Saturday, June 28, 2008

Bruuuce!


Bruce Springsteen played at Parc des Princes last night. We were there! I had purchased the tickets in January as we are big, big Bruce fans and the thought of seeing Bruce, Born in the U.S.A., in Paris, My Hometown, seemed like a fabulous opportunity! And it was!
If you have not seen Bruce Springsteen, and he was accompanied by the E Street Band, you need to know that he has the most energy of any performer that I have ever seen --he wore out the crowd! He was Born to Run! And he has a great time playing his audience as he has that Human Touch.


I knew all of this, and I wanted to see the concert! (the anthropologist in me!) It was an opportunity to see thousands (maybe 20,000??) francais acting like les americains! Well, like Americans in moderation! (I wondered what the Institut de France thinks about French acting like Americans at a concert given by The Boss!) Yes, they do sell beer and hot dogs (but no hot dogs inside!). And there were certainly no all you can eat seats!
Everyone was clapping and singing and Dancing in the Dark and waving (which was different and makes the wave at Fenway seem pathetic --imagine the whole floor of the stadium waving their arms in the same direction in time to the music for the entire song!) I think we should institute a French wave!

We have attended a number of Springsteen concerts at home. I must comment that the crowds in Paris are similar in ages and numbers as in the States at his concerts --as are the ticket prices. However, the quantity of beer consumed (and food) is about 1/1000 of what is consumed at a concert at home. Thus, no sticky stands, no beer spilled on you by the guy behind you who is on his 6th 32 oz. cup, people stayed at their seats, and no drunks shouting out... but everyone was having a great time. (And --going home was civilized, jovial, and organized-- the Metro had extra trains and controlled access to the platforms so there was no overcrowding, and everyone used a ticket... the car behind ours was singing the refrain from Growing Up all the way back!)
Being that Bruce is Bruce, he did give a little political twist as he was playing and the song that he closed with questioned the anti-immigrant sentiments in the US --which is also appropriate in Europe these days-- and spoke about the loss of liberties following 9-11 as he introduced Livin' in the Future. I have always wondered if the Bruce Springsteen fans have ever paid attention to his lyrics --he is the balladeer of the American experience for our generation. Barack Obama has listened --and the French paid attention.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Le soliel reste sur la touche.



While summer may have arrived with a vengeance in New England, we remain less summer like than I would like --the sun remains on the sidelines for those of you who may not have caught the title! This has not stopped our visitors from savoring Paris nor did it stop us from a sojourn to the Dordogne and Bourdeaux area last week with our friends Jacqueline and Philippe. There is some symmetry to our travels with them and our visitors here --they show us around like we show our guests around (I cannot help but say it, what goes around comes around! although I often used it in the malevolent, Italian sense of mal'occhia!). But --we have the longest days! It is light here until 10pm --I simply love it (although can you imagine if we had days this long at home? Think of all the gardening that could be done --and with the prices of food, everyone should contemplate at least some tomatoes!)
The Dordogne area is in the southwest of France, inland from Bordeaux on the coast. As the gulf stream is close by (at least for now....) the climate is a more temperate and for example, there are some palms and other more tropical plants that grow in the area. The area where the Dordogne is located is in the Perigord --and along with the surrounding areas of Lot, Quercy and Gascony-- and this is the home of foie gras, truffles, and great wines. (We were actually close to Toulouse for those of you following along with my travels!) This is also to region of Lascaux and Les Eyzies --the pre-historic cave paintings of France (even Pre-Historic French knew that it was about the food!).


These little hill towns including Sarlat, Bergerac, St. Emilion have those wonderful winding pedestrian streets (although cars somehow manage, albeit no SUV's) and old stone buildings. There are also a number of half-timbered buildings in these towns as well and they date back to the 16th century.


Of course, Bergerac is famous for Cyrano --de Bergerac!
The town of Rocamadour was built around the abbey that was founded here in 1166. It said that the intact body of St.Amadour was found here which sparked the building of the shrine. Rocamadour was part of the pilgrimage network going to Santiago de Compostela. (Remember the coquilles St. Jacques in an earlier post?)
Following all the wars of religion (this is the area of the 100 Years War for those European history buffs!), the abbey was abandoned and in the 18th century it was restored --it remains however very sympathetic to its earlier roots (I guess considering that it is literally carved out of the hillside and the "ancenseur" is new, making major changes may not have been feasible. Of course, that begs the question of building there in the first place!) To access the town, there is long winding stair along the side of the hill --the stations of the cross have been placed every few turns-- I imagine on the way UP these make handy places to contemplate the Passion of Christ --as well as catch your breath (and the penitent did the stairs on their knees...). In the interest of time (okay you can laugh!), we opted to spring for the 4 Euro ride back up in the ancenseur....



This area of the southwest of France is not well traveled by Americans --but it is well known by the British; many have bought and restored houses here to either relocate or for holiday homes (the French have feelings about this --I bought some prunes from Agen at a little provincial fair in Paris and told the elderly merchant that I would be going to the Dordogne, and he proceeded to tell me about all the British!) The Brits also have been importing these red wines for centuries --no wonder they love Bordeaux--it's genetic! (By the way, it was not called Bordeaux in Britain --it was claret), and this term --from the word "claire" meaning light (as in Claire de la Lune)-- was used to distinguish the "lighter" Bordeaux from the dark red wines of the Cahors region (roughly inland from Bordeaux), which had been preferred in Britain as far back as the time of Eleanor of Aquitaine in the 12th century. (Shows you all I know, I thought claret was a thick, fortified wine --I would never think that anyone would re-name French wines so that their terrior was not showing!) The Bordelais realized that they had a stranglehold on shipping from this area as all of the major rivers of this region flow to the port of Bordeaux. The taxes levied on wine from "upcountry" and the restrictions on shipping gave the Bordeaux wines an advantage. The wines from the interior of the region like the Cahors are becoming popular and recognized --Cahors was given an AOC designation in 1971 (note: Georges Pompidou, local, just happened to be Le President--sort of like Le President Bush giving an AOC to Saudi oil...)
David and I had visited this area when Andrew was 20 months old (he's now married with two dogs) and visited the caves of Peche Merle and Cougnac as well as another whose name escapes me; I still remember what a magical and spiritual experience it was seeing those paintings from up to 25,000 years ago... (and I remember vividly the utter disappointment when reaching Les Eyzies to see that the entrance to the cave closed with a sign "greve" --strike-- posted! So we have yet to see that cave!), and we love it now --speaking of Cro-Magnon ideas, if John McCain manages to win the election, you can look for us there...we will be eating very well!

Monday, June 2, 2008

Musee, Musee


May was and June continues to be high season at our chambre d'hotes (French name given to rooms rented as bed and breakfast accommodations in private homes --great way to travel!) We have enjoyed everyone's company and our opportunity to re-visit favorite places. (Although the weather has not been what I want spring time in Paris to be --but I am in PARIS-- so how can I complain???) The opportunity to return to these great places is a luxury --I have been to the Musee d'Orsay 5 times (our membership was a great investment as we can go in the member's entrance and avoid the lines!)
The first time that you visit a great museum, you really are taking inventory (and some visitors chose to catalog that inventory by photographing every single piece on display! do they EVER look at them when they get home???? Imagine sitting through that evening of "let's look at my vacation pictures..."). But honestly, you are so enthralled that you are actually seeing the originals of art work that you recognize, and being introduced to pieces that you do not know, that you do not have the time (or brain capacity) to look into the piece and absorb its flavor (this is France --and it is always about the food!) And the sense and process of taste is exactly what you need to emulate when looking at these artworks --their presentation, their perfume, their texture, their taste as it lingers, their terrior...(of course, we Americans are probably confused about taste --how would you describe the taste or terrior of a vente iced soy carmel latte with an extra shot and whippped cream???? And those, and more complicated drinks of COFFEE get ordered and imbibed daily!!! Well... maybe twice a week now since you have to DRIVE to Starbucks...)
But it is the return visits that give you the chance to understand and experience what makes these masterpieces. You can also be more discerning... and decide that greatness does not always mean that you like the works.
In my last visit to the Musee d'Orsay, I was wandering around the Impressionist galleries as my friends were looking at the paintings of Monet, Renoir, Pisarro, Cezanne and the others. I made an observation --Monet must have painted in his sleep! I realize that he lived a very long life, but he painted hundreds of pieces --the familiar ones of the Rouen Cathedral, the British Parliament, Venice, the countryside just outside of Paris, the monumental Les Nympheas-- The Waterlilies from his garden in Giverny-- we all know of these. But there are many others that equally magical. And you simply must be across the room to really see how masterful they are (so those thousands of digital shots taken to every corner of the globe are impressions of impressionists!) I was particularly taken by Monet's treatment of water and reflections. In his pieces Yachts, Argenteuil and Regatta, Argenteuil, the water from a distance looks mirror like. At close inspection it is merely white lines (okay, merely MONET's white lines!) One of my other favorites is the Magpie, which is a magpie sitting on a gate in a snow covered landscape as the sun creates those blue tinted shadows after a new snow fall. It gives you that sense of stillness and sparkle that you see and admire those mornings after a heavy snow fall (before you have to shovel and drive to work in that post-snow storm traffic!) But let's not forget the magic of that moment!

My other observation is that Pisarro and Sisely are under-appreciated in the States.

I have taken almost no pictures of these paintings. So --you will have to come to Paris to see them-- and I will get to see them again... and I will let you borrow my Carte Blanche so you will not have to wait in line... but no Starbucks!
But these are my impressions from Jardin, Jardin the Paris "flower show" held in the Tuileries this weekend.



The title, 'Musee, Musee' is a play on the name of a Richard Serra (American sculptor) work, 'Clara, Clara' on display in the Tuileries, while his installation, Promenade, is in the Grand Palais. Monumenta 2008 is the second Monumenta --an artist is invited to make an installation in the large exhibition hall of the Grand Palais. Promenade is composed of five huge COR-TEN steel slabs that you walk through to experience... David as you might imagine loved the works!