Christmas in Paris in 2 Minutes

Christmas - a Return To Sanity in Paris

If you were in Paris last year ( as I was) I was very unhappy with what was done along the Champs Elysees. So, I was very pleased this morning when French TV announced the following:

'The Champs Elysees are to get their traditional Christmas lights back, after a one-year avant-garde experiment was grumpily received by Parisians, the avenue's traders association said on Thursday.
Actress Diane Kruger will turn on the lights on November 21, changed back to "reinforce the Christmassy feel".
Last year the avenue was kitted out with a conceptual light display by design duo Koert Vermeulen and Marcos Vinals, each of its 200 trees hung with three huge colored energy-saving hoops.
But two thirds of passers-by questioned in an IFOP survey at the time said the display -- while innovative -- had moved "too far away from the traditional image of Christmas."
This year's display has been revamped to bring back a more "fairytale quality," explained the traders' group.
In addition to the colored hoops, the trees will be decked out with seven metres (yards) of sparkling garlands, creating giant curtains of light running down the famed avenue.
As was the case last year, the entire set-up will be fueled by a solar farm, part of a drive that has slashed the annual display's energy consumption by 90 percent since 2006.'

Autumn In Burgundy - Is There Anything More Beautiful

Here is a photo from Burgundy taken by the best guide there - Colette BARBIER

My Paris Tradition...Cafe Sitting and Dreaming...

I am off to Paris in a few weeks, and one of the many things I look forward to is cafe sitting. One of my favorite cafes to sit in and watch Paris wake up is at
Café Le Nemours, one of the most famous cafés in Paris. When you round the corner at Rue Richelieu and see it across Place Colette, it’s easy to understand why. As beautiful as it is during the day, there’s something magical about the warm light at night. Add rain, ( I love rain in Paris) and it just about brings you to your knees.

Rouen - A Must Visit When In Normandy...

I am off to France to visit Normandy and Brittany in a few weeks and I can't wait. Any visit to the Normandy region must include a visit to the historic city of Rouen.
Founded before the Romans has even conquered Gaul, Rouen is Normandy's largest and sophisticated city. The tangled streets of Rouen's medieval core - part authentic and part restored (after the Allied bombing that almost leveled the city)  - remain recognizable from the days when Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431. The city's most impressive landmark, the cathedral of Notre Dame, holds the tomb of Richard the Lionheart and was repeatedly painted by Claude Monet - on summer nights, it's lit up to resemble Monet's Impressionist rendition.
 Of course, after your visit, lunch at the Michelin starred restaurant, GILL, is a must!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMflvTci8MI - a larger version of the film of Rouen

Be-Breizh is the Breton Word for Brittany

Would you expect a 9 year old  in the USA to eat and enjoy an oyster? Naw, that is why I love France and its people,culture, food, and especially Brittany!


 Truth be told, of all the places within France and I have a love for so many of its regions (it's like asking who is your favorite child?) , if pushed to the wall, I must admit that Brittany is on top of my list, of course always, after Paris!

Love The Life - I Am Off to France and.............

To visit two of my favorite areas - Normandy and Brittany. As the old Chinese saying goes, one picture is worth a 1000 words, so in that case, here are 1000 pictures of one of the areas I love - Normandy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNZoCNO_9HQ - for a fuller picture, click here.