Place Igor Stravinsky

It's hot and humid in Iowa, and I'm 'jonesing' for Paris. What better place to cool off and pass a Paris afternoon than right here at Place Igor Stravinksy? Nestled between the Pompidou Center and the 8th century Eglise St. Merry, the contemporary fountain is a favorite place for school groups to eat lunch after field trips to the Pompidou and for Parisians and tourists alike to cool off in the noonday sun. I always plan my visits so I can have lunch at the creperie on the corner, grabbing an outdoor table as close to the fountain as I can. During one winter visit, I watched homeless people wander along side the church, each claiming a step or a doorway to huddle in and depositing sleeping rolls and bags of clothes to claim their spot.  Last September I observed a young woman dressed in dance leotards throwing multiple colored balls in the air while jumping from a chair. A professional photographer captured image after image as she repeatedly jumped and tossed, jumped and tossed. I have no idea what that was all about, but it certainly kept me entertained while I ate as did the very well-behaved French children and their teachers eating sack lunches on the fountain steps. Ah Paris...always something to intrigue!

Rest in Peace

A friend of mine lost the love of her life last week. I blogged a story about them recently referencing our shared time in Paris back in 2005. Between them there are over 50 years of memories. Between them are 3 marriages and several children...but not with each other. Between them are countless trips abroad...with each other on her dime. He shared the Eiffel Tower and street music with us; she shared her gentle spirit and her ability to unconditionally love someone whom the rest of us found unlovable. She wasn't there when he died; she is heartbroken.

A Tiny Piece of Paris

I go for weeks receiving only bills and the occasional flyer offering me a discount on hearing aids in my mailbox. Then like magic fun things appear from far-away places. This tiny piece of Paris is from Laury. I admired the little music boxes she wrote about in one of her blog posts and voila...she sent me one! Okay...so maybe I whined a little. I love it. It's playing 'La vie en rose.' Can there be anything more quintessentially Parisian than that? It made me cry.

PS...I enlisted the help of my friend, Beth to shoot this video. I just didn't have enough hands to hold the tiny box, turn the crank and press the record button. I'm thinking I need a tripod!

Street Performers

Laury's posts about accordeonistes the past two days over at Soar-Dream-France reminded me of this group that I photographed in 2007 on Place des Vosges.  Reading about Laury's encounters with street performers brought to mind my first introduction to this very Parisian phenomenon. The year was 2005; names have been changed to protect the innocent...

The four of us spent a couple of days exploring Paris together. Every time we'd come upon musicians performing on the street or in the Metro, Chuck would stop to listen...sometimes for two or three songs. Barbara, his partner, would fume and fuss. "Come on, Chuck, let's go!" as she tugged on his sleeve. Marie and I would comfort her.."It's okay, really, we're in no hurry." Chuck always tossed a few coins into the cup or basket or open guitar case. Barbara would rag on that, too. "Why do you waste time listening and then waste money?" Chuck's answer: because I enjoy the music, I'm not in that big a hurry, and they work really hard. Showing my appreciation is the right thing to do." Amen to that! Much as I love Barbara (and Chuck not so much!) on this he and I agree. The music is always wonderful, I never want to be in such a big hurry that I miss any of what Paris has to offer, and those musicians and performers work really hard. I follow Chuck's lead...I always stop, I always applaud, and I always throw some coins their way. Heck, I've even been known to buy a CD!

Murder in the Latin Quarter

I just finished reading "Murder in the Latin Quarter" by Cara Black. I'm a huge mystery fan and love Cara Black's mysteries, all set in Paris. I did a book review of this and two other of her mysteries over at "Red Bell Reads," but want to share the setting of this fast-paced story here. The Latin Quarter in Paris is the area around the Sorbonne where the Universities of Paris were established in  1253. While Black's heroine, private investigator Aimee Leduc lives on the l'Isle St. Louis, she went to school here in the 5th arrondissement and still has her expired student ID from her days at the Sorbonne. The murder mystery swirls around illegal Haitian immigrants, voudou, clean water projects for Haiti and the unscrupulous Baby Doc Devalier. But what intrigued me even more was Black's richly detailed descriptions of one of my favorite parts of Paris. She even sends Aimee into my very favorite museum, the Cluny (Musee du Moyen Age). I couldn't help exclaiming out loud as I followed Aimee's adventures..."I've been there. I know that place. I'vewalked down that street. She's spot on with her descriptions!"

More of the Sorbonne and the entrance to the Cluny Museum.

How Did They Do That?

I have several blogs saved in 'My Favorites,' and it probably won't surprise you that many of those are about France. There are a couple that I read daily; others I check on once a week or so. Every one of them written by a person living in France at some time in their blog history relates the story of how they got to France and why they stayed. As I sit here in a state of possibility, their stories intrigue me. Would it be possible for me to live in France, full or part time? A handful of those bloggers married Frenchmen; that is probably NOT going to happen for me! Others moved businesses to France; some came for school and stayed. They all share a love for all things French, but I think it takes more than that to have a French life. I've read the information about visas and Carte de Sejour's; I know how difficult it is to move to France. Whether it's Paris or Provence or the Lot, it takes a lot of determination and a fair amount of financial resources to make life in France a reality. I'm totally open to ideas, though. Let me know what you think...how do you think I could make this possibility into a reality? If you live in France, I'm open to any insider tips you might have as well!

Roussillon in the Luberon, Provence

Along the Lot River from the Belgian Cross upstream from Cajarc.

Design in Unexpected Places

One of the things I like best about Paris is it never fails to surprise me. Yes, I can find art and history in the predictable places, but Paris is such a living, changing, vibrant city that I can always find art and design in unexpected places as well. Like in one of my favorite churches, St. Merri...art telling the familiar Bible stories painted by its parishioners filling the vestibule. And paintings still in progress below.

How about these great graphic designs? They are the barricades at the construction site of the Palais Royale. If you've been there, you know that the courtyard is full of various sized cylinders that are painted with black and white stripes. They are being renovated and Paris has invited you to watch the progress through the plexiglass squares.

The beauty of old France is artfully arranged in the shop window of Paris' newest 'best baker,' Christophe Vasseur. I found his shop near the Canal St. Martin, hoping to taste a bit of baguette. Alas, it was Saturday and the boulanger is only open Monday through Friday.
Look up! Look down! You are always in the presence of design in Paris...even in the most unexpected places.

The Many Faces of Paris

A beautiful Tiffany lamp from the glass exhibt at the Musee du Luxembourg...

Flowers along rue de Seine...

The Canal St. Martin and its homeless people living on the benches and in the bushes along it....

Luscious treats from Gerard Mulot...

Dead rats from Les Halles strung up in a Right Bank shop window...

One of Paris's stunning blue doors....

Paris...a city of many faces...the good, the bad and the ugly.

Luxembourg Gardens

I strolled through the Luxembourg Gardens the morning of the Tiffany glass exhibit. Every time I go to Paris I visit this lovely place; this morning, however, I was suddenly aware at just how feminine this garden feels. The fact that it was built along with the Luxembourg Palace for Marie d'Medici in the early 1600's could be one reason for this. The statuary that rims the central parterre is of some of France's most famous and most lovely women. The Garden is centered by this beautiful statue of Diana, the Huntress.

The detailing in the sculptures is amazing. France's queens and famous women have been well-served by the artisans who crafted them. And I was well-served on my stroll through the Gardens by their beauty and grace.

Lunch with Isabelle

I had lunch with my friend, Isabelle on Saturday. We met about a block from the Porte St. Denis, shown here. Duh...I never even thought to get a photo of Isabelle or the beautiful restaurant where we ate. I can show you the Julien here, but alas, no photo of Isabelle...guess I'll just have to make another trip to Paris, huh? Lunch was yummy, the ambiance of the restaurant felt very Parisian. The neighborhood around the Porte was very lively...full of ethnic peoples and markets. After lunch Isabelle took me on a tour of 'passages' narrow covered streets lined with wonderful shops.

These passages are not particularly easy to find. Even Isabelle had to break open her map book once to make sure we were headed the right way.

We discovered shops for toys, old books, art, miniatures, canes, pipes...anything you can think of...as well as restaurants, chocolate shops, and wine shops.

We ended our tour of passages at the Palais Royale where there was a long line snaking around the courtyard. It was 'patrimony weekend' when many of the buildings in Paris are open free to public admission, Many people were taking advantage of this special weekend to view buildings not usually open for touring. Outside the Palais grounds we came upon one of my favorite Paris sights...street musicians. Isabelle told me that not only do these performing groups need special permits to be able to perform on the street, but that they also have to audition before being allowed to do this. This group of string musicians was playing lovely classical music.

Paris!

I stepped off the train in the Gare Austerlitz to the buzz of Paris. Throngs of people all rushing to get somewhere smacking right up against equally as many people who were lost, standing looking puzzled, not sure where the heck they were! The streets were clogged with cars, motocycles, and busses. I dodged both bicyclists and rollerbladers as I walked down Blvd. St. Germain. Ah, Paris! Dirty, messy streets, pushy people, bright lights, and the blaring claxons of police cars in hot pursuit. Ah, Paris! Everyone talking on their mobile phones, paying no attention to on-coming traffic...vehicular or pedestrian. Boys in packs; giggling, but stylish girls, tourists studying maps, dogs, street people begging...ah, Paris! Sidewalk cafes were filling up fast inspite of the cool, cloudy weather; art galleries were filled with wine-sipping art lovers; the Carrefour across the street from my hotel was bustling with shoppers eager to get home to fix dinner. As I relished my first sights and sounds of my favorite city, the bells of the Eglise St. Germain-des-Pres began to chime, calling the city to Mass. I slipped in and sat in the back row. The huge vaulted church was still except for the priest singing the liturgy and the congregation answering in song. The bells called and gifted me with twenty minutes of beauty and quiet uninterrupted by the crazy busy city outside the huge wooden doors. I left the church filled with peace. Ah, Paris!

Travel Journal

Somewhere in my emails back and forth to Laury, I must have mentioned that I journal...and have pretty faithfully for several years She commented on that and I had to confess...I have a daily journal, a spiritual journal and a special travel journal that holds all my memories of my previous trips to France. It's filled with my musings as well as mementos of my trips. You know...metro tickets, flyers from concerts, tickets to exhibits,labels, business cards, etc. As I leafed through it looking for pages to photograph, I was struck by the fact that most of the little knick-knacky things come from Paris. Guess that's where all the action is!

Paris is where I had my first taste of sheep's cheese...so yummy. I peeled this label off my favorite kind.

Admission to the Pompidou Center....

A concert at the Cluny Museum and an Easter Monday concert at St. Germain-des-Pres church.....

What else do you do with used metro tickets besides put them in your journal? Hey, I should check my passport to see if I stuck any unused ones in there!

Slipped into my purse as surreptitiously as possible after I removed it from around my napkin at Le Procope...didn't want to look like a total tourist!!

Tomorrow I'll share the Provence side of my travel journal with you. Please come back!

Paris to Cuba

It's no secret that I love Paris. I also love Parisian music...bistro and cafe music, tunes of the bal musettes, accordian music, Django Reinhardt jazz. In fact, I've got a Parisian music CD playing right now. I also have a secret fascination with Cuba...bet you didn't know that! I think it all began with the Cuban missile crisis. That's about the first real piece of news that I remember from growing up. What is this place called Cuba that is suddenly such a big threat to us? I was intrigued by the whole Castro/General Batista/Che Guevara thing. They all seemed like 'bad boys' and bad boys were so much more interesting than the boys I knew! And then in the late 1990's I met my favorite Cuban, the cardiologist I worked for in Boulder. A superb physician, an outstanding human being...Cuba surfaced again in my life. When I saw this CD advertised on Kristin's blog, I knew I had to have it. It came in yesterday's mail and I'm not disappointed. Parisian jazz flavored with the spice of Cuba...some trumpets, a marimba. I'm dreaming of Paris and the Seine and hot Havana nights.

If you click thru at 'Parisian jazz...' you can listen to each track on the CD. While I love them all, I'd suggest you try #1 and #9 to start. Enjoy!

Women Artists

About the time I think I'm done planning my September trip to France, I find one more thing that I HAVE to do. This time it's an exhibit at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. I went online and bought an admission ticket to the museum for September 18th so I can see this wonderful exhibit of art by women artists. As I read the explanation of the exhibit, it appears that this is the first ever exhibit of all women artists from the 20th century. It should be a fun exhibit and having a ticket in hand will keep me from waiting in a long line to get in. I love the Pompidou, the Stravinsky fountain, the little creperie on the corner, the Eglise St. Merri. It will be a fine way to spend a Friday afternoon in Paris!

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Tiffany Exhibit

I am just totally amazed at what I can do on this computer! Today I booked train tickets, first class, from Cahors to Paris to see the Louis Comfort Tiffany glass exhibition at the Musee du Luxembourg. 60 euros...that's an awesome price. Then I bought a ticket to see the exhibit and printed it off. I checked on room availability at a hotel in the St. Germain des Pres area and also inquired about renting an apartment for the 3 days I'll be in Paris this September. I already confirmed a lunch date with Isabelle for Saturday. All from the comfort of my office and with my trusty little netbook computer. Is this cool or what!

Change of Plans?

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know that I'm beginning to make my plans for what I'll do during my month in France. I've said all along that I probably won't go to Paris. It's expensive, and I'm trying to be prudent with my money. Well...that good intention flew out the window yesterday when I received an email from Programmation du Musee du Luxembourg! When I visited Paris in 2007, Marie and I went to an exhibit of Lalique jewelry at the Musee. I bought our tickets online and have been on their email list ever since. This week's email informed me that beginning Sept. 15th, there will be a Louis Comfort Tiffany exhibit at the Musee and I can purchase tickets for this spectacular event online. Paris is calling my name once again! I'm going to try to make a quick visit happen ,so I can see the works of this magnificent stained glass artist. Maybe I'll be inspired to drag out the glass, the solder and flux, the grinder and do a little stained glass myself...again.

Erik Satie

"The Writer's Almanac" appears in my email inbox early every morning. I love to listen to Garrison Keillor recite poetry and read tidbits of literary, musical and cultural history every day. Today's edition contained this: "It's the birthday of composer Erik Satie...." I'm immediately transported back to March 2006. I'm enjoying the last full day of my solo trip to Paris. A light dusting of snow lingered in Montmarte, but the morning skies were brilliant blue as I wandered the streets beyond the Sacre Coeur. My destination was the Musee de Montmarte where I hoped to find more information about my favorite painter, Modigliani. That hope was not realised, but I did discover Erik Satie at the museum which at one time was his home. The portrait shown here was painted by Suzanne Valadon, his lover, and an artist in her own right. She was the mother of Maurice Urtillo; she and Satie were part of the cadre of bohemian artists that included Picasso, Andre Derain, Georges Braque, Renoir, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Edgar Degas. Satie considered himself a child who ..."came into the world very young in an age that was very old." His music was radically different from that of this 'old age.' As I wandered the museum, it played in the backgound, and I was haunted by its beauty. When I returned home, I bought a collection of 4 CD's to remind me of my serendipitous discovery of this complicated composer on that brisk and beautiful snow-dusted Paris morning. Let me share it with you...click here and enjoy.

Scarves

Scarves define French fashion. I remember before my very first trip to France, Mickey told me, "Don't pack a scarf. The first thing we'll do in Paris is buy a fabulous one. You'll see...it will make you feel tres French!" And indeed, it did! I've never seen scarves worn in such profusion and with such panache. Every woman, and many of the men, had one draped, tied, tucked, bowed, slung around her neck. Mickey and I haunted every scarf shop we could find and I bought several that trip. They are such an easy souvenir...light and don't take hardly any room in your suitcase. I have to tell you, though, that I bought my very first scarf at my very first market in Provence. It's a beautiful turquoise paisley wool challis that can do double-duty as a shawl. I can tell you where and when I bought each scarf in this photo. The black&white one came from a little boutique in Apt; the brighter pink striped one, I bought off rue de Buci for Easter at the Notre Dame in 2007. Each one evokes a memory. One day at work someone complimented a French scarf that I was wearing. I thanked them and said "Oh yes, I bought this one in Paris in February of 2006." One of my staff commented..."Geez, that's weird. Do you really remember where you buy all your clothes?" No, only the scarves that I buy in my very favorite city in the whole world! Who wouldn't remember that?

My Favorite Museum

Everyone has their favorite Paris museum. For many people, it's the Louvre. I like that one a lot and visit it a couple of times on every trip. Others really prefer the Musee d'Orsay and its wonderful collection of Impressionist art. I like that one as well. On my last visit to Paris, I spent an afternoon at the new Musee Quai du Branly...also an awesome museum. But if I had to name my very favorite museum it would be the Musee de Moyen Age, better known as the Cluny Museum. I've posted a picture of some of the detail of the exterior of the museum. I think it's amazing that so much beauty was incorporated into the design of this structure. The building was completed in 1364 and was originally the 'town house' for the bishops of Cluny; a place for them to stay when they journeyed to Paris for meetings. This structure was built on the 3rd century ruins of Gallo-Roman baths which can still be seen in the basement of the building. On one visit I was privileged to view some gorgeous illuminated manuscripts of the Book of Hours. Every visit, though, I stand in awe in front of the "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestry, one of my favorite works of art. This museum stands in the #22 spot on my list of favorite things.