April in Paris

Yes, I know, it's such a cliché, but the truth of the matter is that there is no place quite like Paris in April. The songwriters, Vernon Duke and E.Y. Harburg, got it absolutely right with their lyrics: "April in Paris, chestnuts in blossom..."

Sure enough, by early April, there they are, wherever you look, every square, park or garden is full of horse chestnut trees, with their spectacular candelabra blossoms lighting up the world.

Some of them in a gleaming pink color.

But that's just the beginning. Once April arrives -- and this year we've had day after day of warm sunny weather -- a veritable explosion of growth and color covers the city. These cascading wisteria blossoms adorn a booth at the Marché aux Puces at Clignancourt, tumbling about every which way...

...while the flower beds around the busy Rond-Pont of the Champs Elysées show a more formal planting.

Over a few days, all the garden shops along the River Seine between the Pont Neuf and Châtelet suddenly put out all their bedding plants, potted herbs, even trees for your balcony or terrasse.

Just this week, peonies made their debut at one of the flower shops on rue Montorgeuil...

...and the lilac lady appeared, as if by magic.

It's as though someone took a giant paint box of colors and threw it all over Paris!

Then, right on cue, with perfect timing, white asparagus is everywhere! Plump, juicy, delicious!

I even spotted, and bought, the first rhubarb of the season. Yum!!

As well as all of Mother Nature's bounty, though, April also brings a number of special events to Paris, like the grand Show Jumping contest, sponsored by Hérmès and held in the Grand Palais. "Tent stables" line the edge of the Champs Elysées during the three-day event.

Magnificent horses are led in and out of the Grand Palais...

...a few with their riders still on board, heading back to the temporary tent stables!

If horses are not your thing, and you long for something a little more exotic, then a visit to the Musée Guimet should satisfy. Their current special exhibition focuses on the Nawabs of Lucknow in the early-mid 19th century.

At that time, the city of Lucknow in the province of Awadh, was considered the richest, most luxurious city in all of India, full of palaces with balustrades, fountains, pavilions, cupolas, a veritable city of gold -- also, as can be seen from this painting of Nawab Nasir al-Din Haidar, full of rubies, emeralds, diamonds and sapphires!

Alas, it seems, these poor Nawabs were so occupied with their pleasures - including their concubines - that they seem to have forgotten to defend their territories.  Between that and the dubious actions of the East India Company during the Sepoy Rebellion in the late 1850s, this magical culture declined to just a dreamy memory. Happily, for an hour or so, thanks to this extraordinary exhibition, we found ourselves completely immersed in this now vanished world.

Outside the museum,  and taking advantage of the glorious April weather, brocantes spring up every weekend all over Paris. I particularly liked this stall, at the Place de la Bourse, with its antique dolls vying with muppets to attract a customer's eye!

At some of the larger brocantes, there are even amusements like this merry-go-round to entertain the small children.

Out in the Parc Vincennes, Matthew reports a huge increase in the cycling community in April, especially on Sundays, when they zip around in considerable numbers and at considerable speed.

Others enjoy a quiet stroll beside one of many lakes out there.

Meanwhile, in our little neighborhood,  at the bottom of rue Montorgeuil, the cafés are crowded with sun-loving clients, drinking their coffee,  and drinking up the warm spring air of April in Paris!

À bientôt!