MAGIC IN PARIS

Recently, while sipping tea at my favorite corner cafe, I was approached by a tall, elegant woman with an engaging smile. "Madame, give me your hand and I will tell you your future."  I returned her smile, but declined her offer.  She talked for a few minutes more, trying to convince me of the foolishness of my actions, but then decided that her time would be better spent on other patrons. On her way out the door, however, she passed my table, stopped and said:  "There will be magic in your future."

I did not have long to wait. Just two days later, while walking on the nearby rue St. Paul,  I spied the Academie de Magie, which houses a  museum and a school of magic.  How could I have passed this way so many times before and never noticed this entryway?  Magic? It must  have been because  I readily paid the 12-euro ($17) admission charge -- pretty steep considering that the world-famous Louvre Museum costs only 9.50 euros.  

Located in a 16th-century building, the museum is the brainchild of George Proust, a magician and fervent collector of  all things magic. Proust acts as guide and his booming voice rises over the squeals of delighted children. On this day, it was the 6th birthday of la petite Jeanette, who was having a wonderful time with about a dozen of her friends. Her mother and grandmother, on the other hand, looked as if they would welcome the wave of a magic wand to calm their rambunctious charges. It brought to mind a long-ago birthday party in America that we had for our son and his friends at  a place called Chuck E. Cheese - an event that  happily is in the past and not in the future. (Click here for a classic video.)

The visit to the museum began with a magic show - rope tricks, card tricks and a disappearing act featuring la petite Jeanette.  Afterwards, little Jeanette, along with her friends and family, disappeared once again - this time to enjoy cake in an adjoining room.  The rest of us were free to roam the museum.  Its seven vaulted rooms are chock full of mysterious machines, magic wands, optical illusions, fun-house mirrors and historical items that once belonged to some of the world's great magicians.  More than 100 antique automates are displayed on shelves and in glass cases.  Simple in nature, but ingenious in their mechanics, each one comes to life at the push of a button, including a grandmotherly fortune teller who will predict your future for only one euro.  (Grand-mère said I will soon go on a wonderful trip that will bring me riches and happiness.)

So it seems that the palm reader led me to the Magic Museum, which led me to the grandmotherly fortune teller, who has put me on the road to happiness and great wealth. A pretty good investment of 12 euros, I would say.

Today, however, I discovered a small bakery/cafe called La Baguette Magic, a clever jeu de mots. A baguette is a French bread so the name could be "The Magic Bread." But  baguette is also the French word for wand, giving us "The Magic Wand." 

Could this be the magic in my future? I was carrying too many grocery bags to stop at La Baguette Magic this morning, but I'm going back this afternoon to see if their hot chocolate can  take the chill out of this cold Parisian day. Now that would be magic!

To see more photos, click here.

                                                         

                                                           A bientôt,

                                                           Geraldine

Musée de la Magie
Musée des Automates

11, rue St. Paul

75004 Paris 

Photos by Geraldine Calisti Kaylor

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Paris
France

Sunday at the Louvre

What to do on a cold day in January? When we're in Paris, we go to a museum. There are 77 of them in Paris, but there is none greater than the Louvre. It is, in fact, the world's most visited museum and it's big. Its 35,000 works of art are displayed in a magnificent palace that covers 652,300 square feet so you can't expect to see it all in one visit. We've been there dozens of times and with each visit, we discover something new and beautiful.

Last Sunday there was an added incentive to go to the Louvre. That's because on the first Sunday of every month the Louvre, along with many other Paris museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and the Orsay Museum, has free admission.

So after a breakfast of coffee and croissants, we set out on foot hoping to arrive before the crowds. We walked along the Quai de la Seine, which I would put high on my list of the World's Most Beautiful Walks. The quai is several miles long and lined up along it are many of the most famous monuments of Paris, including Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.  From Monday to Saturday, the Quai, a street which runs right along the river, is filled with traffic. On Sunday, however, the cars, buses and trucks are banished and from 9 a.m to 5 p.m., it's pedestrians only.                                                                                      

       

                                                                          

Our 20-minute walk from the Isle St. Louis to the Louvre took us past Notre Dame and the Pont au Change and the Conciergerie, which are pictured here. 

The line to get in went quickly, but the museum was already crowded.  Dozens of languages could be heard, but Italian seemed to predominate.  Either there are a lot of Italians in Paris at the moment or Italians really know how to have a good time.  

It seemed that every one of the thousands of visitors made a beeline for the room containing daVinci's portrait of  Mona Lisa. We headed for my favorite painting in the Louvre: Raphael's portrait of  his friend Baldassare Castiglione. If I could choose one work of art from the Louvre for my own, it would be this one.

Castiglione, a diplomat and a poet, is most famous for his book, The Courtier, published in 1528.  A 16th-century guide on how to be the perfect courtly aristocrat, Castiglione's book has been translated into many languages and still makes for interesting reading.  

The first time I saw the portrait many years ago, I had no idea who Castiglione was.  I was just struck by the intensity of his gaze and the gentleness of his expression.  He has always seemed like someone I would like to know.  I visit him every time I go to the Louvre.  And who could not like a man who in 1528 said that women are the equal of men and capable of doing anything men can do.  If you want to see him for yourself, he's in the Grand Gallery not far from the room that houses the Mona Lisa.  

Some art historians say that the portrait of Castiglione is an homage to daVinci's Mona Lisa.  I tried to make the comparison, but I couldn't get any closer than this.  If you look carefully, you will see the Mona Lisa in the glass case at the back of the photo. The crowds are always large, but on a day of free admission, it's particularly difficult to get anywhere near the painting. Nonetheless you can't go to the Louvre for the first time and not see the Mona Lisa.  It is a beautiful painting, but it's not the one I would take home with me if I could.  

As the day wore on, the crowds got bigger and bigger. Remember, though, that the Louvre has 35,000 works of art so you can always find a quiet corner with incredible things to see.  We headed way across the museum where there is a fascinating collection of art from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. Then, like our beautiful friend pictured here, we thumbed our ears at the crowds and enjoyed the quiet and solitude of a nearly empty gallery.

             

     A bientot, 

Geraldine

                                                                     

                  

To view enlarged photos online, click here

Photos by Geraldine Calisti Kaylor