Mesrine -Public Enemy No. 1

Jacques Mesrine 1936-1979 "Public Enemy No. 1" was a 1970's French John Dillinger: he robbed, he kidnapped, he escaped prison, and was shot dead in public. 

The young Mesrine was expelled from school for being aggressive. He served in the French Army during the Algerian War. The French Army had a sadistic reputation during this war; they tortured many Algerians. When Jacques Mesrine returned from this war in 1959, he took to a life of crime. 

Mesrine was a romanticized hero in France. It was a time of change in the 60's and 70's, a time of opposing the institutions of France. He became a symbol of freedom as he broke rule after rule, robbed bank after bank, and kidnapped rich people for ransom. 

In 1961, he married Maria De La Soledad. They had children. He attempted to settle down with a real job, but was let go when his company downsized and he returned to a life of crime.

Known as "The Man of a Hundred Faces", he escaped capture for many years. 

In 1968, he fled to the United States and Canada with his mistress following a series of robberies in France. 

After a long string of murder, kidnapping, and robberies in North America, he and his mistress were captured in Arkansas, USA in 1969.

The two were extradited to Quebec. Mesrine escaped high security prison twice!

He fled to Venezuela.

In 1972, he came back to France and continued robbing banks. In 1973, he was arrested and escaped during his trial by taking the judge hostage with a revolver someone hid in the courthouse bathroom for him. 

In 1977, he was captured, convicted and put in a maximum security prison in France. He wrote an autobiography L'Instinct de Mort (The Death Instinct). It was smuggled out of the prison and published.

You can buy it in French on Amazon today. 

In 1978, Mesrine escaped from the maximum security prison La Sante. Guards had smuggled weapons in for Mesrine. The escape became a scandal for the French government; Mesrine became even more of a legend to the French people. 

He traveled all over Europe, robbing, kidnapping, and giving exclusive interviews with journalists, one whom he nearly beat to death as he didn't approve of the articles he had written. In June of 1979, Mesrine kidnapped a millionaire and received 6 million francs.

In August of 1979, the French Government had had enough. An order was given to track Mesrine down and to kill him. On November 2, 1979, he was gunned down, ala Bonnie and Clyde, in his car. he was killed and his girlfriend was seriously injured. There was public backlash saying that it was an execution and that Mesrine wasn't tried for his crimes. 

In 2007 and 2008, Jean-Francois Richet directed a two-film series about the life of Jacques Mesrine starring Vincent Cassel, Cecile de France, Gerard Depardieu, Mathieu Amalric, and Ludivine Sagnier. 

Part one - Mesrine : Killer Instinct I blogged about 2 days ago (see trailer)

Part two - Mesrine: Public enemy No. 1 (see trailer below)

The films won the Cesar (French version of Oscar) for Best Director and Best Actor.

The trailer in my blog of two days ago is in English and seems to be for both films. The trailer below is in French and strictly for the second film. Both films are exceptional. Enjoy!

Gros bisous de gangster francais et a demain!

Love, Charley

Smart Cars!

Smart cars are perfect for the city: you can zip around town and park them anywhere. They are as long as a normal car is wide!

Yup, I see even more imaginative parking done with smart cars. 

And then there is the cute convertible version. Love the pink leather interior!!

Gros smart bisous et a demain!

Love, Charley

Mesrine

A true story.  A French legend. Winner of Cesar: best actor and best director. Vincent Cassel is insanely magnificent. 

Gros bisous de ganster francais et a demain!

Love, Charley

La figue!

An American friend came over for a coffee and a chat this morning. I placed a bowl of fresh figs in front of her, she clapped her hands in glee and dug in. Then we got to munching and talking. My friend said, "You know, we didn't eat figs in the States when I was a kid." I said, "Yeah, me neither." We discovered that we had eaten Fig Newtons, but had never really seen a fig tree, a real fig, and had surely never eaten a fig until we came to France. 

I decided I had better blog about French figs!

Voila un fig tree in a friend's garden.

Voila les figs that I personally plucked from said tree. 

With a single and gentle tear, I opened one in half.

And ate it with great gusto! Mmm!

If you can get your hands on some real fresh figs, I highly recommend imbibing. 

Until then, gros bisous des figues et a demain!

Love, Charley

Choux à la Crème

Ready to plunge into a cloud of the most heavenly whipped cream desert know to mankind?

Warning: this is not for the faint of pastry heart!!!

Choux a la creme, direct from the very best pastry shop in Lyon, Delices des Sens. You can find them on 12 Boulevard de Brotteaux or at Les Halls de Lyon on Cours Lafayette. 

They only do Choux a la creme on weekends, most likely because they are so delicious you just can't stop!!

The best is to get one or two too many for your dinner party. The next day, cozy up on the couch in your pajamas, make a nice cup of tea, and dig in. I relish every single creamy, heavenly bite!! Oh, ecstasy!!!

Voila! Gros bisous de choux a la creme et a demain!

Love, Charley

I know he wasn't French but, Chopin!

I love, love, love, Chopin's music.

Frederic Chopin 1810-1849. Born in Poland, Chopin was a child-prodigy pianist and composer. In 1830 he moved to Paris. He lived with author George Sand, (whom I have written about several times) from 1837 to 1847. He died at the age of 39. So young. He had poor health his entire life.

He was not French, but he lived a great many years of his life in France. He wrote his most amazing music in France. He loved a French woman. I love to listen to Chopin when I cook French food in my French kitchen. 

You must see the film Impromptu with Chopin, George Sand and Delacroix to name a few. Hugh Grant does a wonderful job playing Frederic Chopin. 

Here is Yundi Li playing Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu, Op. 66. I love this one!



And Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 played by no other than Rachmaninov. How gorgeous is this?

Gros bisous de musique magnifique et a demain!

Love, Charley

Eugene Delacroix

The first time I saw a painting by French artist, Eugene Delacroix, was during a visit to the Louvre with my dear uncle Alvin. I stood transfixed in front of the enormous format while Alvin rattled off personal and professional points of interest about the painter. Alvin was a walking encyclopedia about anything to do with European history, art, and classical music. He single-handedly taught me much about European culture; it is thanks to him that I live in France today. 

Eugene Delacroix 1798-1863, Self Portrait. 

From the get go, Delacroix was the leader in the French Romantic movement in art. His later work, with its exotic nature, would inspire the Symbolist movement. 

His first major piece in 1822, The Barque of Dante. 

I love the dramatic physical gestures of the people, you can feel the emotion shooting out of the canvas.

He took a trip to England in 1825. There he painted his only full-length portrait. 

Portrait of Louis-Auguste Schwiter. 

Quelle dandy! 

Delacroix painted Death of Sardanapalus in 1827-8. A painting of the death of the Assyrian king Sardanapalus. The literary source of this story is from a play by his favorite poet, Byron. 

This is the painting that so transfixed me so many years ago. It is in the Louvre, from floor to ceiling and takes up an entire wall.

Then there is the very famous Liberty Leading the People, painted in 1830. 

Delacroix lived in a fairly turbulent time in France: from King Charles X, to King Louis Philippe, to a Revolution in 1848, which led to the election of President Louis Napoleon III. 

Liberty Leading the People was purchased by the French government, but was hidden from the public eye until the election of Napoleon III. It is also in the Louvre. 

Delacroix traveled to Spain and North Africa just after the French conquered Algeria. During his travels, he produced over a 100 paintings and sketches. This trip influenced his work for the duration of his life.

My personal favorite is Lion Hunt. His ability to paint animals is truly intense and amazing. 

 

Another painting I quite admire is Medea About to Kill Her Children. So dramatic!

I am not an art critic. I am not an expert. It is not my goal to inform my readers of every absolute detail. I am simply writing this blog to show you all of the lovely things I encounter in my life in France. I may get things wrong. I trust I will get most things right! I am here to have fun and share.

If you would like to read more about Eugene Delacroix and see a good-sized collection of his works, visit this website. 

Last, but not least, Frederic Chopin.

Chopin, an unfinished portrait.  

Delacroix passionately loved Shakespeare and Byron. He was a dandy, a brilliant conversationalist and had a contradictory personality where he sometimes loved to be surrounded by the Paris social life and others times where he needed to hide out in the country and get away from it all. 

He was friends with the likes of George Sand, Chopin, Liszt, among others. 

Visit the Louvre, go to Versailles, scour the net, and watch the film Impromptu. 

Gros bisous de Delacroix et a demain!

Love, Charley

Coteaux du Languedoc

Coteaux du Languedoc, an excellent wine produced in the south of France, just north of Spain. More precisely, at the beginning of the pays des Cathars. 

In the 80's and 90's, Coteaux du Languedoc was bad quality wine. It was produced for quantity and not for quality; it was cut with a plethora of other wines, it wasn't pure. Then along came great new wines in Chile, Australia, and California, to name a few. The producers in Languedoc were obliged to revise their wine making methods, concentrating on quality versus quantity.

Today, the wines are pure Languedoc. They have an affirmed character, structure, and depth--a great personality. I drank a 2008 tonight and regaled in its odor and delighted in its taste.

Try some!

Gros bisous du bon vin et a demain!

Love, Charley

p.s. I received an email from a reader this morning. "We used to bottle Coteaux de Languedoc 30 years ago. We would bring up huge cubutainaires from the south by train and go to my ex's parents 'cave' and bottle it in any old bottle we could find and then cover the tops of the bottles with wax. Today the wine is absolutely excellent and there must be a hundred bottles left in his parent's 'cave'. I think I miss that wine more than I do the ex!"

A great story! Thanks for the email. 

"An Adventure" at Versailles

Ahh, Versailles. I love it. I have visited perhaps a dozen times. Each time I am enveloped in the beauty of the architecture and grounds, and taken away in time by its rich and glorious history. 

It is incredibly difficult to get a good photo of the castle as it is mind-bogglingly big. 

The hall of mirrors is one of my favorites. 

As is the Opera Royal de Versailles which was completed in 1770 in celebration of the marriage of Louis XVI to Marie Antoinette. 

(I know that they used to host some of the world's most famous operas in this theater. It has been under construction for a number of years. It may be back to selling tickets to concerts. Please check if you are interested, what an experience.) 

Marie Antoinette's bedroom. 

My favorite of favorites is Le Petit Trianon. The concept is too camp!

Louis XVI had it built for one of his mistress who died four years before its completion so he gave it to his wife, Marie Antoinette, as a place to get away from all the pressures of royal obligations and social life. 

Marie Antoinette reigned supreme when in residence at Le Petit Trianon, even the King had to ask permission to visit. 

Le Hameau de la Reine was a small "farm" built on the grounds of Le Petit Trianon. The "farm" had cows and a dairy. There, Marie Antoinette and ladies in waiting would dress up and pretend to be shepherdesses and milkmaids. Bien sur, the cows were scrubbed clean as a whistle before Marie's queenly hands touched them!

What a lark! 

In 1901, two English women, Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain visited Versailles. The were both academic women, principal and vice-principal of St. Hugh's College, Oxford. Not exactly the type of woman given to flight or fancy.

They experienced what is called a "Slip in Time".

They began searching for the Petit Trianon but became lost. As they wandered, they passed a deserted farmhouse and noticed an old plough lying by the side of the road. Immediately, they both began to feel strange, as if a heavy mood was oppressing their spirits. Two men dressed in "long greyish-green coats with small three-cornered hats" passed them. The women asked these men the way to the Petit Trianon and were directed down a path directly in front of them. They proceeded down this path until they came upon a gazebo shaded by trees. The dark mood hung even heavier over them here. Everything was very still. A repulsive looking man, his face pitted with small-pox was standing by the gazebo, and he stared unpleasantly at them. 

Just then someone came rushing up behind them and warned them that they were going the wrong way. They were told to cross a small bridge, and when they did so they arrived at what they assumed to be the Petit Trianon. Here a woman was sitting on a stool, sketching. She wore an old-fashioned dress, covered with a pale green scarf. Again, they experienced a sensation of intense gloom. Suddenly a footman came rushing out of a nearby building, slamming the door behind himself. The footman told them that the entrance to the Petit Trianon was on the other side of the building, and so they walked around the house where they found a wedding party waiting to tour the rooms. The dark mood lifted, and nothing else unusual happened.

Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain realized later that they had visited Le Petit Trianon on the anniversary of the taking of the Tuileries Palace in 1792 When Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were taken prisoner. They also learned that Marie Antoinette had been sitting in the gardens of Le Petit Trianon when she heard the news that a mob was marching from Paris to Versailles. 

They believed that Marie Antoinette's terrifying memory of this moment somehow stayed and persisted through time and that they experienced it through a "Slip in Time".

Anne Moberly and Eleanor Jourdain published a book entitled An Adventure in 1911. You can purchase it at Amazon.com under the title The Ghosts of Trianon.

Kit Brown says, "As a descendant of the moberly family i am well aquainted with this story. Aunt Caroline saw many other supernatural and weird things during her lifetime, not just these ghosts."

To believe or not to believe?

Gros bisous de Marie Antoinette et a demain!

Love, Charley

The ghost of The White Queen - Chateau de Chenonceau

Majestically situated on arched pedestals over the languorously beautiful river Cher, Chateau Chenonceau is fascinating in its original architecture, history, and opulent furnishings. 

Built in 1513 by Catherine Briconnet, for four hundred years the chateau was nurtured and expanded by the loving care of its female owners. 


Diane de Poitiers

Diane de Poitiers was Chateau de Chenonceau's most famous owner and resident. Known in the French courts as a great beauty with good taste, she became King Henri II’s mistress even though she was twenty years older than he. Theirs was a deep and lasting love. When the king passed away, his widow, Catherine de Medici, took her vengeance upon Diane de Poitiers by taking the chateau away from her. 


Catherine de Medici

Catherine de Medici had a great love of art and a thirst for opulence. She added much to the gardens and the grounds, built the great gallery, and threw magnificent feasts for her contemporaries. 


Madame Dupin

In 1733, Madame Dupin became owner of Chateau Chenonceau and held salons for all the great literary people of the period. Over the years, Madame Dupin gained the respect and affection of the local villagers and the Chateau was untouched during the French Revolution, making it one of the most spectacular chateau’s in the Loire Valley today.


The grand gallery, built by Catherine de Medici.

The kitchen, located in the base of the part of the castle which spans the river. Food was delivered by boat and water was pulled directly from the river for drinking and washing up. 

Now that you know a bit of the castle's history, on to The White Queen, Louise de Loarraine-Vaudemont.

Louise de Loarraine-Vaudemont, wife of King Henry III, inherited the Chateau de Chenonceau when her mother-in-law, Catherine de Medici, passed away in 1589. 

King Henry III, fourth son of Henry II and Catherine de Medici, was thought to be homosexual or bi-sexual. He is represented in that vein by actor Vincent Cassel who plays Henry, Duc d'Anjou, in the fantastic film, Elizabeth, which stars Cate Blanchett . It is true that Henry III, Duc d'Anjou, courted Queen Elizabeth in 1570 but, as we all know, it came to naught. 

Louise de Loarraine-Vaudemont suffered a traumatic childhood and was consequently quite meek and pious. Her marriage to King Henry III was a surprise as she was not considered noble enough to be Queen. Her calm and subservient personality pleased Catherine de Medici, a tyrant who manipulated her entire family. Louise suffered a miscarriage with Henry which prevented her from producing children. She worshipped her husband. In brief, hers was a rather tragic life which left her weak and unstable. 

When her husband King Henry III was assassinated, she fell into a deep depression and withdrew from social life for the rest of her natural years. She wore only white, the traditional mourning color of French queens. She even had her room decorated in mourning: the walls and ceiling were painted black and the black tapestries were stitched with skulls and crossbones. She spent the rest of her days wandering listlessly around the castle dressed only in white. 

Here is a photo of the ceiling in her room. 

Her bed mostly black in mourning. Even the floors were black!

 A depressing image of some real happy people on her mantle! 

It is said that her ghost wanders throughout the castle, just as she did when alive and in mourning. She has been seen as a white apparition throughout the castle. Some people claim to have images of The White Queen in their photos. Who knows. It seems to me that their are a number of good reasons for her to haunt the Chateau de Chenonceau.

Voila! Gros bisous de fantome et a demain.

Love, Charley