My Paris adventure has been wonderful, though it began
inauspiciously. My flight arrived in
Paris the morning of January 3 in the midst of a howling windstorm. We were on a very bouncy approach about 1,000 feet from
the runway when we suddenly powered up, up went the wheels and we were off
again. Next thing we knew, we were headed to Barcelona, of all places, where the crew timed out.
So Delta sent us to a hotel, but not before all 300 of us stood for
hours, it seemed, in three different lines – each of them staffed by only two
people -- for assorted vouchers, room keys, etc. I got to Paris Thursday morning around 11
without further ado.
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| Christmas, Carrousel du Louvre |
I have a great apartment in the St. Germain area and the Christmas decorations were still up when I arrived.
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| Margaret of Angoulême, Queen of Navarre |
On Friday, I staged one of my greatest coups. The Musée des Arts Décoratifs puts on the most
spectacular costume exhibits and their latest one on Christian Dior was closing
on Sunday, the 7th. By the
time I realized how little time I had to see it and went to the web site to buy a
ticket, they were sold out on line. So,
I got to the museum on Friday morning half an hour before opening and found a line of folks waiting for tickets that wound around the building and along the
Tuileries (we're talking the Louvre Palace here, so a very long line). It would have taken hours of
waiting in the cold with little chance of success. So I strolled down the street to the Louvre Museum and took in the exhibit of François I and the Dutch Renaissance painters, which was
lovely.
I headed back to the Dior exhibit a little before noon. The line appeared unchanged, so I just walked
in the front door like I knew what I was doing and went up to the ticket
counter where I announced that I would like to become a ‘friend’ of the museum
(which is how the French describe being a member). I was greeted by a big smile, a form to fill
out and in ten minutes, having forked over 40 euros for a very good cause, I had a ticket to the Dior exhibit. Just in time for lunch at the lovely museum
restaurant, Loulou, after which I toured the exhibit. Mobbed, of course, but there was no way I
could have seen it with fewer people – and it was extraordinary. 
Dior came from a wealthy farming family and began his career as the owner of an art gallery. He moved on to couture with a very artistic sensibility and virtually defined the profile of women's clothes in the late 1940's and 1950's. It was his view that a couturier should dress a woman from head to foot and the first several rooms of the exhibit were a collection of hats, shoes, handbags, maquettes (three dimensional miniatures of the final garments), and full sized outfits, all organized by color and ranging from floor to ceiling. It was hard to take it all in -- but stunning. When he died in 1957, Yves St. Laurent became the head of the House of Dior, and, in line with the changing times, created the more relaxed profile of the early 1960's. The exhibit included examples of the work of all Dior's successors. Just amazing clothing.
Friday evening I had dinner with an expat friend at a
wonderful little restaurant, Le Récamier, just a stone’s throw from the Bon
Marché department store. It is on a little
pedestrian street, rue Récamier, that ends in a delightful, very private park –
one of the hidden treasures of Paris. Le
Récamier specializes in soufflés. I had
one with scallops for my main course and the classic soufflé Grand Marnier for
dessert.
On Saturday afternoon, I met Christiane, one of my language
exchange partners, in the bar of the Crillon for a leisurely tea. We love taking tea in the great 5-star hotels
of Paris. Always a beautiful setting and
the people watching can’t be beat. Then
I attended Evensong at the American Cathedral (it was Epiphany) with Jane Dean,
one of Jennifer Potter’s friends who is here for her semi-annual visit, and we
had dinner at a sweet bistro, La Fontaine de Mars, on rue St. Dominique.
So, a wonderful beginning...
