Bonjour et au revoir

Les arrondisemonts de Paris

Bonjour!

A final look at Paris in July.

Books read about Paris: three - The Moveable Feast; Paris Was Ours; and,  Paris Was A Woman

Books that took place in Paris and/or France: two - Maigret and the Millionaires; Maigret on the Riviera

Book that had scenes in Paris: one - Eye of the God

Still reading: The Three Musketeers

Movies watched: three - Six in Paris; Paris, je t'aime; and, Paris

French cooking classes: one - Coq au vin

French restaurants: one - Louis le Francais

Brief history lessons: two - Le Fete Nationale and Louis XVI

Photo albums: four - Hotel de Varenne, Rodin Museum, Eiffel Tower; Fountains in Paris; Art in Paris, Gardens at Giverney

Posts about Paris: 31

It has been a delightful vacation.

Au revoir!

Toward the end of the journey

Here I am almost to the end of my July spent in Paris. Although it has been quite an experience writing, reading, eating, and watching all things French, I must admit I am quite exhausted. I am beginning to dream in French  - not that that is a bad thing.

Tomorrow I will give a recap of what I have accomplished in celebrating a month in the City of Light. I am still plowing through The Three Musketeers and am actually ready to be finished with Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan. It amazes me how many scrapes and close calls they get embroiled in. And to think Dumas wrote (and wrote and wrote) the book with a dip pen.

Paris, je t'aime

Ah. Another movie featuring the streets and sights of Paris.

Paris je t'aime is a film made up of 18, five-minute stories set in different neighborhoods of Paris. Characters find the beginning of love, the end of love, and the mysteries of love in these assorted vignettes. There are soft-spoken French actors and the more rambunctious American actors. There is a cameo by Oscar Wilde, a vampiress, a mime, and, of course, the arrondisements of the city.

My two favorites just happen to be the final two sketches:

In "Quartier Latin", Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands play a long-married and yet long-separated couple who meet in a cafe the night before they are to sign their final divorce papers. Gérard Depardieu (it is always nice to see him) plays the patron of the cafe. The couple's reunion is bittersweet as there is still much affection between the two.

In "14e Arrondissement", Margo Martindale plays an older solo tourist on her first visit to Paris. Her  scenes are narrated with a voice-over of the report that she has written for her French class recounting her days in the city. As she sits on a park bench taking in all that is around her, she thinks:

Sitting there, alone in a foreign country, far from my job and everyone I know, a feeling came over me. It was like remembering something I'd never known before or had always been waiting for, but I didn't know what. Maybe it was something I'd forgotten or something I've been missing all my life. All I can say is that I felt, at the same time, joy and sadness. But not too much sadness, because I felt alive. Yes, alive. That was the moment I fell in love with Paris. And I felt Paris fall in love with me.

Ah, oui. Paris, je t'aime!

Paris Was A Woman

I finished the final chapters of Paris Was A Woman by Andrea Weiss. Here are the stories of the female friends and lovers, writers and artists, booksellers and editors, poets, photographers and philanthropists of Paris in the 1920s and '30s.

So much has been written about the men of expatriate Paris, it was a pleasure to read what the women were doing: Gertrude Stein, Janet Flanner, Sylvia Beach, Colette, and Djuna Barnes. Many others' stories are told as well. I got some of the women confused as they all seemed to know each other and shared their lives, if not their beds, at one time or another.

The photos and excerpts from letters are worth the price of the book. The prose is a bit slow going, like I said I got the players confused sometimes, but learning of the contributions the women made to the art of the time is fascinating.

Of course it all came to an end with the occupation of Paris by the Germans in 1940. Some of the women did stay or at least moved to the French countryside, but most of them left before the Germans entered Paris.

Janet Flanner
1892-1978

The work I most want to get to know further is by journalist Janet Flanner who wrote under the name Genêt for The New Yorker magazine. A collection of her columns is published as Paris Was Yesterday (1929-1934) and three volumes entitled Paris Journal (1944-1955, 1956-1964,  and 1965-1970.). She writes of the arts, fashion, politics and people, the scandals and celebrities of Paris. She is known for her insight and wit.

Swording it up in Paris

I am so surprised at how fun it is reading The Three Musketeers. There are many more stolen kisses, lost letters, intrigues, adventures and witty writing than I ever would have expected. And everyone is so polite...even when one is getting ready to stab another in a duel.

And although many of the Paris streets mentioned are gone, there are still plenty les rues and landmarks to keep the reader grounded in the city.

I can see why movie makers are so attracted to the story.

I love Michael York at D'Artagnan in the 1973 film version and think the casting of the others in that movie is just about perfect. There has never been a better Cardinal Richelieu than Charlton Heston. Luckily, fans were treated to a sequel in 1974.

Michael York as D'Artagnan
1973

I looked at the cast of the movie made in 1993 with Chris O'Donnell as D'Artagnan. This one is by Disney and features Keifer Sutherland and Charlie Sheen - neither of whom is a favorite of mine. I watched it long ago, but now am curious to watch it again just to see how the story is handled.

Chris O'Donnell as D'Artagnan
1993

Then there is the 2011 version with Matthew Macfadyen (he of MI-5 fame) as Athos. This version is much more visual (it was filmed in 3-D) but alas I watched in on my laptop so missed much of the impact. But it was still pretty spectacular.

Matthew Macfadyen as Athos
2011

Do you have a favorite?

In Monet's Garden

Since my flower garden is fried from the heat, I thought I would post some healthy flower photos that I took in Monet's garden at Giverny. Of course I have no idea what the names of the flowers are but what care I?

Monet's house and garden
Giverny

Art is Everywhere

Another chance to highlight what makes Paris so wonderful - Art is Everywhere.

Standing Woman
Gaston Lachaise
1932
Tuileries Gardens

Cain venant de tuer son frere Abel
Henri Vidal
1896
Tuileries Gardens

Nymphe
Louis Auguste Leveque
1866
Tuileries Gardens

Outside Le Musee D'Orsay
Allegorical sculptures representing South America, North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Africa, which were originally made for 1878 Exposition Universelle.

 From a bookstall along the Seine
Artist unknown
I love the swoop of her hat! Tres chic!