Melange

So again the days have just mixed up themselves and gone too quickly. It is still chilly - cold that you just can't seem to shake. The sky now is a periwinkle blue, and I'm looking out of our bedroom window. The Pantheon glows in the distance, strange that a place for the dead seems so warm. The twinkling Tour Montparnasse looms, always out of place. It seems to never really be dark.

So earlier this week we visited Musee D'Orsay, again on a cold bitter day. We were happy to make it in after a bit of a wait. People are not exactly flocking to the jardins in this weather, so lines are getting longer at museums and shops more crowded. But D'Orsay is always worth the wait. Even on a sunless day the light coming in through all that glass is just lovely. So much space for all the work. Rachel is the perfect age to admire the Renoirs, asking about the little girls sitting just so, and also to study the ballerinas. Joshua is playing his cards a little closer to his chest, perhaps some of the larger narrative pieces held his interest. As much as you want to feel you are a little too jaded for the Gaugins and van Goghs, well, it just isn't possible.

Part of the museum, surprise, is under renovation, so a lot of work isn't out. Paris itself seems is under renovation -

So yesterday we went back to the art store in my hunt for mats and envelopes. Of course, the store was opening an hour late for the bank holiday. Beaumarchais was absolutely deserted but we walked up to Republique and found a bakery open, crammed with people, and bought apple tarts and ate them on our walk. No luck at the art store but we picked up more pencils and Rachel bought one of those small wooden mannequins. Then we carried on with our day. We went up to Montmartre to see Sacre Couer and I taught my children the art of choosing a place to eat that is three blocks back from the major tourist attraction. We found a warm place with lovely food except according to my offspring there was too much cheese...did I mention it was warm? We headed back out and waited in line to visit the church. It was, as always to me, a place of realignment, even in a crowd that you can't stand still in. We went around once, sat for a while, then went through a second time with the smoke from incense lingering in the air. I am always humbled by the people holding onto the foot of the virgin and praying, or kneeling at some altar or another, quite oblivious to any number of onlookers, or lighting candles to someone whose altar area has had little attention. I try to figure out why they are seeking this particular saint for adoration. In all religion seems much more visceral in europe and latin america.

In the evening we had a lovely dinner at someone's house. We were treated to the most amazing veal dish and homemade pear cake with chocolate. the pears had been covered in chocolate, frozen, then slipped into the batter before they could melt and become too much mixed in. Someone spends as much time as I do thinking about cake. The wine was continuous - and the children were in close company with twin boys who are Rachel's age. if only they could have all gone out and played soccer...

Today the saga of mats continued. A series of unfortunate events (ie backorders) prevented me from ordering from the company I use in the US...so I finally found a company in Germany. (I was not able to find a supplier in Paris.) So I called one office who said I had to talk to berlin, and Berlin did no answer the phone so I called back Kassel who said, oh, Berlin is not in until 12, so then I waited to call Berlin and talked to someone who said, no you have to order from Kassel, so I just started laughing. She quickly understood my problem and helped me place an order, but between my lack of languages and her underutilized english it took almost an hour to figure out the order. But how nice that she was willing to help and hung in there until we had the whole thing worked out. This is why sometimes we don't leave the house until 4:00...