The VIBE agency is grateful to have been very busy during the month of October.   

From Oct. 19 – 22, the VIBE agency put together a familiarization trip for agencies arriving from France.  The purpose of a “Fam trip” is for journalists, tour operators and travel agents to discover or rediscover a destination and everything it has to offer for their future clients. 

 Miami, the “Magic City”, is a popular destination for tourists worldwide.  In a city with a vibrant diverse culture and tropical weather year-round, Miami can be as steamy as a sauna room. Our clients got to experience the best this great city has to offer during a four day stay. 

 DAY 1

 Upon arrival, guests were greeted by Valerie Bihet, VIBE Director, and Judith Patron, Director of Sales from the Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, and were transferred in a Sprinter minibus to the Standard Hotel for a welcome cocktail.  Soon after, our clients checked-in to one of two hotels, the Fontainebleau and the Ritz-Carlton South Beach.  The Fontainebleau recently remodeled its look and expanded with renovations estimating at $1 billion.  With 1,504 rooms and suites, 22 oceanfront acres, 11 restaurants and nightclubs, 40,000-square-foot spa, and 107,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, this hotel has developed a new meaning for indulgence. 

 The Ritz-Carlton South Beach brings together sophistication and impeccable service in Miami’s most famous beach community. “It is the only oceanfront restaurant on South Beach and the newest Happy Hour gathering spot with exotic Hookahs and flavored tobaccos Chef de Cuisine Jeff McInnis procured during travels to Egypt,” as quoted by their website.  The hotel includes 375 rooms and has great spaces for events offering 20,000 square feet of meeting and banquet facilities, an executive boardroom for up to 14 guests, extensive outdoor function space, a business center, audio-visual equipment, high-speed Internet access and themed entertainment.

 The evening began with a cocktail and Mojito demonstration from a bartender of the Ritz-Carlton South Beach. The hotel also offers room service “make-it-yourself” Mojitos as an amenity.  All of the ingredients and recipe are delivered to your room for you to create your very own Mojito. 

Clients were then escorted to Espanola way, a historic Spanish village located in the Art Deco District of South Beach.  With architecture dating back to the 1920s, the area was considered a meeting place for the wealthy.  Today, it is filled with restaurants, music, shops and art.  Dinner was served at Café Nuvo, a restaurant known for its ambience, perfected Mojitos and great food.

DAY 2

Day two began at sunrise, on the beach outside of the Fontainebleau Hotel with a personal trainer who conducted a cardio/yoga session. 

Breakfast was served at the Fontainebleau followed by a site inspection. Afterward, guests also got to experience an amazing Art Deco Tour by our great friend, Charles J. Kropke from Dragonfly Expeditions, on Miami Beach.  The tour consisted of visiting several famous locations including the Art Deco Museum, Casa Casuarina (Gianni Versace’s House), Old City Hall, Miami Beach Post Office and Art Deco Hotels.

At the end of the tour, they visited the W South Beach hotel for lunch a la Carte.  We would like to send a special thank you to the catering department for creating a healthy, fresh, and light course.  Our clients had the opportunity to be welcomed at a penthouse of the hotel for an amazing lunch with impeccable views of Miami. 

The W South Beach is paradise by the sea with five star restaurants including the latest addition, Mr. Chow. Located in the heart of Miami’s hottest nightlife, the W is the new trendsetter.  The hotel opened earlier this year with 220 rooms and 10,000 square feet of event space and studios.  With fully adaptable conference equipment and more than 2,000 square feet of exclusive outdoor event space, meetings or events can combine sophistication in addition to a unique experience.  Stay tuned for Bliss Spa which will open February 2010 for pampering and relaxation spread across three fabulous floors.

Following lunch, our clients enjoyed shopping at the Dadeland Mall, a Miami trademark located in Kendall.  The mall includes Florida’s largest Macy’s as well as Macy’s Home Gallery & Kids, J.C. Penney, Saks Fifth Avenue, The Limited, Nordstrom and our European clients favorite store Abercrombie & Fitch.  The main entrance of the mall was featured in the 1985 Chuck Norris film “Invasion USA” and was featured in the 1990 Alec Baldwin film “Miami Blues”.  The mall is easily accessible by Miami Metrorail. 

Diner took place at the Viceroy hotel over a delicious menu catered with nutritional and organic foods.  The Viceroy is a glamour-infused Miami resort set with-in the ten acre Icon Brickell enclave.  Guests toured the hotel along with the amazing spas and garden.  The hotel offers 162 guestrooms and suites along with four venue choices including 2,666-square-foot ballroom space, a 860-square-foot meeting and celebration space, 580-square-foot meeting and celebration space, and a 9,000-square-foot indoor/outdoor rooftop lounge. 

The Morgan group then hosted dancing and partying time at the Florida Room at the Delano Hotel.  This is where the Miami action TV images came to life for our guests as they socialized with the elites of the town.

DAY 3

Day three began with breakfast and site inspection at the Mondrian South Beach hotel.  Located in Biscayne Bay, its minutes from the hustle and bustle of South Beach with breathtaking view of the ocean.  Features include Asia de Cuba, a five-star restaurant and the Agua spa which features wet and dry treatment rooms; and a fully-equipped gym over looking the bay.  The hotel has 330 rooms, meeting rooms with bay views and state-of-the-art audio-visual and telecommunications equipment. The website also states that “executive boardrooms, as well as production, wardrobe, make-up and casting rooms are available and wireless internet access is provided in all meeting spaces and lobby areas.”

From the Mondrian Marina the day continued with a one-hour yacht ride to Bayside courtesy of the Venetian Lady. The Venetian Lady has hosted numerous weddings, graduation parties, bar mitzvahs, quinces, holiday parties, and family reunions.  It is also a great option for cocktail parties, religious organizations, national guest speakers, team building events for employers and employees, new product launches by multi-national corporations, and private concerts by world-famous musicians.

Afterward, we sped things up on a sightseeing power boat tour. 

Lunch followed with a Mediterranean menu catered by the Mandarin Oriental.  The hotel exhales a Zen attitude and is known for their soothing spa.  Asian serenity overcomes the mind, body and soul as you listen to the tranquil sounds and inhale the soothing aromas. The Mandarin Oriental has 326 rooms available and can accommodate large scale events with more than 15,000 sq. ft. of flexible meeting space, a grand ballroom for 600, a boardroom, 15 breakout rooms, a business center and an oversized terrace. Clients left the Mandarin Oriental feeling refreshed and at peace with a new piece of serenity.

After lunch, filled with positive energy the adventure continued at the Everglades National Park which is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States.  “It has been designated a World Heritage Site, International Biosphere Reserve, and Wetland of International Importance, significant to all people of the world,” states the National Park Service.  Guests were greeted by Johnny Tigertail, a Miccosukee Indian, who “speaks gator” and knows this land from two centuries of cultural inheritance.  Guests described the experience as “humbling and historic.”  From alligators to pythons, guests experienced an educated tour with Mother Nature. 

As an early surprise, we treated our guests to a pre-Halloween Spooktacular Tour where each client received a masquerade mask and black rose as a souvenir. 

Dinner was served at Wish, notably one of the “50 best restaurants in the world,” as stated by Condé Nast Traveler. 

DAY 4

The last day was sizzled with a The Cuban Heritage Tour, also done by Kropke from DragonFly Tours.  Guided through areas such as Little Havana and connecting neighborhoods you can feel the ambience of Cuba right here in Miami.  Everyone took home a Guayabera Shirt, a popular style within the Cuban community in South Florida.

Lunch and a site inspection was held at the Four Seasons Hotel, a 5 five star hotel located in Brickell, Mia.  This hotel has 221 luxurious guest rooms including 39 suites. The rooms occupy floors 20 to 29 which are amongst the largest in the city.  Four Seasons Hotel Miami can host a spectrum of events – from small board meetings or social gatherings to large conferences, galas and weddings – within its 14,931 sq. ft. of spectacular function space.

The final destination was at the Historic Biltmore Hotel of Coral Gables.  The Biltmore is a world renowned destination for World Leaders and celebrities.  Amazing features include 275 guest rooms, which include an 18-hole Donald Ross-designed golf course, 10 tennis courts and the world-famous Biltmore pool with private cabana suites, acclaimed restaurants: Palme d’Or, Fontana, Cascade Poolside Bar & Grill, and the 19^th Hole, a world-class spa and fitness center, 70,000 square feet of spacious state-of-art conference and meeting space; and full service catering for meetings, events, and weddings.

As the trip came to an end, our guests left with a little twist of Miami’s spicy culture within their souls.  Miami is one of the top destinations for many events and we would love to work with those who can handle a sizzling and unforgettable event!

Placée sur son éperon rocheux, cette merveille embellissant les bords du Loir ne vous laissera pas indifférent. D’abord château fort sous Foulques Nerra et Geoffroy Martel, ce château s’agrandit avec une aile de style pré-classique au XVIème siècle et fut le lieu d’une macabre découverte lors du séjour de Catherine de Médicis et Charles IX à Durtal. Le XVIIème siècle laissa un chef d’œuvre pictural dans ce bâtiment : la galerie des fresques. Cette dernière composée de trompes l’œil, scènes de bataille navale, de vénerie et autre chasse exotique n’est pas sans rappeler les célèbres galeries de François Ier à Fontainebleau et la galerie de Chenonceaux.

Ouvert à la visite tout l’été, il ferme ses portes pour l’hiver le temps de se refaire une beauté. En effet, les quatre propriétaires associés prévoient pour le courant 2010 quelques travaux d’embellissement : 14 000 € seront réservés pour les quelques portes à mettre en place dans la partie XVème siècle, partie dans laquelle à l’avenir se trouvera un musée des guerres de religions ainsi que la boutique-librairie.  De plus, les propriétaires prévoient d’investir 80 000€ (soit 20 000€ chacun) pour l’achat de meubles d’époque trouvés pour la plupart dans les ventes aux enchères. Cependant ce budget « meubles » peut être diminué si des cheminées sont retrouvées ; ce budget passerait donc en « gros œuvre ».

Le château de Durtal rouvrira ses portes à Pâques en vous proposant des visites guidées multilingues, un parcours enfant, et des évènements culturels tels que des expositions temporaires ou du théâtre.
Pour plus d’informations : www.chateau-durtal.com

Lucie Perthué

Lu sur la toile. Le Maire de Fontainebleau a lancé l’idée de faire de la Forêt de Fontainebleau “le Parc National de l’Ile-de-France”. L’idée semble saugrenue puisque la forêt de Fontainebleau est fréquentée par 10 millions de visiteurs par an et traversée par des routes et l’autoroute A6… Néanmoins, si personne n’ose poser ce genre de question ou solliciter ce type de débat, il est clair que jamais les questions écologiques ne pourront prendre le pas sur les frénésies du “tout consommation”. Alors, rien que pour cela, pour oser faire bouger les lignes, bravo. Le débat mérite d’être lancé. Dans 10 ans on sera peut être tous contents d’avoir une marque “Parc National” en Ile-de-France. Les fans de la promenade dominical en forêt, les amateurs d’escalade, les spécialistes de la cueillette aux champignons, tout le monde doit donner son avis pour faire avancer le débat. A bon entendeur.

Hoe kan je enkele vrije dagen tussen twee verschillende jobs nuttig opvullen? Fontainebleau leek het juiste antwoord op die vraag. Er werd goed weer voorspelt, niet te warm (ideaal voor de grip) en Frank kon een mobilhome in beslag nemen voor 3 dagen. Wat heeft een mens meer nodig dan een bos vol mooie boulders, klimschoentjes en een crashpad…

David vs. Goliath - Frank ontdekt wat een 'morphologische' boulder is

Omdat we maar met 2 op pad waren was het de uitgelezen moment om eens enkele nieuwe gebieden te gaan ontdekken. Zo klommen we in Rocher Canon, een nieuwe sector van Les Georges d’Apremont en in Jean des Vignes.

*jump* Yannick in Jean des Vignes

Met de quotaties hebben we ons niet echt bezig gehouden, we gingen gewoon op zoek naar leuke problemen…

een 'onearm-pullup-jeté' of zoiets...

Het rotslimseizoen is bij deze voor mij in schoonheid afgesloten, vanaf binnenkort zijn de ski’s en ijsbijlen weer aan het woord.

opwarmen in de herfstzon

VIVE L’ETOILE(GER)(g. ch. 2004 – BIG SHUFFLE/VALLAURIS)

BD at Fontainebleau 10.10.09, died 16/10/2009.

Vous aimez Ron Arad, Philip Starck, Zaha Hadid… le Design: “cette discipline qui met en lunière les intentions qui président aux formes des objets”*. Donc, vous aimez le Design… et les châteaux: heureux mix! L’exposition Design à la Cour vous propose un dialogue entre deux importantes collections publiques: celle du Château de Fontainebleau, comprenant des objets de la cour Napoléon III, jamais montrés depuis la chute de l’Empire et celle du Centre National des Arts Plastiques (CNAP), présentant quelques pièces phares des 5000 objets achetés ou commandés auprès de 900 designers depuis 1981. Impressionnant!

Design à la Cour: du 6 septembre au 30 novembre 2009, en visite libre dans le circuit des Grands Appartements. Informations Pratiques sur le site du Château de Fontainebleau.

*Christine Colin, Inspecteur de la création pour le Design, Délégation aux arts plastiques. Ministères de la Culture et de la Communication.

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Photo selection is no easy job, though it must be done for the next meeting of Photo-Club Rouennais.

I tried my best to browse  over my favorite ones taken during the summer vacations. Here present my last decision.

Marseille, France 07/2009

Queen of France

Marie, in Polish Maria Leszczynska (b. June 23, 1703, Breslau, Silesia, now Wroclaw, Pol.—d, June 24, 1768, Versailles, Fr.), queen consort of King Louis XV of France (ruled 1715-74).  Although she had no direct influence on French politics, her Polish dynastic connections involved France in a European conflict that resulted in the eventual annexation of Lorraine by France.

Marie’s father, Stanislaw I of Poland in 1704.  After he was deposed in 1709, he settled with Marie at Wissembourg.  In the hope of quickly obtaining an heir to the French throne, Louise XV’s chief minister, the Duc de Bourbon, betrothed the 15-year-old king to Marie in 1725.

The marriage took place at Fontainebleau on September 5, Marie bore Louis 10 children between 1727 and 1737, but only one of her two sons—the dauphin Louis—survived infancy.  In 1733 France entered the War of the Polish Succession against Austria in support of Stanislaw’s claims to the Polish throne; Stanislaw was made duke of Lorraine byt the treaty that ended the conflict (1738).  Meanwhile, Louise XV, having lost interest in his queen, was lavishing his attentions on a succession of mistresses.  Marie’s marital unhappiness was intensified by the death of the Dauphin in 1765.  In accordance with the treaty of 1738, Lorraine became a part of France when her father died in the following year.  A. Leroy’s Marie Leczinska appeared in 1940.

Below is an excerpt from the most recent edition of Foreign Affairs. The article begins on a positive note:

It is still a well-kept secret that the African continent has been in the midst of a profound economic transformation. Since 2004, economic growth has boomed at an average level of six percent annually, on par with Latin America. This rate will undoubtedly decline as a result of the global financial crisis, but the International Monetary Fund still projects growth of around 1.5 percent for this year and four percent for 2010 throughout Africa–a relatively healthy figure by today’s depressing standards. International trade now accounts for nearly 60 percent of Africa’s GDP (far above the level for Latin America), and foreign direct investment in Africa has more than doubled since 1998, to over $15 billion per year. Overall, private-sector investment constitutes more than 20 percent of GDP. Furthermore, since 1990, the number of countries with stock markets in sub-Saharan Africa has tripled and the capitalization of those exchanges has risen from virtually nothing to $245 billion (that is, outside of South Africa, which has long had an active stock exchange). These “frontier” markets have, until recently, given investors huge returns compared to those found in other emerging economies.

It ends with a pessimistic outlook:

Trade is critical to Africa’s economic growth, because Africans’ incomes cannot rise if their countries are unable to export goods and services to richer regions. To be sure, African countries themselves must do more to create free-trade zones and promote commerce with other developing nations. But in the end, it is the wealthy consumers of Europe and North America whose buying power will lift Africans out of poverty. For Europe and the United States, protectionism and reduced trade are merely costly, at least for now; but for Africa, with its small domestic markets, they are potentially deadly.

It is hard to imagine Barack Obama–a U.S. president of Kenyan descent–leveling such a cruel blow against his ancestral homeland. Yet although the Obama administration was tireless in warning of a domestic catastrophe if Congress did not pass an economic stimulus package and a bailout for U.S. banks, it has been relatively silent when it comes to warning of the international catastrophe that would accompany a renewed round of protectionist policies. The “Buy American” provision of the stimulus package that President Obama signed into law–which he has defended as being consistent with the rules of the World Trade Organization–exposes the absurdity of developed-world governments that give with one hand by promoting economic development and take with the other by practicing protectionism. Africans have already taken up the shovel to dig themselves out of a half-century-old hole of poor economic management and bad governance. It is now up to the United States and its European allies to help them complete the job.