Cycles & Chateaux!

As most of the followers of this blog know, Matthew has two particular passions, both with French connections. One is his Citroën SM car, and the other is bicyling. Out in West Marin, he can be seen every morning, pedalling up Ottinger's Hill out to Kehoe Beach and back. For the past 20-plus years, he's been making that ride on a steel frame Puch bicycle, which has given him great service. But for quite a while now, he's been yearning for something new (and, no surprise, French). Last fall, he took the plunge, and bought a carbon-fiber bicycle from a dealer in Mill Valley.  Bicycling immediately took on a new dimension with this technological wonder, made by a French company called Cyfac!  As part of the purchase, Matthew was invited to visit the factory, "should he ever find himself in France."

And so it was, that last Monday found us taking the #4 metro line down to Gare Montparnasse and hurtling at 120 mph on the TGV train to Saint Pierre des Corps, near the lovely town of Tours, in the heart of the Loire Valley. As we barreled along, it seemed that every field we passed was brilliant with rapeseed flowers.

We picked up a little rental car at the train station and, following detailed directions, drove through tiny country lanes, through hardwood forests and lush farmlands, until we came to what could be mistaken for someone's storage locker in the small village of La Fuye. If you blinked, you would have missed both!

Inside, we found Ameyric Le Brun, one of the two owners of the plant (the other, Eric Sakalowsky, lives in Philadelphia!), and he graciously gave us the tour, that had been promised to Matthew when he bought his bike.

Walking into the main floor, we were struck at once by how empty it was; a few machines, hardly any people. We learned from Ameyric that of the total staff of 17, 13 are devoted to producing 700 bicycles each year.

As Ameyric explained, the whole process begins with tubes -- either aluminium or carbon-fiber -- which are manufactured in Taiwan (the world center, as it turns out, for most of the cycling industry's carbon-fiber materials). Once they arrive at the factory, they are cut and shaped for the various models that Cyfac builds.

Matthew carefully examined one such tube...

...and then met the resident designer, Fabien, who, smiling shyly, posed for a photo.

Continuing our tour, we soon realized that the word "factory" was a misnomer. We were, in fact, visiting a 21st century version of a medieval "guild". Almost everything in the construction of these bicycles is done by hand! This gentleman spends an entire day hand-sanding the welded joints of a bicycle frame, until the surface is so smooth you cannot even see the seam.

In room after room, we saw the same meticulous attention being paid, whether in the "wrapping" process...

...or in the delicate touch-up of a decal.

The end result was a rack of brilliantly colored, shiny bicycle frames, waiting for a particular customer's fat dossier of all of his or her particular measurements as to height, weight, leg length, etc. etc.

Suddenly, Matthew's own Cyfac "Gothica" took on a whole new persona -- these same people we were meeting in La Fuye had built it, mostly by hand, and here it is, living in Inverness, being ridden through the hills and dales of West Marin. Amazing!

After an almost two hour immersion in the truly remarkable art and craft of bicycle building, we retraced our route, checking into the swank Domaine de Beauvois, our hotel for the night. We had a quick, late lunch, and then drove back down to the broad, swift moving Loire River and spent the twilight hours at the Chateau Villandry.

The last chateau built on the banks of the Loire during the Renaissance period (1536), Villandry's builder, Jean le Breton, constructed the castle over the remains of a 12th century fortress. During the following centuries, various owners added wings and outbuildings, reflecting the particular style of the era.

In 1906, the castle was bought by Joachim Carvallo, a Spaniard, who devoted himself to restoring Villandry to its original Renaissance splendor.

Working with historians and research sources that described how gardens were laid out in France during the Renaissance, Joachim set about to bring them back to life. From this far end of the "kitchen gardens" we looked over a remarkable patchwork of "plots" each planted with seasonal vegetables -- green lettuce, red lettuce, fava beans, herbs.

Other gardens within the Chateau grounds provided a simple, tranquil aspect of still water, and swans drifting back and forth.

In some quiet corners, brilliant colors flashed out at us -- this iris type flower...

...and this opulent opium poppy.

As the light began to slip away, Matthew remembered a nifty device on his iPhone camera that takes a series of three photos at different exposures, then combines them into one, almost surreal, image, like a painting. This is Villandry at 7:30 pm!

 Next morning, we made our way to another magical place, the 15th/16th century Chateau d'Ussé, a fairy-tale building of turrets and towers...

...and gardens designed by LeNotre, of Versailles fame.

Inside the chateau, opulent tapestries hang from the walls, early examples of the finest that the weavers of Holland produced.

And in an effort to bring some of the rooms to life, "mannequin" models take their places amidst the furnishings, dressed mostly in late 19th century gowns.

The castle has been owned by the Count de Blacas family since the 1880s, and, indeed, some members of the family still live there, although none were to be seen in these rooms!

Before we knew it, our time in this beautiful part of France was running out, but we did manage to find a very charming, very small private winery (7 hectares) in the Chinon area, where we had a little "dégustation" (tasting) and came away with two bottles of their very best red wine.

Tomorrow is a national holiday here in France - Easter Monday. We'll be having a family lunch with Juliette and Sean and family -- roast leg of lamb, apple pie, and our Chinon wine. Bon Appetit!




À bientôt!

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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!

House Museums

Along with all the Grand Museums in Paris -- Musée du Louvre, Grand Palais, Musée d'Orsay, et al -- we have been finding great pleasure in seeking out, and appreciating, several smaller museums located in what were at one time private houses (hôtels particuliers).

The Marmottan Museum, for example, out in the far end of the 16th arrondissement, right next to the Bois de Boulogne, was once a hunting lodge belonging to the Duc de Valmy. In around 1832, it was purchased by Jules Marmottan, where he housed his growing collection of Napoleonic era paintings, furniture and bronzes.

Today, it is home to the largest collection in the world of the works of Claude Monet,

including his glorious Impression, Soleil Levant ("Sunrise")

Over in the 8th arrondissement, close to the Parc Monceau, stands the beautiful Musée Nissim de Camondo. Patterned after le Petit Trianon at Versailles, this private home was built in the early 1900s for Comte Moise de Camondo, to set off his prestigious collection of 18th century French furniture and art objects.

Tragedy struck the family several times. Comte Moise's son, Nissim de Camondo, was killed during World War I. In honor of his son, the home and its collections were bequeathed to Les Arts Décoratifs, and opened as a museum in 1935. More tragedy followed, a few years later, when Moise's daughter and family were deported and died at Auschwitz.

When you visit the museum, you of course admire and enjoy the immaculate taste and beauty of the family's furnishings and art objects. At the same time, though, the cruel, poignant losses suffered by this family are overwhelmingly palpable, and made even harder to fathom as you leave the museum and find yourself in one of today's most tranquil, peaceful neighborhoods in Paris.


In a much more bustling part of the 8th arrondissement, set back just a few feet from the Boulevard Haussmann, the Jacquemart André Museum has a much happier story to tell.

Built by avid art collectors, Edouard André, and his wife, Nélie Jacquemart, in the new Baron Haussmannian era of the late 19th century, this magnificent home gives a glimpse into the world of wealthy Parisians.

With its light-filled atria, flanked by potted palms and full-size marble statuary...

... its breathtaking Tiepolo fresco up on one of the top landings...

...its exquisite displays of fine porcelain china...

...and its grand balconies that look down into stately rooms, you could be forgiven for thinking that all of this was more than worth the price of admission.

However, lucky us, as well as all this splendor, temporary exhibitions also grace the walls of many of the rooms.

 The current exhibition, Dans l'intimité des frères Caillebotte, Paintre et Photographe, takes us into the lives of the Caillebotte brothers, Gustav (the painter, on the left) and Martial (the photographer). I have long admired the paintings of Gustav, but had no idea he had a brother, let alone one who made his own mark as a photographer.

All the time that Gustav was chronicling the lives of the bourgeoisie in Paris in large paintings...

..his brother, Martial, was setting up his camera and doing his own chronicling of the life and times of Paris...

...including his own family and in-laws.







 At the end of the day, though, I found myself gravitating more to the paintings than to the photographs, perhaps merely because they are in beautiful color and a much larger format than the photographs.

 Gustav, an avid gardener, made many paintings of the gardens at Petit Gennevillers, the country home he owned with his brother. This particular one shows his mistress, Charlotte Berthier, tending his rose garden.

Both brothers developed a big passion for yachting in the late 1870s. One entire room in the exhibition is devoted to Gustav's paintings made at Argenteuil, a popular rural destination for Parisians wishing to escape the hurly-burly of the city. Here, on the banks of the Seine, they could relax, picnic and "watch the boats go by."

Paddling canoes on the River Yerres became another favorite pastime, whether by fellows in their lightweight summer clothing...

...or by this gentleman, who seems to have come straight from the office, not even bothering to take off his top hat!

Both brothers documented the so-called "march of progress", as modern amenities arrived in their lives. Gustav's Le Pont de l'Europe reminds us that the train tracks below this bridge carry passengers from the busy Gare St. Lazare to places like Argenteuil and beyond.

Obviously there have been many painters (and photographers) who have chronicled life in Paris, but something about the Caillebotte brothers struck me as being especially authentic. Perhaps because they grew up at a time when Paris was being transformed by Baron Haussmann's renovation works. Perhaps also because they were born into a family of privilege, able to pursue their interests at will, living the life of La Belle Époque to its fullest. With all of this in their background, no wonder we are taken along and drawn so completely into their world!

And because they lived for many years at 31 Boulevard Haussmann, how appropriate that this lovely show is on display just up the street in the former glorious "hôtel particulier", known today as the Musée Jacquemart André!

À bientôt!