Jardin d'Acclimation, 2019

As mentioned earlier, the Foundation Louis Vuitton adjoins the Jardin d'Acclimation in the Bois de Boulogne. The Jardin is one of the larger public kiddie/amusement parks in Paris. We had taken P there in 2014, and her parents had taken her back this year. But she wanted to do it again, and we thus made it a fivesome, after three of us did the Louis Vuitton. Following a picnic lunch, Rachel, Rebecca and I wanted to visit BVH once more, and Vicki graciously volunteered to stay at the Jardin with P for another hour or so. Grandma earned many extra points from all concerned.

Feeding time at the petting zoo

Old-fangled ride-a-horsie

New-fangled Porsche ride

Grounds, aviary

Carousel

P is just now to the age and size where she can do the bigger, faster rides

Rachel, P, and Rebecca; thus

Racing to the next ride

She did the roller coaster so many times all the staff learned
her name

Bump-em cars

Louis Vuitton Foundation: The Courtauld Collection

The appearance of the Courtauld Collection at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris is another of those cases where, when a museum is undergoing serious renovation, it ships its collection to another museum, or other museums, for the duration. Always better to be seen than to be crated. We first saw the Girl With the Pearl (Ear Ring) in San Francisco one year, then saw it again at the Mauritzhuis in Rotterdam a year later. Anyhow, the Courtauld Collection, from London, is an important Impressionist collection. Mr. Courtauld was of French Huguenot extraction, made his fortune developing and selling rayon, the first synthetic textile, and spent it investing in art, art history, and art education. For the time, I imagine, he was a fairly bold investor. The exhibition was right at home in Paris.

Manet, Corner of a Cafe, 1879

A draft of Manet's Le Dejeuner...Courtauld collected not only final paintings
but also sketches, early versions, correspondence related to the work

Manet, A Bar At The Folies-Bergere, 1882

Monet, Antibes, 1888; it's changed a bit

Monet, The Gare Saint Lazare, 1877

A bit of the letters collection on display

Cezanne, Man with a Pipe, 1892

Cezanne, The Card Players, 1892; we'd see another of this at the d'Orsay in a few
days

Gauguin, Haystacks, 1889

Modigliani, Female Nude, 1916

Van Gogh, Wheatfield with Cypresses, 1889; that wheat field?

"I cut myself shaving"

Van Gogh, Peach Trees in Blossom, 1889

At the end of the exhibition, there was an entire room of Turner watercolors,
some earlier ones, but several of the later ones, obviously related to what would
become Impressionism; this, his Falls of the Rhine at Schafhausen, 1841

Dawn after the Wreck, 1841

Mt. Blanc, above Courmayeur, 1810; it's changed there too; on the whole, an
impressive and important collection, beautifully displayed and interpreted...

Louis Vuitton Foundation, The Building

We were in Paris in 2014 as the construction of the Louis Vuitton Foundation was in its closing weeks. Having seen Frank Gehry's spectacular Guggenheim Museum/Balboa edifice (twice; just search Gehry), we were sure to see the LVF, another of his works, on our next visit. Our next visit was in 2016 or so, and the exhibition within was unappealing. The next year, the treatment of the building, like a huge picnic table cloth, was similarly unappealing. This year, however, the temporary exhibition was of Impressionist paintings, and the building was itself unadorned, and so, along with Rachel and Rebecca and Penelope, we took Metro #1 to the Bois de Boulogne. P and her mom had already seen the LVF and were anxious to return to the Jardin d'Acclimatation, which adjoins the Foundation. Rachel had already seen the Courtauld Collection, twice, in London, but accompanied us mostly to see the LVF building and its permanent collection. The Impressionist exhibit was fine, even illuminating. The museum structure was, as I sometimes say, a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Approaching view; yes, looks like a Frank Gehry, but it's
fabric, not titanium

Suitably-attired security guard

Gehry's first sketch of the building

Possibly helpful models...

Large format/NBA elevator

We took in a bit of the permanent collection; I hope it's not
really permanent

Gerhard Richter's Grau #334-3 (1973); so featureless my
camera could find nothing to focus on

Vicki assists for scale; and focus; with that, we passed on
most of the rest of the collection

Sculpture

From the high terraces one could hope for fine views of Paris from the west;
this is the Bois de Boulogne, a bit of it

But the building's orientation and the sails prohibit views of anything of interest

Just one little snippet

Us, there; note la belle casquette, which I had just acquired from Emmaus

Eating Well With Auntie Rachel

So bright and early on June 13th, Penelope's Auntie Rachel arrived for a couple days' visit en route to her chateau at Tornon-d'Agenais, in the south. (It's a long story). After shopping at the two closest markets, d'Aligre and Bastille, we let her rest in the afternoon and then headed out for a long-awaited family dinner at nearby Bistrot Paul Bert. Not surprisingly, we have been eating well throughout the past few weeks, whether out and about or dining in on French cuisine. Well, sometimes Marks and Spenser cuisine. Eating well, nonetheless.

Bistrot Paul Bert, unassuming from the outside, pretty famous inside

So preoccupied were we with other things we forgot to document the appetizer,
a terrine for some and the white asparagus for others; here's the steak a poivre,
one of the notable dishes, which certainly did not disappoint

And the frites, best we've had on this campaign, so far

Penelope can barely wait to dig into the souffle Grand Marnier, the Iles Flotantes,
and the lemony tart-type thing (I think)

Us, there, the whole unextended family

A family favorite, from our previous Paris stay, is the Creperie Bretonne, Fleurie,
on Rue de Charonne; another his and her operation; that's him, the chef, outside

P samples the cider

Which was actually quite popular among the ladies

Rachel bombing Rebecca's documentation pix; just like when
they were kids...

Omelette complet;  Rebecca contends that buckwheat crepes are nearly carb-free

Rachel's dessert crepe; possibly not carb-free

Among new-found favorites is the Cyril Lignac patisserie; his chocolateria
and restaurant are on the facing corners

And a new jambon store, Ham's, which jambon-expert Vicki pronounced excellent

Hands-down favorite is still Amorino's...best gelato ever (in
France)