The Mike and Joan, Nina and Rich Glorious Adventure
We arrived in Paris early this morning, and took a harrowing cab ride to our hotel on the left Bank, the Victoria Palace Hotel. It is charmingly Victorian in decor, with surprisingly large,bright rooms. The traffic was quite heavy, and in between the press of cars and trucks, motorcycles and bikers wove in and out of impossibly tight spaces on the narrow streets. Nearby at the Luxenbourg Gardens we saw a spectacular show of Chagall paintings and then in the neighborhood enjoyed a typical French Bistro lunch. Mike and Joan were as tired as we were so we all napped for a few hours before hitting the streets again. We found our way to the metro and went two stops to St Germain des Pres, an area full of tourists and charming little places to eat and drink. After a meal at one of them, Mike and Joan took the metro home, but Rich and I walked for about an hour to see some street life. We saw the Seine, Notre Dame, and little streets with picturesque restaurants. Tired and happy we look forward to a day of museums tomorrow.
May 23 We Closed d'Orsay (sorry Wolski)
Our hotel seems to be in an out of the way neighborhood, but We discovered numerous shortcuts after studying the map and confronting the crazy diagonal streets. The metro stop is Montparnesse. We realized that we are in walking distance of many of the main attractions, so today we set out on foot to conquer small and large museums alike. Rich found museums for two sculptors he is fond of: Maillol and Zadkine. Zadkine was born in Vitebsk, Russia, as was Chagall. They were friends. He was trained as a cabinet maker, but learned to carve wood. I kept thinking about Grandpa Neubauer from the same area, the same age, and the same profession. But I'll bet Zadkine didn't make beautiful checkerboards.
After a bistro lunch of onion soup, of course one of the obligatory foods, we set out, again on foot for the spectacular Museum d'Orsay. It used to be a railroad station, and as a sculpture and painting exhibition space it is dazzling with its high skylight ceilings. Hard to believe, but we were there for 6 hours. Every room had some famous, recognizable piece of art. They were heavy with favorites from Monet, Van Gogh and Gaugain. In Milwaukee one closes Wolskis. We closed d'Orsay! A brisk walk back felt good, even though it has been cold and rainy. Actually, today we had sleet and hail. Is it spring anywhere?
May 24 Edelman Cousin
We started the day with a visit to an Edelman cousin, Monique Sidalsky, we recently learned about. She is a sculptor and has a atelier where she teaches and works. A short cab ride took the four of us to her street which is in the Rue Mofftard area, where Hemmingway and James Joyce once lived. She is in her 70's. As a 2 year old, she was given to farmers to be hidden with siblings away from Paris. Her parents hid in another place, and also survived, but after the war she did not know her parents . The grandparents refused to leave the city, and were eventually sent to perish in the camps. Her life was very interesting. She married and moved to Israel to start a kibbutz with 70 other French citizens. In two years they left, lived in New Caledonia (near Australia ). Where her husband worked in the nickel business. Eventually she left with two daughters and later divorced. Returning to Paris, she has been an art therapist and working artist. One daughter married a religious man and lives near Jerusalem, the other daughter lives in Paris and works for a company where she travels the world. Both have children. Monique led us to the bus stop to get us to our next destination, but it was near a small market, so,of course we walked around where I picked up a red striped French sailor shirt. We decided to walk to the Pompadieu Museum, a few miles away, but as the rain stopped temporarily, we started out. What is so wonderful about almost all of the streets in every neighborhood so far is the population of numerous small bookstores. Many seem to have a subject focus. The windows are so inviting, but what is saving us from being loaded down with books is the fact that they are usually in French. In fact, the streets are mostly devoid of chain stores, so the shops are much more interesting.
Our walk took us past Notre Dame Cathedral. As there was a short line, we entered and took a look at the Rose window from the inside. Joan and Mike went later in the day and the line wound around the corner. It started to pour, and was chilly, so we walked quickly and arrived at the museum in a few minutes. It is quite distinctive with its tubes and glass structure contrasting with the typical Paris architecture surrounding it. The collection is vast in modern and contemporary art. After 3 hours we set out for the Louvre, about a half hour walk through Les Halles neighborhood.
The Louvre is overwhelming in size and holdings. We entered quickly using our 4 day museum pass, and arrived in the bottom of the wondrous glass triangle . We decided to attack the big three: winged victory, Venus de Milo, and Mona Lisa before pursuing other galleries. The crowds! The most fun is standing back and observing everyone taking photos and videos of Mona Lisa. It is not that different from a mash of paparattzi around a movie star. After fighting our way to the three with a side trip in the Greek galleries, it was close to closing time at 9, so we started our walk home, which took about 45 minutes.
As an aside yesterday, in the same plaza as the Musee d'Orsay is the building of The Legion of Honor of the Order of Chevalier! We went in to see if there was a plaque or book where we could see Dad's name. They didn't have such things in the museum there, but said they could do research to produce the documentation. Since we have it already, we declined.
May 24 Arc de Triumph 68 Years Later
Walking near our hotel, we spied tents being set up the other day, which we learned was an antique book market for the weekend. So, this morning we made it our first order of business. It was lovely. Remember the scenes in the movie Charade with Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant in the Paris stamp market? It had the same feel. Charming stalls with all sorts of curiosities, leather bound, historical, children's antique books, old prints and fascinating old magazines. Bruce would have enjoyed this. Rich hit the jackpot in finding quite a few exhibition catalogs of some French sculptors and other artists he likes. In the middle of our prowling it began to pour, so the browsers stood under the tents huddling to keep dry while being forced to take more pointed looks at the materials for sale. We pulled out our trusty umbrellas and sauntered through the aisles like it was state fair before the cows got up, mostly all to ourselves .
Two metro lines took us to the Eiffel tower. Rich is not fond of heights so we didn't attempt a climb or the elevators, but enjoyed the structure from below. There is a major remodel in process, to add a new glassed in viewing area with handicapped access about a quarter of the way up. While the grounds were somewhat messy, we enjoyed people watching the thousands from all over the world. We crossed The Seine and walked toward the large buildings on a hill directly facing the tower, where there were many people milling around protest groups, Hyde Park style. One group was against Monsanto for genetically engineering crops, another against the rigged elections in Iran. We heard what we thought might be an American choral group singing pop songs to find it was young French teens belting them out in English.A long walk took us to the Arc de Trimphe. Other than the fact it is a necessary visit by any tourist in Paris to make a pilgrimage to the tower and the arc, I had a very special reason. A few weeks ago while looking through an envelope of Dad's photos, I found one I had never seen before. It is a photo of a group of American soldiers posed in front of an arch. My mission was to confirm if it was the famous Paris landmark and if so to stand where Dad had stood. Rich was helpful in helping to figure out the angles based on the sculptural reliefs, and eventually did find the right side and the exact location! Unfortunately, today there was some kind of military drill, and the inner circle was blocked off, so we had to stand outside the chains around the outermost circle. I had a copy of the photo with me and while holding it up to compare, a man next to us asked what we were doing. He lives in San Diego and works for the Kohler Company. We told him the story and he helped pinpoint the background and took our photo. A few tears later we left for a walk down the Champs d Elysées and a metro to the hotel.
We haven't spent much time with Mike and Joan as they have been catching up with old friends and colleagues and we chose to see the sites instead, but we all had dinner tonight at a small neighborhood restaurant . One of the side dishes we all shared was an unforgettable curry fettuccine that I would love to try to make.
We need to rest up because tomorrow is the famous "puse" flea market .
May 26 Flea Market!
Today was reserved for the flea market. The site on the Internet claimed that this flea was thought to be the largest in the world with 3,000 vendors. Beth, Obviously they did not get wind of
Brimfield! A metro ride to Clingancourt, then a short walk brought us to the main street, Rue de Rosiers. Not at all what I expected. The flea is a maze of streets with permanent structures, like malls with stalls. Each of the sections has a general focus, such as modern furniture, antique books, French paintings etc. We arranged to meet Joan and Mike's friends, Danielle and Francois Aaron who would show us around. They took us through the furniture alleys first. They have homes in Tangiers, Paris and Switzerland and have bought many things there. Soon we were all separated, Joan hunting for additions to her French pot collection, the Aaron's looking at a chandelier and we took off to check out some artist furniture creations we had spied on the way in. There is a new restaurant designed by Phillip Stark, which has become a busy Sunday brunch
Destination, and being the French Mother's Day as well, we all met at noon to try and avoid the rush, which we did.Danielle ordered first courses for us to sample of fois gras, sausages and pate paired with fresh whole wheat baguelles. Five of us enjoyed pasta with creamy morell sauce. It was exquisite. Lunch entertainment was provided by Danielle, a retired fashion photographer who had tales of recent shoots and travels. After lunch, Rich and I wandered around a few more alleys but it was so overwhelming that we got tired and headed back to the hotel. Upon exiting the metro we heard loud commotion. To our surprise, the streets were taken over by a demonstration against gay marriage and against gay adoption. a sea of people stretched as far up and down the street as far as we could see. CNN estimated 150,000 and the demonstrators reported a million. We were surprised at how many young people took part, many wearing pink or blue t shirts carrying pink and blue flags.
May 27 To the Country
We were sad to leave Paris because there is so much more on our list to do, but maybe that is a good sign that we will want to come back. Our train left from the Montparnasse station which was a few blocks from the hotel, but we did not want to roll our suitcases through a very busy center, so we took a van. The poor driver. Thanks to our travel agent, we had comfy first class compartment for the four of us for the three hour trip near Bordeaux, At Libourne we rented a car, a new large Mercedes which we all comfortably can cruise around in. Of course we got lost several times, but as we say with all of us giving Rich advice on where to drive, all together we have at least half a brain. The GPS does not work here for some reason. maybe its too remote? The hotel,www.francebastide.com is a reconstructed 16th century farmhouse, complete with original beams, stone walls, creaky floors and splendid patio views of the surrounding vineyards. It is owned and run by a friend of Mike and Joan, Kiek, originally from the Netherlands, who was married to a lawyer friend in NY. She bought the property in 2000, and spent over 2 years renovating. The bedrooms are roomy and comfortable, and the bathrooms up to date. The common living room and dining area are inviting and charming. Kiek took us on a tour of the property which includes some cottages and an artists studio. We took an hour walk near the B and B through vineyards and old stone structures in the neighborhood. For the first night Kiek cooked a delicious dinner for us of sage pasta and Vietnamese salmon and joined us for dinner as we were the only guests at the time.The wine was from her brother's winery nearby, and according to Mike and Rich excellent.
Tuesday, May 28 Pate, Linens and ChocolateMike has appointed himself researcher and travel guide. Consulting with Kiek, he selected a place in the region to tour. Sarlat is a small town that possesses the highest concentration of medieval, Renaissance, and 17th century facades of any town in France. Together The buildings form an open air museum. Following the Michelan guide, we walked around the darling town through narrow alleys and arched walkways interspersed with outdoor restaurants and gourmet shops mostly selling the specialty of the area, goose pâté. We found a comfortable restaurant and had the fixed lunch, with of course wine from the region. A stroke of luck that Joan spied an antique linens shop. On display were antique treasures in lace, linen, embroidery and silk. I drooled over then bought a hand embroidered silk piece that was probably once on a pillow. Yes. It was from around 1850 out of the estate of a Viscount from which the family was selling off pieces. We bought our dinner at some local shops which consisted of foie gras , onion conserve, cheese, bread, strawberries, wine, and chocolate which we brought home and had in the dining room. On the way home we saw 2 separate rainbows. One of them was a double one, having additional stripes of yellow and violet under the regular rainbow. Singing songs helped us get home faster, no doubt, even though we again got lost. So,Mom, we must have been over the rainbow!
After dinner we all watched Woody Allen's Annie Hall and laughed heartily.
May 29 Mike the Tour Guide
Today is cold and rainy like most of the days so far in France. Another route planned by Mike with Rich driving brought us to three small towns to check out. The first, Issigeac Is unique because of the house constructions scattered in the old town. Wood was employed in vertical, horizontal and diagonal directions with daub and wattle between bricks to form walls. It makes the buildings look more British. We walked around looking at the homes, but the town seemed abandoned and we couldn't figure out if it was the weather or the day for things to be closed. The next town was Monpazier. It is often used in movies, mostly French for a backdrop. There is a large square, and brick buildings with arches surrounding it. We found a recommended restaurant for lunch, La Bastide. We could just imagine how lively and colorful it would be if it wasn't cold and the sun would be out, which was not the case today. Nearby, Joan and I enjoyed shopping at a store that had tops, scarves and tablecloths in colorful Indian and French fabrics. Again, the Speros shopped for dinner provisions for a repeat of what we did last night. The last town, Castillonnes also seemed to be empty, but we walked to the main square for a look around. And again we got lost coming home. The hotel is on the Vin Route. Most of the roads weave in and out of the vineyards and scattered stone homes, and hardly show up on maps. But we made it, and had another great meal. Kiek joined us and offered good conversation before we watched part of another Woody Allen movie and turned in.
May 30 Vin and Foie Gras
Our cultural guide Mike directed us to St Emilion, the seat of a distinct wine area close to the border of Bordeaux. On the way we asked our driver Rich to "break for"brocantes" (brick a brac, or antique shops). Auntie Zi would be proud. We did go into a few and looked at the curiosities. The speros favor a certain rustic French pottery and found some to add to their collection, along with the small white decorated plates which they hang in the bedrooms of their lake house. I gravitate to the linens. It is curious that even the dish towels, most of which are red and white, have cross-stitched initials on them. I would love to pick some up, but would never find my initials nor those of anyone I know, not that it would matter.
St Emilion is a medieval town with a lower district and a steep upper town which is rampant with wine shops for tasting and shipping. The hike to the top on cobblestone might have been daunting if it had been any wetter, but we managed with the misty drizzle and prayed for sun later which was not to be. The town is very organized and makes it pleasant and easy to put tourists together with wine. Perusing the tours offered in the tourism office landed us with tickets to the one hour vineyard excursion, not for tasting, but for history and facts about the area. A long lunch at a restaurant with St Emilion wine of course fortified us for the bus tour in the pouring rain. Even through the grey we marveled at the numerous chateaus and their beautiful vineyards as far as one could see. One chateau was more grand than the next. We learned about the four different soils necessary for the various grapes, about the times for trimming, thinning out and the harvesting. I had always wondered why roses were planted along near grapes and found the answer. If there is a fungus, the roses will indicate it first, which alerts the farmer to spray the vines. Other tours were for tasting and viewing catacombs etc but we decided to head down to the lower town and on the way find the linen shop Kiek recommended. Joan and I hit pay dirt! The tablecloths and other linens are hand stamped and painted in Provence and simply beautiful. We each contributed to the French economy happily.On the way home we stopped at a marche ( supermarket) and picked up a chicken and French bread for our last "piqué nique" (actual sign on the road) at Kiek's. still light at 9pm, we couldn't go to bed, so chuckled our way through the last half of Woody Allen's "Manhattan.".
May 31
What amazes us is that each town is quite different, unlike Italian towns which all have some similarity with a square, church, frescos to see and roman antiquities. The churches here are much more austere, and the art is mostly in the stained glass, not paintings , mosaics and statuary everywhere. Karen, our travel agent booked us into the reserve, a quiet hotel overlooking a river. tonight we ate booked into the restaurant for a quiet dinner and will explore Albi tomorrow.
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