A glimpse of Paris for Aunt Virginia

This post is for my mother’s aunt Virginia who said her one regret in life was that she didn’t get to see Paris again. Since it didn’t work out to skype with her from the eifel tower (wouldn’t that have been cool?) we wanted to do a good post of our visit, including the things she said she wished she could see again: the daily life in Paris, the little shops, the streets, etc. We lost Aunt Virginia last week so she didn’t get to see this entry. Therefore this is for the rest of the family. Here’s to our curious, observant, artistic Aunt, who will be greatly missed.

Here she is with daughter Betty Anne at our family wedding reception. I'm emotional that she (and BA) were there.  

Anticipation

So we were all so excited to get to Paris. Each one of us had something we were looking forward to. When asked, Sebastien said he was looking forward to "seeing France” (he meant the eifel tower).  Here we are on our way to the train super excited:

The mobile family

First we drove our car to the bus stop at the next town from us. And we left it in a spot RIGHT next to where the bus picks us up (that doesn’t happen in Berkeley!) For 1.50 euros per adult, we get to the Montpellier train station in 45 minutes with no hassle of driving and parking. We feel mobile as we trek to our train with our big stroller and only 1 bag. We get everyone on the train without problems (unlike last time when we almost missed the train and accidentally dumped Sebastien out of the stroller). And we’re off to the city of lights!

Arrival

We’re on the high-speed train, the famous TGV with only 1 stop. So that means we arrive in just over 3 hours. When we finally arrive, Sebastien’s excited and looks out the window and says “I can’t see France”. I tell him the eifel tower is in the middle of the city and we’ll see it the next day. We’re all excited when we get off the train and make our way outside. Soon we see our lovely friend, Yvonne (the sister of Genevieve who you’ve met in previous posts). She has come all the way into the city center to pick us up and take us back by Metro to her house in the suburb of Lardy. We manage to get off the train easily with the kids and here is this exciting view of the Gare de Lyon, the same train station depicted in that famous series of Monet paintings. It's amazing that something painted hundred plus years ago was my 'advertisement' for Paris and comes to mind when there.

See-this was painted about 100 years ago:

And here it is in 2011!:

Yvonne and Daniel

We enjoy a nice evening at Yvonne and Daniel’s interesting home. Aunt Virginia, who had an eye for building and designed her beautiful home in Shell Beach, would surely be intrigued with this house, which is also a very personal house. There are huge canvases of modern art everywhere, the house is made of wood with a huge garden in the back and a wonderful sun room overlooking it. There are books or art tucked into every nook and cranny. And nooks and crannies seem to be everywhere. And the whole house is furnished with wooden furniture from the family furniture business, hand crafted wooden furniture with wooden joints and leather upholstery. One of a kind.

I’m always interested in the meals I am served in French homes. The first night for the first course, we have little mini pancakes (that come already made in a package) with smoked salmon and creme fraiche on top. Then for the main dish, we are treated to a dish from the North of France. It is herring with boiled potatoes served with crème fraiche or butter (not both like we are accustomed to.) There is perfect bread and a plain salad.

I am also always struck by the simplicity of the meals. It is really ‘plain’ and ‘no fuss’ by our standards. And now that I’m used to that, I really appreciate it because it is so straight-forward. None of the inherant flavors of the meal are hidden or masked or manipulated at all. They are right there. Perfect, sometimes average, but standing there with nothing to hide.

After dinner we have the customary large plate of different cheeses (nice and stinky, if they don’t smell, they’re no good) and after that we’re presented with a bowl of fruit to peel and enjoy if we wish.

The next day, our lunch is lentils with boiled meats. The lentils are amazingly delicious and Yvonne has cooked them in a pressure pot with fresh thyme from the garden, carrots and onions. I am curious if pressure pots are as used in France as they are in Brazil. Yvonne says they are quite common. For dessert, we have a sort of charlotte which she’s made in a mold lined with ladyfingers then filled with Bonne Maman black current preserves and topped with Crème Anglaise. It is (politely) devoured.

Our activity with the kids that day is a visit to one of the many local chateax. This one is owned by the state and has been turned into a home for mentally disabled kids. There’s a boarding house, a hospital and a farm. We get to visit and feed the goats, donkeys, pigs, sheep, chickens, geese and even a llama. See the gorgeous surrounding landscape:

Our next highlight is to head back into the center of the city to our friend’s home right next door to the famous eifel tower in the 7^th arrondisement. And again, the family is so excited. This is truly the first view we get when we come up the stairs from the underground metro. Sebastien is ecstatic:

Our friend's neighborhood in the 7th is really lovely with cute shops, delis, and even an American joint selling all things American (which I can’t find anywhere near our town, only in Paris. I pop in to get some much needed brown sugar for our holiday baking.) They have candy corn, cake mixes, pop rocks and other fun American candy. With all the colorful products, it is a pretty kitchy (and happy I think) place. I am happy to hear some American English on the street after all these months. Very rare experience in France. Apparently it is quite an international neighborhood. We get some fantastic views of the tower and streets throughout the weekend. Check out my shadow and Sebastien running ahead to get all the way to the tower (we finally had to stop him-he went really far!)

then Sebastien stumbles on a boot camp class and is riveted. Imagine working out under this view!:

Also, I am so lucky that there happens to be a Paris flea market happening here on this same weekend. Something I’ve always wanted to see:

Look at this chandelier:

And these madmen like chairs!

Our hosts showed us their favorite bridge:

And this was just there in the middle of our walk. Like a postcard!

And Aunt Virginia wanted to know what the streets and little shops were like. The following pics are taken from right downstairs from our friends' apartment. When they need something, they just pop down there.

A drugstore:

Wedding dresses:

fruit/veggies (not much organic)

and flowers:

Aunt Virginia would have loved to see our friends' beautiful huge apartment. There are huge ceilings with French elaborate moldings througout. There are glass french doors separating each of the rooms. There are wooden floors throughout. There are marble fireplaces in every room, including the bedrooms, with the original marble and French mirrors above them. Our friends have painted each room perfect white so that it is all uniform throughout and all you see is the beauty of the architecture. They furnish sparsly with modern lines and are saving for beautiful crystal chandeliers to perfect the look. 

We learned that Paris is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world because it is unified by one beautiful style (Haussman style).
(See wikipedia for more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haussmann%27s_renovation_of_Paris )
After my friend's lesson and passion about it, I paid more attention when looking around.

The louvre:

A door:

the famous French balconies:

                                            

another door I liked (Dev's favorite color)

Food

Our meals throughout the weekend: the first night, we are treated to smoked salmon and homemade apple crumble. Another night we have pork chops and another night we have a sauerkraut dish from the Alsace Lorraine region--a broth with finely shreaded (like vermicelli) cabbage and 2 different sausages and corned beef. Almost like an irish dish. Always we finish with the best, gooey cheese and salad. One night it's our turn to cook so we get some ingredients from the lively street just around the corner of our friends' house. First we show our host kids how to make chocolate chip cookies. We don't have as much access to different (even Italian) foods in our country village. So we get some fresh homemade Italian pasta from the nearby upscale deli and make a sauce of fresh tomatoes with organic shrimp (from Madagascar apparently). With a fantastic bakary right downstairs and all this homemade food, we eat well the whole weekend!

Sebastien's really a pro by now--he loves helping me!

 
And our Parisian host was a natural and Anais loves to help too!

Cite des enfants:

We take the kids to this children’s museums where they get to play with all kinds of cool kid exhibits. Like this pretend work site:

Then Anais loves the water one where she gets to pour water into buckets and throw chips into a pretend river. She wears an apron and manages to stay dry! Sebastien loves these mini movie theaters they’ve set up to show movie clips that represent major emotions. There’s the happy one with a cool montage of happy scenes from movies from all genres. Then there’s the sad one and the scary one. Interesting idea. Anais also loves the one that plays with the senses. Sounds, Smells, Touch.  The exhibits are well marked with the age that matches the development milestone the exhibit is based upon. They are so well thought out. As are the kids’ school. My conclusion is that France understands kids.

The next day, we get to go to an adult museum. We go to the Georges Pompidou center for the Edvard Munch exhibit. He’s the one that did ‘The Scream” although that particular painting was stolen recently. There’s also an exhibit on dance that is interesting to me. We don’t get a chance to soak up everything thoroughly but we do see that it is amazingly well curated. I loved how they tried to figure out what Munch was going through at the time of his paintings to construct a narrative of what he was trying to accomplish and what he felt about things. Each president is supposed to build a monument  to leave for the city upon his departure. This building is the controversial one left by Georges Pompidou, the one with the inside of the building showing on the outside. So we ride up the escalators that are located on the outside of the buidling (not unlike the one in the beverly center!) and here we discover the BEST VIEW OF PARIS. The entire roof line is even, as in the same height below us except for the major sites are sticking up out of that line. We see the Notre Dame, the montmartre, other churches, the eifel tower, etc. poking out of the horizontal line of rooves. Plus we are there on the ONLY clear day of the weekend. It is gorgeous and we feel good.

We have lunch with Devin’s good friend Sven and have a wonderful time walking back along the rue de rivoli, past mainstream stores (ugh, so many american stores, I feel like I’m on Market Street in SF!) We finish outside the louvre before we have to get back for the kids naps and I take this fun panaromic picture there:

Last but not least, let me show you some Christmas decorations.

An intersection on the Champs d'elysees:

OMG: the karl lagerfield homage at the galleries lafayette. You would not believe the effort that went into the 30 windows of puppets all with different themes. I couldn't tell who sponsored them-they were just pieces of art and there were millions of people there to see them!

You can't see it very well, but these puppets are ballet dancers that are really moving. Gorgeous!

And this was from neighboring dept store Printemps and it was so classy. There was a different window done up for each major city (Istanbul, Moscow, Singapore, etc) Here's Paris:

Finally, some pics of the children on our way back to Aniane.

   

                                              

back in the train:

Thanks for reading. May Aunt Virginia rest in peace. 

Dirty Bath Tuesdays

So before purchasing in Aniane, I scheduled a "cordial visit" with the mayor. In small towns and especially being a foreigner, this is de rigueur. The mayor was quite pleased that I had made the effort and I was happy to have about 10 critical questions answered  which would make both Lara and I more at ease purchasing in a town which we only discovered 1 month beforehand.
Questions of the nature:
When it floods, does the water ever reach the level of your desk? 
Any future plans to build  freeway through town?
Any plans for a nuclear waste site nearby?
Etc.

Do you recall that Pink Panther film where Inspector Clouseau asks the concierge if his dog bites? And only once he has pried the jaws away from his ankle, Clouseau screams at the concierge 'you told me your dog didn't bite'. The reply? That's not my dog, Monsieur

Because the principal river - the Herault - as well as its tributairies flow through or nearby the town, I was kind of serious about flooding. In fact, the canal running through the center of town contains just about all of the water. However on a few occasions, people's doorsteps have been inundated.
Fair enough. The answer was ' have no concerns about flooding.

My small mind has not yet completely grasped what's taking place. but when it rains heavily  for  5 days straight, the water supply becomes turbid. At this time, 1.5 liter bottles of water are distributed for days to all of the villagers until the water has returned to its pure form.

We've been through this twice already this fall . No big deal. It's kind of fun. However, even in the dim light of our bathroom, the tub water can be a little less than welcoming. Showering afterwards makes us all feel cleaner.

Typically, it doesn't rain that hard and long here in Aniane, so we shouldn't have to worry too much about the lightly brown water.

Oops, gotta go. Lara is calling me. It must be Tuesday!

Lara Post-Devin's Big Birthday Surprise

So November 5^th was coming up and I wanted it to be really special. Here we are in Devin’s favorite country. We won’t be here for his birthday for a couple years if all our plans go well. Next year is a big birthday year. So why not party this year like it’s next year and have a big blow out? So our dear friend , Joel (the kids favorite ‘uncle’ who stops by to visit  almost every day) planned the party and told me what I had to do. He arranged for one friend to donate their family picnic area (side bar: this is a thing here—everyone who lives in the village here without gardens, has some kind of access to a large field where there’s a cabin that they can use on weekends for large family meals and grow some fruits and vegetables for personal use.) Then he planned the menu of paella, sangria, chocolate birthday cake. Then he had Devin decide who were his closest friends in the ‘hood and he had me send real invitations, which were basically little kid invitations that I found at the grocery store.

The day before the party, we realized the huge storm of the last 5 days was going to make Helene’s retreat up the road impossible to reach--the unpaved road up the rocky hill to the cabin would be full of mud and all the cars would get stuck. (plus imagine the mud on Anais) Where are we going to accommodate 25 adults and 10 kids in this rain? Out in front of our house in our neighborhood meeting spot is out of the question—it is absolutely pouring down rain. So we had a neighborhood huddle and finally settled on moving the furniture in our house to accommodate the 35 people. (When you see how narrow our living room is, you will wonder how we did it)

Kids table:

adults table:

Even though we tried to encourage the adoption of the American ‘please no gifts’ custom, our friends truly would have nothing of it. They told me absolutely not, they must get a gift. And they insisted on organizing a ‘big’ gift and collecting money from everyone. It was very thoughtful too. They all know Devin took guitar lessons from our neighbor Remy (they heard Devin singing, “it was the first part of the journey” every day for 3 months ;) so they got him a really nice guitar. Joel organized it and Ludevine found big enough paper to wrap it up nice.

Devin made 2 nice speeches thanking everyone for welcoming him and us to the community and here’s to many more years of gatherings together, etc. It was heartfelt and really a lovely day.

Some more pics of our guests:

Silliness:

 and Anais wants to do it too:

And here's what we ate and drank:

Parties last around here and people were here from 12 to 8PM!! This picture makes it look like a 'kegger' ;)

The party was great fun. A couple of the old timers (Devin’s favorite thing to do in France is chat with the older generation) stayed late to drink man drinks and eat more food while I got the kids ready for bed.

But this is not the whole story. This party is on the Sunday-the day after his real birthday, But I have something up my sleeve for Saturday, his actual birthday. And he knows nothing! I lie a few days before and tell him that for his real birthday we’ll probably go for a bike ride with the kids and keep it simple in preparation for the big party the next day. He buys it. I have planned a rather complicated menu symbolic of Devin’s interesting  life so far. Each course shall represent something special about Devin. I’ve arranged for his very best friends who live about 1 hour away to come over while we are out and we’ll have one of those long French lunches together. The catch is, with all the other activities, when am I going to prepare the complicated menu? How do I keep him from knowing I’m doing it? And how do I get him out of the house so the friends can surprise him?  The morning of his birthday I am a nervous wreck. I lie several times that morning to cover my tracks and keep him from suspecting anything. I feel so guilty because my lies are so good and believable. Then, as if he knows about everything and is playing right into my hand, at the perfect time, he offers to go on a long errand to pick up the wine for the next day’s party. The minute he is out the door, I set up the kids with a movie and I race around the house to prepare the scene. We are to have each of our courses on a different floor in the house. So I have to set 3 tables! Then I have to finish frying the Brazilian appetizers and warm all the side dishes, frost the Spiderman Birthday cake with a complicated spider web, ice the drinks, etc.

Our dear friends arrive and I realize I can tone down the worry because that important part has happened, they’ve arrived while he is out. But it’s hard to calm down and now I’m practically hyperventilating. Finally though I am almost calm as I realize the big ‘reveal’ is almost going to come and we’re really about to pull it off. It’s really important to me to make this a special birthday for Devin. Every year my gifts do nothing for him. Of course he thanks me but I can see that there is almost no material thing that will ever impress him. I must figure out how to show him how much I care!! Hence the pressure I’ve put on myself.

Thankfully the kids are super chill. Sebastien is so happy to be watching his movie. And Anais is happily puttering about entertaining herself like usual. Finally Devin shows up and he had delayed because he took a nice walk by himself-his favorite activity. I thought for sure he was doing that on purpose but in fact it was perfect idea on his part. Then he sees I’m frying the Brazilian dish and he says ‘Oh, you’re making those!” and I say yes, “surprise”. And then, “I have another surprise for you. Come in the living room” There sort of hiding in the corner of the dining room, are Genevieve and Henri, his second family, the friends he’s had since he first stepped foot on French soil. They are really important to him and he named our daughter after her. They are super cute, and say surprise at the perfect time. The joy on Devin’s face is rewarding. Just what I was hoping for and I am thrilled:

Each course was served in a different level of the house. The apero was in the cave (wine cellar):

Then for "the philosopher" course (symbolized by Russian Borscht-for his love of Russian) I ask everyone to look under their plates for little pieces of paper with Devin's favorite quotes:

"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it."
— Upton Sinclair (author of The Jungle-a favorite book)

“The noble title of "dissident" must be earned rather than claimed; it connotes sacrifice and risk rather than mere disagreement.”
― Christopher Hitchens, Letters to a Young Contrarian (favorite author/book)

But remember, with strength goes responsibility - to others and to yourselves. For you cannot conquer injustice with more injustice - only with justice and the help of God.
--How Green Was My Valley (a fav movie)

We have some fun discussing those and what the quotes mean to each person—the interpretations are different for the French minds. I had fun looking them up. I'm so proud of Devin's love of books and these noble ideas...

For the main course, we have Genevieve's famous Blanquette au Veau. I chose it because it reminds me of France and the Morel family and symbolizes their great importance to Devin.

Finally we end with Sebastien and Anais' Spiderman Chocolate cake. (really they helped design and make it!)

It was all so much fun and Devin said it was one of his best birthdays ever. We all had a great time, both parties were a great success. Devin is such a wonderful friend and father and husband. We all wanted to make him happy on his birthday and he was. J