The January Soldes and the Louvre 1-8-16

Every year the big department stores have sales in January (called Soldes) to clear leftover Christmas stock. According to Deb Parisians try stuff on early and then make lists of what they want to buy.  When the sales start they jet off down to the stores and try to fill in their lists at 30-50% discounts.  We went by BHV today to see if Deb's favorite pans are on sale, but of course only the low end pans were marked down.  Too bad for them, they would have had a chance to lose some money on the good stuff.  I lost a pair of gloves on a day out not long ago and looked at what they had on offer, all 30% off, but the cheap gloves originally started at 50 euros and the expensive ones were over 200, I'll just get by with the ones I already have for now.
We will be leaving for Sicily on Sunday (2 days) for a week of what we hope will be sunshine and warm weather.  We're really looking forward to it as we've never been south of Rome before.  They have some really fine Greek, Roman, and Medieval structures and we plan to see as many as we can in a week.  I haven't decided whether I will post during the next week or not, I may post via my Ipad and then fill in with pictures when we return.
To continue, after our little sojourn in BHV we went over to the Louvre to see several rooms that we've walked through before trying to get to other places, so today we spent our time there. Primarily they were treasures from churches and abbeys of the middle ages, so lots of sculptures, reliquaries, and carvings of religious subjects.  Not exactly my cup of tea, but there were some very beautiful objects to behold. There was the crown that Napoleon used to crown himself emperor in 1803, when the pope sat by uselessly, it had taken and reused all the ancient cameos from the crown of St. Louis.
Also there was a beautiful bronze of Charlemagne, very small but impressive nonetheless.
I got some closeup pictures of some early enameling on the corners of a large religious panel that I really liked as well.

Deyrolle and Terra 1-7-16

It was really raining this morning and it had been a howling wind all night, very much like a storm. But by noon the sun was out for our venture this afternoon, Deb has wanted to see the garden store Deyrolle for many years now and today was the day.
Deyrolle is interesting because before it was a garden store it was one of the top taxidermy stores in Paris, evidently Parisians are crazy for stuffed animal according to Deb.  So the garden store is in the small space on the street level and on the next floor up are 4 fairly large rooms full of mounted animals and other related objects for sale as well as nature books, very strange.  As might be expected the animals are not cheap, and some look a bit shop worn.  All in all it was a very interesting place to visit.

Next we walked west on Boulevard Saint-Germain for a few blocks and over to the Terra Foundation of American Art.  It is part of the Terra Foundation in Chicago and exists to promote research and study in American Art.  They have a free library and it's possible search their computers for any books they may have related to American art and American artists in Paris.  So of course we wanted to see if we could find anything on John Edward Thompson, the subject of Deb's biography. Unfortunately no luck this time but they were helpful in pointing us to other libraries that may contain books that would help.   After finishing there we walked back to our bus stop next to the Louvre for the ride back to the apartment.

More Real Collectors of the Last Century 1-6-16

Today we went over to the Musee Marmottan Monet to see a temporary exhibit that will be closing very soon.  It was a collection from a Swiss collector whose home was called the Villa Flora. He was an ophthalmologist named Arthur Hanloser who along with his wife Hedy started collecting early in the 20th century between 1906 and 1936 starting with the post-impressionists, Felix Vallotton and Ferdinand Hodler.
They made friends with the artists and hosted them at the houses in Zurich and Cannes. As a result ended up making friends with the likes of Bonnard, Matisse, Manet, Vuillard, and Redon among others and ended up collecting their works as well.  And along the way they also managed to collect a few Cezanne's and a couple Van Gogh's to boot.  But they considered the crown jewel of their collection to be a large nude by Felix Vallotton, so fine company indeed. What makes them so interesting is that they did their collecting pretty much based on what really grabbed them personally rather than relying on a third party to lead them.  But obviously the collection is first rate because they brought it to the museum for the first French exhibition ever. Interestingly we heard a British couple talking about having come over from London for the day just to see it.
A funny thing, Ferdinand Hodler was the most celebrated painter in Switzerland in the 19th century and they didn't even mention him in the promotional release from the museum. A little French chauvinism?  I wonder.  I did manage a couple of photos before being disciplined that they didn't allow photos in the exhibit. There were close to 80 pieces on display and it was sensational to see.

Another First Ever 1-5-16

Today was our first ever visit to Napoleon's Tomb, we've been coming to Paris since 1977 and have never visited it.  This summer we visited parts of the Musee de l'Armee, which is located at the Invalides and still didn't make it, but today we did.
We started out with the intent to see it and to revisit the Orangerie, which is across the street from the Musee D'Orsay.  But when we got off the bus we realized that we were about a 15 minute walk from one of our favorite seafood restaurants, Le Cabanon de l'Ecailler so a quick right turn and a bit of a walk had us up near Montparnasse and sitting in the restaurant.  It had been closed the last two times we tried to eat there, so seeing it open today was a treat.  We both had a fish soup for a starter and then I had a bowl of mussels marinier while Deb had a couple plates of crevettes, one full of tiny little suckers and the other filled with four tails.  Both of us happy to have wonderfully fresh seafood in such an unassuming little place.
Then we walked back down the hill to Invalides and visited Napoleon's tomb.  Since we arrived in Paris we've both been reading books on French history, one of which was a biography of Napoleon. It has caused us to become interested in him and his effect on France.  The book was decidedly an English point of view and not all that flattering, but it still managed to give us a perspective on the man and his exploits.  His impact on the world of that time is immense and I think there is a lingering nostalgia, at least in some French minds, for a time when France ruled Europe.
His bier is almost overwhelming in a red porphyry within five additional separate coffins, it must be 10 feet tall or more. They are made of iron, mahogany, two of lead, and ebony and as they said no expense was spared.   In the surrounding rotundas lie the tombs of many of his marshals and also Vauban, the French military architect famous for so many bastions.  We finished the day at Invalides and then walked back through the 7th arr. to where we could catch our bus home.
On the way back we found a small shop selling prints and think we may have stumbled on a cache of prints by Cadart to bolster our little fledgling collection.  The other thing is that all the January sales are set to begin, Deb has been eagle-eyeing all the shop windows and says that a great many have been putting up the signs.

Our First French Movie 1-4-16

We had a pretty quiet day today, Deb had to get a panoramic xray of her teeth for our dentist, 2 minutes and 20 euros complete.  It took us 30 times a long to get there as it did for the xrays.  So we hopped on the Metro and rode back to our neighborhood and went to the movies.  It's our first French movie experience, very interesting.  The theatres are new and very much like the U.S. and it was not very disorienting dialog or anything.   We saw the new Star Wars in 3D in it's original language version with French subtitles, not very adventurous but then who cares?  It's Star Wars!  
Just an aside here, they have started draining the canal and I saw the first lock with about 8 inches of water in it. I'm kind of bummed that I'll be in Sicily when they really empty the whole thing but too bad.  In case you're wondering, yes there is trash already in the first lock, an empty beer keg.

Rainy Day Visit 1-3-16

It was rainy all day today, not pouring but just pretty persistent.  We were going to another brocante but the rain cured us of that idea, so we visited the Louvre again.  There is another whole floor in one wing that is nothing but Egyptian artifacts and it's too enticing to pass up.
Our trip down was all Metro today and with one train change we were deposited right at the side gate, which leads to the members entrance, so no strain for us.  The Egyptian floor is in the eastern most wing of the museum so it's kind of a hike to get there but we pretty much knew the way and took the elevator up to the correct floor.
What we didn't know was that in our visits we missed half of one floor on the way, in the original construction they built the building only one room wide.  Later they doubled the width of the building by adding a second set of rooms running the length of the northern most elevation of the old building.  So this second set of rooms has a whole series of apartments decorated in mostly 17th to 19th century that have been contributed by citizens who owned chateaus throughout France and donated period rooms.
There is also a set of 3 small rooms that contain a collection of snuff boxes and watches belonging to royalty and nobility from 18th century France and Europe. Beautifully jeweled and enameled creations that are just dazzling in their design and execution; miniature portraits in jeweled surrounds mounted in gold with enameled interiors given as presents between friends.
Finally we made it to the Egyptian halls and they were even more impressive, more hieroglyphic stonework than you could shake a hammer and chisel at.  Beautiful sculptures in stone, clay, and wood that have survived over 3000 years to marveled at today.  The "Seated Scribe" is the jewel of this wing but there are so many other outstanding pieces that you just move from one to the next in admiration for the abilities of those long ago artists.  I think my favorite of the day was another seated figure in black basalt that just captured my imagination.
At the end of the Egyptian section we were in a far corner and had to transit several rooms to get back to a more central part of the museum.  So even though it killed us, we went through the Greek, Etruscan, and Roman rooms full of black on red pottery and small sculptures, pure torture.
The small Greek sculptures are visually stunning, so lyrical and appealing, a pure visual joy.  They were literally closing rooms off after us as we were leaving so we definitely had a full afternoon today.

Deb's odds and ends comments:

*Paris has been responding to the terrorism with an assortment of mottos. One of the most common is the motto from the Paris blazon (coat of arms) Fluctuat nec mergitur (she is tossed on the waves but not sunk). We've seen this and the blazon on street art, but also on the complete huge end of a building near the music site. It was especially poignant with the smiling family pictures of victims put up on the park railings below.

There are other responses including Je Suis Paris, and Meme Pas Peur (Not Afraid). But my favorite still remains Je Suis En Terasse (I'm on the terrace) with
Parisians following their own words, defiantly drinking coffee and wine in the street side bistros in the neighborhoods where so many were murdered.

*Overheard conversations: at the Archeology Museum the other day, an older brother (maybe 10) holding the hand of a angelic-faced, curly-haired younger sister (maybe 4) and trying to explain the Iron Age to her. "Iron is very, very hard and makes great weapons and it changed man's whole history and has to be heated really hot in order to shape it." Sister response "How hot is really hot?" Silence.

Later, holding her up to look at a jewelry display far above her head, he informs "Those are iron earrings." Her response "Don't be silly. Who would wear iron earrings?" It's tough being a tour guide...

*One of the museums we found through the Louvre is the one we just visited, the National Archeological Museum. Besides  having a world-class collection archeology collection, it's housed in a renaissance castle which is just beautiful. Its magnificent chapel was a "Sainte Chapelle" designed to hold a fragment of the Crown of Thorns until the more famous (and derivative) Sainte Chapelle was completed in Paris. As usual, we had no clue about the delights of this museum before blundering off to see it. And it was only because of Warren's determination that we found a way into the chapel which was obscured by conservation scaffolding. The chapel is full of early medieval fragments of sarcophagi and statuary, probably much too recent to impress the archeologists. We had the chapel to ourselves...




*Our year-long Louvre memberships have been one of our best investments. Besides the undeniable luxury of being able to pop into the Louvre for an hour and then leave guilt-free, the memberships have saved us more than $800 above their cost so far on other exhibits and shows. Getting the beautiful glossy magazine each month is a delight and reading it in French keeps us on our toes a bit, plus informing us of many of the arts activities we wouldn't otherwise be aware of. It's also introduced us to a variety of museums we'd have missed. The membership we got to the Prado in our lovely Madrid stay inspire this investment in Paris and it's been a winner.

*Last night as we strolled over for our New Year's Eve dinner in the 'hood, we couldn't help but notice all the dressed-up young people carrying shopping bags and pastry shop boxes and bottles of champagne, all headed to parties on the night of Saint-Sylvestre as New Year's Eve is called here. Everywhere there were groups of laughing people, meeting in bistros or ringing up to be let into apartments. The streets were full as we were headed back at 11:30.

*Our celebration of New Year's Day included going out for a walk along the canals - our Ourcq canal and down to canal St. Martin. Warren is fascinated that they are prepping to drain the St. Martin canal and wanted to take some "before" pics. I wanted to find a boulangerie I've heard of (Du Pain et Des Idees) even though I knew it wouldn't be open. So we just strolled off, flaneuring, and meandering.

It was an especially quiet day. Think most of the young people are still recovering from last night's festivities. But others, older folk like us, or those with children, were out and about, walking and chatting along the canal in the cool, windy, overcast weather. Babies in strollers looked like mini-Charley Browns, all bundled up with just bright eyes showing. The dogs were all exhilarated at being out and getting to sniff all the neighborhood news.

Saw a pair of big waterbirds (cormorants) perched in some high trees. Didn't know they did or could do that. Obviously, no one had mentioned my concerns to them. We had seen a white-winged crow the other day at the Botanic Gardens and a funny, cute little pudgy, red-breasted bird in the park, so I need to do some bird researching on the web.

Got back and had leftovers: Veal Orloff in a fresh tomato sauce and sautéed potatoes. Boy, am I going to miss my butcher.

*Thomas Jefferson: "Every man has two countries - his own and France."