Category Archives: Opal Hush

Power and flour – rising prices, but what about French bread?

Power and flour – rising prices, but what about French bread? Due to the energy crisis and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the cost of power and flour is rising across France and Europe. Electricity costs and the cost of flour is affecting local bread businesses – the local bakery, la boulangerie. The French government has recently announcedContinue reading “Power and flour – rising prices, but what about French bread?”

Paris – City of Less Light for Christmas 2022, but it won’t dim the joy

Paris – City of Less Light for Christmas 2022, but it won’t dim the joy. Due to the energy crisis, the Paris 2022 festive season will have a little less illumination in the City of Light.    Local authorities are reducing the amount of festive-lit decorations this year to save energy and cut costs. They sayContinue reading “Paris – City of Less Light for Christmas 2022, but it won’t dim the joy”

The Crossed Bridge: from butcher to bookshop to café

The Crossed Bridge: from butcher to bookstore to café. At 62 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris is Le Pont Traversé: The Crossed Bridge. Once a bookstore, and now a café. Le Pont Traversé has a history.  The writer and poet Marcel Béalu (1908-1993) founded the bookstore in 1949.  He was born onContinue reading “The Crossed Bridge: from butcher to bookshop to café”

Rueil-Malmaison – home of Napoleon and Josephine and the Imperial Jubilee

Rueil-Malmaison – home of Napoleon and Josephine and the Imperial Jubilee. Commune Rueil-Malmaison is the hometown of General Napoleon Bonaparte before he became Emperor of France. He married his first wife Josephine de Beauharnais in 1796. She bought the Château de Malmaison in Rueil-Malmaison in 1799, a run-down manor house on 150 acres of woodsContinue reading “Rueil-Malmaison – home of Napoleon and Josephine and the Imperial Jubilee”

Traditional Théâtre des Marionnettes – open-air puppetry 

Traditional Théâtre des Marionnettes – open-air puppetry.  The Théâtre des Marionnettes – Puppet Theatre – in Rueil-Malmaison, 12 kilometres west of the centre of Paris, has a traditional red tented open-air Guignol puppet show.  The Théâtre des Marionnettes in Rueil-Malmaison is located on the promenade of the banks of the Seine near the park ofContinue reading “Traditional Théâtre des Marionnettes – open-air puppetry “

Hôtel de Ville de Paris – headquarters of the French Revolution, esplanade of liberation

Hôtel de Ville de Paris – headquarters of the French Revolution, esplanade of liberation. The Hôtel de Ville de Paris – the City Hall of Paris – was the headquarters of the French Revolution and now is the heart of all things Parisien. It is the mayoral place for local government, receptions, exhibitions, the OlympicContinue reading “Hôtel de Ville de Paris – headquarters of the French Revolution, esplanade of liberation”

Rue de L’école de Médecine – a street of many names

Rue de L’école de Médecine – a street of many names. Rue de L’École de Médecine – School of Medicine Street – is a street of many names. It is located in the Odéon and Monnaie districts of the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It meets at Rue Dupuytren and ends at the Boulevard Saint Germain. AmericanContinue reading “Rue de L’école de Médecine – a street of many names”

Doing a Philippe Katerine in nature in Paris, March 2022

Doing a Philippe Katerine in nature in Paris, March 2022. I love Philippe Katerine’s painting of the blond girl, on a swing, in a pink frou-frou skirt, in the woods, kicking off her red pom-pom shoe. What freedom! What March madness on a spring day. It is a reference to the original 1767 painting by Jean-HonoréContinue reading “Doing a Philippe Katerine in nature in Paris, March 2022”