Posts tagged ‘Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore’
Paris Is Always a Good Idea…
That famous line, attributed to Audrey Hepburn, is actually a line she spoke in the 1954 movie Sabrina. So it is perhaps more accurate to give credit for the sentiment to Billy Wilder, Samuel Taylor, and Ernest Lehman, who wrote the screenplay. (Let’s give some credit to screenwriters here! 🙂 ).
In any case, it is a very true statement, at least for me it is. (My most-often stated feeling about Paris is that all things being equal, I am always just a little bit happier when I am there.)
And so I was very lucky–and very happy–to spend a few days there last week. I don’t need much to make me happy when I’m in Paris; it’s enough to just be there, sitting in a café, reading, writing, sipping on a café crème or a vin chaud, surrounded by French conversation. Enjoying the warmth inside, watching the world go by outside the café windows; appreciating the reflection of lights on rainy streets and sidewalks, the occasional colorful umbrella passing by.
But this time I was also lucky to be able to spend time catching up with friends I haven’t seen in a while, and even participate in a special event at the wonderful Red Wheelbarrow, my favorite bookstore in Paris. Penelope Fletcher had asked me to introduce Cathy Yandell, who would be reading from her new book, The French Art of Living Well: Finding Joie de Vivre in the Everyday World, and I was delighted to do so. Cathy is a scholar of French literature (Renaissance poetry to be precise), and professor at Carleton College in Minnesota. Her book is a wonderful blend of stories about her experiences in France over a period of many years as a student, a teacher, a parent of American children in French schools. It also includes appreciation of and really interesting information about French literature, art, music (including contemporary and pop music); and her personal reflections on French ways. Finally it is a cultural guidebook that offers readers great ideas for off-the-beaten-track adventures in France, from thalassotherapy in Royan to the hammam in the Grand Mosque of Paris. (And she doesn’t just tell you you can do these things; she does them and tells you what the experience was like.)
The selections of the book Cathy read that night included a reflection on what Montaigne would have to say about the concept of joie de vivre and a very funny story about how she learned some choice French vocabulary in an episode of (thankfully controlled) road rage between her French “brother” and another French driver on a mountainous road in the south of France.
So. You see what I mean? This book offers intellectual stimulation; valuable information about interesting things to do in France; and it is also just plain fun to read.
Left to right: 1) Penelope Fletcher introducing me; 2) Me introducing Cathy; 3) Cathy Yandell, left, me, right. Photos courtesy of Mark S. McNeil.
I also had the chance while I was there have tea with another author friend, Penelope Rowlands, who curated the wonderful collection of essays, Paris Was Ours. Having tea (or in my case, latte) at Ladurée on the rue Bonaparte is one of those delightfully civilized experiences that momentarily places you in another world altogether. Have you ever seen such a beautiful latte? Stirring the foam felt like an aesthetic crime! At least I captured the artistry before destroying it.
A couple of days later, it was time for me to return to Essoyes. As I waited on the platform for my train to pull into Gare de l’Est this magical vision of what train travel can be glided into the station…and captured everyone’s attention and admiration. You would think that the people on the platform had been transported back to childhood, where a sense of wonder at the beauty of the world shows so openly on the faces of children. We all watched, and dreamed, and appreciated–and who knows? Maybe some of us will be lucky enough to travel on that train one day…
Janet Hulstrand is an American writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who lives in France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France, and coauthor of Moving On: A Practical Guide to Downsizing the Family Home.
Another Wonderful Week in Paris…
I had the great pleasure of spending another week in Paris last week. My son and his girlfriend were both away and they needed someone to care for their cat. This gave me the opportunity to stay in their place in its wonderful location on the Bassin de l’Arsenal, near Bastille.
The first time I stayed in their apartment I didn’t know about the Coulée Verte, which is a beautiful green space designed for strolling on an elevated train track that goes from Bastille to the Chateau de Vincennes, on the eastern edge of Paris, a distance of a few miles. It opened in 1988 and apparently was the inspiration for the High Line in New York; it is just a few short blocks from my son’s apartment, and this time I was determined to explore it.
After a rather late and chilly spring (which actually remained chilly during the whole time I was in Paris) some of the blooms that normally come earlier in the year had not yet happened. But while I was there, roses and other flowering bushes began to blossom and it was lovely, both on the Coulée Verte and along the Bassin de l’Arsenal as well.
While I was there I had the incomparable pleasure of meeting six delightful Canadians who were traveling in France. Rosemary is a reader of my blog who became interested in my writing as she was researching the history of her husband’s uncle, a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force during WW2 who was killed in action just north of Essoyes on August 5, 1944, and is buried in the village cemetery, not far from the grave of Renoir. We had communicated sporadically for a couple of years, and when she told me that she and husband and some friends of theirs would be in Troyes during the month of May, we laid a tentative plan to meet.
As it turned out, I was not in Champagne when they were in Troyes, but we were lucky to be able to meet in Paris. These Canadians–who are, specifically, from Winnipeg, and thus nearly “next door” neighbors to my hometown of Minneapolis. (Well. At nearly 500 miles apart, I guess it is a matter of “relatively speaking.”) Anyway, these Canadians turned out to be a delightful group! We met at my son’s favorite local café last Sunday morning and had one of those conversations that begins without effort, and threatens to never end. 🙂 I was particularly pleased to learn that Rosemary had enjoyed reading my new book, and that she had also recommended Demystifying the French to her friends; and when they told me that reading “Demystifying” had made a definite (and positive) difference in the quality of their experience of being in France, well that just about made my day right then and there.
I left the café feeling that I had six wonderful new friends. I hope to learn much more about Bill’s uncle, who paid a high price for his role in helping to liberate France. It was a poignant reminder of just how many lives were lost in getting Europe back out from under Nazi occupation, and an occasion for renewed–and deep–gratitude for all those brave men and women who so unselfishly did what needed to be done. 😦 I hope to be able to learn more about Bill’s uncle’s story, and write about it on this blog.
Here I am, with Rosemary in Paris, and with the rest of the gang as well.
Later that same day I had the good fortune to meet Kitty Morse, the author of a beautiful new book called Bitter Sweet: A Wartime Journal and Heirloom Recipes from Occupied France. After her mother died, Kitty had discovered a suitcase that held a wealth of archival material–both wartime journals and heirloom recipes–from her great-grandparents, one of whom perished in Auschwitz. She told the group of writers who had gathered to meet her a very moving story not only about her family’s history but about the warm reception she received in Châlons-en-Champagne when she went there this spring to do additional research into her family’s past, and to present her book.
All of this was wonderful, but the serendipity just kept rolling! As luck would have it, my cat-sitting assignment coincided perfectly with the arrival in Paris for one short day of a friend and former student of mine from my days of running a program in New York back in the 1980s, called the Junior Year in New York. Otter Bowman was one of the ones who couldn’t leave New York once she got there: she ended up staying there for several years before returning to her home state of Missouri, where she became a librarian and has carried out a career as a bookmobile librarian. Now, as president of the Missouri Library Association, she is one of hundreds of librarians across the country who are fighting the good fight against the banning of books.
Anyway. She and one of her sons, who now lives in England where he is studying classics, were doing a whirlwind trip to Paris and I was super pleased that they made time to see me while they were there.
We arranged to meet for dinner at the Bouillon République, which was not far from where both of us were staying. Otter had told me that a modest budget was what they had to work with, so right away I thought of meeting them at a bouillon. This revival of a 19th century phenomenon in 21st century Paris is explained here. Basically the idea is to provide a classic French meal at an affordable price, and in the past few years bouillons have popped up all over Paris. The décor tends to be 19th century France, and the meals are simple, classic–escargots, boeuf bourguignon, crème brûlée, for example. They are also copious, indeed affordable, and the atmosphere is very convivial. There are menus in both French and English, and the waiters very thoughtfully ask you which one you would prefer. The server we had was particularly kind and attentive, but I have found the service at bouillons to be so, generally speaking.
Unlike most French restaurants and even cafés and bistros, the bouillons tend to serve meals continuously during the hours they are open, and they don’t take reservations except for large groups. (Although I did notice that a poster outside the Bouillon République was announcing that they had just introduced the possibility of reserving tables, so it pays to check in advance, especially if you will be eating during traditional French lunch or dinnertime.) Since my friends had just arrived from London on the Eurostar, and Otter was also less than 36 hours into getting over jet lag I figured they might want to eat on the early side and I was right. So we met for dinner at 6 pm (very early by French standards) and walked right in. By the time we left at a bit after 8 pm there was a very long line to get in.
After dinner we took a stroll toward their Air B&B near Arts et Métiers and I showed them one of my favorite little parks in Paris, the Square du Temple. At nearly closing time, the playground was empty, but there were a couple of games of ping pong going on, and it turns out that Otter is a big fan of ping pong. (“Oh! If only I had known!” she said. “I would have packed my paddles.” 🙂 )
Here are a few images from the Square du Temple at other times of day, from other trips to Paris.
Early the next morning I needed to get back to Essoyes so I was on my train at Gare de l’Est before 9 am. I love taking the train between Essoyes* and Paris. It is such a wonderful way to travel! And I love the Gare de l’Est. It is not huge, and overwhelming like the Gare du Nord. And it is not huge and modern like Gare Montparnasse. It is old, and beautiful; big enough to be grand, but not so big as to be overwhelming; and it is full of interesting things to look at if you have time between trains. For example this painting, which I wrote about here.
When I got home I learned that Otter and her son had made time in their one precious day in Paris to go my favorite bookstore there, The Red Wheelbarrow, and I even have documentation of their visit, thanks to Penelope, the bookstore’s manager, who kindly snapped these photos of Otter enjoying a peek at my new book. (For those you who may not know, this is really the best Anglophone bookstore in Paris to go to, especially if you wish to go into the bookstore without having to wait in a long line (!) and if you fancy the idea of strolling across the street with your new books into the lovely Jardin de Luxembourg, which is also an absolutely perfect place for reading.)
And so here I am back in Essoyes, where there is less excitement, but also lots and lots of peacefulness and quiet. Our little orchard needed watering, and our new willow tree and flowering bushes did too. And so I am here to do these things, and to enjoy sunsets like this one nearly every night. And am counting my blessings…
Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who divides her time between the US and France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France.
*You actually cannot take the train all the way to Essoyes (sadly). The closest station is Vendeuvre-sur-Barse. And the closest place where you can rent a car to drive the rest of the way is Troyes. But Troyes is also a fascinating and beautiful city with some wonderful museums. So well worth putting on your list!
A Long Way from Iowa Launches at The Red Wheelbarrow, Paris
With my friend (and bookseller extraordinaire) Penelope Fletcher, at the launch of A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France.
I stated on my Facebook page not too long ago that having my book launch at The Red Wheelbarrow bookstore in Paris was a longtime dream come true, but that is not strictly accurate.
The truth is I never really dreamed of having a book launch at a bookstore in Paris, at least not until fairly recently. Not until I became friends with Penelope Fletcher, the manager of my very favorite English-language bookstore in Paris (and in my opinion the very best one too).
Penelope is what every indie bookstore manager should be: a voracious reader with boundless love and enthusiasm for books and writers, and a passionate interest in putting the right readers together with the right books. (Being possessed of abundant energy and indefatigable persistence and determination is helpful too. 🙂 )
I could go on and on about Penelope’s talents, skills, and excellence as a bookseller, but perhaps I will save that for another post. For now let me just say that she has become a good friend, and a faithful supporter of my work, and I am deeply grateful for that.
Anyway. So it is that I found myself living that dream come true last night, at The Red Wheelbarrow in Paris. Here are a few photos of the event.
And so this book, a labor of love that I worked on off and on over a period of many years, is finally out in the world–and on the shelves at The Red Wheelbarrow as well as other bookstores (for example at my favorite Washington DC bookstore, Politics and Prose), and online as well. You can learn a bit about the book here, and I hope you will be interested enough to buy it. I hope even more that you will like it (and that if you do, you will write an online review of it). These things help authors so much!
The best thing about the event, at least for me, is that it was a wonderful mix of friends, and people I’d never met before. (The best thing for Penelope, I imagine, is that almost everyone who was there for the reading bought the book!) And I think it was fun for everyone that I had brought one of my favorite champagnes from the Côte des Bar (which is where I now live) to celebrate the event.
There is one more best thing about the event for me. And that is that both of my sons were there, with their very nice girlfriends. Nothing could have made the event more special for me.
Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who divides her time between the US and France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and  A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France.
A Few November Highlights from Paris…and Essoyes!
The real reason for my visit to Paris this month was to see and support my friend Edith de Belleville, who was the speaker at Adrian Leeds‘s monthly Après-Midi gathering. Edith is a licensed tour guide in Paris, a lawyer, and the author of two wonderful books, Belles et Rebelles and Parisian Life: Adventures in the City of Light. If you can read French, you should read both of them, they’re wonderful. I keep hoping Belles et Rebelles will be translated into English, it’s too good to stay in just one language, DO YOU HEAR THAT, PUBLISHERS? But also (to be clear), Parisian Life is already in English: Edith wrote it in English (another feather in her cap). So you should all buy it. 🙂
You can learn more about Edith in this interview I did with her for Bonjour Paris. if you are a subscriber. She is a very smart, lively, funny, interesting woman! (If you’re not a subscriber to Bonjour Paris, and if you’re a serious Parisophile, you might want to subscribe. Lots of great articles, Zoom talks, etc. available there!)
Then I got lucky: Adrian invited me to come for the weekend before Après-Midi to just “hang out” and have fun in Paris with her. (She didn’t have to twist my arm about that…)
You don’t hang out with Adrian in Paris (or anywhere, as far as I can gather) without eating a lot of really good food. This woman believes in eating at least two full meals a day, which is kind of a novelty for me; and a culinary adventure whenever I stay with her in Paris. Whenever she asks me what I want to eat for dinner, my main requirements are generally the same: “Not too expensive. Not too fancy. Not too far away (so we can walk there).” I like to keep it simple! And she always has great suggestions. Here are just a few of the culinary pleasures I enjoyed in those few days in Paris.
Then I got even luckier. My son’s girlfriend, Diane de Vignemont, is a historian, and she was recently involved in putting together an exhibition at the Musée de l’Armée at les Invalides. She invited me to attend the opening for this exhibit, which happened to fall on my last night in Paris. This was very exciting indeed, and it was really fun to see her in this professional context. (Though I’ve actually been able to see that before in my last couple of classes for Politics and Prose bookstore, which were focused on France under the Occupation, during which Diane was kind enough to visit via Zoom, and share her expertise with my students. She is, in a word, amazing!)
The exhibition, which focused on the years of the Algerian War, and De Gaulle’s role in it, was beautifully mounted and very interesting indeed. One of the things Diane was involved in was arranging for the loan of a beautiful Calder mobile called “France Forever.” (Can you see the Cross of Lorraine in it?)
Of course it would not be a trip to Paris without a visit to The Red Wheelbarrow Bookstore (Here’s another interesting interview to read on Bonjour Paris, this one is with Penelope Fletcher, the wonderful bookseller who runs the store. See what I mean about subscribing? 🙂 ) Adrian and I went there on Saturday afternoon, and I was delighted that my son and Diane were able to meet us there too. With an armload of new books, some of which I will use in future classes, I left the store very happy indeed.
Well, anyway. This is really only a sampling of what I was lucky to experience in Paris this time in just a few days: there was more! Sometimes when I am in Paris I really don’t “do much” at all, I just wander around, walking, sitting in cafés or parks, reading, writing, and eating only one full meal a day. That is fine with me too! But I have to say, this time was pretty fun, thanks so much, Adrian! (and Diane, and Phineas, and Penelope–for just being there–at The Red Wheelbarrow!)
A few days later, in Essoyes (and all around France), Armistice Day was being celebrated. This is a very important–and moving–national commemoration of the day that brought peace (temporarily! 😦 ) at last to war-ravaged Europe in 1918. Here are a few photos from that day here in Essoyes.
Let’s hope that today’s fragile peace in Europe can be maintained, and the forces of hate and tyranny pushed back. We can’t afford to keep fighting like this all the time. We have big problems to solve together!
Janet Hulstrand is a writer, editor, writing coach, and teacher of writing and of literature who divides her time between the US and France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You. Her memoir, A Long Way from Iowa, will be published in early 2023.
Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road 