Paris History
Every city has a unique history and it contributes to the magic of the location and the people.
A Chicken in Every Pot and an Electric Car in Every Garage: Open Letter to President Sarkozy
Monsieur Le President:
In your campaign promises, you included the development of alternative energy sources as one of your goals. You want French citizens to be able to find work and ultimately own their own homes. This is the French dream. Henry IV wished that all French might have a chicken in every pot for Sundays, and now is the time to guarantee an electric car in every garage.
The key to achieving the French dream was ‘La Blue Car’ and sadly this French-designed electric car, which should have been on the market by 2009 will …
Date: April 22nd, 2008 |
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Paris en Couleurs
Robert Capa’s photo of the ‘New Look’ (greatly enlarged as an exhibition advertisment in front of Hotel de Ville)
The photo exhibition at Hotel de Ville (Paris’s City Hall) is a definite can’t miss show. It’s worth the wait in line on a sunny afternoon in February - but some of the star attractions are surprisingly bypassed by the majority of visitors.
I’m referring to the wing devoted to the photographer Peter Cornelius, a German in Paris who has been overlooked in past years, partly because of his early demise in …
Date: February 7th, 2008 |
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Birth Control for Paris Pigeons
Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
In Parisian ‘argot’ or slang, a ‘pigeon’ is a gullible mark. Paris pigeons have been the topic of heated coop, that is co-op, debates for ages - if you can imagine grown Parisians sitting around arguing about pigeon poop - well, yes, it’s true. But, since 2003, the wise mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoe, has brought science to the forefront of the pigeon problem.
Why not sterilize pigeon eggs? According to today’s Le Figaro story, a pigeon family is entitled to one shot at laying eggs - but the next batch gets neutralized. And how do you go about sterilizing pigeon eggs - by building pigeon houses. The first pigeon house I’m proud to say was planted in the 14h arrondissement - and just recently the seventh Paris pigeon house has been inaugurated in Paris’s 20th arrondissement.
For a mere 20,000 Euros, you too can have pigeon house in your neighborhood (with a 5000 Euro maintenance contract billed to your neighborhood). ( If Rachida Dati becomes mayor of the 7th arrondissement, will she honor the 5000 Euro maintenance contract? These are the questions reporters never ask.)
Our apartment coop had suggested much less humane alternatives.
Likewise, a guest from Frankfurt said, “We don’t have a problem with pigeons in our parks. About six am every morning, they go out and shoot them.”
Well, I guess every city finds its own solutions.
Wonder what they do about pigeons in Venice?
Pigeon trivia: Did you know that Hemingway and his buddies used to eat pigeon when they hard up for a meal?
I’m not sure if that practice isn’t still continued in the Montmartre district. We were sitting at one of the outdoor restaurants when one of the ‘artists’ had a pigeon shooter pointed directly above my head . . . I’m not sure which ‘pigeon’ was his mark.
Date: January 21st, 2008 |
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Delving into Musee d'Orsay
After the Louvre Museum, the Musee d’Orsay, is perhaps one of Paris’s most popular museums with visitors. Representing French artists and sculptors’ works produced between 1848 to 1914, this unique collection includes many of the Impressionist masters such as Monet and Renoir, but also the Romantic and Realists, the Nabists, the Symbolists and the Fauvists. The innovators of the day are placed in direct contrast to the ‘official’ artists such as Ingres, Bouguereau and Delacroix to give you a good idea how the painting styles differ, and to judge for yourself the merits of such varied perspectives.
Date: January 4th, 2008 |
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Who is your Hero?
How many of your heros are French? How many of your favorite movie actors, singers, composers, writers are French? You might be surprised to know how many American heros and celebrities have French fans.
In Normandy I met a stamp collector who collected only John F. Kennedy stamps from around the world.
This past October-November ‘07 Stephane Olry’s play Les Treize Semaines de la Vertu was written and performed based on the thirteen weeks of virtues described by Benjamin Franklin.
“Benjamin Franklin often practised his Thirteen …
Date: December 17th, 2007 |
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Notre Dame By Night
Photo by Chris Card Fuller ©2008
It’s true that you can only appreciate the beauty of Notre Dame’s stained glass windows during the day - which is part of the reason - just about any day of the year - you’re bound to encounter huge crowds of visitors. However, if you want to appreciate a totally different aspect of the cathedral, come at night for a concert.
Earlier this month, I mentioned the Easter week concert of Gregorian chant which took place last night. We walked over to the cathedral during the day to purchase our tickets for the concert. That allowed me the opportunity to spend a few mesmerizing moments before the stained glass windows. No matter how many times, we visit Notre Dame, the kaleidoscope of color never ceases to amaze me.
The strange thing is that this is the first time - when we arrived simply to buy tickets for a concert - that the beauty of the Notre Dame suddenly struck me like the sudden smile or a toss of the head in a manner totally lacking in pretension. The problem with being a tourist is that sometimes we just try to hard to be good tourists.
Date: March 19th, 2008 |
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Paris Lovers Reunited: Gerda Taro and Robert Capa
At a photo lab in Rochester, New York, negatives of pioneer photojournalist Robert Capa are in the process of being restored and will once again be brought to the public eye after remaining dormant and supposedly lost forever. The Figaro news report in Paris says - and maybe Gerda Taro will also be brought to the public eye! I’m always looking for Paris love stories
Date: January 31st, 2008 |
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Napoleon's 'Eye'-Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon
Every day hundreds of tourists rush toward the Denon wing of the Louvre, rarely bothering to wonder about the man for whom this museum wing was named.
Baron Dominique-Vivant Denon studied to be a lawyer but he ended up becoming the confidant of kings, mistresses of kings, and emperors, starting with Louis XV, Madame de Pompadour, straight on through to Napoleon. Hired by Napoleon as the acquisitions director for the new Napoleon wing of the Louvre museum, Denon was most often described as ‘Napoleon’s Eye’.
Date: January 11th, 2008 |
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New Year's Resolution: Learning to Speak French
So you’ve decided to take French lessons. Maybe you just like the sound of the language or maybe you’ve visited France in the past and been frustrated by not being able to understand what’s being said. Maybe you just want to be able to pronounce ‘bouillabaisse’ when you see it on a menu in a French restaurant. Whatever the motivation, I can only tell you this, watch out! Taking French lessons can take you to all sorts of places you may never have imagined. It may even change your life.
Date: January 1st, 2008 |
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French Lessons at the Sorbonne
Each year a new flock of foreign students arrive on French soil hoping to unlock the ‘Da Vinci Code’ for speaking French like a Frenchman or French woman. Few of us succeed - but do we ever give up? Never give up!
Here is the Class of ‘76-’77. Full of hope and confidence.
Where are they now, I wonder?
Some of the countries represented in this photo are:
Greece, Germany, Palestine, Japan, Turkey, Venezuela, Hungary, Sweden, United States, Iran and Malaysia.
Date: October 10th, 2007 |
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