La Belle Epoque
La Belle Epoque was so named in retrospect to describe a kind of Golden Age that existed in Europe between the end of the Franco-Prussian War and the begiining of WWI (1871-1914). It was characterized by a flowering of arts of every kind, optimism and colonial expansion.It was the time of the Moulin Rouge and the Folies Bergère. The Eiffel Tower was built and Haussmann renovated Paris to turn it into one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Colette, Proust and Zola wrote of these times. The impressionists and Pre-Raphaelites painted while Debussy, Strauss and Ravel composed music.
An Evening in Noyers
There’s that end of summer feeling in the air here in our corner of France. The weather is beginning to cool down and the roads are all of a sudden much less crowded. Outside town are sunflowers that cover the fields as far as the eye can see. They will soon be harvested and the fields once again will lay fallow.
The End of Spring
Here in Moulins, spring is ending before it has had a chance to really get going. Apparently this has been one of the rainiest springs in decades. We wait for the moments of sun, but they have been fleeting and far too infrequent for my taste. Although the rain has kept the grass green, it seems high time for a little sun.
