Dateline France, 5 February 1990
Report 11

I am taking things a little out of order here.  I haven't finished with
Malta yet, but I'm about a month behind with other things, so I will
get back to that next time.

First, various trips to Paris:

We saw the exhibition of Cartier jewelry at the Petit Palais (the building
is leftover from some Paris Exposition from 90 years back, and used mostly
for changing exhibitions, as is the Grand Palais across the street).  This
exhibit traced the various styles in Cartier jewelry through its history.
Initially, they did mostly showy pieces, lots of amethyst and such, rather
than precious stones.  The pieces were strongly influenced by other exhibits
that came to Paris: lots of jade and dragons after a Chinese exhibit, lots
of bejeweled beetles after an Egypt exhibit.  Some periods I didn't care
for--they got into combining coral with blue and green stones for a while
around the 30's--yuck.  I liked the "mystery clocks" they did: hands that
seem to float in the middle of the dial with no means of support, or with
time told by a little frog that floats around a lily pond.  I also liked
the swords done for members of the French Academy.  My favorite piece
was a leopard braclet covered entirely in diamonds with onyx spots.  It
stays on your wrist by clutching its tail.

We took the kids to see Cousteau's Oceanic Park in the middle of Paris.  No
live exhibits here--films and models instead.  (The profits go for conservation
of ocean species, so having tanks of specimins is not exactly in keeping
with the goal.)  You start on a ride that is supposed to simulate going from
outerspace to the lowest point in the ocean.  Disney imagineers would have
done better, I think, but Sarah loved it.  Then a large-screen movie, of
whales, octopuses and such up close.  I thought this was the best part.
After that, there are some games where you try to associate the sound with
the animal, and some television cameras set up to let you see what you
look like to various see creatures.  (We don't look any better to clams than
they do to us.)  After that, a walk through a whale, and an exhibit on the
history of diving technology.  There is also a station where you can see
short clips of recent expeditions by the Calypso and the Alcyon (the ship
that Cousteau's son commands), and another where video images of Cousteau
& son respond to questions selected by the audience.

Kaye went off to a cooking demo after the Oceanic Park; I took the kids to
see the holography museum.  Not as great as the one next to Tivoli Garden
in Copenhagen, but a few fun things.  Sarah's favorite was one of Louis
Armstrong doing a blast on his trumpet.  You see him finishing the
note as you walk from left to right.

We have seen part of the exhibit on the painter Louis David.  It's split
between Versailles and the Louvre--we saw the part at Versailles.  David
did these huge canvasses, usually featuring crowd scenes of contemporary
historical events, such as the coronation of Napoleon.  Usually he kept
with the flow of current politics, put occasionally his subject went out
of favor before he could finish it.  Thus, we got to see many studies and
an unfinished section of the "Tennis Court Oath", featuring revolutionary
leaders.  The most interesting aspect is that he painted the main subjects
on the canvas first totally in the nude (and anatomically correct) before
draping them with clothes.  We hope to see the rest of the exhibit this week.

We also spent an afternoon at the Museum of Decorative Arts.  The first
thing we saw was an exhibit on a 40 meter doll that some artist is trying
to construct.  You will be able to walk around inside it, and control
lights and sounds inside and outside, if it is ever contructed.  One hand
was present, to give a feeling for size.  Upstairs was a gallery of childrens'
games.  Probably most in evidence were variations on lotto.  We then spent
a lot of time in halls and halls of furniture, dishes and wall decoration
from different periods.  It would be a great place to get a feeling for
the difference between Louis XV style and Louis XVI and Empire and ... .
I noticed some Louis XVI paneling with the crown and Fleur-de-Lys chisled off.
If I had a choice, I would have taken the office done with dark mahogany in Art
Deco style.  The kids started losing interest at about the second room, except
for some big ceramic bowls covered inside with 3-D worms, snails, snakes and
other crawly things.  Downstairs was contemporary furniture, which they
thought was much more fun.  Also an exhibit on a designer of buildings and
furniture who uses wood almost exclusively.  I liked the double rocking
chair carved from section of log.  Better than a love seat, because you face
the other person when rocking.  There was a special exhibit on Bohemian glass
we didn't get to, but plan to go back soon for a new exhibit on the 4Oth
anniversary of Snoopy.  Among other things, it has Snoopy dressed in outfits
from 40 different clothing designers.

Outside of Paris, we took a day trip to Rambouillet, to see the Chateau there.
This one is still used regularly by the President of France for entertaining
(and housing) state visitors, and for big-wig meetings, in a meeting room
finished completely in marble.  (However, when we saw the room, it had most
of the furniture removed, and was set up for people preparing to go off on
a hunt in the woods.)  Yet another chateau that Francois I had a hand in--
he got a lot done in his 51 years.  (You know the conventional wisdom: If
you are not the king of France by the time you are 30, you are probably never
going to be one.)  The other outstanding features were the carved paneling
in one room (one panel alone representing 600 hours of work) and Napoleon's
bathtub, with pictures of his great battles all around.  Also in that town
is Ramboutrain--a museum of model trains, with a layout under construction
that occupies a complete floor of an old house.

Short takes:

Guitars and violins are common in the subway.  The other day we saw someone
who had lugged a harp down there to play.  The accoustics are excellent
for harp, I think.

Kaye brought home a book of French verb conjugations.  The situation is
much worse than expected.  How am I ever going to remember the four vowels
to add to the end of a work to express "If tomorrow comes I might have been
eating yesterday."  I think it probably takes years of training just to
work a conversation around to the point you can employ some of these tenses.
I suspect that certain tenses of certain verbs have never occurred naturally
in everyday speech in the history of the French language.

Worst Christmas decoration: Black-flocked Christmas tree with white flowers.
Best Christmas decoration: White-flocked Christmas tree outside a shop with
the bottom 12 inches of flocking pee'd away by passing dogs.

From the three cases I have examined closely, I conclude there are no benches
in French malls.  You can shop, or you can go to a cafe or restaurant.

During January I watched clips from the 12th Paris-Dakar cross country race.
It's for motorcycles and cars (Peugot has done well in past years, and was
1-2-3 this year), and the roads are often only mirages or vague memories.
My favorite shot was of two contestants passing each other in opposite
directions, looking for the main route, then each turning around to head
the other way.

Kaye and I went to see a French movie called "I Want To Go Home," about
a daughter living in Paris whose father comes to visit her.  We thought
we were going to see it in V.O. (original version: subtitles), but
we saw it in V.F. (French version: dubbed).  Why would a French film have
subtitles?  Because the Americans sometimes spoke English and sometimes
French (and some of the jokes revolved around this).  In V.F., these modes
were distinguished by having the actors speak good French when they were
speaking English and speak poor/accented French when they were speaking
French.  [This was for the Americans; I didn't figure out how they were trying
to differentiate French people speaking French and French people speaking
English.]  I had a rather hard time with this subtle distinction, so much
of the nuance of the film was lost on me.  I hope when I get back to the
US I can find an English V.O.: English subtitles for the French conversation
(as opposed to French subtitles for the English conversation in the French
V.O.).  You follow all that?

A tradition in France starting around 6 January (Epiphany) and proceeding
through the month is eating Gallettes de Roi.  This is a large glazed tart
with an almond-flavored filling (exact composition varies through the country)
with a little charm--gold or ceramic--cooked inside.  Whoever gets the piece
with the trinket is king for the day, and gets a gold cardboard crown (included
with the cake).  I partook of several, at home, at work, at the neighbors', but
never got to be king.  (Like I said, if you're not king by the time you're
30...)

I found out that a few famous people lived in Le Vesinet in the past, most
notably Josephine Baker, Apollinaire (the Dadaist) and Bizet.  Bizet lived
at an address about a block and a half from us, but I went over to peak
through the fence, and couldn't tell if the structures were the ones he
had lived in or new ones.

Finally, a reader writes:

"Dear Dave:

Last summer we had a teenage French boy spend some time with us.  Can you
tell me if it is normal for French boys to come to the dinner table wearing
just tiny French briefs and, say, an undershirt?

A Reader"

Dear Reader:

No, this is not normal.  Clearly the undershirt indicated he thought dinner
in an American household is a more formal affair than in France.