Opéra Comique

Last night I accompanied Gabriella to the Opéra Comique for a preview presentation of their coming season. A panel of four people talked about the offerings and a pianist and singers performed a few pieces to wet our appetites. The building itself is something to behold. We sat on the third tier looking out over the stage below and at winged angels in front of us. Human sculpted figures hold up different levels of balconies and gold leafed ornate designs flourish amid classical painted scenes from the 18th century. After the event, they hosted us to hors d'oeuvres and wine. It was a nice, short, but very interesting, evening event. Here's their website

http://www.opera-comique.com/fr/opera-comique-2-2/

Avignon, France

This past weekend I went with a French friend to visit the city of Avignon in Provence. Anyone raised in the Catholic religion will know that the city was the seat of the papacy during part of the 14th century. Of course the papacy was like the government for all of the Catholic world, which at that time included much of Europe. The pope himself was like a king so he lived like one! The Catholic churches with their grandiose sizes, their gold tabernacles, embroidered vestments, chalices, etc., masterpiece artworks, ornate architectures, etc. are testaments to the riches that the pope and clergy amassed over the centuries. Since there was so much constructions to be done in Avignon when the papacy relocated there, many of the best architects, weavers, painters, and sculpture artists, craftspeople, etc. moved there. Consequently, there are many incredible remains from that period, as well as from long before since Avignon has always been important because of its strategic location along the Rhone. The entire old city is surrounded by a Medieval wall punctuated with intermittent ports or entrances. You can see where parts have been repaired but it is in exceptionally good condition, as are most of the monuments. It's easy to see why the city has received the UNESCO World Heritage designation. We spent our three days visiting the Palais des Papes, the Museum du Petit Palais, Pont St. Benezet, and minor churches in the village. On Saturday we walked across the bridge that connects Avignon with Villeneuve des Avignon and explored some of the churches and cloisters. We got there during lunch time and the tower at the foot of the hill was closed so we proceeded up the hill to the small town center where we lucked upon a great little restaurant for lunch, Le Saint André. They are mentioned in one of the Michelin Guides and I have to say they offered a full hot plate that was also delicious for vegetarians, not common in France. After eating we visited an abby then headed to the top of the hill to see the fort that was closing for the afternoon. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see anything but the entrance but it's something to return for in the future since it is also wonderfully preserved. Sunday we did one of the walking tours in Avignon and discovered more wonderful jewels before boarding the TGV, fast train, to return to Paris. In addition to seeing such great sights, I also got 3 great days of French language immersion with my friend Monique!

Arles, France

This past weekend I had the good fortune to be able to visit Arles which is a small town in the southern part of Provence. It sits at the convergence of the large and small Rhone Rivers inland a bit from the northern Mediterranean Sea. I was expecting warm temps since I have an image of the Mediterranean being forever warm, but it was far from that. It's been a very cold and unusual winter so Arles actually had some remnants of snow scattered about. The wind was very strong so I'm sure it felt a lot colder than it was.

Arles is a UNESCO World Heritage site so I spent 2 plus days exploring Roman and Medieval ruins, viewing artwork, and relaxing in the hotel in the heart of the old city. This town has Greek and Roman pasts with the Romans leaving their marble footprints, some of which are not only still visible but still in use today. Julius Cesar is noted as founding Arles as a Roman colony around 46 BC. The city's two most famous Roman ruins are the Roman amphitheatre where they staged the infamous sporting events with wild animals and gladiators and chariot races and the Theatre Antique seen here on the left which was a huge complex for drama. Today, the city hosts bullfights in the amphitheatre, while the Theatre Antique is being restored to some of its previous grandeur with future plans to use it as it once was. Below the Place de la Republique is the enormous Les Cryptoportiques from the 1st century that served as a storage place for agricultural products and wine as well as for other public needs. As I walked under the perfectly formed barrel-shaped ceilings, I couldn't help but to marvel at Roman engineering. There are also remnants of the Roman baths where the entire population, rich and poor, would go to bathe every evening. These are located very close to the Rhone as an obvious source of water. Medieval churches and cloisters seem to be around every corner and the winding, narrow, maze-like streets give one the feel of what life must have been like during the Middle Ages. Much, much later Van Gogh lived here and found inspiration from the light and colors of the town. We ate at the Café de la Nuit that was the subject for one of his famous paintings but none of his original works exist in Arles. The Musée Réattu had some works that Picasso donated that I enjoyed seeing since they were mostly simple, small pieces that aren't normally seen. My favorite museum was the contemporary Musée de l'Arles Antique that holds a huge collection of prehistoric to the VI century artifacts found in the region. They have recently added hundreds of objects to their permanent collection that were brought up from an excavation in the Rhone river. Objects from ship wrecks centuries ago but also things that people took to the river and threw in, sort of like the city garbage dump of everyday things that didn't have any more value or use. The last room of this collection had a magnificent bust of Jules Cesar! A picture is worth a thousand words so check out the city's website for great photos and tons of information. http://www.tourisme.ville-arles.fr/

The Louvre

The Louvre is probably the most famous art museum in the world, and for good reason. I've been there more times than I can count, often when guests come and want me to accompany them. Even at that, I still have not seen the whole place nor even a portion of its holdings. Everyone, of course, wants to see the Louvre's most famous of all inhabitants, the Mona Lisa. Luckily, I got to see her up-close-and-personal before they roped off the area, placing her about 20 feet from the nearest person and behind a protective glass. She's got fantastic eyes that follow you as you pass. I remember spending several minutes going back and forth directly in front of her just to watch her eyes follow me, I also said a few personal words to her as if we were old friends. Unfortunately, those days are gone with the hordes of people who jam shoulder-to-shoulder to get a glimpse of her before they have to move on to allow someone else time to take a photograph. But, I have to say, the Louvre has so many stunning works of art that the Mona Lisa is really just one among thousands.

The history of the Louvre is long and rich with characters from the pages of French textbooks. Words like enormous, monstrous, gigantic, etc., just don't seem to adequately describe its size, importance, or character. Luckily, it has survived the test of time to give all who visit a genuine sense of its place as a world monument. One enters through the famous pyramid, designed by I.M. Peï and opened in 1989, then quickly descends into a grand welcome center directly under the pyramid. This is the heart of an underground complex that spiders out into the various museum galleries, conference rooms, auditoriums, snack bars, restaurants, a bookshop, as well as into an upscale shopping center that connects directly with Line 1 of the Paris subway. After entering the through the pyramid, the eyes are drawn automatically back up to the glass ceiling where surrounding building facades oversee the museum's daily visitations. At dusk, this vision is truly magical when the entry hall is darker than the twilight sky above. Outside surrounding the pyramid are several triangular shaped reflecting pools that are about knee-high and aren't even visible until close approach. In the day-light these add radiance to the entrance and in the evening they provide dancing displays from nearby light sources. There are 3 smaller pyramids positioned at points where the walkways join, providing a window to the outside from below. The Louvre's website is excellent where one can discover lots about the place without ever going. http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp

The Louvre hosts many cultural events besides art exhibits. In the past month, we have been there a couple of times to concerts in an auditorium that is acoustically wonderful and small enough that every seat is a good one. Wednesday night we heard a choral concert of baroque music that was stunning, with some 12 singers and about the same number of musicians. The concert started at 8pm, it was raining outside and chilly when I left the apartment. I took the bus and got off just across from the Louvre. The arched entrance into one of the Louvre's interior courtyards that I would normally take was blocked due to construction so I had to walk around to another entrance. As I acrossed the uneven, wet stones of the courtyard I looked up at the four surrounding walls and had the distinct feeling of what it must have been like walking that same path in the 17th or 18th century. That courtyard connects to the Cour Napoléon, where the pyramid is, through an archway the length of that building's wing. It was dark but bustling with people and off to the side a cellist played a classical piece of music for public enjoyment. It was a sensual moment and I felt truly blessed to be living in such an artistically rich part of the world.

Grand Palais

Last weekend was very busy, beginning with a visit to the Grand Palais.  If you have visited Paris but have not been to the Grand Palais, you have missed a truly beautiful piece of architecture built in 1900 for the World's Fair.  This is the world's largest glass structure and it literally takes your breathe away when you enter it.  The Grand Palais hosts lots of fabulous temporary exhibits and I have been fortunate in seeing some of the worlds many masterpieces there. You can visit their site to see where you need to plan for the next time you're here  http://www.grandpalaisparis.com/  

Last Friday we went to see an installation by a contemporary French artist, Christian Boltanski.  I had no expectations nor did I know I was going to see an installation, I thought it was an exhibit of abstract painting.  At the entrance, there was a long, tall row of metal boxes stacked so that one could not see into the larger space.  The boxes gave the impression of a long wall that reminded me of one in a mausoleum.  The metal was in all shades of brown and rust with hughes brightened or darkened by the light coming through the glass ceiling.  From within came a vibrating sound that appeared to be a rhythmic drum beat, which I later realized was the beat of human hearts.  As I rounded the corner, the huge floor space under the glass dome lay before me and I was awe-struck by the installation.  Throughout were square block areas of clothes lying on the floor with florescent lights suspended about 4 feet above each.  Between the rows was enough space to walk, giving the impression of the grid of a city or the rows of a cemetery.  The eye immediately went to the central point of the space where a huge crane with a scoop mechanism was dropping onto a gigantic mound of cloths, picking them up, raising them to the ceiling, and them dropping them again onto the pile.  I stood transfixed watching this process over and over again, each time feeling the motion was more dramatic.  Part of the intention of the artist was to show the randomness of death, which he accomplished with great effect.  The clothes were like skeletons of people and the mound made one think of all those who died in the Holocaust, as did the squares of clothes that could easily have represented the death camps. Then, of course, the constant sound of the heart beat reinforced the dramatic moment in life when that stops. It's difficult to explain the impact that art can have on oneself since it's so personal and intimate but Boltanski created an incredibly emotional experience.  There's an interview with him at the Grand Palais on YouTube so check it out.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv7tatnhFAc&feature=fvw

Snowing for day 2

For the second day in a row, we are having snow in Paris.  This is a very rare event since the weather here is very temperate so it really rarely snows much less for two days in a row.  Earlier the flakes were huge so I got out my camera and snapped a few photos from the apartment which is located on the 4th and top floor on rue du Faubourg St. Antoine between the famous Place de la Bastille and Place de la Nation.  The snow only lasted a few minutes and melted quickly so later I walked over to the Marché Alégre, our local farmers' market, to shop for fresh fruits and veggies.  On one of the adjacent streets is a wine bar called Le Baron Rouge so I stopped in to pick up a bottle of their organic Côte de Rhone to have on hand in case we want a glass for dinner sometime soon.  Most people think that everyone here drinks wine at each meal but it's not true, it is true though that it's normal for people drink a glass at one of their meals.  Unlike in the States though people normally just drink at meals and only a glass or 2 at the most.  The Barron a quaint, rustic place with about 6 large wooden barrels of different types of wine at the entrance.  People often take their own containers in there and the staff fills it from the barrel of their choice. A litre of wine is about 4E80 if you bring your own container and 50 centimes more without. 

I'm back home, had lunch and it's started to snow again. Although it's pouring, I doubt that it will last very long. There's not a lot to get excited about with the snow but it's really nice while it is falling. 

This is the first time in my life of living in a city where everyone lives in apartments and where individual family dwellings is non-existent. I don't know any of my neighbors except our next door land-lady and the woman downstairs who chain smokes so much that we get constant whiffs of it in our place that has a well-placed NO SMOKING sign, doesn't do any good in this case. Our neighbors are basically strangers who inhabit all those windows on the buildings surrounding us. Our building has 5 other apartments and a restaurant on the first couple of floors.  Mind you I've never eaten there but I daily smell their plats du jour, although I have had coffee with a croissant there.  It's a cafe/tabac so is a sort cheaper version of a brasserie.  We have 2 grocery stores on our block plus several shoe shops and various other businesses.  It's definitely a big city environment and popular area of Paris for shopping and for night clubs for young people. 

Going to the movies

One of my great distractions and loves in life is going to the movies, I've always preferred films seen in proper big screen theaters. I particularly love foreign films and was an avid attendee of Portland's annual International Film Festival and looked forward to seeing lots in Paris.  However, in France, I end up seeing mostly English language films because everything that is not filmed in French already is obviously subtitled in French so all the international films are a bit of a challenge, something I had not thought through before arriving. But I have to say that I now try to keep up with reading the subtitles in French with the English films so I can acquire a bit more vocabulary.   I, of course, have seen quite a few French films as well as some Italian and Spanish ones with Gabriella's translation help. As I get better in French, I'm seeing more of those although I certainly still need some help understanding but I keep trying.  Some movie theaters only show movies dubbed in French so there's no need from the French to read the subtitles but I really hate dubbed anything, about 1/2 the TV shows here are dubbed American series, so we avoid those theaters. Paris is a huge movie-loving city.  There are large cinemas as well as tons and tons of very small, quaint places showing everything from the first silent films to the latest blockbusters. Paris is also a destination for the study of film where there are universities dedicated to this as well as  large collections of films for example at the Centre Pompidou < http://www.centrepompidou.fr/ > and Le Forum des Images < http://www.forumdesimages.fr/ >, but also bookstores dedicated to film, and just about anything else dealing with film one could hope to find in one place.   The experience of going to the movies is a bit different in Paris.  Once you have purchased your ticket, most often from a person inside the theater, although Les Halles is an exception with its new self-service kiosks and everything is inside and underground, you have to go outside and wait in the elements, standing in line until they are ready to let you inside. They most often don't open the doors until the actual time that the movie is supposed to begin or close to it.  It's very annoying when it's cold or rainy or you're just tired.  When they finally open the doors everyone then races in to get a good seat.  Most theaters do not sell anything to eat or drink, which was a real shock to me since eating popcorn at the movies is part of the movie experience for Americans.  I guess it saves on staff and cleanup time and definitely the cost of the film for movie-goers.  We did eat popcorn once at one of the few cinemas that sells it and believe me it will be the last time!  That was the worst stuff I've ever eaten and I just couldn't figure out in which of the last 3 decades it had been popped? Another annoying feature of Parisian cinemas is that the rows of seats are placed so close together that you cannot more your legs during the whole movie.  It's actually worse than being in the economy class on airplanes, which is hard to beat. I try to sit on the end of the rows so I can at least stretch out one leg. Even with the obstacles I've mentioned, going to the movies remains one of my favorite things to do and this weekend we saw Up in the Air and Sherlock Homes.