Threat of Snow and a Day Out in the Country 11-21-15

I got up and saw that Paris had snow in the forecast for today, so I looked outside and saw the sun shining.  I went through a couple of minutes of trying to decide whether I would head down to a brocante in the 14th arr. or what I should do.  I had looked at my book, "An Hour From Paris" earlier in the week and really wanted to go to a town on the Seine at the confluence with the Oise River.  So I went back and forth for a little while and made a snap decision to go out to Conflans-St. Honorine. Since snow was forecast I dressed warmly and checked on the route then basically ran out the door. Of course those of you who really know me, know how half-assed I can really be.  I got to the elevator and realized that I forgot my glasses, so I had to go back to the apartment for my glasses. But no problem, I was able to get to the Metro and get over to Gare St. Lazare in good time to catch the next train out to the town.
The reason I wanted to go to this town today is that it is still a working port on the Seine and it is where many of the barges that we see in Paris moor when they need to stop sailing for whatever reason. So there are a fair number of barges that are moored on the quais next to the town.  Another draw for me was the presence of the Museum of Barging.  It's only open on Saturdays so this is the only day of the week one can get in.  Don't ask why I'd be interested in a barge museum, I have no idea, but I am.  So since it wasn't raining or snowing I thought, strike, while the iron is hot.
I got on the train and headed out, on the way there was a young woman with a baby who was begging and I told her no.  But as she headed back through, I had second thoughts, so I dug into my pocket to give her a little change.  Totally empty, as was my other pocket, I'd forgotten to take the stuff out of the pockets of the pants I wore yesterday and so had nothing except what was in my wallet.  Half-assed I tell you.  Too late to turn back so I kept on and got out at Conflans-St. Honorine and started to follow the instructions in the book.  So I walked through the town and got down to the river where there were a number of barges moored, very cool.   I wanted to take pics since the light was good and even though it was cold it was dry.  Got the camera out and went to take the first pic, 3% battery left, and of course my backup battery was in the bag I carry every day and not in the pack that I carried for today to bring weather gear along.  So I knew I'd have to be pretty careful about what photos I captured.

It also made me decide that I needed to go to the museum immediately since I wanted to get some pictures there before I lost all battery power.  Also since it was inside I figured that the battery would be less stressed in the warm environment and I might get more pictures.  At least that worked.  I really enjoyed the museum, it's quite small but it has so many interesting displays.  Did you know that at one point in the mid-19th century the French laid chains at the bottom of many canals and rivers which they then used as the anchor points for specialized boats that would pull the freight barges up river using the chains.  Where the canals were too small or there was too little traffic they would still use horses or mules.
I loved this little museum, so quirky and really dedicated to this aspect of French life for the last 300 years.
Also in the town is a barge that has been converted to a floating chapel to provide the barge people with a church, it's permanently moored and active in it's ministrations to them.
The other part of the visit itinerary had a number of walks along the river to other little towns close by, so I picked one which featured lunch at an auberge where you have to ring a bell and since it is on a little island in the middle of the Seine they pick you up in a motorboat and take you across.  So I walked about 4 kilometers over to this little town, which ended up being quite a nice walk.  The area was definitely prosperous as there were a number of large houses with large walled compounds, and it was fun to see them.  I'd guess if you could buy one of these for less than 2 million you would have made a great buy.
Anyway it was about an hour's walk over and I anticipated a really fun experience. I got to the jetty and rang the bell, it appeared to be open so I was primed for lunch.  After a couple minutes a man appeared on the other side and got into the boat, started it up and came across.  As he got there he asked me if I was part of the party, if I had a reservation?  I said no, and he said, "desolate" (sorry) the entire restaurant had been reserved for a large party for lunch today and they would not be able to accommodate me.  This is NOT my fault, it's just bad luck.  He said that anytime in the next couple weeks would be fine to come out again.  He was sorry I'd walked out for nothing, but try again later.  So I had to walk all the way back up the hill to the station to catch the train back to Paris, because for whatever reason the rail lines are sited on the ridge above the river towns and not along the river.  As we got back to Paris it really started raining and blowing, so I took the bus back to the apartment and didn't really get too wet.
Had a great day out even if it was half-assed.

A Rainy Day 11-20-15

It rained during the night and today dawned rainy and grey.  I had chores that I had to take care of and so I got out kind of late.  I took the bus down to BHV which is the big department store across the street from the Hotel de Ville.   Of course when I got on the bus I didn't notice that it was a partial service bus and so it stopped about 10 blocks north of the stop I would have used, and did I mention it was raining?  Not heavily, but still it required an umbrella.  However, not to be dissuaded I found a little street running towards the direction I needed to go and headed into the neighborhood.  It took about 20 minutes to get to the store.
When I got there it turned out that they didn't have any of the things I needed, bah humbug! I thought I could find it at another grand magazin (department store) so I found a bus to take me up to Printemps and Galeries Lafayette and as bad luck would have it I couldn't find what I needed there either.  All the while it was raining.
Once out of the stores I headed up to Gare St. Lazare and caught one of the buses I use for the west side of Paris and connected back to the the main northern east-west bus going back to the apartment. About the only thing to really catch my attention was that all of the mobile television trucks are now camped out on Place de la Republique to televise the gatherings  of Parisians around the monument there.  I talked with Deb a bit in the afternoon, her morning, and then went and got a few groceries and a haircut.

It was a rainy day but the positive was Nouveau Beaujolais.

A Revealing Discovery 11-19-15

Today I got an answer, at least partially, to my question of where the brocantes find their stuff.  I've been wondering for quite a while where the vendors at the various brocante markets find the things that they put out for sale at the neighborhood sales that always seem to be going on.  Yesterday I went over to one of the Drouot satellite facilities, but I arrived too late, 2 hours after they started the auction.  These are not catalogued sales, there are no shiny brochures, there is nothing but boxes of items that are put up for sale and the bidders have to paw through them and make lightning fast decisions about what they're willing to pay.  If you know what you're looking at you can make some pretty good buys I think.  I don't think anything went for more than 250 euros and a large percentage were less than 50.  So almost every lot is made up of multiple items and the bidding usually takes less than 3 minutes.  You could by any where from 2 to 5 paintings in a lot and pay perhaps 40 euros, then you clean them up and put them on your shelves at a show and sell each one for between 15 and 80 euros making a tidy little profit.
If your really lucky you get one painting that will sell for a multiple of 40 euros and all the others are pure profit as well.   I saw some interesting strategies at work, for example they were selling small bronze sculptures and there was one man who I would guess buys fairly frequently, he gets first right of inspection and then anyone else that wants to look has to grab and inspect as they can.  If he holds it for a little longer and kinda fools around, then he can almost control the bidding, but since it only lasts for a few brief minutes... you kinda get the picture.   He is subtle in his responses to the auctioneer so unless you know his method you don't know who is in and who is out until the auctioneer points to the winning bidder.  It was winding down after an hour or so and I left.
Since it was raining it was an indoor day, I caught a couple buses and made it to the Louvre in good time.  I wanted to look at their prints and drawings rooms so I headed up to the second floor where they are located.  I have a nose for these things and sure enough when I got there, all the rooms were closed and in the process of being changed out.   You know, hundreds of rooms and I laser into the closed ones like a heat seeking missile.  And of course nowhere does it say that the rooms are closed. But all was not lost as I discovered the only trove of late 19th century painting (think impressionists) in the entire Louvre collection.  
There was a collector, Victor Lyon, who between the world wars, who put together a collection of paintings that commenced with the 15th C. and finished in the early 20th C. When he bequeathed it to the Louvre in his late wife, Helene's, memory the conditions were that it would always be on display and that it would always be displayed together as a single collection.  The Louvre stressed that it was faithfully following the wishes of the donors, unlike the Barnes collection in Philadelphia bless their money grubbing hearts.
Also there was a second private collection that consisted of nothing but pretty first rate portraits, but artists such as Goya, Lawrence, Rubens, and Zuloaga etc. small but very fine.
As I was headed out my path took me past the Winged Victory of Samothrace.  I never get tired of seeing it and today was extra special because there were a few periods of minutes duration where there were fewer than 10 people, fantastic.





It is hard to describe how few people are out and about but here is a view of the courtyard where the pyramid and entry are located.
After that feast for the eyes I headed back to the apartment, as it was still a bit moist out.

Good Morning Viet... wait PARIS! 11/18/15

I talked with Deb early this morning since I missed her yesterday, she's getting a bit of a handle on what needs to be done there and hopefully will be able to ramp down a bit before coming back here on the 23rd.   I was dozing on the sofa in the dark when I kept hearing a helicopter around the area. That is not normal so I went out on the deck and looked around in the dark sky and finally saw it, but it was flying completely dark, no lights.  I'd been hearing sirens, but since that's been happening a lot lately I didn't think too much about it.  After seeing the copter I ran in and got my binoculars and went out again to see it I could see it better and I could but it was still running dark.  At that point I got on the internet and caught the story of them surrounding another suspected terrorist site with a gunfight ensuing.  It was up in St. Denis and the area is about 3 miles from here, I didn't hear any explosions or firing, but of course I don't have great hearing now either.  I'm glad they got this group, as it seems they were planning an attack out at La Defense, We won't stop trying to live our lives but we can't be lax about our surroundings either.
I thing I mentioned that I saw something at the auction house yesterday, so I went back today to watch the auction and see how things would develop.  It was quite interesting, there were some artists that evidently a couple bidders knew about because their works ended up selling for several times the estimates. Like one was estimated at 5000-6000 and ended up selling at 25000, who was that? Maybe they got my disease and wanted to set a new world record for the artist.  The piece I was interested in came up and it had a minimum that was 1000 euros higher that I was willing to spend, so no luck and no one else bid on it either.
On the way to the auction I took a new route that was quite interesting.  I took the special little Montmartre bus that winds all over the hill, and the Place de Tertre (at the top) was almost deserted except for the artists, eerie.  When I got to the end of the line the connector that I wanted to take had over a 30 minute wait, so I decided to walk.  It was downhill and through a less well known neighborhood, at least to me.  Very pretty buildings and squares.
I went into Galleries Lafayette for the first time today, did you know that Jimmy Choo sells men's shoes?  Me either, and I have to say that in Oz they would have given Dorothy a run for her money, all sparkly and such. I should have gotten pics but I was too speechless, of course that's how I am anyway.  At least in France.

Fewer People Out - Still 11-17-15

I went back down to the Drouot Auction today to look at a possible sale tomorrow, don't know if I'll really attend or not but interesting to look nonetheless.  This is a modern art sale and I must say that there are some very interesting pieces being offered, many seemed to be modestly priced but since I didn't know many of the artists it's hard to tell for certain.  With my luck I'd set a new all-time high for a previously cheap artist.
But an observational note is that there seem to be fewer people out on the streets, sidewalks that are usually wall to wall at lunch time look to be about three quarters empty.  I noticed it yesterday as I left the Louvre, the square across the street (Rue du Rivoli) is usually packed with people at around 5:00pm and last night it was almost deserted, there were cars all over the street but just not many people.   Today was a little less deserted but as I said noticeably fewer people than normal.  I think people are being a lot more wary, at least for the immediate future.
A sombre note, as I walked back to the apartment from the bus stop one of the restaurants I often pass was shut down and all light were off.  But the glass enclosure in front where outside diners usually eat was filled with flowers, a bad sign.   Four people somehow associated with the restaurant were killed in one of the attacks on Friday.  I suspect that there are satellite memorials like this all over Paris right now, very sad.

Just before posting there was another action here and the police engaged what they believe to be the fugitive suspect from last Friday and some others in a shootout a couple miles away in St. Denis.  I believe it has been concluded, but one must still be vigilant here in Paris because no matter what, there are still pickpockets!

Things are opening up again 11-16-15

I wondered if anything would be open today since the last real messages were that things were shut down until further notice.  But I decided to take a chance and go downtown to the Louvre to see the exhibit that spawned the talk given last Friday night at the Terra museum.  If not I would just take the bus back to the apartment and await further developments.   However and the way I stopped at Hotel Drouot to see if there were any auctions, there were and I looked in on a few, but they were selling expensive things that were in catalogs so not much sense of adventure there.  So I got back on the next bus and went down to the Louvre.  It was open.
So I went in to see the exhibition, as you might guess everything is under tighter scrutiny, so now one might get wanded for metal in pockets as well as having the contents of your bag scanned, but not a lot more.  I found it to be quite interesting but I have to confess that it would be too cerebral for a person going to the Louvre for the first time.
When I go again I'm definitely getting the audio guide, as only the major introductory headings are in English and it's difficult to see some of the connections that are being made.  Be that as it may it was still interesting and of course I got busted for taking pictures.  Confusing in that sense as well since you can take pics anywhere else in the Louvre.  But I did get a couple illicit ones before I was busted.  No big deal.
The trip home on the bus turned into a sojourn though, I know that the route goes through the corner where two of the restaurants were shot up, so I figured we would avoid that area for now.  I was correct, but detour really took us on a wide diversion and with other traffic working around the area as well it took almost an hour and a half to get home.  So I think we use another line for a while.

My Second Soiree 11-13-15

This is what I was going to publish for Saturday, as you know now "definitely not"  all good.  But to take our minds off those incidents for a while, here is what I wrote.

Today was a long day and in keeping with the best Paris tradition a mixed affair, all good.  Yesterday in my wanderings I noted that there was an Antiquaire show at Place Bastille.   These are very high class affairs where the dealers are NOT afraid to ask big prices for really good items, so it can be quite educational.  Since one pays for their education I ponied up the 10 euro entry fee and spent around 5 hours going through all the booths, I economized by bringing my own lunch.   Of course I really perk up in the schlocky booths of which there are quite a few as well, but overall they sell nice things.  I'm on the hunt for Cadart prints as I've mentioned before, but today I think they are a little too cheap for the dealers to get interested in and none turned up.

My big plan for the day was to go to what they termed a "conversation" on Thomas Cole who is one of the foremost landscape painters of the 19th century in the U.S. and is one of the founders of the Hudson River School of Painting.  Interestingly four of the Hudson River painters figure in the history of Colorado art, Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran, Thomas Worthington Whittredge, and John Fredrick Kensett who all painted in Colorado at one point or another, so that made it even more interesting.  Cole figures prominently in a Louvre exhibition that will go into the New Year, but it's also a groundbreaking new direction for the Louvre.  Evidently they have never before tried to present an exhibition that brings together art from around the world and that also encompasses such a long span of time.
The curator for the show was there and explained the exhibit, which I've not yet seen but I will, and soon.  Along with her was a curator from the Yale museum of American Art who gave an American perspective.   It is also groundbreaking in the sense that this the first time the Louvre has featured an American artist in a major exhibit who was painting prior to 1948.  And they both expressed the opinion that American art prior to 1948 was poised to assume a bigger roll in the world history of art.  They felt it has been overlooked and that is one of the mandates of the Terra Foundation of American Art, to raise the exposure.  It really was a 400 level gathering because in addition to the curators, there was a trustee of the Louvre, the woman who wrote the Thomas Cole introduction for the exhibition, the executive director of the Terra foundation, and several others who were on first name basis with the aforementioned, and of course me.  After their remarks they requested questions, so I jumped right in knowing that the silences can get very uncomfortable, I broke the ice.
Then things got rolling nicely, I talked with both curators afterward and they thanked me for my "incisive" observations.  Every once in a while I dust off my thinking cap.  So I had fun, but I'm sorry Deb missed it because she would have really liked it as well.  We got to talk about Thomas Gibbons and Ferdinand Hayden, and Bierstadt, and Moran.

After the meeting I walked over to the Place de la Concorde and took some night pictures of Paris which I've been wanting to do for some time now.