Travelsmartplanet

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On top, you have the victorious Vittorio Emanuele II (1849-1861) who was the first King of united Italy. On the 2 sides are statues of the winged Lion of Saint Mark with paws on books and a regal woman (and a silly woman).

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Yup, the symbol of France is still there and still majestic. The Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile is situated at the center of Place Charles de Gaulle at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. Etoile means star and that refers to the twelve avenues which radiate from the arch.
The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in wars so it became the rallying point of French troops who paraded through it after successful military campaigns and for the annual Bastille Day Military Parade. After the interment of the Unknown Soldier from WWI, however, parades have avoided marching through the actual arch and go around its side, out of respect for the tomb and its symbolism. Both Hitler in 1940 and de Gaulle in 1944 observed this custom. After WWI, in an event captured on newsreels, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane under the arch’s primary vault.

The bas relief shown in pic 2 represents Liberty under the figure of a winged woman pushing against the enemy invasion.

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At first glance this looks like a naked woman sleeping on a very soft cushioned bed but you would be mistaken on both counts. Originally found in the Borgehese gallery in Rome, obviously ancient audiences were comfortable with mixed gender concepts. She might be a he, and Bernini the master sculptor has made marble appear so soft.

Many of us enjoy a light read to while away a lazy summer afternoon. At the Hudson Village Theatre, you don’t even have to read to have fun – you can just listen and watch as four women meet, mingle and moan – and become a family of friends.

The director, Ellen David, takes this (Jessie) Jones (Nicholas) Hope (Jamie) Wooten delightful script and gently guides the dynamic quattro of actors as they learn “what is holding you back from one’s past and self-imposed limitations towards a compelling future”.  This could be any one of us.

The performers David chose are as well cast and strong as the four sides of a square. Randa Covington (Jane Wheeler) has defined herself by her work, and doesn’t know how to re-define herself beyond that. She tries to hold on to her safe proper business countenance, but is weighed down by feeling second best in her family. Marlafaye (Lisa Bronwyn Moore) gets the classic “dumped for a younger woman” part, so feelings of anger and rejection are keeping her from moving forward. “I swear the older you get the harder it is to jump start a new life”, she says.

Dot (Kathleen Fee), the oldest of the bunch, has just lost her husband, the only man she has known, and with whom she had planned to retire. She has no idea how to figure out what comes next. Her subtle acting is deliciously wonderful as she delivers many funny zinger lines. Paula Costain as Jinx moves and talks with the right zippy attitude to convince them, as their new “life coach”, to go (as David says)” beyond their comfort zone to a brave new world where they eventually find themselves”. Jinx reminds us that her older sister (now incapacitated with dementia) taught her that “it’s the happy in life that counts”.

The set by Jean-Claude Olivier is a comfortable porch, so the women have an informal place to gently and liquidly reveal their sagas. As this is a “Sipping Society”, drinking props (by Lea Robertson) were a fun challenge due to the many iterations of serving different kinds of alcohol. Marlafaye once toasted, “Girls, here’s to living single and drinking doubles”.

There were more costume changes than you would expect (by Elisabeth De Medeiros), creating a fashion show which helped define the scenes and the forward movement of their lives.

Jamie Wooten, one of the playwrights, was a writer for The Golden Girls, so the quality of their patter and the giggly one-liners is in the same genre of that hysterical show.  When Marlafaye sees Randa’s house for the first time she opines, “Yeah, sure is a pretty place. Everything’s so neat and clean. I’m not like that. Instead of cleaning my house, I just turn off the lights”.  When Randa comments on drinking mead, “This really isn’t so horrible”, Marlafaye responds, “The very words I said on my wedding night”.  Marlafaye also says,  “Sex is like a brownie – when it’s good it’s really good. And when it’s bad….it’s still pretty good!”.

Andrea Romaldi, the artistic director writes, “friendships are our lifelines and support structures. Good friends cheer us, challenge us, bewilder us and irritate us, but ultimately they support and help us grow into our best selves”. Head out to Hudson and lift a glass to friendship.

Location: 28 Rue Wharf, Hudson, QC J0P 1H0
Phone: 450- 458-5361
Dates: til July 22
https://villagetheatre.ca/

As you enter the side door of the Surratt House Museum you are walking in the path of John Wilkes Booth the night he killed President Lincoln, since he came here to retrieve a rifle, field glasses and supplies for his run from the law.

Built in 1852, this was a tavern, an inn, a post office and a polling place. It was a safe house for the Confederate underground. The massive search for Booth led them here to Mary Surratt’s house, and as a result she was tried in a military court and convicted of conspiracy to assassinate the President. On July 7, 1865 Mary Surratt was the first woman to be executed by the federal government.

In your visit to this famous house, a docent in 1860’s period clothing walks you through the typical middle class home.  History buffs can make reservations for the 12-hour “Escape Route” bus tour. Many of the same roads and houses used by Booth are still in existence and are visited on this excursion which is narrated by nationally-recognized authorities on the Lincoln assassination and John Wilkes Booth’s flight.  Tour Dates for 2018: Apr 14, 21, 28 and Sept 8, 15, 22.

If you’re in the Clinton area Sat, Dec 2 – Sun, Dec 10, stop by the Surratt House Museum for their special Christmas program- An Old Fashioned Holiday: Bringing Christmas Past to Christmas Present, celebrating the Christmas of yesteryear amid period decorations, special exhibits and seasonal histories. On the weekend of December 9 and 10, return to enjoy special activities for all ages, cookies, cider, and holiday discounts in the museum’s gift shop.

Location: Surratt House Museum, 9118 Brandywine Road, Clinton, MD 20735
Hours: Wed – Fri 11am – 3pm, Sat -Sun 12 – 4pm
The Surratt House Museum is closed from Dec 12th to Jan 17th.
Tel: 301-868-1121
surrattmuseum.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: visitprincegeorgescounty.com

It is really hard to take the boring authenticity-proving side of the modern art world and make it into a delightful audience loving (2 standing ovations on opening night) theatre piece.

Stephen Sachs, the playwright, took on the true story of Terry Horton, a former truck driver who scavenged a painting for $5 at a second-hand shop as a gift for a friend who needed cheering up. Maude Gutman, as she is called in this play, is a lover of kitsch – her trailer is overwhelmed by it (A congratulatory shout out here for the jam-packed shelves created by set and costume designer Pam Johnson, who really needed my Smart Shopping Montreal book to find all that stuff!). At a yard sale, the local art teacher noticed the painting and mentioned it might be a Jackson Pollock; and so begins the tale. Somehow Gutman managed to get a major art house in NYC to send an expert over to check out her claim.

And therein lies this sparring pied-a-deux. A foul-mouthed bourbon drinking trailer park madam vs. the snooty elitist artsy gentleman. Human authenticity versus art authenticity is set to be proven. Nicola Cavendish walks the walk and talks the talk. Her sneaker grounded stalking moves her around the trailer while her expert verbal comedic timing keeps the pace going. She even manages to give the garbage pail “a line”.

Jonathan Monro (Lionel Percy), himself a renaissance man (competitive swimmer, piano prodigy, singer, director, lyricist, actor), glides around her, expertly dodging her verbal and physical attacks. My take-away forever (as a former NYC art teacher) is the exuberant and sexually suggestive way in which Monro teaches us the how and why a Jackson Pollock painting is important – and not just a bunch of paint splashes on a canvas.

Though Percy always trusts his “first blink”, it is Nicola Cavendish who summed it up brilliantly when she observed Pollock’s paintings, “You can see that what emerges is layers and layers and layers. I think it’s a lesson on how we can learn to look more closely, whether we are talking about a piece of art or whether we’re talking about the woman who lives across the street who’s offensive.” Modern art is beyond the understanding of the ordinary citizen, and this play opens the door a crack as to what it is all about, how it works and doesn’t work. The show makes it all fun and drives Maude’s trailer expertly to the end to find out if she goes from rags to riches.

Location: 453 St-Francois Xavier
corner: Notre-Dame
Tel: 514-288-3161
Dates: Jan 31-Feb 26, 2017
Prices $28- $51
www.centaurtheatre.com
Metro: Place d’Armes

National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force – Wow, right in the middle of their combat gallery you can watch volunteers restore the fuselage of a WWII B-17 bomber. It was unnerving to find out that the aluminum is so thin that your finger can make it wiggle.

Hear first-hand stories of brave men and women who were not only pilots, but navigators, ground crew, radio operators or even POW’s from 1942-1945. You can set the stage watching a 20 min. movie depicting the perils of a World War II strategic bombing mission over Nazi Germany, where at times 60% of the flights were one way (now that’s bravery).

Find the story about Tyre C. Weaver, who was so badly wounded that he asked to be thrown from his plane to parachute into enemy territory hoping to receive medical
treatment, and of the 10-year old girl who found him.

Learn about Jacqueline Cochran who founded the women’s air force and flew every plane, and Nancy Harkness Love, who delivered planes, tested them and towed targets, and Ann Baumgartner Carl, the first woman to pilot a jet.

Peer into a MIG 21 nose section. See if you can find the dollar bill signed by Clark Gable or what tora tora tora means. There’s a museum store, and outside you can view an F-4C Phantom, MiG-17A and B47 bomber.

Location: National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force,
175 Bourne Ave, Pooler, GA 31322
Hours: Opened Daily 9am–5pm
Tel: 912-748-8888
mightyeighth.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: poolerchamber.com

If you are interested in Civil War History and conspiracy  theories then the Surratt House Museum is a must for you.

Historic Surratt House has national significance due to its role in the dramatic events surrounding the Lincoln assassination conspiracy and the involvement of Mary Surratt.

As you enter the side door of this house, you are walking in the path of John Wilkes Booth the night he killed President Lincoln, since he came here to retrieve a rifle, field glasses and supplies for his run from the law. Mrs. Surratt became the first woman put to death by the United States government for her complicity.

The house was built in 1852 as a middle-class farm home for the family of John and Mary Surratt. It was more than a family home – the Surratt House also served as a tavern, public dining room and hotel for traveling gentlemen. Outside, the house was the focal point of a 300-acre plantation. A livery stable and nearby blacksmith shop serviced travelers, and in 1854 a post office was added to the tavern, serving the new area of “Surrattsville”. With the advent of the Civil War, the tavern became a clandestine Confederate safe house.

At the Surratt House Museum visitors take a guided tour from an
experienced docent in period clothing. Guests will not only learn of the
dramatic events surrounding the Lincoln assassination, but will learn about
daily life during the mid-19th century.

Location: 9118 Brandywine Road, Clinton, 20735
Hours: Wed thru Fri, 11am-3pm and Sat & Sun, 12 noon- 4pm . The last tour beings one half-hour before closing.
Tel: 301- 868-1121
surrattmuseum.org
For Regional Accommodations, Restaurants & Attractions: www.visitprincegeorges.com