ESTRAN guitar concert

ESTRAN   St Médard en Jalles  Gironde
Feb 21, 2020

I'm a member of an association of guitarists named "Accordset à Cordes" located in
St Médard en Jalles

L'ESTRAN, another association has the title of "Cultural Café"

This year, ESTRAN invited Accords et à Cordes to give a concert by Guitar Café on the evening of Friday, February 21, 2020

We enjoyed this musical with the opportunity to meet each other’s, always in a good mood and relaxation

On stage, some played a recital of interesting instrumental guitars and others sang some famous musical success accompanied by their guitars of course

A total around 25 musical pieces have been performed

Find below an example of three songs where I contributed with pleasure "Can't Help Falling in Love"

A 1961 song recorded by famous American singer Elvis Presley.

The melody is based on "Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini

"Chanson pour l'Auvergnat"

Georges Brassens wrote and sang, with his guitar, more than a hundred of his poems.

Between 1952 and 1976, he recorded fourteen albums including several popular French songs like Chanson pour l'Auvergnat… "The Wayfaring Stranger" also known as
"I'm a Poor Wayfaring Stranger"

A well-known American folk and gospel song, probably originating in the early 19th century.
In 1935, an arrangement is included and the American singer Johnny Cash covers the song in 2000. In addition, the English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran records a version in 2011

The Gaillac Lanterns Festival

Gaillac (Tarn) 5 to 6 Dec 2018

A major France Southwest event, in the Tarn department

 the Gaillac Lanterns Festival 

In 2017, the first edition of this Chinese representation 

(after Dallas, Singapore or Toronto) has won over 250,000 visitors

This year we decided to attend this Festival

It took place in a renewed park of Foucaud castle of 3.5 hectares, from 1 December 2018 to 6 February 2019.

The construction of the structures took more than a month. They are artisans from China who developed them. 

The monumental light sculptures created by Chinese artisans are really magic with luminous sculptures. 

  The largest lantern light ever designed was created  for the 2nd edition of the Gaillac Festival.

  It is a gigantic palace 75 meters long, 20 meters deep and about 20 meters high.

There is a reproduction of the Temple of Heaven in Beijing but also a dragon whose structure is made of plates.

There are also nearly a hundred light sculptures, strange creatures that are displayed in the park In some places, animated scenes with Sichuan troops

You can also enjoy the region, to visit Cordes sur Ciel, the village classified "more beautiful village of France” 

Croatia visit

Visit to Croatia from Sep 5 to Sep 12, 2018

After visiting the island of Malta in July, we decided to make a trip to Croatia in September

Malta is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea directly south of Italy and north of Libya

Not far from Malta, Croatia is a country at the crossroads of central and south-eastern Europe, on the Adriatic Sea. Its capital, Zagreb, is one of the main subdivisions of the country, with twenty counties. Croatia has an area of ​​56,594 km² and a population of 4.28 million

We noticed differences between the two countries, each with its own particularities, but our stay in Croatia, as a tourism, was more pleasant. 

Tourism the main industry in Croatia is concentrated in areas along the Adriatic coast

Off the coast of Croatia, more than a thousand Croatian islands of varying size, ranging from small rocks in the sea to the island of Cres, which is the 20th largest island in the Mediterranean. We visited 3 of them …

UNESCO World Heritage sites have included 10 Croatian sites on its World Heritage List. 

We visited 5 sites

• Old Town Dubrovnik

• Split Historical Complex with Diocletian's Palace

• St James Cathedral of Sibenik

• Venetian defense works between the 15th and 17th centuries in Zadar

• Historic town of Trogir

What was the schedule?

• Landing at Dubrovnik Airport

Dubrovnik is one of the most famous Croatian tourist sites. The old town and its many sights (including the well-preserved city walls along which we walked) are one of the city's main attractions.

Your second trip was to Split, but we have to cross the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina because the Herzegovina municipality south of Neum makes the southern part of Croatia (Dubrovnik-Neretva County) an exclave. An exclave is a part of a state or territory geographically separated from the main part by the surrounding territory.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia have signed 111 different treaties to resolve border disputes, but sometimes there are long queues. We were lucky not to have to wait at the border!

• Split. Visit the city and do the "3 Island Tour". First stop at Duga (island of Ciovo near Trogir), then visit the Blue Lagoon and arrival at Maslinica (Solta island) before returning to Split

• Visit Sibenik and KRKA National Park. 
One of Croatia's most enchanting natural wonders, with its waterfalls and cliffs stretching along the banks of the river Krka.

• Zadar called “Home of the Best”. A monument of the city, surrounded by historic walls of an exceptional history and a rich cultural heritage, a tourist city.

• Trogir was my favorite place visited in Croatia.

Trogir is a targeted destination for many artists, writers ... and travelers because of the many colors of Trogir. The spectral palettes of blue, green, gold and violet ... Called "Little Venice" and deserves to be on UNESCO's World Heritage List

Trogir is located 10 minutes from Split Airport where we took our flight back to Bordeaux

This video brings what we preferred on our trip 

following the order of visits described above

Travel through the island of Malta

From May 10th to 15th, 2018, we made a trip to the island of Malta

Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea directly to the south of Italy and north of Libya.

The island, 27 kilometers long and 14.5 kilometers wide, is composed of many small towns with a population of 409259.

The capital is Valletta.

The landscape is characterized by low hills with terraced fields. 

The video above summarizes what we visited:

• The capital Valletta

• The three cities Senglea, Vittoriosa and Cospicua

• The south and east of the island with the blue cave

• The center of the island: Mdina and Rabat

• The northwest of the island where we stayed (St Paul's Bay)

• The island of Gozo