Like I said last week when I saw Dame de Coeur, I am a sucker for any kind of light show and I received another invitation for a different kind of show, the China Light Show in Calais.
I was invited to the opening last weekend, and took a train from Paris to Calais, an hour and forty-five minute ride.
The show is based on the Chinese tradition of light festivals presented for hundreds of years on the 15th day of the first Chinese month. Chinese lanterns were lit to bring good luck for a bountiful harvest and to please Taiyi, the god of the sky.
China Light Festival B.V. has brought the tradition to Europe, already organizing shows in Belgium and the Netherlands before coming to Calais this year.
The show is displayed in Parc Saint Pierre, in the middle of the city, a short walk from the railroad station.
Strolling through the park in the crisp, night air with a half-moon hovering above, I was enchanted by a fairy tale land of flowers, animals, and adorable figures infused with dazzling colors. A massive 300-foot dragon overwhelmed the park with a tail that went on forever and a menagerie friendly of owls, lions, tigers, ostriches, swans, panda bears, and peacocks greeted me. I stayed for almost two hours to fully absorb the 400 figures.
I stayed overnight at the basic but comfortable Ibis Styles Hotel centrally located, just up the road from the park, and the train station.
A special thank you to Solange Leclercq from the Calais Tourist Office and Juliette Hurez from the Scherzo Agency for providing my arrangements to visit Calais.
China Light Show Calais
Until January 1, 2019
Open 6PM-9:30PM, Wednesday to Sunday
Closed December 25 & 31
https://chinalightcalais.fr/en/china-light/
Ibis Styles Hotel
https://www.accorhotels.com/fr/hotel-7209-ibis-styles-calais-centre/index.shtml
I am so pleased to have Ann Mah as my guest this week at on A Bite of Paris. We went to Le Mistral, her favorite Paris bistro and had their signature dish, aligot, a rich, creamy mix of whipped potatoes and cheese from the Aveyron region.
Click here or link below to watch Ann and I enjoy aligote.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiRHIW7Oitw&t=4s
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