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Published: July 28th 2012
The boys are gone...or so we think. Imagine my surprise when I'm in the middle of a shower and Lee pokes his head in to tell me we have company! Seems Ry and Will had taken the train from Seville to Paris to change to Berlin. The next train didn't leave for a while, so they popped in for a quick shower and to clean out the fridge. Then they went back to the the station only to find out there were no trains for the next 2 days for Berlin. So, we have the guys for a little longer. It's good. We invited them to Pere LaChaise cemetary, but the night/party train seemed to have wiped them out, so we left them prone on sofas and off we went.
You might have been to cemeteries before, but I promise none like Pere LaChaise. All the cemeteries I'm familiar with are well manicured and sort of tidy...not this one! It's old and shows its age. But somehow, it's beautiful and an odd sort of quiet oasis in the middle of the city. We had our Rick Steve's map and headed off to find the grave of Oscar Wilde. Easy to
find with a crowd of people gathered around. The site is a bit of a shrine to homosexuality and writers alike, and people have covered the protective plexiglass with red lipstick kisses. We felt bad for the guy buried next door - fans walk all over him to get to Oscar. Next we headed off to find Gertrude Stein, but Rick Steve's is a travel writer,not a cartographer, and we got fairly lost. We did happen upon some very moving tributes to victims of the Holocaust...each extermination camp has a marker and there were additional markers for righteous Gentiles and soldiers who died for the cause. We placed rocks on the largest in memory of those who died. We also passed by the wall where the martyrs of the Paris commune of 1871were lined up and shot. We finally found Gertrude Stein's very plain grave site and headed through the shade and quiet to find Chopin ( sans his heart..it's in Poland), Moliere, and Jim Morrison. Morrison had a small crowd gathered as well, and his grave is fenced. Once again, we felt sorry for his neighbors. Heloise and Abelard were our next stop...if you don't know this story, investigate
it up on google. Short version - he's a professor, she is the student, they fall in love and write beautiful letters to each other. Family hates him, they run away, marry and have a baby. Her family castrates him, sends her to a abbey and he spends the rest of his life in the monastery, but they continue to write of their devotion. This may sound like Jersey Shore, but it's around the year 1100! Pere Lachaise cemetery is old, yet new burials take place, it's scary,calm, beautiful, ugly, manicured in places, unkempt in others, quiet, and historical. We loved it.
The next day, we invited the guys to go with to the Musee d'Orsay- one of my favorite museums in the world. All Impressionist art set in an old renovated train station. They declined but we pressed on. First, we had to wander through the Tuileries gardens and cross the river Seine, but these are pleasant diversions. Once at the museum, we took in the splendors of Monet, Seurat, Toulouse-Latrec, Van Gogh, and Degas. I remember more Degas from my last visit,but the museum is still quite spectacular...and easy since its fairly quick - a few hours
at most. Angelina's chocolat Africaine was calling our name, so we listened for a while. Angelina's is an old Paris tearoom - an institution for about 100 years. Coco Chanel and Proust used to frequent. The main attraction is the hot chocolate which is dark, frothy and rich...and best sipped through a splash of fresh whipped cream. Add the delicious eclairs, pastries, and Madeline's, and you have the perfect lunch. We needed to go home and rest after our sugar indulgence.
Boys were still sleeping the next day when we went off to the Rodin exhibit and gardens. This museum is set in Rodin's actual home with the stunning gardens outside. If you want just the gardens, it's 1€! We opted for the entire package and set off to see the place. I liked this museum quite a bit...once again it was somewhat small and well laid out. The natural light is perfect and they let you take lots of photos. It was interesting to see the many stages of Rodin's sculptures from beginning to end and all the changes he would make along the way. Many of Rodin's contemporaries are also shown - Monet, van Gogh and most
interesting and surprising was Edvard Munsch's interpretation of The Thinker. During the walk in the gardens, we came across many statues ..the Burghers of Calais- which we had a fine time impersonating, The Gates of Hell complete with the Thinker, babies, and Rodin himself.
Will and Ry are finally rested, washed, healed and fed, so off they went to Berlin for the next adventure. We must stay for the Tour! I started the Tour day with a trip to my newest favorite market in the entire city...and it's right down the street at the Bastille!Thursday's and Sundays 10-2- it is the best outdoor market in town, and I have been to about every single one,so trust me on this. the fruit and veggies are fresh, eggs for sale, delicious cheese, meat, fish,flowers, etc. I have 2 more opportunities for this market. We packed a little lunch because we knew we'd wait for a while to see the bicyclists. We set off for Rue de Rivoli and the perfect spot...which we found. A little niche not too high off the ground and suddenly, we were the envy of the entire crowd. We perched and watched the 2 hour parade of
sponsors drive by...every team and all the sponsors have cars and advertising and it was fascinating. Almost a Rose Parade without the flowers. We must have angered the gods somewhere, because right after the parade was over and we started craning our necks to see cyclists, Officer Killjoy came by and ordered us off our ledge. No,no,we say...we've been here for hours and the police have said nothing...waved at us even. No smiles, no amount of begging...we were ordered off and the told not to even stand the second convenient railing. Don't even try. So, of course, Lee did and promptly was caught, reprimanded and threatened with a trip to the police station. So we took turns looking, standing, and snapping pictures of cyclists taking 8 turns around the city. We saw Cavendish, Voeckler, Froome and of course, Wiggins zoom by and heard the announcers call Cavendish as the stage winner. Mighty cheer from the crowd! One of the most astounding events of my life, and not even officer Meanie could take that away, ever. For an extra bit if frosting on the cake, we met a new friend, Greg, who is a expat from Britian for 20 something years
now inParis. We instantly decided we needed to have a beer together and we followed him the the very posh Le Castiglione bar. We plan to have lunch next week. Look at us- French cell phones AND friends!
Now for the best museum in Paris and possibly the least known - Les Arts Decoratifs. It is part of the Louvre that was converted into galleries in 1905. It is devoted to decorative arts, fashion, and advertising from the middle age to present. In my nearly 4 hours, I saw furniture, jewelry, textiles, clothing, buttons, carpets, paintings, silverware, and entire interiors- everything imaginable for French culture and craftsmanship. I originally wanted to see the Loius Vuitton/Marc Jacobs exhibit and got pulled in from there. The Vuitton part was excellent and did a great job showing the evolution of the legendary 1850's steamer trunk maker. The windows showing the amount of luggage needed by one family (and the contents of the trunks,too!) was amazing...30 at least...and here we are now stuffed into one carry on and 4oz. bottles in a zippy bag. The best was the picnic basket complete with china, flatware, goblets, linen napkins and- 3 chafing dishes. Still available
Toppled Over Headstones
Much of the cemetery is like this...for a mere $6000. The second part of the exhibit was the evolution of the line since Marc Jacobs took over as designer and was equally fascinating. His inspirations include Bart Simpson and Elizabeth Taylor. And the handbags...oh,my. I also saw the Ricard advertising expo and the exhibit on Babar. All in all, the best museum in the city. Lee had zero interest, he went to the bookstore to read, but he did meet me for lunch in the Tuileries gardens, and I went back later to find a gift and stick my toes in the water at the fountains by the Louvre. Refreshing! I also wandered by rue Cambron to see the Mme. Coco Chanel's beautiful store and since I was in a Vuitton moment, the 5 story flagship store down onthe Champs Élysées.
The next day, we met Greg for lunch at one of his favorite cafes near the Sorbonne. It was delicious and even better were the desserts...chocolate flourless cake with salty caramel sauce, marinated peaches in honey and vanilla ice cream, raspberry and apple crumble...oh la la. He took us down to the Village Voice bookstore to meet the owner and have a look at
the books. The sweet old bookstore is one of a dying breed,and in fact, dying after 25 years on July 31. Yes, Amazon rears its ugly head in tiny neighborhoods in Paris, too.
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