French Riviera

The world of cinema mourned when Jean Renoir died in Beverly Hills in 1979 at the age of 84. One of the most influential directors of the 20th century, noted for such masterpieces as 1937's "Grand Illusion," 1939's "Rules of the Game" and 1945's "The Southerner," the French filmmaker was widely embraced by the young Turks of France's New Wave, including Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. But there was little notice seven months later when Renoir's first wife, Andree Heuschling, who acted in his silent films as Catherine Hessling, died in France at the age of 79. After their divorce in 1930, she soon retired from acting and drifted into obscurity.

Not many of us will ever get to the fabulous Cannes Film Festival currently taking place in the glamorous French resort town. But there is a way to enjoy the Cannes experience vicariously via the films that have used the international festival as a backdrop for narrative features, TV movies and documentaries. One example is “Seduced & Abandoned," Alec Baldwin and James Toback's documentary chronicling their attempts to raise financing for a project at the 2012 extravaganza. The duo has have returned to the French Riviera this year to screen the film, which has been acquired by HBO. Definitely worth checking out is indie filmmaker Henry Jaglom's "Festival in Cannes," a well-received 2001 satire of the machinations of filmmakers and the art of the deal at Cannes at the 1999 festival.

Our travel group took a wonderful trip to the French Riviera in September. The best thing about the trip were the guides: Jean Bardot, of the American University of Paris, and wine and food expert Patrick Bulteau. They are leading a trip to Provence from May 25-June 7 that will combine the history and spectacular scenery of Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Roman ruins and Van Gogh's art in Arles with wine tasting in the Rhône Valley. For more information, go to http://www.travelswithJeanandPatrick.com or call (775)

It's another hymn of an evening down here in Anaheim, the French Riviera of freeways. Took a mere two hours to drive from L.A., which exceeds the capacity of many bladders. Fortunately, the kid in the back seat fell asleep in Azusa of all places, or the trip might've verged on the unpleasant. So on this perfect May evening when everything smells of grilled meats and mowed grass, the Angels had me at halo. What's to make of these Angels? Is there a better lineup in baseball? Is there a bigger disappointment in all of sports?

A flash flood on the French Riviera damaged hundreds of homes, cut roads and claimed at least one life, police said Thursday.

A raging forest fire caused the evacuation of more than 2,000 people along the posh French Riviera today, including vacationers at a seaside Club Med resort. By late morning, the blaze in the popular southern France vacation haven had been controlled, but hundreds of campers remained stranded. Even the Cote d'Azur's famed private villas were threatened by flames, driven by 65 m.p.h. winds.

The French Riviera, growing weary of its image as a plush sandbox for the idle rich, is getting down to serious business. Not content to let tourism remain the dominant financial force in the region, officials from Cote d'Azur Development, the French Riviera economic development agency, have scheduled a six-city U.S. tour--including Newport Beach--to sing the praises of doing business in Southern France. "Everybody wants companies; it's the future!"

Tropical algae is choking part of the Mediterranean and threatens to cause an ecological disaster, French scientists said Tuesday. "It's spreading like cancer," said Alexandre Meinesz, director of Nice University's marine environment laboratory. The bright green weed with the scientific name of Caulerpa taxifolia is gathering in luxuriant banks stretching over nearly 75 acres off the exclusive beach resorts of the French Riviera.

Suspected arson fires fed by strong winds ravaged the French Riviera today, killing one person, destroying up to 20 resort homes and consuming thousands of acres of forest, officials said. Officials in Nice said at least 1,500 people were forced to flee the flames. One firefighter was seriously injured Thursday night by smoke inhalation and burns, and several others were slightly injured.

Forest fires swept through parts of the French Riviera on Tuesday, killing at least four people, devastating scenic woods and forcing thousands to evacuate. Authorities speculated that the blazes, which damaged or destroyed about 60 homes, were caused by arson. About 30 broke out nearly simultaneously Monday, and some Molotov cocktails were found, local officials said. Authorities were still investigating and had not definitively determined the cause.

"Renoir" is a lush, involving film that deals not with one Renoir but two, as well as the strong-minded woman who was a key player in both their lives. The year is 1915, the setting the gorgeous landscape of the French Riviera, and Renoir the father, the recently widowed 74-year-old Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste (the veteran Michel Bouquet), is hungry for inspiration. His son, future filmmaker Jean Renoir, is only 21, a wounded World War I veteran come home to the family compound at Cagnes-sur-Mer to convalesce.

The world of cinema mourned when Jean Renoir died in Beverly Hills in 1979 at the age of 84. One of the most influential directors of the 20th century, noted for such masterpieces as 1937's "Grand Illusion," 1939's "Rules of the Game" and 1945's "The Southerner," the French filmmaker was widely embraced by the young Turks of France's New Wave, including Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard. But there was little notice seven months later when Renoir's first wife, Andree Heuschling, who acted in his silent films as Catherine Hessling, died in France at the age of 79. After their divorce in 1930, she soon retired from acting and drifted into obscurity.

Our travel group took a wonderful trip to the French Riviera in September. The best thing about the trip were the guides: Jean Bardot, of the American University of Paris, and wine and food expert Patrick Bulteau. They are leading a trip to Provence from May 25-June 7 that will combine the history and spectacular scenery of Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Roman ruins and Van Gogh's art in Arles with wine tasting in the Rhône Valley. For more information, go to http://www.travelswithJeanandPatrick.com or call (775)

Boot camp on the Cote d'Azur? Yes, but it's more frill than drill at La Reserve Ramatuelle on the French Riviera. The resort, near St. Tropez, offers five days of early-morning yoga, fast-paced morning walks in the hills, spa treatments (balneotherapy, body wrap, jet shower and more) and, of course, meals. Healthful fare is prepared by a chef who uses local ingredients and flavors.  Dates: Sept. 18-23 and Oct. 10-15. Price: $7,885 for September, $7,161 for October, based on the current exchange rate.

"Sexual intercourse began in 1963," the poet Philip Larkin said of the revolution that liberated women and changed the world. And nowhere was that revolution more on display, literally, than on the beaches of the French Riviera, where the first bare breasts appeared just a year later. Scandale ! Some local mayors prohibited it, and the Interior Ministry declared it illegal. But as anyone who has visited a French beach in the last 40 years will know, public opinion was stronger than the bureaucrats' protests.

Sometimes our biggest enemy in travel is not our time or our budget but our imaginations. For a moment, envision seeing the world through a prism that refracts the sights in a different way. There is the French Riviera, and then there is . . . the Albanian Riviera? By cruise ship? There is going to Carnival in Rio, and then there is . . . dancing with your samba school as part of the official celebration? In a costume? Yes, yes, yes and yes. Here are five ideas that can turn a traditional trip on its head.

It slipped out of the harbor as silently as it came, without the three horn blasts most yachts use to announce their presence among Monaco's rich and famous. The Kremlin Princess had already commanded their attention. Resplendent in navy blue enamel, mahogany trim and a mast towering above the others, its quiet elegance was a fitting symbol of how wealthy Russians are living it up on the French Riviera.

Nobody will be there, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown thought as he left the house early one morning last May. It was a few days after Cleveland's disappointing season ended with a bitter Game 7 loss on Boston's famed parquet floor and it was down time. The Cavs had dispersed to Cancun, the French Riviera and other vacation spots for rejuvenation and reflection. Brown was headed to the team's plush training compound with his son, Elijah. Time for some father-son bonding with nobody around but security guards.

Shows about French drag artistes and Scottish soldiers took top honors at the Laurence Olivier Awards recognizing the best of the London stage. The sequin-spangled "La Cage aux Folles" won the prize for best musical revival. Douglas Hodge was named best actor in a musical for his performance as high-stepping transvestite Albin in the show, set in a French Riviera nightclub. "Black Watch," Gregory Burke's powerfully physical play about a Scottish regiment's experiences in Iraq, took four prizes at the event Sunday night, including best new play and best director, for John Tiffany.