Food and wine glossary

I have always found that people enjoy a trip to France a lot more if they do a bit of homework around French food.  It's never nice to sit and stare at a menu that you don't understand.  Here's a really handy food glossary that you might want to print off and take with you...

http://www.intimatefrance.com/glossarypag.pdf

Phone andData Plans with Rogers for Overseas

HI everyone - this is the response we got from Rogers when we inquired about over seas phone/data plans in case any of you are looking for something like this!

We currently offer one time travel packs that allow you to travel outside of Canada worry free.

The European voice travel packs offered are as follows:
$20/month includes 15 minutes and $1.33 per overage minute
$50/month includes 40 minutes and $1.25 per overage minute
$75/month includes 70 minutes and $1.07 per overage minute

International Data Travel Packs offered are as follows:
$50/month includes 10MB of data and $5 per MB over 10MB
$100/month includes 25MB of data and $4 per MB over 25MB
$225/month includes 75MB of data and $3 per MB over 75MB

The International Text Message Travel Packs are as follows:
$12.50 for one month for 25 sent text messages and $.50 per overage text
$25 for one month for 75 sent text messages and $.33per overage text
$50 for one month for 250 sent text messages and $.20 per overage text.

One Time Travel Packs:
All minutes/data/SMS are available at the time of activation and the service will expire automatically after one month. There are no prorated charges.
Any unused minutes/data/SMS will be lost upon reaching the 1 month expiry.
Overages will be charged per minute/SMS/MB rate of the travel pack purchased until the service drops off the account. After this, pay-per-use rate is applicable.

Combining two travel packs from the same region on an account:

Customers can combine multiple travel packs from the same region as long as they include a different number of minutes/data/SMS.

Example: Customer can combine a 15 minute and 40 minute pack from the same region, but cannot combine two 15 minute packs from the same region.

Minutes/data/SMS from the travel pack with the earliest expiry date will be used up first.

Please visit www.rogers.com/roaming for additional information. If you wish to add one of the above mentioned plans simply reply to this email with your date of birth and I will process your request.

If you have any further questions or concerns please do not hesitate to reply to this email or contact Customer Care at 1-888-764-3771 7 days a week from 6am to 2am (EST)(within Canada) or *611 from your wireless
telephone (within Canada) or 1-888-764-3772 (within the U.S) or from Continental United States and other countries: +1-514-734-7699.

Dinner and Wine Tasting at O Chateau

Hi everyone,

There are 4 of us booking this event for June 3rd (Friday). The Dinner w/Tastings is available only on Fridays. The cost is 100Euros (I'm sure the price has dropped from when I checked previously).
We would love it if anyone from the group would like to join us. Go directly to their website and you will find all the details.

Thanks, Myra

Paris Metro Quiz

It's a great idea to familiarize yourself with the Paris Metro system ahead of time.  Using this map of the Metro and RER system, try to find the quickest route between the following destinations:

You may have to do a bit of Googling to find out what the closest Metro stations are...

1) From the Guimet Museum to the Luxembourg gardens
2) From Pere Lachaise Cemetery to Le Grenier à Pain Abbesses in Montmartre
3) From Gare d'Austerlitz to Dolce & Gabbana (Ave. Montaigne store)
4) From the Cafe du Commerce to the Moose Bar
5) From Printemps Department Store (Haussmann) to the Dali Museum

A couple of must-see shows at the Grand Palais

The Grand Palais will have a hard time topping the accolades it won for last year's blockbuster Claude Monet exhibition, but this year's lineup looks just as promising. Two exhibitions in particular look especially interesting, and we'll be in Paris while they are both running.

The first is "Monumenta 2011", the latest chapter in a series that has evolved into unique venue for contemporary art in Paris. For a few weeks each year, the vast, iron-vaulted 19th century interior  of the Grand Palais is given over to the creative fancy of a prominent artist.  Last year's haunting installation by Christian Boltanski seemed like the culmination of a lifetime of thought.  This summer, Anish Kapoor takes the stage, an artist whose sense of scale and drama will surely live up to the challenge.

Meanwhile, the separate gallery space of the Grand Palais will be given over to "Odilon Redon: Prince of Dreams," which will feature 170 paintings, pastels, charcoals and drawings by this diverse and mysterious master of the Symbolist period. The works are arranged to emphasise the development of Redon’s style from the anguished period of the "Noirs" to the explosion of colour in his late works, as a gradual progression from shade to light.

Shafic Abboud

Among the great exponents of post-war abstration in Paris was the Lebanese-born painter Shafic Abboud.  His work represents a kind of synthesis of the Nabis tradition (still widely revered in France today through the legacy of Pierre Bonnard) and the distinct syles of Abboud's Parisian contemporaries Roger Bissière and Nicolas de Staël.

Abboud created a sumptuous style of his own, celebrating the formal and coloristic freedom of abstration, while never losing touch with the decorative traditions of the Middle East.

The Institut de monde arabe (walking distance from our hotel) is running a retrospective of Abboud's work until June 18.  The building itself, by architect Jean Nouvel, is widely regarded as a masterpiece of contemporary design, and is definitely worth seeing in its own right.

"Le Japonisme"

With all the sad news that's coming from Japan these days, it was refreshing to read a recent blog post by Anna Bromwich on Vingt Paris about the many ways in which the exquisite beauty and tranquility of Japanese culture is evoked in the Parisian landscape. "Le Japonisme" became a pop-culture phenomenon in France in the latter half of the 19th century, and will be a major theme of our gallery visits.  On your free day, you should definitely consider a day trip to the ultimate expression of Japonism in France, Claude Monet's home and studio in Giverny.