Postcards From Susan: PARIS WEEK TWO

While we were in Paris, we stayed in the 18^th arrondisment, near Sacre Coeur. We learned that our arrondisment, Montmartre, would be having its annual vendange festival, the harvest fete. We wanted to see what it looked like, so friend Anne agreed to brave the multitudes with us. We arrived well after the peak hours, and as we approached, many people were leaving. We made one walk through, and headed home, very glad to get away from the throng. We could only wonder what it must have been like before the crowds dissipated.

One day Francoise and Charles invited us to visit their neighborhood fete for Georges Brassens, a famous poet and song writer. We enjoyed a visit to Brassens Park, which included musical performances, and food booths, and an open house in the bee keeping area.

After our visit to the fete, Francoise and Charles took us on a whirlwind car tour of Paris, including art deco buildings and Brassen’s home.

We wanted a visit to the Rodin Museum, primarily to see the temporary exhibit of works by Camille Claudel, Rodin's pupil and perhaps mistress, who many credit with some of the works attributed to him. No photos of that exhibit of course. On the way we stopped at the boutique for the National Assembly, and became concerned about a growing police presence outside. The shopkeepers told us that there would be a demonstration, but the demonstration was going to be by medical students, so we figured we had no reason for concern.

It seems every time we visit the Rodin Museum something has been changed. This time it felt as though everything had been changed, inside and out. Parts of the gardens were closed, and entry was now on a timed basis. There were many more people than we have seen in the past, and the interior exhibits were laid out differently. But the dome of Napoleon’s Tomb was still looking down at us and the Thinker was still in place, still thinking.

One day Francoise P and Francoise O arranged a lunch at a nearby culinary school. We knew we were to arrive on time, but our metro train stopped for a medical emergency at another station, and we were marooned. We left the station to track down a taxi, and finally found one to take us across town. We arrived late, but still in time for lunch.

The food was very good, and the service also, if a bit uncertain. We enjoyed meeting the young men who had cooked for us.

After lunch Francoise O and Francoise P took us on a tour of Art Deco buildings across the river. There was so much to see that we finally had to call it a day, with a promise from Francoise P to save the rest of the tour for another visit.

One building had a fascinating foyer lined in copper, carvings and art deco moldings. As we peered in the door, one of the residents was coming out and let us in, with promises to stay put and close the door firmly when we left.

Note the architect;s signature.

And another.

This is a single family residence, clearly on the tour circuit.

And of course, the art deco metro sign to take us home.

We spent a whole day at the Louvre with Jeanne, focusing on the Islamic wing. We had seen the collection years ago, but since then the museum had opened a new, controversial wing in one of the courtyards of the museum. It is controversial in part because it is covered by a metal wing, made to look like a flying carpet. It may also be controversial because the lower floor has exceptionally bad lighting, making it difficult to see many of the works.

We wanted to see the exhibit to compare it to what we had seen in Turkey. Probably the most interesting difference was the number of metal objects at the Louvre, while we had seen virtually none in Turkey.