Netherlands-bound

Off to Amsterdam today for some work tomorrow. Staying near the city center with a nice view of one of the ubiquitous canals.

More when I'm onsite later today.

Garrigue Rock ....

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You heard me ... GO THERE NOW!

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Comments?

Salon des Arts 2006

The annual 14th arrondissement art show (exclusively of artists living in the 14th) and, once again, Myriam has a painting in the show .

Vernissage tonight around 7pm for those who'd like to meet us there. Always interesting and the mayor throws in a cocktail party!

Afterwards (probably) at la Comedia.

Monsoon evening ...

After an apéro visit (vive le vin rosé !) at Bruce & Barbara's Tiquetonne apartment (here is a shot of an interesting place just across the street) we went to Vieng Siam, a nice Thai restaurant just down the street.

During dinner an enormous rainstorm broke (lasting for quite a while ... with thunder galore) giving us the wonderful feeling of actually being in Thailand!

If any of you dear readers have Thai tips (other restos to try, recipes - our new kitchen will soon be finished, merci Philippe) just let me know via comments or e-mail.

Oh, my (our) aching back(s) ...

Going on 8pm and we're just finishing the "big move" back into our refurbished apartment. Boxes galore and furniture to move back down ... plus, as usual, last-minute items to be finished (shelving, closets). Overall it is a BIG change and we're happy the "process" is over (almost). Generally happy with the results - I'll hope to put some links on this blog in the next few days so you can see what the results are.

MANY THANKS to the crew of good friends who came to help out (and will sit down to dinner with us now): merci Meyre, Florence, Denis, Mikael, Benjamin, Jacques and Dominque, Myriam and Paula. We couldn't have done it without you!

Spectacular Chateau ...

Les Fêtes de Nuit de Versailles : Les Noces de l’Enfant Roi

Superb dance piece. Excellent music by Rita Mitsouko. Very nice cultural evening. (And a big merci to our friend Michel, master of stage scenery, for the freebie tickets!)

The storyline is fascinating - recounting the marriage of 11 year-old Louis XV with his child bride, 4 year-old Marie Anne - daughter of King Felipe V of Spain. The dancing is spirited, inventive, and lyrical. And there are even fireworks! Impeccably timed and chosen (and right close!). Even the location is magical - the stage is actually set over the water of the Neptune Basin in the gardens of the spectacular (even more so at night) chateau of Versailles.

(click the image for more information - en français)

The August castle tour continues...

Dinner tonight at Läckö Castle (a medieval castle, located on an island in the lake Vänern in Sweden).

A highly enjoyable (and informative) performance, with music and singing and declamation, by Leif Olson and his troupe.

Trip to Sweden

I'm off to Lidköping this afternoon for four days of what promises to be very interesting work. You can get a quick overview of the town and see some pictures here.

le Château Tenant

UPCOMING NEWS: Arrival at le Château Ternant, high up in the hills of the wine-famous town of Nuits-Saint-Georges. Gorgeous! Click on the title above for more pix.

mini-mini-vacation...

Off to Montigny-sur-Loing to sleep over tonight before continuing the route to tomorrow's start of a 3 day hiatus at the Castle T.

Château near Dalida's bust

Roland, our philatelist friend, had us over to Château des Brouillards, a marvelous 17th century home up in Montmartre. We went with our neighbor Anne and were joined by Roland's son, Charles for an extended and very enjoyable apéro.

We ended up discussing everything from the real story of Carlos Gardel's origins to modern philosophy (Charles' area of study) to the relative merits of Uruguayan vs Spanish vs French wines.

Polished off the night with a few snifters of Roland's excellent homemade vodka infused with genièvre (juniper).

Peace...

Nice time at Al Sage, our favorite neighborhood Lebanese restaurant( and the ever-warm welcome of M. Boutrous), for a quiet tête-à-tête dinner; followed by a little TV dessert, Criminal Minds.

Climb a mountain if I had to ...

Wonderful dinner with Winkie (here for a year's sabatical) & Jöel and also Domi & Jacques (St. Petersbourg-bound tomorrow) and François. Background music by Tracy Chapman, among others.

Anne stopped by for a drink afterwards!

Shower heads ...

After a quick vist to BHV for a look at items for the "new" (in 3 weeks) apartment , Odile and I met Alain at La Comedia where we were sereptitiously joined by Isabelle. We all headed off for dinner at the Mauritius where Florence joined us for coffee. I headed home somewhat after midnight but the others closed the place down around 2:30am!

New mapping project: I've started a small project of "family" loactions using web-based mapping software. You can see samples for Puerto Rico and France. Let me know what you think!

All work and no play...

Very intense 2 days in preparation for an important project review tomorrow ... but a short respite this evening.

Had an excellent, inventive dinner (out in the garden) at EatCetera in central Brussels.
(Red tuna roll with vegetables, wasabi and soya sauce; Brochette of prawns flavoured with sesame seeds, served with a fresh mango salad and balsamico vinegar ice cream).

Up to Belgium ...

In Brussels for the next few days ... I'll plan to stop by the "wall of beer bottle labels" like the good pilgrim I am.

¡Que gane el mejor!

With barely 7 hours left before the World Cup kickoff the tension and excitement is mounting and mounting. On near-by rue Liancourt the flag-waving mania has, as you can see in the photo, reached a max.

With a million people expected at the Champs-Elysées (regardless or whether France wins or loses) we're all expecting a long and noisy night!

Allez les Bleus !

UPDATE (22h50): Ouch!

Happy Birthday to JMB

We (family and quasi-family) have gotten together for dinner and (pictured at left) a wonderful cake au 6ème to celebrate Jean-Marie's (always magic, i.e. 07/07) birthday.

Felicidades, amigo!

El cuatro de Julio ... & Marivaux

<-- There it is! Enjoy the day ... and let's plan ahead for the 14th.

UPDATE: We're off to see Marie's daughter,Félicie, who plays Lisette in tonight's performance of Marivaux's "Le Legs" at the Théâtre 13. There's another performance tomorrow for you non-football fans!

First Monday in July Picnic

We had a very nice picnic (fourth annual organized by Geneviève & Bernard, merci!) at the Parc de Sceaux on the lawn near le Pavillon de l'Aurore (seen at left). Very relaxing (especially after a torrid summer day), fun and everyone brought a tasty dish to share (and champagne).