From June to July…Paris is Jumping!

Get ready for a big weekend in Paris!

Friday night June 29th from 7 to 9 p.m., join us at the Galerie 13Sévigné at (you guessed it) 13, rue de Sévigné in the 4th arrondissement, for the opening of the exhibition of the winning photos of the “Prix de la Photographie Paris” (PX3). I was fortunate to be one of the judges of an international panel of decision-makers for this illustrious award. Congratulations to Alex Telfer, winner of the Photographer of Year Award “for his series titled “Nikon” and Todd Krainin, winner of the Best New Talent award for his photo, “Nepal 2006: Civil War in Shangri-La.” For more information, visit http://www.px3.fr and to see all winning photos, visit
http://www.px3.fr/winners/2007/jury.php

Every year at the end of June one can look forward to the annual Gay Pride Parade, this year’s theme being “From Madrid to Paris.” Saturday, June 30th beginning at 1 p.m. at Montparnasse, heading in the direction of place de la Bastille via boulevards Saint-Michel, Saint-Germain and Henri IV, the massive line-up of floats and paraders will make you laugh if nothing else. Exactly at 4 p.m., there will be a halt to the parade and a moment of silence in commemoration of all those who have died from AIDS and as a show of solidarity to all those who are living now with the virus and seeking cures and preventive measures. The projected timing is an arrival at the Bastille at 5 p.m., but my experience shows it’s never on time. My favorite place to be is at the Café Français (at the corner of rue Saint-Antoine and place de la Bastille) from about 3 p.m. having drinks while the parade rolls in and then the real festivities begin!…you can bet Le Marais will be rockin’ and rollin’! For more information, visit http://gaypride.fr/article.php?id_article=277

Put on your dancing shoes and head to the Mairie of the 3rd arrondissement about 9:30 p.m. that same evening for the “Samedis Bals Coachés” when you and your partner will have a chance to “rock around the clock!” It’s just one of the many events taking place at the Mairie during the 10th annual “Festival Soirs d’Eté” on until July 14th. For more information, visit http://www.mairie3.paris.fr/mairie3/jsp/site/Portal.jsp

Next week the American community in Paris will be celebrating July 4th and the French will be preparing for Bastille Day festivities on July 14th while I’ll be packing for a voyage to San Francisco for the Living and Investing in France Real Estate Conference. There are just a handful of seats left, so if you’re thinking of joining us, do not wait another moment more to register! The dinner with guest speakers Leonard Pitt and Cara Black has been so popular, too, that La Cave will be serving in the theater of the Alliance Française instead of in the restaurant, where the large number can be better accommodated. Don’t delay. Visit
/frenchproperty/conference/LIF_SF_AF_July_2007/home.html now for details and to sign up.

A la prochaine…