Culture

Watch our new series on French cooking! La Belle France takes you to the hotels and restaurants of France every month, now we’re bringing French cooking to you as well. Here, we make the classic Pommes Dauphinois. Everyone loves this dish in restaurants throughout France, now you can make it quickly and simply in your own home!

Left your heart in San Francisco? Find it at the Duke’s Bar in the Westminster Hotel (13 rue de la Paix) on Feb 2, 9, 16 and 23 when NY/SF crooner Terrance Gelenter brings a little Tony Bennet/Bobby Short to the Place Vendôme at 9 pm.

On January 29th, the pictures on the wall come to life as a troupe of dancers interpret “les muses” of artist Antoine Bourdelle at the Bourdelle Museum in Montparnasse. Free preformances at 2, 3 and 4 pm. Through March 12th, there’s “Que du Dessin” (drawings by Bourdelle) in the galleries. For more information: www.bourdelle.paris.com Corinne LaBalme

We’re coming up on Carnaval in Nice. Here’s a repost from our time at Carnaval last year…

The Nice Carnival has two major components: the fairy tale Batailles de Fleurs (which take place along the Promenade des Anglais in the daytime) and the rambunctious Corso Carnavalesque (in the Place Masséna both in the afternoons and at night). Every event doesn’t take place every day so it’s vital to check the schedules for the three-week party.

The Bataille de Fleurs, a tradition dating from 1876, is pure charm. Regional florists compete to make the prettiest and most impressive floats. Carnival “princesses” ride atop these floral creations, tossing bouquets of lilies and mimosas to the crowds and to the dancers and majorettes who round out the parade. At the end of the afternoon, tourists and locals head back to their homes and hotels, covered with confetti, and holding armfuls of fresh flowers.

Carnival experts in Nice evoke the modern event’s 127-year-old history but the key to enjoying the party requires more historical distance. A 13^th century letter mentions Nice’s Mardi Gras party as a “must” and the rowdy,  medieval origins come through loud and clear at a Corso Carnavalesque parade – especially on Saturday night – which can look like something dreamed up by the Phi Delta frat house and the Girls Gone Wild cast. Loudspeakers blast dance music which the brass bands and folk orchestras on the parade grounds try their best to drown out.

This year’s theme was “Mediterranean” and the “Dolce Vita” float consisted of Pinocchio on a pizza cart with a buxom balloon girlfriend, Cupid with an arrow, a giant duck, a suggestively thrusting Tower of Pisa, a (live) caveman dragging a (blow-up) balloon woman by her hair, a group of bemused schoolchildren tossing confetti, canned samba music, and a dozen men in drag (with watermelon breasts and blonde wigs) flashing their garter belts at the crowd.

According to Nice Matin newspaper the next day: “Finally a float that really captures the spirit of Carnival!”

Not to be missed!

Up, Up and Away…! Get a bird’s eye-view of Paris (with a helium assist) from the Ballon Air de Paris that rises above the modernist Parc André Citroen in southwest edge of town. Available daily (weather permitting) from 9am to the park’s closing hour, this delightful montgolfière ride costs only 10-12€ for adults. www.ballondeparis.com Corinne LaBalme