The Paris Traveler

I had another whirlwind day.  Since I can officially say that I know the city like the back of my hand, I am able to cover significant ground in very little time.  I even surprised myself a little bit with how much I did and saw.   The day started here, at Place Colette in the 1er arrondissement.  Metro Palais Royale/Musée de Louvre will get you there.  It is one of those places that should be on everyone’s Paris “to do” list and isn’t.  It’s named after Colette, the French novelist who wrote “Gigi” which eventually became the movie starring Leslie …read more

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A few people have written to me asking about the Cour Saint-Pierre since I’ve mentioned it in a few of my posts. Well to be honest with you, I could have written about this little passageway a lot more than I actually have. As I wrote in Fête de la Musique, I was living in the 17e for a number of years. It was the only time I had lived outside of the 6th arrondissement in Paris.
The Cour Saint-Pierre was like living in a tiny village in France. Everyone moved into this little street around the same time that I did (early 80’s) and …read more

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What’s nice about having your own blog is being able to write what you want and I want to say that I am so proud of Geraldine! She has an amazing voice and her take on the hit song The Show Must Go On by the English rock band Queen is fantastic! Who would have thought that when she was a kid playing outside my apartment window in the Cour Saint-Pierre that she would one day be performing on stage and screen and giving rock concerts?! I did!
Why not! Afterall, her father was a world famous magician from Argentina, and considered one of the best; …read more

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If you’ve missed the opportunity to see this entertaining one woman show starring Rachida Khalil at the Olympia, I’m sure it will return to the stage once again in the near future! Ever since its first appearance a few years ago, La Vie Rêvée de Fatna, with Rachida Khalil has been playing to rave reviews!
The story line written in collaboration with Guy Bedos is about three Arab women whose paths cross by fate. Karima is a young woman who dreams of becoming an actrice, Sophie her racist neighbor, and Fatna, the aunt who has spent her life in a tiny village.
La …read more

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I went to see a good friend of mine at her workplace who was retiring after years at a job she loved. I can still remember when JJ first started working there and how happy she was. It was a dream job right off the Champs-Elysées. Not because she met celebrities all the time; she did, but she’s use to it. (Afterall, her niece is a famous French actress and her sister has been married to music royalty for more than thirty years, so for JJ it’s the norm.) No, it was a job she enjoyed doing.
If you’ve spent anytime in …read more

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A great festival every year since 1934 is the annual Fête des Vendanges de Montmartre (the Grape Harvest Festival of Montmartre). The festival takes place next week-end from the 12th to the 14th of October which celebrates the wine from the local vineyards. Each year the festival honors a celebrity with the previous year’s vintage; this year French singer Georges Brassens is the honoree and the bottles will bear his name.
In case you don’t know, Montmartre has been producing wine since the Middle Ages! The vineyards are on roughly 1555 square metres and is comprised of 75% gamay, 20% pinot noir …read more

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There are only a few days left (until Sunday October 7) to see some of the best tango dancers that Argentina has to offer! World renown Gustavo Russo, is the director, choreographer, and first dancer of Tango Seducción, along with Samantha Garcia, and Alejandra Canepa, the singer, and the rest of the cast who give a spectacular performance in a cabaret setting of fiery, passionate, yet oh so sensual dance!
The show includes a humorous history of tango, plus the tango classics such as ‘El Choclo” (A favorite of mine since I was a kid!) and, of course, the part of …read more

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If you’re thinking of coming to Paris soon, then you’re right in time for this year’s Nuit Blanche which takes place October 6! “Nuit blanche” (white night) is an expression meaning, “staying up all night.” More often than not it’s used in the context of “partying all night.” I mean, come on, we’re in Paris afterall, but it’s for any reason that keeps you awake all night long.
This is the sixth year that Paris is putting on a Nuit Blanche and just like the Fête de la Musique, what began in Paris, has once again taken off and has now …read more

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Another star has dimmed by the passing of the most famous mime in the world and along with him, his alter-ego “Bip”. If you’ve ever been fortunate enough to attend one of his shows, then you know what an incredible artist he was.
                                                                                             Marcel Marceau entertained audiences for sixty years! Some of his most famous skits in his long and impressive repertoire were The Cage, Walking Against the Wind, The Kite, and Pierrot de Montmartre. His masterpieces included Youth, Maturity, Old Age and Death, The Creation of the World, and Bip plays David and Goliath.
The first time I saw …read more

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Jacques Martin passed away Friday in Biarritz at the age of 74 and with him goes a part of French culture, French television, and so much more. Jacques Martin was a part of our Sunday afternoons for decades which was known as Dimanche Martin. Think Art Linkletter, Ed Sullivan, Bob Barker, Merv Griffin and Johnny Carson combined and you start to get an idea as to what Jacques Martin was to French TV!
My favorite, of course, was l’Ecole des Fans, very much in the genre of Art Linkletter’s House Party and Kids Say the Darndest Things, but with one slight …read more

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