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Inventions and Fun at Foire de Paris 2023
Where can you see 400 inventions for 2023 under one roof? My first stop at the Foire de Paris, the Lépine Competition (Concours Lépine, Pavillon 1 Porte de Versailles). My favorite inventions this year involved reading with an LED light and page holder held with your thumb, silicon fabric storage bags, phone holder for taking notes, the petanque ball retriever, device to attach a bracelet with one hand, and the sweatshirt backpack. The Lépine competition has been active for 122 years. On the Lépine website, step back in time for all the inventions since 1901, including the braille typewriter, the washing machine, ballpoint pen, lawn mower, air humidifier, artificial heart,…
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Printemps and Galeries Lafayette Christmas 2022 Windows in Paris
Have you ever felt a bit of pressure to beat the clock? Looking at my photos, I found Boulevard Haussmann’s Printemps and Galeries Lafayette Christmas 2022 window, interior and sunset photos waiting for a story. As I write this, it is New Year’s Eve and 2023 is only hours away!! This year Printemps definitely won the Paris Christmas window display in the Colleen’s Paris opinion survey with their circus theme. Printemps also kept the wooden steps for the shorter members of society to see and enjoy the window displays. Galeries Lafayette did not keep the steps; maybe because of their theme: Planet Fir Tree (Planète sapin). All the trees were…
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Christmas Magic Begins at Jardin des Tuileries Market
What greets you when you enter the Annual Christmas Market at the Tuileries Gardens? Nutcracker Soldiers. And before the market opens? Where are they? Hidden, waiting to get out in the open. I noticed them while crossing the gardens on November 18. My eyes fell upon rows of black hats. The trove of Nutcracker Soldiers holding horns or standing at attention were lined up. Their expressive eyes were waiting for a magic moment. The magic moment I later learned was November 19, 2022, the opening day for the Magic of Christmas market (La Magie de Noël aux Tuileries). The Nutcracker Soldiers reminded me of the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s funerary…
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The Salon du Chocolat 2022 Offered Fashion and a Chocolate Bugatti
What do you do with 400 kilos (881 pounds) of chocolate? You build a Bugatti Grand Prix type 35, of course! The Bugatti was one of the numerous creative chocolate sculptures at the Salon du Chocolat’s 27th edition in Paris at Porte de Versailles. The event is always scheduled for the last weekend in October. When I arrived, I headed past the chocolate sculptures, the chocolate tastings, the bean-to-bar stands and straight to the fashion parade of fifteen chocolate-covered dresses and costumes. The announcer was loud and clear, so the event had begun. With two afternoon start times, I would still see everything. At the world’s largest event dedicated to cocoa, I…
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Chocolate Lovers: 27th Salon du Chocolat in Paris
Are you a chocolate lover? Are you ready to travel around the world and discover chocolate countries? Have you ever seen a chocolate fashion show? Get ready for the 27th edition of the Salon du Chocolat de Paris. This is the world’s largest event dedicated to chocolate. The event returns to Pavilion 5 at the Porte de Versailles from October 28 to November 1, 2022. The general public has the chance to meet their favorite chocolate makers such as Vincent Guerlais, François Pralus, Hugues Pouget, Philippe Conticini, the Maison Pariès and Chocolats Alléno & Rivoire and more. And the chocolate fashion show is back! Watch the teaser. This trade show for chocolate lovers who want to taste chocolates from around…
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Experience Illuminated Evolution-Jardin des Plantes
Have you walked among giants lately? The other night I walked among some giants at the Évolution en voie d’illumination (Illuminated evolution)-information in English) at the Jardin des Plantes. All the species presented existed in the past, but are now extinct. This is a voyage through time.
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Father Christmas at the Bastille in Paris
One day walking through the Bastille plaza, I saw the Christmas trees being set up around the green July column. By the next evening, purple was once again the sparkling color lighting up the Bastille July column. For the Christmas holiday, Pere Noël was riding the merry-go-round and another day he was dancing with a marching band. Every day is different in the Bastille!
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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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How to You Can Listen to the Concert with 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 What you will hear The musical agenda includes parts of his recent opus, Electronica, which was nominated for a Grammy Award. The music works of Jeff Mills, Rone, BoysNoize, Armin van Buuren…
