Paris When It Sizzles                                                                            August 11, 2003

Ten days in Paris!   (Our friends') Parisian cousins most generously allowed us to use their apartment near the Louvre while they vacationed elsewhere.  Just an easy 85 minutes by train from Brussels, and Voila, c'est Paris.

But check out the date above.  This was the week that Paris sizzled!  We arrived to mid-day temperatures hovering around 105 -- more than 25 degrees above normal.  There was a slight downward drift over the next week, but it was never below 90 until the wee hours.  We knew in advance that "our" apartment didn't have air-conditioning (or apparently even a fan that we could find).  Yet it was clear we weren't alone.  The vast majority of restaurants and cafes lack climatization, the French word for air-conditioning.  And worse, it seems many hospitals have the same problem.  It's been reported that over 1000 heat-related deaths occurred in Paris during this particular hot spell.

As some of you may know, I'm a woose (wuss?).  It was just too hot for me.  One night in the apartment and we decided to move to an air-conditioned hotel room.  Five days later, with still no break in sight from the worst heat wave Europe has seen in over 50 years, we cut short our "Paris vacation".

Of course we did see some of Paris in our six days.  We took advantage of cooler mornings to hit the streets, getting up early and being back indoors by noon, before the heat maxed out.  We walked the length of the Champs Elysee to the Arc de Triumph, stepped our way down a portion of Mr. Eiffel's tower, and wandered the shopping areas and neighborhoods around the beautiful Opera House near our hotel.  

We saw Paris in the evenings -- usually desperately seeking an air-conditioned restaurant.  I couldn't bear more than about 45 minutes outdoors.  

Fortunately, there were well marked oases.  We visited Paris' air-conditioned movie theaters and its wonderful, cool museums.  We spent three full days appreciating art: one day each at the Musee du Louvre (top photo), the Musee d'Orsay (above right), and the George Pompidou Centre (below left).  

As expected, the Louvre, Mona Lisa's home, is amazingly rich in architecture, interiors and art works.  It would require at least three more days before we could say we saw most of it, and more time than I have to begin to describe the parts we did see.  The Musee d'Orsay, with its marvelous interior was was once a grand railway station.  Now it houses paintings and sculptures done around the time of the French Impressionists.  There were plenty of Van Goghs, Monets, Manets, Renoirs, etc. to soak in.  It was easy to distinguish these from the more classical paintings and objects on view at the Louvre, .

The Pompidou Centre is dedicated to modern art and occupies one of Paris' more contemporary buildings-- it's got all its brightly painted  ductwork and utilities located on the exterior, making it look like an op art refinery.  Its excellent rooftop restaurant is a treat, with views.  The museum's permanent collection showcases works from Matisse to Pollock to Whatever; the latter is what seems to pass for art today.  

Not being especially enamored of most modern art, we both preferred the temporary exhibitions at the Pompidou.  This summer these included the incredible photographic albums (over 14,000 pages) of Jacques Henri Lartigue (who loved capturing movement and beautiful women in his camera's eye, and who viewed himself as a spectator and narrator of his life).  Lartigue was also an accomplished painter as this photo suggests.  Another current exposition brought together some contemporary art and cinema from China.  The images reflected the rapidly changing life and concerns of the average Chinese citizen today.  Dick and I watched most of one movie, with subtitled dialogues (en Francais).  We were pleased to discover that we could understand it.  Our studies must be paying off.

Heat or no, I couldn't help but love Paris: it's an amazing city.  So lively (even in this quietest month of the year!), so full of glorious monuments and churches, so varied  -- with broad avenues and narrow streets, interesting neighborhoods and modern shopping areas, brasseries set on grand squares or stuck into little lanes -- and so cultured, with the art of the ages.

We'll surely come again to see afternoon Paris: to take a sun-filled cruise on the Seine, to walk from one end of the inner city to another, to enjoy a picnic in one of the parks, to visit the Palaces and gardens at Versailles, to eat lunches and dinners outdoors, to sip expresso and watch people from the many sidewalks cafes.  There's plenty to do "next time".  But I must admit, even in a summer when it really sizzled, I loved Paris. 

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