Tuesday, August 31, 2010

It's September & Cultural LIfe Roars Back to Paris!

In early September Paris undergoes a noticeable re-invigoration. Cafes and restaurants open up again, everyone is back from summer vacation. The cultural calendar swells with events of all types…. Major art and antique shows, music of every persuasion. Here are just a few things you might want to note if you are visiting Paris in September.

The blockbuster art show of the season will be a major Monet show at the Grand Palais, September 22 through January 10.

Lovers of antiques and design will not want to miss the Bienniale des Antiquaires, September 15 to 22 at the Grand Palais. This massive event features top quality, often very rare items ranging from furnishings to jewelry to paintings to archaelogical finds. There are 25 new international dealers in this year’s show adding to an already remarkable variety of offerings.

As fall arrives, the Opera en Plein Air season continues. Visit the ground of the Hotel des Invalides to hear Carmen performed from September 7-14. www.operaenpleinair.com

If you love Django Reinhardt’s gypsy jazz check out the Django Dorm concert at the Salle Pleyel on September 30.

And that’s just a start!

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Coffee and Cake in Paris, New York Style...

A New York Coffee Shop In Paris!

Just in case you are homesick for coffee cake and coffee “New Yorkaise” when visiting Paris you can stop in at ‘Le Coffee Shop Merce and the Muse’ located at 1 rue Charles Francois Dupuis in the 3rd arrondissement (near Republique). The American owner has modeled his shop on classic Greenwich Village coffee shops. If one more croissant is just too much to contemplate, hard as that is to fathom, keep this one in mind. Just one more good stop to keep in mind when exploring the ‘upper Marais’.