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Notre-Dame de Paris: Oaks and Stone – the Latest News
The day after the fire, President Emmanuel Macron said that Notre-Dame de Paris would be repaired by 2024. That was the easy part. Where do you find trees at least 100-years old to replace Eugène Viollet-le-Duc's spire? Where do you find the stones to replace those from 760 year ago that were damaged by water and fire? Finding trees and stone is the easy part. The race against time is the hard part. The President and the committee in charge of the reconstruction have decided to restore the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral to its 1865 renovation. The oak trees for the spire (flêche) are located west of Paris in the…
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Life-Size Marionettes at Paris’s Opéra Comique
Watching Opéra Baroque was the most entertaining virtual event that I have seen lately. Basil Twist has modernized a 1753 opera-ballet using life-size puppets. In the New York Times article: “Basil Twist in Paris: When Puppets Meet Baroque Opera” you read about two Americans who worked on this production in New York for the presentation in Paris at the Opéra Comique. The opera-ballet is full of special effects, including about 60 sheep, Mr. Twist, the stage director said in an interview. What you will see-The life-size marionettes/puppets and live artists perform Jean-Joseph Cassanéa de Mondonville's "Titon et l'Aurore".
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A Day in Paris When It Snowed
One day last week the blackbirds (merles in French) were chirping away in a choral cacophony of song at at 5:30 am. I wondered if springtime was around the corner -- in mid-January! That springtime moment was short-lived. Thirty-two departments, including Paris and Ile-de-France, were placed under snow warnings. Saturday was going to be a snow day in Paris. Météo-France and our Echo-dot, Alexa, confirmed that the snow would begin by 11 am Saturday.
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Springtime Silence in Paris for 55 Days
It is time to turn the page on Chapter 2020. Who would have guessed that one would feel a bit nostalgic for the Paris Springtime in 2020!? All of the ups and downs and changes during the Springtime in Paris lockdown from total confinement to mostly open for summer and back to partially open; having to differentiate between what is essential (food) and non-essential (books) and back to semi-partial of partial and curfews. Aiiieee!! A Nostalgic Period? One Parisian confinement period stands out among all the rest of 2020. Between March 15 and May 11, 2020 Paris went silent.
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Notre-Dame de Paris and Jean-Michel Jarre
A virtual, free concert at Notre-Dame de Paris is taking place on December 31. The electronic music artist, Jean-Michel Jarre, has prepared an out-of-the ordinary concert. The 45-minute concert is direct from his Paris studio while at the same time an avatar plays from the interior of the virtually reconstituted cathedral. The concert takes place December 31 between 11:25 pm and 12:15 a.m. (CET/Paris time). You can listen online, television, or radio. How to listen to the concert Anyone equipped with a Virtual Reality (VR) helmet or in 2D on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Connect with Réalité Virtuelle on its VR social platform VRchat. Direct online at Paris.fr and…
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Blue Velvet Christmas in Paris
Three Paris monuments are wearing Blue Velvet this year. La Ville de Paris theme this year is “Paris Scintille” (Paris sparkles). Until January 3, Paris sparkles with white drops of light dripping down the façade of the Hôtel de Ville (City hall) and the Luxor Obelisk on Place de la Concorde. The Bastille Colonne de Juillet (July column) has no white drops but was my first dramatic glimpse of the blue velvet. What You Will See The Hôtel de Ville plaza is an illuminated, enchanted, fairy-tale forest with two free merry-go-rounds, including a double-decker. There are wood chalet kiosks with various treats. One kiosk is selling spiced wine, pretzels, waffles,…
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Noël Voyage in Paris
Paris Sparkles during the Holidays. Take a Paris Voyage with Colleen's Paris on small street of the Bastille, the department store decorations and rooftops, watch the lights come up on the Champs-Elysées and see Avenue Montaigne lit up, a carrousel in the Tuileries Garden and be mystified at the blue velvet column of the Bastille.
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Paris: Shopping for Essentials – Who decides?
Thinking about the holiday shopping ahead? France is working through a vocabulary issue: what is considered essential shopping and what is non-essential? On the morning breakfast show, Télématin, Gabriel Atal, a government spokesperson, said it was unfortunate the government chose the legal form of the word, essential. In other words, deciding what is or is not essential is very controversial. Small businesses are hurting in November Monoprix, a mini-department store (grocery, household, parapharmacy, clothing, toiletries, etc.) was fully open during the first 55-day lockdown. This time, to be in solidarity with the small business, certain departments are cordoned off: books for example. However, magazines are sold because the magazine kiosks and…
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Paris: Marais and the Louvre Concerts Virtually
Feeling like a walk through the Marais, visiting famous Paris restaurants or listening to a concert at the Louvre while staying cozy at home with a glass of French wine? If so, then save these dates: Louvre Concerts November 10 and 12; The Jewish Marais November 18; Famous Parisian Restaurants December 3.
