Fondation Louis Vuitton 4-8-15

Today we went to the Fondation Louis Vuitton, the new Frank Geary building in the Bois de Bolougne.  It is certainly a building to look at as another conceptual link that began with the museum in Bilbao Spain.  I think it was described as looking a bit like a ship out on an arboreal sea, and it does all of that.  The interior spaces are all enclosed in a series of 'sail-like' outer envelopes that are supported by them .  Very curvilinear and many crossing planes.

It also reminded me a bit of the 1919 model for a Constructivist  

building by Tatlin that was proposed for one of the Internationals in the Soviet Union of that era, i.e. working structures inside of an outside framework that looked like an upward curving ramp (courtesy of  World History Connected).  They don't have any physical similarity just the spatial arrangement.




Anyway it's pretty spectacular and has a number of great modern art installations.  There is currently a temporary exhibition which traces the threads of modern art from the first decade of the 1900's up through the mid-century.  It is really a wonderful exhibition and if you're in Paris while it's here you should make an effort to see it.

We finished one of our impromptu goals of circling Paris using public transport, our first venture had us going from our apartment via the trams all the way around Paris to La Defense, and today we closed the circle back to our apartment by taking the PC3 bus from Port Maillot around to Porte de Chapelle and then connecting to the tram that takes us to Porte de Pantin.  A 10 minute walk later and we were back at the apartment for a nice dinner.

She's looked at Paris from both sides now - 4-7-15

Living in a different place always has negatives and positives. I must say that there are remarkably few negatives to being here, but then again, this is something we’ve wanted to do for ages, so we’re not spending much time looking on the down side. However, people have asked about drawbacks of living here so I’ll try to outline a few plusses and minuses:

 

NEGATIVE: Food goes bad fast, even olives for example, because no preservatives in so many .

things. It also means we have to shop more often and buy in smaller quantities.

POSITIVE: I can eat bacon, ham, sausages, etc. here, things that drive my arthritis crazy in US because of the additives. And I must admit shopping is kind of a hoot, especially as we find our favorite shops and establish relationships. Our cheese monger (La Ferme de Chloe – Chloe’s Farm) is getting down to serious recommendations now that she is understanding more of our taste, although Warren was almost banished when he kindly asked for one of my favorite cheeses, Pave d’Affinois, and was told in tones of horror that they didn’t carry such “industrialized cheeses.” I’ll have to secretly buy it at Monoprix, a grocery store chain, and hide it in my shopping trolly. (ed. note: you think she's kidding but she's not)

 

NEGATIVE: Fruit is sold ripe rather than green for shipping so we often have to ask our fruiterer what day to eat something (today, tomorrow, the next day) so that it doesn’t go bad.

POSITIVE: The flavor of lots of this fruit and veg is unbelievable. I had forgotten how strawberries could taste, not to mention these funny little softball sized melon that are like candy.

 

 NEGATIVE: We’re in a non-touristy neighborhood, so everyone just assumes you can speak French and speaks to us accordingly. I stare like a deer in the headlights (Guffey memories) and try to catch one word out of twenty.

POSITIVE: When you explain that you don’t speak French all that well, they slow down and are pleasant and helpful.  They may not see many tourists, but they have lots of customers from different backgrounds in this multicultural neighborhood. We’re certainly getting lots of practice with the language.

 

NEGATIVE: This is a huge, crowded city. There are nearly 3 million people within the city limits, but more than 12 million in the greater Paris area and it’s one of the densest urban areas in the world (#27, even outranking some of the big Asian towns.) Amazingly, over 35 million people visit the city each year, so roughly 3 times the population in tourists visit over the span of a year.

POSITIVE: There is so much to do here that a year is only going to scratch the surface.

 

NEGATIVE: The city is dirty, trashy, polluted, noisy, gray.

POSITIVE: The city is vibrant, active, fascinating, charming, alive. Paraphrasing Samuel Johnson: “When a man is tired of Paris, he is tired of life.” 
 

A visit to the 15th an almost unloved arrondisement 4-06-15

Today we returned to the 15th arrondisement to follow up on our first trip when we went to La Ruche.   We had intended to go to the Musee Bourdelle, dedicated to Antoine Bourdelle a sculptor who worked with and studied with Rodin.   Rodin thought highly of Bourdelle and felt that he would be his successor, so no small compliment.




 Because the day was so sunny and warm we decided that we would go to a park and have a picnic, so we headed for the park that was originally the livestock auction and slaughterhouses for Vaugirard, an early village to the southwest of Paris, and since annexed into the 15th.  So we packed chicken sandwiches, a bit of wine, fruit, nuts, and a couple cookies, and plunked ourselves down on a bench in the sun.  Watching people is a large part of the appeal of Paris and this parks was certainly no different.  Families with children, joggers, couples, a sunbather, and older people all out for the air and sun.  So good in fact that we sort of frittered the afternoon away, so we walked back towards Gare Montparnasse to catch a bus home.   Once again we'll put the Musee Bourdelle on the itinerary.

 riding ponies in the park

a crazy oyster wholesaler situated next to the railroad tracks

As we were looking for our bus a young man approached and we expected to be hit up for money or to sign a petition.  Instead what we got was a young Irishman who had arrived in Paris last night around mid-night and spent until 3:00am looking for a room.  He was trying to find the train station where he could catch a train to a town where he was scheduled to perform a bunch of volunteer work. Now he was from Donegal, which is a small town in NW Ireland and had never been in a city as large as Paris and had never taken a subway ride.  He had tried to follow the written instructions to get to the train but they were confusing, very confusing.  While technically correct they must have assumed that you either were familiar with Gare Monparnasse or that you had very good French skills.  Long story short we had a short side trip to help him get to his train, we made it with about 7 minutes to spare.   A very nice finish to a beautiful day.  Good Luck, Danny.

Easter Stroll 4-5-15

Today was a quiet day for us, Deb did some housecleaning and I took a morning walk (is there a pattern here?) and then did the vacuuming of the floors and shaking of the rugs.  My walk took me back into town via the Canal de l'Ourcq to the Canal St. Martin, since the weather was bright, clear, and pretty warm I walked all the way to where our main busline leaves the canal and goes up into the 19th, about a 45 minute walk if one doesn't stop and take pictures along the way. 


But of course I did take pictures and I was frankly amazed at how much the canal has changed since we last walked from Bastille out to Parc de la Villette in 2004, I knew how the canal became really popular but the development that has taken place is unbelievable.   New buildings line the canal all along the canal with just a few older ones still in place.  

2004                          2015






I was walking back when I fell victim to one of the two major street issues that I almost always guard against, specifically don't step where the dogs have left presents and don't stand under trees where pigeons roost and leave deposits as the fly off.  While trying to frame an interesting photo, I must have stood under flock of flying cows and bam I was suddenly tattooed.  I beat a hasty, but late, retreat and went back along the canal to a pub where I purchased a half pint and access to a toilet where I could waste about half their towels washing off the biggest part of my mistake.  When I got back home it was into the washer with my jacket and a bit of relief that none had gone down the back of my neck.

Anyway one I got cleaned up we had a lovely lunch on our little kitchen balcony with roast chicken, olives, celeri remolade, wine and bread.  After which we both took off and walked north on the canal into the suburb of Pantin which is just on the other side of the Perapherique.  After going out for about an hour we crossed the canal and headed back towards the apartment.

  As we got into la Villette we came across a little fete where many vendors and artists, both musical and graphic, were displaying their skills.  One of the stalls was a group of young artists and writers who would give you a portrait and an accompanying poem for a free will offering.  They were really charming and so I dragged Deb back to have her portrait and a poem created.  



Here are the fruits of their efforts and I must say they are very dear to me.   I'm sure they expect to get a few euros for their efforts and are having lots of fun, but they were surprised and asked very pointedly if I knew how much money I had donated.  I assured them that I did and I wished that they would have a few bottles of wine in celebration.   After that we walked home and had a very pleasant evening.

A quiet day before Easter 4-4-15

Today was a fairly quiet day with a few chores and a visit to the Louvre. One thing for certain, it seems that each day the Louvre gets more and more crowded and being the weekend as well it was PACKED!  We were looking at a hotel as a possible place to stay for visitors and then walked from Place Bastille to the Louve through the Place de Vosges and along the Rue Francois Miron to get there. 

The Place de Vosges is one of the oldest planned squares in Paris built in 1605-1612 by Henri IV, with the house fronts all built to the same design.  We've stayed at the small Hotel Place de Vosges a few times on previous visits and have always loved the square.





Further along we turned into the rue Francois Miron which is one of the medieval streets right near the Hotel de Ville.  It has two of the oldest buildings still extant in Paris, 16th century half-timber buildings with leaning walls and loads of charm.  On the corner building is the street sign but right next to it is the remnant of the original street sign cut into the stone and all but obliterated.






This trip to the Louvre took us up to look at Northern European paintings by such luminaries as; Rubens, Franz Hals, David Tenniers,  and Van Dyck among others. 





Rene Descartes by Hals

It was a very relaxing group of rooms that we passed through and along the way I spotted a couple of perhaps 8-9 year old girls taking pictures with their smart phones.   I found it to be quite interesting that they were taking pictures and discussing the paintings, at their age I was still trying to learn how to spell painting let alone talking with someone else about one. 




Tomorrow if the weather is nice we will walk out along the canal to the North to investigate what lies beyond our little corner of Paris.

We're so sorry Uncle Albert, but we haven't done a bloody thing all day. 4-3-15

Today was overcast and rainy off and on, we didn't seem to be able to generate much momentum to get out and around.  We had planned to do some marketing, since this weekend is Easter and many things will be closed.  After which we came back had a bit of lunch and then lazed the afternoon away.   We then had dinner at one of our local restaurants which we really like.  

Given the paucity of our efforts today, I thought you might like a few of our 'American' sort of missteps.

A few days ago we went out and after a 15 minute walk we got to a Metro station and I found that I had forgotten my metro pass, so I had to pay for the roundtrip (rats), so the next day I made sure that I had my pass and to my consternation all public transport was free that day and the next due to a pollution alert.

Another little adventure that turned out not quite right, we decided to go to one of the free organ concerts at St. Eustace near Les Halles.  It has the largest organ in Paris and they give concerts every Sunday before Mass.  Wanting to take advantage of a chance to hear Bach on such an organ we headed downtown and half an hour before the concert got to the church. We went in and a mass was in progress so we quietly went to the back of the cathedral and sat down.  We were there for probably 45 minutes and we sort of figured out that it was Palm Sunday so perhaps things were a bit more long-winded than normal.  Deb perks up and relates how it was the first day of daylight savings and we were more than an hour behind, so we beat a hasty retreat flailing ourselves with palm fronds. 

p,s, this is not St. Eustace, I don't have a picture of that, but it is St. Germain de Pres, the oldest church in Paris.

Slipping into our old bad habits 4-2-15

Well once again we've fallen in to our old bad habits, there is an exhibition of some of the very top antiques dealers showing at the Carrousel du Louvre and we couldn't keep away.  It's not often that you get to see things like Renoir, Boudin, Rodin, Masson, and others where if you have the money you can take them home.  However, the tariffs are a bit high for instance there was a perhaps 20 square inch 16th century Dutch landscape priced at 105,000 euros.  A bit out of our league.  

After the show we stopped at the restaurant of a man whom we'd met another night at another restaurant where he was dining with his mother.   Somehow we struck up a conversation with the mother and the next thing you know we had an invite to his restaurant as well.   What a nice little restaurant definitely out of the way on a small place, Place Sainte Marthe, up in the 19th.  Deb had her first burger (a la francais) while I had a bit of lamb that had been slowly cooked for 8 hours which was very tasty, but I tend to like lamb a bit more rare.  Since the owner, Xavier, was not there at the time we will have to reacquaint ourselves at another time, still fun and not expensive.