Art Series, continued - Puppet from France

Here we have Gnafron, a classic Lyon puppet and character in the French puppet show, Guignol (also the name of the main character).  From the wiki: 

Although often thought of as children's entertainment, Guignol's sharp wit and linguistic verve have always been appreciated by adults as well, as shown by the motto of a prominent Lyon troupe: "Guignol amuses children… and witty adults".

I suppose Guignol would be the equivalent of an English "Punch and Judy", although unlike any character in Punch and Judy, Gnafron is a drunk.  Leave it to the French. 

A translated wiki shows a little of Gnafron's history, and it appears he is the inseparable companion of Guignol.

It must be time for marionettes to make a comeback, as it's an art form that hasn't enjoyed a resurgence for a while. Hmmm.

Berry, France

This card is from a fellow "Postcard Friendship Friday" friend Sheila, of A Postcard A Day.  She lives in England, but has a cottage in Berry. 

She's my postcard blogging hero, as she never misses a day, seems to have an unending supply of interesting and unusual postcards, features some cool widgets (the map of the world showing where the postcards from her most recent 100 posts are from is one particularly good one), and, as of today, has 869 followers.  Wow! 

At Thanksgiving, Sheila made a comment on my post about how she "yearned to taste pumpkin pie.  As we had exchanged a few postcards and I had her address, just for fun, I mailed her a box with all the ingredients needed to make a pumpkin pie, except the crust:  a can of pumpkin (recipe on the back), evaporated milk, and a little bag of pre-measured spices.  I assumed she would either know how to make or be able to buy a pie crust.  Haven't heard yet if she's received the box and/or made the pie, but I do know she's been traveling.  Can't wait to hear what she thinks! 

P.S.  Berry is a region in the dead center of France. The writer Balzac, author of "The Human Comedy" was from here. Berry was originally a province, until French provinces were reorganized into "departements" in 1790.

Eiffel Tower

Today while deciding which postcard to post, I was surprised to realize I had never posted one of the Eiffel Tower, or le Tour Eiffel. It is one of my favorite places in the world, and given that there are probably 20 Eiffel Tower postcards in my collection, each with a different view or perspective, I could post an Eiffel Tower every day for a couple of weeks, and never get bored.

Not to say that you all wouldn't get bored.  But I wouldn't.

I was thinking about the Eiffel Tower because my oldest son is going to Oxford for a summer program, and he'll be visiting one of his dorm friends in Paris.  Ahhh, to be in 20 in Paris.  I'd be crazy jealous if I weren't so psyched for him.

Perpignan, France

One of my college students friends sent me this card on one of her many excursions around Europe while she is spending a semester in Copenhagen.  I truly appreciate the efforts she made to find a location and a postcard of said location that she could be pretty sure I didn't already have  She was right on that score.  What she might not know is what a huge rugby town Perpignan is, and she's a rugby player herself! 

A Bit More of France - Le Pont Alexander III

This postcard arrived in the mail yesterday. It is an unusual size, and particularly beautiful, so I'm going for a bit of France, two days in a row. There was no signature on the back, although I think it came from my friends Paul & Gayle, who have been in France for either a birthday or anniversary - can't remember which.

I was surprised that there were no comments on the French AIDS advertising postcards yesterday. It was such an opportunity for bad humor, if nothing else.

French Aids Ads - Mature Advisory!

That Mystery Sender is always so helpful. S/he was looking for animal/insect postcards to add to the animal postcard category, and upon finding these ads, constructed the postcards. What a find!

The copy on the insect ads says, "No more pussyfooting around. These images show how dangerous unprotected sex can be", while the copy on the "dick head" ad says "Dick says 'Condoms are like a good bath. When you are inside, you don't want to get out."

One thing is certain - these ads would never be approved for publication in the US.

French Kittens in Lyon

Giant marauding kittens in Lyon?

Makes me wonder what others cities/sites are overrun with the local animals. There are many, many cats scurrying around the Parthenon in Athens, monkeys cavorting among select ruins in India, multiple llamas and alpacas wandering around Machu Picchu at least when I was there. I suppose we could include the pigeons in Trafalgar Square, although that might be stretching it a bit.

Can anybody else think of any animal overrun tourist sites or cities not mentioned above?

Winemakers in Bourgogne

I'm lucky to have a lot of wine experts in my life. My friend, Carol, is in charge of wine imports for a wine broker. My friend, Michael, has his own vineyard/winery, Michaud Vineyards. Our neighbor and friend, Tim, is a Master Sommelier, in charge of teaching and testing new sommeliers (not an easy test to pass, at all). My friend, Debra, sells wine. None of this makes me an expert, but it has made me lucky enough to taste a lot of great wine.

This postcard is from one of Carol's trips to Europe. Someday, I hope to accompany her on one of them.

Paris At The Turn of The Most Recent Century

It's hard to remember the global anticipation, excitement and fear surrounding the turn of the century from 1999 to 2000, or Y2K as it was always called. Nowhere was this more apparent than Paris. There was a countdown calendar mounted on the side of the Eiffel Tower that started three years before the change. I traveled often to Paris during this time and always, even if I was in Paris for just a day or two, made a point of visiting the Eiffel Tower. It was exciting to see how the countdown clock had changed since my previous visit.

During 1999, there was another event marking the change in the form of a giant sculpture garden on the sidewalks along the Champs-Elysees. I was lucky enough to be there during this time.

Below is a description from the Paris Voice, with a postcard of one of the most famous sculptures to the left.

Even in the pouring rain people stop to look at the sculpture along the Champs-Elysées where more than 50 works by contemporary artists from around the world transform the famous avenue into a giant sculpture garden. This much talked about outdoor exhibition is being billed as a sequel to the modern sculpture show that drew record crowds in 1996. John Kelly’s “Cow in a Tree” has caused several traffic jams. The seemingly outlandish work is explained in simple terms by the artists who says “when it floods in Australia you often see a cow caught up a tree.” Another eye-catching work is “The Hotdog Vendor” by American artist Rod Grooms, who celebrates everyday heroes of modern life. The outdoor exhibit will be on view through Nov15. (http://www.parisvoice.com/voicearchives/99/oct/html/calendar.html)