BEAR is in Paris!

 Bear had a lovely trip over on the AirFrance air bus.

Bear thinks he will never need to watch another French film in his life, he watched soooooo many on AF!

 Unfortunately Carolg is still home packing.

La-di-da

 Nevermind.

Bear takes Roissey bus(FYI 10€) into Paris by himself.

Maybe someday Bear will become a Paris bus driver!

 At last. L'OPERA final stop. This time Bear is not taking petit dejeuner at Cafe de la Paix since Carolg has all the €s.

 On to ligne #8 to Ecole Militaire where Bear is housesitting.

 1st stop a look in Lenotre's macaron windows along Avenue Motte-Picot.

 Next a look at Carrefour's spring leeks/poireau.

 Bear insists on reading every lunch menu in the street.

 And checking up on every poster in Paris.

 And waving at every Paris bear..

 Then a look into a very traditional blanchisserie/laundress of sorts for special occasions.

A lunch date with Martine's rescue dog at Patisserie Jean Millet on 13,rue Saint-Dominique. Spring leeks and Lot, a kind of white fish.

Dessert is a traditional 'Polonaise' -  a tall pile of delicate meringue sprinkled with toasted almonds resting on a Kirsh soaked-base. Both Bear and Martine's dog are a little wobbly post-lunch but never mind.

Lots more Paris to come tomorrow PBers, even if it is chilly and drizzly and Carolg again did not bring the right clothes!

Hmmm...

French Films

We're back on the Bateau PBers, this time at the movies...
Can you think of a better way to bone up on your French than watching streaming Fr movies on Netflix? Absolutement pas! Thanks for all the tips on riding the boat in Paris. Now I have to do it!

Have you ever seen a French movie that didn't have at least ONE dinner soiree? Non! Period film, Ridicule (1996-cast:Charles Berling, Jean Rochefort, Fannie Ardent etc) is one of the best and totally au courant in content.

As Fr Girl says,
"At the dinner table you talk about food, not work, work, work."
The Man of my Life (L'Homme de Sa Vie) doesn't disappoint on all counts.

A special fav - I Do (2006 Prete-moi Ta Main cast:Alain Chabat, Charlotte Gainsbourg) - has Parfum expert Alain teaching pretend fiance Charlotte how to behave at an upcoming family dinner.

Even at a funeral, characters argue about how many guests should be at their dinner table! Thirteen will never do, Emmanuelle Beart tells her hubby in La Buche (1999)

Ensemble playing is the norm in French movies - you'll see the same faces over and over. In Change of Plans (Le Code a Change 2009) meaning the door code has changed, a group of friends meet for dinner two years in a row but their lives have changed.

Enroute to the dinner, the wife no longer wants to go, but her husband says,"We've brought a great Bordeaux!"

*According to Fr Girl, a bottle of red (preferrably Bordeaux) is the absolute best cadeaux you can bring as a guest.

Forget flowers, chocolates, and desserts.

My newest fav Fr film is Antony Zimmer (2005)

Bet you never heard of it.

This is the original film Johnny Depp had in mind when he made The Tourist. All the chemistry, tension and excitement lacking in Tourist is here in spades. Angelina can't hold a candle to Sophie Marceau.Who knew? Yvan Attal as lead male is pretty hot. Loved it!

A small quiet, engrossing film with Sandrine Bonaire and Kevin Klein (playing a grumpy old French man surprisingly well) is Queen to Play (2009 Joueuse) Don't miss it.

Any film with Daniel Auteil + Vanessa Paradis together has to be good. The girl on the Bridge (La fille sur le Pont 1999) will keep you on your toes. It's got thrills,chills, romance, toute!

French gangster films are dependable for learning slang and short phrases. Most of them have Alain Delon. Dirty Money (1972 Un Flic directed by famed Jean-Pierre Melville of Army of Shadows)

The new French doc, L'Amour Fou on YSL is at Netflix, another don't miss.

A big fav, Place Vendome (1998)is not available on Netflix yet. But you can watch the trailer with FAB Caterine Deneuve playing a jeweler's wife who finds out her husband was morally and financially corrupt after he's murdered and is left with a pile of stolen gems bla bla bla. I saw the original & would love to see it again Netflix svp.

Meanwhile I'm still plodding on with my sketches of Place Vendome. Hope they like this one...

Bear, who grew up in Paris, has already seen these films. Besides his French is parfait. So he's praticing snoozing sitting up for the AirFrance trek. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Got any good Frenchies to rec? Do tell.

BONJOUR FRENCH FILMS!