EuroPanache Blog

Alexander Calder Exhibit - Georges Pompidou Center

by Marie-Lys D. 

This first Sunday of July in Paris is to my liking. The City is quiet and turned over to lovers of “promenade” and discovery. The weather is ideal, sunny and not too hot. We have decided this morning to visit the Calder exhibition that runs until July 20^th at the Centre Georges Pompidou located in the very heart of Paris. We leave early as we want to take our breakfast - the traditional café and croissants - at the Café Dame Tartine while enjoying the view on the Stravinsky fountain created by Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle to make water “sing” as it moves.

The line to get in is rather impressive and we are not very found of queuing. This long line is composed of Calder’s lovers. It is also the opportunity of benefitting from free museum admission on the first Sunday of the month. Luckily we knew that just at the opposite end of the museum there is another entrance that few know about. Well done! Within 5 minutes, we are inside.

We take the escalators up to the top of the building to where the exhibition takes place. We have found our youthful souls, full of admiration at the extraordinary Parisian views that unfold as we rise. Look, here on the hill at our right is Montmartre with its big white church and on our left the Eiffel tower!

As we enter the exhibition, the true enchantment begins. We knew about Calder’s giant mobiles and aircraft and had the opportunity to view the fabulous film with his magic circus from years back, but we had never seen his works dating from the his Parisian period from 1926 to 1933. We are under his spell.

If you are in Paris, run to see the Calder exhibition. You’ll leave full of dreams. Calder is a true magician.

Alexander Calder (1898-1976) was one of the most notable of twentieth-century sculptors. Born in the United States, the son and grandson of sculptors, he produced toys even as a child. Calder first trained as an engineer and then as an artist but his real career bean on his arrival in Paris in 1926. In just a few years, he would reinvent sculptures as “drawing space” introducing a new abstraction. Between 1926 and 1931, he constructed his unique Calder Circus, a piece that includes hundreds of small figures made from recycled materials, animated by simple mechanisms. His rapid artistic development saw him reject traditional techniques to develop a sculpture in wire, linear, massless and mobile. After 1930, influenced by Mondrian’s geometrical abstraction, he made kinetic sculptures whose metallic lines are punctuated by elements of pure colour. His last Paris sculptures, in 1933 - the suspended mobiles, slowly turning in space and wooden pieces of primitivist inspiration to the cosmic of a poetic body of work.

With more than 300 sculptures, paintings, drawings, toys, photographs and films, this exhibition takes place in two galleries (Galerie 2, level 6 and Galerie du Musée Level 4) is the first to be wholly devoted to Calder’s years in Paris. (Source: Centre Georges Pompidou).

Centre Georges Pompidou

Up to July 20th, 2009

Galerie 2, level 6 & Galerie du Musée, level 4

11 am-9pm everyday ex. Tuesdays.

Ticket office closes at 8pm

Late opening until 11pm

Thursdays, Galerie 2 only

Ticket office closes at 10pm

Spiky fun

Kids, young and old, are fascinated by cacti. Two great gardens lie on the Riviera – one atop the hill at Eze-Village and the other in Monaco.  Both afford spectactular views of the coast and a myriad of species.

Eze-Village – if quaint perched villages are your cup of tea, and you’d relish a vigourous walk uphill through serpentine cobblestone walkways to get to the garden, then this is the place for you. 

The Present structure of the village goes back to the Middle Ages but Eze has been occupied since the Bronze Age. Since then, Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans and Monegasques have used the site.  It wasn’t until the mid-19th century that its inhabitants opted for annexation to France.

The Jardin Exotique is a lushly landscaped garden of exotic plants and cacti, aloes and agaves that was developed by Louis XIV.  It decorates the summit of the village and with incredible views of the sea from any vantage point.

Hours:
Open everyday from 9:30am to 5pm (winter) ; longer hours in summer – 9am to 8pm in July/August

Entrance:
Adults: € 5
Students, Groups (10+): € 2,50 
Children under 18: € 1
Ezasques, children under 11 years: Free

Monaco – this historic garden was begun by Prince Albert I and took 20 years to complete. Clinging to rocky cliffs 300 feet above Monaco's Mediterranean cost, more than 10,000 plants from 3,000 species, most of them cacti or other succulents, rise in spiky profusion. Part of the garden is always in bloom.

While excavating for the garden, an underground grotto was discovered at the base of the cliff.  It is the largest cave of its type in Europe with a constant temperature of 18 degrees celcius year-round.  It has  stalagtites (top-down) and stalagmites (bottom-up) galore and contains 250,000-year-old animal bones and artifacts from prehistoric man.  Be sure to wear rubber-soled shoes (as it’s slippery down there), and be prepared for quite a hike (300 steps down and back up again).  

Entrance:

Adults: €6.80
Children (6-18): €3.50
Students (max 30) €3.50
Senior (65+) €5.20

Hours:
Summer 15 May - 15 Sept 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Winter 16 Sept - 14 May 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. or dusk

A Midsummer Coastal Promenade

By BobP

We ventured out early today to walk the fabulous cape at St Jean de Cap Ferrat - one of the most exclusive and beautiful spots on the French Riviera. 

There are walking paths along the rugged coast from Beaulieu to Villefranche that stretch for 14 km.  Along the way, one passes the port of St Jean, a number of azure "creeks", a fabulous lighthouse, 3 public beaches - Paloma, Passable and Cro dei Pin - and some of the most stunning villas and private gardens on the coast.

In honour of midsummer, Dario decided to pick flowers - yellow, pink, red, purple - for his hat - apparently a Swedish tradition on this, the longest day of the year. To each his own; in France, we celebrate the festival of music - with bands on every corner in most cities during the evening.

On our walk, we spotted several naughty skinny-dippers on the rocks and in the water in some of the more discreet areas.   

After what seemed like hours, we ventured on a nice beachside italian restaurant where we downed a bottle of fruity rosé wine and salad plates.

 

My feet hurt, but it was a lovely day.  We followed the walk with a visit to our local beach in Beaulieu - La Plage des Fourmies - with a hearty swim in warm sea.  No jellyfish today - Dario was stung last week and is now particularly vigilant.  After the storms last night, we were expecting far worse, but the water was clear and striped fish were visible as we swam (with masks and snorkels). 

A Matter of Caves and Mushrooms

By NormaK

The Loire Valley is known for its magnificent castles and wines.  Been there, done that!  Last weekend, I sought something a little different…

Saumur is a beautiful town with a lovely chateau overlooking the Loire River - all built in the chalky white tufa stone that is so characteristic of the area. When they were building the chateau, so much stone was excavated that it left a network of tunnels. It sits regally on top of a small hill above the town overlooking the river. The fortress was built during the 13th century, it has since been a palace, a prison and now houses the municipal museum since 1912. Apparently during its time as a prison, the Marquis de Sade was one of its inmates - we can only imagine what happened inside!

For the past ten years the castle has been undergoing major reconstruction, so visits are out of the question - but it is pretty impressive from the outside. 

We drove along the road running parallel to the River with troglodyte caves on the opposite side.  The best way to get an idea of what these fascinating caves are like is to do a troglodyte tour. It’s quite amazing how the caves are used – even today – for wine fermentation and storage, cultivating mushrooms and snails, as restaurants, shops, hotels and even for a creepy zoo! 

The highlight for me was a visit to a mushroom farm in one of the caves.  The amazing network of troglodyte cellars has allowed the Saumur region to become the mushroom capital of France, producing about 70% of Paris’ world-famous button mushrooms called "Champignons de Paris".  Who’d ever imagine?  Nothing hallucinogenic about them, but I was in seventh heaven…

When you think of the Loire Valley you think of Chateaux and wines. This weekend I saw a totally different side, at a much slower pace and I’d highly recommend it along with a bit of Nirvana, Marianne Faithfull or Velvet Underground on the Ipod…

For information on FrancePanache tours to the Loire Valley region, email info@europanache.com

Cote d'Azur Corniches & Villas

by BobP

Since EuroPanache/FrancePanache opened its satellite office in the Cote d'Azur this April, we have been exploring the region more intensively. 

There are three routes à corniche or "roads on a ledge" along the French Riviera - la basse corniche - close to the water's edge where you can visit lovely seaside villages such as VilleFranche, Saint Jean de Cap Ferrat and Beaulieu, la moyenne corniche - mid mountain - where towns like Eze are situated and la grande corniche - way up in the hills - which affords spectacular views of the coast from Nice to Monaco.

Many private villas lie along the serpentine roads leading from the basse and moyenne corniches. Along the coast, two of our favorite properties are the Greek-style Villa Kerylos in the chic town of Beaulieu-sur-Mer and the pink Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in the terribly exclusive cape at St Jean. 

Villa Kerylos - this Grecian villa  is one of the most extraordinary sites on the French Riviera. It was built in the early 1900s, in the period the French call the “Belle Epoque”, and is a unique and extremely luxurious re-creation of an ancient Grecian dwelling, complete with wall decorations and furniture. It stands as the tribute to Greek civilisation of two great enthusiasts for Ancient Greece : Theodore Reinach, an archaeologist and patron of the arts, and Emmanuel Pontremoli, an inspired architect. Based on the design of noble houses built in the 2nd century B.C. on the Island of Delos, the Villa Kerylos invites visitors to step right back into Ancient Greece. Everything inside, from the arrangement of rooms to the stylistic details of the décor, was designed to recreate the atmosphere of a luxurious Grecian villa.

Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild - built on the narrowest part of the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat promontory, this sumptuous palazzo, one of the finest listed buildings on the French Riviera, has views over the Bay of Villefranche on one side and the Bay of Beaulieu on the other. It was in 1905 that Baroness Ephrussi de Rothschild chose this spot to build her personal "folly" inspired by the great Renaissance palaces of Venice and Florence. The Villa is set among nine magnificent themed gardens. Today, Villa Ephrussi is the only great house open to the public on the Riviera to give some idea of the magnificent summer residences built by the very wealthy during the Belle Epoque.  A particularly enjoyable lunch or afternoon tea is served in the conservatory (all seasons) and adjacent garden (summer months).

FrancePanache offers day tours and shore excursions from Monaco, Villefranche and Nice featuring the Villas & Corniche of the Riviera.  For more information, view our website and contact your travel agent.

Fat Tire Bike Tours of Paris

by NormaK

It's not high-end, so Bob may bitch at my posting this, but Sunday was such a glorious day here in Paris that I decided to do something a little different and take a fat tire bike tour of Paris.

What a great alternative way to get around Paris, so much easier on the feet!  Sunday I must say is a good day to cycle around Paris, as there isn’t much traffic, so I felt very safe. Our guide when crossing at the lights, always made sure that it was safe enough to cross which was reassuring, and we cycled most of the time on bicycle tracks.

We cycled and stopped by the main sites including the Eiffel Tower and the Champs de Mars, the Ecole Militaire and Les Invalides and over the Alexander III bridge. 

We stopped at Place de la Concorde and had a picnic lunch in the Tuileries Gardens and saw the Louvre Museum pyramids.

Our guide was very informative and very American, by that I mean, excellent customer service and over the top enthusiasm, with plenty of smiles!

After 4 hours, my bottom was fine, the bike was very comfortable and easy to use and as the day was so glorious I could have stayed on for another half-day...

Perched Villages of Provence

Since moving down to the Cote d'Azur and opening our satellite office, one of our favorite pastimes has been discovering the numerous perched villages in the arriere pays (or back country of Provence).

Near Nice and Cannes:

Tourrettes sur Loup is a beautiful medieval village perched on a narrow spur of land extending from very rocky hills, with the gorge of a small stream deep below one high wall of buildings. Tourrettes was a fortified village, and the arched passages remain through the wall of houses in three places into the center of the "vieux village".

 

Saint Paul de Vence is very popular and can be a bit touristy in the high-season.  This hilltop village has many art galleries, boutiques sporting olive oil, liquors and herbs from the region and several art museums.  Russian painter Marc Chagall is buried in the cemetary and the Fondation Maeght sports one of the best modern art collections in France.  The Colombe d'Or - at the entrance to the walled village, is renowned for it Michelin-star rated food.

Coursegoules is perched higher up - above Vence.  Far more isolated and not so touristy, its winding medieval and narrow streets, step-streets, vaulted passages, and old houses with ancient doorways are well worth discovering. Sites include the 13th-century village church, Sainte-Marie-Madeleine, and the classical Chapelle des Penitents Blancs with a very lovely and unique 19th-century campanile. 

Vestiges of an old highway from the Roman era are still walkable.

Bézaudun-les-Alpes, just down the road, is a tightly-grouped Medieval village sitting on a ridge with fabulous views of the Southern Alps.  The village houses are all built from local stone: calcaire, tuf and marne, and many of them date back several centuries. Some buildings are colored in the soft Provençal pastels, but most are faded and the village nearly blends in to the rocky hills. The remains of the Bézaudun chateau sits at the top of the village. The original tower dates from the 12th and 13th centuries and vestiges of the medieval wall are still visible.

Closer to Avignon and Aix-en-Provence:

Gordes is classified as one of the most beautiful villages in France. Perched on the southern edge of the high Plateau de Vaucluse.  The stone buildings built in tight against the base of the cliffs and those perched on the rocks above, including the 12th-century castle, are made of an beige stone that glows orange in the morning sun. The view from the village is a southern panorama out across fields and forests and small perched villages to the Montagne du Luberon.

The Royal Riviera Hotel at the entrance to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat

Posted by JillA

Catching up with our Founder and visiting our new office located between Nice and Monaco is giving me the opportunity to visit some of our favourite offerings in the south of France.

One place I could easily settle into for awhile is the Royal Riviera Hotel. It is located off the main roads 10 kilometers north of Nice and 10 kilometres south of Monaco at the entrance to renowned Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. The 1904 facade hides a charming residence, and surprisingly intimate for the number of rooms. Even more unusual was a style of friendly service reminiscent of asia and the surprisingly effective mixture of design features influenced by greece, africa, the local mediterannee area and Provence.

For those wanting an uninterrupted view of the mediterranean the corner balcony suite in the main building is ideal.

Then there are the suites in The Orangerie, a new villa separated from the main building by gardens and the guest only pool and summer dining pavillion. Although most have garden and pool views, the aspect, furnishings and space is great (and lighter and airier than the image shows). Definitely talk to us about sole use of this Villa if you have a celebration or incentive you want created. 

Note: Low season rates valid in April. 4 night special rates during F1 week in May. Private Sandy Beach and Beachside Pavillion Grill May to September. This hotel closes at the end of November and reopens mid-January each year.

   

Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix

Posted by JillA

Being at the new EuroPanache Cote d'Azur office this week has meant that I unexpectedly could visit Monaco on the Formula 1 weekend and experience some of our SportsPanache program. I know I am confirming the hype, but if you want an amazing F1 experience, then Monaco is the place for it. 

A number of drivers call Monaco home or have properties nearby, celebrities both above and below the radar are here to enjoy themselves, the Prince hosts some events, and the fans can sit a couple of metres from the cars if they want.

All this in one of the most recognised landscapes in the world.

What are the options - helicopter transfers, personal driver, central Monaco hotels, regional hotels or villas, Private F1 related events, charity events, F1 Terraces, Paddock Club or Boat Viewing options, Pit Lane visits, and after parties at the Amber Lounge - the F1 can be linked with Cannes Film Festival prior, some relaxing days in the area, then up to Paris for the French Open at Roland Garros.

For F1 followers 2009 has been a year of controversy so far - diffusers, kers, suspensions, future budget caps, and team Brawn to name a few. Maybe I should own up to being 'a bit of a fan' of this sport that requires split second reactions and an exactness, concentration and fitness achieved in few others, though I expect it is obvious by now.

Dates of interest when planning for 2010 are:

F1 Monaco - 20 to 23 May 2010

Cannes Film Festival - 12 to 23 May 2010

Roland Garros - 24 May to 6 June 2010

Want something out of the ordinary rather than just a couple of grandstand tickets? Ask us - the combination of EuroPanache's and SportsPanache's network will satisfy you and your clients.

The images were taken from one of The Terraces during Qualifying on Saturday.

EuroPanache gives back with “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

by BobP

In March, EuroPanache was invited to join Virtuoso®, Lufthansa and the Intercontinental Grand Hotel Paris – to participate in the special two-hour Season Finale of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”.  This multiple Emmy Award winning rebuilds homes of needy families while they go on a vacation and airs in 69 countries worldwide.

 Our guest family, the McFarlands, had several dreams:

1)    a new home to replace a house with rusting pipes, rotting sub-flooring, corroded wiring and crumbling drywall -  unsafe for three teenage boys and their father,

2)    the launch of a "gymnasium for the mind" - a new resource center with books and computers to help needy kids become educated, and

3)    a trip to Paris!!

We took an immediate liking to Bernard - the father - a true gentleman, educator and mentor in his community.  After serving in the US Navy, Bernard returned to his native Indianapolis to find his neighborhood run-down and crime-ridden.  Sickened by the change, he became a community leader and built up a program called Pack 2000 to promote education, cultural exchange and artistic activities for underprivileged children in his community. 

EuroPanache and its partners hosted the family in Paris.  Donated ours included Paris Highlights (Louvre, Tuileries gardens, Montmartre, Latin Quarter, Arc de Triomphe), behind-the-scenes at the Eiffel Tower, bike riding in parks, a private showing at the Musee d’Orsay, chocolate and pastry creation and an African American Heritage Tour of Paris. 

The program rebuilt the family’s home, a community center for Pack 2000 and spruced up the neighborhood.  A new car and van for Pack 2000 were provided.  A painting kindly donated by Ealy Mays - the Black Heritage tour guide - now stands in the new Pack 2000 Center.

Viewers from North America can catch the many moving moments on the show, including a cameo of me welcoming the family to Paris, on the show’s website.  Viewers from other regions should check their local TV affiliate’s schedule for airing.