No. 350: Paris Kitsch
I am a sucker for Paris Kitsch for no other reason than it brings color to this capital clothed in black. Sometimes you just need a little sparkle and boldness, and, maybe even some excessive garishness in this subdued city. 
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Aug 16
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Aug 14
No. 347-349: la Madeleine, Madeline, and les Madeleines
Which one is your favorite?
source: http://www.jbkitchen.com
source:ediblelife.net
Here’s a yummy Madeleine recipe to try at home.
No. 346: The Orient Express
Only by interrogating the other passengers could I hope to see the light, but when I began to question them, the light, as Macbeth would have said, thickened.
– Hercule Poirot, Murder on the Orient Express
If you are in Paris and you haven’t yet seen the intriguing Once Upon a Time the Orient Express expo at the Institut du Monde Arabe, make your plans now. Its final departure is 31 August 2014, 19h. France’s national railway (SNCF) and the Institut du Monde Arabe worked together to bring this real-life and cinematic legend to the public. Film enthusiasts and vicarious travelers get ready for a nostalgic journey on the extravagant train line.
One of the finest exhibits I have seen, the detailed curators make it easy to imagine those first voguish passengers who boarded the luxurious liner in Paris in 1883 for their 80-hour journey to exotic Constantinople. The train oozes with the old glamor of courtesans and kings, duchesses and diplomats, spies and starlets, smugglers, tycoons, treasure hunters and rogues. It took nearly a year for SNCF to restore the 20th century locomotive used in the film “Murder on the Orient Express”, and they did not spare any expense. Visitors can marvel at the sheer opulence of the era that must have rivaled, if not surpassed, Europe’s finest hotels of the time.
The tour starts inside the Institute with vitrines filled with advertisements, travel documents, luggage and personal items and then continues with fully restored compartments and period clothing. After that you wander back outside to the Seine and board the lavish locomotive beautifully reflected in the institute’s glass-paneled walls.
It is great fun to marvel at the sumptuous wooden paneled corridors and leather-covered ceilings, rich leather armchairs, art deco bars and other early 20th century excesses. The curators have meticulously included all the details: Harry Potteresque newspapers with photographs that come alive with scenes of the time, original china, cutlery, silk sheets, velvet curtains and personal items famous travelers brought aboard.
Look for the steam and listen for the whistle, two weeks left to clamber up the stairs and catch your ride on the Orient Express!
Il était une fois l’Orient Express runs until August 31, 2014 at the Institut du Monde Arabe, 1 Rue des Fossés Saint-Bernard, 75005 Paris, France.
Aug 12
No. 345: Searching for Monsieur Chat
I am not sure why it took me nearly three years to discover these delightful golden cats with the Cheshire grin because I always make it a habit to look up.
And ‘up’ is where you will find them, mischievously smiling down. I came across them in Orléans earlier this summer, and now I see them peeking out at me here at home. I have even seen them as far away as Geneva, and rumor has it this roving rascal has made it all the way to the big time in New York City.
This fancy feline appears under the cover of darkness when his puckish painter comes out to play tag. Spray cans in hand; the artist’s imagination takes flight late at night on high above rooflines and sand colored walls. Sometimes you find them grinning uncertainly from chimney pipes and gutters. And sometimes their paws reach out for the sky while their faces laugh at the sun. I even saw this cool cat winging it with angels in front of the pearly gates.
Monsieur Chat is my favorite skyline treasure hunt. Where have you seen this traveling tomcat?
Aug 11
No. 344: August in Paris
Shhhh…I am going to let you in on a little secret: The best time to visit Paris is.…..August. (Now that you know, promise me you’ll keep it under your hat.)
With apologies to my French girlfriends who were born and raised in Paris (and I think you might secretly agree), there are no two ways about it, the eighth month of the year here, is just fine. More than fine. Me thinks it is perfectly divine.! Yes siree. August is the most wonderful time of the year!
Why, you ask? Well…I have to say quite frankly, the Parisians have vanished and gone on vacances. Lucky us! Quelle chance!
There are simply no Parisians to be found here or there or anywhere.
A breath of fresh air has swept into town, and we can all get off the defensive and relax just a bit. No angry drivers honking and screeching. No stare downs and games of chicken on the crowded sidewalks. And no naughty little boys to stomp all over the ceiling or steal the mail.
Okay, so a few stores and restaurants might be closed (maybe only 70 percent), and yes, there is a large handful of tourists milling about, mais neither are a big inconvenience, compared to feeling like “I’m king (queen) of the World!”
I know it sounds crass, but it is truly freeing to be in Paris without the Parisians. It is the month of the year where I relearn to smile at, and say “hello” to strangers on the street. I remember how nice it is to be smiled back at by other expats and unhurried tourists all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
It is the month I let my guard down and open myself up to new possibilities and positivity. It is the month of gossiping with girlfriends in empty cafés, strolling along the Seine with your sweetheart in hand, the moon in sight, and lounging on the Paris Plage sipping a pamplemousse pressé watching the world go by.
August in Paris. Yippee!!
No. 343: Papa Francesco
I have had so many remarkable experiences during my three years in France, but one of the most memorable and awe-inspiring moments happened this summer in Rome while I was serving as a short-term nanny for a dear friend’s 4-year-old daughter and I was included in a private audience with Pope Francis. I took this “job” not because of the papal possibility, mais parce que j’adore mon amie et sa fille, and I always jump at the chance to spend time with them. The prospect of meeting the Pope was appealing, but I did not actually think it would happen.
But then it did.
As you may know, I was raised in an extremely liberal Catholic church (oxymoron, yes) during Vatican II, when Catholicism was (in some ways) being rethought, rejuvenated and adapted to the modern world. There was this whole exciting movement to bring the Church back into the realm of hands-on social justice and working for peace. Of course then Ronald Reagan came to power, and the USA began our slippery slide into supposed “Christian/Focus on the Family” values and the Catholic Church did a complete three-sixty turnabout, and gave up on Vatican II.
That is when I left the Catholic Church. Which is not to say that I haven’t been to mass in 25 years. I have. Which is not to say I don’t pray. I do. Which is not to say I am not spiritual. I am. But, I have been sorely disappointed in the leadership of the Catholic Church for decades.
That was until Argentinian-born Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Papa Francesco on March 13, 2013. He chose Francesco/Francis to honor Saint Francis of Assisi, who Americancatholic.org describes as: “a poor little man who astounded and inspired the Church by taking the gospel literally—not in a narrow fundamentalist sense, but by actually following all that Jesus said and did, joyfully, without limit and without a mite of self-importance.”
Throughout his cleric life Pope Francis, “has been distinguished for his humility, his concern for the poor, and his commitment to dialogue as a way to build bridges between people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and faiths. He is known for having a simpler and less formal approach to the papacy, most notably by choosing to reside in the Domus Sactae Marthae guesthouse rather than the papal apartments of the Apostolic Palace used by his predecessors…and he (also) favors simpler vestments void of ornamentation…” plus he has a wonderful, genuine smile, and he loves le foot.
source: Saint John’s University
In my opinion, this Pope has potential, and possibly lots of it. Papa Francesco is the first Pope from the Americas, the first Pope from the Southern Hemisphere and the first non-European Pope since Pope Gregory III in 741—1,272 years ago! A non-Eurocentric Pope—now this I love. (Another fun fact in his favor: before starting his seminary studies, Papa Francesco worked briefly as a nightclub bouncer.)
So, by the time the hope of meeting Pope Francis became a reality, I was pretty darn excited. When the day came, we were finally forwarded all the papal protocol. What to wear? Dark colors, covered shoulders. Kiss the ring, or shake his hand? Either, although shaking his hand seemed to be his preference. Take pictures with the Swiss Guards? No, no, no. Except if you have a bambino. Does the Pope accept gifts? Yes. Many in our audience brought books, prayers, and small objects. Can a curious and precocious 4-year-old survive 4 hours of waiting, hundreds of steps through glorious rarely seen Italian galleries, and a 45-minute audience? Yes. Thank you Haribo gummy bears and good parenting from her maman.
The whole day was astonishing. From the moment we stepped into the Papal Palace and began winding our way up the marble staircases through the art filled halls, graced with gilded ceilings, mosaic floors, and Michelangelo frescos until we finally arrived in the splendid Hall of the Consistory, I felt like I was in a dream.
I also wished I was walking those stairs and hallways with my own faithful maman and my loving, no-nonsense, fierce Catholic Busha. I was deeply moved by the experience and Pope Francis’ remarks on religious freedom. I hoped these two strong women who are no longer with me were looking down from above and smiling at me. And with Francis at the helm, I ended the day with a smile and a feeling of hope about the direction that the Church may be moving.
Vocabulaire:
mais parce que j’adore mon amie et sa fille: but because I love my friend and her daughter
To read more about what Papa Francesco had to say to our papal audience from Saint John’s University, click HERE.
Aug 9
No. 342: Arrivederci Tuscana
So long charming beauty,
cobbled streets, steep, stone stairways and solitary cypress.
À bientôt windswept hill towns,
vast valleys, medieval ramparts,
and burnt Siena edges.
Ciao for now silvered olive trees,
Romanesque chapels, streaming sunlight and painted sunsets.
Arrivederci aromatic Brunello and salacious Chianti,
already missing the rustic Italian good life and countryside pace…
365+ Things I Love About France 