|
 Autumn
in Paris
Thursday, Oct. 8, 1998
I had the good fortune late last month to travel to Paris, where
I spent five days immersed in French culture and cuisine. Hemingway
wrote that Paris is "A
Moveable Feast," and the city lived up to its reputation.
At right is one of the many outdoor cafes that line the streets
of the city. This photo was taken in mid-morning, before an inevitable
lunchtime crowd arrived.
In Paris we feasted on art, enjoying rooms filled with works by
Monet, Renoir, Degas and Rodin; on history, taking in the excess
of the French aristocracy and its legacy of palaces and revolution;
on cityscapes comprised of outdoor markets, parks and fountains,
subway musicians and narrow streets; and, of course, on the legendary
French cuisine including croissants, soufflés, wine and cheese,
espresso...
We rented a car one day to drive to Auvers sur-Oise, about 25 miles
outside of Paris, where Van Gogh lived the last weeks of his life,
creating 70 paintings in 70 days before he shot himself at the age
of 37.
On the way we got lost and found ourselves in Chantilly, home of
the world's grandest stables, commissioned according to legend in
1719 by a prince who believed he would be reincarnated as a horse.
You may be familiar with the stables if you've seen the James Bond
movie that was filmed there. It's now a Living Horse Museum.
Auvers, a village along the Oise River, has attracted a host of
famous artists over the years and is known as the "cradle of
impressionism." A walking tour of its winding hillside streets
leads visitors to scenes from works by Van Gogh, Cézanne
and Pissarro. The village is picturesque, a seemingly timeless still
life. The bridge over the river there was lined with flower boxes
overflowing with geraniums.
We tried to be good tourists, although we spoke little French much
to the disappointment of our taxi driver who said all foreign visitors
should be required to stay at the airport until they can speak the
language. We had a brief if unpleasant encounter with a tourist
who in my mind typified "the ugly American" when she asked
our bus guide if the overpass down the street was "where Lady
Di got it." Indeed, we did pass by the place, now enshrined
with a sculpture
of an eternal flame and encircled with flowers, but this woman's
tasteless remark will always be etched in my memory of our visit
there.
Like its many treasures, Paris itself is larger than life, grand
in scale and awash in excess that is perhaps taken best in small
doses. My first visit there, in 1989, had a different flavor altogether.
At that time our hotel was teeming with prosperous Japanese tourists,
many of them carrying Chanel shopping bags stuffed with purchases
we could not begin to afford. There was no sign of them this time,
perhaps because of their economy, perhaps not.
Nevertheless, then as now, the city remains a feast for the eyes,
the mind and the soul. I look forward to anther course...
Some photos of Paris...
(JavaScript required; photos will open in a new window.)
- The
Eiffel Tower
- The
River Seine
- Book
stalls along the Seine's Left Bank
- A typical kiosk
along busy Paris streets
- On open-air market
- Bicycles flank this alley
leading to a courtyard restaurant
- Auvers sur-Oise:
- The inn
at Auvers where Van Gogh rented an attic room
- A picturesque farm field on the plateau
just above Auvers
- The Louvre
- A typical narrow city street.
Just beyond the arches is the apartment where Victor Hugo penned
Les Misérables.
- These kenetic sculptures
greet visitors to an art gallery
- Chantilly:
Julie Wolpers
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