We always have Paris
0 Comments Published by Brendan on Sunday, December 07, 2008 at Sunday, December 07, 2008.
Here is quite a nice piece from today's Sunday Independent you might like to read ??
Independent.ie
Staying Seine
By Madeleine Keane Sunday December 07 2008
I EMERGE from the Metro Luxembourg, and there, out of the crisp Paris evening, she materialises. My baby, not only all grown up, but a Parisienne to boot in her ballet pumps, a crimson beret perched on her head. My elder daughter Natasha has come to Paris for her Erasmus year, to study law at the University of Nanterre (where Sarkozy studied, as she patiently explains each time someone enquires why not the Sorbonne?). And so here I am on a winter weekend to my favourite place in the world to see one of my favourite people in the world.
She's staying at the Centre Culturel Irlandais -- known colloquially as the Irish College -- and so by serendipitous accident am I. And what a wonderful place to stay. Located in the justifiably celebrated 5th arrondissement, this beautiful and historic building acts as hall of residence -- home to lots of Irish students and artists -- and serves as an artistic and cultural flagship of Irishness for le tout Paris. Natasha shows me to my room, which immediately manifests its monkish origins (it was the priests' college for centuries). It is austere, but beautifully so -- a thoroughly modern room with the old fabric of the building evident in the beams poking through the ceiling. All is white -- walls, linen, towels -- and the furnishings are utterly simple and totally functional. Very French, in fact.
We dine that evening at a typical bistro -- Comptoir de Soufflot -- on half a dozen escargots, chicken cooked in its own juices and confit de canard, and take a digestif afterwards in the lively rue Mouffetard. "Turn around, Mum," my daughter orders; I do and there's the Eiffel Tower shimmering with light. Ah, bliss! I really am back in Paris.
A 10-minute stroll through bright November sunshine takes us the next morning past the Pantheon to Gregorian mass at Notre Dame . Then we walk along the Left Bank of the Seine for a cafe creme before taking communion at the beautiful church, the Madeleine. Fauchon, that epicurean heaven, is closed, so we console ourselves with a wide slice of Moulleaux, a gorgeously moist chocolate cake.
We stroll through the elegant expanse of the Jardins de Tuileries. It's the first Sunday of the month, so entry to art galleries and museums is free: hence, the Louvre is very busy. La Gioconda is there in all her glory still smiling enigmatically at the hundreds of tourists snapping her visage. In the Sully wing, we gaze in wonder on the masterpieces of Watteau, Fragonard, Delacaroix before winding home past the famous Shakespeare and Company bookshop where we pick up vintage Ian McEwan.
If you stay at the Irish college, you can breakfast with the students. It's simple but sufficient: juice, tea or coffee, a choice of cereals, bread and jam. There's a lovely atmosphere and a real sense of Ireland in this rue des Irlandais. According to Natasha and her cohorts, the authorities are strict but fair. A Halloween party was allowed on the grounds that the students stayed "sage et calme". And that they cleared up afterwards.
Sheila Pratschke is the practical, affable Irish directrice of the Centre, who felt she wanted "to do one last job before I retired". As director of the Irish Film Institute, and more recently, Annaghmakerrig, she describes herself not as a specialist but "self-propelled and interested in all the arts". With her "very moribund degree French", she found this great place at first a great challenge but could not resist the beauty of the city on the river.
"I was lonely in the beginning, though the longer I'm here the more I find out how many Irish people have a pied a terre here," she laughs. While she acknowledges the challenges of running the centre in a city where there are 42 different cultural centres vying for attention, she praises her "terrific team of work colleagues and the Irish embassy, who give great support". Her head lifts with pride when she lauds the unique nature of the centre. "It's wonderful for Ireland to have something so historic in such a location. We are rightly proud of it and it has been invested in properly."
This small corner of this extraordinary city has a rich history. For centuries, it trained priests and students. In 1807, its superior, Jean-Baptiste Walsh, persuaded Napoleon to change the name of its street by prefectorial decree from rue du Cheval Vert to rue des Irlandais. As the Irish had previously sought refuge in the College des Irlandais and their other establishments in Paris from the 16th century, they too made the college available as a safe haven to others in need. It was converted into a hospital to accommodate French soldiers during the Franco-Prussian war and in 1945 the premises served the United States army as a shelter for displaced persons claiming American citizenship.
In the immaculately restored old library, Sheila shows me (from a collection of about 8,000 printed books and manuscripts) the ancient exquisite illuminated texts. Downstairs, the mediatheque offers a multi-media library.
To celebrate the French presidency of the EU, the college is paying homage to Irish culture with a series of cultural events which runs from September to the end of the year. Supported by Culture Ireland, the season has offered the very best of literature, art, theatre, music and film with a distinguished roll call of our premier artists, among them, Roddy Doyle, Olwen Fouere, Conor Lovett, Sean McSweeney and Dermot Bolger. While I'm there for a screening of The Last September -- Elizabeth Bowen's novel adapted for the screen by John Banville, directed by Deborah Warner and starring Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Fiona Shaw -- the venue is packed with French and Irish, and there's something special about watching this slice of history in the Irish college.
Our autumn weekend is packed with such cultural delights. There's an exhibition of war photographer Lee Miller's work at Jeu de Paume -- including the self-portrait in Hitler's bath -- and later at the sublime Musee D'Orsay there are endless wonders. Of course, being in Paris with my daughter means shopping tops her agenda, and we find the perfect pair of winter boots in Au Printemps.
In a sometimes sad and uncertain world, as Rick reminds Ilsa in Casablanca, "we'll always have Paris".
- Madeleine Keane
Independent.ie
Staying Seine
By Madeleine Keane Sunday December 07 2008
I EMERGE from the Metro Luxembourg, and there, out of the crisp Paris evening, she materialises. My baby, not only all grown up, but a Parisienne to boot in her ballet pumps, a crimson beret perched on her head. My elder daughter Natasha has come to Paris for her Erasmus year, to study law at the University of Nanterre (where Sarkozy studied, as she patiently explains each time someone enquires why not the Sorbonne?). And so here I am on a winter weekend to my favourite place in the world to see one of my favourite people in the world.
She's staying at the Centre Culturel Irlandais -- known colloquially as the Irish College -- and so by serendipitous accident am I. And what a wonderful place to stay. Located in the justifiably celebrated 5th arrondissement, this beautiful and historic building acts as hall of residence -- home to lots of Irish students and artists -- and serves as an artistic and cultural flagship of Irishness for le tout Paris. Natasha shows me to my room, which immediately manifests its monkish origins (it was the priests' college for centuries). It is austere, but beautifully so -- a thoroughly modern room with the old fabric of the building evident in the beams poking through the ceiling. All is white -- walls, linen, towels -- and the furnishings are utterly simple and totally functional. Very French, in fact.
We dine that evening at a typical bistro -- Comptoir de Soufflot -- on half a dozen escargots, chicken cooked in its own juices and confit de canard, and take a digestif afterwards in the lively rue Mouffetard. "Turn around, Mum," my daughter orders; I do and there's the Eiffel Tower shimmering with light. Ah, bliss! I really am back in Paris.
A 10-minute stroll through bright November sunshine takes us the next morning past the Pantheon to Gregorian mass at Notre Dame . Then we walk along the Left Bank of the Seine for a cafe creme before taking communion at the beautiful church, the Madeleine. Fauchon, that epicurean heaven, is closed, so we console ourselves with a wide slice of Moulleaux, a gorgeously moist chocolate cake.
We stroll through the elegant expanse of the Jardins de Tuileries. It's the first Sunday of the month, so entry to art galleries and museums is free: hence, the Louvre is very busy. La Gioconda is there in all her glory still smiling enigmatically at the hundreds of tourists snapping her visage. In the Sully wing, we gaze in wonder on the masterpieces of Watteau, Fragonard, Delacaroix before winding home past the famous Shakespeare and Company bookshop where we pick up vintage Ian McEwan.
If you stay at the Irish college, you can breakfast with the students. It's simple but sufficient: juice, tea or coffee, a choice of cereals, bread and jam. There's a lovely atmosphere and a real sense of Ireland in this rue des Irlandais. According to Natasha and her cohorts, the authorities are strict but fair. A Halloween party was allowed on the grounds that the students stayed "sage et calme". And that they cleared up afterwards.
Sheila Pratschke is the practical, affable Irish directrice of the Centre, who felt she wanted "to do one last job before I retired". As director of the Irish Film Institute, and more recently, Annaghmakerrig, she describes herself not as a specialist but "self-propelled and interested in all the arts". With her "very moribund degree French", she found this great place at first a great challenge but could not resist the beauty of the city on the river.
"I was lonely in the beginning, though the longer I'm here the more I find out how many Irish people have a pied a terre here," she laughs. While she acknowledges the challenges of running the centre in a city where there are 42 different cultural centres vying for attention, she praises her "terrific team of work colleagues and the Irish embassy, who give great support". Her head lifts with pride when she lauds the unique nature of the centre. "It's wonderful for Ireland to have something so historic in such a location. We are rightly proud of it and it has been invested in properly."
This small corner of this extraordinary city has a rich history. For centuries, it trained priests and students. In 1807, its superior, Jean-Baptiste Walsh, persuaded Napoleon to change the name of its street by prefectorial decree from rue du Cheval Vert to rue des Irlandais. As the Irish had previously sought refuge in the College des Irlandais and their other establishments in Paris from the 16th century, they too made the college available as a safe haven to others in need. It was converted into a hospital to accommodate French soldiers during the Franco-Prussian war and in 1945 the premises served the United States army as a shelter for displaced persons claiming American citizenship.
In the immaculately restored old library, Sheila shows me (from a collection of about 8,000 printed books and manuscripts) the ancient exquisite illuminated texts. Downstairs, the mediatheque offers a multi-media library.
To celebrate the French presidency of the EU, the college is paying homage to Irish culture with a series of cultural events which runs from September to the end of the year. Supported by Culture Ireland, the season has offered the very best of literature, art, theatre, music and film with a distinguished roll call of our premier artists, among them, Roddy Doyle, Olwen Fouere, Conor Lovett, Sean McSweeney and Dermot Bolger. While I'm there for a screening of The Last September -- Elizabeth Bowen's novel adapted for the screen by John Banville, directed by Deborah Warner and starring Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon and Fiona Shaw -- the venue is packed with French and Irish, and there's something special about watching this slice of history in the Irish college.
Our autumn weekend is packed with such cultural delights. There's an exhibition of war photographer Lee Miller's work at Jeu de Paume -- including the self-portrait in Hitler's bath -- and later at the sublime Musee D'Orsay there are endless wonders. Of course, being in Paris with my daughter means shopping tops her agenda, and we find the perfect pair of winter boots in Au Printemps.
In a sometimes sad and uncertain world, as Rick reminds Ilsa in Casablanca, "we'll always have Paris".
- Madeleine Keane
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