Paris

"Le Week-End" is a sour and misanthropic film masquerading as an honest and sensitive romance. A painful and unremittingly bleak look at a difficult marriage, it wants us to sit through a range of domestic horrors without offering much of anything as a reward. This is especially disheartening because on an abstract level the film's participants on both sides of the camera are talented individuals with strong resumes. Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan, who star as the unhappy couple, are two of Britain's top actors.

WASHINGTON - The top U.S. and Russian diplomats agreed Sunday to work with Ukrainian government officials to ease the crisis triggered by Russia's annexation of Crimea, but remained far apart on other key points after four hours of negotiations in Paris. Secretary of State John F. Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called the meeting constructive. Lavrov's remarks suggested that Moscow may now be more willing to work with the interim Ukrainian government, which it has previously dismissed as illegitimate.

THE BEST WAY TO PARIS From LAX, Air France and Air Tahiti Nui offer nonstop service to Paris, and Delta, American, KLM, Lufthansa, British, Continental and US Airways offer connecting service (change of plane). Restricted round-trip fares begin at $416, excluding taxes and fees. Pierre Hermé, 72 Rue Bonaparte, Paris; 011-33-1-43-54-47-77, http://www.pierreherme.com . Open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays-Fridays; 10 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Saturdays. Café Lenôtre, 10 Avenue des Champs Elysées, Paris; 011-33-1-42-65-85-10, http://www.lenotre.com . Open noon-10 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays.

Foodies and flea market enthusiasts can sharpen their respective skills in this 10-day fall tour that combines lessons at a cooking school with visits to markets in Provence and the flea markets of Paris. The first leg includes seven nights in an 18th century farmhouse in St. Remy-de-Provence, two days of cooking instruction (for beginners or experts) with dinner, a visit to the St. Remy market, tours of several hill towns, including Gordes, Les Baux and Arles, and a trip to the L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue Sunday market.

Colette draws them to Paris Susan Spano has done it again! What a great article on Colette ["Chez Colette," May 30]. It made me want to rush to the local bookstore and then catch a plane to Paris, taking along a book bag. I plan to take Spano's story along on my next trip to the City of Light. It will be a great guide. Richard Mason, Redondo Beach Thank Susan Spano for the fascinating article about Colette's life in Paris. For more than one reason, it made me eager to return to Paris.

Paris to the Past Traveling Through French History by Train Ina Caro W. W. Norton: 384 pp., $27.95

'From Paris With Love' MPAA rating: R for strong, bloody violence throughout, drug content, pervasive language and brief sexuality Running time: 1 hour, 32 minutes Playing: In general release

'A Cat in Paris' MPAA rating: PG for mild violence and action and some thematic material Running time: 1 hour, 7 minutes Playing: At Nuart Theatre, West Los Angeles

Like cats after the cream, Parisians are flocking to a new cafe whose centerpiece is not food but felines. Le Café des Chats , which opened a little more than two weeks ago in the 3 rd arrondissement in the heart of the City of Light, was an instant hit and has been reluctantly turning away those who arrive without reservations. The attraction, besides an elegant but simple menu that last weekend featured a 20-euro ($27) menu that included freshly squeezed orange juice and eggs scrambled with chanterelle mushrooms, are the furry denizens (10 females, two males)

If you go Some shops have multiple locations. Jacques Genin, 133 Rue de Turenne, Paris; 1-4577-2901 Jean-Charles Rochoux, 16 Rue d' Assas, Paris; 1-4284-2945, http://www.jcrochoux.fr Cacao et Chocolat, 63 Rue Saint Louis en L'lle, Paris; 1-4633-3333, http://www.cacaoetchocolat.com Servant , 5 Rue de Sèvres, Paris; 1-4548-8360, http://www.chocolaterie-servant.com

PARIS -- With the City of Light buried under a thick blanket of smog for a week now, authorities in the French capital took drastic steps Monday to cut the number of cars on the road and to encourage commuters to find more environmentally friendly ways of getting to work.   Only cars with license plates ending in an odd number were allowed on to Paris streets during the day. Drivers with plates ending in an even number were ordered to leave their vehicles at home and use public transport, which officials have made free of charge since Friday to try to reduce pollution -- at a cost of $5.6 million a day. [Updated  1:40 p.m. PDT, March 17: Late Monday, authorities announced that the driving curbs would be lifted as of midnight because the level of pollution had dropped.

Alain Passard, the chef and owner of l'Arpège in Paris, known for his cuisine a la vegetable , will be in Los Angeles to cook at the All-Star Chef Classic, which takes place this weekend at L.A. Live. Passard's l'Arpège received three Michelin stars in 1996 and has maintained the distinction every year since then. There are now three gardens in three regions of France that provide the restaurant with organic seasonal vegetables: in the Sarthe for carrots, asparagus and leeks especially; in the Eure for celeriac and cabbage; and herbs from the Manche.

"Le Week-End" is a sour and misanthropic film masquerading as an honest and sensitive romance. A painful and unremittingly bleak look at a difficult marriage, it wants us to sit through a range of domestic horrors without offering much of anything as a reward. This is especially disheartening because on an abstract level the film's participants on both sides of the camera are talented individuals with strong resumes. Jim Broadbent and Lindsay Duncan, who star as the unhappy couple, are two of Britain's top actors.

Director Roger Michell and writer Hanif Kureishi were on a worldwide promotional tour for "Venus," the 2006 film that earned Peter O'Toole his last Oscar nomination, when the two collaborators' seemingly nonstop travel schedule hatched the concept for a new film. "We had lots of airplane flights and came up with this idea of a couple going to Paris for 48 hours as a very easy and beautiful structure," Michell said. He and Kureishi decided to take their own 48-hour trip to Paris to outline the characters and the plot.

Re "Night bike race takes a spill," Editorial, March 7 For perhaps 20 years now, Paris has routinely allowed organized bicycle and roller-blading cruises without paralyzing the city for hours each time. Depending on weather, there are between a few hundred to several thousand participants. The routes are posted online. Each departure is led by motorcycle police officers who progressively block the intersections ahead of the pack; they are relieved by the organizers of the race wearing fluorescent vests, allowing for a brief blocking of the intersections along the route.

Like young bucks at a county fair kissing booth, states are lining up for a chance to court Tesla Motors and its planned $5-billion battery factory. But fair warning, fellas: The intoxicating fragrance of Musk and his money masks a cold business heart. Already a loser in the race for this California girl's affections, though, is, well, California. Oh, sure, we're good enough to design and build the company's eco-luxe Model S. And Californians bought more than one-third of the $70,000-and-up cars last year.

I love Dorie Greenspan dearly. She is one of my favorite cookbook authors and an old friend. But she is not a normal person. If you need proof, watch this video of her packing for one of her frequent trips to France. And then ask yourself: "What kind of person takes all-purpose flour and a bundt cake pan to Paris?" On the other hand, I sure would like one of those bags! ALSO: 5 Questions for Karen Hatfield Simon Hopkinson's perfect roast chicken Fall happy hour deals that last all -- or most -- of the night

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have set the date for their Paris wedding, Us Weekly reports. The event is to take place May 24. [Us Weekly] Model Karlie Kloss and singer Taylor Swift took a road trip along the California Coast and documented it via Instagram. [The Cut] Also having fun in California: Actress/makeup mogul Drew Barrymore and actresses Cameron Diaz and Reese Witherspoon with a bunch of their friends are taking a two-day pasta-making class at the Culinary Institute of America in the Napa Valley.

PARIS -- Hermès, which reopened its Rodeo Drive store in Beverly Hills with such fanfare last year, closed out Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday afternoon with a quietly elegant show. As it was on so many runways this season, outerwear was the big story in designer Christophe Lemaire's collection. The first look was an oatmeal cream double face cashmere coat so thick and blanket-like, it looked as if it would be able to stand on its own. The next coat came in a camel color, folded just so in the front.