Paris Journal 2013 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com
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In that grand
tradition of American writers in Paris, Tom is working hard on a new chapter
to be added to Back to the Lake
when it comes out in its third edition.
So after spending a full day at the computers, we went out for our
walk at about 5:30PM. Better late than
never! We took our
time, wandering in a southerly direction through the Luxembourg Gardens and
the two parks in the avenue de l’Observatoire. We were pleased to see that the water had
been turned back on in the glorious “Four Corners of the Earth” fountain at
the end, in the Jardin des Grands Explorateurs, which is also sometimes
called the Jardin Marco-Polo. Its
restoration must be complete. This is my
favorite fountain in Paris for its dramatic grandeur. It is also a fine example of artists
collaborating. The fountain was conceived
by Gabriel Davioud, Louis Villeminot made the garlands around the pedestal,
Pierre Legrain sculpted the globe, Emmanuel Frémiet made the part with the
eight “sea horses” as well as the turtles, and Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux made
the statues of the four women who hold up the globe. (The women symbolize Africa, America, Asia,
and Europe.) While the
statues of the women are impressive, the best part of this monument is
Frémiet’s horses with fish tails. Like
my friend the artist Sherry
Rohl does today, Frémiet knew how to present a horse. The fountain was assembled and installed
between 1867 and 1874. I can see why
it would have taken some time! By the time we
turned around and were headed north again, many of the families with kids had
left, and others were starting to go.
We paused in a few places, so it was about 7PM by the time we were
walking back through the east side of the Luxembourg Gardens. I could hear a
band out on the boulevard Saint-Michel playing fanfare at a fast and furious
tempo. Could it be? Are they back? The energetic, fun-loving medical student
group with their brass instruments and drums? Our pace
quickened. When we reached the gate in
the fence, we could see that it was true – the rentrée brought us this lively street entertainment once again. These
twenty-something-year-olds are hardworking med students who get together and
release stress by playing music. They
play at a rapid tempo for fun, but also to cover up mistakes. The important part is that they are having
FUN. There are about
18 of them. Two were playing drums
(snare for one, bass drum for the other, with a cymbal or two and a cowbell
attached). The rest were playing
saxophones, trumpets, or trombones.
And oh yes, there is a tuba. The group
attracted a sizeable crowd strung out along the sidewalk. The horns were loud, causing some
passers-by to cover their ears with their hands they walked quickly between
the band and its fans. Others who were
talking on their phones as they walked just had to stop talking and smile
instead until they were far enough away. We first heard this group in the very same place almost two years ago (I wrote about it in the last entry for the Paris Journal 2011). We bought their CD then. The group is called Les Plaies Mobiles, Fanfare des Etudiants de Medecine Paris 5, who describe themselves as Festivement Brassee Depuis 1998. (The Moving Wounds [or perhaps the Walking Wounded?] Brass Band of medical students from the Sorbonne’s Medical School, Festively Brassy since 1998.) Here’s a YouTube
video of this group playing at the Festival des Bandas
de Condom 2012. (Yes, there really is
a town in France called “Condom.”
We’ve been there. It has a museum about Armagnac, a principal product
of the area.) After Les Plaies played and sang a
rapidfire French version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (I kid you not!), it
was time for us to go to dinner at Aux Deux Oliviers near the Odéon Theatre
on the rue de Vaugirard. Because of the
LaFourchette.com deal, our reservation was for 7:30PM. There were many tables occupied in the tiny
resto by the time we arrived, which is unusually early. The dinner was
a little disappointing. Actually, the
appetizer and dessert that we shared were pretty good. Only the main courses were a bit
disappointing because the meat was dry (pork for Tom, duck for me). Tom’s pain perdu (like French toast made
with a thick slice of brioche) with caramel sauce and ice cream was probably
the best course. But the appetizer, a
“crème brûlée ” of fois gras, was
very nice, too. If we go back,
I think a tagine is probably the better choice. We’ll see. Back at the
apartment, we were amazed at how quiet the literary critic’s TV is. So we had a restful evening and night,
which makes us more productive now during the day. Write on. |
Thursday, September 5, 2013
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