Guignol Puppet Show

During weekends and holidays, most French parks have a puppet show.  When it is time for the show, the puppeteer rings his bell and the kids come running.  We saw our first Guignol show, which was a version of Puss in Boots.  As you can see, we were not the only ones looking for vacation entertainment.



There is a lot of slapstick humor and most of the kids love it.  Every couple of minutes, somebody crashes into somebody else with a big bang.  There were several smaller children who were terrified and cried their way through the entire performance.  I, hater of clowns and dolls, would have probably been one of those kids.

 

The ogre made the little girl next to me cry even harder.

If you grew up watching Mister Roger's Neighborhood, like I did, the Land of Make Believe all of a sudden made a lot more sense.

Lady Elaine Fairchild looks just like the French puppets.  She is terrifying.

Lady Elaine Fairchilde (voiced by Fred Rogers) is an outspoken, cranky schemer who runs the Museum-Go-Round (after the Froggs moved out). Lady Elaine was often known to say "Okay, toots" and is generally the antagonist when a storyline calls for one. One of her prized possessions is her Boomerang-Toomerang-Zoomerang, with which she can turn the neighborhood upside-down. She first appeared in episode 5 of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, and is named after Fred's adopted sister.



Les Vacances de la Toussaint and Fatso

 I received an early morning text from the father of two of the girls' friends the other day.  He needed to get his girls outside and so did I.  We were lucky to have a beautiful day to explore Paris's parks.  At this time of year, Fiac! puts up a whole bunch of modern art (temporarily) in the parks.  I liked this hare doing martial arts. 



 Fatso, the monkey, is visiting our friends for a couple of weeks.  He was an integral part of our day and has his own blog http://fatsofrance.blogspot.fr/

Customized Velib'

 We walked from Jardin des Plantes over to Jardin du Luxembourg and picked up a picnic on the way. 

 Sunny!

Of course, we had to introduce Fatso to the playground.

Victorians at Musée Jaquemart-André and Alaia at Musée Galliera

 Pierre kindly took the girls to a historical fiction workshop at the American Library and Nick and I headed to Musée Jacquemart-André to see Désirs et Volupté à l'épouque Victorienne.  This was a good balance to my visit to Masculin at Musée D'Orsay.

The exhibit includes some paintings from the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood as well as others from the Victorian Era.  The art from this exhibition all comes from the collection of a  Mexican businessman, Pérez Simon.  He has one of the largest private art collections in the world.

This is one of my favorite museums.  It shows you just how wealthy the rich were during the Hausmann era. 

 

The mansion houses the family's collection or art.  Most of the art is from Italy, where they would travel each year to add to their collection.  Whole rooms were taken from Venice and shipped to Paris.



In the Victoria Era, woman were depicted in contrast with the industrial revolution.  They were lovely and took care of the home.  However, this loveliness could be dangerous.  Beware of the femme fatale who may cast a spell over you!



 John William Waterhouse depicts a couple of beautiful and dangerous women.

 She will capture you with her love potion.

 The painters also looked to the past to find the ideal woman.

The following day we checked out The Alaia exhibit at Musée Galliera, the fashion museum.  This museum has just been reopened after being renovated for a couple of years.  I had hoped to see some of the permanent collection, but because of the fragile nature of its collection, the museum only shows visiting exhibition.  Azzedine Alaia is a famous designer who has created dresses for all sorts of famous people.  Some of my favorite, over the top, creations were made for Tina Turner.  This exhibit was very busy, whether this is because the museum just reopened, or because Alaia is super popular, I don't know.  The girls kept us moving through the exhibit at a fast clip.  The exhibit continued across the street into the Musée d'Art Moderne.

Honestly, I was more interested in the building than in the exhibit.  The Duke and Duchess of Galliera wanted to build a museum to house their collection of art and to give the museum and the art to France.  The lawyer made a drafting error and the land was deeded to Paris rather than to France.  The error could not be fixed and the Duchess decided to give everything to Paris. 

According to Wikipédia, a couple of years after she gave this enormous donation, on 22 June 1886, Jules Grévy and Georges Clemenceau convened the Chamber of Deputies of the French Third Republic and adopted a law expelling any person who was a direct heir of a royalist dynasty that had reigned in France. The Duchess Galliera, who had descended from the House of Orléans, was outraged by the law, no less because she had already donated the Hôtel Matignon to France. Unable to revoke her gift of the new museum, she abandoned the rest of her planned legacy to Paris. Thus, her collection of paintings and fine art were given to Genoa, Italy, where they are now displayed at the Palazzo Rosso and Palazzo Bianco.

The gardens and the museum are beautiful.  The Marché Presdient Wilson, which is open Wednesday and Saturday mornings, takes place right between Musée Galliera and Musée d'Art Moderne.  We often buy a picnic at the market and enjoy it in the garden.

Thanks for visiting, Nick!



Nick and Braque

 My friend, Nick chunneled over for a visit.  Last year, he and Ernestos visited at the same time and we visited the Edward Hopper exhibition at the Grand Palais.  I decided we should check out Braque, which is the current show at the Grand Palais.

  Georges Braque  began his career as a Fauvist.  He used bright colors to express emotion.  Unfortunately, in my opinion, he only stuck with this for a year or two.

 For most of his life, like his good friend Picasso, he adopted a cubist style.  Many of his paintings are dark and without color, he believed he needed to strip the paintings of color to get to the essentials of form.  According to Wikipedia: In May 1907, he successfully exhibited works of the Fauve style in the Salon des Indépendants. The same year, Braque's style began a slow evolution as he became influenced by Paul Cézanne, who had died in 1906, and whose works were exhibited in Paris for the first time in a large-scale, museum-like retrospective in September 1907. The 1907 Cézanne retrospective at the Salon d'Automne greatly affected the avant-garde artists of Paris, resulting in the advent of Cubism.

 Braque invented the Papier collé technique

(French: pasted paper or paper cut outs) is a painting technique and type of collage. With papier collé the artist pastes pieces of flat material (paper, oilcloth, newspaper) into a painting in much in the same way as a collage, except the pasted pieces are objects themselves

Christmas cards from Braque to friends

 Braque suffered a serious head injury in WWI that left him temporarily blind.  It took him a couple of years to recover completely, but when he did he continued to paint.

 Braque became very famous in France and was the first modern artist to have a show at the Louvre.  He was also asked to paint the ceiling in the Louvre, something no modern artist had ever been asked to do before. 

Time Magazine,  

Monday, Mar. 16, 1953

Of the artists who decorated the ceilings in Paris' famed Palais du Louvre, the two best remembered are the 19th century masters Ingres and Delacroix. Last week news leaked out that a third big name is about to be added. France's spry old (70) Georges Braque, currently breaking new ground with a show of his latest (and surprisingly airy) paintings in Manhattan, has recently been asked to design a large ceiling for the Louvre's ornate Salle Henri II.
Just what Braque has in mind for the Louvre no outsider knows. The Louvre itself would only confirm that Painter Braque "has been approached....

 

 We crossed the street to have coffee a the Petit Palais. 

The Petit Palais is a lovely museum and it is free.  It is a Paris museum and it has a little bit of almost everything.

Wine and Cheese

 Not only did we manage to go on a date, but we got to go to a chateau and drink wine and eat cheese. 

 MAN

Rhythmes Scholaires and shots of the Seine

 The parents and teachers at our school are not happy about the changes to the school day.  This sign says, "Our children are not guinea pigs."  Last year, the girls had no school on Wednesdays.  This year, they have school Wednesday morning.  Also, this year, school ends an hour and a half earlier on Tuesday and Friday.  These days, you can choose to leave your child at school until the regular time and they can participate in free extracurricular activities.  Paris decided to institute the changes this year, whereas other big cities in France are waiting until next year.   There is a lot of talk about the "Rythmes Scolaires" in the news and on the street among parents.

The change has been good for our girls.  They are enjoying their extracurricular activities.  Sylvia has cinema and musical theater and Lillian has origami and theater.  They both have friends in their activities and have a great time.  There is no time to socialize during class, so this is a great opportunity for them to spend some time with their friends.  

At our school, most parents do not see the value of activities where their children are not mastering skills.  Parents feel that the classes should be academic or taught by professionals.  I think they mean that it would be okay if there were dance class that was preparing their child for a dance academy, but not a creative movement course.  Also, the idea that someone who is not a "real" teacher can teach these courses leaves the parents feeling very uneasy.  

These posters are outside of our school.  They have also hung up pie graphs showing the results to the poll they gave about the changes to the school day.  We are in the minority on every answer.  The parents are not happy!  The majority even voted that they would consider not sending their children to school on Wednesday in protest.  I am grateful for the free activities that the girls are enjoying.

 I went to the Musée D'Orsay (on the right) last week and saw Masculine/Masculine. The Nude Man in Art from 1800 to the Present Day. 

 Another photo of the new pedestrian area along the quai.

Every pedestrian bridge in Paris is covered in locks.  You and your lover pledge your undying love to each other and throw the key into the Seine.  It started on Pont des Arts and has spread to all of the pedestrian bridges.

October Outings

 Sylvia and all of the kids in her class ran for 10 minutes without stopping.  Each year, they add two minutes.  This year Lil will run 14 minutes.  They met up with lots of other schools from our area and ran in a big park near us.

 We hung up some Halloween decorations on or door and our nice neighbor came over with costumes and crafts she had bought for the girls

 Last weekend, Sylvia went to a birthday party.  The rest of us went for a walk along the new quai.  Lillian checked out this new climbing wall.

 We learned about the flora and fauna of the Seine.  Pierre is making a fish face for me and Lillian is hoping we will stop embarrassing her.

 I had coffee with many international spouses at the Petit Palais.  To reach the café, you need to walk through the garden.  It is lovely.  The Petit Palais if free and worth visiting.

 Our newspaper came with this clothing advertisement.

Maybe Pierre can start a modeling career?

Apple Picking with the Girl Scouts

Last weekend, Lillian and I went apple picking with the Girl Scouts.  Sylvia's troop did not go, so Sylvia and Pierre checked out the Georges Braque exhibit and the Grand Palais.  This farm is only about a twenty minute drive from our house, but it is nearly impossible to get here by public transport.  Luckily, a kind GS mom gave us a ride.

 Last year, my friend, Lori drove me here so that we could get pumpkins.  Halloween is not really celebrated and it can be hard to find a real pumpkin.

 Ferme de Gally is huge and borders the gardens of Versailles.  You can pick flowers, vegetables, and fruit.

 These Junior Scouts first met and talked about their upcoming cupcake sale.  Last year, they sold cupcakes and bought toiletries for the homeless with the proceeds.  This year, they are hoping to donate even more bags of toiletries. 

 

 We were lucky to have a beautiful day.  Today, we may make an apple pie.

 No school Wednesday afternoons means that we had time to have a piano lesson and to make some apple pie.

Yes, we cheated with ready-made pie crust, but look at our lattice action.