THIS MONTH:

Back to Paris to visit friends and familiar places…

COMING UP SOON:

Heading to Pennsylvania Coal Country for the Women’s Wheeling Day Trail Guide Training with theOffRoad Consulting group at Rausch Creek. The full-day training focuses on the most important aspects of trail guiding and covers what is expected of Guides both on and off the trails during the event …


Taking part in a field research weekend at the International Wolf Center in Ely Minnesota. The “Track the Pack” event focuses on wolf research and management, as we join IWC biologists and learn to use telemetry equipment in the field to locate and study wild wolves in the area. We will spend time trekking through the forest in search of signals from a wild wolf pack, and also have an opportunity to observe the programs’ “ambassador wolves” at the center to gain insight into the animals’ behaviors and the functioning of a pack …


Joining the ladies at Woman and Machine New England for a day of automotive learning fun focused on cars, engines, welding, and more. This automotive educational and networking event is designed for those who want to understand more about their vehicles and/or explore the skill sets that make up various realms within the automotive industry. The event is open to everyone from seasoned professionals to the wrench-curious ladies who are interested in learning more about cars from other women …


Back to Pennsylvania Coal Country to guide for the 2019 Women’s Wheeling Day at Rausch Creek Offroad Park hosted by Jeep Girls Rock. The day focuses on learning, enjoying the trails and meeting new friends, and is for all trail levels, from beginners to advanced. Female Guides will be assigned to each group and will encourage those who have never wheeled before as they build confidence out on the trails and learn what their vehicle is capable of (guys are welcomed to attend and ride along with women drivers at this family event) …

THE GILETS JAUNES

The Gilets Jaunes, or “Yellow Vests,” movement began in November of 2018 as a populist, grassroots political movement for economic justice in France. Mass demonstrations began on 17 November, sparked by rising fuel prices, with protestors claiming that a disproportionate burden of the government’s tax reforms were falling on the working and middle classes — especially in rural areas. The protesters have called for lower fuel taxes, reintroduction of the solidarity tax on wealth, a minimum wage increase, the implementation of Citizens’ initiative referendums and Emmanuel Macron’s resignation as President of France. The movement spans the political spectrum. According to one poll, few of those protesting had voted for Macron in the 2017 French presidential election, and many had either not voted, or had voted for far-right or far-left candidates. Rising fuel prices initially sparked the demonstrations, and yellow high-visibility vests, which French law required all drivers to have in their vehicles and to wear during emergencies, were chosen as “a unifying thread and call to arms” because of their convenience, visibility, ubiquity, and association with working-class industries. The protests have involved demonstrations and the blocking of roads and fuel depots. Some of the protests developed into riots, described as the most violent since those of May 1968, with the police response resulting in multiple incidents…

ROUGE AT THE GRAND PALAIS

The exhibition “Red: Art and utopia in the land of Soviets” at the Grand Palais, opened on 20 March and will run until the first of July. The exhibition organized by the Réunion des musées nationaux – Grand Palais and the Centre Pompidou Musée national d’art moderne brings together a series of important works on loan from the major Russian museums to highlight the historical progression of Soviet art. It begins with a look at the October revolution of 1917 which led to an upheaval in the social order, the repercussions of which proved decisive in terms of artistic creativity. Many artists were committed to the communist cause and wanted to participate in the construction of the new society through their works. Led for the most part by genuine convictions, as with Mayakovsky, these artists held opposing ideas on what the art of socialism should be. From the end of the 1920s, such debates were silenced by the Stalinist regime. This led to the gradual establishment of socialist realism, an aesthetic doctrine that came to govern all areas of creativity. Such debates were followed closely in capitalist countries: many artistic exchanges were established with the young Soviet Russia, which attracted intellectuals and artists curious to discover the «fatherland of socialism». It is a history full of tensions, with ups and downs, where material innovations and ideological constraints, inextricably linked, examines the politicization of the arts…

PARIS STREET ART


In Paris Street Art is everywhere. The whole city is an open-air museum of sorts, where many concrete surfaces are covered in graffiti, stencils, poetic collages, posters or monumental murals. Street art can be found all around but here is one great guide to a few of the most notable examples…

CHATEAU D’EAU

Château d’Eau, on the Number 4 Metro line, is a unique spot in the heart of 10th arrondissement at the intersection of Boulevard de Strasbourg and Rue du Château d’Eau. The metro station and the street were named after a fountain at a square to the east of the current station that was known as the Place du Château d’Eau until 1879. The fountain, known as the Girard Fountain, served as a water tower until it was absorbed into the new Place de la République in 1880. Today the area near the metro station is well-known for the cluster of African hairstylists, where groups of young men outside encourage passers-by to come in to one or another of the shops. Further along are plenty of cafes and bars making for an always vibrant cultural mix.

RUE DU FAUBOURG ST. DENIS

The Rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis is a street that crosses the 10th arrondissement of Paris from north to south, linking the Porte Saint-Denis to the Métro station of La Chapelle and passing the Gare du Nord. “Faubourg” indicated that it was an extenstion of the street, in this case rue St. Denis, outside the the city walls of the old Paris — marked by the arch of the Porte St. Denis, which was the entryway to the city itself back then. This was once the main route into Paris from the north and was the processional route of French kings from their crowning ceremonies at the Cathedral of St. Denis. The modern neighborhood started taking shape in the 18th and 19th century with new cross-streets filling gaps with the familiar Parisian buildings that housed apartments and ateliers. From this start the quartier became a bit edge-y fringed by music halls on the Grands Boulevards and the old red-light district along the rue St. Denis. Today the neighborhood is vibrant with a still gritty feel despite the gentrification that has spawned a plethora of cafes, bars and restaurants catering the the bobo crowd. The neighborhood has retained something of its multicultural melting pot character, and that is a main attraction the many visitors who enjoy the eclectic selection of ethnic eateries available in such a compact space.

WALKING THE CITY OF LIGHT

Paris is a city made to be wandered on foot. The slow exploration of winding streets with plenty of stops to spend time on cafe terraces is a timeless experience. There are many great guides or suggestions available for Paris walking itineraries. Some of the walks focus on the touristic areas of the city or its history, while others offer different perspectives. Walks can focus on some of the city’s great street art or the “village” atmosphere around Montmartre. Or why not a meander across a swath of multi-cultural Paris? Walking the city is free and the very best way to discover the unique character of a quartier.

Nesconset | Paris | Belgrade | Tremont | Minneapolis | Ely

MORE NOTES FROM THE ROAD:
1-14 March – Arizona
15-28 February – San Antonio
1-14 February – Sedona and Glamis
January – Iran
December – Holiday Road Trip
16-30 November – Senegal
1-15 November – Paris
October – New York
September – Southwestern Deserts
22-31 August – New York
8-21 August – Serbia
1-7 August – Ladies Offroad Network
22-31 July – Moab
9-21 July – Woman and Machine
1-8 July – DC Dirt Camp
25-30 June – Orienteering
1-24 June – Paris
7-10 June – Bantam Jeep Festival
1-6 June – Roadtrip to Bantam JeepFest
May – Wheelers Overland
16-30 April – New York
4-15 April – Sudan
29 March – 3 April – Egypt
Archive

REFLECTIONS

EGYPT: CAIRO REFLECTIONS

A quick overview of impressions from a stop in Cairo during our recent scouting mission in Egypt and Sudan … [read]

SPECIAL REPORT

ALGERIA SCOUTING

A look into south-eastern Algeria on the border with Libya and Niger: overlanding with the Tuareg in one of the most remote corners of the Sahara … [read]