Taxed, Tut-Tut, Nighty-Night, Too-da-loo and Talk-Talk

THE TAX MAN COMETH

I have an old friend whose birthday is April 15th. It’s impossible to forget, thanks to the IRS tax filing deadline on the same date. Hopefully by now you have your U.S. tax returns done and mailed in to the IRS. That is, if you’re living in the U.S. We expatriates have the good graces of an automatic two-month extension, to June 15th, but any tax we must pay is still due April 15th!

Make sense? No. How do we know how much tax we owe without doing the return? Maybe we just take a good guess!? Fortunately, if we don’t pay the taxes due by April 15th, the IRS will not assess a “Failure to Pay Penalty” as long as we file and pay it by June 15th. Have no fear, however, we will be charged interest on the unpaid amount! Meanwhile, we can extend the filing deadline further, to October 15th, if we request it.

The Grand Egyptian Museum, Now Under Construction

KING TUT-TUT-TUT

I visited Egypt for the first time in 2009. As a Jewish girl, Egypt hadn’t been high on my list, until invited to join a group of friends celebrating a 60th birthday, with a three-day cruise on the Nile on a “felucca” (a traditional wooden sailing boat) along with tours of all the important sights, including the Sphinx, the Pyramids and King Tutankhamun’s tomb. To that I couldn’t say no.

While entering the tomb itself, I got a phone call from Paris police that a friend of mine had died suddenly in the stairwell of his rental apartment building in the 5th arrondissement. They were calling the people in his contacts on the phone, me being one of them. It was a poignant and memorable moment, to be in a tomb of death, learning about the death of a friend.

At the end of the 11-day excursion in Egypt, we visited the Egyptian Museum (Museum of Cairo) where I saw King Tut’s golden funerary mask for the first time. There was hardly anyone around — my friends and I almost had the room to ourselves. I’ll never forget it, as it could be the single most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. Weighing about 25 pounds of solid gold, with inlaid lapis lazuli, carnelian, obsidian, colored glass, quartz and turquoise, there is simply nothing quite like it.

King Tutankhamun reigned for 10 years, until his death at the age of 19. Yes, 19. Sadly, he had a crippling bone disease in a clubbed left foot. He wasn’t very well known to archaeologists until English Archeologist and Egyptologist, Howard Carter, discovered the tomb, sealed inside the Valley of Kings for more than 3,200 years. Along with the mummy and the mask, he and his team unearthed about 5,400 objects which make up the exhibitions which have been around the world. Since then, he’s become the most famous Pharaoh of them all.

Here in Paris, presented by the Ministry of Egyptian Antiquities, an immersive exhibition of more than 150 original objects from the tomb are on display at the Grande Halle de la Villette until September 15, 2019. This is 50 years after the first “exhibition of the century” in 1967 when the artifacts were on display in Paris. A new museum in Cairo is under construction — the new Grand Egyptian Museum, 490,000 square meters of space scheduled to open in 2020 in Giza, is at the edge of the first desert plateau between the pyramids and Cairo.

The exhibition is well done, dramatic, with a lot of emphasis placed on Howard Carter himself and his amazing discovery. The objects are expertly displayed and their beauty will boggle your mind, especially considering how many thousands of years have passed since they were created and stored in the tomb. The objects themselves will not disappoint, but I warn you now — the crowds make viewing them a challenge and the prized mask is not on display. (I was so hoping to see it once again, and given the publicity for the event leading one to believe it’s there, I was grossly disappointed.) On a final note, as you leave, you’re led through the gift boutique, filled with what my daughter called “Disneyland-level souvenirs” and not anything really worth taking home, except for the jewelry which was solid gold and evidently unaffordable for the average visitor.

LA NUIT AUX INVALIDES

Mark your calendars for the upcoming “La Nuit aux Invalides 2019” and get your tickets now!

Friday, July 12th to Friday, August 30th, Wednesday to Saturday
Plus one additional show Tuesday August 27th
The show starts at 10:30 p.m. in July and 10 p.m. in August (later evenings!) at the Esplanade des Invalides is the Main entrance

“LUTÈCE 3000 Years of Stories” is this year’s theme. Here’s your opportunity to travel across 3000 years of stories in this timeless place, from the Gallic people to Louis XIV, from Napoléon to the military leaders, and meet those who have shaped yesterday’s Lutèce and today’s Paris. Spend the evening at Les Invalides and be charmed by the great voices of Jean Piat, André Dussolier and Céline Duhamel for 45 minutes, then after the show, celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Napoléon with a walk in the Church of the Dôme lit by 1,000 candles. This is your chance to admire the tombs of the French military leaders under Napoléon: Vauban, Liautey, Foch and l’Aiglon and the tomb of Napoleon himself! This production is a unique technological wonder — amazingly high quality  images thanks to the latest laser 4K video projectors, three completely renovated stone screens and 360° surround-sound speakers.

Here’s a glimpse of what you can expect: youtube.com/watch.

And here’s how you book your tickets online. 

Chez Jenny’s Spindler Mural

TOO-DA-LOO CHEZ JENNY

We’ve held numerous conferences and dinners at Restaurant Chez Jenny, including our last two North American Expat Financial Forums. Sadly, we must say “too-da-loo” as the Alsatian brewery founded in 1932 is closing its doors for good in 2020. We learned this when they couldn’t accept our reservation for our upcoming forum in September (to be announced very soon!).

Founded by Robert Jenny, an Alsatian caterer who made his mark at the 1931 colonial exhibition, the Jenny brewery first derived its reputation from the specialty it still serves today: home-made sauerkraut! The decor is also of note, filled with the inlaid wood works of the Alsatian craftsman, Charles Spindler. In 1953, the sculptor Albert Erny, enriched the restaurant with wood paneling decorated with characters representing traditional crafts and carved doors.

Be sure to pay a visit before they close their doors for good. Visit their website to reserve.

BECOMING: AN INTIMATE CONVERSATION WITH MICHELLE OBAMA

Tomorrow night, I’ll be having “an intimate conversation” with Michelle Obama  along with about 20,000 others at the AccorHotels Arena! I’ve had the tickets since one minute after they went on sale months ago. Stay tuned for personal impressions of this important evening in Paris, when the illustrious past U.S. first-lady let’s us in on who she is, what she thinks and why we admire her so much.

A la prochaine…

Adrian Leeds
Adrian Leeds Group

 

(at the Pyramids)

Respond to Adrian

 

 

P.S. Join John Garland and I on Tuesday, April 23rd at 7 p.m. at the Snug and Cellar, 22 rue Droite, 06300 Nice (Old Town) for a viewing of our recent House Hunters International episode, “Finding a Voice in Nice, France” – Season 139, Episode 8: “After having a rough year, a Texas man is taking a daring leap by selling his landlocked house and pursuing a singing career in Nice, France. His good friend and property expert, Adrian Leeds, has pulled off many French miracles in the past, but getting her buddy to downsize into a fabulous-yet-affordable home could be her greatest challenge yet.” See you there!

P P.S. The podcast with me by Paul de Burger is now live!

Paul de Burger, is a professional speaker, writer, photographer and world traveller. Step Up! is a podcast focused on motivation, amazing people, and the will to live life on your terms. That means Paul talks to people with interesting stories and backgrounds to help you tap into their knowledge base and learn from their experiences. He talks to musicians, entrepreneurs, adventurers, writers, health and wellness experts, doctors, athletes, and trail blazers from all walks of life…and he spoke recently to me.

The podcast offers long-form discussions (between 45-60 mins), with no constraints on content or format, a relaxed environment, and on-location interviews. Paul loves listening to podcasts and wanted to give back to the world by providing content that people will find entertaining and motivating. Hope you enjoy the show!

The iTunes link is: apple.co/2Cq2jGz
The main show page on his site at: bit.ly/2XdCQbr