Wednesday, May 27, 2009

GAY IN PARIS: Gay Pride Parade and Festival



Move over San Francisco and New Orleans!

Needless to say, there are wonderful gay pride events to be found all over the globe, such as the exciting parades in the abovementioned cities. That being said, Paris' Gay Pride Parade and Festival combines the joy of being in Paris with a wonderful celebration of love itself, without distinction to gender.

Each summer, the Paris Gay Pride Parade an Festival rolls into town, most often toward the end-of-June. Although Paris’ “gay quarter” (and popular tourist haven in general) Le Marais springs first to mind, really this is but one of the many wonderful areas visitors should consider who plan to attend the festival.

MyKeystoParis.com offers a marvelous selection of apartments in Paris, not only in the Marais, but beautiful adjacent and nearby areas such as furnished apartments in the Latin Quarter, 1st, 2nd, 9th (Opera district), and many others.

The route of the parade varies, often beginning in the general vicinity of Montparnasse (14th) or Republique (3rd, 10th) and ending around the Beaubourg (3rd) or Bastille (11th). (Please check the latest news for the details of the upcoming parade, but please note often the exact route is not announced until the last minute.)

So in terms of lodging, you may also want to consider looking for something in the 14th on the Left Bank, the 11th on the Right Bank, or anywhere else landing close to the route. But be aware Paris is rather geographically small, so almost anywhere central won’t be more than a short walk or metro ride to the fun! (Needless to say, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 9th ,10th and 11th are probably your best bets, being in or near the gay quarter.)

Of course, there are many events leading up to the parade itself, such as festive and flamboyant balls, usually beginning a week or more before the day itself.

The “Marche des fiertés lesbiennes, gaies, bi & trans” itself is huge, each year brining an estimated 500,000+ people to the city. Think of this as Paris’ gay and festive “Mardi Gras,” with people dressed in elaborate costumes (and “dressed down” in body paint), alongside colorful floats.

If you’ve been to a gay pride event before, nothing will come as much of a shock to you. However, be aware that Paris has a relaxed view of sexuality, even by the standards of liberal cities like New Orleans or San Francisco, so expect a lot of good-natured, outrageous fun, and caveat to anyone who may feel put off by the uproarious celebrations. Expect miles of balloons, grinding dance music, whistles and costumes.

Paris has one of the largest gay and lesbian populations in Europe, attracted to Paris’ history of libertarian ideals and free-thinking. As such, the parade and festival have a more serious side, even though you may not see it on the surface: the festival is a potent reminder that discrimination still exists, and the necessity of equal rights for everyone, regardless of sexual nature. The festival calls for an end to hatred in the form of lesbophobia, homophobia and transphobia.

Clubbing is a big way to celebrate in the nights and days leading up to the parade. There are many great clubs in Paris, which can be found in a quick Google search for “gay clubs Paris”. Popular clubs like Le Club 18, Le Soir, and others have exciting events that include drink specials, and sometimes (but certainly not always) require tickets to be purchased in advance. If you don’t have a travel agent who specializes in gay travel, now may be the time to Google “gay travel agency.” Yes, they certainly do exist, and can help you plan your stay!

You may wish to take a look at the Lesbian, Gay, Bi and Trans site at http://cglparis.org/, but you’ll find it’s mostly in French at the current time.

But either way, expect to have a wonderful time in Paris during this exciting, meaningful festival.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

DOUBLE IMAGES FROM ARCIMBOLDO TO DALI



GALERIES NATIONALES DU GRAND PALAIS - 8 April to 6 july 2009

The illusions played by double or hidden images have haunted a great number of artists of different periods and cultures. This exhibition brings together some 250 works and promotes original rapprochements in a visit that revolves around major themes such as composite images, anthropomorhic scenes, anamorphoses and illusions of perspective, erotic ambiguities or even Rorschach's inkblots and tests...

for the exhibitions, we recommand you to visit our pages of Paris vacation apartments for rent, or you can go directly on our request form and we will help you to find the best place where to stay.

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long term family duplex apartment 75018 paris Grands Boulevards 75018 Paris

long term family duplex apartment 75018 paris Grands Boulevards 75018 Paris

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

ROLAND GARROS


TENNIS EVENT IN PARIS - one of the world's best-known and most prestigious tournaments.

In the world of tennis, the Tournoi de Roland-Garros (the informal name for "Les Internationaux de France de Roland Garros"), known worldwide as "The French Open," is one of the sport's most highly anticipated events.

This world-famous tennis tournament is held each year during a 2-week span between mid-May and early June. It gets its name for the stadium in which it's held, the Roland Garros Stadium (Stade).

The Roland Garros is one of the world's best-known and most prestigious tournaments. It has the largest broadcast audience in the world among tennis matches, and is also the most esteemed clay-court tournament in the tennis world. It also widely considered to be the most physically challenging tennis tournament in the world due to the slower playing surface, and the fact that the tournament ends with five-set singles matches without the possibility of a tiebreak.

The French Open is remarkable and unique in large part due to its playing surface of clay verses grass or harder material.

Clay courts are a more demanding surface compared to hard courts or even grass for several reasons. Clay physically slows the ball and has a higher bounce. This means big serves tend to be counteracted somewhat, making it more difficult for players who rely on strong serves to enjoy the advantage they normally would. An example of players who would be affected by this disadvantage would be players such as John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg. All of these players, known for their punchy serves and powerful serve-and-volley styles, have never won a French Open.

As a result, this unique tournament tends to favor players who have a more calculated approach and/or a slower playing style, such as Mats Wilander, Ivan Lendl, or Björn Borg.

Players who have fared best in both of tennis' major tournaments – i.e., Wimbledon and Roland Garros – have been those whose talents encompass both the strong and more subtle aspects of the game. The list here includes tennis masters Andre Agassi, Rod Laver, Rafael Nadal and again Bjorn Berg.

The Roland Garros originated in 1891 as the national tournament of France and was called the French Tennis Championship (in French, "Championat de France International de Tennis"). The first tournament for women was held six years later. Both of these were technically lawn tennis competitions. Red clay (or in French, "terre battue") was introduced in 1912. This original red clay was derived from crushed red bricks. Until the mid-1920s, the tournament was only available for players licensed in France itself.

By 1925, this tournament became open for international competition, and in 1928 the event was moved to the Roland Garros Stadium, built to commemorate the French fighter aircraft pilot Roland Garros, who during World War I became the first man to fly an airplane across the entire breadth of the Mediterranean Sea.

Winners of the tournament receive pure silver trophies with beautiful etched decoration and their name.

The Roland Garros Stadium is located in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. Staying near the tournament is as easy as contacting www.mykeystoParis.com for any apartment rentals in Paris.

The 16th is a beautiful, stately arrondissement located adjacent to the 8th, meaning sights such as the Arch of Triumph, Champs Elysees and Eiffel Tower across the Seine in the 7th are never far away. There is a dizzying assortment of restaurants and attractions within easy reach via a short metro ride.

The Trocadéro and Palais de Chaillot are also here in the 16th, as well as some of central Paris' most relaxing walks. And don't miss the Tennis Museum in the Roland Garros stadium (open weekdays, except Mondays), which boasts around 3,000-square feet of exhibition space, with photographs and multimedia displays, and around 100 racquets representing 60 years of tennis history.

Whether you're coming to Paris for the match, or simply want to see the Musée du Tennis / Tenniseum, you'll have the time of your life in the 16th.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

HUGO PRATT AND WAR

MUSEE DE L'ARMEE - HOTEL NATIONAL DES INVALIDES - From 3 june to 4 october 2009



War stories feature amongst the favourite themes of Hugo Pratt. Drawings, water colours, uniforms and even several film extracts are on show throughtout this unique exhibition which aims to examine the issue of war through the work of the creator of the famous Corto Maltese. This character, a british sailor whose adventures take place between 1900 and 1930, gained Hugo Pratt international recognition. Corto Maltese also reflects the many travels and overflowing inventiveness of his author.


For this exhibition, you can stay in one of our corporate vacation 1 bedroom apartement for rent in the 75007, Paris, Bretueil street name


For more information about the exhibitions, go to www.invalides.org

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

THE ART OF TRAVEL JOURNALS FROM 1800 TO THE MODERN DAY

MUSEE DE LA POSTE - From 14 April to 12 Septembre 2009

Travel Journals are not solely the privilege of explorers, such as Théodore Monod and Paul-Emile Victor. Painters like Jean Dubuffet or Bernard Rancillac also sketched whilst on their travels. Natural scientific illustrations, ethnological note books, historical and artistic path of a singular literary genre.

I you want to discover this exhibition, we propose a list of apartment for you next stay in Paris. have a look at our vacation apartment rentals in Paris