Music! in the Month of June, 2015

Quite a few music-themed films this month.  Some music in Bucharest and Cannes as well.

Pride. Rather timely.

Visiting a label in Bucharest, Romania.

MIDEM @ Palais des Festivals, Cannes, France.

Get On Up, a biopic about the king of soul, James Brown

Pitch Perfect

Shingo Sekiguchi @ Motion Blue Yokohama

Blue @ Studio Coast

Moodoid @ Unit

The Shiny Stockings @ Blues Alley

Hysteric Panic @ Yatsui Festival @ O-Nest

Blind Guardian @ O-East

Hiroko Kokubu @ Yamaha Hall

I quite enjoyed seeing these metal guys from Krefeld, Germany who came back to Japan on a proper tour for the first time in 13 years.

Dining Out in Bucharest

On the second and final night of our very short visit to Bucharest, Romania, my colleague and I were taken to a very fine French restaurant by our business associate.  When asked what we fancied for dinner, I had said something local and contemporary meaning modern Romanian if they had such a thing but Le Birstrot Francais, run by our associate’s friend, was where we ended up.  I had no complaints though as the food was superb.

The restaurant is across from the Romanian Athenaeum, the main classical concert hall in Bucharest opened in 1888.

We were shown to the wine bar section of the restaurant which was in a different building from the main room.

There was only bar facilities in this room so they were delivering food across the street from the main restaurant but at one point it was pouring out so that was a little tricky.

 

The gang.

The “Wine Bar” at Le Bistrot Francais

 

36 Hours or So in Bucharest, Romania

My first visit to Romania and I only have two short nights in Bucharest during which I am staying in two different hotels (not by choice but the hotel I booked had a technical problem and put me up in a different hotel nearby for the first night) doing meetings.  Here are events since last night. The first hotel where they upgraded me (by the original hotel I booked) to a very nice room.  The hotel itself was a bit too corporate for me.  The wine I bought at CDG.  The cheese and snack from two different Air France flights I was on.

Walked around the hotel after breakfast.  Very heavy traffic around 8:30 – 9 am which seemed to cease by the time I went back to the hotel but apparently the traffic is heavy throughout the day in Bucharest.

Supermarket!  I love supermarkets.  The Romanian flag seems to show that the vegetables are a local produce.

Walking around.  The neighborhood is noticeably full of schools, embassies, and hair salons.

My second hotel, the one I originally booked.  The local wine and fruits, compliments of the hotel.

Off to a meeting and lunch afterwards.

Off to dinner with a business partner now.