Mission completed

This will be my last blog about Paris, as we are leaving on Easter Saturday. So sad. The good news is that I completed my Joan of Arc mission at some risk to life and limb. It was a foggy day and Paris looked very Gothic with the white buildings, grey roofs and skeleton-like trees. I think I spooked myself because when I caught the bus way out past the Gard du Nord to find the last statue of the warrior maiden, I realized perhaps why the Michelin guide did not recommend finding it, as it was not in a very salubrious area and people stared at me in a shifty kind of way. So, hurriedly I took my last statue photo of Joan of Arc and visited the church where she stopped to pray before heading off to attack Paris to try to wrest it from the English. Unfortunately she was wounded and had to retreat. The photo shows a memorial to her above the old Porte St Honore.

After completing said mission, I felt some recreation was in order, so I wandered along the Rue St Honore looking at all the posh shops. I belatedly remembered my handbag needs and went into a lovely shop called Moynat which I had never heard of before. The nice salesman called Angelo soon enlightened me and told me all about the history of the company which was a famous 19th century travel luggage emporium to rival Louis Vuitton. He was so warm and friendly - I recommend everyone who visits Paris to seek him out - unfortunately the beautiful bag I saw was astronomically priced but it was a fun experience nevertheless! I also visited my favorite wine-shop called Lavinia for our last bottle of champagne for research purposes.

 The highlights of my last week have been to see the Conciergerie which has the largest surviving Gothic Hall in Europe and helped me to visualize The Hunchback of Notre Dame which I finally finished- it's a great book full of melodrama although somewhat depressing as almost everyone dies in the end ( whoops plot spoiler!).  Now I have started The Three Musketeers so no doubt I will now be obsessed with Richelieu and the court of Versailles! For all Harry Potter fans the next highlight was tracking down the house where Nicholas Flamel lived - he of the philosopher's stone fame. Most exciting. On Friday, Hugh kindly left work a little earlier so we could see the Louvre together. After spending time with the Mesopotamian antiquities, we hit the Italian Paintings, which are usually very crowded with Mona Lisa addicts but late on a Friday night it wasn't too bad. The art here is extraordinary - Boticelli, Raphael, Titian, Caravaggio and of course many Leonardos. It is almost overwhelming. The statue of the winged victory of Samo-Thrace is so beautiful and dramatic it may well be my favourite artifact at the museum. On my last visit I found the picture by my favorite women artist Louise Moillon, who I discovered in Toulouse, which unfortunately is hung very high above another painting and is not that easy to see. Although I generally dislike people who take pictures of paintings, I include hers here as there is no postcard of her work to buy.

The weekend was devoted to Napoleon and Josephine, as we caught about three buses to Malmaison, their former country house which is very elegant and neo-classical (see Josephine's bedroom below) with a beautiful garden where Hugh saw three species of Woodpecker. That evening we caught up with some American colleagues, Alan and Elaine, for a nice meal where I discover I can still eat chocolate mousse as it has no dairy - just chocolate and eggs! Yippee! This vegan thing is no doubt good for you and indeed my stomach is getting better but it is a trifle dull. Lucky champagne is ok! But speaking of Champagne we try but fail to visit the champagne region due to a combination of tardiness and train delays! At least this gives us a reason to return to France - however I think that my research project has been very useful although all the bottles have tasted good - I mustn't be discerning enough! At the risk of sounding like an alcoholic I will just say that the last highlight of the week was visiting an absinthe bar in the 11th arrondissement which was such fun and I find I prefer absinthe to pastis or ouzo, which it slightly resembles. It is an experience almost like taking tea as absinthe is poured into a glass, a tea-strainer like object is placed over the rim and a sugar cube placed on top. Then from a big glass container rather like a samovar, cold water is added drop by drop and you can mix it to your taste and strength. The bar was very atmospheric and had excellent food as well. The photos will be found on Facebook.

A Night at the Opera

Well - the big day finally arrived - we dressed up in our finery and caught the bus to the Opera for the production of La Cenerentola or Cinderella by Rossini. Very fortuitously, the bus outside our apartment goes right by the opera house - I love my no. 21 bus! We arrive freakishly early as usual but have plenty of time to wander around the foyer, grand staircase and main salon. It is La Belle Epoque on steroids - gilded statues everywhere, chandeliers as far as the eye can see and many frescoed ceilings. I love it, but Hugh seems to think it is a bit over the top. We get some drinks and I start people watching. Alas it is very disappointing, as most people appear to be in jeans and daggy parkas. I am appalled - standards have really dropped! So instead I try to imagine what it must have looked like when people wore beautiful gowns, sparkly jewelry and dinner jackets.

We have to wait until everyone is seated before we can enter the balcony because we were only able to get these dinky little seats at the end of the row, that pull out blocking the exits - at least we are ok if there is a fire - it's a pity about everyone else! We have a great view as you can see in the photo and I find the seat surprisingly comfortable (or at least less uncomfortable than I imagined) and I spend the time gazing around the incredible space, admiring more gilded statues, red velvet and beautiful balconies. The best bit is probably the amazing ceiling painted by Chagall which is divine but causes a lot of neck pain to view - a little like the Sistine chapel - but it is worth it, as he has painted scenes from famous operas like the Magic Flute and ballets like Swan Lake. It is a strange contrast to all the Empire glory of the rest of the theatre but seems to work well.

 I get that familiar thrill as the lights dim, the orchestra begins and the curtain lifts - the anticipation is so exciting! However the set, at first, is a little disappointing - it appears to be a black and white drawing of a dilapidated castle but then as the music swells, the lighting changes and the building takes shape. It is made of curtains that lift, revealing the interior, rather like an old-fashioned cardboard dolls house. It is gorgeous and reveals the ugly step-sisters in their boudoirs, the mean step-father (not step-mother in this version) in his attic bedroom and Cinderella, or Angelina, as she is called here, in the kitchen by the fire-place. The step-sisters and father are very funny and it is almost like a pantomime at times - no melodrama or tragedy in this Opera - just people in disguises and of course love at fist sight. Cinderella and Prince Charming (unfortunately he is rather short and stout) have wonderful voices and their duets are just beautiful. Her transformation at the ball is everything that I was hoping for - she wears a black velvet dress with silver embroidery and heaps of sparkling gems - finally someone is suitably attired for the surroundings! In the final scene where everyone is revealed in their true characters she is again superb in a white satin wedding dress. It was really wonderful and an amazing experience.

 The bus ride home was great too as our bus goes past the Louvre, St. Germain L'Auxerrois, my favourite church, the Conciergerie and the Notre Dame all illuminated at night. We even got a glimpse of the Eiffel Tower, all lit up and sparkly, sending out its laser beams across Paris. All very romantic - it had even rained earlier giving Paris that quintessential look that you see in movies! Definitely a night out to remember.

Sojourn in Switzerland

Well the day we leave for Switzerland, spring retreats and we wake to Toulouse covered in snow. Hugh, aka the General, tells me, as I complain about tramping through the snow to the train station and whine about a taxi, that Napoleon would have left me behind in the retreat from Moscow and furthermore he is annoyingly cheerful on the forced march. The retreat from Toulouse was accomplished at last however and we boarded our train to Switzerland. The TGV train was not that fast, alas, due to some troubles on the tracks but it did allow us good views of the fields, castles and villages along the way and we even had a great view of the impressive walls and towers of Carcassone. We left the snow behind in sunny Provence and made our way along the Rhone which basically ends at Lake Geneva. Our destination is the pretty hillside town of Lausanne.

 That night we had a lovely dinner at Antoine's house, a colleague of Hugh's, who very sweetly made an entire vegan meal. His mother and sister are lactose intolerant like me (poor them in cheesy Switzerland) and he pulled out all the stops and even produced an arsenal of herbal teas afterwards! Luckily I can still drink wine and it was fun catching up with his children and some friendly post-docs. Hugh bustled off bird-watching in the morning and then gave his talk but I stayed snug in bed reading and keeping warm as I find I don't like going out if it is under 5 degrees (unless for a Unesco-world heritage site of course). Hugh gave another talk in nearby Gland the following day and met people from WWF and IUCN. I braved the elements for a little light shopping and didn't feel too guilty as last time I was here I tramped up hill and down dale in search of history and culture.

On Saturday it was a beautiful sunny day and walking down the hill from our hotel to the train station, we saw for the first time the breath-taking snow-covered mountains that surround Lausanne and the sparkling waters of the lake. It is really a lovely town. We caught the train to Geneva to meet up with our old friends Damien and Jocelyn, who we met when we were in Oxford. It was great to catch up on all the gossip and fascinating to talk about their work as Damien is a Professor of Latin Poetry at the university of Geneva and Jocelyn has a research position in Bordeaux and also works on Roman history. So nice to be among one's own kind! They showed us around the quaint old town of Geneva and even made time for some hand-bag shopping - Jocelyn knew all the best places courtesy of her delightful teenage daughter Aline. We had a lovely meal together at their house and even spoke on skype with their son Basil who is studying in Berlin.

 All too soon we had to leave lovely Switzerland and return home to Paris - only a three hour train ride but unfortunately the train was packed as it was the last day of the French school holidays. It was nice to be home though again in our apartment and back in Paris although we only have two weeks left before we head off to America. So sad. On Monday I stayed at home as a domestic goddess and washed and even cleaned a little! I still found time to choose a nice bottle of champagne and some nibbles as our old friends from Adelaide, Simon and Jayne Barbour are in Paris for a few days and came over for drinks and then we went out for a lovely meal in my favorite brasserie nearby. I know I will pay for this the next day, but I order my favorite potato cassoulet filled with delicious cheese. I eat like there is no such thing as lactose intolerance and am very happy. It was all washed down with some nice Burgundian Pinot noir and chocolate cake. The service is great and I decide that I prefer a simple place like this to fancy Michelin star restaurants where they fuss about forks and food doesn't really taste like food. I know that I must be a philistine!

Time in Toulouse

Last Saturday we caught a very fast train to Toulouse where Hugh (or Hugues as I now like to call him!) was giving a talk and meeting some colleagues. A few of Hugh's lab have been coming here for a while and now I can see why - Toulouse is a lovely city- the fifth largest in France. Spring had really sprung here in the south and it was a balmy 16 degrees and we enjoyed walking the twisting, old streets admiring the architecture of this pink city, so called because most of the buildings are built in red brick. It is home to many old Romanesque churches and was known as Tolosa in Roman times. On our first day we visit our first one - the cathedral of St Etienne - which was built in the thirteenth century and is a very odd jumble of architectural styles. We then stroll on down to the bridge across the Garonne river and through the clouds can just make out our first ever glimpse of the Pyrenees. Below is Hugh's picture of Toulousians catching their first sun of spring, basking on the banks like penguins.

 On the way home we visit an amazing museum in a former Augustine monastery. It has many unusual Romanesque sculptures but also houses an incredible collection of French art. Lots of scantily-clad maidens abound but I discover 3 paintings by a seventeenth century woman artist called Louise Moillon who painted incredible still lives of fruit. Apparently there are a couple of her paintings in the Louvre which I must have missed - I will rectify this as soon as I return to Paris, as she is now my new favorite artist! Later we meet up with some friends and watch a game of rugby in an extremely crowded bar (France vs Ireland) before going to a great (and almost as popular) vegetarian restaurant in the old quarter. Toulouse, perhaps because of its student population, has a lot more veggie options than Paris and even caters for a newly-minted vegan like myself!

 On Sunday we wander through the botanic gardens and are amazed by all the beautiful spring flowers on display - crocuses coming up in the lawns, multi-coloured primulas, pansies and poppies predominate elsewhere and it is very relaxing walking around in the sun. Pleasingly, the flower emblem of Toulouse is the violet and with my love of purple, I buy up big on soaps, perfume and other pretty violet things with glee. I am undecided about the violet liqueur though and will have to taste I think before I buy! We also discover the famous canal du midi which was built by a Toulousian man called Pierre-Paul Riquet in the seventeenth century and which connected the Atlantic coast with the Mediterranean sea, an amazing feat of engineering.

 On Monday I am kept very busy visiting the Unesco World heritage-listed Basilica of St Sernin (who knew there were so many saints?) which was a famous pilgrimage church on the St Jacques de Compostella route. But the biggest treat for me was visiting the museum of antiquities which has an amazing collection of Roman statues and great information about Roman Toulouse. I am very happy in my natural element! Armed with my new information, I can identify Roman walls and the Cardo Maximus (main street) of Toulouse which is still the heart of the city (see below). The main square of Toulouse was the site of one of the main Roman gates into the city and now has a spectacular town hall with beautiful paintings (read more scantily-clad maidens) and sculptures of famous Toulousians, including the mathematician Fermat, along the walls of its main hall.

 My last day in Toulouse in spent browsing through a few more particularly gloomy Romanesque churches and convents and one lovely art museum in an old Renaissance house complete with a picturesque staircase tower. Toulouse has many old towers dotted around the city and also a number of beautiful Renaissance mansions, as it was a very prosperous town in that period. I am happy to find not only a nice statue of Joan of Arc on horseback, but also a dear little statue of her high up on a wall in the old quarter. The street signs around here are in two languages - French and Occitan, the dialect of the south which seems kind of symbiosis of French and Spanish to me. Tomorrow we are off by train to Switzerland (Lauanne/Geneva/Gland) for a combination of work and friend visiting. Back to the cold I fear!

Joan of Arc and St. Germain

The Michelin Guide kindly told me that despite Jeanne D'Arc saving France from the nasty English, there are only four statues of her in Paris and moreover where to find them. But first I had to find the exact spot where she was wounded while trying to wrest Paris back for the French. There is a spot on the Rue St Honore where her head is carved above a doorway which was once a gate into Paris and I also found the gilded statue of her on horseback nearby in the Place des Pyramides (see last picture).  One down, three to go! The reward for my self-appointed Joan of Arc mission however was to stumble across an amazing English bookshop opposite the Tuileries Gardens where I finally bought a copy of The Three Musketeers for which I have been searching for some time.  I had a lovely wander around the Tuileries gardens, dutifully admiring all the statues that my Michelin guide recommended.

My next stop was the church of St Germain l'Auxerrois, not to be confused with St Germain des Pres, which is now my favorite church in Paris, perhaps in part due to its lovely Gothic porch and in part due to the fact that someone was playing classical guitar while I walked around it, which was very inspiring.  It is also a little gloomy, peaceful and smells slightly of incense - just how I like my churches. As well, I had a puzzle to solve - which of its two towers was the Romanesque one? (quite a rare find in Paris).  In most of the information on the Internet, people say it is the spectacular front tower which looks old but is obviously not Romanesque and was in fact only built a hundred or so years ago in the Gothic revival style. You have to go around behind the church to really view the Romanesque tower which is only slightly visible from the front. It is really lovely and I am grateful to my Michelin guide for pointing me in the right direction and giving me something to obsess about!

Fortunately the next Joan of Arc statue is located within walking distance of our apartment so I can easily find and admire it, as I need time to prepare our tiny apartment for a number of people who are coming over for dinner. I find I don't mind cooking so much if I don't have to do it very often and besides we have all this plunder from Normandy to consume. The guests did not leave until 2am but at least the calvados was finished and not entirely by me! Feeling a bit seedy, the next day I decided to do a gentle Michelin guide walk around St Germain, locating the spectacular Four Seasons Fountain (located bizarrely in a tiny side street) and finding the famous Procope cafe, which was frequented by Voltaire and all those other famous seventeeth century French intellectuals, where I had a genteel cup of Earl Grey tea.

Despite the rain, on the following day I bused out past the Gare St. Lazarre to find Joan of Arc statue number three, which I think is the best so far, as it has quotations from actual letters that she wrote (or had written for her as she was illiterate) and things that were said about her at her trial before she was burned alive - the poor poppet. The last statue of her may be the hardest to find as my guide is not terribly specific for once, but I will not be daunted never fear! On the way home I admired the architecture of the Louvre from the outside, which thanks again to my Michelin guide, I started to see the different architectural periods in which it was constructed by various Kings and Queens of France. Such fun for a history addict like myself!

Tanks and Tea

We were awoken by the bells of the nearby church ringing the Angelus which of course made me think of poor old Quasimodo! After a beautiful breakfast of croissants, home-made jam and delicious fresh French bread (why is it so good?) we hit the D-Day trail and visited some of the sites of the Normandy invasion of 1944. It was a moving and distressing discovery of the sites where the allied forces landed, the German machine-gun dugouts and the tales of bravery and horror culminating in the American cemetery at Colleville-sur-mer. This cemetery is in the film Saving Private Ryan I believe and is very thought-provoking.

We returned home, stopping frequently to look at beautiful chateaux, manoirs and old farmhouses, for lunch where Gilles had whipped up two amazing cheeses souffles for us which we washed down with some lovely wine and cheese of course! In the afternoon we left the region of calvados for the adjoining region of Manche and visited medieval ruined castles, chapels and saw the Unesco heritage listed watchtowers of Saint-Vaast-La Hougue and the island of Tatihou. We visited the famous Maison du Biscuit and took tea in the quaint Salon de The before buying some delicious buttery biscuits of course! Hugh had a lovely time bird-watching along the coast and we even saw a barn owl just sitting by the side of the road in our headlights as we returned home.

On the way home we also visited some friends of Cecile, who own a dairy farm with a walled courtyard and an imposing farm house with its own chapel and dovecote.  For dinner that night we went to a fish restaurant along the sea-front which was delicious (no fish for me but deep fried Camembert yum yum) with a heavenly chocolate fondant desert.  The next day, typically on the day we leave Normandy, the sun comes out and we enjoy breakfast overlooking the sea bathed in sunshine. Gilles feeds the birds some breadcrumbs and we soon see a robin, blue-tits, great tits and a dunnock fighting over them (the robin wins!).  Hugh had a great time walking along the beach seeing sea-birds. We have a relaxing morning meeting up with our new friends for coffee and admiring the historic buildings in the sun before yet another lovely meal prepared by Gilles. All too soon it is time to leave lovely Normandy for Paris.

For some reason, on Monday I wake up with a stomach which refuses to eat any more cheese. Oh my God  - a vegan in Paris - what a nightmare! Oh well, I suppose I have had my fun and now I'm paying for it.  So lots of healthy vegetable soup and no dairy products - at least for a week or so before I go to Switzerland and the land of the fondue. However, I have discovered a French Michelin guide on the bookshelf which has the double benefit of improving my French and giving me some lovely suggested walks around various quartiers of Paris with lots of history and architectural facts which cheered me up - just what I needed. So, today after loafing around in my pajamas for a bit, I went for a delightful walk in the Luxembourg gardens and took tea in the charmingly named Pavilion de la Fontaine. The palace (now used by the Senate) was built by Marie de Medici and perhaps for that reason the gardens are full of statues of French Queens even including Mathilda the wife of William the Conquerer for some reason. There is no escaping these Normans!

Treats and Tapestries

It is an ancient tradition to feast on the eve of battle, so accordingly on the night before our expedition to Normandy, Hugh and I feasted big time at a Michelin three starred restaurant called Arpege near the Rodin Museum. I chose this restaurant because, unusually in carnivorous Paris, this restaurant has an emphasis on vegetables and serves no red meat. Dressed in our finery we were handed a huge tome otherwise known as the wine list  (see photo) - there were two pages devoted to just champagnes! It was a little overwhelming but the waiter was very nice and helped us out. We had intentions (in part due to the exorbitant cost of the food) of only ordering two courses which we duly did- but firstly with our champagne arrived plate of hors d'ouvres then another. We were surprised but delighted. Then another delicious egg thingy arrived (a signature dish apparently), then our entrees, which they kindly divided so we could taste both, then another appetizer of I think carrots and turnips which sounds ordinary but was rich and complex. By now our eyes were bulging slightly and our main courses arrived - mine was another signature dish of beetroot baked in a salt crust which again fails to describe the dish - it was like eating Christmas pudding - sort of orange and chocolatey and unbelievably rich. Stupidly I ordered cheese and dessert - what was I thinking? I didn't realize that the plate of petit fours was not the desert however the waitress kindly made a box for my apple tart to take home as we were completely full and certainly not fit for battle!

Still digesting I think, we were picked up by Cecile and Gilles the next day for our Norman campaign. It is about a three hour drive from Paris and we reached Bayeux, our first destination, at lunch time before a short stop at the shop of a chocolate factory. I made a careful selection of treats naturally - the chocolates are known as Drakkar, after the Viking-like ships William the Conquerer used for his invasion of England. Cecile had a plan to show us all the best that Normandy, the land of calvados and Camembert, has to offer and she took it very seriously I'm pleased to say! We met one of her lovely cousins Minou for lunch in Bayeux and while not really hungry yet, I managed to have a three course meal anyway.  Bayeux is a beautiful old town with the river Aure running through it and of course the famous Bayeux cathedral and tapestry.

Photo: Minou Lesage

However, I was so excited to finally see the tapestry which I have wanted to see since I was in year 8 and our headmistress taught us about the Angles and the Saxons and of course the victorious Normans.  It is amazing - the colours are so bright and the figures so well drawn - it is even better than I imagined. It is full of action and drama - the first cartoon-like description of the events leading up to the battle and the battle itself. It is quite graphic with body parts strewn around the place and several rather ambiguous sexual scenes. I was pleased also to be able to decipher some of the Latin description that runs along the top of the 70 metre embroidery. As it was not very crowded we were able to go back to the beginning and see it all again. I don't believe there is any thing like it in the entire world!

 Next stop was the cooperative factory shop where they produce the famous camembert cheese - Isigny-Sur-Mer - also butter, fromage frais and other dairy delights. We stocked up before visiting another speciality of the region - the caramel shop. Oh la la - after 30 years of being with Hugh I found out his secret passion - caramels. He insisted on buying a huge bag which I demanded that he keep at work. Carrying armfuls of food and calvados we reached Grandcamp sur Maisy and the house on the sea. After unpacking we sat around the fire drinking calvados and tasting some of the delicious chocolate biscuits we had bought. Our last treat for the day was pizza at a nearby bar which Francois, the nephew of Cecile and Gilles, runs. The wind was blowing fiercely along the sea front but Hugh and I were snug in our fishermans jackets which we borrowed. Not long after we walked in, a blues band called Porion started playing amazing guitars and singing Eric Clapton with a French accent. It was fantastic and a fitting end to our first day in wonderful Normandy.

Justice and Jewellry

On Monday the weather turned bad again and I was convinced I would get sick if I went out, so I stayed at home drinking soup and doing a little light Latin and Greek revision. But the weather improved a bit on Tuesday, so I braved the elements and wandered around St Germain looking at shops. Very fortuitously I came across a lovely jewelry shop that was having a 50 per cent off sale (I love this financial crisis!) and found some darling smokey quartz earrings for my forthcoming opera event. Feeling very happy I visited St Sulplice church which played a big role in the Da Vinci code plot. One of its chapels had some lovely Delacroix murals. I wandered along aimlessly for a bit longer until I reached the river when I decided some history was in order.

 So after a nice little lunch in the ancient Place Daupine, I decided to infiltrate the Palais de Justice which is the site of the original palace of the Kings of France before the Louvre was built. I am not sure if it is really opened to tourists, but I tried to look like I was on a legal mission and soon found myself inside. Much of the ancient palace was destroyed in the revolution, but Victor Hugo is to blame for my enthusiasm for this place, as The Hunch-back of Notre Dame begins there and as a result I am now on the warpath for medieval Paris.  To this end I visited the archeological crypt underneath Notre Dame. It was fascinating to see Roman and medieval Paris underneath modern Paris and fortunately it was well lit and not that spooky.

The next day was Louvre Part III.  This time, I fuelled up with coffee and a yummy chocolate viennois before starting, and tackled 14th - 19th century paintings from France, Flanders and Germany. I must be an old hand now, as I optimized my route quite well and lasted nearly 3 hours! I have decided that my new favourite art period is 15th century art from Bruges as I saw many beautiful delicate portraits, both religious and secular, that amazed me. I was also very happy as the crowds didn't seem to like this part of the Louvre as much and it was both peaceful and inspiring.

After viewing the roman ruins in the archeological crypt, I decided to set off the next day to find the Roman amphitheatre which I never even knew existed in Paris and this is my third visit! What have I been doing with my time? But although the street around it was always known as the street of the arena, apparently it was only rediscovered in the 19th century when the metro was being built. Although not much of an amphitheatre by classical standards, I still got my thrill walking amongst the ruins. This place and the baths are the only visible reminders of the ancient Roman city. The forum is buried well below the nearby Sorbonne area I believe.