Book: White Truffles in Winter (a novel) by N. M. Kelby

This fictionalized biography of the great French chef, Auguste Escoffier– White Truffles in Winter  – is delicious, scandalous, lascivious, luscious…

The writing is lush. The author, N. M. Kelby,  paints the portrait of a man obsessed with luscious food and delicious women.  But not just any food–Escoffier prefers dishes prepared with special ingredients. And not just any women.  He marries and has children with a poet–Delphine Daffis, but they live apart for decades during which he carries on a love affair with actress Sarah Bernhardt. He sees her when she is not busy bedding various heads of state and other prominent citizens.  At the end, Auguste and Delphine come back together in Monte Carlo and that is where the book starts, as it tells the story of his life in flashbacks and contemplates his life. Underneath the romance and the food, White Truffles in Winter  explores living well,  aging, memory, and how to adequately show love.

Modern Monte Carlo

Auguste Escoffier himself narrates most of the novel and after hearing him enthuse about the poetry and sacredness of food, we begin to believe wholeheartedly in the power and the glory of a properly prepared meal. Today we credit Escoffier with inventing modern restaurant kitchen methods (dividing the work among specialized stations) and serving styles (as menus à la carte).

He wooed women with his cooking, he wrote cookbooks, and when he needed some luxurious extras, he ordered them on the hotel account and cooked the books. The details of this novel, set in Paris, London and Monte Carlo are not literally correct, but it reflects the basic outline of Escoffier’s life. As the author says, “The elegant savage found in these pages is who we all are when we address the plate.  The magician, the priest, the dreamer, the artist–it is our most hungry self.”

The “King of chefs and chef to kings”  moved from a Paris restaurant to the  Savoy in London and with his friend César Ritz, started the Carlton in London and Ritz Hotel in Paris, thus beginning the Ritz-Carlton tradition. Escoffier also headed the kitchen preparations for the Titanic and drew up the menus, but fortunately for him, let his crew sail without him.

Hotel Ritz, Paris, today

The delight of this novel lies in the dialogue and actions that are consistently believable no matter how remote the life of Mme. and M. Escoffier may be from our own reality.  Occasionally he touches down to earth–with memories of the horrible days of starvation during World War I, which the author intimates were the basis for his obsessions with food.  And with the recipe for Fried Chicken.  Don’t get me wrong, White Truffles is not a cookbook.  However Kelby describes many of Escoffier’s creations in such detail that you could recreate them in your kitchen (if only you had a few truffles on hand).

Auguste explains that fried chicken blends Scottish and African traditions. He learned to make it from Rufus Estes, a famous American black chef of the day who worked for Sarah Bernhardt .  Sarah calls Auguste’s  version, “Magic.” How different in spirit is his version from Paula Deen (who has her own problems these days.)( NOTE: I belatedly discovered that Kelby herself has something to say on the subject of Deen at her blog” At Escoffier’s Table)

Back to the fried chicken, Escoffier says:

Cut some boiled fowl into slices and marinate them in very good olive oil, the juice of a lemon and a handful of herbs fresh from the garden.  I enjoy tarragon, for a hint of licorice; lemon thyme, to bring forward the citrus note; and the slightest bit of lavender.  The fowl should marinate for at least three hours.  Flour. Fry. Garnish with fried parsley.

The cooking advice is not always so straightforward.  In explaining another poultry dish, Escoffier says, “…find a good-sized pullet.  You must be very careful with the size of the fatted chicen…You will know it when you see it.  Your heart will leap.”  This “good-sized pullet” is for a dish that “will require the maître d’hôtel, three waiters (at the very least) and a portable stovetop.”

The author has absorbed and reflects Escoffier’s fascination with everything about food.  ”Food is never as simple as one thinks it is.  It is much more dangerous–seducing completely,” he says. In the  novel’s description of settings–in this bygone era that only the super rich might come close to experiencing in the 21st century–the words are also electric.  When Escoffier goes to Belle Île to meet Sarah Bernhardt (ah, yes, the same wonderful island visited in  P.O. Box Love ) :

“…he could see what a painter en plein aire would see, what Monet had seen as he desperately held his canvas so that the insistent wind would not hurl his easel into the sea–the blue with shutters of green, all set in sharp relief against the bones of jagged steep cliffs, the gray-green sea and the coal smoke sky.  The colors were so intense he nearly wept.”

The publishers, W. W. Norton and Company, have equaled the lushness of N. M. Kelby’s writing with fine scrolling graphics at chapter heads, a sensuous cover picture and a jacket cover that feels as soft and smooth as skin.

One last food reference from White Truffles in Winter. As he feeds a “perfect scallop” to Delphine early in their marriage:

“Close your eyes,” he had said to her. “food demands complete submission.” “Do you taste the sea?”

Delphine did. Not just the salt of the sea but the very air of the moment that the shell was pulled from the sand. “A storm, perhaps. There is a dark edge to the sweetness of the meat.  What do you taste?”

“The hand of God”

Reading Escoffier:

Ma Cuisine A cookbook for people who already know how to cook, despite being titled for the housewife. No cooking temperatures and times, for example.

Auguste Escoffier: Memories of My Life This is his version of his life and it is the book he is writing during the novel, White Truffles in Winter.

Disclaimers: Links from book titles to Amazon are for your convenience, but they are affiliate links, which means that anything you buy while you are there earns a bit for A Traveler’s Library. Please do help us out that way! Thanks.  The photos here come from Flickr with Creative Commons license and you can learn more by clicking on each photo.

And what are your own feelings about food? Have you had experiences where food transported you–where it became much more than simple fuel for the body?

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Culture Travel Tuesday

by Dr. Jessie Voigts

Destination: France

Books: Several about food–read on.

Dessert Plate at Mariage Freres tea room, Paris

France. What’s the first thing you think of? If you’re anything like me, it’s all about the food. I dream of luscious cheeses, mouthwatering chocolates, special meals, and of course ANYTHING I can get at a boulangerie. Blame it on Molly Wizenberg, Alexander Lobrano, Patricia Wells, and David Lebovitz. Whenever I read books on food and France, the Proustian moment pops up (as expected).

To start this new year off well, I’d like to share my very favorite books on Food and France. Soon, I imagine that you, too, will be trying recipes, reading deep into the cold dark winter nights, and dreaming of walking through the door of your favorite chocolatier or boulangerie, tossing off your order in flawless French.

Long Ago In France: The Years in Dijon, by MFK Fisher
This started it, for me…that life-long love of France and French food. This book is both is a memoir of three years in Dijon as a postgrad student and an ode to exploring, learning, and loving food, by America’s foremost literary food writer. While still on chapter one, I ran to the store and bought a huge jar of Dijon mustard. I put it in vinaigrettes, main dishes, on sandwiches – and also, just opened it and smelled FRANCE. I still remember her descriptions of how the smell of Dijon mustard wafted through the town, and wanted it for myself. This book is, yes, still on my nightstand.

Eat Smart in France: How to decipher the menu, know the market foods, and embark on a tasting adventure, by Ronnie Heiss.
Eat Smart in France is filled with recipes (!), gorgeous photos, the history of French cuisine, tips for shopping, resources for finding ingredients, helpful phrases, a menu guide, food and flavor guide, and a reference guide to the food establishments. Want to know more? You can read our interview with author Ronnie Hess – an award-winning journalist who has lived and worked in France .

Mastering the Art of French Cooking, vols. 1 & 2, by Julia Child, Louisette Bertholle, and Simone Beck
Need I say more? This is THE classic — cookbooks that have inspired movies, books, blogs, and more meals than we can count. It changed the way that Americans cooked, and thought about global cuisines. I haven’t worked my way through them one recipe at a time, but have chosen the dishes I love most to prepare. If you buy one cookbook set, let it be this.

The Sweet Life in Paris, by David Lebovitz
After I read the review here on A Traveler’s Library, I had to get this book for myself (thank you, ATL!). I was not disappointed – great recipes, marvelous stories of living in France, and pure joy at reading the life of an expat foodie in Paris. Finding spices can be difficult, depending on what you’re looking for. Finding great food? Not so difficult. A glimpse into life in a tiny apartment in Paris? Both cautionary and inspiring. A great, great read. Extra Bonus: LOTS Of chocolate references and recipes.

A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table, by Molly Wizenberg
Not a book about food and France, per se. But the chapters that talk about food and France both inspire and get you in the kitchen. Author Wizenberg (if you haven’t been to her popular blog, Orangette yet, go there first) shares stories and recipes, including of her time in France. I love this kind of book, where you read a bit, and then delve into a recipe. Yes, I’ve made her father’s potato salad, and the dark chocolate ginger banana bread, and, well, almost all of the recipes in the book. Definitely worth a read, for more than the France sections. Want to know the backstory? We talked with Molly at Wandering Educators.

Hungry for Paris: The Ultimate Guide to the City’s 102 Best Restaurants, by Alexander Lobrano
Renowned food writer Lobrano seems to be all over the place – on tv, in the New York Times, Saveur, and a whole host of food magazines. He’s based in Paris. Need I say more? He’s your inside guide to eating well in Paris. Hungry for Paris also addresses cultural aspects of French Cuisine – including manners, mores, history, reservations, and more. Each restaurant Alec recommends is a gem – I almost had to stop reading after each entry, to think about what I’d order, and to visualize its location, chef, and menu for myself. Whether you have a large or small meal budget in Paris, a taste for classical French food or leaning toward ethnic or bistro fare, this book covers it. One key aspect of this book is that it teaches the reader about food in France in “The Happy Eater’s Almanac: How To Have a Perfect Meal in Paris.” Definitely a must-read, and a necessity for your next trip to Paris.

The Table Comes First: Family, France, and the Meaning of Food, by Adam Gopnik
I’ll read just about anything by Adam Gopnik (love his articles in the New Yorker). He spent years in Paris, and is a true foodie. The essays in this book cover a variety of topics (to eat meat or not; how the modern restaurant started; contemporary French cuisine; history; culture), but it is his paean to food and family, of eating together, of the pleasures of the table (wherever that table may be) that has drawn me in.

And a kids book (because it is never too young to start either cooking or traveling)…

Crepes by Suzette, by Monica Wellington
Monica Wellington is a beloved children’s book author and illustrator. Yes, we’ve read all of her books. But this one, it is something special. Crepes by Suzette follows a crepe maker throughout her day, moving around Paris and making crepes for her customers. You’ll see your favorite Paris landmarks, of course. Wellington is truly creative, though, and works in pictorial references to great works of art. It’s fun, simple to read, teaches about a place and art, and also inspires young chefs. The crepe recipe in the book is a classic – and is the first recipe that our daughter (then 3) ever made. She’s gone on to master many other recipes (and been featured in a cookbook), but this is her very favorite.

Thanks, Jessie. For anyone who is worried about eating cheaply in Paris, check out my e-book, Ten Places to Eat Cheap(er) in Paris. 

Today’s prize to one person who comments, subscribes, tweets or mentions us on Google+ is a copy of Parisian Postcards, (not reviewed) a collection of travel essays and travel tips written by Dr. Loui Franke, an American who worked and lived in France. (You can comment on this post or on an earlier post. Just do it before Wednesday, January 11, 3:00 a.m. MST. If you already subscribe by e-mail and want an extra entry as a subscriber, be sure to tell me that in the comments. See complete rules here.) 

Disclaimer: Parisian Postcards was supplied by the author. Book cover links that take you to Amazon enable you to shop and although you spend no more, A Traveler’s Library earns a few cents with everything you buy.The photo at the top is Ken’s property. Please do not copy without express permission. Thank you.

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Mona Lisa paparazzi

When we were at the Louvre, I almost skipped going to the room with the Mona Lisa. I had read about how small the painting is and god knows we have seen reproductions aplenty.  But at the last minute, I dashed up the stairs and into the room, while Ken waited outside.  I’m so glad I did.  I laughed out loud at the desperate snapping of digital cameras and cell phones.  Now I know the meaning of that smile–she’s amused by the paparazzi.

Since this picture shows only about 1/4 of the crowd, here’s a wider shot.

Mona Lisa crowd

These photos are the property of Vera Marie Badertscher, all rights reserved.

These photos are my entry into the weekly Travel Photo Thursday sponsored by Budget Traveler’s Sandbox.  Visit that site to see many more travel photos from around the world.

Have you had travel experiences where the crowd reactions were more interesting than the object or site you went to see? Tell us about it.

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Paris mystery

We saw this oddity at the Paris Mint–La Monnaie de Paris, which is located on Quai de Conti, at the corner of Guénégaud, the street where our apartment was located when we traveled to Paris last September. These iron bars are on the Guénégaud side of the building.

Here’s another shot:

An Oddity on a Paris Street

Any architectural scholars out there who can explain what this is??

UPDATE 10/26/2011: Still trying to figure out the Paris Mystery Photo?  I accidentally stumbled across what seems to be a sensible answer at this web site which is in Italian. Google translation is not terrific–but at least you’ll be able to figure it out. The Italian site explains similar structures in Venice. A deterrent it is–and although some still say deterrent of urination, the open work in my Paris Mystery Photo leads me to think that the first explanation they offer is more sensible. Can’t really see how this structure would deter a liquid stream! But it would deter a bad guy from lurking. Richard Mussler Wright, in the very first comment to this post, guessed as much. Nice going Richard.

These photos are part of Travel Photo Thursday, and you can see more travel photos by going to Budget Travelers’ Sandbox and checking the list of participants at the bottom of her post.

Once we left Paris, we traveled to Normandy and Brittany. If you have not looked at my post about three “royal” stays in Brittany–please take a look at the Girls Getaway site.

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Place de la Concord: Obelisk and la Fontaine des Mers installed in 1836 and 1846

Destination: Paris

Book: The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris (NEW May 2011) by David McCullough

1900 Cafe, Left Bank

The master biographer, David McCullough , in the travel biography  The Greater Journey , focuses on a variety of people who spent time in Paris during the period between 1830 and 1900.  A crowd of medical students, art students, scientists, politicians–some dilettantes and some accomplished and dedicated to self-improvement–come from the raw new country of the United States to soak up some style in the cultural capitol of Europe.

It seems appropriate to review this book the day after the tenth anniversary of September 11, a day that sharpens a feeling of patriotism in America. Despite the fact that it takes place in Paris, the reader also learns about the maturing of the young country. Time after time these travelers to Paris–whether short-term tourists or long-term ex pats–tell friends how their time in Paris has made them feel more American.  McCullough skillfully shows the growing confidence of the United States citizens in their own country.

In the early sections, McCullough pulls off a complex act, juggling a great many life stories and at the same time filling in the history, culture, and look of Paris itself. People we meet include Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., father of the better known Supreme Court Justice. The elder Holmes studied medicine in Paris when U.S. medical schools lagged far behind.

And did you know that Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph, intended to become an artist? That’s why he went to Paris.

Posters for sale in book stall

We follow Richard Rush, American Minister to France, through the overthrow of the last King of France and then the horrible uprising of 1848, brought on by desperate economic conditions. Elizabeth Blackwell, the first American female physician, makes interesting observations on the arts, comparing Rembrandt to Hawthorne. “ The House of Seven Gables is a succession of Rembrandt pictures done in words instead of oils.”

Writers flocked to Paris, too.  McCullough gives us an in-depth portrait of James Fenimore Cooper. Regardless of whether you like Cooper’s  overwrought adventures of the American frontier, (eg. Last of the Mohicans) you must admit that he truly was an American writers, despite the fact that many of his books were actually written while he was resident in Paris.  McCullough says in the Source Notes “Cooper was a far more interesting man and the popularity of his work abroad far greater than generally appreciated in our time.”

Of the outstanding New Englanders whose brilliance distinguished American letters in the 1850s, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and now Harriet Beecher Stowe had all made pilgrimages to Paris.  In 1858 followed yet another, Nathaniel Hawthorne…The only one of the New England “immortals” who did not come was Henry Thoreau , but then he seldom went anywhere.

McCullough also praises the ordinary people who kept diaries–a form of writing that generally escapes fame– and we can thank this book for bringing them to our attention.

“….so many of the protagonists were superb writers… Such descriptions to be found in the letters and journals of even those who did not regard themselves as professional writers–like Emma Willard, Charles Sumner, or Thomas Appleton–amply qualify as American literature of the sea.  Anyone wishing a sample of the professional virtuosity of a writer like Nathaniel Willis need only read his hilarious account of dining on board the brig Pacific in rough weather.” From the introduction to Source Notes, Section 1. The Way Over.

In the Source Notes, McCullough recommends the first of John Sanderson’s  two-volume The Americans in Paris, as  ”one of the best books about Paris by an American ever written.”

In the later sections of the book, McCullough focuses on one or two people at a time, going into great depth about men and women we may or may not remember, but who deserve our attention. The story of Elihu Washburne, friend of Ulysses S. Grant and ambassador to France during the great upheaval of a German siege from outside and a vicious internal revolt, surely deserves to be known as one of the truly great men of American history. We get mini-biographies of artists John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt and Augustus Saint-Gaudens.

Pont Neuf, Paris

Why does this book deserve a place in the traveler’s library? For one thing, a traveler planning a trip to Paris could use The Greater Journey as a guide. Here an uprising took place, here a famous artist or author had an apartment, here a  famous American took medical classes, or attended an artists’ atelier.

Traveler’s activities today echo those described in The Greater Journey. Naturally, all artists flock to the Louvre, many sitting all day and copying paintings.

Copying a Masterpiece at the Louvre (21st century)

Many of the figures in the book live on the left bank–several in St. Germaine. The Jardins Luxembourg and the Tuilleries are important to the lives of the 19th century visitor as they are today. The landmark bridges and even the venerable Procope restaurant had been visited as far back as the 18th century when Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin and John Adams came to Paris. They are all still there.

Rear view of Procope with portraits of famous guests

McCullough always has an eye for the telling detail. For instance when the city residents are scrambling for food–dining on rat and horse, American Minister to France Elihu Washburne holds a Christmas dinner in which he serves canned goods, and

“…in addition chocolates, of which there was still no shortage in Paris.  Indeed, supplies of French chocolate, mustard, and wine appeared to be inexhaustible.”

Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose, or as Henry James called it, “the still-present past of Paris.”

[A copy of the book, The Greater Journey, was supplied by the publisher, Simon & Schuster for the purposes of review. All photos are the property of Ken Badertscher and Vera Marie Badertscher. Please inquire if you want to reuse. The book title is linked to Amazon for your convenience. If you click through to Amazon and purchase anything at all, I get a few cents which helps support A Traveler's Library. Thanks.]

For many of the figures in the book, their time in Paris was transformative. You can see more modern stories of the influence of Paris in the book, Paris Was Ours. Have you visited another country and felt the visit changed you in important ways?

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Lampost on Pont Neuf, Paris

Destination: Paris

Book: The Last Time I Saw Paris by Lynn Sheene (NEW May 2011)

The sad period of the occupation in France during World War II intrigues me.  I wonder about the ability of ordinary people to survive the gigantic disruption of their lives. I wonder about the choices people made–some to risk their lives resisting, some to risk their reputation by becoming collaborators.

We took a look at the story of Irène Némerovsky in Suite Francaise   and saw glimpses of the resistance in other stories about France. The movie, Charlotte Gray, tells of an Englishwoman who joins the resistance movement. Now a first novel, The Last Time I Saw Paris, traces a fictional American who becomes a reluctant heroine.

Storm clouds over Place de Concord

Despite an awkward start, Lynne Sheene recreates life in Paris under the Germans with details about scarce food, difficult transportation, distrust between neighbors and raw fear.  Her heroine, Claire, a woman who has invented a life for herself and climbed the social ladder in New York using other people’s weaknesses, is perfectly suited to work undercover for the resistance.

I had trouble caring about Claire and did not think I would want to spend a whole novel with her. I came to grudgingly respect her gritty determination and street smarts.  She may fool a lot of people, particularly men, but she never deceives herself.  She knows exactly who she is and what she is willing to do even when it is distasteful.

The author overburdens the story with sex scenes to the point wher I wanted to say, “Okay, I get it! Claire uses her sexual attraction to get what she wants.”  Unfortunately, Claire’s willingness to pounce (naked) on any man weakens the believeability of her one true romance. The object of her affection is a too-perfect Englishman who is a true hero of the resistance.

The French characters, no matter how interesting, play supporting roles, no more important than the scorned Germans.

After the first hundred pages, I was finally drawn into a story which excaltes from minor difficulties to chase scenes and cold-blooded murder.  But those first hundred pages were murder to read.

I could pause here for a rant about how little editing publishing houses seem to do these days, and the book provides a good example of how helpful some rewriting could have been.  Nobody ever said that exposition is easy, but it seems particularly awkward here, simply because of word choices.

For instance, the strained, “their gliding shoes whispered against the balcony floor” and so many extraneous adjectives in other sentences. “The glittery cream folds of her dress swept around her legs like a curtain of stars poured onto the white marble.” Huh?

Once the action starts, the author seems to get too busy for the over-writing.

It’s a tough call whether to recommend this book for the traveler’s library.  Obviously well researched, it does add to the reader’s understanding of Paris during the occupation. The heroine traverses Paris, giving us a tour of some familiar, and some unfamiliar streets. But there are so many better-crafted books, like Suite Francaise. As usual with books that I’m not terrribly fond of, I have to warn you that your mileage may vary.  We all have different tastes, thank goodness. So decide for yourself. (And let me know, would you?)

The book title is linked to Amazon for your convenience. If you click through to Amazon and purchase anything at all, I get a few cents which helps support A Traveler’s Library. Thanks.

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Three sons

Oh, please, don’t ask me to choose.  It’s like picking your favorite child. It just isn’t done. Besides, think of the psychiatrist bills to battle the neurosis of those that are not chosen.

But Choose I must.  It seems there is this “thing” going around–not lethal but very infectious–and I have been intentionally exposed by my friend Mark over at Travel Wonders of the World.  Well, since Mark is a good friend (I’ve guest blogged for him about Bayeux  and Canyon de Chelly,  and he wrote about Mark Twain for me and leaves comments frequently here), I am honored.

The “thing” is a My 7 Links meme started by Tripbase Blog. Bloggers are asked to list posts that fit into 7 categories, as you will see below.

So happy reading.

1. My Most Beautiful Post

I have borrowed a lot of other people’s pictures for posts (using Flickr, usually),  I proudly present a post where I took all the pix–10 + Reasons to Travel to New Zealand. In such a beautiful place, how can you NOT take beautiful pictures?  The technical standards are not tops, because these are all scanned from print, but nevertheless…I think the post looks pretty good.

2. My Most Popular Post

Five American Road Trip Books and The List.  I wrote this one not long after I started the blog and it continues to draw readers every month. Why? People like road trips, and people like “best of” lists.

(Incidently if you measure popularity by number of comments, that would be The Perfect French Movie, which inspired beaucoup people to opine about their favorite french movie.)

Mumbai

3. My Most Controversial Post

Easy.  Sometimes when I write a negative review, somebody (namely the author) jumps to the defense, but generally I’m positive and not controversial. However, when it came to the movie, Slumdog Millionaire, while I enjoyed the movie, I could not resist pointing out that I have no desire to visit Mumbai, India.  That created a mini firestorm, which was partially quenched when Monica Bhide wrote two guest posts defending her Mumbai (Bombay).

4. My Most Helpful Post

Since I hope that EVERY blog post I write is helpful in some way, it is difficult for me to choose, but relying on the number of viewers and commenters, I would say that readers have found Ten Places to Eat Cheap (er) in Paris has been majorly helpful to them. (So much so that I have adapted the post, added pictures, and published it as an e-book which is available on Kindle or at the Barnes and Noble Store.)

5. A Post Whose Success Surprised Me

I suspect school assignments may be resonsible for searches that land on the post on Hiawatha , and I know that giving away a prize is going to make a temporarily popular post. As I mentioned, list posts are popular, which made 3 Best Travel Secrets of Greece a winner. But none of those are surprising. From time to time a post draws enormous traffic for no discernable reason.

Ohio Grave of Civil War Veteran, Henry Allen Butts

The one that surprised me was a personal Veteran’s Day tribute to men in my family who have served in United States armed conflicts.  I would like to think it was my masterful writing, but I suspect the popularity might be caused by the fact that my great-grandfathers surname was Butts. What do you think?

6. A Post I Don’t Feel Got the Attention It Deserved

Oh, dear. NONE of my posts ever reach as many people as I would like.  I’m sharing some of the greatest writers of travel literature and travel-inspirational fiction, or movies that you must see, and I want EVERYONE to know. Enough whining–since I have to choose just one, I’ll say Sweet Read About Paris. David Leibovitz writes an hysterically funny guide to living in Paris. Plus there’s lots of chocolate.

7. The Post I am Proudest Of

For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.  I travel for travel’s sake.

Robert Louis Stevenson said that in his classic travel book, Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes. But you have to read my post to get the entire context of his quote which has a sharper edge than the excerpt. I like this post because it focuses on the job at hand–instead of wandering off point as I am wont to do. And it introduces a book that I really adored.

Note to other blog posts at A Traveler’s Library. I’m just kidding–I really like YOU the best!

——–

And there you have it. My little family of Seven Links from past posts. I hope you enjoy them, and will share your thoughts below. Agree with my choices? Have your own favorites?

I hereby pass the 7 Links Baton to the following 5 wonderful bloggers, and hope you will check them out, also.

Edie Jarolim at Will My Dog Hate Me (Edie is a travel writer as well as a dog slave.)

Kerry Dexter at Music Road  (If you have not met Kerry here before, you were not paying attention.)

Sheri Wallace at Road Trips for Families (Sheri has an empire of road trip blogs, but this is the flagship.)

Kristen Gough and her fun family food blog, My Kids Eat Squid. (Kristen has also guest-posted at A Traveler’s Library on a variety of places)

Melanie McMin, The Frugal Kiwi. (How appropriate. I started this post with a photo-post from New Zealand, and I end with a recommendation of a blogger who lives in New Zealand. This useful and entertaining blog comes with chickens, honey bees, felted crafts, food, and home decor!)

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Carousel at Tuilieries

Double Celebration today. This post on a Paris book and an Announcement. TA-DA! I am launching a photo e-book on Amazon for Kindle and on Barnes and Noble for your Nook.  I have expanded and converted my blog post called Ten Places to Eat Cheap(er) in Paris into an e-book. Check it out. (And if you read it, how about giving a review and rating?) Thanks.

Destination: Paris

Book: Paris Was Ours: Thirty-two Writers Reflect on the City of Light,  Edited by Penelope Rowlands. (NEW February, 2011)

Paris leaves deep impressions on most first-time visitors, but not all of them can express themselves with the grace and wit of the writers gathered by Penelope Rowlands. Paris Was Ours gives us essays by thirty-two writers, mostly Americans, few of them household names, look back at their first experience with Paris.

Because several of the essayists went to Paris first as students, there is a sameness to many stories.  Eating cheap, living in working class neighborhoods, traversing the Latin Quarter and the Luxembourg Gardens echo through several of the tales.

You can dip into the pages as you have a leisure moment, and come away with a bit of new information about Paris through the eyes of an outsider. Are the French cruel to their children? Where can you eat really cheap? What are the landmines for someone learning the language? How do the French education system, the health system, or the job market work? What is the French attitude toward money, love, strangers, prepared food, or scarves?

Among the writers I immediately recognized were David Sedaris, author of Me Talk Pretty Some Day and David Lebovitz, chef and author ofThe Sweet Life in Paris, which I reviewed here.

I particularly enjoyed the work of

• Penelope Rowlands, the editor, in her own closing piece about leaving Paris. Triste.
• Caroline Weber, learning about French psychology. Though provoking.
• Veronique Vienne writes, “Living in Paris is ‘priceless’, but it will cost you.  It ain’t cheap, yet is one of the greatest bargains on earth.”
• Joe Queenan tells us about his typical poor student’s life. He tells us how, in 1972, he lived on 5 dollars a day–roughly 25 francs–10 for room, 5 for alcohol and tobacco, 5 for entertainment, and 5 for food.
• Jeremy Mercer lived (yes literally) at Shakespeare and Company.
• Judith Warren deconstructs French Feminism.
• Zoé Valdés compares her prior life in Communist Cuba with her new life as a Parisian.
• Stacey Schiff‘s entry called In Franklin’s Footsteps not only made me insanely jealous of her gig living in Paris a year to research one of my favorite people, but also made me want to buy the resulting book, A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France and the Birth of America.

The variety means there is something for everyone here, but of course it also means that there are entries that you are not going to warm up to. Nevertheless, I’d recommend Paris Was Ours for the France shelf of your traveler’s library.

This book makes a nice way to celebrate Bastille Day, which will descend on Paris complete with fireworks and parades. I thank Holly Tucker and her blog, Wonders and Marvels, because I WON this book from them (Just as YOU CAN WIN the book on African Wildlife Photography that I discussed last Monday).  Ken and I hold the copyright to the pictures used in this post, and we ask that you not reuse them without permission. Some books mentioned in the post are linked to Amazon for your convenience and my small profit.

If you were going to write an essay about your first experience in Paris, what would you focus on? If you really want to write that essay, Rowlands provides a place on the Paris Was Ours web page.

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Destination: Paris

Book: The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris (NEW June 2011) by John Baxter

Strolling in Paris, Eiffel Tower

In The Most Beautiful Walk in the World, John Baxter tells stories that add depth to a stroll through Paris.  The Australian writer lives in the city of literature and art with his French wife and their young daughter.

When a friend ropes him into leading a literary walk for participants in a literary seminar, he adds “tour guide” to his professional description. He takes us along from the first attempt to hold  tourists’ attention by talking about the lives of the famous, sex (the kinkier the better), and food (equally lusty). His self-deprecating description of his learning process includes letting us in on mistakes he has made as he gets used to living in France. But the details of literary and political history that he shares reveals an intelligent and  entertaining companion you would be glad to have along on a  Paris walk.

Because the casual visitors may get bored by details about the famous writers, artists, expats and revolutionaries that fascinate Baxter, he tells stories instead of piling on facts.  But thankfully, he has saved up a multitude of little-known information to share in The Most Beautiful Walk.

He muses on the popularity of cultural seminars where people pay to take writing classes in Paris (strictly limited hours so as not to interfere with sight-seeing) or bullfighting practice in Spain or “The Literature of Cuisine” in Rome with dinner every night being the most taxing part. “The only required reading was the menu.”  He says.

Next to environmental tourism, cultural tourism is the leisure industry’s major growth area.  For every person who hikes across Bhutan or counts butterflies in the Brazilian rain forest, another longs to plunge into the thickets of literature, unaware that it’s just as full of surprises, agreeable or otherwise, as any Amazonian jungle.

Because Baxter lives on rue d’Odeon, he most intimately knows the Latin Quarter and adjacent St. Germain. That made the book particularly appealing to me, because we stayed in St. Germain and walked to the Jardin Luxembourg…

Jardin Luxembourg

through the Alleé behind the restaurant Procope, down St. Michael and across many of the short curving streets he mentions in this book.

Procope Restaurant, Paris

The frustration, of course, is that John Baxter was not along on our walks. We slap our forehead and say, “How did we miss that plaque that says…!” or “I wish I had known that Marat printed revolutionary flyers in this very building.”

Allee behind Procope restaurant

Why did we not go all the way up to Montparnasse when we were so close?

Why did we not visit Hemingway haunts like La Couple (opened in 1927)?

Why did we not stop at Closeries des Liles, with its plaques naming each table for a famous person who once hung out there–like Hemingway, playwright Samuel Beckett (spelled Becket on the plaque, we learn from Baxter) or Man Ray, the avant garde painter and photographer?

Mais je ne regrette rien, as Edith Piaf sang. When you travel, everything you choose to see cancels out something else that you might have seen. So the answer to most of our couldashouldawoulda thoughts is simply time. Just as this book shortchanges the right bank and many outlying arrondissements, we would never see ALL of Paris–even if we lived there.

In case you are traveling to Paris for the first time, Baxter also includes at the end of the book a very helpful guide packed with insider tips, entitled “Paris, Mode d’Emploi” (a User’s Guide).

I already loaned my copy to my brother and sister-in-law, who have visited Paris and teach literature. But if I am fortunate enough to return to Paris, I’ll want it back, because of all the Paris books I’ve read, this one fit most neatly into my own method of travel. Verdict: Just as sure as walking is the way to see Paris, The Most Beautiful Walk in the World belongs in the travel library.

I want to thank the publisher, Harper Collins,  for providing the copy of this delightful new book for review. Photos are Ken’s and my own and if you want to copy, please ask first. The video of Edith Piaf comes from You Tube. The book title is linked to Amazon for your convenience. If you click through to Amazon and purchase anything at all, I get a few cents which helps support A Traveler’s Library. Thanks.

I have a few favorite cities for walkability, but Paris must be number one. Do you have other recommendations for walkable cities?

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The Seine River, Paris

Destination: Paris

Movie: Midnight in Paris (NEW 2011), written and directed by Woody Allen

What a delicious confection of a movie. If you are craving a hearty boeuf Bourguignon of a movie, go elsewhere, but if a simple little meringue melting on your tongue sounds heavenly–this movie is the dish for you. But it may be the best Paris travel  movie of the decade. It shows EVERY major tourist site, instead of  just the usual establishing shot of the Eiffel Tower.

Notre Dame, Gil with French guide, played by 1st lady of France

It really doesn’t matter whether you are in the pro- or anti- Woody Allen category, Midnight in Paris is a treat for a) lovers of Paris; b) lovers of literature; c) lovers of art; d) lovers of the past (as in: any time but the present would be an improvement); e) lovers.

Gil Pender and his fiancé at Monet's Garden

Briefly, Gil Pender, a Hollywood writer who wants to write a novel is engaged to a beautiful young woman who doesn’t get his yearning for a romanticized Paris (in the twenties, in the rain). Everything changes when, at midnight one night, he travels to the Paris of the 20′s and starts meeting literary lights and famous artists. He ultimately has to navigate between his dissatisfaction with his present day life and his fantasy.

Paris in the Rain

My friend Jane Boursaw over at Reel Life With Jane said that she would prefer to see Woody Allen playing out his own neurosis, but I have to part company with Jane on this one. Owen Wilson, as Gil,  channels Woody, but is a much more attractive actor. Maybe Woody has finally realized how obscene it looks to have him romancing women 40 years younger than he is (regardless of how his own private life goes down).

If you’re trying to place Owen Wilson, it is because the dumb bulb characters he usually plays would not be bright enough to recognize Zelda  and Scott Fitzgerald if he ran into them at a post-midnight party in Paris. And if you enjoy playing this movie’s game of “Isn’t that–oh, you know, the famous 1920′s surrealist painter?” and can pick up a French phrase here and there, then you probably don’t go to a lot of buddy movies.

The writer gets picked up in a 1920′s cab by a guy named Tom Eliot and Gil stammers, “Thomas Stearns Eliot? T.S. Eliot? Prufrock is practically my theme song.” Nope, not the kind of dialogue that Owen usually gets to say, but he’s winsome and convincing as the movie script writer/wannabe novelist who is in love with the idea of a Paris that never quite existed outside of misty-eyed memoirs like Ernest Hemingway’s Moveable Feast.

While all the casting of the famous people seemed spot on, there are two that really made the movie for me.  Kathy Bates is genius as Gertrude Stein.  And Corey Stoll, who plays Hemingway had me choking on my nachos with laughter.  I heard him interviewed on PBS and read this interview in the Los Angeles Times, and so I knew that he had no intention of presenting a realistic Hemingway, but rather the one that the celebrity-worshiping Gil would conjure up if he imagined Hemingway. He sounded like he was reading his dialogue from a Hemingway novel. The performance was brave and true. Because that is what a man does. He speaks the truth. He kills the bull.

Just one final thing–as I said above, this could be a travel guidebook–and certainly is a perfect travel movie to watch if you are heading for Paris, but Woody Allen shows Paris as we have not seen it before.  Everything is saturated in a golden light, giving it the dreamlike quality that matches Gil’s misty-eyed view of the city. The only one of the photographs above that even begins to capture that tint is the one shot in the rain on a bridge over the Seine.

Photos come from the official movie site, which also has a lot of other interesting information, including a trailer.

Have you seen this movie? If yes, what did you think? If not, will you?

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