A Novel Paris:The Paris Novel

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A tasty novel!

I love French salads.

I am enjoying a sensory visit to Paris in the 1980’s. The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl is a gustatory walk down Memory Lane. The first time that I visited Paris was in 1987. I travelled by myself and met up with a group led by Paul Deggan who taught Art at Capilano College. Like the heroine in The Paris Novel, I was quite inexperienced, unaccustomed to French food, with little knowledge of French Art but I had majored in French Literature so I also know a smattering of French history. For me, as for the heroine of our novel, this trip to Paris opened me up to many of life’s possibilities.

Olympia by Manet

Like our heroine, one of the first museums that I visited in Paris was La Musee d’Orsay where our guide explained about how Manet’s work was considered scandalous in his time. Our heroine, a copywriter from New York decides to solve the mystery of this model’s own paintings, lost to art history.

Since 1987, I have spent a lot of time in Paris. I have eaten and cooked many meals, visited many museums and gardens and gazed at many shop windows with longing but I will never forget my first Paris adventure. 

If you would enjoy a brief Paris escape, I would heartily recommend this book.

Pivot???

tulips for a new season

 Spring is a time of new beginnings. Easter…flowers..ideas…It seems to me that, with each new season, it is necessary to assess both our day to day activities and our longer term plans. We need to recommit to some projects and to let some others fall away. 

This week, I read a book called The Weekend. I had heard the author, Charlotte Wood, interviewed on BBC World Book Club. If you are not familiar with the podcast, you may be interested in learning about some new books and authors. Older women, in this case the characters are in their mid-seventies, are often portrayed within the family context but in The Weekend, the author focuses on the friendship between 4 women who have led very different lives.  By this age, each woman has suffered her share of disappointments and compromises. As our paths diverge, do our friendships remain relevant?

Oaxaca Lending Library

Bloomberg.com published an article on April 11, 2024 on the resistance of Oaxaca residents to “Disneylandization”. Since I first visited 15 years ago, Oaxaca has become a victim of its own beauty and cultural richness.  Fifteen years ago, I stayed in the apartment at the Oaxaca Learning Center, a
nonprofit organization that I still support. I tutored young students in English and later my sister and I helped to support the studies of  a young Zapotec girl. Mari completed her education with great success and now is a teacher and a mother. I continue to support a children’s library and I enjoy volunteering in the 
Lending Library when I visit.  Oaxaca was very hot this year and water is scarce. I stayed in a hotel where I could shower and the floors were washed daily.  I’m not sure that travel is sustainable in these days of global warming. Do my contributions offset my footprint?

Pivot? How to change while holding true to one’s values? Understanding that there are many different understandings and experiences. My 72 years have provided me with a very privileged viewpoint. As my life progresses, changes are inevitable. I just don’t know what they are.

I Wonder!

 

I’m home from Oaxaca and wondering how many more trips I will take. I’m 72 years old and Monsieur is 77 this year. I don’t think that I will feel as comfortable leaving him when he is 80. Those Covid years deprived us of a few opportunities for travel. But there are lots of wonderful places to visit close to home.

Garry Point

I wonder whether I will remain healthy into my older years. Although I never manage to lose those extra pounds, I walk regularly, keep track of my food and have good sleep habits. I just started a course for seniors to maintain agility,mobility,balance and strength. I’ve never been an athlete but I’ve always been a walker so I would like to be able to maintain my mobility for as long as possible.

I’ve always enjoyed reading.

I wonder if I will continue to enjoy an active mind.  Since I was a toddler, I have been curious. Not in an active mischievous way but in a questioning way. Once I could read there was no stopping me. I once wrote a petition in poetic form requesting a set of World Book. The family coffers never stretched that far but I love the internet because I can find the answers to so many questions.

I wonder if I have found a way to resurrect one of my old blogs.