it just doesn't get any better than this. my hostel is at the foot of montmartre and from my fifth floor room, my french doors open up to a framed view of sacre coeur in all of its glory. it's positively luminous and practically hums with energy. its a fantastic grounding point every morning, reminding me of just where i am.
spent my first day wandering the familiar streets of montmartre and saying hello to fave spots, carousel near les abbesses, cafe fourmi, great accessories shops, fantastic paperie. was so exhausted that after a trip to the local grocery store (the produce is incredible, i am in love with the tomatoes and eat them like fruit!) i settled into bed and devoured my edition of pariscope (the equivalent of now magazine here.)
yesterday i went to the marche puces. it's about six blocks of open air markets where everything from sneakers to vintage night dresses are sold. was a great vibe. got a flair for the ethnic part of paris that has eluded me on other trips. noticed that the further out you go on the subway line the more multicultural the residents that live there are. true of toronto too, i've noticed.
was followed by an armenian guy for about a block. really creepy, i stopped, he stopped, tried to lose him for a good five minutes or so. bought two fantastic purses for 10 euro each! was surprised at how familiar so much of the merchandise was. tacky seems to be a universal language. bob marley paraphenalia featured prominently as did stalls of hoochie mama bar tops made of stretch fabric.
was about to give up when turned onto rue roisiers and came across a woman selling fantastic one of a kind jewellery. magpie that i am i spent about half an hour drooling over her wares. she was the female equivalent of johnny depp in his captain jack role. she had dyed black hair, cleopatra black eyes, silver bangles and smoked a cigarette determinedly throughout my visit. by the end of my encounter, i'd spent my entire splurge budget! ah well, it was worth it!
next, i meandered along windy pathways where beautiful antique furniture from around the world was displayed. at the end of a densely packed corridor i heard cabaret music coming from a restaurant. a more than middle aged woman with a black bouffant and red lips was belting out folk tunes to a packed to the guills tourist crowd. smiled to myself thinking how odd a context it must be for such a song to inhabit now.
after five hours of walking i came back to my room and watched super nanny, france's version on tv and napped. later i met up with a friend who took me to a canadian bar along the seine. was incredible, they even served poutine! the waiters walked around with ottawa senators shirts and hockey jerseys and several patrons had flags or had painted maple leafs on their cheeks. have been speaking french exclusively (and loving every minute of it!) so felt like was cheating in a way to be around so much english. was incredible to be sipping a pint while watching notre dame glow in the background, shadows from the bateau mouche casting wonderful images on the gorgeous homes across the water.
spent the morning at le cimitere montmartre. love going to graveyards here. the monuments are spectacular and act as signposts of the times. love to feel a bit of the person's spirit as reflected in the choice of artwork or an amusing epitaph.
sang the flower duet to myself as i stood in front of delibes' tomb. love that song, one of my all time favourites. then went to the tomb of alexandre dumas. fantastic novelist. is a marble relief of his body lying down. flowers had been placed in his crossed arms. wrote a wonderful passage that sat on the ceiling above his reclined body. really emananted a powerful energy.
on my way to pay my respects to berlioz, who i never did find, i was struck by a simple stone, modern and grey that had a black and white photograph at the centre of two names(annick and pierre fafeur). the photo looked to have been taken in the 30's. the two of them were arm in arm, eating icecream and walking down a boulevard, they were absolutely beaming with happiness. i stopped in my tracks, moved by the story that instantly came to mind. instantly saddened that no matter who i might find in the future, i'll never have a photo of us together during a time like that, where the world was in front of you and you were playfully lost in each other. there's a song in there i'm sure.
on the way back, went to sit in sacre coeur. wanted to be moved by the interior as much as i am by the exterior. found that its expanse and polished glowing splendour left me a bit distant from the soulfullness i like to feel in places of worship. the reds were too red, the purples almost neon, christ himself, tall and imposing was almost too handsome.
am off to the canadian embassy for a fete. going to the centre pompidou tomorrow.
photos will have to wait, forgot the chord that would let me upload them, zut alors!
a tout a l'heure.
3 comments:
10 euro purses! Be still my heart! Glad to hear you're having a good time!!!
found you by googling those fafeurs -- I was totally entranced by them as well. That whole cemetery fascinated me. So many untold stories.
wow! that's incredible. wonder if the family has any idea just how powerful their manner of honouring their parents, is.
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