The Independent Traveler's Newsletter                                                                    PAGE TWO
 
ICI ET LÀ
This column is intended to advise you about cultural events, news and happenings
in France or France-related events taking place in the United States & elsewhere
 between now and the publication of our next issue.

In France. . .

o   A debate erupted at the end of 2018 after an academic exhibition that proposed that the Cathars never existed.  A history professor at Paul-Valery University in Montpellier, Alessia Trivellone, organized the exhibit and said,  "People imagine that these people died as heroes in defense of their faith and against corrupt powers.  They feel that the very idea of going back to investigate this painful story is unbearable." She is one of a growing number of early modern Europe scholars who are casting doubt on the Cathars existence, and she has become the target of critics along with other historians as only wanting to further their careers.   But,  this debate and its backlash revealed the lingering resentment in this part of southern France over Paris' domination of the country's culture and economy.  Wounds remain from the 13th century crusade and  slaughter of the Cathars and the subsequent elimination of the language and culture in the region and substitution of northern values.   Trivellone went on to say "“Myths are the very foundation of a social group or of a civilization, a sometimes indispensable cement of societies.  The myth of the Cathars is even stronger because it allows people to identify with the vanquished of history.”  Now, some 800 years later,  the region of Languedoc-Roussillon and the Midi-Pyrénées, an area about the size of Austria, has been renamed Occitanie, (pronounced oxy-ta-nee) paying homage to the language of 'langue d'oc' spoken in Cathar territory before the purge.  [source: Los Angeles Times]  

Foix Castle, Getty ImagesDistant view of Carcassonne.  Copyright Cold Spring Press.  All rights reserved.
The Cathar strongholds:   Foix Castle (11th century) and a distant view of the walled city of Carcassonne (13th century)

o   President Macron has taken an additional step to quell the unrest among the 'yellow vest' protesters by lowering taxes on the middle class.   This follows his lifting of the fuel tax increase and other considerable concessions.  The protests have now gone on since November, and it is hoped that they will come to an end soon.  The protests are being blamed for a decline in GDP with a poor outlook for France's economy in 2019, a drop in tourism and hotel stays, delays in roadwork creating delays throughout the country, destruction of speed cameras with a corresponding increase in road deaths especially on two lane country roads (100 more than at the same time in 2018), and wide spread destruction of private property.

o   We neglected to mention in our last issue that six specially trained rooks, members of the crow family that include carrion crows, jackdaws and ravens, are picking up cigarette butts and rubbish at the Puy du Fou park in the Vendée département of western France.  Because they are especially intelligent and enjoy communicating with humans, they establish a relationship through play.  The park visitors are careful to keep things clean, but the birds will show that nature can take care of the environment as well.  The birds keep the park 'spruced up' and receive a tasty treat dispensed from a small box each time they deposit a cigarette but or small piece of rubbish.  [source: AFP] 

o   Bulgarian-American artist Christo
, and his late French wife, Jeanne-Claude, once draped the Pont Neuf in Paris with his famous canvas
art.  Their dream was to do the same with the Arc de Triomphe, and the 83 year-old will do just that April 6 through 19, 2020.  Entitled Projet Pour Paris, Place de l'Etoile-Charles de Gaulle it will be in conjunction with a retrospective of the artist's life in Paris at the Centre  Pompidou.

o   Our good friends at Fromages.com told us about the winners for the Best Cheeses of 2019 selected by the jury at the annual Salon de l'Agriculture in Paris at the end of February.  And, the winners were: the creamy Brillat-Savarin, the delicate Perail de Brebis, the elegant Ste Maure de Touraine, the nutty Pont l'Eveque, the powerful Epoisses, and the vigorous Roquefort.  A champion cheese board to enjoy! 

2019 Champion Cheese Board.  Copyright Fromages.com.  All rights reserved.

You can visit their wonderful web site, peruse the vast selection of luscious French cheese, and order online.  Cheese is shipped overnight by FedEx to arrive fresh at your next party or gathering.  Delivery to many countries of the world.  Information about Fromages.com can be found at https://www.fromages.com/en/ in English.  Location:  Marche de Gros Rochepinard, Avenue Vatel, 37000 Tours, France.  Phone:  33.2.47.56.17.17,  Email: info@fromages.com. 
FRCE
o  Normandy will be the location of solemn commemorations, parades and fireworks in honor of the valiant Allied forces who stormed its beaches on June 6, 1944.  The annual D-Day Festival will commence on May 25 and continue through June 16 with concerts, military processions, and shows, and on June 5th 300 paratroopers will drop from a fleet of 30 Dakota airplanes (Douglas DC-3s) in the first mass airdrop since Operation Overlord.  For more information: www.normandie-tourisme.frSee page four of this newsletter for a summary of the events.
   
o  May 18 is free Museum Night across France.  Beginning at 6PM, visitors can avail themselves of tours, performances and more until midnight, all at no cost other than enduring the endless queues to enter each museum.  More information at https://nuitdesmusees.culture.gouv.fr/.

o  2019 marks the 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci at his Loire Valley home, Château du Clos Lucé, as well as the 500th Anniversary of the French Renaissance and the birth of Catherine de Medici, in Florence, Italy.  Visitors to the Loire will find this year-long celebration throughout the Loire Valley and a good time will be had by all.  Details at  https://www.vivadavinci2019.fr/.

o  The French Open will be played on the clay tennis courts of Stade Roland Garros in Paris from May 26 to June 9.  For information visit https://www.rolandgarros.com.


o  2019 is the 100th anniversary of the death of Pierre-Auguste Renoir
and you are invited to his home in Essoyes (Champagne region) to see his house, garden, studio and original works.  Dates and prices can be found at http://renoir-essoyes.fr/fr/accueil/

o  The 50th anniversary of the first human to step on the Moon is an opportunity to study, present and celebrate the long history that links humans with this familiar celestial body through artwork and objects that embody the countless visions and emotions it has inspired.  A five-part exhibition is a journey to the Moon through dimensions both real and imaginary.  Each stage takes visitors on a voyage through time, revealing artistic creations from Antiquity to the modern day.  At the Grand Palais, Galeries nationales from now through July 22, 2019.  Information at https://www.grandpalais.fr/en/event/moon

o  Artist Raoul Dufy was born in Le Havre, a place that inspired him throughout his life.   He visited his native Normandy numerous times between 1926 and 1933 to paint seascapes, Le Havre's busy pier and scenes of the harbor.  He once said, 'Woe to the man who lives in a climate far from the sea." An exhibit of his art will be presented at Le Havre's Musée d'Art Moderne André Malraux from May 3rd to November 3rd.  Details at www.muma-lehavre.fr.

The FIFA Women's World Cup will be held in 9 venues throughout beautiful France from June 7 to July 7.
: Rennes, Valenciennes, Grenoble, Lyon, Montpellier, Nice, Paris (Parc des Princes), Le Havre and Reims. There will be 52 matches, and ticket information can be found here.



snail

  DID YOU KNOW?   It is against the law to carry live snails on a high-speed train in France
   
without their own tickets!?  Any domesticated animal weighing under 5kg must be a paying
passenger.  In 2008, a Frenchman was fined when caught carrying live snails on a TGV,
 but the fine was later waived by SNCF.  Travelers beware!



In the U.S.


Toulouse-Lautrec BMFA
Guy de Montlaur.  Wikipedia
o  New Orleans, Louisiana's National WWII Museum
hosts the exhibit The Memory of What I Cannot Say, the vivid abstract paintings of Guy de Montlaur (1918-1977), a veteran of the Free French Commandos who landed on Sword Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944 and went on to become an established painter.  He
served his country from 1938 until 1945.  This exhibit is now through October 20, 2019.  The museum is located at 945 Magazine Street in New Orleans.  For further information: https://www.nationalWW2museum.org/.


  


o  The Boston Museum of Fine Arts presents Toulouse-Lautrec and the Stars of Paris through August 4, 2019.   Focusing on the stars and denizens of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's bohemian cabaret world, this exhibit offers a guided tour of fin-de-siècle Paris at night, bringing a group of its legendary protagonists to life.  For more information visit https://www.mfa.org.














THE BOOKSHELF. . . The Little(r) Museums of Paris   by Emma Jacobs

The Little(r) Museums of Paris    Copyright 2019 Emma Jacobs.  All rights reserved.
This fascinating guide book, both beautifully illustrated and written by the author, Emma Jacobs, is a 'must have' before your next visit to Paris. It is a timeless guide to the hidden treasures of Paris with charming watercolor illustrations and a focus on one of the world's most beloved travel destinations. The Little(r) Museums of Paris explores the different small museums nestled within the city, allowing readers to peek behind the curtains of artists' apartments, into the microscopes of collections of scientific oddities, and much more from the beautiful to the bizarre.

We especially enjoyed reading about the Musée Carnavalet,  once the Hôtel Carnavalet and occupied by one Marquise de Sévigné whose husband died years before in a duel over another woman!  Or, the Musée de la Préfecture de Police, filled with information and collections about assassins, thieves and spies, it also exhibits (behind glass) projectiles thrown at police honoring the venerable French tradition of street protests.  One mustn't miss the Musée de la Contrefaçon (the Museum of Counterfeiting) which covers everything from faux designer products such as handbags and shoes to unexpected fakes such as Tabasco sauce, dictionaries and vacuum cleaners.  The dangers of counterfeit products are also presented such as headphones that might explode, and, of course, counterfeit currency is also on display.

Then, on  a more serious note, the Musée de Cluny - Musée national du Moyen Âge, Galerie-Musée Baccarat, and Musée Yves Saint Laurent, and so many others are also described in a way to encourage you to visit.

The author has a fine but subtle sense of humor which makes this not only a guide book but an enjoyable read at any time.  Her illustrations are light and lovely, and she provides addresses, opening hours, admission prices and the nearest Métro.  We hope you will find this new book not only informative and entertaining but very useful during your next stay in Paris.

 

Emma Jacobs salonEmma Jacobs House

Emma Jacobs is a multimedia journalist and illustrator and has reported for NPR and PRI's
The World.  Her writing has also appeared in the Washington Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer,
and other publications.  She is currently based in Montreal, and this is her first book.

This book will not be available until June 4th, but you can pre-order now by clicking here.
Published by Running Press, Hachette Book Group, N.Y., N.Y.
ISBNs 978-0-7624-6639-9 (Hard Cover)  978-0-7624-6640-5 (eBook)


 
A Hidden Gem in the French Countryside:  Toul

Map of Muerthe et Moselle.  Wikipedia
St Etienne de Toul.  Copyright Cold Spring Press.  All rights reserved.Occasionally
we come upon a church or cathedral under renovation, and we donate a small amount of euros to the cause as we know that a huge amount of money will be needed no matter how small or large the project.  That was the case when we visited Toul last year.  This little commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département of Lorraine (in the region now known as Grand Est) is home to a magnificent cathedral ~ something that came as quite a surprise as we were simply looking for a place to stop for lunch!  Right across from the cathedral, under extensive renovation, we enjoyed a light meal all the while enjoying the beauty of this magnificent building.

Toul is a commune in Lorraine located between Commercy and Nancy.  The Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Toul
is of Gothic, Late Gothic (also known as Flamboyant) and Renaissance architecture.  Ground was broken for it in the 4th century (the year of 365 to be exact), opened in 1210, and it was completed in the 16th century.

But, there is more to Toul than we previously knew.  It was the base for American forces in both the first and second World Wars.  Toul was the primary base of the Air Service, United States Army, a predecessor to the US Air Force during World War I.  It was the base for many of the 45 wartime squadrons of the First Army Air Service.  Two major operations were launched from here: the St Mihiel Offensive and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, both in September of 1918.  In World War II, the American 358th Fighter Group used Toul-Croix de Metz airfield in the fall of 1944 and spring of 1945.  Toul-Rosiers Air Base was an American NATO air base in the 1950s and 1960s. 

You may have heard of the 94th Aero Squadron, a US Army unit that fought on the Western Front in WWII.  It was one of the first American pursuit squadrons to reach the Western Front and see combat, and became one of the most famous.   It was based in Toul.

Perhaps
the most striking feature of Toul are the impressive stone ramparts, the work of Vauban, Louis XIV's military engineer.  He designed a new enclosure in 1698 and it was built over the next two years.  Several of Vauban's fortifications in France are listed as a combined UNESCO World Heritage Site, although Toul's have not yet been included.  It is believe there was a fortified town here since the earliest recorded history.
.

Toul ramparts.  Wikipedia.St Etienne Toul organ.  Copyright Cold Spring Press.  All rights reserved.
                                                     


                                                                                          
                                       Aerial view of Toul                                                    Cathédrale Saint-Étienne's Pipe Organ                                                                                                                Façade of the Cathedral



                                                                                                                                                                                              

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