Posted by admin on February 28, 2007 under One stop travel guide to Paris | 
InTriumph in Paris, The Exploits of Benjamin Franklin by David Schoenbrun, Benjamin Franklin’s observations about the city, its salons, and the hallowed courts of Versailles are included. Here are some highlights:
“The Civilities we everywhere receive give us the strongest Impressions of the French Politeness . . . At the Church of Notre Dame, when we went to see a Magnificent Illumination … we found an immense Crowd who were kept out by the Guards; but the Officer being told that we were Strangers from England, he immediately admitted us. . . Why don’t we practice this Urbanity to Frenchmen? Why should they be allow’d to outdo us in anything?”
Here was the Paris that Franklin observed: “The drinking water came from fresh springs and was filtered through sand. The streets, by constant sweeping, were fit to walk in and the people did walk, instead of being conveyed by carriages. Franklin was favorably impressed by Paris’ cubed paving stones, which “When worn on one side, may be turn’d and become new.”
On the other hand, Versailles impressed Franklin but also shocked him when he thought of the sheer cost, being estimated by some at eighty million pounds sterling.
“He marveled at the range of buildings, the gardens, the statues, figures, urns, the marble and bronze “of exquisite workmanship” finding it “beyond conception”. But he complained that “the Waterworks are out of Repair …there is, in short, both at Versailles and Paris a prodigious mixture of Magnificence and Negligence.”
Keep your December calendar open when The Carnavalet Museum, 23 rue de Sevigne, 75003 and Musee des Arts et Metiers, 292 rue St. Martin will be presenting both the scientific and statesman aspect of Ben Franklin’s sojourn in the City of Light. For those of you who haven’t yet visited these two museums, you are in for a delightful day. The Carnavalet Museum steeped in the city of Paris’s rich history is particularly well-versed in the era of the French Revolution. (It’s one of my favorite museums in Paris).
Be sure to check out the Musee des Arts et Metiers site I’ve linked. It’s created by French students - in English. Chapeau!
As luck would have it in researching my past posts on the book The Triumph in Paris, I fell upon the site of
www.BenFranklinLive.org and received a response from the venerable statesman ‘himself’, that is Christopher Lowell, a Ben Franklin impersonator, who happens to be a bilingual Francophile as well.
It was ‘Ben’ who gave me the ‘heads-up’ on the December exhibit at The Carnavalet and the Musee des Arts et Metiers. If you’d like to know more about Lowell’s upcoming events stateside - or his Ben Franklin video, you can check out his site.
Posted by admin on under Europe Accommodation |
I thought that the London Tube map of the central zone published to indicate walking times between stations is brilliant. I lived in London more than 20 years ago and would often walk to my final destination in central London rather then change tube lines for one or two stops. You can’t tell from the official tube map how far apart the stations in the central zone are located. The map was evidently put together by a group postgrad students in one week. Well done!
Posted by admin on under Europe Accommodation |
I know that I am going 50% off my focus of writing posts about travel in Europe but at least it is about France. Arnold of Foreign Perspectives, who now lives in France, told me that a French website was looking for posts about the forthcoming French Presidential elections from an outsider’s angle. I thought sounds interesting, could get my blog some publicity and there are 30 prizes of podcasts. So below is my offering. I just hope that the French will appreciate my sense of humour.
The forthcoming French Presidential elections have not whipped up great interest public interest in the UK. The Presidential elections raise a couple of interesting points for me personally, feminism and the internet, both connected to the socialist candidate, Segolene Royal, nicknamed Sego.
Firstly does France really hanker for it’s first female president? It
would be seen as a breakthrough in the rather macho world of French
politics where only 12% of deputies are female. Royal’s popularity
soared after a former male rival, posed the question, “Who will look
after the children?”, when it became clear that Royal was a serious
contender in the elections. I had to laugh at the press coverage given
to Royal’s choice of high heeled shoes during a visit to the slums of
Chile. There always seems to be such scrutiny of the way female
politicians dress and look in comparision to male politicians’
attire and appearance. A woman can’t win, she will either be criticised
as frumpy, or if well turned out, as having paid too much attention to
her appearance. Some say that Royal looks better now than she did 20 years ago in her early
30s, photos show her looking a bit dowdy, her face swamped behind large
glasses and hair scrapped back from her face. As Royal has quipped, ”
Why should you have to be boring and ugly to succeed in politics?”
Then there were the photos of Royal in her bikini, I say a great figure
for a 50+ mother of four. Royal has been is in a long tern relationship
with Francois Hollande, the chairman of the French socialist party.
Hollande is credited with converting the Catholic Conservative Royal to
Socialism. Royal is sticking to her feminist ideals by remaining
unmarried, or is she really a Catholic rebel? You could also say that
her rise to prominence has overshadowed her partner’s career, a touch
of “A Star in Born”? Earlier this year one of her advisors was
relieved of duties after saying that Hollande was the only defect in
Royal’s campaign. Royal has also been slated for her lack of substance
and policies which leads me to the next point, her use of the internet.
According to Le Monde, 27 million French use the internet every day and
40% say that the internet is their main source of political
information. Postings on political blogs often receive between 400 -
500 comments. Royal has been an exponent of participative democracy in
her “Desires for the Future” where she encourages citizens to submit
ideas on the how the country should be run to local committees or her
website. These 150 committees are encouraged to start their own blogs.
Interestingly her youth website Segosphere is run by her eldest son, a
bit of nepotism in the brave new world? Royal claims to be harnessing
the collective intelligence and it is the first time that public input
has been used to design a manifesto. Royal believes in citizens
providing bottom up solutions rather then politicians imposing top down
solutions. She claims to base her policies on the realities of peoples’
lives. Critics scorn her approach as populist, which they use in the
negative sense of indulging the whims of the electorate in a superficial
manner. However another definition of populist is the advocation of
democratic principles which is surely a laudable aim.
I say that the proof of the (Sego) pudding will be in the eating. If
Royal is elected, will she to continue to be an exponent of participative
democracy which entails talking and listening to citizens at all times,
not merely during elections? She talks of initiatives such as randomly selected citizens’
juries to monitor Government policy. However monitor does not necessarily mean influence. Will her grass roots policies, encompassed in her 100 proposals, be achievable in the real world?
Posted by admin on under Europe Accommodation |
The full potential of the fast growing youth market of 16 - 24 year olds is not being tapped, with a only one third of tourism authorities having a youth tourism policy. It was often assumed that the youth market was too low budget to take seriously. However because young travellers generally stay for longer their cumulative spend may be higher than the average tourist. Young travellers are also more likely to spend in local community run operations which are important for sustainable development.
I don’t think it just the potential of 16 - 24 year olds as they travel at this stage in their lives, they will be the travellers of the future and if they have a positive experience in a location, they may well return again at a later date with a partner or family or recommend the destination to others.
Posted by admin on February 27, 2007 under One stop travel guide to Paris |
Penelope Cruz may not have walked away for an Oscar for her role in Volver, but she should get an award for what she has done for promoting knee-length skirts.
What skirt length is in style? The simple answer to this question is, just wear jeans and forget about skirts forever. You may never even bother to pack a dress or skirt if you plan on staying for one or two weeks in Paris, but eventually skirt length can be an issue. Also, if you plan on going outside of Paris, do not bring your micro-mini to Normandy. Even in Paris, you’ll find that streetwear tends to be conservative. Necklines may plunge in the nightclubs and on the evening news - but skirt lengths tend to remain either just above the knee or calf-length.
Last October, Lydie pulled me aside after I had tried to squeeze one last wear out of my faded denim mini skirt (on a beach boardwalk in Normandy). “You know, even if a woman is thin, after ‘a certain age’ you really SHOULDN’T BE WEARING SHORT SKIRTS!”
Okay, I got the message. Then Seeing Penelope Cruz locked it in place. Skirts can be very sexy - if you get the cut and the length on target. So it comes as no surprise that SOME of the designers have caught on to what Almodovar must know instinctively (or at least his costume designers). A good example would be some of the Oscar de la Rentas featured in Le Figaro’s fashion line-up.
You’ll see from the photo below (circa 1980s -in the Tuileries) that there’s nothing new under the sun, just good old basic black. No need to get suckered into fashion designers’ love affair with graphics, with bows, billows and bustles.
Helen Mirren had it right when she gave Christian LaCroix the best compliment a designer can receive when she said she just felt right wearing it.
Posted by admin on under Europe Accommodation |
I’ve been away for a few days. Our destination was Norfolk in the east of England but as we live in the north of England we spent a night in the Scotch Corner Travelodge on the way south to Norfolk and a night at the Harrogate Travelodge on the way north again. The Travelodges cost a non refundable ВЈ15 per night for room only Supersaver rate, if you book at least 3 weeks in advance. The rooms were a good size, clean and simply furnished. The Travelodge in Harrogate is in the town centre, a great location the only drawback being lack of a free car park at the Travelodge.
Our accommodation in Norfolk cost of ВЈ65 for a double room with breakfast. As you can see from the photo below the hotel, the Lodge Hotel in old Hunstanton looks very attractve on the exterior. It is a listed building, a former Dower House which has retained some period features. However when we entered our room it was as though we were in a different building. Our room was small, totally lacking in charm or character, with bland white furniture, a ripped sheet and patches of mould growing on the shower tiles. The breakfast was not great, no fresh fruit, warm fruit juice and rubbery fried eggs.
So do you get what you pay for? I don’t think so. To be fair you don’t get the ВЈ15 Travelodge rate on Friday and Saturday nights but you can still find rooms for ВЈ26. At least you know what to expect at a Travelodge due to the standardisation of rooms. Staying at small hotels and Bed and Breakfasts is such a lottery, you just don’t know what you’ll find when you arrive, even if you read reviews. The Lodge Hotel scored an average 8 out of 10 from 15 reviews on Active Hotels.
Posted by admin on under Europe Accommodation |
Airline Passenger Duty is to be scrutinised on 2 legal grounds in a challange mounted by the Federation of Tour Operators. Firstly it is claimed that the UK Government can not impose charges solely to exit or enter the UK, charges can only be made for use of an airport service. Secondly the manner in which the recent doubling of APD was introduced is being called into question. Only seven weeks notice was given and passengers who had already booked were still liable for the additional tax.
I also picked up on the point made in the article that APD is hardly an environmentally friendly tax as it is each individual passenger who is charged rather than the plane, it was not exactly an incentive to have a fuel efficient, lower emissions plane full of passengers.
Posted by admin on under Europe Accommodation |
What do you know about SKAL, the international association of travel and tourism professionals? I read about SKAL in a TravelWire news bulletin, I have never heard of them. They formed in 1934 to promote global tourism and friendship. They claim to be the only international group which unites all branches of travel and tourism industry. Their moto is “doing business among friends in one small world”. They held a seminar last weekend, 24 February 2007, in Milan on Sustainable Development in Tourism. A SKAL panel judge annual Ecotourism Awards.
I must find out more about SKAL as they appear to have very laudable aims. Have you had any dealings with SKAL, are you a member?
Posted by admin on under One stop travel guide to Paris |
Photo by Chris Card Fuller
The best travel video you may ever see in your life might be the one you’ll only see at a friend’s home. Of course, you don’t believe me.
Some Paris Logue readers might opt for a root canal over an evening screening of their friends striking the same pose in front of various monuments, the highlight being those most beautiful, hallowed words: THE END.
But, what if your friend happened to be Warren Doremus, former news reporter for WHEC TV in Rochester, NY? And what if the subject happened to be Cruising the Seine - Honfleur to Paris: On the Trail of the Great Masters of Paint, Brush and Canvas?
Beginning in Honfleur, Warren and his wife Jean, board Le Bizet, an upscale riverboat which wends its way through Normandy with stops at Rouen where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake, St. Wandrille monastery, the ruins of Jumieges monastery, Monet’s garden at Giverny. They pay a visit to Van Gogh’s final resting place in Auvers-sur-Oise and arrive triumphantly in Paris. Doremus admits that although he’s been to Normandy and Paris on a number of trips, this is the first time that they’ve arrived in Paris via the Seine River. Thanks to his excellent film footage, we lucky viewers get to share the experience of watching the gently rolling landscape from the bridge of Le Bizet.
Being the professional documentary maker that he is, Doremus has mastered the art of pulling together all the essential ingredients that capture a sense of place - in this case the Seine River. Some of Europe’s greatest artists including Van Gogh, Daubigny, Monet, Manet, and Corot gleaned their inspiration from its waters and the surrounding rural landscapes to create some of the most admired paintings of all times.
Not only is Doremus a talented writer - he writes his narrative script long before he sets an iota of film footage on his editing screen - he is a tried and true photo/film journalist - who never shies away from the ‘touchy’ questions. At the Wandrille monastery in Normandy, he didn’t hesitate to ask the monk in residence about the then current plethora of Roman Catholic priests’ alleged abuse of minors (2003). He also tried to elicit French reactions to the war on Iraq, getting responses which he described as obfuscatory.
And did I mention the music score? Not a frame of footage slips by without careful consideration for the music that would be most likely to bring tears to the viewers’ eyes. As if the shots of moonlight on the Seine couldn’t do that - even without a sound score.
We saw Cruising the Seine the night preceding the Academy Awards. I told Warren that the Oscars would be an anticlimax. His neighbor Harold must have felt bad for us - he broke out a 1969 Burgundy to accompany the pheasant dinner following the screening . . Did someone forget to turn off the Eiffel Tower’s strobe lights tonight - or am I just in a cozy little corner of heaven? Mix a little bit of Burgundy - and moonlight on the Seine - and what else could you possibly come up with, but heaven?
Although Cruising the Seine is sadly not available for viewing, you CAN take the trip.
And create your own great videos - if you’d like advice from a pro . . . maybe Warren can be enticed into making a guest appearance on Parislogue for questions and answers.
We’ll cross our fingers.
Posted by admin on February 26, 2007 under One stop travel guide to Paris |
You remember my earlier post - Christina’s pick for this year’s Academy Awards’ Best Picture Oscar award was Scorsese’s The Departed (or Les Infiltres as it was titled in France)?
Wish I had a penny for Mr. Scorsese’s thoughts just before they announced his name as Best Director? Peter O’Toole did not win an award for his role in Venus - and was Scorsese thinking to himself - hey, the clock is ticking away here for some of us icons.
Yet, I never doubted for a moment that this was truly Mr. Scorsese’s best film. Thanks Research girl and David, for making sure that I did NOT miss this film.
That being said, the exceptional outflow of talent, I would not have wanted to choose between the likes of Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Penelope Cruz - this was one year when you would have liked to draw and quarter pour old Oscar so that everyone received their fair share of the praise. Best is a relative term sometimes when it comes to acting. How was it possible that so many actors and actresses this past year appeared to be totally in tune with their characters?
Although the French media hasn’t given as much coverage to the movies as the fashion this year (maybe because the French film industry wasn’t in the limelight), some of you may be interested to know that Martin Scorsese has purchased an option to the children’s novel “The Invention of Hugo Cabret“ illustrated book by Brian Selznick, about an orphaned child who lives in the rail stations in post World War I, 1930s Paris. If the film crew is looking for movie extras - let us know at Paris Logue!
P.S. Did anyone also notice a reference was made to The Departed being originally based on a Japanese film? (That happened early in the evening. then I noticed later on in the evening - it was mentioned that the film was based on a a film made in Hong Kong. Was that a research blooper?)
