Site Development
We are always adding to this site to make it a comprehensive guide to all things French. - Recent Updates - E-mail Us with Suggestions |
Our recent trip to France (April 2011) - final partNew French vistas, villages and visits (in the North of France)
On our way back from Provence in the south and before heading to the northern battlefields, we briefly stopped in Paris. The weather continued to be spectacular and we were able to spend some more time in the glorious sunshine, this time enjoying lunch in the same 1st arrondissement cafe near the Louvre that Angelina Jolie had her breakfast in at the start of the Tourist movie. While there was no courier on a bike delivering a letter that would subsequently be set fire to, we were entertained by a string ensemble with a crowd gathered around it in the square in front of where we sat. It was very apt for these talented buskers to be playing the classics in front of the Palais Royal/Comedie Theatre which for centuries dating back to Moliere's time has been the Parisian venue for French artistic expression. This spot was also very fitting for us as we were staying just around the corner in rue Moliere in the historic Hotel Moliere near the famous playwright's statue/fountain and place he lived/died. Besides being quite taken by this area, we had chosen to stay there as we had booked to go to dinner at Le Grand Colbert bistrot which is on the northern side of the Palais Royal gardens. We had noticed it before as being the restaurant from the movie Somethings Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves. In the window of the restaurant is an article from 'the Australian' mentioning this link. The restaurant has a lot of history besides having many movies filmed there (of note French movie ANGEL-A) - opened as a Belle Epoque Parisian bistrot in 1900, it is housed in the restored building of the famous Galerie Colbert, the sister of Galerie Vivienne. Last time, while I shopped in the markets, David did the underground passages/caves tour which took him through all of the adjoining caves under the square. These were used during WW1 by Allied troops. A few years ago however the separate cellars that made up the passages were given back to the property owners above them which was disappointing for me as I was very keen to see them this trip. We discovered the reason they were able to do this was that more war history underground passages were uncovered on the outskirts of town and had been turned into a memorial/museum. This was such a worthwhile site to visit - the Wellington quarry tour takes you down 20m to explore the former quarry turned into tunnels, relatively untouched since the war, which almost 20,000 Allied troops occupied while preparing to fight the Germans. Outside the entrance and above the tunnels, a memorial wall lists the names of those who died nearby including many Australian battalions - close to where the poppy wreath dedications were laid out below.
Merci France for another truly memorable trip. |