Sculpture at the Louvre

This was such a monumental and beautiful piece.  Ancient of days. Something mythological.

Green Mansions

Growing up, my father had a radio station and as a courtesy, we had a movie pass.  I saw nearly every movie that came out.  This movie, starring Audrey Hepburn and Anthony Perkins was one of the stinkers.  Imagine my young mind watching Butterfield 8, etc. and going "Huh?"  Nonetheless, Audrey's husband, Mel Ferrer, directed this movie, which was considered a huge flop.  Released in 1959, Audrey played Rima, the jungle girl.  The movie was adapted from a very sucessful book by WH Hudson and though the book sounds interesting, the movie was not.

Berry Odd

This is a fallow year on the farm for berries.  We usually get tens of gallons of blackberries by July 4th.  This year, we got nothin'!  We had a record freeze this winter and our thornless berries were killed back to the ground.  Even the wild blackberries are slim and none.  Our early heat (102 degrees today) coupled with no rain since April have left us with tiny berries not worth the effort to pick.  So, to market, to market, here we come.  I posted this dessert once before.  It has a buttery cookie bottom with a cream cheese layer on top of that.  The berries finish it and of course,  a dollop of whipped cream on top. 

Mile High Apple Pie

Since it is much too hot to bake, I'll share this apple pie I made last fall.  Secrets to a good apple pie?  Granny Smith apples, lemon juice, dotted with butter and light brown sugar gives it the most flavor.

Breathtaking Sculpture At The Louvre

Though I love the two dimension art at the Louvre, I was especially drawn to the 3D sculpture hall.  Just walked around, awed by the works in marble.  When you sculpt with clay, you can mold it by adding the clay or taking it away.  After drying the clay, you can then carve into it. I can not imagine working with stone and a chisel and making this look so beautiful.  Don't remember her name nor the artist's name, but she was stunning, and hardly anyone was around.

Do You Know The Way?

Parlez vous Francais you crow? Just a little? Um, mon French is non bien. Okay. Ou est how to get to the original Chanel shop? The one with Madame Coco's apartment upstairs?
That far? Taxi...















The original Chanel store was quite the shopping experience. Upon entering, I thought maybe I had stepped into an 80's Devo video. Two dapper guards stood on either side of the door. Gorgeous gray suits, white shirt and black ties with mirrored shades. Are you looking at me monsieur? In fact, double guards were posted in hallways and all rooms throughout the store. Very clean lines and spaces. I didn't see anyone trying on the size 0 clothes; they must have been spirited off to the hinterlands by the sales associates. No matter. It was more fun watching the other buyers than looking at the merchandise. I knew the prices without bothering to look. Oh well, perhaps I would go ogle a pair of flats. What the heck? 750euros? A thousand bucks for a pair of flats? Not in this lifetime bebe. We went on to the joailliere room. While waiting my turn for a look, I surreptitiously watched a twenty-something, spiky haired Asian girl in feathered boots, hotpants and a polar bear coat. She was piling her loot on the counter. A giant black purse, (more than 12000 euros) some scarves and shoes, and scads of necklaces were all I could see. Hummmp...

After being taken to a small, private, inner room where payments were made, I left the Chanel flagship store with earrings for my daughters. Nothing to crow about and, nothing for me! As we left the store, the Asian girl in the fur walked past with nothing in her hands. What? Where were all of her bags? "Oh," said our friend, "they have it all sent over to their hotel."
Hint for the day while shopping the designer stores in gay Paris ~ il est good to be Asian as they seemed to be the only ones doing all the power shopping.