We were on our way to Lyon when we almost ran over this guy and his two Siberian huskies pulling him on his bike. Instead of running into him, we rode next to him to hand him a donation.

He’s Randolph Westphal and he’s been biking all over the world with his dogs for more than 14 years (around the world 4 times!) on a mission to share his experience as a cancer survivor visiting hospitals, hospices and clinics. More than two decades ago, his doctor’s told him he had about a year left to live because of his cancer but he’s still here 20 years later!

He’s been hit by an 18-wheeler, which put him in a coma, broke his leg, got attacked by a bear and more…and YET he continues.

Here’s more info on him to read about his trials, tribulations and successes. Riding for Cancer, Randolph Westphal (in German)

If you see him, give him some love!

A quick note to let you know that I’m on Twitter, especially for the people reading RSS feeds. Please look for me there because I definitely tweet more about France than I blog, for what it’s worth. You can find me here: PT Ford on Twitter (ptinfrance).

Although the government is about to reduce the subvention amount for environmentally smart home energy, it began offering a different incentive for electric bikes. Receive 25% off (up to 400 euros) if you purchase an electric bike in Paris. For the moment this offer is restricted to Paris and Paris residents only, which means you’re supposed to have a Parisian address to qualify. We were lucky to receive this offer when we purchased our first vélo électrique, which is awesome. We bought this bike here.

I’m not sure if this offer will apply to other French cities.

For more information: see velo electrique (French)

Breaking News!

French scientists have figured out the best way to pour champagne…Oui oui, a whole study (lab tests and all) was dedicated to the pouring of bubbly. I wonder how long they spent on this so-called study? *sigh*

From newsvine:

“The scientists at the University of Reims say pouring bubbly at a slant, as you would a beer, preserves more of the tiny gas bubbles that improve the drink’s flavor and aromas…They say the study matters not just to Champagne drinkers but to glassmakers. They note that the industry is researching a “new generation” of Champagne glasses specially designed to control the release of carbon dioxide, the gas that gives the drink its sparkle.”

[source]

To open the festival dedicated to Impressionism in Rouen, 1,250 people held large fragments of a reproduction of a Claude Monet masterpiece (La Cathédrale de Rouen, effet de soleil, fin de journée) above their heads yesterday in an attempt to create the world’s biggest live Impressionist painting. Neat! Watch the video by clicking on the image.

The success of Restaurant Week in cities like New York, Dublin, Lisbonne, Madrid, London, Miami and Los Angeles has inspired cities in France to give a go to a week dedicated to affordable gastronomy. Hundreds of participating restaurants will offer a unique menu priced at 20,10€ for lunch and 35€ for dinner.

I was looking forward to checking out several restaurants in our region, including Bernard Loiseau in Saulieu, but it’s not on the list!

For more information, visit Tous au restaurant.

French TV channel, M6, recently preempted a documentary exposing McDonald’s unhygienic practices, but it’s available (for the moment) to watch online at Dailymotion (Click on the image to watch the video).

An employee at a French McDo’s took in a hidden camera and revealed the dirty procedures some of the chain’s restaurants practice. It’s in French so here are some main points emphasized in the documentary (besides the fact that the employee isn’t wearing gloves!) for non-French speakers:

* burgers that have been sitting out are sold 4 hours or longer AFTER the time they should’ve been thrown out
* burgers that should be thrown out, are instead, frozen, then thawed out and sold the next day
* employees do not wash their hands or wear gloves
* employees remove expiration stickers and replace them to avoid throwing out old food

From the telegraph:

Nicolas Sarkozy has been caught on film telling a man “don’t get cheeky with me” after spotting him wiping his hands on his clothes after shaking hands. Mr Sarkozy looked visibly rattled as the man in his 20s made the highly provacative slur, filmed and broadcast by French TV channel TF1. The French president stepped back and jabbed his finger at the culprit, repeating three times “Fais pas le malin, toi” – meaning “don’t get cheeky with me”. The presidential loss of cool comes a year after Mr Sarkozy told a man at an agricultural fair to…

Read the full article and watch the video.

For those of you stuck in Paris because of Eyjafjallajokull’s wrath on Mother Nature (the Icelandic ash cloud grounding airlines in Europe), as well as other travelers, why not chill and take a dinner cruise on the Seine? Your diner croisiere will take your mind off of being stranded and instead send you on a floating gourmet tour to see all the iconic landmarks the City of Light shows millions of visitors each year.

While Blue Seine specializes in group cruises on the Seine, they do offer individual packages as well. Inquire on their website and bon vent!

Blue Seine
Email: contact@blueseine.com
Telephone Number: 01 56 89 88 98

Well, it’s ALMOST an office. Think of domiciliation as a sort of Mailbox Etc. kind of place but with more amenities. There’s a secretary to answer your calls and help with administrative duties, a snazzy address near La Bourse, furnished offices to use for meetings (but they must be schedule ahead of time), mail forwarding, you know, having mail sent to your REAL office address, which might be in your parents’ basement. Of course you’ll have to share your little bureau with many, many other businesses but with a little planning well ahead of time, you can probably get “your office” in Paris and convince people it’s a fancy schmancy enterprise!

Cap Elysées International
25 Rue Ponthieu
75008 PARIS
Telephone : 01.53.89.11.89 – Fax : 01.53.75.15.66

No Sarkozy Day
When: 2pm, 27 March 2010
Where: Place de la République
For more information: No Sarkozy Day

From parisnotebook:

Today marked the 17th “Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Française de la Ville de Paris” which translates to the “Best Baguette in Paris” contest. By luck of the draw, I managed to be selected as one of the jury members and spent an incredible 4 hours sitting next to Ghislaine Arabian tasting close to 150 baguettes.

It may seem hard to believe, but a lot of mediocre bread can be found in France. Walk into your average corner bakery and if you don’t know what to look for, or to ask for, you risk walking away with a very average, and at times inedible, baguette.

Bread has a long and intricate history in France and was once the main sustenance for… read the rest of this post

Le Grenier à Pain
The Best Baguette in Paris 2010
38 rue des Abbesses (in Montmartre)
75018 Paris France

From: newser:

Some 33 years after the last head rolled in France, the guillotine is back—as a cutting-edge display item in a Paris museum exhibit about crime and punishment. The former instrument of death was displayed at the request of Robert Badinter, the politician who ended the death penalty in France, who was thrilled to see his “old enemy” reduced to a museum object.

But with France currently facing overcrowded prisons and high rates of recidivism, not everyone shares Badinter’s view. “I think it’s a shame this stops at 1981,” one museum visitor told the Guardian. The 14-foot device had a long tradition in France, from the rolling heads of 18th-century revolutionaries to the final guillotine execution, in 1977, of convicted murderer-rapist Hamida Djandoubi in Marseille.

[via]

Musée d’Orsay
Exhibition: Crime & Punishment
16 March – 27 June 2010
Admission: € 8
Musée d’Orsay entrance:
1, rue de la Légion d’Honneur
75007 Paris France
Telephone: +33 (0)1 40 49 48 14

Please note that some of the pieces presented in the exhibition may be shocking to some visitors (particularly children).

From this just in:

“March 20 is the Jour du Macaron in Paris. This annual celebration, dreamed up five years ago by the famed pâtissier Pierre Hermé, finds pastry shops giving their meringue-y little delights away for free.

Customers are encouraged to make a charitable donation on their way out the door. It’s a sweet idea in celebration of spring and in support of research to treat rare diseases.

The crowds will be large this Saturday at Pierre Hermé, with fans lining up to choose any three of his famous macarons. Tempting flavors for spring 2010 include white truffle with grilled hazelnut and foie gras with chocolate, along with traditional favorites like coffee, caramel, and three kinds of vanilla. But Hermé isn’t the only one sharing his cookies. Heavyweights Jean-Paul Hévin and Sadaharu Aoki are also taking part. Bon macaron!

Free macarons on March 20 at these participating pastry shops

Pierre Hermé: six locations, including 4 rue Cambon in the 1st arrondissement, 72 rue Bonaparte in the 6th arrondissement, 133 avenue des Champs Elys ées in the 8th arrondissement (inside the Publicis drugstore), 40 boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement (inside the Galeries Lafayette), 185 rue de Vaugirard in the 15th arrondissement, and 58 avenue Paul Doumer in the 16th arrondissement.

Sadaharu Aoki: three locations, including 56 boulevard de Port Royal in the 5th arrondissement, 35 rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement, and 40 boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement (inside the Galeries Lafayette).

Jean-Paul Hévin: four locations, including 3 rue Vavin in the 6th arrondissement, 231 rue Saint-Honoré in the 1st arrondissement, 23 bis avenue de la Motte Picquet in the 7th arrondissement, and 40 boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement (inside the Galeries Lafayette).

Laurent Duchêne: 2 rue Wurtz in the 13th arrondissement.

Arnaud Larher: two locations, including 53 rue Caulaincourt and 57 rue Damrémont, both in the 1″

[via]

Yesterday’s round one primary elections resulted in a whopping 53% absenteeism! Did that many people just not care? Have the French given up? Are they so dismayed and disgusted with the current ruling party (UMP) and it’s little leader? Or, have they surrendered to the fact that the evil industry leaders are so powerful they can easily push greedy corrupt politicians to pass self-serving, destructive laws? [via]

After having left the south of France for Burgundy, finding cheddar cheese where we live  was ambitious if not impossible. We’d resort to grabbing a huge block of it from Phillippe Olivier in the north of France. Of course, that meant that we’d have to drive a long seven hours to get there. (Nevermind that I could visit my in-laws at the same time!) Now, it’s a little easier, seeing that I’ve stumbled upon Seriously Strong Cheddar cheese (from Scotland) at a nearby supermarket, which is part of a huge chain.

For an industrially produced cheese wrapped in plastic, it’s actually pretty good.  It’s crumbly, which supposedly means it’s a high quality cheese. (Info I’d gotten from a cheesemaker in Vermont). The one I bought said it was aged for 12 months, and while its brand name claims it’s strong, I didn’t find that it was particularly strong at all, but that’s okay it tasted good. I’m not fond of when the cheese is so sharp, it stings the palette in your mouth. In any case, this will be good for cheeseburgers, Mac n Cheese, Cheddar Cheese scones and just with bread or whatever, when you’re looking for variety away from the home grown French cheeses.

By the way, mature hard cheeses (Mimolette, Comté, Beaufort, Tome de Savoie, etc.) develop their sharpness in flavor because of the millions upon millions of dust mites inside them (not just on the rind). In fact, many of the master cheese makers trade these microscopic bugs, which has been a well-hidden trade secret for a long time…and for obvious reasons!

More about this news here: EU Approves Genetically Modified Potatoes (in English) and En autorisant la pomme de terre OGM, Bruxelles ne suit pas ses propres directives (in French)

From the telegraph:

^{Photo from AFP}

The 15th-century alabaster statues – considered treasures of medieval Europe – have never before left the city of Dijon, where they march perpetually around the base of the tomb of John the Fearless and his wife Margaret of Bavaria.

Now they can be seen walking two-by-two down a plain catwalk in the heart of the Met in the exhibition The Mourners: Medieval Tomb Sculptures from the Court of Burgundy.

Carved over a 25-year-period by Jean de la Huerta and Antoine le Moiturier, each statue represents a mourner – mostly ecclesiastical figures such as a bishop, a choirboy and rows of monks from the Carthusian order.

In their normal setting in Dijon they are only partially seen, as they are positioned between miniature Gothic arches lacing the base of the wealthy and powerful couple’s black marble tomb…

Read the full article

From the telegraph:

France’s reputation for culinary genius has traditionally set the standard to which all other countries aspire. It has always been synonymous with outstanding cooking, with its kitchens as important a part of Gallic culture as its art and language.

Not any more, according to a devastating investigation behind the kitchen doors of restaurants in Paris.

Rather than master chefs and fresh ingredients, restaurants in the world capital of haute cuisine are increasingly relying on microwave ovens and deep freezers to feed their customers, it found.

Industrially produced ready-meals, “flavour sprays” and untrained catering staff are all part of an unsavoury mix which is dragging down standards in French cooking, according to a documentary shown on France’s Canal+ station at the weekend.

It sought to prove that such deception is becoming increasingly common. Using hidden cameras and even searching dustbins, investigators found numerous restaurants trying to pass off third-rate food as the real thing.

Read the full article

Tagline: To smoke is to be a slave of tobacco.

It’s clear that who ever was responsible for this anti-smoking ad for teens in France was in search of shock value. The article from the telegraph says it shocked France, but I doubt that. It’s definitely in poor taste and has a lame sexual innuendo but I believe people here would just do their Gallic shrug and unexcitedly say, “Pffff.” I’m sure these anti-smoking ads will not in the slightest deter teens from smoking, in any case.

Here’s an excerpt from the telegraph:

The adverts, presented earlier this week, show an older man in a suit pushing down on the head of a teenager with a cigarette in her mouth, in a position that suggests oral sex. Another version of the advert shows a teenage boy in a similar position. The accompanying slogan reads: “Smoking means being a slave to tobacco”.

“The campaign trivialises sexual abuse – worse, it implies guilt on the part of the abused,” read one angry comment on the website of “Droits des Non-Fumeurs” (“Non-smokers’ Rights), the organisation behind the campaign.

Droits des Non-Fumeurs said the posters showed neither rape nor abuse, but were meant to shock.
The adverts, which will be published in newspapers and bars, are designed to target young people in France, who are beginning to smoke in increasing numbers despite a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants.

Read the full article

Velib bikes are fine and all but ever since trying out a bunch of different kinds of vélo électrique (electric bikes) at an expo a couple of years ago, I can’t go back to regular bikes. It’s not that I’m lazy (ok, maybe I’m lazy at times), it just seems like an obvious choice to have options in life: to pedal or not to pedal, that is the question. The ideal situation for me is to be able to both pedal when I want, then to switch to electric power when I need! Those latter situations being up a hill, on a long, straight stretch of road or when I’m tired. Or perhaps when dire consequences call for it, like being chased by a rabid French poodle. You never know.

This bike folds up all nice and neat so you can just bring your bike “package” with you instead of leaving it outside.

There’s a shop in the 13th arrondissement of Paris that is worth a looksee. Buzibi offers the quintessential vélo électrique for people who might share the same sentiments as I do about riding bikes in general. Purchase one or better yet, rent one at reasonable prices: 5 euros an hour or 49 euros for the weekend. (See the rates for exact pricing and long term rental information.) Or! Go to the vélo électrique store yourself to see all the models and to test drive one and see what you think. I can say with confidence that you will not ever want to go back to the old fashion versions. Vive le vélo électrique!

Buzibi
67 rue, Croulebarbe
75013 Paris France
e-mail: buzibi@buzibi.fr
Telephone: +33 (0)1 47 07 16 75
Metro: Corvisart (13th arrondissement)
Map

The last year or so in L.A. has proven that food trucks not only have evolved far past their “roach coach” days but also have inadvertently contributed to reducing people’s carbon footprints. These roaming restaurants that come to you, offer anything from gourmet Korean tacos, grass-fed beef hotdogs, cupcakes, Banh Mi, BBQ, sushi, crepes – you name it, you can probably find the meal on wheels you’ve been looking for. I like the idea of the Green Truck running on vegetable oil, using biodegradable containers and serving organic food. The only glitch is that the food is not local, which is understandable in L.A.

France has had food trucks for many years in the form of pizza trucks in the south and French fry trucks in the north, not to mention the awesome cheese trucks, butcher trucks, bakery trucks… oh! and roasted chicken trucks and more. Aside from the pizza and fries trucks, I haven’t seen much innovation in rolling fast food until recently, and this one is pretty cool.

Taking food trucks to a whole new level and incorporating today’s “green” needs, Christopher Mauduit and Fabrice Vanderschooten launched Hippo Facto last November near the city of Caen, which is located in north west France just about 10 miles inland from the English Channel. What’s not to love about it? Pulled by Percheron draft horses and dedicated to sustainable living and organic, local products, Hippo Facto couldn’t be more brilliant. Respecting the environment and serving fast organic and local fare that’s simple, healthful and creative, you can order fruit/vegetable juices, tartines, soups among other offerings. The containers are also compostable.

You’re right, I can’t imagine a food truck like this in a megalopolis such as Los Angeles. Picture the road rage of people behind the horse and buggy! Hippo Facto seems to work where they are. Of course, it takes them two hours to get to Place de la République in Caen. That’s all good considering there’s no fossil fuels involved, they don’t live in a speedy world and besides, some people commute longer than that in cars every single day. Now THAT’S crazy.

Hippo Facto
Every Wednesday & Friday
Place de la République – Caen France
On Weekends, they’re on the coast:
Bernières-sur-Mer, Lion-sur-Mer and Courseulles
Website: Hippo Facto

From the nytimes:

NOTHING about Châteauneuf-du-Pape is sleek or polished. It’s a rough-and-tumble wine, sometimes ungainly and fierce, but just as often warm, open, generous and full of pleasure.

It can be intense and complex — it’s not at all simple. Yet it sometimes can be as friendly as a big good-natured dog. Occasionally, it’s too friendly.

I was thinking about the overbearing side of Châteauneuf recently after the wine panel had completed a tasting of 20 bottles from the 2007 vintage. For the tasting, Florence Fabricant and I were joined by two guests, Vanessa Treviño Boyd, sommelier at Adour, and David Gordon, wine director at Tribeca Grill, which offers what is most likely the widest selection of Châteauneuf in New York.

We found some wines we liked very much, yet on the whole the 2007s left me unexcited. Stylistically, they presented Châteauneuf’s too-friendly side. Châteauneuf is always a big wine, but these wines were huge — full of lush, opulent fruit with powerful, jammy flavors.

If you like fruit-bomb wines, you will love …

Continue reading

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This little shop in Dijon wants you to know one thing and they’ve put it on their window loud and clear: Désolé. Nous ne vendons pas du made in China / Sorry, we don’t sell items made in China.

Sad news. Kiki the Parisian tortoise has died at age 146. News

From the telegraph:

The film, “La France change, ma région doit changer” (France is changing, my region should change) shows an eco-friendly house with solar panels on the roof, smiling schoolchildren and a mother hugging a little girl in a sunny garden.

A voice-over boasts about Mr Sarkozy’s achievements since 2007, and the benefits of living in France.

But the French TV channel Canal+ has discovered most of the footage was bought from Getty Images, and shot thousands of miles away in the US.

The family house used in the video is in Escondido, California – and UMP party bosses even failed to spot that a car parked outside it has US number plates. The class of happy schoolchildren from a mix of ethnic backgrounds live in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. And the mother with her child in the garden is really in..

Continue reading

Some people seem to have a need to know what it’s like to live like a hamster, and if you’re one of them, here you go. Hamster Hotel! Located in Nantes, live like a king hamster, eat seeds, run in a hamster wheel and sleep on hay, all for the *bargain basement* price of 99 euros. Free wi-fi, hamster people!

Hamster Villa
2, rue Malherbes
44000 Nantes, France

Pack up your car with your friends and family to spend some time in England. For their 15th anniversary, Eurotunnel is have a sale, and it’s pretty good. For a month from November 17th to December 17th (it should’ve been from the 15th to th 15th!), a roundtrip from Calais to Folkestone (or vice versa) and traveling on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, will cost 15€ only. The sale is good for same day trips but if you want to stay longer, just buy a second roundtrip ticket from the other direction (provided it’s during this month and on a qualifying day.) If you’re coming from England, it costs £15. This fee is per car so if you have many people in your car, it still only costs 15!

More information or call 08705 700 800.

NOTE: Quote promotional code: 15 years

From the cult of mac:

Apple today opened the first of a series of stores planned for Paris. The first, located near the famous Louvre art museum, coincided with the release of the Musee du Louvre iPhone app showcasing among other exhibits, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

The Paris store, first reported in 2008, includes a 7,700-square foot two-story layout with diamond-shaped windows.

Apple will quickly open a series of stores in France, including a location in Montpellier in the southern portion of the country. By the summer of 2010, the Cupertino, Calif. company hopes to open its third location in France, near the Garnier opera house.

Ron Johnson, an Apple retail senior vice president, said France could witness the fastest growth of the company’s chain of stores.

Order your Thanksgiving dinner and have it made for you, so you don’t have to try to fit a turkey in that tiny, French oven! If not that, perhaps you’re traveling or just don’t want to deal with it at home. How about going out for a real, Thanksgiving dinner à la américaine? The Bistrot Saint Martin is offering a feast for Turkey Day to eat in or take out, but reserve now as long as there are still openings. The in-restaurant dinner is 30€/person and includes:

Take out dinners include:

Bistrot Saint Martin
Telephone: 06 32 75 98 05/01 46 07 73 68
Email: lesaintmartin@yahoo.fr
Website: The Bistrot Saint Martin

Yesterday wasn’t the best time to go to Dijon, let alone any city in France because of the farmer protests. We usually know about these things in advance, but silly us, we didn’t watch the news on Thursday (or lately for that matter), like we usually do! Needless to say, when we arrived in Dijon, the traffic was très pertubé, and that wasn’t the only thing perturbed. The farmers were all over the city setting fires in the roads, throwing around trash, hay and animal poo (It smelled!), lighting huge bomb firecrackers, and making a huge mess causing hours of traffic delays. Once we got parked, which took forever, I took these photos. I’m lucky I had my old little camera in my purse.



And we noticed that the police were hiding far away from the rowdy agriculteurs.


Here’s a :30 video I took:

Following Sarkozy’s horribly embarrassing nepotistic naming of his 23 year-old son to the powerful political post inside EPAD, the reactions are numerous. Many college students are requesting to be adopted by Nicolas Sarkozy so they’ll have a better chance at “finding” a good job; people are outraged, defenders are insisting little Sarkozy got elected! Whatever. WHY do you think he was elected? A few words: HIS DAD’S URGING. Duh,people.

Anyway, this one’s my fave. It’s a hilarious spot advertising a fake iPhone app called, “L’application Jean Sarkozy pour L’iPhone.” You don’t need to speak French to understand what that’s all about.

Evian releases a limited edition bottle annually, and this year’s contribution is from British designer Paul Smith. I like the colorful and light-hearted edition with five different color bottle caps, and I definitely appreciate that it’s not plastic.

The bottles are not available to purchase at the moment but will be during the holidays.

Paul Smith for Evian – video.

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From Le Meurice’s FB:

Yannick Alléno, the Head Chef of Le Meurice’s 3 Michelin Star gastronomic restaurant, loves to reinvent classic recipes and has brought about a new meaning to breakfast in Paris, with the Choc’Alléno.

Created with Ladurée, the renowned Parisian café and pastry shop, the Choc’Alleno will be available in all Ladurée boutiques as well as for breakfast at Le Meurice from 11 September 2009. Looking to create is own version of the French croissant after being inspired by the chocolate aromas and colours at Ladurée, Yannick Alléno researched different types and textures of cocoa bean and decided to re-interpret the French art of “viennoiserie”.

The Choc’Alléno pain au chocolat and croissant are all-chocolate: the dough is made with chocolate and added cocoa beans to enhance the flavour, arousing a multitude of sensors in the palate – and making it impossible to resist.

The Choc’Alléno will be served for breakfast from 11 September 2009 in the Restaurant Le Meurice from 7am -10.30am weekdays and from 7am-11am weekends, for €36.

The Choc’Alléno breakfast will include:
o Choc’Alléno pain au chocolat
o Choc’Alléno croissant
o Chocolate baguette
o A selection of coffees, teas and hot chocolates (specially selected by the Head Sommelier Nicolas Rebut)
o Fruit Juice
o Chocolate chip butter
o Jam and Honey

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From wired:

Finally, fishermen off the northern coast of France have found a large parasitic isopod (a relative of the louse) that has evolved a rather hideous method for survival in its host: it gets into the fish’s mouth and then devours its tongue. It then attaches itself at the back of the fish’s throat where it presumably feeds of whatever the fish normally eats. The really bizarre part is that the fish doesn’t seem to suffer any ill effects other than the loss of its tongue.

From macgamesandmore:

With the 30,000 (give or take 10 to 20 thousand) iphone apps available at the Apple iTunes store, including free, paid and game apps, it can feel no less than overwhelming looking for quality apps. How do you find the needle in a hay stack? Millions of others like you and I browsing the app store feel this pain. The bad side to this is that there are too many poor applications and duplicates, triplicates and quadruplacates (if that’s a word). The good side to having a prodigious amount of apps is that within this sea of apps a significant number of them are really excellent. Yay. Of course, the problem of trying to locate those apps remains pretty elusive. This is why I’m only going to feature apps that stand out of the crowd.

Since apps haven’t really been on my radar, many of the great ones surely slipped by me but I serendipitously stumbled upon this ingenious Paris Metro iPhone App. Seriously, the developers of this one are Gods.

The Paris Metro iPhone App is a must-have app for residents of and tourists traveling in Paris. Forget the clunky paper maps and GPS with a battery life of about 3 minutes. You’ll only need your trusty iPhone 3G because this app takes full advantage of the augmented reality features.

Watch the youtube video of the demonstration (click on the image). It explains how it works. Note: It’s in French but the visual is self-explanatory.

The Paris Metro iPhone App is 99 cents at the iTunes store. Get it now.

From AP:

Paris’ Picasso Museum is closing its doors for renovations, spiriting away its masterpieces under high security to government warehouses for more than two years while seeking to expand the much-visited but cramped site.

The museum will be free to all visitors Sunday, the last day before the work begins.

It will stop lending out Picasso artworks during the overhaul, which will begin with experts updating, computerizing and restoring the inventory, museum director Anne Baldassari said Saturday.

The museum, in a baroque mansion in Paris’ Marais district, opened in 1985, and it traces the Spanish-born artist’s prolific career. Picasso died in 1973.

Renovation of the 3,000-square-meter (32,000-square-foot) space will begin early next year. It is expected to last two years and cost euro20 million, the museum said in a statement.

“It needs modernizing,” Baldassari said, citing electrical problems and the need to make it more accessible to people with reduced mobility.

She also wants to boost attendance — currently at about half a million people a year — and attract more young people by expanding exhibition space and adding halls for student activities.

While the museum has about 5,000 pieces in stock, it only displays 250-300 at a time, she said. “We can’t continue like this,” she said.

To guard against theft of the museum’s riches during the renovation, the artworks will be packaged and shipped, under tight security, to storerooms managed by the national museum authority, Baldassari said. The entire process is very “locked-up and watched by police,” she said on France-Info radio, declining to give further details.

Picasso’s paintings, sculptures and sketches are among the world’s most coveted artworks and are often targeted by thieves.

The museum will continue to host education and cultural events related to the Picasso collection at other sites while the renovation is done.

They keep saying that the French are the most productive people in the world year after year. A new study conducted by the UBS has reaffirmed this finding that although the French work the least amount of hours per year in the world, they still manage to be the most productive.

People work an average of 1,902 hours per year in the surveyed cities but they work much longer in Asian and Middle Eastern cities, averaging 2,119 and 2,063 hours per year respectively. Overall, the most hours are worked in Cairo (2,373 hours per year), followed by Seoul (2,312 hours). People in Lyon and Paris, by contrast, spend the least amount of time at work according to the global comparison: 1,582 and 1,594 hours per year respectively.

Maybe we should all work LESS and see what happens – but don’t blame me if you get fired from your job.

Dating from the end of the 17th century and standing 450 square meters (4,843 square feet), a chapel in the small village, Massat (Midi-Pyrénées), is up for sale. Or should we say it’s up for auction on eBay.

Interested? The good news: it features old stained glass windows, a romanesque porch, fine wooden beams and several decorative statues. AND. It has serious potential! The bad news: it’s still a fixer upper, desperately needing significant renovations on the floors, roof and electrical wiring.

The village’s mayor, Léon-Pierre Galy-Gasparrou, decided to sell it because the municipality can’t afford to pay for the repairs. Besides, there isn’t a permanent priest and there are two larger churches in the community.

Buy it now!

UPDATE: This listing was removed just after I published this blog post.

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From the telegraph:

“…The places under threat include some of the area’s most popular resorts. Bays popular with Britons from Mont-Saint-Michel along the Atlantic coast all the way to La Baule, a top summer beach destination, are now struggling to dispose of thousands of tons of Ulva lactuca – more commonly known as sea lettuce.

Doctors have warned that the algae pose a health risk as they produce hydrogen sulphide when they rot. That can become trapped under a seaweed crust and be as deadly as cyanide if released suddenly.

Two weeks ago, a horse rider lost consciousness after breathing in the toxic fumes on the beach in Saint-Michel-en-Grève, where 16,000 tonnes of the algae have already been collected this year. His horse was killed.

Pierre Philippe, of the Lannion hospital in Brittany, which also treated a council worker who fell into a coma while clearing beaches, said there were “almost certainly other unreported cases”. The seaweed has been multiplying abnormally fast due to the use of huge amount of nitrates used in intensive pig and poultry farming. The nitrates seep into the region’s rivers and end in the sea. Scientists said global warming could also be a factor.

The worst affected area is Saint-Brieuc on the Côtes-d’Armor coast of Brittany. Besides Saint-Michel-en-Grève, around ten beaches have…”

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Although I don’t know when they were ever in, the timeless designed Palladium Boots are apparently back! In 1947 the legendary Pampa boot was born, and the functionality, comfort and durability were so outstanding that the French Foreign Legion adopted it for their use. The Foreign Legion put the boot to the test in the harsh desert conditions of North Africa, and throughout the rugged terrain of the Atlas Mountains.

Palladium Boots $50 – $70

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I didn’t even know Strasbourg HAD a 10-day  international film festival. Of course, this is only their second year but it’s definitely worth a mention. (Thanks, Sophie)

The Strasbourg International Film Festival is an alternative, cutting-edge discovery film festival showcasing independent film from around the world mainly focusing on the works of new and emerging filmmakers, held annually. Presenting 50 feature films and over 150 short films, the Strasbourg International Film Festival works to empower and assist independent filmmakers while bringing audiences a uniquely rich and cultural filmic experience they might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience and embrace.

Here’s the press release for the event:

Strasbourg, France – The Strasbourg International Film Festival presents feature films selected to screen in the following categories – Drama, Post Modern Drama, Culturally-Inclined Drama, Dramedy, Romantic Comedy, Psychological Thriller, SciFi-Fantasy-Horror, Experimental, Animation and Documentary . The 2009 Strasbourg International FIlm Festival runs August 28 through Sept 6 in Strasbourg, France and Kehl, Germany.

For the 2009 Strasbourg International FIlm Festival 50 feature-length films were selected including 11 World Premieres, 13 International Premieres, 11 European Premieres, 3 Mainland European Premieres, 8 French Premieres, and 3 Strasbourg Premieres representing 37 countries with 31 first-time filmmakers.

The films screening in DRAMA are:

Baghdad, Texas / USA (Director: David H. Hickey) 90 mins. – 2009 – While a Middle Eastern dictator is fleeing his occupied country his plane crashes on the Mexican Border. He is inadvertently carried into Texas by illegal immigrants. Struck by a truck driven by three cowboys, he is taken back to their exotic game ranch where they slowly discover his identity. International premiere

Bathory / Austria/Slovakia, Czech Republic, UK, Hungary, USA (Director: Juraj Jakubisko) 138 mins. – 2008 – Bathory is based on the legends surrounding the life and deeds of Countess Elizabeth Bathory known as the greatest murderess in the history of mankind. Contrary to popular belief, Elizabeth Bathory was a modern Renaissance woman who ultimately fell victim to mens aspirations for power and wealth. French Premiere

Bergfest (Without You I’m Nothing) / Germany (Directed by Florian Eichinger, 1st Feature) 89 mins. – 2008 – A weekend in the Bavarian Alps. 25-year-old HANNES meets his father after 8 years of separation in a little mountain hut. By the influence of their very different girl friends ANN and LAVINIA, the stage-director-father and his actor-son cautiously try to make a new start. A bold venture, leading all of them to an abyss of unforeseen cruelty.  French Premiere

Broken Hill / Australia/USA (Directed by Dagen Merrill. Starring Timothy Hutton) 105 mins. – 2009 – Set against the backdrop of a drought-ridden, rural sheep-ranching community in the heart of Australia’s desolate Outback, BROKEN HILL is the story of an aspiring high school music composer, Tommy McAlpine (18), who struggles against his father’s expectations, cultural stereotypes, and the lack of musicians in his small town. French Premiere

God’s Ear / USA (Directed by Michael Worth) 110 mins. – 2008 – Noah Connelly is a boxer with a tireless opponent: Autism. When he meets a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants dancer named Alexia, both find themselves becoming atracted to each other and must face a bridge between them that neither are sure they are prepared to cross. European Premiere

Forecast / Bulgaria (Directed by Sophia Zornitsa) 102 mins. – 2008 – Margarita leaves the famous reporter Marco Matanich and joins her brother going for a windsurfing vacation with his friends from different Balkan countries on a Turkish island. Marco arrives on the island “only” for the board Margarita stole from him.  French Premiere

Madre Mia / France (Directed by Stefan Libiot) 71 mins. – 2009 – Conversations with mother. (Conversations avec la mère) Strasbourg Premiere
Mita Meista Tuli (What Became of Us) / Finland, Russia/Finland (Directed by Miika Ullakko) 123 mins. – 2009 – Haunted by their childhood pasts friends are faced with their demons and made to tell the tale. European Premiere

Films selected for POST MODERN DRAMA are:

3 Saisons (3 Seasons) / Canada (Directed by Jim Donovan) 100 mins – 2008 – Life finds a way. (La vie trouve un moyen.) Mainland European Premiere

Aspettando Il Sole/ Italy (Directed by Ago Panini, 1st Feature) 95 mins. – 2008 – The place is Italy, anywhere at the beginning of the Eighties. Three bad boys stumble across a remote hotel, looking for something to amuse them through the long hours until dawn, they decide to take the hotel’s night porter hostage. The Bellevue Hotel is full of guests who breathe and sob behind doors. They act out of love and despair, in whispers and screams. Only when these stories start to intertwine do the walls dissolve revealing the visible thread that links their destinies. Strasbourg Premiere

Bureaucracy / USA (Directed by Mark Perreault, 1st Feature) 87 mins. – 2009 – A loyal employee overburdened by a corrupt boss carefully plots a murder to save himself and his blind sister from economic hardship.

La Rina/The Pit / Brazil (Directed by Marcelo Galvão) 85 mins. – 2008 – Instead of showing typical poverty in Brazil, La Riña unveils the opposite by unmasking a sick and cruel elite. Based on true facts, La Riña highlights the polemic of bare knuckle fights in a playboy party where drugs and drinks are served on silver trays.  European Premiere

Love Me Still / UK (Directed by Danny Hiller, 1st Feature) 96 mins. – 2007 – ‘Love Me Still’ is an urban street movie with elements of the classical gangster Brit flick combined with the melodrama of unrelenting love.  Mainland European Premiere

MURO “Nalet Olsun Icimdeki Insan Sevgisine” / Turkey (Directed by Sasmaz Zubeyr, 1st Feature) 97 mins. – 2008 – Muro and Çeto who were released from prison recently, come back to homeland to start their revolution from their village. Their aim is to get married and to be an honorable reformist. However there is an unexpected surprise waiting for them in the village. Muro and Çeto were married off two Russian women by the headman of the village when they were at prison. Muro and Çeto have to carry out their revolution dream by being divorced from them. Therefore they return to İstanbul… European Premiere

Uneasy / USA (Directed by Kenneth Compton, 1st Feature) 80 mins. – 2009 – Michael, a disconnected youth, is involved in the death of an old Russian woman. Easily escaping his pursuers, he cannot run from his conscience, forcing him to make the ultimate sacrifice. World Premiere

Un peu plus d’éternité / France (Directed by Niav Conty, 1st Feature) 75 mins. – 2008 – Anne exists. She doesn’t know why, or how long it will last. She is alone. In her routine life, she is confronted by the absurdity of human behavior, the strange nature of communication, and the tragic-comedy of jumbled encounters. World Premiere

Films screening in CULTURALLY-INCLINED DRAMA are:

Forward/Backward / USA (Directed by Elizabeth Spear/Kendall Lynch, 2nd/1st Feature respectively) 96 mins. – 2009 – Clayton lost his wallet, and he hasn’t paid the water bill. Which wouldn’t be so bad, except he also lost his job sweeping up at the theater. Small, East Texas towns like Reklaw don’t have too many jobs for guys with a brain injury, slight paralysis and an occasional lack of good judgment. And no, in case you were wondering, he ain’t retarded.  International Premiere

Jose Ignacio / Uruguay (Directed by Ricardo Preve) 83 mins. – 2009 – A summer love story that happens in a little village of the coast of Uruguay between a writer and a woman who teaches surf.  International Premiere

Shiro’s Head / Guam (Directed by Kel Muna/Don Muna, 1st Feature) 80 mins. – 2008 – A modern part of a forgotten history, ‘Shiro’s Head’ takes us to the Pacific island of Guam, USA where outcast Vince Flores (Don Muna) struggles to come to terms with his family’s history of secrets and a dark past of his own. Shunned from his family for the death of his father, his attempt to reconcile causes his family’s past to catch up to him for the last time.  European Premiere

El regalo de la Pachamama / Bolivia (Directed by Toshifumi Matsushita, 1st Feature) 104 mins. – 2008 – A spiritual docudrama set in Bolivia, where a 13-year-old boy lives a traditional life with his family near Uyuni, a salt lake.  European Premiere

Village Tales / Poland (Directed by Wlodzimierz Krygier, 1st Feature) 62 mins. – 2008 – A culturally-inclined rural docudrama about life in Poland. (Un docudrame culturelle au sujet de la mode de vie en Pologne.) World Premiere

Films screening in DRAMEDY are:

Boppin’ At The Glue Factory / USA (Directed by Jeff Orgill, 1st Feature) 81 mins. – 2009 – A junkie nurse stumbles into his dream job – running the graveyard shift at a convalescent home.  Strasbourg Premiere

Der Mond und Andere Liebhaber (The Moon and Other Lovers) / Germany (Directed by Bernd Böhlich) 101 mins. – 2008 – The film narrates the story of Hanna, a woman who will not take life’s set backs and knock-downs sitting down. Instead, she takes them in her stride, picks herself up and marches onward. This is a woman who continually draws new courage from her inexhaustible will to live. Whatever losses and uncertainties come her way, she remains true to herself. French Premiere

Herbeast Comes to Life / USA (Directed by Timothy Williams, 1st Feature) 90 mins. – 2009 – An over-the-top comedy about a young man who goes on a journey to find his place in the world.  World Premiere

Na Lepom Plavom Dunavu (The Beautiful Blue Danube) / Austria, Hungary, Serbia/Montenegro / Serbia/Montenegro (Directed by Darko Bajic) 107 mins. – 2008 – The ship “Kriemhild” is a floating sin city where people from East and West share the same bourgeois dreams and consumer’s utopia. In the post heroic, post aesthetic phase- only a dream has survived: the need for love. French Premiere

Films screening in ROMANTIC COMEDY are:

Love Hurts / USA (Directed by Barra Grant) 95 mins. – 2008 – Ben (Richard E. Grant) A successful doctor but an obtuse husband, is finally left by his wife (Carrie Anne Moss). Befuddled by life and romance and obsessed with winning her back, Ben is tutored by his extremely popular 17 year-old son. To his amazement Ben becomes the most desirable single man in town. World Premiere

Pussyfoot / USA/USA, Serbia/Montenegro (Directed by Dusan Sekulovic, 1st Feature) 97 mins. – 2008 – Irwin Pelkalvski, a bristly faced resident alien, and friends face their second coming of age in New York City. For Irwin, there are ‘women’ and then there are ‘girls’: women want to get married and girls just want to have fun. For the single Anny there are three types of men: married, gay and idiots. Polish polka bars, confusing self help books and a mythical hooker that never sleeps with her clients, confound their American journey. International Premiere

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Undead / USA (Directed by Jordan Galland) 83 mins. – 2008 – Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Undead is a comedy about the connection between Shakespeare, the Holy Grail and some sexy vampires. Our hero, an unemployed theater director, is unwittingly dragged into an ancient conspiracy, and his friend’s warning–’Don’t let your ex-girlfriend suck the life out of you’ — takes on a new meaning. International Premiere

Films screening in PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER are:

31 North 62 East / Jordan, UK/UK (Directed by Tristan Loraine, 1st Feature) 100 mins. – 2009 – A female Captain in the SAS who survives an attack on her unit in Afghanistan, later discovers that her unit was sacrificed for political reasons. World Premiere

Eugene / USA (Directed by Jake Barsha, 1st Feature) 85 mins. – 2008 – A psychological thriller about a lonely bachelor who befriends a young hustler and his girlfriend, with disastrous results for all involved. International Premiere

Four of a Kind / Australia (Directed by Fiona Cochrane, 1st Feature) 115 mins. – 2008 – Four different women, each with a well-hidden secret they are coaxed, tricked or forced into revealing… sometimes it’s better to omit the truth. European Premiere

Print / USA (Directed by Ashley C. Beyer, 1st Feature) 81 mins. – 2008 – Print is a taut psychological thriller about Chase, a young man who sets out to confront the best-selling author he is convinced stole his life story. The only problem is, the author may be a fabrication from the mind of a duplicitous photographer. International Premiere

Films screening in SCI-FI – FANTASY – HORROR are:

The Antidote / USA (Directed by Randy Cole) 63 mins. – 2008 – A voyeuristic teenager named Jimmy witnesses a scientist’s transformation into a nightmarish creature. When Jimmy investigates, the scientist turned creature pleads with him to help restore him to his former human self. What ensues is a dark bargaining between teenager and monster over homework, lust, love, and eventually death.  International Premiere

Clear Lake, WI / USA (Directed by Brian Ide, 1st Feature. Starring Michael Madsen) 87 mins. – 2008 – A group of six people return to their former home town (now a ghost town) to revisit the evil that drove them away 15 years ago. International Premiere

Finale / USA (Directed by John Elfers, 1st Feature) 93 mins. – 2008 – When Helen discovers her son was sacrificed by a demonic cult, no one believes her. Alone, she must destroy the cult to save her family.  European Premiere

The Fourth Pillar / Australia (Directed by Leo Flander, 1st Feature) 87 mins. – 2009 – Rheya Fitzgerald arrives at NSG-E42, she soon finds out the school is run like a prison. The students plight becomes worse when a failed rebellion causes students to begin to disappear. World Premiere

Locked Out / Japan (Directed by Yasunobu Takahashi, 1st Feature) 81 mins. – 2008 – Hiroshi is lost, on the road, driving aimlessly by himself, radio blaring, when he slowly realizes he is nowhere. He doesn’t know exactly where he is, and reflects that he doesn’t even have a specific destination. The feeling of loss lingers around him. On the way, he encounters a projection of a more violent HIMSELF, seething with hatred and viciousness.  Strasbourg Premiere

Treis Stigmes (Three Moments) / Greece (Directed by Petros Sevastikoglou) 80 mins. – 2008 – Love confronting three ages, three moments.  International Premiere

Films screening in EXPERIMENTAL are:

The Day / Mexico (Directed by Tao René Mijares, 1st Feature) 106 mins. – 2008 – One day in the life of a woman. (Un jour dans la vie d’une femme.) World Premiere
For the End of Time / Slovenia (Directed by Ema Kugler, 2nd Feature. Narration by Lydia Lunch) 127 mins. – 2009 – A film about the mind… about the body, and the inability to merge these two entities. World Premiere

Jane’s Paradise / Netherlands (Directed by Dee Wills, 1st Feature) 80 mins. – 2008 – Fragments of a life. Fragments of a mind. The life and mind of Jane Doe, an every-girl dealing with the ‘gift’ of imagination. Unraveling the darker side of her present, she struggles to break free from her past. To become what this Jane dreams of becoming…a filmmaker.  World Premiere

The Why / USA (Directed by Anthony Pedone, 1st Feature) 97 mins. – 2009 – In the absence of love… In the absence of hate… In the absence of reason… ( World Premiere

Film screenings in DOCUMENTARY are:

Betrayal: The Life and Art of Rudolf Bauer / Germany, U S A /USA (Directed by Ken Swartz, 1st Feature) 72 mins. – 2008 – From a Gestapo prison to the Guggenheim Museum, the story of twentieth-century abstract artist Rudolf Bauer is one of Shakespearean proportion. Yet Bauer’s name and art have been largely forgotten. This documentary revisits the life and art of this important painter, from his artistic beginnings in Berlin before World War I to his pioneering contributions to abstract art and his patronage by copper magnate Solomon R. Guggenheim. Sixty years later the art of Rudolf Bauer is rediscovered.  International Premiere

Children of Armageddon / Canada, French Polynesia, Japan, Marshall Islands, New Zealand/Canada (Directed by Fabienne Lips-Dumas, 1st Feature) 95 mins. – 2008 – In the face of a potential nuclear renaissance, this passionate and deeply moving account explores the legacy of nuclear arms in Japan, the Marshall Islands, French Polynesia, New Zealand, and around the world. With the participation of: Noam Chomsky, Hans Blix, Judge C.G. Weeramantry, Arjun Makhijani, and Douglas Roche. European Premiere

Guerrilla Midwife / Indonesia, U S A (Directed by Deja Bernhardt, 1st Feature) 67 mins. – 2008 – Follows Ibu Robin Lim into the trenches of her work. From Bali, where hemorrhage after childbirth is a leading cause of death, into the Tsunami disaster zone in Aceh, where her battle is fought with only one weapon, love. In this culturally mesmerizing, heart-wrenching documentary, you will discover why we must reinvent our protocols for pregnancy and childbirth in order to preserve our Planet’s Humanity. Mainland European Premiere

Nuestros Desaparecidos/Our Disappeared / Argentina, U S A/USA (Directed by Juan Mandelbaum) 99 mins. – 2008 – After learning that Patricia, a long lost girlfriend from Argentina, is among the thousands who “disappeared” during the 1976-1983 dictatorship, director Juan Mandelbaum embarks on a journey to find out what happened to her and others he knew who were kidnapped and never seen again. European Premiere

Pirate for the Sea / Antarctica, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, South Africa, U S A/USA (Directed by Ron Colby) – 101 mins. – 2008 – A biographical film of Captain Paul Watson. The youngest founding member of Greenpeace Canada, he organized early campaigns protesting the killing of seals,whales and dolphins. Greenpeace ejected him for being too much of an activist. Starting his own organization, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, he went on to sink illegal whaling ships, stopped the Canadian seal hunt for ten years, permanently halted sealing in British Isles, killing of dolphins on Iki Island, Japan, etc. This documentary witnesses his latest campaigns & explores the personal and environmental history of this controversial marine environmentalist.  French Premiere

Sweet Crude / Nigeria/USA (Directed by Sandy Cioffi, 1st Feature) 93 mins. – 2009 – Sweet Crude is the story of Nigeria’s Niger Delta – the human and environmental consequences of 50 years of oil extraction, the history of non-violent protest, and the members of a new insurgency who, in the three years since the filmmakers met them as college students, became the young men of the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).  Mainland European Premiere

Strasbourg Int’l Film Fest (website)

From cheapflights:

“Want a seat on the inaugural flight of the new A380? Get your bidding arm ready.

Open booking for the Air France A380 flight is available on AirFrance.com.”

Meet Mademoiselle Fifi (yes, Fifi). Apparently, she’s the summer mascot at Laduree and is featured on this cute macaron box. Personally, the box looks like dog biscuits should be inside, but… it’s cute, anyway. A box fits 8 macarons and costs 14.70 euros. Laduree

While we’re on the subject of boxes, designer Christian Louboutin got together with Laduree and came up with these boxes covered with macarons and shiny Louboutin shoes and purses.

The macarons will take on a Mediterranean flavor created by pastry chef Philippe Andrieu.

12 euros for a box of 6 macarons. Available in September, 2009.

From cleantechnica:

“A Spanish company called Turtle Airships is working on plans to build a luxurious solar-powered blimp which can take passengers from New York to Paris.

Perhaps the only thing cooler than being powered by lightweight photovoltaic cells, this airship is also designed to rest on land or water.

The first blimp prototype will be propelled in two nontraditional ways. The outside of the ship will be covered with Cadmium-Indium-Germanium (CIG) photovoltaic cells, picked for their their light weight. The cells should generate enough power to move the blimp at around 40 mph in average conditions, or at around 70 horsepower. Meanwhile, a diesel drivetrain will generate the rest of the power, and ideally the designers will look to an adapted hybrid electric model for that. And because blimps fly at low altitudes, they don’t have to deal with problems that plague diesel engines at elevations over 30,000 ft.

The only thing currently keeping this visionary project from flying is…”

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From cheapflights:

If you’re thinking ahead to fall vacations, Air France has a deal for you. Book flights to Europe from Aug. 31 to Oct. 24, 2009, for as low as $243 one-way.

Air France launched an airfare sale from select U.S. cities to Paris, Greece, Barcelona, Rome and more. You’ll have to book your travel by July 15 to get these cheap flights.

The select fares below are one-way based on a round-trip purchase and include the fuel-surcharge.

Washington D.C. – Paris: $257
Chicago – Paris: $279
New York – Nice: $298
Boston – Paris: $322
Los Angeles – Nice: $331
Washington D.C. – Athens: $243
Boston – Barcelona : $254
New York – Rome: $268

Click here for information at Air France

From the Fondation Cartier:

The Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain is pleased to present Born in the Streets—Graffiti, on view from July 7 to November 29, 2009. Occupying the entire gallery space of the Fondation Cartier, as well as the building’s façade and surrounding garden, the exhibition brings to light the extraordinary development of an artistic movement that was born in the streets of New York in the early 1970s to rapidly become a worldwide phenomenon. Today, graffiti has entered the cultural mainstream, crossing over to the realms of studio art, design and advertising. Yet, despite its immense popularity, this essentially illegal activity continues to evolve at the periphery of the contemporary art world, its origins and history little-known to the general public. This exhibition attempts to sketch the general contours of a subject that is vast and complex, a form of expression that has come to embrace many different techniques, ideas and styles. The exhibition traces the origins of the graffiti movement while offering a panorama of the diversity of contemporary writing. It provides the public with the opportunity to rediscover an art both ubiquitous and continually evolving, and thus relate to the city in a new way.

From thisjustin:

“This summer in Paris, the Art Home restaurant has been dropped by crane (video here) on top of the Palais du Tokyo. The ultra-edgy contemporary arts museum has a nice view of the Eiffel Tower from its plebian patio down below (price of admission: as low as a single cup of coffee). Beginning July 1, however, that view will be overshadowed by the possibility of lunch or dinner up on the roof. It’s close quarters inside that privileged perch, with room to welcome only a dozen diners for lunch (€60/$84) and dinner (€80/$111). Given so few seats, this is a tough reservation to score. Booking works like at Momofuku Ko in New York—reservations are taken online, beginning at 10 a.m., for a date exactly one month in the future. Be ready to with your finger on the mouse at 9:59!
An alternate strategy, up until bidding closed last night, was to enter the eBay battle for opening night seats. But after seeing the price for a single person rise above €1,400 ($1,950!), I decided to settle instead for a free visit.

That’s right—if you’re curious to see this Laurent Grasso installation for yourself, free tours are conducted daily between 3 and 5:30 p.m. (except for Mondays, when the museum, restaurant, and tours are closed), with online reservation required. If you’re lucky, there might be a few lunch crumbs left on the table!

Art Home at/on the Palais de Tokyo, 13 avenue du Président Wilson, 16th arrondissement, 011-33/1-47-23-54-01.”

If you happen to be wondering who are the famous French Twitterers or Tweeters or Twits…you get what I mean – just take a look at this subjective metro-ish map by Henri Michel. Click on the map to enlarge it.

In Yann Arthus-Bertrand’s most recent TED Talk, he discusses his three most recent projects on humanity and our habitat. You’ll be glued to the aerial photographs in his series “Earth from Above,” personal interviews from around the globe featured in his web project “6 billion Others,” and his soon-to-be-released free movie, “Home (produced by Luc Besson),” which documents human impact on the environment through breathtaking video. Home’s global premiere is tomorrow, June 5, which is World Environment Day.

From the latimes:

“If you are a friend or relative of a passenger aboard Air France Flight 447 that went missing over the Atlantic four hours after departing Rio de Janeiro  Sunday en route to Paris-Charles de Gaulle, you can call the following toll-free numbers that Air France has set up to obtain information and find out whether or not your friend or family member was on board. Air France has also set up on-site counseling with doctors and psychologists at the airports in Paris-Charles de Gaulle 2 and Rio de Janeiro.

Phone numbers reserved for relatives and friends.

In France: 0800 800 812

In Brazil: 0800 881 20 20

and + 33 1 57 02 10 55 for calls from all other countries.”

From viewonfashion:

“…Hermés is launching a graphic design competition in collaboration with Designboom. Famous all over the world for their exquisite luxury creations, they’ve always paid special attention to their silk tie collections. Now, they want to find new prints, so they’ve opened a competition to design students, amateurs and professionals. They want them to present their ideal print, whether it’s their own design or a reinterpretation of the French brand’s classic styles.

The options range from a remake of a classic print to your own unique print… The designer can take their inspiration from the following themes: horses, marine life, flowers, animals and geometric design… The only requirement is that it can be printed on a silk tie.

Entrants will be in the running for a first prize of €3000, a second prize of €2000, and a third of €1000.

The jury is made up of the following people:

Pierre-Alexis Dumas, General Artistic Director – Hermès International
Véronique Nichanian, Artistic Director Hermès Men – Hermès Sellier / Deputy Men’s Artistic Director – Hermès International
Bali Barret, Creative Director – Hermès Silk & Textiles / Deputy Women’s Artistic Director – Hermès International
Hélène Dubrule, Managing Director – Hermès Silk & Textiles
Christophe Goineau, Director of men’s silk collection – Hermès Silk & Textiles
Christine Duvigneau, Graphic Design Studio Director – Hermès International.
Corinne Poux-Bernard, Innovation Director – Hermès International
Gabriele Pezzini, Designer, Design Director – Hermès International
Birgit Lohmann, Editor-in-Chief – Designboom

You can register on Designboom by clicking here.”

We just returned from Spain and noticed this newsworthy item at the Orly Airport in Paris and thought it would be a sweet tidbit that might come in handy one day: There’s a La Duree Cart at the Paris Orly Airport, so macaron fanatics can grab their last minute fix on their way out of town – or grab some on their way to town, for that matter.

Air France now tweets.

From the smithsonian:

“I tip the torchlight and examine a wall in my hotel room. From a distance, the wall looks like vanilla frosting roughly applied. Up close, I see nuggets of caramel-colored stone, faint brown streaks…and an oyster shell. The wall before me is 100 million years old, the raw edge of a cave scraped into a cliff above the Loire River. The oyster was a much earlier guest here, a fossil left from the sea that once covered this part of France and left behind a thick bed of white stone called tuffeau.

Many buildings in the Loire Valley are constructed from this stone. On a trip to France four years ago, I stayed in an elegantly restored farmhouse near Tours, its walls made of tuffeau blocks, stacked like irregular sugar cubes. The farmers of long ago probably dug their own tuffeau. It’s just under the surface–unplanted fields gleam with tuffeau churned to pebbles by the plows. However, the serious quarrying was for the signature chateaus and other monumental architecture of the Loire Valley.

At the time, I was among friends who wanted to visit all the chateaus. The first few exhausted my taste for opulence. Then, near the chateau in Amboise, I noticed caves in the cliff, some with brightly painted front doors, windows, shutters and flower boxes. As we drove around the Loire Valley, I spied more of these domesticated caves, some with chimneys thrusting through scruffy vegetation at the tops of cliffs or new facades and courtyards. Oh yes, someone finally explained: after widespread quarrying of the tuffeau began in the 11th century and created cavities in the hills and plains, people moved in. Some to escape warfare, others because the caves made convenient, low-rent dwellings. Until the early 20th century, many people lived in these so-called troglodyte homes. Entire villages were underground. Some people still live in the caves, I was told, and others are …”

Read the full article

From synthtopia:

“A group of music blogs have created a remix album for Daft Punk’s third album Human After All. The album is an unofficial remix album, and will be available as a free download starting May 20th.

1. Human After All —> Chosen by Disco Demons 2. The Prime Time Of Your Life —> Chosen by Data Sapiens
3. Robot Rock —> Chosen by The Cold Cut 4. Steam Machine —> Chosen by Cream Team 5. Make Love —> Chosen by Sheena Beaston
6. The Brainwasher —> Chosen by Danger! Danger!
7. On/Off —> Chosen by The Lemur Blog
8. Television Rules The Nation —> Chosen by Noise Porn 9. Technologic —> Chosen by Pretty Much Amazing
10. Emotion —> Chosen by Binary“

From viewonfashion:

On the 20th of May Paris will host an auction that you should attend if you love vintage fashion, and particularly if you like the iconic pieces created by French brand Hermés. Over 700 of their creations will be auctioned at the Hotel Marcel Dassault.

Auction house Artcurial have managed to collect 700 iconic Hermés pieces. Many of them are from the 60s, 70s and 80s, with authentic jewellery in some cases starting at just €70.

From their legendary foulards to jodhpur boots and beautiful bags. As you can imagine, the 700 pieces feature many interesting and unique creations. Don’t forget, you need to book in advance…

Hôtel Marcel Dassault
7 rond-point des Champs-Élysées
75008 Paris

Sessions
20 May 10:30am: Lots 1-250
20 May 2:30pm: Lots 251-End
Auctioneer: François Tajan

Viewing Information
15-18 May, 11am-7pm
19 May, by appointment

Contact: Cyril Pigot
Phone: +33 1 42 99 16 56

Bid Department
Marianne Balse
Phone: +33 1 42 99 20 51

From googlenews:

Chinese tourists are avoiding France because of President Nicolas Sarkozy and his country’s attitude toward Tibet, a senior Chinese tourism official told AFP on the weekend.

“Chinese tourism to France has reduced a lot because they (Chinese tourists) don’t like what Sarkozy did before the Olympics and afterwards,” Ji Xiao Dong, the vice president of China’s Chamber of Tourism, said on the sidelines of a global tourism conference in Brazil.

Ji said he was referring to pro-Tibet protests in France in the lead-up to the Olympic Games held in China last year, and to talks last December in Poland between Sarkozy and Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.
When asked to quantify the fall in Chinese visitors to France, the world’s number one tourist destination, Ji said “it’s not clear yet what the number is, but there are many fewer.”

He explained that France was still the preferred European destination for Chinese tourists, but said many were miffed by Paris’s approach to Tibet, which is under Chinese rule.

“Ordinary Chinese people don’t like politicians or politics,” Ji said, adding that “how the Chinese think about France” has changed in recent months.
France and China have ostensibly mended relations since Sarkozy’s meeting with the Dalai Lama.

But Beijing warned Paris early this month against more “errors” after a spokesman for the Dalai Lama said the Tibetan spiritual leader may be made an honorary citizen of French capital during a June 6-8 visit.

China opposes any government figure meeting the Dalai Lama, whom it accuses of being intent on achieving independence for Tibet after 58 years of Chinese rule.

The Dalai Lama however says he only wants autonomy for the Himalayan region.

Question: Do you believe there will be an eventual social revolt? Out of 11,928 participants, 29.5% say NO but…. 70.5% say YES!

[source: Zapping at Canal Plus]

From cheapflights:

“Air France has just slashed the price on their Paris Affair by $200. Now you can enjoy round-trip airfare and six nights in a hotel from $849.

This Paris vacation also includes a Bateaux Mouches river cruise on the Seine; a fashion show at luxury department store Galeries Lafayette, a wine and cheese tasting at Galeries Lafayette, a Paradis Latin show with complimentary champagne, and continental breakfast daily.

Though this package is available from now through late March of 2010, the lowest airfare prices are in the fall and winter.

Paris comes to life in the fall with fashionistas rocking the latest trends during fashion’s most exciting season. Winter is also a great time to visit Paris: tourists are few and far between, and the city looks gorgeous with a light dusting of snow.

Prices are based on double occupancy and a Saturday night stay is required.”

Paris Affair (Air France)

From variety:

The master of romanticism and rugged grandeur, Charles Aznavour has returned to the Gotham stage for an all-too-brief four-night stand with his unique catalog of French chanson. At the ripe age of 85, the singer-songwriter has lost none of his quicksilver energy, impish humor or trademark sense of musical storytelling. In a nearly two-hour show, he turned the pages of a familiar songbook that brought frequent cheers from a capacity audience clearly packed with adoring fans.

With the added glitter of a sparkling ballroom orb, Aznavour sang “The Old Fashioned Way (Les Plaisirs Demodes)” and danced across the stage with an imaginary woman in his arms. But perhaps the most tender memory was the plaintive scrapbook, “Yesterday When I Was Young.”

Aznavour is a master of gesture, nuance and timing. He accents his songs with a subtle reflection of young love and heartbreak. “La Boheme” is a bittersweet reflection of the passing of spring and lost life, while “It Will Be My Day” is a rhythmic celebration of showbiz savvy, youth and expectation. His performance of “Ave Maria” remains an intensely vivid hymn. “She,” the only song performed in English, is his biggest Stateside hit, featured here as an encore that allowed the singer to toast all women.

For the poignant duet “Je Voyage,” Aznavour was joined by his daughter, Katia; the narrative follows a young girl journeying into her future as her older companion travels through memories.

His daughter is one of two backup singers accompanying Aznavour, along with a nine-piece band with four violins and an accordion that projects a much bigger sound than one would expect. A smartly structured lighting design frames the crooner distinctively.

The New York leg is billed as an extension of Aznavour’s North American farewell tour that began in 2006. The performer is undoubtedly one of the last of a breed of living legends, a cunning crooner who has lost none of his seductive charm.

Charles Aznavour
City Center Main Stage
Apr 29 – May 3, 2009
Tickets: $55, $75, $95, $125, $150, $175, $190

Today is France’s Labor Day, a non-working day in France! Wait, I have to work.

Boudin noir? Poulet rôti? Moules Frites? Un moelleux au chocolat? How ’bout some foie gras or a nice juicy côte de boeuf? I know you’ve been dying for a tête de veau, haven’t you? When you travel all the way to Paris, does it ever occur to you to hit the pavement in search of a croque monsieur? I mean, a really, really good croque monsieur? Well, the best one in Paris has truffles in it. I would travel all the way to Paris for that. If it was really exceptional, I wouldn’t even mind if it didn’t have any truffles. At the same time, I can’t imagine going to a fancy restaurant for a croque monsieur but hey, the best club sandwich in Paris is supposedly from Georges V, and I bet it is not a bon marché. I wouldn’t want to pay too much for a club sandwich, but my sweetie probably would. He LOVES club sammiches. Anyway, on to the book.

Je me ferais bien un… is a new Paris restaurant guide book in French written by Valérie Expert and Véronique André, and is a little different from most other Paris restaurant guides. The authors made it a mission to try a significant number of restaurants (they say they tried them all but c’mon) in Paris to find the best places for the French’s 52 most favorite foods and dishes suitable for all budgets. So in many cases you can choose a dish or dessert, for example, and find the best couscous from a fancy restaurant, a mid-range bistro or a budget restaurant.

The book is organized in alphabetical order. So during those times when you say to yourself, “Je me ferais bien un… / I feel like a…” just look for the dish in the book you feel like eating then go from there. We can’t wait to try out the recommendations! Will their listings for the best hamburger pass our test? We will see about that. Oui, by the way, the hamburger is apparently a favorite among the French.

Here’s the list of dishes included in the book, if you were wondering: andouillette, assiette de légumes, baba, bar, blanquette de veau, boudin noir, caesar salad, cassoulet, choucroute, club sandwich, côte de boeuf, couscous, crêpes, croque-monsieur, eclairs/religieuses, foie de veau, foie gras, gambas, gigot d’agneau, gibier, hachis parmentier, hamburger, île flottante, langoustines, magret de canard, mille-feuille, moelleux au chocolat, moules-frites, os à moelle, oeuf/omelette, paris-brest, pâtes, petit salé aux lentilles, pigeon, pieds de porc grillés, pizza, plateau de fruits de mer, poulet roti, pot-au-feu, raie, risotto, ris de veau, salade thaï, sole, soufflé, sushi/sashimi, souple chinoise, tapas, tartare, tarte au pommes, tête de veau, truffe.

Je me ferais bien un…

From obama foodorama:

“Chef Emile Jung of famed French restaurant Au Crocodile will be cooking lunch today and tomorrow for The Obamas at the NATO summit meetings in Strasbourg, France. The Chef is the proud recipient of two Michelin stars for his restaurant, and today he will be prepping a “working lunch” for Barack and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, which will be served in the Chateau des Rohan, an 18th century castle next to Strasbourg Cathedral. Tomorrow, Mr. Jung will prepare a buffet for all the NATO leaders during the summit meeting.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Mr. Jung said he was “pretty sure” that Michelle Obama and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the first ladies, will be present at today’s lunch. He also said he was not “allowed” to reveal details of the full menu, but did say that it would be French with a touch of Alsatian cooking:

There will be Alsatian pinot Gris but no choucroute [sauerkraut]; we will use seasonal produce. Right now it’s the time for asparagus and gigot d’agnelet [baby milk-fed lamb]. I can say no more.

At Au Crocodile, Mr. Jung’s specialty is foie gras, which may present a touchy “ethical” problem for FLOTUS and POTUS. Their hometown, Chicago, is one of the few cities in America to actually ban the sale of foie gras, after a years-long war among city officials. Mr. Jung does three fab versions of the dish: “froid”, “croûte en sel” and “aux pommels.” Menu details to come….”

Link

Not that you need another reason to love Paris, but I thought this would be an important addition to the list. Track athlete, Romain Mesnil, for some reason, decided to run naked in the streets of Paris with his … pole. Honestly, we don’t mind. If he needs some publicity, he should have it. Watch the video.

From the telegraph:

“The holding centre planned for the port of Calais has been the subject of frenzied claim and counter claim in recent days with the French government publicly denying that it has been given the go-ahead.

Phil Woolas, the immigration minister, was left out on a limb by his French counterpart Eric Besson when Mr Woolas revealed details of the project last week, with the French minister claiming that he had no knowledge of it.

But a letter from the UK Border Agency to the Director of Migration in Paris seen by this newspaper reveals that British and French officials discussed the centre in detail a few weeks ago and agreed “joint action”. It has been costed, given planning permission and a building contract awarded for its construction, according to the letter.

The 500,000 euro (£470,000) detention suite will be similar to the one at Heathrow Airport and contain a number of police cells designed to hold immigrants until they can be deported. It replaces a temporary structure now in place at the port which is barely more than a temporary building.

It will be half-funded by the British with the Calais Chamber of Commerce among those having offered to put up the rest of the money.

The plans are revealed in a letter from Brodie Clark, head of Border Force at the Home Office to Francis Etienne, Director of Migration at the Migration Ministry in France.

The letter says: “I am very pleased to be able to confirm, on behalf of the UK Border Agency our contribution to fund 50% of the 500,000 euros cost estimated by the Calais Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) which will enable work to start.

“I believe that planning permission has been granted and that a building contractor has been chosen through a tendering process run by the CCCI, whom we believe had previously made an offer for funding this facility.

“We look forward to having a purpose built facility that provides a safe, secure and appropriate method of holding clandestines for short periods.”

The plans are an attempt by ministers to stop migrants and the gangs who smuggle them into northern France from continuing their journey to Britain and instead returning them swiftly to their own country. At present, immigrants from Afghanistan, Kurdistan and Africa exploit European law to evade expulsion by trying repeatedly to enter Britain, being arrested and released several times, until they get through.

A senior Labour insider said: “We have to have a process to return these people to their own country rather than just releasing them into the French countryside and this building is the first part of that process.”

It is thought the French initially denied the plans because of fears it could be compared to the notorious Sangatte camp. British officials were baffled by their reaction because it would have been easy to explain that the new centre will be a small detention suite rather than a large residential camp.”

Related: Sangatte, France

From the telegraph:

Mr Sarkozy, a man often ridiculed in France for preferring fitness to literature, has frequently expressed his disdain for “La Princesse de Cleves” (The Princess of Cleves), a novel by Madame de La Fayette which was published in 1678 and is taught in most French classrooms.

Now, French readers have adopted the book as a symbol of dissent: as Mr Sarkozy’s popularity falls, sales of the book are rising. At the Paris book fair this week, publishers reported selling all available copies of the novel, while badges emblazoned with the slogan “I am reading La Princesse de Cleves” were a must-have item that sold out within hours.

Mr Sarkozy’s views on the novel are hardly new. As far back as 2006, before he became president, he made a comment that left no doubt that his school memories of it were not happy ones.

“A sadist or an idiot, up to you, included questions about ‘La Princesse de Cleves’ in an exam for people applying for public sector jobs,” he said, adding that it would be “a spectacle” to see low-level staff speak on the challenging work.

Since then, Mr Sarkozy has repeatedly criticised the tale of duty versus love at the 16th century court of Henri II, suggesting that knowledge of it was not useful.

Over time, his attacks have bolstered the book’s popularity, and even given it a new role as a symbol of dissent at a time when public anger over Sarkozy’s economic policies is high.

Public readings of the work have proliferated at universities like the Sorbonne in Paris, hit by protests over government reform plans, and at theatres.

The cultural weekly Telerama this week published results of a survey asking 100 French writers to list their 10 favourite books. “La Princesse de Cleves” came third in the overall rankings, after masterpieces by Marcel Proust and James Joyce.

Telerama commented that it was unlikely Madame de La Fayette would have done so well before Sarkozy’s jibes.

From slashphone:

“Following a six-month test on the Paris-Amsterdam-Paris route and after a first launch on some French destinations last month (‘La Navette’ flights), AIR FRANCE and KLM have now introduced the service on most of the European and French domestic destinations. The electronic boarding pass can be retrieved on a PDA or mobile phone.

Customers can check in using their PDA or smartphone —and receive their boarding pass by e mail or as an MMS or SMS on their mobile device. It is no longer necessary to print the boarding pass. The only paper document customers still need in order to travel is their personal ID.

The electronic (mobile) boarding pass contains all the information displayed on a conventional boarding pass including a unique bar code. The bar code will be scanned at the gate and can be shown at the baggage drop off points, security, lounges and at the tax free shops at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

“This new service perfectly meets the needs of our customers for speed and autonomy, and demonstrates Air France and KLM’s determination to offer innovative new services” says Patrick Roux, Senior Vice President Marketing Air France KLM.
“It is our aim to offer as many passengers as possible a comfortable and hassle free travel experience without any unnecessary ‘paperwork’ says Martijn van der Zee, Vice President E commerce Air France KLM.”

There’s a crisis and all but do we have to resort to eating crickets, worms and cicadas? I’d like my pizza with mushrooms and pepperoni, please. 86 those grasshoppers and creepy crawlies!

After restaurateur Alexis Chambon met Michel Collin, a bugologist (ok, an entomologist), he thought it would be a wonderful idea to launch a restaurant that serves all kinds of insects. So he did and now you can find bug cuisine at his restaurant in Guidel, a small town in Brittany.

You can order pizza with insects or go for the fried crickets, that supposedly taste like….peanuts. (not chicken)

(link and photo from lepost)