Comment du Jour

                                         New York's Steuben Day Parade
                                       German-American Friendship Day

                                  Youth and Sports groups marched in the Parade

        Both the German Consulate and Embassy sponsored floats--Berlin's Brandenburg Gate

                     Celebrating 25 Years since the fall of the infamous Berlin Wall in 1989!
                                            This float was among the most popular

                                           Until next year!!  Auf Wiedersehen!

Comment du Jour

German-American Steuben Parade

The 57th annual Steuben Parade marched up New York's Fifth Avenue with a colorful array of bands, floats and  traditional costumes.  The parade honoring General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who played a crucial role in training and organizing the American Revolutionary Army, has become an annual event celebrating German-American Friendship.



The Parade which stepped off under beautiful bright skies, saw thousands of marchers and spectators along the route  from 68th Street up Fifth Avenue to 86th Street.

New York TV personality John Muller, from WPIX Channel 11 served as Grand Marshall.

                                            West Point Cadet German Language Club

                                           New York Fire Department Steuben Society

And there were the Beer Floats...

Karnival Marchers!

Folklore Groups...

More Beer!   Zum Prosit!!

And yes the World Cup of Football!!

Germany Won the FIFA World Championship

PART II to Follow soon!!!

Comment du Jour

Scotland the Brave--Staying in the United Kingdom!

Scotland has voted overwhelmingly to stay within the United Kingdom.

Despite what many polls predicted would be a close call for the Scots
choosing independence from Britain, the actual tally showed 55% support for staying
together while 45% wanted independence.

Except for Glasgow city where the Yes vote prevailed most other centers showed nearly two-thirds of respondents wishing to Stay Together with the UK.  Fully 86% of voters turned out in what was a landmark referendum.

A Yes vote would have produced a jolt to financial markets and equally raised serious questions over Scotland's future within NATO and the European Union.

Scotland has been part of the UK for over 300 years.

Beyond Scotland, an independence vote would have stirred separatism throughout Europe and wider afield from Spain to Corsica and Quebec.  

Comment du Jour

        Notre Dame Cathedral





France Surges in Global Tourist Visits

Surprised?


France has again emerged as the world's most visited country with 85 million tourists last year.

The USA comes in second with 70 million visits, Spain follows with 61 million, and now China with 56 million.

Of those visiting France are 13 million Germans and 12.6 million Brits.  Approximately 4 million North Americans--USA and Canadians journeyed last year as well.  Yet it's the Chinese tourists where we see a surge of 24 percent last year to 1.7 million while visiting Japanese were 700,000.

Go to any deluxe boutique or department store and its glaringly apparent that the Mainland Chinese visitors are big spenders and the "new Japanese" or what the Americans were 25 years ago.  Add big spending Arab and Russian visitors and you see the new "bling-bling" clientele.

And what are the top tourist sites visited by those touring la belle France?

1  Disneyland Paris with 15 million

2 Notre-Dame of Paris     14 million

3 Sacre-Coeur                   10.5 million

 4 Le Louvre                         9 million (and all seemingly on the day we visit!!)

 5 Chateau de Versailles     7.5 million


La Vie en Rose?

                                           Courtyard of Le Louvre with the Pyramid