Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Saturday 10 December 2005
I have now finished reading Il Disprezzo by Alberto Moravia, only to discover that the film Le Mépris is no longer showing in Paris. I have decided that life is often full of these Alice in Wonderland moments….. I should now get back to reading War and Peace, but am currently going through about half a dozen house magazines in English brought by Madeleine.
In fact I should have taken War and Peace to the post office with me yesterday when I went to post the family Christmas parcels; I waited 50 minutes in the queue, and they cost a total of 25 euros to post.
House-wise things are now going backwards instead of forwards; after the flurry of activity on Tuesday afternoon we have had no reply at all from Mme V to our message asking whether or not she would be leaving any furniture at all that we could sleep on prior to mine arriving from Cambridge. I also sent a message to Abels asking if there was a definite time we might expect their delivery on the 22nd, only to be told that is was now unlikely that they could confirm delivery before Christmas as one client whose delivery was to be made with ours was no longer buying in France, and the other one they were currently unable to contact. Somewhat deflated by all this, we said we were disappointed and asked what would be the price if it were to be a single load delivery, instead of part load. Since then we have heard nothing from either Mme V or Abels; I can only hope they are both trying to come up with a satisfactory answer for us. N thinks perhaps Mme V has already packed up her computer ready to move, but this seems unlikely to me.
Wednesday was one of those days which turned out to be far more interesting than originally expected. The plan for the afternoon was to return to Avis Rentals, taking the metro – only one stop, and then to go a few stops further on to Clichy to visit a branch of a store called Lapeyre (kitchens, bathrooms, and so on) as there is a larger store near La Neuve-Lyre and it seemed a good idea to do some preliminary research. The only problem with renting the van at Avis was that there would be none of the size we wanted available until 9 January (we were thinking of 27 or 28 December) Anyway we booked it for 9 January at 8.30 am, and it will not cost very much with N's Senior Avis card.
We then went on to Clichy and were very impressed with Lapeyre; this was only a small store but we came away with three free catalogues (kitchens, bathrooms and exteriors) and saw some of the best and cheapest plain white basic bathroom suites I have seen anywhere. The Normandy branch is at Bernay, and we have already downloaded lots of helpful information on planning a bathroom, floor layouts and so on.
So there we were in the Boulevard de Clichy in the middle of a sunny afternoon, and decided to walk on to Montmartre. This was an outing we had been trying to plan for some time, but it always seemed to be raining. N has to have a pencil portrait drawn for a college collection, and the difficult part is the finding of a suitable artist, so he wanted to go and have a look at those in the Place du Tertre. We walked on for some time, tiringly slightly uphill, and approached a large metal bridge; I knew it couldn't be over the river and thought it must be over a railway line, but it turned out that it crossed right over the Montmartre cemetery, one of the most famous in Paris and one I had never visited.
We walked up and down the allées with their piles of yellowing leaves and I wished I'd brought my camera. The metal bridge must have been built over the cemetery rather than having to go through it, but in some places the girders were just inches from the tops of the higher monuments, and traffic was thundering overhead – not much chance of resting in eternal peace there. Apart from little sepulchres in various stages of dilapidation and more traditional graves - including those of Sacha Guitry, the Goncourt brothers and Miss Bluebell - there were also many cats, as N said, very sleek well-fed cats, more cats than I had seen for a long time. Some were posing very elegantly on tombstones, including a large tabby with a torn ear just by the entrance surveying all who came in or out; N thought he must be in charge. Later we saw a whole group of them crowding round an old lady who appeared to be attending to flowers on a grave; on closer inspection she was in fact opening tins of cat food.
After returning to the bridge and still more climbing we eventually arrived at the Place du Tertre. I had realised by then that it was 30 years or more since I was last there (but remembered that there was a restaurant called Maison Catherine!) It was a lot more touristy than anywhere we'd been of late and we heard a lot of English and other languages spoken, but not very successful from the point of view of finding an artist – some were drawing from models and there were other drawings done from photos but none at all in pencil. We had some hot chocolate in front of a well heated café, and then started our descent down several flights of stone steps with iron handrails, as N kept saying, much easier and quicker than going up. In between the bottom of the steps (next to the funicular railway) and the metro station we went very speedily down a fascinating street filled with material shops, several cut-price clothing stores and a branch of Tati, the most famous cut-price store of all, which I only ever seem to see from the windows of the metro or a bus.
Thursday was the day for the dentist at Nogent and IKEA again; I was dropped off at IKEA before the appointment as last week, but this time with a view to making larger purchases. I bought – as planned – a small white kitchen table for about 19 euros and a computer desk with pullout tray for keyboard (that will be fun to assemble!) and a little extra unit for the printer. (About 14 euros each) Also after much looking at different sizes, I bought a white duvet cover with two pillowcases, for the wide Italian bed, hoping that the quilt we eventually get will be the same size, not to mention the mattress. The first two of these came in four fairly heavy boxes, so N met me inside and we did more shopping at the food shop; jams made from strange Swedish fruits, more Gravadlax sauce and a "Christmas Infusion" – rather like drinking mulled wine at tea-time. The computer to go on this desk is my Christmas present from N, and has been ordered from FNAC and may come as soon as Monday!
The question of the furniture and the bedding is far from clear; does this go in the car or the van? And if in the van where does it go meanwhile, when we may not have access to the garage from 19 December onwards? Do we need to take anything to sleep on at La Neuve-Lyre on the night of the 20th, or will there be no bed or sofa, so we will have to go to a hotel in any case? And if Abels cannot deliver my Cambridge furniture before January there won't be much point in being there at all, once we have had a good look round and measured what needs measuring. N intends to book a place in the municipal car park for a couple of months to tide us over the "no garage" period; it's not far to walk from here, but would not be easy to load and unload. He has now phoned and altered the van booking from Avis to two days instead of one, much better as we can take longer to load it (we keep thinking of other things which must be included) and he will not have to rush to get it back the same day, but can have a good night's sleep in between.
At the chorale on Thursday evening it seemed that all had gone very well at the Téléthon, and I was sorry not to have been there. All new singing material from now on, says the chef, but I don't know what or when the next event is. We learned a new gospel hymn with the piano and a few words on the blackboard, as one might at primary school, and a French song from printed words and music and had another look at I Like to be in America, for which I was asked to read some of the words out loud, although no mention was made of my translation. A couple of weeks ago I was finally given a green fiche to fill in, with necessary information for the statistics of the commune, such as my date of birth and (former) profession, but no request for any money, I'm pleased to say. Anyway, next week, as it's the last before Christmas, instead of singing for two hours we will sing for one and a half, and spend half an hour "à prendre un pot"; eating and drinking various things we have brought with us. I can't see this happening with my former choir in Cambridge!
On Friday afternoon I went back to have another look at the intriguing material shops near Anvers, down the hill from Montmartre. So many of them: curtain material, dress material and theatrical fabrics; lace, net, taffeta, velvet, at a variety of prices, some as low as 1 euro a metre, and lots for 5 or 6, even toile de jouy for as little as 8. Lots of voile and other sheer white or cream fabrics too, for possible curtains. I can't wait to go and measure all the windows at La Neuve-Lyre. I also found lots of shops selling famous label clothes at reduced prices, and wondered if I'd found at last some of the famous adresses one hears about. Also finally made a purchase in Tati, with their strangely old-fashioned sales methods: on going to the caisse one is given a piece of paper with price hand-written to take to the shop across the street to pay. (Wonder how much money they lose like this?) I bought a little green Christmas wreath for 0.60 euro; afterwards I wished I'd got two.
Monday 12 December 2005
Still no response from either Mme V or Abels. Yesterday we went to the opera at Châtelet, to see Boris Gudenov, the Mariinsky Theatre again, this time conducted by Valery Gergiev. We had excellent seats, at the front edge of the Corbeille, (lower circle) looking right down into the orchestra pit and onto the stage. As N had promised, the music was wonderful; excellent orchestra, a very large chorus and many deep Russian basses. Some of the costumes were spectacular too, although surprisingly not Boris himself, and there was amazing scenery and effects, lighting and artificial snow, the latter looking very artificial from where we sitting. We also had an excellent view back and up at the whole of the rest of the theatre, very red and gold, and not an empty seat. The performance started at 4 and went straight through without an interval, so we were home by 7.
I have now finished reading Il Disprezzo by Alberto Moravia, only to discover that the film Le Mépris is no longer showing in Paris. I have decided that life is often full of these Alice in Wonderland moments….. I should now get back to reading War and Peace, but am currently going through about half a dozen house magazines in English brought by Madeleine.
In fact I should have taken War and Peace to the post office with me yesterday when I went to post the family Christmas parcels; I waited 50 minutes in the queue, and they cost a total of 25 euros to post.
House-wise things are now going backwards instead of forwards; after the flurry of activity on Tuesday afternoon we have had no reply at all from Mme V to our message asking whether or not she would be leaving any furniture at all that we could sleep on prior to mine arriving from Cambridge. I also sent a message to Abels asking if there was a definite time we might expect their delivery on the 22nd, only to be told that is was now unlikely that they could confirm delivery before Christmas as one client whose delivery was to be made with ours was no longer buying in France, and the other one they were currently unable to contact. Somewhat deflated by all this, we said we were disappointed and asked what would be the price if it were to be a single load delivery, instead of part load. Since then we have heard nothing from either Mme V or Abels; I can only hope they are both trying to come up with a satisfactory answer for us. N thinks perhaps Mme V has already packed up her computer ready to move, but this seems unlikely to me.
Wednesday was one of those days which turned out to be far more interesting than originally expected. The plan for the afternoon was to return to Avis Rentals, taking the metro – only one stop, and then to go a few stops further on to Clichy to visit a branch of a store called Lapeyre (kitchens, bathrooms, and so on) as there is a larger store near La Neuve-Lyre and it seemed a good idea to do some preliminary research. The only problem with renting the van at Avis was that there would be none of the size we wanted available until 9 January (we were thinking of 27 or 28 December) Anyway we booked it for 9 January at 8.30 am, and it will not cost very much with N's Senior Avis card.
We then went on to Clichy and were very impressed with Lapeyre; this was only a small store but we came away with three free catalogues (kitchens, bathrooms and exteriors) and saw some of the best and cheapest plain white basic bathroom suites I have seen anywhere. The Normandy branch is at Bernay, and we have already downloaded lots of helpful information on planning a bathroom, floor layouts and so on.
So there we were in the Boulevard de Clichy in the middle of a sunny afternoon, and decided to walk on to Montmartre. This was an outing we had been trying to plan for some time, but it always seemed to be raining. N has to have a pencil portrait drawn for a college collection, and the difficult part is the finding of a suitable artist, so he wanted to go and have a look at those in the Place du Tertre. We walked on for some time, tiringly slightly uphill, and approached a large metal bridge; I knew it couldn't be over the river and thought it must be over a railway line, but it turned out that it crossed right over the Montmartre cemetery, one of the most famous in Paris and one I had never visited.
We walked up and down the allées with their piles of yellowing leaves and I wished I'd brought my camera. The metal bridge must have been built over the cemetery rather than having to go through it, but in some places the girders were just inches from the tops of the higher monuments, and traffic was thundering overhead – not much chance of resting in eternal peace there. Apart from little sepulchres in various stages of dilapidation and more traditional graves - including those of Sacha Guitry, the Goncourt brothers and Miss Bluebell - there were also many cats, as N said, very sleek well-fed cats, more cats than I had seen for a long time. Some were posing very elegantly on tombstones, including a large tabby with a torn ear just by the entrance surveying all who came in or out; N thought he must be in charge. Later we saw a whole group of them crowding round an old lady who appeared to be attending to flowers on a grave; on closer inspection she was in fact opening tins of cat food.
After returning to the bridge and still more climbing we eventually arrived at the Place du Tertre. I had realised by then that it was 30 years or more since I was last there (but remembered that there was a restaurant called Maison Catherine!) It was a lot more touristy than anywhere we'd been of late and we heard a lot of English and other languages spoken, but not very successful from the point of view of finding an artist – some were drawing from models and there were other drawings done from photos but none at all in pencil. We had some hot chocolate in front of a well heated café, and then started our descent down several flights of stone steps with iron handrails, as N kept saying, much easier and quicker than going up. In between the bottom of the steps (next to the funicular railway) and the metro station we went very speedily down a fascinating street filled with material shops, several cut-price clothing stores and a branch of Tati, the most famous cut-price store of all, which I only ever seem to see from the windows of the metro or a bus.
Thursday was the day for the dentist at Nogent and IKEA again; I was dropped off at IKEA before the appointment as last week, but this time with a view to making larger purchases. I bought – as planned – a small white kitchen table for about 19 euros and a computer desk with pullout tray for keyboard (that will be fun to assemble!) and a little extra unit for the printer. (About 14 euros each) Also after much looking at different sizes, I bought a white duvet cover with two pillowcases, for the wide Italian bed, hoping that the quilt we eventually get will be the same size, not to mention the mattress. The first two of these came in four fairly heavy boxes, so N met me inside and we did more shopping at the food shop; jams made from strange Swedish fruits, more Gravadlax sauce and a "Christmas Infusion" – rather like drinking mulled wine at tea-time. The computer to go on this desk is my Christmas present from N, and has been ordered from FNAC and may come as soon as Monday!
The question of the furniture and the bedding is far from clear; does this go in the car or the van? And if in the van where does it go meanwhile, when we may not have access to the garage from 19 December onwards? Do we need to take anything to sleep on at La Neuve-Lyre on the night of the 20th, or will there be no bed or sofa, so we will have to go to a hotel in any case? And if Abels cannot deliver my Cambridge furniture before January there won't be much point in being there at all, once we have had a good look round and measured what needs measuring. N intends to book a place in the municipal car park for a couple of months to tide us over the "no garage" period; it's not far to walk from here, but would not be easy to load and unload. He has now phoned and altered the van booking from Avis to two days instead of one, much better as we can take longer to load it (we keep thinking of other things which must be included) and he will not have to rush to get it back the same day, but can have a good night's sleep in between.
At the chorale on Thursday evening it seemed that all had gone very well at the Téléthon, and I was sorry not to have been there. All new singing material from now on, says the chef, but I don't know what or when the next event is. We learned a new gospel hymn with the piano and a few words on the blackboard, as one might at primary school, and a French song from printed words and music and had another look at I Like to be in America, for which I was asked to read some of the words out loud, although no mention was made of my translation. A couple of weeks ago I was finally given a green fiche to fill in, with necessary information for the statistics of the commune, such as my date of birth and (former) profession, but no request for any money, I'm pleased to say. Anyway, next week, as it's the last before Christmas, instead of singing for two hours we will sing for one and a half, and spend half an hour "à prendre un pot"; eating and drinking various things we have brought with us. I can't see this happening with my former choir in Cambridge!
On Friday afternoon I went back to have another look at the intriguing material shops near Anvers, down the hill from Montmartre. So many of them: curtain material, dress material and theatrical fabrics; lace, net, taffeta, velvet, at a variety of prices, some as low as 1 euro a metre, and lots for 5 or 6, even toile de jouy for as little as 8. Lots of voile and other sheer white or cream fabrics too, for possible curtains. I can't wait to go and measure all the windows at La Neuve-Lyre. I also found lots of shops selling famous label clothes at reduced prices, and wondered if I'd found at last some of the famous adresses one hears about. Also finally made a purchase in Tati, with their strangely old-fashioned sales methods: on going to the caisse one is given a piece of paper with price hand-written to take to the shop across the street to pay. (Wonder how much money they lose like this?) I bought a little green Christmas wreath for 0.60 euro; afterwards I wished I'd got two.
Monday 12 December 2005
Still no response from either Mme V or Abels. Yesterday we went to the opera at Châtelet, to see Boris Gudenov, the Mariinsky Theatre again, this time conducted by Valery Gergiev. We had excellent seats, at the front edge of the Corbeille, (lower circle) looking right down into the orchestra pit and onto the stage. As N had promised, the music was wonderful; excellent orchestra, a very large chorus and many deep Russian basses. Some of the costumes were spectacular too, although surprisingly not Boris himself, and there was amazing scenery and effects, lighting and artificial snow, the latter looking very artificial from where we sitting. We also had an excellent view back and up at the whole of the rest of the theatre, very red and gold, and not an empty seat. The performance started at 4 and went straight through without an interval, so we were home by 7.
# posted by Chez Katherine @ 9:22 AM 
