Having nothing to do with travel but everything to do with France (albeit a France from the 50s), I thought this merited at least one blog post.

While some would find it to be just trash, we thought this old newspaper was a little treasure from the past, a peek into French life 50 or so years ago – and well, who doesn’t think that some found objects rule? I absolutely adore finding old newspapers (unless there’s something vile on it like poo or vomit). It doesn’t have a date on it but I think it’s from the 50′s based on the content. I’ll be posting little bits and pieces of it in the next few days.

YAY! I was SO HAPPY that the comics page was intact (click on the photo to enlarge it). Here’s a comic strip that was actually adapted from a book by the short story writer, Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893) called, Notre Coeur. I guess France back then (at least in the comic strip world) was pretty literary; I mean, there’s a lot of text and it’s hard to compare it to contemporary comic strips of today. I wonder if kids back then even liked this comic strip. It’s not as fun as Calvin and Hobbs, afterall. Anyway. The actual book, Notre Coeur was published in 1890 and was Maupassant’s last book published while he was still alive. It’s a love story. But of course!

To read the free ebook of Notre Coeur by Guy de Maupassant, download it here. (from La Bibliothèque électronique du Québec)

If you wanted to take a historically deeper look into the City of Light, here’s somewhat of an eco-tour of Roman Paris that might be of interest to you. “Eco” only in the sense that you take the visit from the comfort of your computer since it is an online tour. No driving, no flying anywhere = no carbon (dioxide) footprint traces, just you discovering life in Paris during Roman times. And no tired feet!

The site is filled with information on the history, architecture, antiquities and daily life of Lutetia (Roman Paris), traces of which are still visible.

Take the Tour of Paris, a Roman City

Tags: france, french, lutetia, paris, romans, paris+a+roman+city, online+tour

For what it’s worth, here’s a list of gift book ideas. I started this list way too late but it could be helpful to some of you who are very last minute shoppers in need of gifts for francophiles. (For last year’s lists of Gift Ideas for Francophiles click here: Part I, Part II & Part III)

Travel Guides
1. One Hundred & One Beautiful Small Towns in France by Simonetta Greggio
2. Lonely Planet France (2007) by Nicola Williams and Oliver Berry
3. France From the Air by Patrick Poivre d’Arvor, Catherine Guigon, and Yann Arthus-Bertrand
4. Provence Made Easy: The Best Sights and Walks of Provence and the French Riviera (Open Road Travel Guides) Paperback by Andy Herbach
5. Drive Around Dordogne and Western France: Your guide to great drives by Eric Bailey today

On Learning French
1. French: The Complete Language Course (Learn in Your Car) by Henry N. Raymond
2. French With Michel Thomas: The Fastest Way to Learn a Language (Deluxe Language Courses with Michel Thomas) by Michel Thomas
3. Rick Steves’ French Phrase Book and Dictionary by Rick Steves
4. Better Reading French : A Reader and Guide to Improving Your Understanding of Written French by Annie Heminway
5. 501 French Verbs: with CD-ROM (501 Verb Series) by Christopher Kendris and Theodore N. Kendris

On Paris
1. The Paris Cafe Cookbook : Rendezvous and Recipes by Daniel Young
2. The Historic Restaurants of Paris: A Guide to Century-Old Cafes, Bistros, and Gourmet Food Shops by Ellen Williams
3. Paris: An Architectural History by Anthony Sutcliffe
4. Antique and Flea Markets of London and Paris by Rupert Thomas and Egle Salvy
5. Alphonse Mucha: The Spirit of Art Nouveau by Victor Arwas

On French Things, History & People
1. Absinthe: History in a Bottle by Barnaby Conrad
2. The Cooking of Southwest France : Recipes from France’s Magnificent Rustic Cuisine by Paula Wolfert
3. JJacques-Louis David’s ‘Marat’ (Masterpieces of Western Painting) by Will Vaughn
4. Chanel: A Woman of her Own by Axel Madsen
5. The Wines of France: The Essential Guide for Savvy Shoppers by Jacqueline Friedrich
6. Culture Shock! France: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette by Sally Adamson Taylor
7. The Road from the Past: Traveling through History in France by Ina Caro
8. The Color of Liberty: Histories of Race in France (Paperback) by Sue Peabody
9. France and the French: A Modern History by Rod Kedward

I’ve been in the U.S. for a while now and yesterday I had dinner with my mum and a few of her neighbors. One of these neighbors is a 83 year-old woman. She liked sprinkling the conversation a lot with, “When I was a little girl…” I didn’t mind that at all because what she recounted seemed so wild, interesting and seriously 70-something years back in the day. My mum actually has heard all of these “When I was a little girl…” stories (several times) so she was trying not to appear as bored as she actually was.

Anyway, this little old lady neighbor of my mum had mentioned that when she was a little girl growing up in northern California, she and her family ate margarine but it was white and they had to add yellow coloring to it. The margarine came with a packet they simply mixed in with the white butter substitute to make it a butter color. Eiuw, I thought – it reminded me of the evil Tartrazine. It also reminded me of when we’d go to a midnight movie at a certain movie theater in Germany, they’d give away (for free) bread slices spread with a white substance (resembling Crisco but when I asked Germans what this “spread” was, they said it was lard. Eiuw worse!) – anyway, I digress.

So. Margarine is white. Does that mean all margarine has coloring? Yes.

Back to granny. She then asked, “Do they have margarine in France?”

“Yes,” I said, “in fact, I think it was invented in France.” (remembering something I’d read somewhere.)

“Really??!” She was shocked that something was invented in France.

Some tidbits about Margarine (from Wikipedia):

In 1869 Emperor Louis Napoleon III of France offered a prize to anyone who could make a satisfactory (cheaper) substitute for butter, suitable for use by the armed forces and the lower classes. French chemist Hippolyte Mège-Mouriés invented a substance he called oleomargarine, the name of which became shortened to the trade name “Margarine”. Margarine now refers generically to any of a range of broadly similar edible oils. Some people have also shortened the name oleomargarine to oleo.

Manufacturers produced oleomargarine by taking clarified beef fat, extracting the liquid portion under pressure, and then allowing it to solidify. When combined with butyrin and water, it made a cheap and more-or-less palatable butter-substitute. Sold as Margarine or under any of a host of other trade names, butter-substitutes soon became a substantial market segment — but too late to help Mège-Mouriés: although he expanded his initial manufacturing operation from France to the United States in 1873, he had little commercial success. By the end of the decade both the old world and the new could buy artificial butters.

Some important health issues (from Wikipedia):

1. Harvard University researchers, in a 1994 study, reported that people who consumed hydrogenated oils, which are contained in many brands of margarine, had nearly twice the risk of heart attacks as those who consumed little or no hydrogenated oils. Several large studies, including the Nurses’ Health Study conducted by Harvard School of Public Health has indicated a strong link between earlier death and consumption of high amounts of trans-fat.

2. Many brands label their products legally now as “zero grams” trans-fat, which in fact means less than 500 mg trans-fat per serving.

3. Stick margarine contains the most trans fat; tub or liquid margarine has about two-thirds less.

4. Vegetable shortenings do not contain any cholesterol and have only 3g of saturated fat per tablespoon. However, they are high in transfatty acids.

[Source: Wikipedia]

Maybe I wasn’t paying attention in class the day they talked about this but the first time I’d ever heard about La grotte de Lascaux (The Lascaux Cave) and the prehistoric drawings there – was when we were visiting southwest France just about a month ago. At first, I wasn’t very excited about seeing them especially because the original cave is closed to the public and you can only visit a replica of it. I know: I was lame because I thought it would be so boring. I’m glad I we took the advice of the people around us and visited it afterall because it was surprisingly far from a snorer.
Christened “The Sistine Chapel of Prehistory,” these ancient frescoes are the most spectacular prehistoric cave paintings in the world. Dating back approximately 17,000 years ago, the original cave paintings at Lascaux, near the village of Montignac, are some of the earliest known art by man. Incidentally, Cro-Magnon man was the first to show signs of artistic ability according to scientists.

If it weren’t for two teenagers in 1940 who stumbled accidentally upon the cave whilst looking for their dog (that fell into a hole leading to the cave), we may never have known about Lascaux.

Sadly, they had to close Lascaux to the public in 1963 because the walls began developing a deteriorating fungus from all the visitors’ wows, oohs and ahhhs.

Soon thereafter, the French embarked on a huge project to build an exact, inch-by-inch replica of the Lascaux cave and the drawings. It took about 11 years.

The replica, called Lascaux 2, situated just 200 meters away from the original cave, opened to the public in 1983.

I first felt a bit resentful having to see a replica but it is nearly an identical copy of the first and it is truly amazing; the guided tour was excellent as well. You will be engaged by the bulls, elk and horses that seem to trot across a cave ceiling before your eyes. You’ll be tempted to decipher symbols and stories. Note: I don’t think this would be an interesting for claustrophobes, however.

The construction of the Lascaux II was a clear opportunity for scientists, to explore their hypotheses and knowledge about how the drawings and paintings were made.

They used the same kinds of materials they believed to have been used some 17,000+ years ago. Materials such as natural pigments like ochre, charcoal, and iron oxides. The images show animals, hunts, wars, symbols and other objects not easily decipherable.

If anything, the cave tour does inspire you to wonder about the lives of these ancient peoples. What they did; how they lived; what was their relationship to the animals around them. The scientist clearly say with certainty that animals were not domesticated until thousands of years later, but some of the images seem to point otherwise. How they can say that so confidently is beyond me because in the same breath, they will note that the Cro-Magnon man was only different to us in physical attributes (longer jaws that accommodated all their wisdom teeth! and also they were taller), and not in intelligence. In other words, Cro-Magnon man was as intelligent as man today. The 40-minute tour is very detailed and fascinating, and our tour guide was very pleased that the group was quite animated and many theories emerged into lively discussion.

Though there was a lot of debate about what could have been, clearly, these prehistoric murals and artwork, at minimum, testify to the existence of ancient and well-established civilization in the south of France, which is pretty neat.

Important Note: You cannot buy tickets onsite at Lascaux II; you must purchase them in the nearby town of Montignac, next to the Office de tourisme. Admission: 8.20 € (5.20 € for kids 6-12 years old); During the high season (May through August), reserve tickets one or two weeks in advance or arrive early. The office opens at 9am until they sell all of tickets for the day. Tours are available in French and English.

Books about Lascaux
The Cave Painter of Lascaux (a book for small kids),
Cave of Lascaux: The Cave of Prehistoric Wall Paintings (Famous Caves of the World),
The Cave of Lascaux,
Lascaux: Movement, Space and Time,
Prehistoric Art: The Symbolic Journey of Humankind

For more Information
Lascaux II: Semitour Périgord, 221 bis route d’Angouleme, BP 1024, 24001
Périgueux Cedex, Tel: +33-553-519503 or +33-553-056565
E-mail: contact@semitour.com
Website: Official Site for The Lascaux 2 Cave

Related: Where to stay in Dordogne: Rent a vacation house in Dordogne

^{[photos from the original Lascaux Cave courtesy of the Delluc and Laval Collections]}

Not to be confused with La Fête de Mai (Festival of May), A tradition from the Perigord, La Fête des Mais is a whole ‘nother thing altogether. After having seen many of these dead pine tree branches, with a French flag and a sign that said “honoring –someone–” throughout the Perigord, I had to ask what it was all about. Most of these signs said “Honoring the Owner” as in an owner of a business, but apparently, this tradition is basically applied to anyone, whether it is a person celebrating a birthday, an elected official, an owner of a new business or just about anyone else celebrating something important.

La Fête des Mai translates as the festival of the Mai trees, a tradition that goes way back when Mai trees were sacred and symbolized youth and fertility and was connected with the ancient goddess of nature, Maïa, from Greek and Roman mythology. Much later, other elements were added: a flag for victory and pride, and the sign specifying the honoree.

I happened to take a photo of one of the more quirky ones that had a strange picture of a claymation-like cowboy or something holding a gun and sporting a cowboy hat – next to a thought bubble with lots o’ dollar symbols. I guess the owner is a dollar-hungry, trigger-happy Texan…

There’s a French song by a guy named, Gérard Blanchard called, “Rocamadour,” which apparently was a huge hit in 1982. Now, if I’d listened to this song before going to Rocamadour, honestly, I might not ever had gone to Rocamadour. Sorry, Gerard. I’m kidding of course. For the bold and inquiring minds that wanna listen, click here for the song.

Warning: this is a song you shouldn’t listen to first thing in the morning especially if you’re not a morning person. The song starts, “aaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Here are the lyrics (in French).

Lucky for me, I heard about the song yesterday after I visited Rocamadour (for a day trip a couple of days ago). Ok, I don’t hate the song; I’m just amazed it was a hit. It’s a love song, believe it or not, and little kids were crazy about it because it is SO GOOFY.

Back to Rocamadour. This tiny southwest town (Region: Midi-Pyrénées, Department: Lot) is rather, a vertical village magnificently built into a mountainside, three levels stacked one on top of another. Lazies can take the elevator for 2 euros from the bottom level to the top level where there’s a private chateau at the peak of the cliff. Others can take the winding stairway that goes from the bottom Cité Médiévale, through the middle Cité Religieuse, then all the way to the top.

The bottom tier of Rocamadour, the Cité Médiévale is the village of merchants and restaurants. You’ll find gobs of foie gras shops and other touristy places for souvenirs.

The Cité Religieuse, the middle level, has seven churches and chapels, which is a lot of worshipping for a town of about 650 inhabitants! Actually, it is said that some time in the 12th century, the perfectly preserved body of Saint Amadour was unearthed. He was reported to have actually been the biblical Zacchaeus, a tax man who turned his life around after having dined with Jesus.

Since then, there were numerous (alleged) miracles that ensued, turning Rocamadour into an important site for pilgrimages as well as an official “Ville Sanctuaire de France” (Sanctuary Or Shrine Town of France).

On this middle level is a terrace called the Plateau of St. Michel. Look up to where the rock meets the main church of Notre Dame. There, you’ll see an alleged fragment of the sword called, Durandal, which belonged to Roland. (I thought Roland was a fictional character…)

The chateau is privately owned, and therefore, is not accessible to the public.

Lastly, there’s a AOC labeled cheese called, Rocamadour, a goat milk cheese that was named by the village, but I couldn’t find any Rocamadour cheese in Rocamadour!

[Related: Rocamadour Cheese Festival]

Tourist Office of Rocamadour
Guided Tours are available
46500 Rocamadour (website)
Tel : (33) 5 65 33 22 00

Tags: travel, france, rocamadour, cite+religieuse, cite+medievale, durandal, roland, ville+sanctuaire, pilgrimages, st.+amadour

Overlooking the Rhône River, Avignon, with its 14th-century ramparts, enloses a labyrinth of town squares, winding, cobblestone alleys, and narrow streets, and sits upon the beautiful white, rocky outcrop, le Rocher des Doms.


^{Palais des papes, invaded in Avignon}

The golden Gothic palace, le Palais des papes (the Palace of Popes) in Avignon, was known as “the biggest and strongest house in the world” during its glory days some several hundred centuries ago. In fact, over 700 years ago, Clement V, the then homesick French Pontiff shifted the papacy to Avignon due to political dissent in Italy. Stunned Romans called the move the “Second Babylonian Captivity of the Church” and during this time, seven popes expanded Avignon’s palace to rival the magnitude of their previous home, making Avignon a “Rome away from Rome.”

In 1377 the papacy was returned to Rome but only for a very short period, then went right back to Avignon soon after. Avignon remained papal territory until the Revolution. Though the palace was looted during the Revolution, the interior is still remarkable and a worth a visit. Be sure to get the most incredible, detailed and comprehensive audio guide of the palace (available in 7 languages) included with the admission ticket. Admission is 7.50 euros (Nov 1 – March 14) and 9.50 euros (March 15 to Oct 31).

Palais des Papes

RMG – 6, rue Pente Rapide
Charles Ansidei
84000 AVIGNON – FRANCE
Tel : +33 (0)4 90 27 50 00
rmg@palais-des-papes.com
Website: Information for the Palais and Bridge

Le Pont St-Bénezet

Le Pont St-Bénezet, also known as The Pont d’Avignon (The Avignon Bridge), is a 12th century bridge with only 4 of the original 22 arches intact. The chapel Saint Nicolas (dedicated to the patron saint of mariners), is housed on the second arch. The bridge was immortalized in a famous French nursery rhyme called “Sur le pont d’Avignon” and all French children know the song and the bridge. [More on the History of the Pont St. Bénezet]

Related Events in Avignon: Festival d’Avignon
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Lulu Lundi* features Lulu, our Boston Terrier, somewhere in France every Monday.

One of my favorite libraries, located in my hometown of L.A. has an exhibit in their online virtual gallery called, “Far and Wide: The Golden Age of Travel Posters,” one worth taking a peek at.

The wonderful collection of vintage posters show vacation destinations of the 1920s and 1930s, and it beautifully captures the era of steam ship travel and the very beginning of air travel. There are surprisingly a lot of posters of France.

Far and Wide: The Golden Age of Travel Posters at the Los Angeles Public Library

Tags: travel, france, vacations, vintage, art, posters, 20s, 30s, holiday, destinations, illustration

Tags: france, french, bastille+day, vive+la+revolution, july+14, french+flag, boston+terriers, dogs, lulu, fetes

Yesterday’s excitement about Jerry Lewis’ merited (or not) French Legend of Honor made me wonder about who else has received this illustrious medal. I’ve actually heard or read people having said (including Elisabeth’s comment) that the medal is given to everyone. I wanted to know who “everyone” was. I took a quick look at the list of the notables that received the medal. Among the recipients I first found: David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, Jules Verne, Simon Wiesenthal, Norman Mailer, Satyajit Ray, Olivier Messiaen, Charles Lindbergh, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Alexander Graham Bell. I think a majority of people would agree that these awardees probably deserve the recognition. THEN! There are the others: Sharon Stone, Gérard Depardieu, Rainier III, Prince of Monaco and Jerry Lewis. Why and how were they selected? You’ll have to find out yourself. I think that info would be available at the the official Légion d’Honneur website (in French). You could also check out the museum in Paris (info below). I think some truly merit the award and receive it, but then there are times the selection is based on their connections. How branché are they? Jerry Lewis must be buds with Jacque Chirac or something. Or, simply chock it up to great public relations people on the part of the latter listed recipients — or a famous two second crotch shot in a 90′s movie… Palais de la Légion d’honneur (and Museum) 2, rue de la Légion d’honneur 75007 Paris France Open daily (except on Mondays) 2–5 pm RER: Musée d’Orsay (opposite the main entrance of the Musée d’Orsay) [Also see the List of Recipients and the History of the Legion of Honor at Wikipedia]

Tags: france, travel, french, legend+of+honor, Légion+d’Honneur, jerry+lewis, sharon+stone, paris+museums

click here to enlarge the above photo

when passing by this hilly area of burgundy, it was hard to miss the hill, le mont charlet hosting a rather unattractive monument. from afar, we actually thought that it was an antenna for mobile phone access, but as we approached, we realized that it was made out of cement, and of course finally noticed the cross at the top. it turns out that this “antenna” was a monument dedicated to “our lady of supreme forgiveness” aka the virgin mary. the monument was built between 1925 and 1930 by an architect named, “renaud” who was also responsible for launching the particular style of architecture utilizing fortified cement. (i, for one, am grateful that it did not catch on). every year on september 8, people make a pilgrimage to this monument in the village of chiddes to pay homage to the virgin mary and baby jesus.

with a population of nearly 400 inhabitants, the hilltop village of chiddes has more residents than most of the other nearby villages so they actually have their own bakery, post office (open 9am to noon monday through saturday), library, equestrian club, folkloric group and restaurant! yes, this is exciting! make fun of me all you like but so many of these beautiful, quaint villages in france are dying out slowly, which is clearly a shame and extremely disquieting to me. chiddes is definitely worth a visit if you’re ever in the southern morvan region. there are hiking trails for the more active adventurers and there are ancient ruins from the 11th century in chiddes as well, to explore. chiddes also turns out a big andouille festival every year during the first weekend of may. this festival began more than a hundred years ago. no matter how old and traditional this fête is, however, i will not be attending.

chiddes was an active area of warfare between the resistance and the german occupation beginning in the summer of 1944. the maquis louis fighting with the resistance was located very close to chiddes in the nearby forest, Fraichots. Around the forest you’ll inevitably run into memorials like this one with the resistance’s symbol, the croix de lorraine (the double cross) commemorating the capitaine louis and his resistance fighters. the resistance used and wore this symbol to be able to distinguish them from the french nazi collaborators (who wore the french flag plus the swastika). the maquis louis played a major role in liberating the territory. [more about chiddes at the chiddes' website (in french)] ———————— Lulu Lundi* – every lundi (monday) is dedicated to an adorable boston terrier, lulu – you’ll find photos of lulu in different places around france and travel information posted exclusively each week on www.whytraveltofrance.com

i wasn’t going to write about this until sunday, which is epiphany – but it’s hard to ignore all of the galettes du roi (king cakes) in the bakeries right now. though i’m not really into religious holidays, i do love to eat (so we got a little galette). the galette du roi is something the french can do really, really well.

epiphany, or the feast of the kings is celebrated in france on the first sunday (after the first saturday) in january. the typical galette du roi is made of buttery, flakey fine pastry layers filled with frangipane, an almond cream paste. this is the cake found in the upper half of the hexagon (aka france). in the south, you’ll also find one filled with a fruit paste and another that is closer to a large donut-shaped brioche crowned with fruited “jewels” (representing the jewels on a king’s crown). baked right inside the cake is a tiny ceramic figurine called a fève (literally meaning a bean, which is what they put in galettes long ago). the person who finds the fève is declared the king (le roi) or the queen (la reine) and gets to wear the paper crown that comes with the galette.

on a symbolic level, the cake can represent fertile ground, the fève is like a seed that grows and brings fruitful harvests for the year to come, overall, bringing good fortune for all, during the entire year. the religious representation is more dedicated to the birth and baptism of jesus, the visit of the wisemen to bethlehem and the introduction of god to mankind.

it’s interesting to note that the tradition of “king cakes” was brought to the united states by the french colonists, and even today, king cakes (with a trinket inside) are eaten to celebrate “twelfth night” or epiphany (all the way through mardi gras) in southwest louisiana, particularly in new orleans, but also in parts of alabama.

If you’re in nice, france, please get your galette du roi (frangipane version) from tabarini: 220, ave de la californie, 06200 nice france – tel: (0)4 93 83 80 58. they’re SOOOOO GOOOOOD there! my SO and i once ate a GIANT galette in one sitting; yes, they’re that good — but no human should ever consume that amount of buttery pastry. we’re pigs, what can i say?

i’ll try to post a photo of the king/or queen this sunday, epiphany and the fève. (if i remember!)

click here to enlarge the photo

no, that’s not a panther in mid pounce, it’s lulu. she’s running like a wild maniac on the beach in sangatte, france. located in the north of france, not far from calais, the beach at sangatte is one of the most beautiful beaches in the north of france that is spacious, giving you lots of leeway to move around without bumping shoulders with strangers, which is excellent because…lulu needs space!

sangatte’s historical claim to fame took place on july 25, 1909 and is related to a pilot named, louis blériot who built his own plane and flew it from sangatte, across the english channel and landed in dover, england. it was the first successful flight across the english channel. it took 37 minutes. only about 10 people were in dover to greet him thankfully, he was awarded 20,000 francs (about 3,000 euros or $3,500) by the london newspaper, “daily mail,” which allowed him to successfully relaunch his flailing business and build 500 planes that were sold world-wide.

in more recent history, sangatte gained notoriety because it was the location for an immense refugee camp, housing immigrants (mostly kurds, romanians and slovaks) attempting to cross the channel to england. then, the evil nicolas sarkozy put a stop to that and the camp was shut down in 2003. the refugees were ordered to leave the territory but having used most of their money to get to france, they had no means to return to their countries. today, many of them live in the streets of calais and the surrounding areas, receiving only little help from volunteer groups and handouts. [source: Blériot-plage]

———————
*Lulu Lundi – Monday is dedicated to Lulu, an adorable Boston Terrier travelng around France.

This also serves up a steaming bowl of weekend dog blogging (#12) graciously hosted by Sweetnicks

tags: france travel sangatte dog blogging bleriot beaches french refugee camps english channel sarkozy

“…the myth of color-blind France is complex and flawed.
Nonetheless, it has exercised a powerful attraction upon both
[B]lack Americans and the French themselves.” ~Tyler Stovall, Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light

“In Paris, I lived in all parts of the city–on the Right Bank and the Left, among the bourgeoisie and among les misérables, and knew all kinds of
people, from pimps and prostitutes in Pigalle to Egyptian bankers in Neuilly. This may sound extremely unprincipled or even obscurely immoral: I found it healthy. I love to talk to people, all kinds of people, and almost everyone, as I hope we still know, loves a man who loves to listen.” James Baldwin, Nobody Knows My Name

You could visit Paris hundreds of times and get a completely unique idea of it each time depending on your own curiosity and volition. mileage will vary. For example, someone might simply want to see the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Amelie’s Montmartre, while others would be in search of something deeper and looking for more of a complex experience, an experience that is rooted in an entirely different aspect of Paris’ history – such as “Black Paris.”

Unknown to most of the millions of the tourists that visit the Cty of Light each year, there are tours and courses available particularly focusing on Paris’ history as it relates to the Africans, black North/South Americans, and black Europeans, who, for political and/or personal reasons made Paris their homes.

It’s an opportunity to find out about why so many blacks (Africans, African Americans and Europeans), many of them famous writers, artists and musicians, expatriated to such a complex and paradoxical space, Paris – and what it was like for them to be there.

There’s also a course being offered next summer that sounds like it’s going to be not only a fascinating learning opportunity but also a unique “lived experience.” During 4 weeks in paris, students from Indiana University, Bloomington will examine the politics of migration, the motives, implications and consequences of transnational life – all this though text, lectures, field trips, guest speakers, music and film. to be discussed: “Why Paris? is it a refuge from racism?”; “Who are the historical and contemporary black internationalists?”; “How does black Paris fit into the black experience in europe?” “What is the OTHER Paris?” “the Paris riots” and more. Black paris is a timely and significant topic in african american and african diaspora studies not to be ignored.

The Course: Black Paris: Migration and Cosmopolitanism in the City of Light
June 12 to July 7, 2006 – Paris, France

Tours: discover african-american history in paris, black paris tours, the insiders guide to black paris.
Other Sources: Cafe de la Soul

tags: france travel black paris tours sightseeing african americans african diaspora insiders paris
study

this week brings lulu to the city of calais, an important commercial french port town, in the north of france just along the strait of dover, the narrowest portion of the english channel. she decided to hang with “Les Bourgeois de Calais” (the burghers of calais), an impressive sculpture and one of the more famous works by french sculptor, auguste rodin (in the u.s. he’s probably better known for “the thinker” and “the kiss”). the sculpture represented a monumental historical event that occurred in 1347.

during the 100 years war, calais’ king philip vi abandoned the city, as it was taken under seige by english king, edward III. merci philip! the inhabitants were left to starve as edward III waited for the city to surrender. nearly a year later, with nooses around their necks and holding the keys to the city, six influential town citizens offered their own lives so that the king would consider letting the rest of the town live. luckily, none were killed with the help and urging of england’s queen phillipa (edward III’s consort), who was french and originally from the nearby northern french town of valenciennes. calais was returned to the french 200 years later.

rodin completed the burghers of calais in 1888, and there were several casts of it made after rodin’s death. while the original statue still stands in calais, other versions are scattered across the globe: Stanford University in California, in the sculpture garden of the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, the gardens of the Musée Rodin in Paris, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem and in Victoria Tower Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament in London.

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*Lulu Lundi – means Lulu Monday and is dedicated to posting photos of Lulu, a cute, traveling bostie in france – every Monday!

this is also serving up lulu’s heaping bowl of weekend dog blogging #10 chez sweetnicks!

tags: calais burghers of calais rodin travel france dogs dog blogging

talking about the waiter reminiscent of a pepe le pew gone bad at angelina the other day made me think about pepe le pew, the romantic-wannabe skunk character from the vintage cartoon library of warner brothers, and it made me wonder about how pepe le pew came about and what was the inspiration of his character, and how he was portrayed in france. (i mean, the very essence and soul of his character weighed heavily on his “frenchness.”) so i did a little digging.

pepe le pew was based on charles boyer‘s character, pepe le moko in the movie, algiers (1938) which was an american remake of the 1937 french movie, pepe le moko starring jean gabin, which, in turn, was an adaptation of the novel, pepe le moko by Henri La Barthe. whew!

where was i? actually, chuck jones, the creator of pepe le pew, based the character’s voice on monsieur boyer (some argue that it was maurice chevalier), his physical appearance is based on monsieur gabin and his personality is loosely based on the character in the movie, pepe le moko, as well as chuck jone’s colleague, ted pierce, a philandering hollywood writer.

for whatever reason, pepe le pew was born around 1945 premiering as an animated episode called, “Odor-able Kitty.” lots of other fun titles followed like, “Louvre come back to me,” “For Scent-imental Reasons,” (and many other punsterific titles that go over a kid’s head) – and cartoons with pepe were created all the way until 2003. what made pepe le pew a classic character was his singular personality, his amourous proclivities as a french skunk, and his excellent “frenchified” dialogue, “Do not come wiz me to ze Casbah – we shall make beautiful musicks togezzer right here!”

i’ve asked a few french people about pepe in france. ok, so they were no help since they grew up watching manga instead – but pepe le putois, as he was called in france, did SOUND familiar to them. apparently, pepe le putois was made to be ITALIAN, basically applying the same principles in the dialogue but with an italian twist: accent and some italian words sprinkled here and there. pepe le putois does have a bit of a following in france though much smaller than his anglophone counterpart.

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some semi-related trivia: in the movie, pirates of the carribean: the curse of the black pearl, johnny depp said he used the inspiration of keith richards and pepe le pew, to play his character, jack sparrow.

here’s a quote from johnny depp, “…I sort of thought that pirates would be the rock and roll stars of the 18th century, you know? Then, when you think of rock and roll stars, the greatest rock and roll star of all time, the coolest rock and roll star of all time, in my opinion, is Keith Richards. Hands down….What I loved about Pepe Le Pew was this guy who was absolutely convinced that he’s a great ladies man. And he’s a skunk. Watching those cartoons, this guy falls in love, deeply falling in love with this cat. The cat clearly despises him, but Pepe Le Pew takes it as sort of a, ‘She’s just playing hard to get. She’s shy. Poor thing.’ I always loved a character like that, just blinders no matter what the actual reality is happening around him. This guy sees only what he wants to see. Pepe Le Pew was the kind of character who always was able to run between the rain drops. He’d just always make it through.”

[via: Filmforce, wikipedia]

tags: pepe le pew cartoons france pepe le moko jean gabin algiers

a translation of mille feuilles in french is “thousand leaves.” it is made of 3 groups of rectangular layers of pastry puff and sandwiched with a cream filling and covered with a white icing and a tiny amount of chocolate sauce for decoration. just underneath the icing is a thin layer of raspberry jam. the one pictured was a bit haphazardly assembled but it tasted pretty goooOOOOOood.

the mille feuilles is believed to have been invented by Marie-Antoine Car�me (1784-1833), known as “the chef of kings and the king of chefs.” he started out as a pastry chef constructing impressive window displays of pyramids, temples and ancient ruins completely made from pastries and other edibles – then moved on to invent other things from innovative sauces and menus to kitchen tools. he is responsible for having invented the famous chef hat, the toque.

i personally think this is crazy but napoleon’s tooth will go up for auction on november 10. can’t wait to bid!!?? do they do a dna test on it? how can we believe that it is REALLY napoleon’s tooth??!

anyway, it’s expected to sell for up to 11,800 euros ($14,100). seriously. is it just me, or is this INSANE?

the whole thing is so suspect especially because last night i saw a documentary (on arte, which is like the equivalent of pbs or the beeb) about how scientists, archeologists, researchers, etc., have falsified their findings for money (of course) and to continue their grants.

all i gotta say is that if you spend 14 thousand bucks on a rotten tooth, you have some serious cash to burn.

[via sify]

(while we’re on the subject of napoleon, there’s some excellent info on napoleon and his empire)

getting all frustrated about missing halloween in france made me almost forget today’s holiday. it’s all saint’s day, celebrated in europe and deemed a national holiday. this year the french got lucky with “toussaint” falling on a tuesday – so monday was also a nonworking day i was told.

toussaint, also known as the day of the dead, is when many people go to cemeteries to offer flowers to dead relatives. (i now realize why my neighbor said he was going to the cemetery today.) in paris, the cemetery, pere lachaise, is known to have an extra load of traffic on toussaint. not just to see jim morrison but the thousands of other people buried there.

it’s funny because long ago, “the day of the dead” in europe was celebrated on october 31 (halloween!). the spirits of the dead were believed to be roaming freely. so, surviving relatives were to help these spirits complete their journey to the afterlife. people would dress up in frightening costumes and decorate gourds and other vegetables with scary faces to scare away the evil spirits, also known to be roaming around the earth. then…believing this practice to be evil pagan rituals, the catholic church promptly squashed it in the bud. they then declared a new religious festival and called it “toussaint,” a day to pay tribute to all the saints. party crashers.

a first glance at the village of la machine (burgundy) would leave you thinking that you have better places to be, but scratch a bit beneath the surface and oh, what you will find.

though largely an unremarkable place, la machine was quite a surprise when i found myself in the village’s primary attraction: the mine museum. no, i’m not at all interested in mines, coal, lime, nor their industry or process but what i found interesting there was its history. in 1916, the french government negotiated a labor deal with the chinese government to import low-wage chinese workers to france.

the first wave of chinese workers from shanghai arrived in marseille in 1917 and dispersed throughout france, mainly to the north to clean up the bloody battlefields (WWI), and to the suburbs of paris to work in the automobile industry factories (renault and citroen).

among the group of slaves immigrants, 372 chinese workers ended up in the mines at la machine being hired by the schneider company (the schneiders were sort of a dynasty for the then huge town of le creusot and owned mines throughout the region). though the original contract was to last for only 5 years, the group stayed from 1917 to 1935, 18 years! they were paid approximately 5 francs to work 10 hour days. i believe these were “ancient francs” in which case would amount to about 1 cent of a euro (less than 1 u.s. cent) a day. most of the workers sent money back to china but when the families received the letters, only a fraction of the original amount was included. information about the immigrants’ living conditions was clearly absent. additionally missing was the information about what the non-chinese mine workers were earning compared to their immigrant counterparts.

when the term finished, most of the chinese returned to china with the exception of about 20 people. some of the chinese moved to le creusot, 2 of them joined the resistance, some went to paris and a few remained in la machine. according to historians, there are no more chinese people left in la machine, as the last chinese immigrant died in 1981 at the age of 86 years old. however, a group of people that stayed for nearly 20 years had to have had an effect on the immediate population landscape, and i wish they’d continued their study past 1981. the face of chinese diaspora surely began to change in appearance in the la machine area but they aren’t considering the consequent chinese-french biracial generations. there have been some occasions, though rare, where i’ve seen people in this region that look like they might be of chinese origin (definitely of asian origin) and wonder if they had family members working in la machine.

the mine museum, 1, avenue de la Republique, 58260 la machine, france – tel: 03 86 50 91 08 (1 hour guided tours of one of the mines is available for 5 euros. claustrophobics need not apply.)

tags: france mines chinese diaspora