An artist and a baker

He is first an artist, then a baker. This is what Bruno, the man who plies students and passers-by alike with his pastries and tarts from his boulangerie on rue St.Jacques in the sixth arrondissement tells me. For the first month while making my way to my French class, I would quickly slip in and buy a little something from his abundant and delightful pastries. He experiments well with his fillings, a simple croissant becomes a nut and fruit, or pear-filled, or cheese and nut. His muffins are on one day olive and bacon, on another spinach and cheese; not to mention his tarts - which were also my staple until I decided it may be best to admire Bruno's work from afar.

Ice-skating at the Grand Palais

The last time I was at the Grand Palais, under its expansive nave, was for the Monumenta 2012 exhibition. Yesterday we went for the ice-skating. We went early, armed with our pre-purchased tickets, and prepped for a morning of fun. I had my children and two of their friends, with varying degrees of skating experience. We lasted two hours. It was enjoyable enough, the older children had more fun, whilst the younger ones seemed a bit intimidated by the larger rink and the number of people there - they stayed close to me on the 'young children / amateur side'.

CirkAfrica transports us home

So off to the circus we went again. This time around, it was pure acrobat-infused fun, sans les animaux. I didn't realise how obtuse I had been about the use of animals in circuses until my daughter pointed out the cruelty of it all after another circus trip (shame on me!). More recently, when I mentioned to a friend that I was taking my children to the circus the very first thing out of his mouth was: Sans les animaux bien sûr (Without animals of course).  Oui, bien sûr! I think I can safely say the past month has made me a lot more aware of animal cruelty issues.

Books: BLACK ORCHIDS by Gillian Slovo

Title: Black Orchids        
Author: Gillian Slovo
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2008

I enjoyed Black Orchids, a story dealing with race and set in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and England from the 1940s through to the 1960s. It is a story of the white Evelyn, raised in the then Ceylon as a child of a diplomat father. Her family's life changes when Ceylon is granted independence - leaving the family with having to return to England.

Quick dining at the Relais de l'Entrecôte

I had not really wanted to linger after our meal, but we found that the Relais de l'Entrecôte does not lend itself to that type of slow dining anyway. If you're looking for the kind of place where a midday lunch turns into a late afternoon, and a bottle of wine disappears long before the conversation ends - try some place else. The service is efficient - think conveyor belt efficiency. You wait -inside if you're early but most likely outside - in a winding long queue, to be seated so you can have a salad, their famous entrecôte and pomme allumettes - string fries. That's the sum of the menu.

Dali at the Pompidou

I took in the Salvador Dali exhibition at the Pompidou Centre on Sunday;  the first retrospective of the artist's work to be held in Paris in thirty years. As I made my way around, taking in this surrealist painter's bizarre and at times thought-provoking work, I wondered if it was the art, or his showmanship that had made him the darling of the art world at the height of his career.
Containing over 200 paintings, drawings, collages, assemblages, photos and film clips, the Pompidou Centre is paying hommage to what it calls 'the most complex and prolific figure of 20th century art'.
Dali's theatrics are also shown in short film clips around the exhibition - his eccentricity on full display.

Books: THE BUDDHA IN THE ATTIC by Julie Otsuka

Title: The Buddha in the Attic
Author: Julie Otsuka
Genre: Novel
Published: 2011

Julie Otsuka's book is written in the first person plural -  a style I have never seen used before. It was at first distracting as I thought it was simply a foreword and the style would change. Not the case. By the time I was into the second chapter I had started imagining the women in the story as a collective.
The Buddha in the Attic traces the story of Japanese women that make their journey from Japan to San Francisco as picture brides in the early 1900s. She starts off with the first section catchingly- titled, Come, Japanese!

It has begun...

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was writing about the Christmas markets in Paris. Well here we are again. Two weeks ago the Champs Elysees market stalls opened for business.
More markets will be opening up in the various arrondissements around Paris, all spreading the Christmas cheer. It's seems a bit early - hearing Christmas carols in November, but it looks quite enchanting at night. We went with the children and they were excited to see that the ice-skating rink is larger this year. There is a menagerie of animals; reindeer, bears and lions that has found its place at the market this year.

A night of surprises with Diana Krall

Last night we went to the Diana Krall concert at the Palais des Congres de Paris. I am not a complete jazz aficionado, but the only music that plays in our house on Sundays when we have family and friends over is jazz. Why jazz? No idea, I have just always associated it with relaxed Sunday afternoons, winding down the weekend. Diana Krall is one of my favourite jazz singers so I jumped at the chance to see her. Even if it was to be held at the Palais des Congres. This is a conference centre with behemoth-sized auditoriums - not exactly the perfect venue for an intimate jazz evening. I had also not expected the masses of people that turned up last night. The French love Diana Krall! That was the first surprise.

Books: THE POISONWOOD BIBLE by Barbara Kingsolver

Title: The Poisonwood Bible
Author: Barbara Kingsolver
Genre: Novel
Published: 1998

The Poisonwood Bible is the story of the Price family, an evangelical Baptist family that moves from America to Belgian Congo in the years preceding independence. It is a tragic story of a family living under a very religious - almost fanatical husband and father, who sole mission is to save the heathen Africans from themselves.

Books: INFIDEL: MY LIFE by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

Title: Infidel: My Life
Author:  Ayaan Hirsi Ali
Genre: Memoir
Published: 2007

When I read Infidel more than four years ago, Ayaan Hirsi Ali had lost her dutch citizenship and her status as a member of the Dutch parliament. The controversy about her was over the means in which she had acquired her refugee status in the Netherlands and her subsequent citizenship.
My reading of  Infidel at the time was not tarnished by any preconceived ideas. Writing about the book now, years later and after a second reading, makes me doubt the legitimacy of the harrowing tale she tells.

Books: UNACCUSTOMED EARTH by Jhumpa Lahiri

Title: Unaccustomed Earth
Author: Jhumpa Lahiri
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2008

Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth is a collection of short stories told from the perspective of different characters, all of Indian origin carving out their lives in the US. The first part of the book is a collection of five different stories, all relating the varying experiences; from the parents - arriving in the US to a world wholly different to what they know;  to their children- born in the US to Indian parents, and struggling with their own identities and the juxtaposition of their origins and their citizenship.

The Buddy Bears in Paris

Lesotho's Bear

The United Buddy Bears are in Paris until November 18th. I saw them a few weeks back and enthusiastically went about photographing these colourful giant two metre bear sculptures. There are 140 of them - representing the countries recognised by the UN-  standing boldly, hand in hand as a sign of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. The exhibition is meant to celebrate twin cities, Paris and Berlin, and to mark the 50th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty and Franco-German relations. They are a creative addition to Champ de Mars. I had a great deal of fun searching for, and photographing Lesotho and South Africa's bears.

More bears can be seen here.

Books: ONE THOUSAND WHITE WOMEN - The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus

Title: One Thousand White Women : The Journals of May Dodd
Author: Jim Fergus
Genre: Fiction
Published: 2011

This book is a fictional book that is so well-researched and written that I had to keep checking whether it was in fact not based on actual records. It is about the the exchange of one thousand white women as brides for Native American men by the American government in the 1800s, in the years immediately prior to the gold rush.

In a bid by white settlers to acquire Native American land, the "Brides for Indians Program" was meant to foster relations between the two people, with the American government hoping to ultimately renege on earlier land treaties. The exchange program was not expected to be a success as the Native Americans unwittingly got a  mixed bag of women that were either former convicts or formerly institutionalised, and those that simply saw volunteering into the program as a way to escape from their lives.

The circus and an education in animal rights

Cirque d'Hiver was a hit with my children. It is a long show - almost two hours long, with intermission only after the first hour. Despite this, there was no fidgeting in seats as they sat enthralled. The agile trapeze artists, the bumbling clowns, the spooky-looking harlequin, every part of this entertaining act was amazing. My son loved the tiger act - although he had to be assured more than once that the tigers would indeed stay behind the bars.

Exploring the pirate city of St. Malo, Brittany

From the distance, the walled city of St.Malo seems imposing, but once within its walls and on its cobbled narrow streets its quaintness is charmingly modest. With its 18th century buildings, and equally historic shops and restaurants one gets a sense of having traveled back in time. Indeed St. Malo's castle dates dates from the 14th and 15th centuries so we did go back in time somewhat. As always I still had to come up with a story to sell to my children - more to my six year old that my pre-teen- as the history offered by the tourist guide books doesn't beguile enough to warrant sufficient enthusiasm. This weekend's story was about the pirates.

Post-rentreé funk

I have been caught up in a post-rentrée funk that I'm trying to shake myself out of. The vacances came and went in a bit of a blur. I am now trying to fall into a rhythm as the weather slowly changes from warm and balmy, to chilly and grey.

My new mantra for this year: Write. Everyday. (Even if it is just a blog post). In the meantime sorting through photos and in the process re-living a bit of the summer holidays. Here are some pictures of an evening of fireworks at Château de Versailles - I am looking for inspiration anywhere.

Hope your vacances were great, your rentrée fairly easy and that  you've found your groove...I sure am trying.

Books: THE No.1 LADIES' DETECTIVE AGENCY by Alexander McCall Smith

Title: The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Author: Alexander McCall Smith
Published: 2008
Genre: Fiction

This was a joy to read, and I wonder why it has taken me so long to read the Ladies' Detective Agency series. This debut to the immensely popular series is fast-paced and funny- and for a Southern African, the writing style and vocabulary were elements I could completely relate to. McCall Smith writes in a vernacular form which made my enjoyment of the book much richer.

Books: SIXTY MILLION FRENCHMEN CAN'T BE WRONG by Jean-Benoit Nadeau & Julie Barlow

Title: Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong
Authors: Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow
Published: 2003
Genre: Memoir


This is one of those books I pick up once in a while when I am astounded by how much I still do not understand about the French. Just when I think I get them, and I think - yes they are different in this way, or that - something happens and I am yet again drawn to some form of theory that will  help me understand the people of my host country.

Books: THE SENSE OF AN ENDING by Julian Barnes

Title: The Sense of an Ending
Author: Julian Barnes
Published: 2011
Genre: Novel

The Sense of an Ending is similar to the The Remains of the Day, which I read a month ago. Memory, reflection and the crafting of a story that begins with a mystery. I read and finished it in a fairly short time but the layers of interpretation to the story will probably require a second reading. It's about Tony Webster, a man well into his sixties who is now divorced and leads a quiet, if unexciting life. He is mysteriously bequeathed a journal from a school friend - and this sends him thinking back to his years at school when he met the charismatic Adrian Quinn; who was a mystery to them even back then.