Getting ready for France

I leave Monday!  Here's my itinerary.  

Jane’s Itinerary October 2016

1.I leave SFO Oct 3 and arrive in Bordeaux Oct 4.  I’ll be alone in Bordeaux until the tour begins there Oct 7.

Best Western Bordeaux  “Bayonne Etche-Ona” 

http://www.bordeaux-hotel.com

2.  Oct 11-13—city of Sarlat

Best Western Le Renoir

Website: www.hotel-renoir-sarlat.com

3.  Oct 13-15 city of  Rocamadour

Best Western Hotel   Beau Site Notre Dame

Cite Medievale

Website:www.bestwestern-beausite.com/hotel-en.php

4.  Oct 16-19  ---City of Toulouse

Best Western Les Capitouls

29 Allee Jean Jaures

Website: hotel-capitouls.com/en/

Road Scholar Tour ends Wed Oct 19 in the morning.

The remaining days, (Oct 19-22) I am on my own.  Will meet up with Joni & her husband and we will stay in Toulouse but take side trips.

Oct 22 I fly to Paris and spend the night.  My return flight leaves the morning of Oct 23.

I'm flying Business class for the first time, and after looking at the airline's description and pictures of it, I am really jazzed!

Two of the main themes of this tour will be the prehistoric cave paintings, the history of the region and, of course, the wines and foods of Bordeaux!  I'm reading a most interesting book: The Cave Painters: Probing the Mysteries of the World's First Artists.    Can't wait!  

Jane

Telluride Last Day Sept 5

Update

i just saw the last film of the festival. I'm anxious to write about my day but it's 11:30 and we have the leave early tomorrow. So I'll do my last post tomorrow night.
It was another great day!  😊

Sept 3 and 4. Telluride

Saw 4 films Sat and 4 more on Sunday.

Saturday

The first 3 were based on real people.
1. Sully--- was better than I expected!  This will be big & get a lot of attention.  Starring Hanks, Linney, Eckhart and directed by Eastwood.  All were here!
2. Bright Lights-- a documentary about Debbie Reynolds & her kids Carrie & Todd.  The kids were here for an interesting discussion after.  I enjoyed it, but likely it's not for every taste.
3. Chasing Trane-- about the life & music of jazz legend John Coltrane.  Not really my cup of tea. . .
4. A Tribute to Amy Adams & her new sci fi drama Arrival.  She plays a linguistics scholar hired to interact with aliens.  Loved it!  It will be popular in theatres .

Sunday
1. Finally a foreign film!  Franz---about a German girl after WWI whose fiancé was lost in France.  Quite compelling.  I enjoyed it.
2. Una--- staring Rooney Mara who got last year's festival tribute.  Her role is quite bizarre, a young woman who had been abused as a child & fixates on an older man.  Not for everyone but strong acting.
3. Wakefield-- with Bryan Cranston & Jennifer Garner.  I really liked it.  He plays a very quirky man masterfully. Go see it but don't read the synopsis in advance. 😉
4. Into the Inferno.  A Werner Herzog documentary in which he goes to an array of volcanos across the world and shows how the cultures have been affected or shaped by the volcanoes.  I had taken the gondola with the volcanologist from Cambridge who co directed and is on screen for much of the film.  I loved it.

  I also saw several screenings where actors, directors, writers were present for a discussion or to introduce the films.  I managed to get quite a few pictures of actors either being interviewed or as they walked past me.  Here are the folks I saw in person:
Tom Hanks, Clint Eastwood, Laura Linney, Aaron Eckhart, Carrie Fisher, Todd Fisher, Amy Adams, Jennifer Garner, Bryan Cranston, Casey Affleck.  This is a bigger list than ever!
I have quite a few pix but cannot get them to show on this google blog 😥 But I'm happy to share with you if you're interested.
As always, I'm happy to tell you more about any films; I just don't have the time to tell more here.

Ten down & 4 to go!  😀
Jane

I am behind in writing

I have had no time to write yesterday & today but have seen 7 more films since I wrote!
Just have a 15 min break now. So I'll have to write about them later. 😉
Until then,
Jane

Sept 2 Opening Day of festival

Today began with rain that I thought might ruin the Patrons' Brunch which is outdoors but magically by the time we all arrived at the gorgeous mountaintop venue the rain stopped!  Being alone, I met some nice folks on the shuttle ride & at the brunch, but alas didn't se the actors I thought would be there😥  That's ok... We will see folks along the way. Someone said Hugh Jackman is here and I adore him so I hope to see him sometime.

Patrons got to see the first film alone: La La Land. A delightful musical with Emma Stone & Ryan Gosling. They were super!  She was there to greet the audience before the screening.

This evening I went to the tribute to Casey Affleck.  They showed clips of his films, awarded him with a medallion, interviewed him, then we saw his new film: Manchester by the Sea.  He was superb!  It was quite a tear jerker, but very worthwhile to see. Powerful!

So the first day was no disappointment!  I hope to see 4 tomorrow. 😊
It's late, so Goodnight,
Jane

Sept 1 , 2016 Telluride-- the day before

Well, the films start tomorrow but we got our programs today & we're really excited!  I don't know where to start. So I'll start by listing some of the people who will be here ( though I likely won't see them all!)

Clint Eastwood, Tom Hanks, Emma Stone, Casey Affleck ( who will receive one of the tributes), Amy Adams ( who will get another tribute), Rooney Mara, Richard Gere, Ben Affleck, Laura Linney,  Jennifer Garner.  Wow!

Here are some of the films listed: Sully, Manchester by the Sea, La La Land, Arrival, Amazing Grace,  Norman: the moderate rise & tragic fall of a New York Fixer.  Wow!

Tomorrow I'll see 2 films and have the Patron' Brunch.
We' re off and running!
The condo we rented is super.  😊