open in Paris during August, when nearly everything shuts down, while fellow Australian, Lincoln from Vinosolex, whose blog I have just discovered, tells us about a wonderful food pairing celebration in Gigondas. Enjoy!

Lunch Cruise on the Seine: Tourists Get to Have all the Fun!

by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use

Dinner at Le Dôme, shopping at Galeries Lafayette, riding around the gardens of Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte in a golf cart – sometimes it seems that tourists get to have all of the fun. Fortunately, my father-in-law’s visit gave Stephane and me a very good reason to momentarily forget about the long list of things that we still need to do before we travel to the U.K. on Thursday and savor the beauty of Paris.

If you haven’t already done a Bateaux Parisian lunch or dinner cruise on the Seine, I hope that this photo report will give you a good idea of what to expect: panoramic views of many of the most important monuments, live musical entertainment and a better-than-expected meal. Read more.

Paris Restaurants: My Short List for What Stays Open in August (2012)

by Abby from Paris Weekender, an American living in Paris who offers suggestions for Paris weekends, either staying put or getting out of town

Paris is notorious for shutting down in the month of August.  Last year, I gave you my short list of top restaurants that stay open for all or a good part of the month.  And I figured it would be helpful to have an update for 2012!  See my Crème de la Crème list for more details on each establishment. Read more.

Gigondas: perfect food, wines & weather… and a good idea

by Lincoln from Vinosolex, an Australian now living in Provence visits France’s vineyards on a 1968-model Solex motor bike. Discovering the magic of France at the right pace, with a focus on the Rhone valley.

There are good ideas and very good ideas.
This was a very very good idea.

The young vignerons of Gigondas convinced four of the region’s best cooks to come along to the village’s central square and cook to their hearts’ content. Then they got twenty of the appellation’s vignerons to roll out their barrels and pull out their corkscrews. They threw the gig open to the public for the very modest price of 25€ and waited to see if anyone bit.

 

Art, France, Loire Valley

Profile: John Modesitt, American Impressionist painter in France

1 Comment
Print pagePDF pageEmail page

You may remember that I talked about our first guests in Blois – the American Impressionist painter, John Modesitt, and his wife, Toshiko – in a previous post entitled A Painter Comes to Stay. For my monthly guest post on My French Life, I skyped John at his home in San Diego to gain more insight into his love of France and his experience painting in the Loire Valley.

Below is an exerpt from the resulting post published on My French Life, the global community of French and francophiles connecting like-minded people in English & French.   

My love of Impressionist painting goes hand in hand with my love for France. So when I discovered that the first guest at my gîte in the Loire Valley was the well-known American Impressionist John Modesitt, I was thrilled.

I was even more delighted when I saw his latest paintings drying on the floor of the kitchen. And I loved and wanted them all! In the end, we chose ‘The Loire at Blois – Noon’ which is now in our living room in Paris. When we retire to Blois in 2014, it will grace the walls of the very house John was staying in when he painted it. Read more.

 

Burgundy, Cycling, France, French customs, Germany, Paris, Sightseeing, Travelling

Paris Plage on a Saturday – Bacharach-on-the-Rhine – Biking in Burgundy: Upcoming Wine Events and Festivals

4 Comments
Print pagePDF pageEmail page

This week, even Paris is on holiday.  Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris has captured the essence of Paris Plage which has got off to a wonderful start with exceptional weather. It’s supposed to be 30°C every day this week. Andrea from Destination Europe reports on the delightful little German village of Bacharach-on-the-Rhine whcih will make you want to include it in your next trip to Germany while Experience France by Bike has lots of suggestions for wine festivals and events this summer in Burgundy. You can enjoy them even if you’re not a cyclist!

Sunday’s picture and a song – Paris Plages on a Saturday

by Mary Kay from Out and About in Paris, an American by birth, Swiss by marriage, resident of Paris with a Navigo Pass for the metro that she feels compelled to use

Vamos a la Playa! After weeks of grey skies and rainy weather, Parisians put on their flip flops and swimsuits and headed to the beach this morning. They didn’t have to travel far because the city of Paris has been creating an artificial beach along the Seine for its residents and guests since 2002. With deck chairs, ice cream vendors, bands, street performers and the smell of suntan lotion in the air, Stéphane and I felt as if we had been magically transported to a seaside locale.

To enhance the illusion, here’s the song that used to blast from the speakers of our little Fiat Uno as we whizzed along the highway from Switzerland to the beaches of Italy, Monaco or France. Listening to it now, I realize that it’s not a great song. But in those days, it was synonymous with freedom. No work, no worries…just long luxurious hours spent relaxing on the beach. Read more

Bacharach-on-the-Rhine

by Andrea from Destination Europe, also an Aussie Expat who’s been living in France for the last 5 years, food and travel blogger

While looking for a place to stay in between visits to Trier and Heidelberg, we stumbled across one of the most perfect German villages I’ve ever seen. Bacharach on the Rhine is made up almost exclusively of medieval timber framed houses with the oldest dating from 1368.

Sometimes when visiting Germany I get a bit bored with seeing this kind of architecture everywhere but Bacharach is so quaint and adorable I loved every minute I spent there. Each house is so well preserved and maintained it really is like stepping back in time. Read more

Biking in Burgundy: Upcoming Wine Events and Festivals

by Experience France by Bike, an American who loves biking anywhere in Europe, but especially France, which has the perfect combination of safe bike routes, great food, great weather and history

Are you fortunate enough to be cycling in Burgundy in the next couple of months?  Perhaps bicycling on the Vineyard Trail in the Cote de Beaune, or along the Canal du Centre or Burgundy Canal voies vertes?

If so, why not plan to visit a local wine festival? If you’ve never stumbled upon a festival while touring the French countryside,  you are in for a treat.  They are an experience of a lifetime.  They remind me of old fashioned festivals that I remember going to when I was a kid: lots of food, games, pony rides and music.  And of course wine. Read more

Flowers & gardens, France, Lifestyle, Loire Valley, Renovation

Our Little House in Blois

6 Comments
Print pagePDF pageEmail page

No, I’m not talking about our Renaissance house built in 1584 but about the little house next door which Mr Previous Owner had the foresight to buy while the ageing owner was still living there, thus guaranteeing that there would be no close (and potentially noisy) neighbours. The little house includes a barn and both buildings give directly onto our garden. When we move into the Closerie for good in October 2014 after Relationnel retires, he will completely renovate the little house and turn it into gîte and we will occupy the “big” house completely.

In the meantime, we’ve turned the ground floor of the big house into a gîte and when we come for weekends, we use the upstairs, which has two bedrooms, a bathroom and a beautifully dimensionsed living room, all overlooking the unbuilt (and unbuildable) land opposite. On the other side is the Loire River. Nothing can be built there because it’s floodable. We’re not afraid of flooding because we figure that if our house has been here for 400 years, it’s pretty safe.

Initially, we thought we’d have a makeshift kitchen in the little room next to the living  room but after banging my head on the low doorway and learning that anything you do in the living room can be heard in the bedroom of the gîte below, I came up with the brilliant idea of using the little house instead.

It’s somewhat delapidated after years of not being used, but after a good clean and airing, the kitchen, which gives directly onto the garden, is perfectly usable. The sink has cold water so we installed a dishwasher and brought in other bits and pieces of furniture from the other rooms left by Mr Previous Owner. We even have a marble-topped wash stand that makes a perfect sideboard. That way, even if we don’t have anyone staying in the gîte when we come, we don’t have to clean it all again when we leave! Relationnel was a little reticent at first, but the system is working well. We  bought a garden table and two chairs so that we can sit outside as well, particularly when we’re having a barbecue. Sometimes, we “picnic” in our real garden!

In the living room of the little house there is an unusual fireplace made of very dark brick. We haven’t decided yet whether to keep it or not when we renovate. It seems a bit massive. It’s actually darker than in the photo, almost black. What do you think we should do with it? Unfortunately all the oak beams will need to be stripped as well.

The garden is overgrown, but we actually like being surrounded by waist-high daisies and it has the tallest hollyhock we’ve ever seen. It must be about 4 metres. There are wild strawberries as well but unfortunately for Relationnel (I don’t like strawberries), something is getting to them before they turn ripe each time. When we eat in the garden, it’s like being on holidays!

Accommodation, Belgium, Cycling, France, Sightseeing, Travelling

Liege-Guillemins – Europe’s Most Impressive Railway Station – Fougères and the St. James American Cemetary, Brittany – Cycling the Atlantic Coast: Likes, Dislikes and What I Would Do Differently

4 Comments
Print pagePDF pageEmail page

In my bloggers’ round-up this week, we start off in Liège in Belgium with a description of an iconic railway station by Kathy Standford from Femmes Francophiles who also shares her impressions of the Thalys train service. Abby from Paris Weekender then takes us on a trip to Fougères, which is also one of my favourites, discovered by accident on a return trip from Brittany. Experience France by Bike then sums up her recent trip along the Atlantic Coast.

Liège-Guillemins – Europe’s Most Impressive Railway Station

by Kathy Stanford from Femmes Francophiles a fellow Australian and Francophile who is spending 3 months in Europe, based in France

In just over 2 hours after boarding the Thalys train at Gard de Nord in Paris, I arrived in Liège, Belgium at the spectacular Liège-Guillemins station. It has been described as one of the most impressive railway stations in Europe – and I would have to agree. Designed by the Spanish architect, Santiago Calatrava Valls, it was inaugurated in 2009. Nestled against a tree-covered hill, the station is described to be in the shape of a woman lying on her back. It is easy to see why with its steel, glass and white concrete, wavelike structure rises 32 metres and extends 160 metres. Read more.

Fougères and the St. James American Cemetery, Brittany

by Abby from Paris Weekender, a collection of ideas for Paris weekends: staying put and getting out of town

Near the border of Brittany and Normandy in the department of Ile-et-Vilaine (Brittany), equidistant between Rennes and the northern coast, lies the medieval city of Fougères. I had often driven right past Fougères. It’s hard to drive all the way to Brittany and not head straight for the coast. Yet Fougères makes a perfect stop for a few hours on the way to Le Mont-Saint-Michel, Saint-Malo, Dinan or further west. Read more.

Cycling the Atlantic Coast: Likes, Dislikes and What I Would Do Differently

by Experience France by Bike, an American who loves biking anywhere in Europe, but especially France, which has the perfect combination of safe bike routes, great food, great weather and history.

Looking back at my recent bicycling trip along the Atlantic Coast of France, the first word that comes to mind is adventure.  This is funny because that really wasn’t what I had in mind as I embarked on this trip!  This was my first trip to explore “La Velodyssee”, the French portion of EuroVelo 1, stretching from Roscoff to the Spanish border and I really had no idea what to expect as far as the route was concerned.  I researched the route thoroughly, knew which deviations I wanted to take, and, like all cyclists, hoped that the weather would cooperate. Read more.

Cycling, France, Loire Valley, Uncategorized

At Your Age and In Love

12 Comments
Print pagePDF pageEmail page

It’s an excruciatingly hot day in the Loire Valley and we’ve waited until quite late to go bike riding. After cycling about 15 K from Cour Cheverny, we’ve had our picnic dinner by a little lake in Bracieux and I want to find a place to have coffee. Relationnel doesn’t hold out much hope – it’s Thursday evening and Bracieux is a village with about 1300 inhabitants.

We ride into the centre and immediately come across a bar with a terrace jutting out into the street. We lean our bikes against the railing and Relationnel goes off to order. I think I hear someone say “Oh, they’re so cute!”. I look around but can’t see anyone that could possibly be described as cute.  I stand back a bit to take a photo of the café. Relationnel turns at the door to ask me what I want.

Our coffee comes and we drink it. I sneak a look at the other people on the terrace. They all look like regulars with a couple under their belt. A young woman and two men between 30 and 40 at one table and two men in the early thirties at the table closest to us. Relationnel goes off to pay. “Excusez-moi”, says one of the young men, “I just have to tell you how cute you both are.” Relationnel comes back at this point and hears the end of the conversation, “Like that”, continues the young man, “out for an evening ride, at your age, and in love”.

Relationnel (whence his name!) replies, “Yes, the most important part is being in love.” The young man isn’t quite sure what he means. “Finding the right person is the hard bit,” says Relationnel, “Bikes are easy to get.”

We ride off to visit the 17th century market place and as soon as they are out of site, we go into hysterics. “At our age”. Oh dear!

 

France, Travel photos

Sunday’s Travel Photos – Bains sur Mer, France

3 Comments
Print pagePDF pageEmail page

The summer holidays in France are about to happen. Most people go away sometime in July or August. One of the closest seaside areas is Normandy. The only problem is that it’s not very warm! However, there are some lovely places to go and Bains-les-Mains, with its beautiful painted façades is one of my favourites, particularly when we’re cycling. And don’t you just love the little white beach huts? These photos were taken last year on 1st August.

 

 

 

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...