Finally a moment of consistent sunlight after a long, somewhat overcast spell here. Glorious, really. And it helps, with what’s going on. The Louvre and other institutions like the Opéra de Paris are now closed until further notice. Even the Eiffel Tower is closed.
I’ve been imagining recently what the Countess Aurelia (‘The Madwoman of Chaillot’) might say to me:
“To be alive is to be fortunate, Grégoire. Of course, in the morning, when you first awake, it doesn’t always seem so very gay… When you take your hair out of the drawer, and your teeth out of the glass, you are quite likely to feel a little out of place in this naughty world.”
To which I would have to add, in her place: “So then you reach once more for the hand sanitizer, your protective mask and vinyl gloves, and now you’re ready to face the new day!”
Mind you Aurelia, I’ve still got all of MY teeth.
I read that a bathhouse in Australia is taking temperatures at the door, before allowing entrance. This is probably the first time in history that you could be turned down at a bathhouse for being TOO hot!
There are wonderful things to look forward to, after this all passes. The Musée Cernuschi, a private mansion overlooking the parc Monceau, has just reopened, free of charge, with its unique collection of Chinese artwork, including a Buddha three stories tall! The Musée Victor Hugo, the author’s residence at the Place des Vosges, is reopening in June after a full renovation. An enormous Henri Matisse show at the Pompidou Center is coming up (across the street from here). A grand expo of Joaquín Sorolla paintings is coming to Aix-en-Provence, and Jacques and I are definitely going to that, he’s a favorite because of his joyous palette of colors. The Musée Carnavalet here is reopening after sumptuous restoration of the Renaissance-period building and reorganization of their collections regarding the history of Paris (Proust’s complete bedroom is there, Mme de Sévigné’s former residence takes up one wing there). The famous 24-hour Poste Centrale du Louvre – designed by Julien Gaudet – is being reopened this spring with several restaurants, co-working spaces, a glamorous 4-star hotel and a 21st century Post Office (I well remember the days in the 1970s when you simply had to come there if you wanted to call overseas). The completely renovated Ancien Bourse de Commerce is now ready to open with François Pinaud’s stupendous collection of 20th century art, just up the street in Les Halles. And the new La Samaritiane, the former Art Deco department store facing the Seine is nearly completed, brought up to date by Louis Vuitton, who spared no expense. These are all good things.
And a new friend showed up on my radar, and he lives two blocks from here. Smart, funny, incredibly talented, and 30 years younger than myself. Among his qualifications, he is devoted to Joan Sutherland, Nicolai Gedda, Eleonor Steber, Dante and Michelangelo, so there’s gobs of stuff to talk about during our lunches (“Chastement, d’ailleurs,” to quote Francis Poulenc)…
That’s still me, unrepented and forward-looking. Just lucky, I guess.
And wishing you all safety and good health.
*Soif d’idéal = The thirst for something ideal. Extracted from “Foule Sentimentale,” the wonderful song by Alain Souchon.