A LONG TIME AGO
(Well... April 2015)
IN A COUNTRY FAR, FAR AWAY FROM YOU
(And by you, I mean the people who are reading this in California and other non-European locales)
AND MUCH CLOSER TO ME, I MEAN REALLY, IT'S SO CHEAP TO GET THERE
*cue horns*
duh DUH duh duh duh DUUUH DUH duh duh duh DUUUH DUH duh duh duh duh
THE MACAROONS AWAKEN
You guys! You guys! I finally found macaroons in Paris!
I mean seriously, after all that trouble the first time. I guess Paris is MUCH MUCH better when your grandparents give you a tour personally. I mean Charlotte- we had a lot of fun in Paris Disneyland, but we really ZOOMED through Paris.
And I STILL haven't seen the Louvre. Not too upset about that yet. I saw a lot of cool stuff on this short weekend trip with Lulu and Yaya.
I mean first of all, they picked me up from the subway right outside the apartment they were renting. I had traveled overnight on a bus and through the Chunnel (which, by the way, is basically a giant metal tube they squeeze you through like a turtle in a Pringles can). Once I was off the bus (auuuughhhh), it was fairly easy as I recall to make it to this fairly suburban district of Paris.
And wow! I mean look at this place:
I was treated to a French-style breakfast, which I must say I recommend:
After breakfast, we wandered through suburban Paris towards Museum Carnevale.
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| A private garden |
Museum Carneval: a small museum with some very interesting and eclectic collections!
The entrance takes you past some lovely interior gardens. I get the sense a lot of the loveliest gardens in Paris are hidden away. One of the first exhibits you encounter, once inside, is a room full of very old shop signs.
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| It is important to know where the forks are. If in great need, this shop sign might provide the right utensil for that record breaking pie... |
The interior rooms were very French Rococo.
And the Parisians do not shy away from highlighting their illustrious history of philosophy.
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| And his death mask. Creepy. |
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| Rousseau's work |
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| Foreground of the same painting. |
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| I loved the detail in this painting–this is a close up! |
I really loved the above painting (Central Dome of the Gallery des Machines Exposition Universelle de Paris 1889 by Louis Beroud 1852-1930)–these are only close ups of the larger piece, but I thought the detail was fantastic. You feel like you're there, you feel the sunlight of mid-morning to midday, possibly in spring, you almost hear the people milling about... The African at the front really grabs your attention–he's at the foreground, one of the most detailed characters, and he really has a lot of dignity about him...he belongs in this place. He is the first subject in the painting and he reinforces the Parisian world fair atmosphere as one quite naturally global.
I absolutely loved the art in this gallery:
Just look at their expressions! They're clearly at the Opera, a place of elegance, dressed in their finest, and while one would expect equally fine manners and serene expressions, you have a commotion of annoyance, uncomfortable contortions, and elbows everywhere! Each person's face is different–their characters express disgust in ways unique to their own countenance, and it's HILARIOUS. I loved the juxtaposition of the art style and expected atmosphere with these characters.
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| 1920s decadent room |
When my brother Davie was young, his lullaby was "Baby's boat the silver moon, sailing in the sky"... But this particular boat looks like it might drop a heavy metal crown and crack the infant prince on the head.
I couldn't help but imagine James Bond in this scene–or maybe Ben Gates from National Treasure– coming up out of a swampy lagoon in a tux under scuba gear to join this party.
After leaving the Museum, we went for a walk towards the first planned housing structures in Paris. They had a lovely park in the center.
And right around the corner: MACAROONS AGAIN!
Our hunger cued, we went to find some lunch and ended up finding incredible goodness in a teensy tiny little shop down a Parisian side street. This was a real treat, rounded off with a delicious rosé.
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| Appetiser (Try the grey stuff, it's delicious!) |
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| OMGRD asparagus soup. Lunch |
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| Puff pastry with spinach |
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| Creme brûlée of course! |
Now–despite it's amazingness, this bistrot did not have waiters in tuxedos serving french fries... but it seemed some others did! I tried to snap photo evidence, but I was far away and this was as close as I got. I was really, really convinced it was french fries. I'd like to think it was french fries.
I seem to recall Lulu telling me my sister Della (6 at the time) was currently into orangutans. They always make me think of Terry Pratchett and Diskworld.
Further wanders through the city took us to some local squares. I saw some people playing capoeira there!
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| Shirtless guy in the upper right seemed to be playing some capoeira. |
Our next museum stop was Musée Curie–how, as a female scientist, could I resist?
Marie Curie won TWO Nobel prizes, one in physics (shared with her husband) and one in chemistry (hers alone). Not only was she the first woman awarded a nobel prize, she was the first person to win two Nobel prizes, and the only one to win in multiple sciences! She is the only woman buried at the Pantheon in Paris of her own merit (she died of leukemia unfortunately). It seems Nobel prizes ran in the family–her daughter won a nobel prize in chemistry with her husband.
Her work with radium provided an effective cancer treatment for the era (one that was used to treat Henrietta Lacks' intrauterine cancer–the source of the ubiquitous and influential immortal HeLa cells used throughout biology). Radium in fact became a media sensation, grabbing the attention and fantasy of widespread products and adventure stories.
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| adventure books featuring radium |
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| I'm sorry, the famous Madame Curie cannot sign autographs at the moment, please excuse her. |
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| Beautiful drawing of cells |
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| Old fashioned laboratory! |
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| The Panthéon in Paris |
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| View of the Eiffel Tower from the Panthéon |
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| The story is he picked up his head and ran around with it. Kinda gruesome. Guy on the left is like "WTF?" |
Unfortunately, the wing where the paintings of Joan of Arc were on display was under construction!
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| The closest we got. |
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| Joan of Arc hearing voices speaking to her |
The angel on the left looks somewhat horrified and disgusted. What a weird look! I'm loving the expressions I'm seeing!
Is it just me or is that Asterix from Asterix and Obelix?
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| King Clovis: "I can't carry on! I need some french fries bro!" |
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| Beautiful building on the way. It's clearly a Parisian style. |
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| It's ALIVE!!! |
When we went home for dinner, the Russian restaurant just under our apartment turned out to be Russian Roma/Gypsy restaurant run by a Russian cabaret. The owner was a massive Elvis fan and had performed in Paris with his cabaret for both Frank Sinatra and Jimmy Carter (though not at the same time). We weren't entirely sure he knew Elvis was dead.
I do love traveling with Lulu and Yaya. They uncovered a fine and exquisite flavor of Paris.
