Souvenirs II

While in Paris, we did our part in supporting the local economy - but as locals, not as tourists. We bought an air mattress, a few mugs, lots and lots of cheese, and a few other items that probably wouldn't qualify as "souvenirs." Towards the end of our stay, we started thinking about the material legacy that Paris would leave in our lives. Sure, there were the 10,000+ photos we'd taken, and I guess this blog counts as somewhat "material" (or at least "documentary"). But come on - we live in a material world, and we are material girls, so it was high time we picked up a few things to inspire bouts of nostalgia once we'd returned to our regularly scheduled American life.

We started simple: a set of "Prince and Princess" plates we'd first seen at Le Bon Marché in the winter, then rediscovered at another store in May.

Each small, plastic plate (clearly intended for children) depicts a prince or princess offering suggestions for proper table etiquette, always in the first person so as to lead by example:

• I carry my food to my mouth.
• I don't eat chicken with my fingers.
• I don't put my knife in my mouth.
• I don't talk with my mouth full.
• My hands rest on the table.
• I only leave the table when the meal is finished.

Besides pointing to some interesting cultural differences in manners, the plates are brightly colored (the photo doesn't do them justice) and never fail to stimulate conversation. Plus, they're dishwasher-safe!

Prince and Princess plates: find them at a novelty shop on the Ile-St.-Louis near you, and collect all 12!

Through Mehdi's Eyes

On the same pleasant day of babysitting that brought Professor Gamberge to our attention, we took the two boys to the Parc des Buttes Chaumont, where Nahel and I played soccer while Maggie and Mehdi walked Panda. Already aware of Mehdi's potential as a photographer from our "Portraits of Belleville" photo-shoot with his family, Maggie once again handed him the camera. What follows demonstrates the same budding genius we saw in Jacob's photography, way back in October.

Thanks, Mehdi, and keep it up!

Guignol

On Wednesdays, weekends, and holidays, a particularly French form of entertainment sends ripples of laughter across the Parc des Buttes Chaumont. It's the Guignol, a kind of puppet show invented in the late 18th-century by a silkweaver/sometimes dentist named Laurent Mourget. The puppet show started out as a way to entice customers to sit for teeth-pulling, and the fact that it succeeded suggests that Polichinelle (Punch in English), Guignol (after whom the artform was named), and the other stock characters created over the years were just what the dentist ordered. (Unlike Guignol, I am not funny.)

The poster below shows some of those stock characters (extra points to anyone who can name each one) and to the right you'll see the guignol we know best, near the entrance to the Parc des Buttes Chaumont at  Avenue Simon Bolivar and Rue Botzaris.


We still haven't gotten around to going inside (we're too embarrassed to enter without small children in tow) but from the sound of it, fun is had by all who attend, adult and child alike. So much fun, in fact, that I couldn't resist the temptation of recording a few minutes of the show. Yes, I was that creepy guy you saw standing by the entrance with an audio recorder. In my defense, I was technically walking Panda, and checking out ticket prices . . . yeah.

Maybe one of our intrepid native French-speaking readers can translate the jokes and wordplay that caused all the laughing and audience participation. And maybe one of the same readers would be willing to loan us some children so we can experience the guignol from inside the theater for once!