In the beginning of the 21st Century I went to Paris with my then husband to celebrate our 11th anniversary. The marriage would remain intact for another two years but then blew up in the spectacular fashion that these things end - his explosion, rage, hurt, fear and finally a “Save the Children” approach when it becomes clear how bad this is for them. My son was eight and daughter was 5.
The highlight of that trip was Paris’ summer solstice party held every year on June 21st. French musicians, famous, amateur, amazing, not so amazing come out to the streets of Paris for the entire night and the whole city joins the party.
This past June I returned to Paris for another Fete de la Musique, this time alone after visiting my son in Germany. This was my turn, to make this night of music, laughter and sore feet all mine. It worked like a charm.
The wandering began in the 4th Arrondisement and travelled all the way to the 10th when the sore feet made me get on the Metro back to the edge of the Marais in the 3rd. I listened to a Latino men’s group, a church choir with a lead singer whose voice raised my spirits, and much more. The highlight was a giant open air dance party to American rock and role, the French musicians perfect American accents only lasting through the songs. I was stunned when the lead singer told me he only had a limited play list in heavily accented French.
How do you describe joy that begins at dusk and reduces you to total exhaustion by midnight. After 2 years of Covid restriction we were, for a moment, back in a world where we were all one and unafraid of each other. And yes, I danced right along with all of them.
I spent a long afternoon in the Marais checking out places from our trip in 1991 and found our favorite cafe still there with its ratty charm. Hopefully by now the upstairs bathroom is not a hole in the ground although I did not go up to check.
Over the years, I’ve been to many of the museums in Paris - the famous ones like the Musee D’orsay, the Louvre, the Orangerie, the Rodin Museum and also the Picasso Museum. I went back to the Picasso Museum and found a new exhibit that I would highly recommend. The exhibit is the story of his drama-laden relationship with his eldest daughter Maya Ruiz Picasso. For her first decade of life May was a constant subject for Picasso - one he approached with “fascination and tenderness,” according to the exhibit. She was the daughter of Marie-Thérèse Walter, Picasso’s most iconic model.
Picasso chronicled intimate details of their private life together. Of all his children, Maya was most frequently depicted—as a muse in the image of her mother.
