Scene - Goya in Lille

Fresh Paint At the Marine Museum

Paris:- Saturday, 19. December 1998:- For a pleasant museum full of many wonders, the Musée de la Marine at Trocadéro is almost exceedingly discrete. At this time of year, I have little reason to ride through the métro there and less reason to get out. But, this is where the exhibition poster probably is.

For the 36th time, the Musée de la Marine is presenting its ever-growing collection of marine paintings. Many of these are done by 'official' navy painters, but the exhibition also shows works by independent artists.

This year, homage is paid to two departed official painters: Jean Cluseau-Lanauve and Jacques Bouyssou. Except for Tuesdays, open daily from 10:00 to 17:50. Musée de la Marine, Palais de Chaillot, 17. Place du Trocadéro, Paris 16. Métro: Trocadéro.

Goya In Lille - This is a bit out of town but I can't pass up mentioning any Francisco de Goya exhibition. The show is subtitled 'Un Regard Libre' and you can see it until Sunday, 14. March. fnac and the SNCF have joined ticketing forces to make the visit fairly easy.

There's a promo transit rate, starting at 129 francs, for TGV first class, so that's 258 for a round-trip. It takes 60 minutes one-way and there's a train from Gare du Nord every half hour. In Lille, look for the Palais des Beaux-Arts, which is at the place de la République. Info. Tel.: 03 20 06 78 00. Lille itself offers a combo price for the exhibition and lodging.

Just outside town, 'L'Envers du Décor' is at the Musée d'Art Moderne until Sunday, 21. February. Open daily except Tuesdays, from 10:00 to 18:00. Take the métro line 1 to 'Pont de Bois' and then the 41 bus to the Parc Urbain-Musée.

Uh-Oh, One a Them Cherry Moon Parties - I don't know if this has happened before, but this is the Cherry Moon Party's 1998 edition, and it happens a bit out of town too - at the Château de Chaalis, which is a royal abbey out in the sticks someplace where you can make a lot of noise.

This party starts at 22:00 on Thursday, 31. December and continues until the following year. Tariff is 250 francs, plus transport - and you are supposed to dress good. There will be things like DJ Noise-DJMA*DA, New Jack, Hip Hop, Groove and R'n'B. Whatever this is, dress right for it.

For people made wobbly by directions, there is a free shuttle bus running from Porte de la Chapelle, from 21:30 to midnight, one-way. If you can drive, take the A1 in the direction of the North Pole, and take the sortie number seven, named Saint Witz-Ermenonville - no joke! - and look around in the dark for a château across from a 'Mer de Sable.' Good luck!

Portable Globalization - is what you can get from the IGN for only 179 francs, and up. France's national Geographic Institute has a boutique just off the Champs-Elysées, called Espace IGN, and it has some interesting articles for sale - including globes of various sizes and countries.

If you can find a card version of the illustration on this page, take it with you to get 20 percent off the price of any IGN product. Espace IGN, 107. rue la Boétie, Paris 8. Métro: Franklin-Roosevelt. Open Monday to Friday from 9:30 to 19:00. On Saturday, the shop takes a lunch break from 12:30 to 14:00.

Le Misanthrope - by Molière is playing at the Maison des Cultures du Monde, adapted and directed by Dominique Houdart, with Hubert Jappelle, Jeanne Heuclin and Catherine Larue. Until Thursday, 28. January, this show is on from Tuesday to Saturday, at 21:00.

At the same location, the Padox Café-Concert, featuring Jeanne Heuclin singing Yvette Guilbert and the Commune de Paris. This takes place Friday and Saturday at 19:00 and on Sundays at 12:00. The Maison des Cultures du Monde, 101. boulevard Raspail, Paris 6. Métro: Notre-Dame des Champs. Info. Tel.: 01 45 44 41 42.

Café de la Danse - This is a new name for me and I don't have much information for it. A theatre piece, 'La Double Inconstance' is currently playing until Wednesday, 30. December, at 20:30. Café de la Danse, 5. passage Louis-Philippe, Paris 11. Métro: Bastille. The 'Café' is located between the rue de Lappe and the passage Thiéré. Starting on 6. January, the 'Belles Nuits du Ramadan' takes off. Info. Tel.: 01 48 87 50 50.

Here's the story: it turns around the mysterious person of Nel Haroun, and the time is the 'Années Folles' - when Parisian cabarets were sometimes more like the caverns of Ali Baba - and this original musical seeks to recreate the orientalism that was so popular at the time.

Dancers, jugglers, actors and singers; about 20 in all, perform the original idea of Mayodi, under the direction of Pierre Mechanick. Attention: this piece includes belly dancing and if you are a fan of this, it shouldn't be missed.

Divan du Monde, 75. rue des Martyrs, Paris 18. The current run lasts until Wednesday, 30. December and then it returns for a second round from Tuesday, 5. January until Thursday, 14. January. Métro: Pigalle or Abbesses. Info. Tel.: 01 49 87 50 50.

As far as I can tell, nobody is on strike at any museums in Paris this week. It is also possible that there are no other strikes either, but this notion is so unlikely that I hesitate to put it forward.

The Marathon International de Paris - to be run on Sunday, 4. April 1999 - is now taking inscriptions. When I checked the Web site last week, it said it was 'under construction.'

To register for the Marathon, I have only a fax number at this time: it is 33 -1 41 33 15 69. The name and address is Athletisme Organisation SA, BP 182, 92135 Issy-les-Moulineaux, France. If necessary, I will scan the registration form and email a copy to anyone who requests it.

Inscriptions made before 15. January 1999 cost 190 francs for residents and 250 francs or US$45 or 75 DM for visitors.

After the date above, from 18. January to 19. March, the rates rise to 250 francs for residents, and to 370 francs - US$75, 115 DM - for visitors. The rates for signing up after 19. March are quite a bit higher and entries are limited to 25,000. If you wait and the quota is full on the sign-up deadline, you'll be out of luck.

if this big-time stuff is not your beat, there is also a Semi-Marathon; which will be run in Paris on Sunday, 7. March 1999. Take your pick.

Tropiques Métis - It is difficult to tell whether France belongs it its former colonies or the other way around; for they are very much present in everyday life. Guadeloupe, Guyane, Martinique and Réunion export not only people to France, but music, art, folklore, lifestyle and food too.

There are also a series of concerts, held in the auditorium of the museum, including a 'Chanté Noël' on Tuesday, 23. December, from 14:00 to 16:00, and this will be followed by a film, 'Les Avants de Noël.' There is a program of plays and Carnaval workshops for the young, on Wednesdays in January and March.

Toss in a bit - 400 years - of history, and you can find it all in one place until 12. April, at the Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires. 6. avenue du Mahatma Gandhi, Paris 6. This is inside the Jardin d'Acclimatation. Métro: Sablons, in Neuilly, plus a seven-minute walk. Open daily except Tuesday, from 9:30 to 17:15. Info. Tel.: 01 44 17 60 00.

First off, Glaz'Art has moved its publicity from photocopies to printed posters, and it now has a program of sorts. 'Boris et les Quincaillers' and 'Nery' launch the festival 'Latcho-Drom,' starting on Wednesday, 16 December and continuing until Christmas Day.

By the way; this is Paris' Afro-Funk-Techno-World-Rock and very live and loud. At Glaz'Art, 7 to 15. avenue de la Porte de la Villette, Paris 19. Entries are 50 to 70 francs. Métro: Porte de la Villette. Rare free parking! Info. Tel.: 01 40 36 55 65.

Russian Icons - Russian soul, from the collection of the Kolomiensky Museum in Moscow; featuring about 50 icons and other items on view outside Russia for the first time. An added attraction of this exhibition is that it is located on the top of the Grande Arche at La Défense, and the entry price of 60 francs includes the elevator ride up to the top. Open daily from 10:00 to 18:00, until 31. January. Métro and RER: Grande Arche de la Défense. The view is free.

La Poste Launches Its First 'Euro' Stamp - Starting in January, La Poste will launch its first three-franc 'Euro' stamp. The co-existing 'Euro' price of the stamp will be whatever the 'Euro's' rate is for the day it is printed. As this rate will fluctuate like any other currency, this will be a stamp with its own historical 'postmark.'

For philatelists, this is a big event. Other countries within the 'Euro'-block will be putting out their new stamps too - during the two-year changeover period. France's number one will have 500 million issued, but its 'Ero'-value will only exist once. This stamp can only be used for postage within France, or from France to other countries - not from other countries to France.