Paris Journal 2013 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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She walked into Au Chien Qui Fume and went straight to
the end of the bar. She was a sight to
see. Stylishly coiffed in a Vidal
Sassoon sort of way, the lady’s hair fell right back into place after being
buffeted about by the gusty wind that swept the streets outside. She wore expensive mary-jane low-heeled
pumps in a light taupe color. They
perfectly matched her knee-length straight skirt. Over her white silk blouse,
she wore a white cardigan that hung more like a jacket than a sweater. It had an open, lacy-but-modern
design. She did not carry a handbag,
but instead, gripped her keys in her hand. She smiled as she looked
over the bar. She could barely look
over the bar. She was tiny; not just
short, but thin and small-boned. The bartender appeared, and
she chatted with him briefly, pleasantly.
She took one of the Journal du
Dimanche newspapers from the Lucite stand at the end of the bar. After she and the bartender exchanged a few
more pleasantries, she turned, and made her way slowly out the door. Slowly, because she had a
tremor, and she used a cane for support and steadiness. Her thick hair, you see, was silver, and
her pale skin was slightly wrinkled. We decided that she had to
be 100 years old. I was concerned, as
I saw her move slowly to the crosswalk over the wide and busy boulevard du Montparnasse. Would she make it across in time, before
the traffic started zooming again? Thank heavens it is a
boulevard. There is a place to stand
safely in the middle, if you are a pedestrian who did not make it all the way
across before the light changed. She made it slowly, and
safely, to the middle. There she stood
and waited for the light to change in her favor again. She then made it to the other side. I breathed a sigh of relief. She paused on the sidewalk,
as if looking at the buildings there.
Perhaps she was just catching her breath. She was trying to look like this was a
normal, small errand in her day, but I think it was a major outing, a big
effort. After a minute or two, she
moved across the wide sidewalk to the door of 1940s or 1950s building that
was sandwiched between two older Haussmannian buildings. She entered the door code, and managed to
push the door open. I felt better. She was safely inside her building, and in
a “newer” building like that, surely there would be an elevator to take her
up to her apartment. She’s somebody’s
mother/aunt/sister/cousin, I thought as we waited for our refreshments to
arrive at our table. Should she be out
there on her own, on the boulevard du Montparnasse? She was so frail, it just didn’t seem
right. Someone should have been with
her. But maybe being alone is her
choice. I don’t know. Maybe she takes her meals
at the Smoking Dog (Au Chien Qui Fume),
or at the little bistro across the street, right next to her building. I had not seen her give the bartender any
coins for the newspaper, so perhaps she has an account there. I hope so.
I hope somebody checks on her well-being regularly. Tom and I had just visited
the Musée Bourdelle. It was about
5:30PM, and Tom was ready for refreshments.
From the rue Antoine Bourdelle, we walked to the grand boulevard du Montparnasse. There was Au Chien Qui Fume, which we’d passed many times. Now was the time to try it. We chose a table inside,
near the open French doors. Tom
ordered sparkling water, coffee, and a peach-almond cream tart. I ordered a glass of rosé, the vin du moment, featured at the top of
the blackboard. We looked up and admired
the Lalique
glass light fixtures overhead. We’re
both fans of Lalique glass. Looking over the railing by
our table, I had a good view of the attractive bar, where I saw the stylish
old lady. The peach tart was
delicious. We’ll have to try dining at
the smoking dog place sometime. The sculptures that Antoine
Bourdelle created were monumental, and at least 20 years ahead of his
time. His style is one I associate
with the 1930s and 40s, not the 1900s and 1910s. We appreciated his work much more during
this visit than we had when we saw this museum years ago. The Great Hall of the
museum, where the most monumental works are displayed, was awesome. I didn’t think I could capture the
magnificence of the works in there with a camera, so I didn’t try. I did take a few photos when we were in one
of the museums three gardens, and on the terrace overlooking that garden. (Note: flash photography is not allowed in
the museum.) Photos are allowed, but
they must be “for personal use only.” I think that may mean I cannot share
them with you here in this journal.
Sorry about that. But you can
see some of the sculptures in photos
on the museum web site. The museum is not easy to
find. Use your GPS. What’s great about the location is that
this is where Antoine Bourdelle actually worked. It took us a full 45
minutes to walk to the museum, which is in the 15th
arrondissement. We weren’t even
walking the full breadth of the 15th as we made our way from the
apartment to the museum. This
illustrates the fact that the 15th is one of the the largest
arrondissements of Paris, geographically.
I used to believe it was the largest, but Wikipedia points out that
the largest in land area is the 16th. However, that is including
the enormous Bois de Boulogne as part of the 16th
arrondissement. If you take away the
Bois, the 16th is not the largest.
The same is true of the 12th arrondissement; without the
Bois de Vincennes, the 12th is not so large. Not counting either Bois,
the 15th is the largest arrondissement, geographically. The 15th is unquestionably the largest
arrondissement in terms of population, with a whopping 225,362 people. That’s down from a peak of 250,551 in
1962. It is a city unto itself. After the crazy, thick
crowds of tourists that we experienced the day before in the Marais and near
Notre Dame, we relished the relative calm of the 15th
yesterday. We took a slightly longer
route for the walk “home,” down the boulevard du Montparnasse, across the rue
de Sevres, and along the boulevard Garibaldi to the neighborhood that was
once the village of Grenelle, “our” neighborhood. It isn’t as ritzy as the 16th
arrondissement, but that’s a good thing.
The 15th has a lot of character and texture. It is relatively safe (much more so than
the 19th or 20th), and is very real – not touristy. Many jobs and businesses are located in the
15th. When you do hear
English spoken here, you mustn’t assume that the speakers are tourists. They may very well be foreigners who are
working in Paris for a while. Or
foreigners who are living in Paris for a while, comme nous. We leave this
arrondissement in a dozen days from now, so we plan to make the most of it
while we are here. There’s no place
like “home.” |
Monday, August 19, 2013
Part
of the interior of Au Chien Qui Fume, at the corner of the rue du Cherche-Midi and the boulevard du Montparnasse.
Lalique glass light fixture
in Au Chien Qui Fume.
Wood
carvings in the church of Saint Gervais.
In
the nave of the church of Saint Gervais, small
wooden benches are used instead of chairs or pews. |
