Paris layover

It has been a quiet time for me in Paris. It was bitter cold the day I arrived, and has warmed up slightly.  There were still remnants of Christmas decorations around which gave the otherwise gray days a bit of a festive air.  I am certainly glad they are a little slower to dismantle the decorations this year...

I did the usual things--had dinner with a friend, visited the American Church, and strolled the Champs Elysées, noticing the damage made by the "gilets jaunes", now in their 9th week of Saturday protests. I even bought the latest book of fiction by Michel Houellebecq, Sérotonine, in which the author, presciently examines the malaise and latent anger which exists in much of rural France and the subsequent rise of the grass-roots "gilets jaunes" movement.

Dinner at La Grange in Ternes

Ternes

Marché de Levis

Champs Elysées

Crèche at Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Unfortunately the Christmas trees were already taken down at Notre Dame, but the crèche (see above) was still up.

Prefecture de Police

Eiffel Tower illuminated

Fortunately I was there to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle for a few minutes at 7 p.m.

In the photo to the left, Macron's name is misspelled to emphasize the word "con."[idiot, asshole, shithead, etc."]

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Bulgari building boarded up

boarded up windows and doors of HSBC with slogans

broken glass presumably from a car

I also walked along my favorite haunt, the Coulée Verte [Promenade Plantée] that begins near the Bastille Opera, just to get a little fresh air and see some greenery.

 There I noticed some Christmas trees being recycled

Painted cement barriers

In the photo to the right, support for the "gilets jaunes" is evidenced by the yellow vests [gilets jaunes] hanging from the balconies of this building...

While here, I've ordered some children's titles for Fina, some are children's classics with African themes and characters that I've bought for FAVL and the ICCV-Nazemse libraries before.  This time I've been challenged by delivery of my orders and I had one DHL delivery changed from my place on Jouffroy d'Abbans to a pick-up depot, only to be delivered to another pick-up depot. How I was supposed to know about this change of delivery venue remains a mystery, as I was never notified.  I had waited in my apartment a whole day for delivery, only for them not attempt delivery for lack of a door code.  I have many at least 8 calls to DHL trying to find out what was going on.  But finally, I have the books, so all of the annoyances are now a thing of the past.

I managed to take in an exhibition at the Grand Palais called Eboulissante Venise: Venise, les arts et l'Europe au XVIIIe siècle.  Having visited Venice recently a few years ago with Rebecca McNamara, a grade-school teacher whom I had roomed with for a couple of months in Ouagadougou, it was of some interest.  Not surprisingly, I heard quite a bit of Italian spoken while a strolled through. Most of the artists were unfamiliar to me, but the Venetian influence in other European countries, notably England, France, Germany and Spain, was evident.  

The exhibition was well done, and portrayed a refined, cosmopolitan and decadent society.

There were several models for villas and palaces on display (see above) and below

This exceptional sculpture of a veiled woman is the work of Antonio Corradini. I had seen this in a recent Facebook post and was surprised to find it in this exhibition.

 Here is a painting of James the Greater, seen in a vision at the battle of Clavijo near Santiago de Compostela in Spain. This was of interest to me because of all of my "pilgrimage" walks in France and Spain.

These Venetian dresses, many influenced by French fashion and fabrics, particularly brocade, floated from the ceiling in a stairwell of the Grand Palais.

The above painting illustrates the importance of music and the opera to the Venetians of this period. To the left St. Matthew is sculpted in wood.

To the left is a human pyramid. Apparently these human towers were formed by Castellani and Nicolotti, inhabitants of different parts of Venice. With a  maximum of 8 levels of men, they were called Forze d'Ercole. At the top there was a child, usually called the Cimiereto

Exotic birds and animals were popular, and they are often present in paintings from this period.

And, as in the painting to the left, the masque was often used to hide the wearers identity and social status, as well as its use during the Carnival.

Meanwhile I read in the Burkina Safety FB group that in Burkina Faso, militants  have recently attacked the mining site of Tiabongou (Mansila), Yagha Province, not far from the Niger border and that Kirk Woodman, a Canadian national and Vice President of Progress Minerals was abducted.  I just learned that he has been found dead not far from where he was taken.  I understand that Burkina Faso has recently declared a state of emergency in the region due to increased attacks by Islamic extremists. This is following on the heels of the mysterious disappearance of another couple, Edith Blais from Canada and Luca Tacchetto from Italy, who were traveling across Burkina Faso in mid- December.  They had been driving from Bobo-Dioulasso towards Ouagadougou, hoping to eventually to Togo where they would be doing volunteer work. No word has been heard from them since then.  This is a road I traveled with friends just a couple of years ago, which makes it very unsettling as many travel this main road between the capital city of Ouagadougou and the second largest city in the country, Bobo-Dioulasso.  

And just a few minutes ago, my friend Fina posted something from Reuters that included the following: "The cabinet of Burkina Faso President Roch Marc Kabore resigned on Friday, according to a statement read on national television, which gave no explanation for the move. Kabore accepted the resignations, the statement said, and is expected to form a new government soon." Whoa!

 

Well, I am off Saturday morning.  I will take the bus to the RER, and then continue on to the Charles de Gaulle Airport headed for Ouagadougou... Stay tuned...