Bicycles, Buildings and Snow

24 April 2007

This is a bit of a commentary on "small things!" Let's begin with casual meetings. We are sure that most of you have had the experience of being in airports in far away places only to have your name called and there, when least expected, is the old friend or acqaintance who just happens to be passing through the airport at the same time as you are. In 2005 we went on a Globus Tour of France. The driver was a delightful young man, Guynael by name. Two years later, Bruce, sitting in an internet cafe, looks up to see Guynael! While we would have been surprised had he remembered us, we certainly remembered him. Bruce reintroduced himself and the two of them had a nice discussion of the trip, which Guynael had to leave for several days to return home for the birth of a calf.

The French have always had a reputations as "scoff-laws." "No Smoking," for example, means everybody else, but not me.

The other day, walking through one of the narrow streets in the Marais, we say several bikes chained to a postbox on which someone had placed a sign saying "Don't park your bicycles here!" Ah well, we wouldn't want to dent the French reputation. Actually they are very law-abiding. There is no smoking in the Metro now and in a variety of other places and it is rare to see anyone light up in these areas.

Another sight which constantly amazes us is the rickety platforms that are built out from balconies in the blocks of apartments when minor repairs are required. Major work, of course, involves very professional equipment, but minor works, Mon Dieu - remarquable!

I had planned to go to the Musee d'Orsay this morning, but instead wound up back in the Marais because I wanted to buy a Mezuzah to replace the old one currently on our door at home. If I haven't said it before, the Mezuzah consists of religious texts from Deuteronomy inscribed on parchment and rolled up in a case that is attached to the doorframe of many Jewish households in accordance with Jewish law. The custom of placing a mezuzah on the doorpost is derived from a biblical command: “And thou shalt write them on the doorposts of thy house, and upon thy gates”. The mezuzah is placed on the doorpost that stands to the right as one enters the door.

In the afternoon, Virginia headed off on a bus ride to Sarkozy territory, Neuilly-sur Seine. If you want to live as close to Paris as possible without actually living in Paris, this is where you go; that is assuming you can afford it. This is seriously nice territory just across the peripheral road around Paris. No small general greengrocers with a few staples, here one finds the finest foods displayed brilliantly. Everything you would like to have on your table but can't afford. "Truffles, Madame, mais oui!" A two bedroom apartment here can easily set you back the equivalent of a million and a half Australian dollars. Virginia liked it very much. She went to the Mairie for the usual map but instead was given a complete volume introducing one to the life in the area. Guess who wrote the introduction to the guide? Yep, Nicolas Sarkozy, the John Howard of the French electorate. He may well be the next Prime Minister; but we have to wait for the run-off election before we know for sure. Just so you get some sense of the man, one of the main pictures he used in his campaign was of him on a horse. I think he was playing polo! Even John Howard hasn't got the gall to try that one on.

While Virginia was strolling in Neuilly-sur Seine, I was off to the Musee d'Orsay. Heeding my own advice, I limited the visit to looking at the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists and a display from the collection of photographs held by the Museum. Of the Impressionist works, I particularly enjoyed a couple of pictures by Gustave Caillebotte. The Parquet Floor Polishers is, perhaps his best known work, but I confess to loving his painting of snow on the rooftops. In the past I have tried to see too much and this time was feeling quite good about limiting my visit.
The photographs were interesting with some dating back to the middle of the nineteenth century. They included formal and informal images mostly from Paris but with some from the United States and other sources. An enjoyable afternoon then at the Musee d'Orsay.