Picnic on the Seine

Warm and sunny,  it's another beautiful Sunday in Paris and ... for many  parisiens, it was a perfect day for a picnic.

To begin, we took a walk along the Seine past the book vendors that line le quai du Louvre.









A brief stop at a wine store and a boulangerie for some baguettes, and a pastry for dessert, and voila... we are set to enjoy the sun and the river.

There are hundreds of people lining the Seine, reading, strumming, sleeping and enjoying a picnic like us.

River traffic goes by, mainly tourist vessels like the famous Batobus (hop-on, hop-off).

With the sun, people are out cycling, roller-blading, walking and simply enjoying a beautiful day, and the incredible views the city provides at every turn.














Later in the afternoon a walk through the crowded Latin Quarter, then back across the Seine and, somewhat reluctantly, home.

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2015.

Fondation Louis Vuitton

The newest museum in Paris opened on 27 October 2014 in a gala presentation of celebrity, art and politics. It has become another must-see-museum in Paris.













The structure, designed by the Canadian-born architect, Frank Gehry, rises from the edge of the Jardin d’Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne and it's well worth the visit for the building alone. The art works inside are shown on two levels in 11 galleries. Photography is not permitted.

There is a restaurant that is airy, pleasant and only mildly overpriced. The gift shop is elegant and features the usual stuff and some things exclusive to the LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton Group. And expensive.

The building is amazing to behold. Its appearance has been described as whale-like as one approaches it through the green space of Bois de Boulogne.






It might also remind one of the petals of a flower. Others suggest the form of a sailboat's sails inflated by the wind. Or an iceberg. It looks like a whale leaping out of the water to me.



The use of water, straight lines, curves and an art installation of yellow glass and mirrors on the lower level is both thought-provoking and fun. The building has to be viewed from all sides.

The building was not without its controversy. The City of Paris owns the land and granted a building permit in 2007. Various citizens' groups opposed the building of a private museum on public land for a variety of reasons and launched a court action, which they ultimately won.

Renowned French architect Jean Nouvel spoke out in favour of the project, saying of the detractors:

"With their little tight-fitting suits, they want to put Paris in formalin. It's quite pathetic."  

His suggestion that the protesting groups would preserve Paris in formaldehyde made an impact, though in the end it took the Assemblée Nationale to write and pass a special law saying the Fondation was in the national interest and "a major work of art for the whole world," to allow the project to continue.

The collection of art works was impressive as and the special presentation Keys to a passion, presenting works by Francis Bacon, Pierre Bonnard, Mark Rothko, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, Edward Munch (The Scream) and Pablo Picasso, among others, was outstanding.

The Fondation is a popular museum. One should be prepared to wait. Once inside, the flow of patrons is a bit confused, though these are early days in this major work of art for the whole world.

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2015.

Bois de Boulogne ~ Part 2

Okay, maybe a bit of research was necessary in order to visit Bois de Boulogne and avoid the condoms on the footpaths, the hookers on the roads, and the shiftless-looking men wandering around with glazed eyes. Not to mention the problem with finding a toilette.

Bois de Boulogne is a large public park located on the wealthy west-side of Paris and was created in the mid-1850s. It covers an area of 845 hectares, much of it, as previously reported, wild and woody. In comparison, Stanley Park in Vancouver, Canada, has an area of 405 hectares, and some of it might be found to be wild and woody too.


On this adventure we took the Métro to Les Sablons in Neuilly-sur-Seine. Upon leaving the station, things looked better immediately. Other people, family-type people, couple-like people, seemed to be heading in the same direction.

A short walk took us past an old gate house and into the park and its expanse of manicured lawns and well posted signage. 






Within the boundaries of the Bois de Boulogne are several lakes, botanical gardens, a zoo and and an amusement park. It's also the home every year to the French Open tennis tournament, so it all bodes well that des toilettes are present somewhere.

Eventually we found ourselves walking through the Jardin d'Acclimatation, an amusement park devoted to children and families that has all kinds of rides and activities. There are the usual rides, plus an aviary and some climbing things. Ideal for a family outing in the summer or on le weekend.

The horse ride appealed to Jeem and he met the height requirements. In the end though, there was a misunderstanding about a getting a receipt for his Senate expenses, security was called and Jeem had to "Move along now monsieur, s'il vous plaît." Well, maybe the officer wasn't quite that polite but at least Jeem wasn't detained this time.










Our walk continued as we made our way, past an old pigeonniere and a mirror-of-sorts, and on to Fondation Louis Vuitton. This part of Bois de Boulogne is impressive and civilized.

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2015.

Give us this day our daily croissant

Before the motorcycle riders start their engines and wake up the neighbourhood...

Before the children make their way to school...














Before the creative parking of the night before is noticed by too many people...





And certainly before the shops open and the rush to work begins, many of us are out to our favourite boulangerie for our daily baguette and croissant.

Everyone seems to have a favourite boulangerie. In our case it is the Arnaud Delmontel on rue Damrémont. It is one of four stores operated by Monsieur Delmontel and each is open every morning at 7:00. There are boulangeries that are closer to our place, but this is by far the best. There is often a queue early in the morning and the croissants have been known to sell out before 9:30.





Largely associated with France, croissants actually originated in Austria as something called the kipferl, possibly dating to the 13th century. Some people consider the rugelach to be a form of the the kipferl. In any event, the kipferl was modified to a plainer form, again by the Austrians, sometime in the mid-1800s. At about the same time it was adopted by the French who gave it a standard shape and its name. At Delmontel, the croissants are light and flaky yet crispy on the crust.

The baguette meanwhile is a staple throughout the day and again considered one of the symbols of French culture. The word itself, in reference to this type of bread, didn't really appear until the early 1900s.  Baguette means wand or baton and through history they have varied in length (sometimes reported to be 2 metres long).

Freshly squeezed orange juice, a heavily buttered piece of baguette, or a croissant, every morning seems very Parisian. I'm getting used to this.

Photos by Jim Murray. Copyright 2015.

A night at the Paris Opera ~ The Magic Flute

Last Thursday evening, we went to the Opera. Not at the elegant Opera House mind you.












The Palais Garnier, setting for Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera, was doing ballet, so we were off to the Place de la Bastille, and that's another story.




Our opera was being staged at Opéra Bastille, a slightly different looking structure to be sure, as you see from the photo below. The theatre seats 2700 and every seat, unlike Palais Garnier, offers an unrestricted view of the stage. Since 1989 Opéra Bastille has become the primary place for opera in Paris.















The opera was La Flûte enchantée, or The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The work premiered on 30 September 1791. On that evening Mozart conducted the orchestra. Here, 224 years later, it was Constantin Trinks.








The Magic Flute is a strange story of magic, death, courage, love, and enlightenment, with a fair bit of Freemason lore thrown in for good measure (Mozart was a Mason, along with his key collaborators in this work). Vocal ranges for two of the singers have posed challenges for many singers. Both arias of the Queen of the Night require a rare high F6, and the part of Sarastro includes a notable F2 in a couple of places. This means nothing to me except to signal extreme difficulty, and when I heard it performed I realised why. The Queen of the Night was performed by the Canadian soprano from Halifax, Jane Archibald, and her performance was stunning.






Indeed the whole thing was amazing. The music was brilliant and the staging of the work was impressive. Video, fire and water were all used effectively to create a wonderful evening. In fact, it was quite magical. Set and costumes were incredible, with the use of a combination of traditional and contemporary images, including a car remote door opener and backpacks. Fantastic! The performance started at 7:30 and ended at 10:40 with an 18 minute curtain call.

We ventured into the night to sit at a cafe overlooking Place de la Bastille, a wonderful way to end a great evening at the Opera. Spellbinding!

Some photos from Opéra Bastille website and others by Jim Murray. Copyright 2015.