Ah, Paree!

Well one thing I won't miss is the muezzin's pre-dawn call to prayer at 5 a.m., that's for sure.  There was a mosque near the SIL Center just a little too close for comfort, and his sound system was just a tad too loud at that hour.  The rest I was just oblivious to, I suppose. It blended into the general cacophony.  With the exception of what the locals call a "maquis,"often a sort of small restaurant/nightclub that plays loud music, techno in my case, often into the wee hours of the morning.  There was such a place called the Bombiss near the Center that was hard to ignore, especially on weekends.  People gathered there regularly with their friends as the sun went down, would drink alcoholic beverages and just shoot the breeze. No amount of complaining to the owners or the local police seemed particularly effective, however.

But now I am in Paris.  The flight here was uneventful, and arriving early in the morning seemed to speed things along as I was out of security in no time flat.  It has been a delightful time, thus far.  My friend Judy Koucky has been here for a week and we have done a few things together.  We visited an exhibit at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs and where we saw "Tenue correcte exigée" (Proper dress required) which was interesting, learning how what is considered appropriate dress for men and women has changed over the years.  To keep things simple, the exhibit was limited to western dress.

 She also took me out to a place called La Librairie (The Bookstore) for a belated birthday lunch, which was a lot of fun. The menu was buried in a graphic novel, and there were inviting books on bookshelves arranged by publishing houses.  Most impressively, the food was outstanding, and I highly recommend the place. It's in the 16th arrondissement at the end of the rue Duban. Closest RER: Bougainvilliers.

the ceiling's quote is from Rimbaud

Judy reads the menu

croquettes de [jambon] serrano avec salade d'endives

Mignon de cochon au céléri cuit...

Yummy dessert--mousse citron avec tuile orange

Absolutely scrumptous.

the check came tucked in this little book

Speaking of books, I have also ordered some more materials for Fina that will work both for her "library" and provide some easier-to-understand Bible stories for her Saturday Kid's club. Thanks go to Judy for paying me in Euros and giving me a little "extra" to spend for this!

some additional materials for Fina to use

Since books are heavy, I'll probably just keep them here in my apartment and take them with me the next time I visit.

I have also visited the Salon Mondial du Tourism and the Salon Destinations Nature in one of the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Halls, but forgot my camera [phone], so no photos. Here's a copy of my ticket, at least:

 As you can probably tell, I'm thinking about my walk next fall to Saint-Jean Pied-de-Port from Aire-sur-l'Adour [France] where I left off last September. I picked up a brochure at the Salon on the Basque country...

There is also a creative exhibition at the Grand Palais called "Jardins" ["Gardens"], a deceptively simple display on the changing concept of gardens and gardening from the time of the Renaissance to today, including works from Fragonard, Monet, Cézanne, Klimt, Picasso, and Matisse, to name a few.  We managed to take it in as well. Here's a sampling:

Le Vieux Jardinier by Emile Claus

detail from Soucis by Koloman Moser

Le Jardin a Gougival by Berthe Morisot

tiny detail from Jan Brueghel's Vue du Château de Mariemont

local soil samples from a Japanese artist

Gardening tools

 

A glass flower from the 19th century by two Czech brothers

And afterward I had a little reward from a place called L'Éclair de Génie, thanks to Judy. The one with my name on it is the second from the left--praline and hazelnuts. [The name being a play on the word "éclair"--"the flash of genius"."]