Best Way to Enjoy Paris's Opera House: Go Gala!

Way back when, I wrote in Parislogue that there's no place to dress up in Paris, not even the hallowed Paris Opera house where jeans sidle up alongside sequins. Of course, there will always be those that snivel at this 'bourgeois' rite: how many times have couples repeated the cliches?
Man: Do I have to wear a tie? Woman: I don't have a pair of shoes to match this outfit.

But for those who still maintain their adamant anti-embellishment attitude, might I remind you that even Nature imposes its 'dressing up' dictum for males of certain bird species. When you think that certain bird species spend much of their waking hours decorating nests to attract just the right female, putting on a bowtie for one night doesn't seem like such an imposition after all.

And when the one night happens to be a night at Paris's Opera Houses, either the 19th century bijou, Garnier, or Mitterand's 20th century monolith at Bastille, you might as well just go with the flow, guys. (I think there might even be a few among you who actually like wearing a tux and bowtie. And no matter how handsome you are, you always look even better in black and white!).

This is all a long response my claim that there was 'no place to dress up and 'glow' in Paris', the answer is the Opera Gala which takes place at least four times throughout the year thanks to the organisation Friends of the National Opera of Paris (AROP).

You can book tickets to a Gala performance over the internet with the option of participating in the 'Souper' or cold supper after the opera. If you do decide to dine after the opera, the meal is served right in the halls of the opera house. We had the good fortune to be placed at a table where most of the people were English-speakers (and one of the table guests had actually lived in Rochester for several years). Needless to say you don't go to the 'souper' for the quality of the food (but the wine is quite acceptable!). What you hope for (and of course, there's no guarantee, is to have delightful conversation). In this case, I was not at all disappointed - a gentleman from Columbia to my left and a Bordelais to the right - both true opera fans. The Bordelais suggested I should become more familiar with Mahler (which I will).

If you choose not to opt for the 'souper' a complimentary champagne is served during the intermission with scrumptious hors d'oeuvres (even better than the meal, in my opinion).
Although, formal-wear is not 'de rigueur', men should at least wear a jacket and tie, although most men going to the 'souper' do wear a tux, and women wear either long gowns or cocktail dresses.

If you would like to know more about the opera that we heard, La Somnambule with Natalie Dessay, that will be in another post!

First Class on Thalys: Is it Worth It?

We love traveling by train in Europe, especially in France, but is it really worth going first class? For the past twenty years, we may have taken a first class train in Europe three or four times at most. This past weekend, we tried the Thalys first class train only because dinner was included in the price. The dinner was served promptly. It was actually a cold supper featuring cold fish and an assortment of fresh vegetables - also cold and fresh fruit for dessert. An excellent meal for the health conscious soul. However, pity the person who turns down the coffee or tea after dinner because, surprisingly the bar car was dismantled BEFORE we reached our destination at 9 pm.

Any of you who may be former Amtrak clients (particularly the lines running from the Big Apple) would find it hard to believe that a bar car might close up service after the dinner hour. In fact, the Amtrak bar car (in my humble opinion) was the saving grace for a train service that left much to be desired.

But all I can say to railway enthusiasts who plan on using Thalys, bring your own bottle of water - because once the bar service closes its window, there's not even a drop of water to be found.

Another 'advantage' of traveling first-class is being able to have a taxi called in advance by the train manager (however that only applies to the final city destination!) - a minor detail that might catch you by surprise.

The seats are slightly larger in first-class and they're slightly more adjustable, but not noticeably more comfortable. Other than that, second class and first class arrive in the station at approximately the same time.

If you're traveling second class on the Thalys line, bring your bottle of water - and also your breakfast. We waited in line for half an hour for two croissants. That has to be some sort of world record. While waiting in line I remembered way back when on the Spanish trains (in the seventies) everyone shared food and cigarettes in second class. There was no 'bar car'.

Still, there's no better way to travel than by train. Train fan forever!

Champs Elysees Christmas '09 New Years 2010

Happy New Year 2010!

Weather Report and Abbe Michel in Thiberville

It's hard to believe but Normandy is still having a very White christmas. The Christmas creche stays up in Thiberville until February 2nd so we can still pretend it's Christmas. The temperature tonight is negative 6 degrees celius and dropping. We drove in from Paris this afternoon - fortunately under sunny skies - but even Paris is freezing.

That didn't stop some SERIOUS shoppers from being out in the Boulevard St. Germain district (yours truly included) except that I was there to buy a book at the Village Voice bookstore - the first part of the Stieg Larsson trilogy "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".

But we had to get back to Normandy soon because I was already having dreams about the cows - that is one cow - or one bull that got out of the pen and was creating havoc. Thank goodness that our dear friend Freud is long gone. He would have a heyday with my dreams.

In the meantime, what transpires in Thiberville is much more interesting. Our closest major burg, Thiberville has been in the news this past week,especially since last Sunday (Ephiphany Sunday). The bishop came to town to celebrate Mass and the Mass was boycotted.

Normally 'manifestations' in France are associated with left-wing labor unions, but this wasn't the case in Thiberville. The parishioners of Thiberville are dismayed that their parish priest, Father Michel, is being transferred after 23 years of service in the community. When the Bishop of this department (Eure) arrived to say Mass, after 10 minutes, the church-goers stood up and left. Wow!

I'm what's called a 'lapsed Catholic'. And having grown up in a town where the town parish had its own share of 'controversy' none of this comes as great surprise. Catholic clergy of course are human beings with all their foibles. But, the response of the community is not just about the anger and outrage of uprooting a priest who is obviously an essential part of that community - but anger and outrage over a pervasive evisceration of ALL community rapport.

The local bank has the same policy as the church - keep transferring people so that no one can ever get 'attached'. Even though we are newcomers to the part of Normandy (only 20 years now), we have memories - attending a Mass conducted in Latin with friends Michel, Jeanne, Huguette and Jean Pierre, attending the marriage of our mayor's daughter Valerie and her husband Eric, and most recently watching the Palm Sunday procession in the streets of Thiberville. These are the kind of traditions that hold a community together. Clearly, the world no longer wants us to be connected to our neighbors. The banks don't want you to have a 'relationship' with your local banker. And apparently the church also views that keeping priests in one parish for too long is 'unhealthy'.

I guess the reason Thiberville's parish priest's story interests me is the same reason our local elected officials are concerned - what is the future of small town communities - if the fabric that holds these towns together is undone - no more local businesses, no more churches, no more family farms, no more regional products.

Of course, this is just one part of the story. There's always another side, but that will be for another post!

More Snow in Normandy!

Soon we will be joining the great migration of cars returning to Paris. You'd think we'd learn the lesson after being stuck in three hour traffic jams between Paris and Versailles. In the meantime, being stuck in a traffic jam is a great time to take photos.

New Year's Eve Dinner in Normandy

This was Lydie's New Year's Eve quail dish! It's not every day you get to try quail - and this may be the first time we've had a New Year's Eve meal prepared at home. When it comes to New Years and Christmas, this is when French chefs really outdo themselves.

Here's what we ate:
An assortment of 'verrines' including gazpacho and guacamole (Francoise is the queen of verrines!)
Foie gras de canard with Coteaux de Layon
Quail with white grapes marinated in cognac
Beaune Burgundy
Celery puree
Sauteed potatoes
Macaroons and sorbet
Mom's refrigerator cookies

And Champagne - but, of course!

Thank you to our charming hosts, Francoise and Jean-Pierre for welcoming us into their home!!

New Years Day in Normandy

Actually, the day after. It's snowing and I'm listening to the soundtrack to Sideways for the umpteenth million time. Is there any better way to start the new year? The score framed plenty of summer barbecues in Normandy this past year and never ceases to delight me.

Sideways actually appears on occasion in Paris, but we missed the last screening at a Latin quarter cinema. If you haven't seen the film yet, don't miss it. I remember seeing it for the first time at the Little theater in Rochester. Even though it was reviewed as a comedy, the opening scenes didn't show any promise of comedy - and how could you EVER sympathize with a guy who steals money from his Mum? It just goes to show that our capacity for human compassion is much more elastic than one might imagine.