conceptual stuff

And so 2007 starts and we leave the fetes behind us. We – for our sins or otherwise – paid a visit to Evreux and Paris this week. Evreux to see Gregoire’s maman and papa and Paris to get our visas for Kenya. We took advantage of the forced Kenya embassy visit to ‘do’ Paris …..Scarlet at 7 is the perfect age right now, so each time there we try to top up her memory banks. The musee de quai branly (musée des arts premiers) was open and there was no queue (unheard of) so we took our chance and went to see the current exhibition (D'Un regard l'Autre – a history of European conceptions of Africa, America and Oceania). Fantastic. Loads of adventurers and explorers and anthropologists stuff and drawings and sculptures and the like – plus some rather gorgeous Picasso Gauguin Matisse Rousseau and Vlaminck thrown in to boot…brilliant, we passed 2 and a half hours there without realising it. Came away with that lovely scrubbly feeling of wonderment. Then hopped the metro and zipped up to the old Sacre Coeur…only to find the funicular railway closed for repairs, so we had to climb the 325 steps with our own legs. Aaaargh. Horror horror. Still, worth it once at the top as that view is always so stunning. It was made better by a harpist strumming away at the foot of the cathedral steps. Trop musical. Then we wondered through the textile and fabric market and Grégoire reminisced about his grandmother (a couturiere) doing all her fabric shopping here. Lunched in Montmartre, headed back to the Kenyan embassy to collect our visas then meandered through the streets to the Gare St Lazare. Fab little day out. Saw some old good friends Bruno et Corinne in Evreux and caught up with gossip and news – Scarlet and their 3 girls (Margolise, Eileen et Cassandre) played until they dropped, whilst we grown ups drank wine and champagne and ate langouste and chocolate and laughed and giggled and got sillier and sillier. Most of our Evreux time was with Monique and Jean (les beaux parents) who fed us masses and made us sleep late. Even demon child Scarlet slept until 9 every morning. Ahhh bliss. We made them dig out all the old family photos (from turn of 20th century onwards) and found some fascinating pictures and letters. Gregoire greedily grabbed all car and moto related images and info and will probably spend the next few weeks researching and googling for info before contacting fellow classic petrol heads for further info. I contented myself with absorbing all the old photos and trying desperately to work out family connections. Turns out there is a family connection with St Fraimbault, which is most odd and strangely coincidental..we just have to track down the family now…..