Paris…. May 1

Spring is here though it continues chilly and damp, with intermitten rain between the sun shining every now and then.  Given what we are hearing about the weather up to now at home, we aren’t complaining.

Another movie is being filmed on our street today — and fortuantely, it didn’t rain. For some reason – no one I know is sure why –our street is a favorite of film makers.   Two weeks ago, just before we arrived, Tom Cruz was here for several days filming Mission Impossible #6. Our guardienne showed me her video of Cruz as he came down our street on a motorcycle being chased by the police. She filmed from one of the upstairs apartments .   Signs had been posted, as they do each time a film is being made, announcing that cars and motorcycles must be removed by a certain time from the street.  Our upstairs neighbors were in Italy and their motorcycle was towed to the tune of 200 euros.   Again, signs were posted  early this week notifying everyone that cars were again to be removed by last night — another movie to be filmed.   The movie’s name: Kisses, Kisses… We saw the scene filmed,  It took less than 5 minutes to actually do the filming, but hours and hours to set everything up.  George commented that it hard to imagine what it takes to make an epic drama if this is what it took for a simple movie – and just one scene at that.

Preparations underway for filming on our street.

Why is our street used for filming? Maybe because the buildings are very typical Parisian architecture and we don’t have a lot of traffic. But, in fact, no one knows.

What has happened since I last wrote?   We had lunch with a good friend near La  Madeleine. The bistro we’ve gone to twice is a typical French bistro, Le Colibri, and not at all touristy although it is across the street from La Madeleine. We ate exactly the same thing we ate last year – mussels and French fries — and we sat in the same seats (coincidentially). From there we walked halfway home along the impressive Rue Royal passing the colorful pastry shop and tea house La Durée, Maxim’s, the ferris wheel at La Concorde, and the American Embassy. We continued walking through some beautiful gardens now in full bloom toward the Champs Elysées to reach our favorite bus stop for the #28. The day was beautiful.

The waiters have traditional long white aprons and are courteous.  I was too shy to ask for a photo with one of them.  I’m sure they would have agreed — maybe next time.

L’eglise de la Madeleine, as you can see is built in the style of a grand Greek temple.  It is a church in which there are often concerts which we have attended in the past. It faces Rue Royal and our little bistro is where I was standing to take this photos.   

Some people think LaDuree makes the best macarons in Paris.  I’ve not tasted them all, but I’d say these are among the best.  

The Place de la Concorde is the largest square in  Paris (21 acres!).  It is famous for many reasons including that King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were guillotined here.  Today — although beautiful with that history long in the past — it is the place were the most accidents occur — including motorcyle and pedistrian accidents.  There are underground passages for crossing the square and one would be wise to use them.

Monday, May 1 was a holiday, something akin to our Labor Day making this past weekend a three-day weekend.  Paris was definitely quiet with Parisians leaving town if at all possible.   On Saturday we had dinner out at a relatively new restaurant on Cherche Midi with our good friends and neighbors (who didn’t leave town!).   On Sunday, after a leisurely morning (which I spent writing and George spent in his atelier painting) we headed out to the Musée D’Art Moderne to see an exhibit by Karl Appel, a painter from the Netherlands who was part of the Cobra group – post expressionists. We were not disappointed and neither was our neighbor who joined us.

George in his little studion on the 7th floor — an old chambre de bonneThe back stairs leading up to George’s studio.  I’m taking a shot looking down.

A word about museums in Paris… for those who might not know. There are two kinds of museums – museums owned by the City of Paris and those that are privately owned. (very much like the museums of Washington, D.C.) The former are free except for special exhibitions. The latter charge an entrance fee which usually special exhibitions.

Our museum today was one of the free ones but we were going for the special exhibition so we paid 10 euros each – well worth the price of admission.

The Appel show was great fun though it had some serious parts, too.  The title of the show, “Art is a Celebration” certainly felt appropriate.

Below are circus characters — creative and whimsical. 

Another quiet day at home after some morning shopping for necessities.  We had tea at 4:30 with our neighbors upstairs, tea and delicious home baked lemon cake. We chatted away about the upcoming election on next Sunday.  Although LePen is losing in the polls, no one knows for sure what will happen and anxiety  levels are high — very high!