Week 37: Tours of the Area

One of the many ornate flower arrangements at Chenonceau

This week brought us a returning client, Mina, from Atlanta. She has a business creating and selling gluten-free products. Her production facility is in Paris, so she travels to France a few times a year. We first met her in September. We have some mutual friends, and she had just heard about Maison Conti from them. We enjoyed her very much so were enthusiastic to hear that she would be returning and wanted to begin her trip to France with four days here. She also booked Rick's tour services for two days, which gives me the opportunity to blog about some beautiful locations not far from us, Chartres Cathedral and the castle of Chenonceau. I have Rick to thank for taking the photos this week.

Chartres Cathedral is, in my opinion, the most beautiful and spiritual in France. I am not alone in this evaluation. It does cast a spell over people if they're open to it. There is a wonderful video about the history of the place and the construction of the building called Sacred Geometry. It's a fascinating subject. The spot where the cathedral currently stands was already sacred to the pagans who built an altar there thousands of years ago. The first Christian church was constructed in about 900 and burned to the ground in 1194. The townspeople felt that a miracle had been performed by the virgin when it was discovered that her tunic, which was a priceless relic the church possessed, was completely undamaged in the fire. They felt that the fire was a direct command by the virgin to rebuild and create a much more worthy edifice in her honor. People of all stations, classes, professions and ages hauled stones to the spot and, elbow to elbow, built a new structure in a remarkably short time. That kind of cooperation could be thought of as a miracle in itself!

An American choir exiting the front of the church. Chartres remains a very popular pilgrimage spot.

The pillars of the church are carved with elongated figures. This was a unique style in its time.

The quality of the stone carvings is extraordinary.

Most of the population of the time was illiterate. Stained glass windows were their books.

Here are the signs of the zodiac. Astrology was not separate from religion in the Middle Ages.

The atmosphere is calm and meditative. People light their candles and say their prayers

Chartres is an easy drive from Maison Conti. The castle of Chenonceau is a bit further but well worth the trouble. Of course the Loire Valley was the capital of the kings of France during the Renaissance, so many spectacular castles, both large and small, were built during that time. It was the epoch when castles were no longer stormed and destroyed. The Hundred Years War was over and there was relative calm in the land, so castles could be built with grace and charm, rather than as defensive bunkers. Chenonceau is certainly the best example of this kind of structure. It is the most popular spot in the valley and for very good reason. Many women influenced the decoration of this castle, as it was inhabited by wives and mistresses of the kings of France. It is a relatively small château and still has some of the original furnishing. It's a jewel, but during the high season, difficult to appreciate for all the tourists that flock there by the busload. What a wonderful experience, then, to visit on a sunny February day and have the place practically to one's self!

The entrance to the grounds of the castle.

Pretty as a picture. I've never seen it without crowds.

The beautiful doorway beckons you to enter this magical space.

In winter the fireplaces are aglow with huge logs. The tapestries add warmth.

Ornate tile work has been worn out by feet. You see only traces of the originals around edges of rooms.

Rose bedroom

Black bedroom, created by a queen who mourned the death of her husband.

Mina descending the stone staircase.

Some of the furniture is priceless, including this inlaid chest.

This stove was installed during WWI when Chenonceau became a hospital for wounded soldiers.

The famous gallery that spans the Cher River.

View from the gallery window. The river flows under a bridge which supports the room.

I asked Rick especially to take photos of the flower arrangements which grace the rooms at Chenonceau throughout the year. It's impressive that even in winter the bouquets are so extravagant.

 

The week coming up is a busy one for clients. Two lovely women from Australia arrive today to do some etching with me for 9 days. Other clients fill other rooms as well, so this winter is turning out to be much more lively than last.

Week 36: Paris Now & Then

By Marville. Paris before Haussmann's extensive renovation, 1860-70. From Paris, secret et insolite.

Ah beautiful and ancient Paris! Of course I haven't seen every city in the world, but I still recklessly proclaim that Paris must be the most exquisite of them all. How could there be another to compete? I never grow tired of its winding streets and layers of history. Rick and I are currently reading a book together entitled  Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris by Graham Robb. It is the story of the city told through the true tales of some of its famous historical inhabitants. We were fascinated to hear about one of the first professional photographers in the city, Charles Marville, born in Paris in 1813. He was hired by the government to document the old Paris streets before Haussmann, during the Second Empire, rebuilt and modernized Paris. The wide boulevards and typical Haussmann grand and uniform buildings certainly changed the face of Paris.

If you want to get a flavor of more ancient Paris, you can wander around the Marais of course, an outlying immigrant neighborhood in Haussmann's day, which did not receive his attention. Another corner of the city that was slated to be demolished and rebuilt was just across from the Place Saint Michel where the rue St André des Arts commences. Napoleon III and his minister, Baron Haussmann, were ousted before they had the chance to begin this phase of work.

After reading about this, Rick and I were motivated to take a closer look, since the rue St. André des Arts is probably one of the streets in Paris I know better than any other. Emily and I spent a summer living in an adorable fifth floor walk-up not far from here and I got to know the neighborhood very well indeed. Here's the photo Marville took in 1865:

Here's mine taken a few days ago:

Not much has changed. There is a side entrance to Metro St. Michel right on the Place. I had never discovered that before.

We had a very pleasant day in Paris while Quinn was at his nanny's. Emily left us in charge for a few days while she visited Jos in London, where he was directing a comedy routine for a slapstick festival.
We strolled around and took advantage of the opportunity to do some errands in the city.

We chose a good day for exploring, with only a sprinkling of tourists to contend with. The sky alternated between gray and blue, the temperature was cold but not frigid. We traced a wide arc from the edge of the Latin corner through St Germain des Prés, over the river to the right bank, through the Tuileries Garden, then back across to the left bank, where we stopped in at Sennelier, my favorite Paris art store. Along the way we enjoyed the views.

I love the jumble of architectural styles in this left bank neighborhood of Paris.

At the intersection of the 5th and 6th arrondissements.

My favorite way to get from St Germain des Prés to the right bank, is down the rue St. André des Arts, turning right on the rue de Seine, which takes you past many art galleries. I love looking in the windows. You also pass La Palette, a typical Parisian café where the food is simple but good and the waiters sufficiently rude to make you feel you've had an authentic experience. At the end of the street you walk through a little passage that leads to the quai and the large Place in front of the Academie-Francaise.

 

The pedestrian-only Pont des Arts, has my favorite view of Paris looking up and down the river. Ile de la Cité and Notre Dame in one direction and La Tour Eiffel in the other. Here, again, you get the sense of the ancientness of the city, as the architecture of many centuries comes together to create this contemporary view.

At the other end of the bridge, on the right bank, is the Louvre Palace. We had loosely planned to spend a couple of hours in the museum but forgot that it is closed on Tuesdays, so instead we enjoyed a tour through the grounds and a visit to the underground mall where you can also view the ancient foundation walls of the modern Louvre.

The bare winter trees reveal the Musée d'Orsay on the opposite bank. We walked along the quai and crossed back over the Pont Royal.

We decided to have lunch at Mariage Frères, the famous tea purveyor. Upstairs is a charming restaurant which was practically empty. Generally you can hardly get a seat, but this time of year is the ideal moment to visit. We hadn't been here in several years.

Because the kitchen wasn't busy, they allowed me to order high tea, with attractive and delicious tea sandwiches, even though the menu indicated it wasn't officially available before 3PM.

We had a pleasant leisurely meal in their sunny dining room. Rick ordered dessert. He was allowed to choose between several delectable kinds on their sweet cart. He settled on the house specialty, a crème brûlée raspberry cake.

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Quinn turned two on Thursday. Mama arrived home in the afternoon and we had a celebration. Balloons are always a hit.

Since Christmas Quinn definitely understands the concept of packages and unwrapping.

He was able to blow out his two candles. When you ask him how old he is, he will tell you "two" but making his hand hold up two fingers instead of one or five is going to take some practice.

Week 35: Dispatch From Paris

 Mysterious and beautiful leaf art hanging from winter trees in the Bois de Vincennes

I am writing from Paris this week, where we're staying with Emily and Quinn. Jos is in London performing his one-man show and directing a slapstick routine for a comedy festival. Emily leaves tomorrow to join him, so we'll stay on to take care of Quinn and have a bit more Paris fun.

We spent the weekend working on some projects for Emily and having a few family outings. We went together to Le Bal, which is a brand new museum and restaurant. One of Emily's best friends is the owner and cook. Anna has a daughter almost the exact same age as Quinn. We have wanted to eat there since the grand opening in September and we finally got our chance.

The museum itself is small and lovely. It specializes in documentary photos and movies. All four of us enjoyed the current exhibition which was called Five Strange Family Albums. Even Quinn could really enjoy the movies which were quite surrealistic.

Quinn watches a movie of a brother and sister playing a frenetic game of ping pong

The best part was the restaurant, however, which has already been receiving effusive reviews for it's good honest food. The menu is simple with an emphasis on fresh seasonal ingredients. To start we shared a pumpkin soup that was out of this world, an incredible green bean salad with egg and roasted shallots, and some smoked eel. I had never tried eel, which always sounded disgusting to me, but in fact it is quite delicious. For a main course Emily had mackerel, Rick faux filet, and I lamb. Desserts also had to be shared as none of us could decide. With some help from our server we settled on an amazing walnut tart and a pot of decadent chocolate.

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Sunday dawned bright and sunny. We had planned to go to IKEA in order to get some furniture to organize Quinn's ever expanding collection of toys, but the morning seemed far too lovely to waste indoors. We decided to take a detour first to the Bois de Vincennes, one of the two largest parks in Paris.

Map of the Bois de Vincennes

As we walked to pick up our car at the garage, the sun was shinning brightly. Unfortunately, by the time we reached our destination winter had reappeared. Clouds covered the sun and the temperature went from cold to frigid. Still, we enjoyed our visit to a small section of the Vincennes called Le Parc Floral.

Obviously we were seeing the park at its most bleak, and one could only imagine what it would be like in spring and summer. It has parts where there are literally acres of irises, rhododendrons and numerous other flowering plants and bulbs. Our destination was the children's play structures (one of the largest play areas for children I have ever seen). Along the way, as the park is truly enormous, we passed lots of other interesting corners.

There is a Japanesse garden which even in winter is green and attractive.

The terrain is varied with lots of nice hills or steps to climb and expansive vistas out over the park.

The number and variety of climbing structures for children was truly impressive. Quinn tested them all, generally preferring the slides.

On the way back to the car we passed a beautiful little lake with a flock of sea gulls playing at dive bombing above the surface of the water.

We didn't explore the castle of Vincennes which is older than the Louvre and was once residence for the kings of France. We definitely will need to return in better weather.

Castle of Vincennes

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We did eventually make it to IKEA, though that is another, less noteworthy story.

At IKEA waiting for our furniture to be delivered