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.

Venturing out 11-15-15

Yesterday the 14th I did not go out.  I think understandably I was hesitant because if some one were to holler gun, I'd be the only who didn't understand and would turn around and say "Pardon?" as others were running away.  The myth of terrorism hitting the only tourist areas has been shattered because they hit where everyday Paris lives.




Today I was determined to get out and get a little shopping done.  I've been eating down the rations that Deb and I bought before she left and I needed to replenish some things.   It was quieter on the street foot traffic wise but people were out and the smaller shops were open for business.  It's Sunday and I only saw two cafe/brasseries open with outdoor seating but to my embarrassment I haven't noticed them open on Sunday before so I don't know if it's a new phenomenon.

I guess I'm in a bit of shock because I find myself thinking catastrophic situation thoughts and how I might react.  I'm also looking for ways out of shops or places to shelter, perhaps normal since the events are still so recent.  But I'm going to focus on some positives and post a few pictures of the beautiful and good Paris with which I'm more familiar.

Devastated 11-13-15

I had prepared another post for this day, but in deference to what just happened here in Paris I will perhaps post it later.   We have at least 128 dead and another 99 in critical condition, they attacked several places, one of which Deb and I pass almost every time we take our bus home.  My heart is heavy for France and the Parisians.  Stay vigilant because there are many who will rejoice at this development.

I was completely unaware of what happened until Deb actually called the apartment sometime after mid-night.  There were sirens going by towards one of the major hospitals, that is located nearby, every few minutes for the rest of the night.  Things will be very different from now until the end of our visit in February.

Running around 11-12-15

Today I got an early start because I wanted to try a couple of brocante markets and be home early to have a chance to talk with Deb.   I got on the Metro by around 8:10 and got down to the first one by about 8:45 as this market runs most days and shuts down by 1:30.  So when I got there I was actually early and they were still setting up.  There were only about 5 dealers that were fully setup while the rest were still setting stuff out.  So I went to the ones that were setup and then cycled through the ones setting up to see what new things were coming out.  I did that for perhaps an hour and then decided to go to the other sale, which ran from 8:00 to 4:00.  
It took a couple buses to get there but I was hoping to see as many as 45 dealers offering things.  The reality was that only about 20 showed up, the day started foggy and cool, and I got through them in very little time.  I saw one interesting thing but they wanted too much money, so I passed on it.  At that point it was just after noon so I decided to take another little jaunt to an area that we have not been to before, the area around Place Nation, in the eastern part of the 11th arr.  I caught a bus that was going right to it and in about 20 minutes I was out and walking around the place.   It is very large, maybe as large as the circle around the Arch de Triumph, but it doesn't have a large monument like that.  What it does have is a large circular park in the middle with a lovely bronze sculpture by Dalou, called the "Triomphe de la Republique" in the center.  At the eastern end it also has a couple columns that marked the edge of Paris around the time of Louis XIV.  It was called the Place du Trone originally because it is where Louis XIV was crowned after his wedding to Maria Therese of Spain.  It was also the spot of the most active guillotine during the French Revolution.

After my little wander of the area I walked back to Place Bastille and caught the Metro but since it was still fairly early I took it out to the end of the subway line.  One of the stops is called "Eglise de Pantin" and I wanted to see if there was really a church there or not, so I got out.  As soon as I came out of the subway there was the church, it's not terribly large and quite poor I think.  It is a designated national historic building, but it is very much in need of repair (note the buttressing on the column at the right). It dates back to the 17th century and is pretty but very modest.  I did go on out to the end and walked around a bit then took the Metro back to the apartment in order to catch Deb early in her day.