Pelouse Keep Off the Grass

I thought I had discovered the basic difference between the French and those of us of English descent today as I explored the vibrant Jardins de Luxembourg - what a superb park (I am going to completely run out of superlatives for these places by the end of three months, I’m warning you now!), luxuriantly planted and manicured, dotted with statues and fountains and balustrades and staircases. Breathtaking.

But, the difference is our relationship to the humble garden lawn.

No matter how quaint and practical the ubiquitous green metal chairs, on such a brilliant late summer’s day, what one really wants to do is to sprawl inelegantly on the soft ground with a backpack for a pillow, wiggle one’s toes in the coolness of nature’s best picnic blanket and quite possibly just fall asleep amongst a bunch of strangers, all doing the same thing. (A nice bottle of wine and a baguette with fromage would complete the picture nicely, but I wasn’t that organised).

It seemed obvious to me that the crowds that gather on the cobblestone steps outside the Pompidou are clearly just crying out for some grass to sit on after all that sightseeing and even in the Tuileries and here in this beautiful park only green chairs and dirt as far as the eye could see.

I pondered this profound sociological insight nearly all the way around the park, feeling very sorry for the French and even sorrier for myself, as all I really wanted to do was to collapse on the ornamental lawn somewhere, until – just before I was about to leave, I found what I’d been looking for! And just in case it wasn’t clear to passers-by, it was signposted. In three languages, lest there be any misunderstanding. (It seemed to be filled with foreigners – oh wait, that’s the whole of Paris at the moment – but I’ll bet it’s known as the Avenue des Anglaises or something!)

On route to this garden nirvanah, I visited both the Eglise St Sulpice – apparently the setting for a crucial scene in The Da Vinci Code (according to the website) and certainly the crowds in the church would seem to back that up – and the less topical but more beautifully decorated church of St Germain-des-Prés. But today neither could compete with the Authorised Lawn…

Red, White and Blue

I love Paris in the summer, when it sizzles...

(Thank you Cole Porter)

A hot summer’s day in the city, which I spent in and around Beaubourg - though I’m certain the Paris beaches on the Seine must have been heaving today.

Popped in to the Centre Pompidou late this afternoon – as the guide books reliably promised that this is the best time to avoid the queues. (Just love the museum pass, which means that residents from the Cité can pop in and out of the various museums around town and absorb digestible portions of all these amazing museums).

The Pompidou is currently showing an exhibition of the work of women artists from its permanent collection. I don’t know if it really made for a cohesive show but it was an enjoyable way to spend an hour or two this evening.

The Centre has very sensibly installed a series of very inviting banquets downstairs draped with exotic oriental tapis and

comfy-looking cushions - actually for their forum series of films and discussions – but it was an enjoyable sight to see weary gallery-goers unload their backpacks and gratefully take the weight off their feet, some stretched out in complete and unself-conscious repose.

The other funny thing is the gallery attendants in the museum are so unashamedly disinterested in anything going on in the galleries – they were chatting, reading, replacing a lost button on a cardigan, organising their handbags – I felt as if I’d accidentally intruded on them in their own homes. Which I suppose in one sense I had!

Musing in the Museum

Another glorious day in Paris today as summer gets her sea-legs back.

As I walked back from my yoga class (bilingual tonight, so slightly less demanding in terms of concentration to keep up with the class than last week’s lesson tout en francais) the restaurants, bars and cobbled laneways of the Marais were buzzing with people out enjoying the warm evening breeze.

There’s always such a sense of excitement and activity in the air on nights like this; the Cité is humming too with atelier doors thrown open and the sound of residents chatting into the night.

I visited the marvelous National Museum of the Middle Ages - Musée Cluny today, a treasure trove of arts and crafts - painting, sculpture, weaving, stained glass, stonemasonry and metalwork from the 10th century onwards and housed in the site of the former Roman Baths. The centerpiece of the museum is the stunning Lady with the Unicorn series of tapestries, so intricately and expertly executed and with such odd subject matter, that I found them quite spellbinding.

Anxious not to waste the beautiful weather indoors, I also paid an all-to-short visit to the Jardins des Plantes (Botanical Gardens) - passing en route the stunning façade of the Institute du Monde Arabe, which also deserves a more leisurely return visit - where all the world seemed to be out enjoying the sun too.

It’s funny, but it already seems like there are many more people back in the city since even last weekend, the shutters of the hibernating bars and boulangeries are being sleepily opened and blinking in the full glare of a return to routine. I’m so pleased I’m going to be here in Paris for a few months to get a sense of the changes in the city as the rentrée (Back to School) grinds into full swing and the seasons change.

À la recherche de l’été perdu...

Hoorah! Summer came back to Paris this afternoon, just when we thought we’d seen the end of it.

However, even the lovely Paris summer couldn’t tempt poor old Marcel Proust out into the fresh air. Seeing his reconstructed bedroom was definitely one of the highlights of my visit to the Musée Carnavalet in the Rue Pavee this afternoon. To be honest his bed looked a bit lumpy and uncomfortable, but maybe that’s just because he spent so much time there.

It’s an interesting and eclectic museum illustrating the history of the Ville de Paris set in beautiful grounds – am loving all this wacky topiary contrasted with delicate wildflowers, that seems to be very popular in the public gardens across the city.

The Musée Carnavalet featured a great model of the Bastille prison, which stood on the site of the modern-day monument.

Had some errands to do over in nearby Bastille, where - I happily remembered – I had seen some great images to photograph on a morning walk last week, including the colourful nasturtium (capucine - which is also a lovely girls’ name in French!),

painted on this shutter in Rue des Charentons and a couple of very high flying-fish stenciled on these walls on Rue Faubourg-St Antoine.

Exploring on My Doorstep

After all the sightseeing and restaurant critique-ing (exhausting work!) of the past few days, today was a welcome quiet day spent at work in the studio, punctuated by a much quieter and more solemn visit to a photographic exhibition at the Holocaust Memorial, which is literally across the road in Rue Geoffroy Asniers.

Then, I set off for a short walk around our quartier - with no particular direction in mind, but with camera in hand - and with so many fascinating laneways and courtyards, magasins and restaurants to photograph around this neighbourhood, I managed to lose all track of time and wandered for hours exploring just the local streets around St Paul, not two blocks from the Cité des Arts.

The church of St Paul overlooks the historical village, which is comprised of a series of walled courtyards, filled with antique and all manner of unusual specialty stores.

These tranquil gardens in the Square de l’Avé Maria – also across the road from the studios - are sunken slightly below street level and so this is the first time I had actually noticed them, though I walk past this spot at least once a day.

The real prize for me though, was finding lots of things to photograph among the quaint and quirky shop windows of Rue St Paul. Watch this space…!

Il Pleut des Cordes

The pouring rain allowed us to continue our research into Paris’ best cafes and restaurants again today, uninterrupted by those distracting museums, galleries and other cultural activities.

This time our travels took across the Pont Marie, just opposite the gates of the Cité des Arts. The Ile St-Louis is a great vantage point from which to view the panorama of Notre Dame and the Isle de la Cité sans crowds.

We enjoyed yet another leisurely lunch at a fabulous restaurant called Les Fous de L’Ile, in the Rue de Deux Ponts - jauntily festooned with a very eclectic array of poultry-themed decorations - though, as a result, our plans to explore the Latin Quarter didn’t amount to much.

(I did, however, manage to find a vegetarian option on the menu after they refused to make an omelette, even with so many hens in evidence!)