April in Paris...

...and also April a bit beyond the city walls...

Since our return from England, we have been blessed with day after day of glorious sunshine, clear skies, and warm temperatures. Spring has finally burst out everywhere you look. And, after so many years of the more temperate Northern Californian climate, what a treat for us to really experience the season of spring in ways that only happen when it follows a particularly hard, cold winter, such as the most recent one. Every new leaf and bloom comes with a special pleasure.

Setting aside the various work projects that we "should" be pursuing, we find ourselves instead strolling the streets of Paris for hours, and spontaneously taking ourselves on small trips, just about an hour outside Paris.


A week ago Sunday, it was the short train ride from Gare Montparnasse to Chartres. My second visit, Matthew's first. We made sure to sit in the upper section of the double-decker train, and on the left hand side. That way, as the train rounds the corner on its approach to Chartres station, the two bell towers of Notre Dame de Chartres come into view, followed quickly by the whole cathedral, reaching up to the heavens, and completely dwarfing all the buildings around it.



Early pagan divinities were first worshipped on this spot, followed in the first century by Gallo Roman gods. Since the 4th century, it has been a sacred Christian centre, although during the following centuries, the town and the cathedral burned to the ground several times, the last occasion being in 1194. When several priests emerged through the smoking ruins from an underground crypt, carrying the church's famous reliquary -- a piece of the Veil of the Virgin Mary -- it was taken as a sign that the cathedral should be rebuilt once again. This is the cathedral you see today, with some modifications and additions.




The well known English scholar and guide, Malcolm Miller, was not giving tours on this Sunday. However, we found ourselves in the hands of a wonderful woman, a very gentle-voiced Madame, who was not only extremely knowledgeable, but whose enthusiasm and beatific smiles led us to wonder if she had at one time been a nun, or thought seriously about taking orders.



For an hour and a half, both inside and outside the cathedral she wove the threads of the big events in the building's history into the smallest details of the statuary -- the angels, the martyrs, the Holy Innocents, the apostles, the patriarchs -- and turned the exquisite stained glass windows into a spellbinding storytime session. At the time of their construction, these light-filled jewels took the role of a catechism lesson for the faithful who came to worship, but who could not read. They learned the stories of the saints and the message of the gospels by following each pane of glass from bottom to top.














After such an overwhelming wealth of artistic beauty, our heads were spinning. Luckily, that same day, the charming old town of Chartres was hosting the 7th annual Marché de la Paulée. In the old market place, wine growers from throughout the Loire Valley had set up tables and, for the purchase of a 5 euro wine glass, we joined a happy crowd wandering through the aisles, sipping and tasting wines, and coming home with a couple of delightful bottles to add to our teeny tiny "cave"!



Moving to this past Saturday, which dawned, again, sunny, clear, warm. Conveniently forgetting my French conversation class until it was too late to go, we headed out to our local Velib station, took out two bikes and set our wheels towards the Bois de Boulogne.

For those not familiar with the brilliant city-run Velib program, it works like this: you take out a subscription and your membership is tied to your Navigo card (metro and bus pass). When you feel like a bike ride, you slap your Navigo card on a round disc by the bicycle -- after first carefully checking that tires are inflated, brakes are good, pedals and wheels operate well. The bicycle is released and you roll it out, at which point the clock starts ticking. You can ride for 30 minutes free, after which you're charged one euro for the next half-hour, and so on.



We rode for 30 minutes, returned the bikes to another Velib station, had breakfast -- a delicious café crême and a tartine -- took out two more bikes, and continued on our way.

A vast 19th century park of 2100 acres lying on the western edge of the city, the Bois de Boulogne is criss-crossed with wide-shaded roads, tracks for pedestrians, horses and bicyclists. Originally a forest for hunting bear, deer, wolves and wild boar, it was also a refuge during the Revolution to those on the run, the destitute and poachers.

Sometime in the mid-19th century, the city planner, Baron Haussmann, took down the walls that had surrounded the forest, and landscaped the whole area with the winding paths, ornamental lakes and ponds, kiosks, restaurants, pavilions, and the famous Longchamps racecourse that you find today.











Being so close to the center of town -- probably no more than 5 miles from our neighborhood -- it provides a popular spot for Parisians wanting to escape the noisy city streets, as well as for the hopeful fisherman, patiently waiting for his first "bite."






Leaving the edge of the Bois, and the sight of apartment buildings in the surrounding neighborhood of Neuilly, we headed toward the center, where we had the leafy trails all to ourselves...



...except, that is, for carpets of these buttercup family flowers growing in abundance...





...flowering stinging nettles, along with another pretty shrub, and endless other bursts of color along the way...







Every now and then, the woodsy path opens up into a veritable greensward where, on Saturday last, we were practically the only people pausing to enjoy the view.




Meanwhile, back at the lake, and under the spreading horse chestnut trees, the little children enjoyed their pony rides...

...focussing on their ride and not appreciating, as much as we, the beautiful white chestnut flowers....



...or the less common rich pink horse chestnut flowers...


...and certainly not appreciating the significance of this sign, which has meaning for only one reader of this blog: my friend Cathy, who now lives in Perth, Western Australia. A very very very long time ago -- well, okay, it was 1961 and we were both extremely young -- we camped in the Bois de Boulogne, attended the Arc de Triomphe Stakes at the Longchamps racecourse, and generally cavorted around Paris for a week. Ah, youth....


Sunday, April 26th. And still the wonderful weather continues. So we headed to the Gare de l'Est and took the train to Meaux, which sits on the River Marne and produces among other things, a delicious mustard!


Before boarding the train, though, we took some minutes to find this treasure: a large painting, mounted above the main departure hall and ignored by almost all the throngs of people who pass beneath it. Titled Le Départ des Poilus and painted by the American artist Albert Herter, it depicts a troop train leaving for the eastern front during WWI. If you want the full, poignant story about this painting, check an audio Postcard from Paris that I made in November 2008. Here's the link:
http://janetrobbinsaudio.com/audio/list?gallerytag=producedaudio
If you scroll down you'll find it: A Postcard from Paris: Armistice Day.

Back to yesterday. Our double-decker train headed east out of Paris, through industrial outposts, banlieu housing, and it seemed quite a while until the landscape opened up to woods, rolling hills and green fields brimming with yellow mustard flowers, before arriving at the quite large town of Meaux.


Like so many French towns, the old section of Meaux is dominated by its cathedral, La Cathédrale Saint Etienne de Meaux, which, though not as grand as Chartres...



...is still an impressive homage to the soaring Gothic arch, and boasts some lovely stained glass...



...and a beautiful restoration of Lambert Chalonneau's sculpture of The Visitation...




...and behind the cathedral, in a secluded and tranquil walled area, sits Le Jardin Boussuet, designed by Le Notre himself!








Unlike Chartres, the town of Meaux is almost entirely closed on a Sunday. We managed to find a small brasserie outside the old city ramparts, where we enjoyed quiche, paté, salad and delicious Belgian beer. And marvelled again at the fact that no matter where you sit yourself down, you are almost always assured of a delightful and tasty meal!



Meanwhile, back in Paris, corner cafés are bursting out onto the sidewalks, as the local residents emerge from their winter cocoons and bask in the luxury of short sleeves, no sleeves, sandals!






In the Parc Monceau, the bluebells are in full bloom...








...and the first bunches of lilacs are being sold outside the Monoprix on the rue de l'Opéra.

Life is definitely good!








À bientôt!

PS A big thank you to Matthew for many of these photos, and apologies for the length of this post. But that's what happens when the weather is so good...you just can't stay indoors and keep up with a blog....