Pere Lachaise and Arts & Decoratifs

Hello to all who follow our blog, well I (Sydelle) have been getting involved with Abby's school's Parents-in-Adaptation (PIA) group. They plan tours and activities that we just sign up for. But they get filled up quickly so I've had to learn to not dawdle. Anyway, I went to Pere Lachaise cemetary in the 20th Arrondisement. We had a very knowledgeable docent guide thru the resting places of many famous men. Here on these pictures you will see the gravesites of Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde. Also there are Rossini although technically his remains were reclaimed by Italy so only his monument is there. Overall we discussed about a dozen or so men buried here. Apparently Napoleon built this cemetary as well a home for aged monks???? Today it is full of monuments to many writers and musicians.

I was so excited to see Jim Morrison's site that when I was taking a picture with my phone, it fell out of my hands and landed next to his gravesite. I guess Jim didn't like the picture. A kind soul on the tour retrieved it for me. Someone much more agile than myself.

Although i don't have photos, we went on a tour of the Musee des Arts & Decoratifs. Another knowledgeable woman lead us in the world of fashion in the 70s and 80s. This museum is right next to the Louvre. The clothes we would all remember by designers ie., YSL, Lagerfeld before and during Chanel, Sonia Rykiel, and others. There were also footage of their shows in the day. Different from today. The models were not as thin or young as today's models.

In the future I am planning to go to a chocolatier and attend a pot luck lunch. Other activities they are planning include city walks, garden tours, and hikes around the city. Really helps to keep me busy and allows me to meet other interesting people. Everyone seems to be here for either 1 year or indefinitely depending on their husband's job.

Missing you all and hope you find our blogs interesting and fun to read.

Sydelle - Joe and Abby too.

Casting Zinn sins into the Seine (White sins too)

A very happy Rosh Hashanah to you all. Ours was very simple and quiet this year. Due to the nature of Abby's school she did not take the day off but we celebrated with holiday dinners Wednesday and Thursday nites. So not going to services was very weird to us. We did do one religious service: we brought stale baguette and fresh sweet apple pastries to the Seine as we cast off our sins from the past year in our very small tashlikh ceremony. We miss our havurah friends with whom we have spent high holy days for a decade. As we write this, we're thinking of you and hoping all your sins (and any of ours you could include) are washed away in Shaker's Doan Brook. We miss and love you all.

There is another picture Sydelle took of a plaque on a school that states that Jews were taken prisoner on this location in 1942. Such signs are all around the city and in this way the French seem to be taking responsibility for their actions during German occupation. As an aside, we contacted a progressive synagogue here about attending Yom Kippur services. When we asked where the services were being held, they said they do not give out that information unless you have bought your space, because they don't like to advertise where there will be large gatherings of Jews. Gulp, I never worried about anti semitism in this way before. It does make it seem real. We have no reason to believe that this kind of hate is common among ordinary Parisians (unlike, say, a century ago). But there are a lot of unhappy Muslims in France, and that creates reasons to worry.

Not going to shul was a little disconcerting though not entirely disappointing... being in an entirely different place with different traditions is equally disconcerting. For example, we asked Jewish people we ran across, and nobody knew how to find a brisket. We did find a Jewish-style deli on Sunday, and it had pastrami, but no corned beef. Abby was happy just to have something close. This was in the Marais, and we also found some exceedingly gooey and sweet honey-soaked donuts. The basic french pastries are better. At least we figured out where we could get challah. But Sydelle made some on Wednesday! Her first challah since we moved (actually, since May). It was excellent. Joe went out and bought one of the really good rotisserie chickens, and some apple tarts for dessert, and made a very good zucchini/pepper/tomato dish (if he says so himself), and we ate Sydelle's challah and apples and honey. And Sydelle tried a little wine! Unfortunately, Joe (buying only a half bottle) didn't do very well at choosing wine. But it was the first time in a long time, and we hope the right thing to do. And so, while very small, we had a real holiday dinner, with lots to be happy for.

Then, today, Joe made a brisket. After ducking into various boucheries when he walked past and trying to explain what he wanted, he finally found one where the butcher said, (in French), "oh, you want pastrami." To which Joe replied, "yes, but not cooked." And the butcher said he could do that, and went in the back and found a piece of meat, and whacked off the bones and a bunch of fat, and ended up with what looked like a very long flat cut portion of brisket (almost 7 pounds). At a better price than it would have been at Heinen's, at least. Joe brought it home Wednesday and then wandered around gathering spices, and made it today. Not bad. Again, Abby was just glad to have some familiar red meat. The next task will be to buy another of these and corn it!

So we've created a little bit of Jewish life, and of home, for the New Year. Sort of. Not much, but sort of.

L'Shanah Tova to you all. May we all have a healthy happy 5771.

Sydelle, Joe, and Abby

Venice, Italy

WE decided to make one more trip before Abby's school begins and Joe has to actually go to an office. We went to Venice!!!! We left on Tuesday Aug. 31 in the afternoon and hit the weather just right. It was 75 sunny and not humid in Venice. We took Easy Jet to Marco Polo airport and followed the signs to the water bus. It's about a 5 minute walk. The water is beautiful and sparkling as you arrive at the boat platforms. The boats have bus numbers on them and are fitted with seats 3 across with an aisle in the middle. This is how everyone gets around in Venice as there are no vehicles on the island of venice. We got off the boat in San Marco to the site of dozens of kiosks of hats, scarves, masks, magnets the usual stuff. Thanks to Joe we found our way to the hotel scandanavia. A nice and clean hotel but european showers are strange at best. No shower curtain or door so you have to sit in the tub as you wash and rinse with a hand held shower head. Not easy for us old folks. We put the luggage away and walked which is the best way to get around. The streets are really narrow except for the squares or piazzas. Tons of shops selling clothes, leather, wine, glass made on the island of murano. So we had dinner and walked until 10 pm when I was ready to drop. We crashed at the hotel until the next morning.

On Wednesday we visited the island of Murano to see glass making and of course to help their economy. Murano has amazing shopping. First we went to several glass making factories and their shops. Abby of course did well purchasing an elephant made of murano glass with silver inlaid inside the elephant. Also she got a kiddish cup of murano glass. All real pieces of art. Later in the day she also got a winter coat at a local boutique. All the clothing stores were really amazing!!!!!

Later in the afternoon we went to the Jewish Ghetto and took a tour. There are 5 synagogues in venice currently: Ashkenazy, Sephardim, French, Turk and Greece, and Spanish. There are only 400 jews living in venice so they use one synagogue at a time attending services in certain synagogues, Winter at the Turk and greece synagogue and summer to the Spanish synagogue. All the synagogues are orthodox.
The Ashkenazy and Sephardim synagogues are the oldest and are part of the jewish museum. they are only used for special occasions such as a bar mitzvah, wedding, selihot.

In the evening we walked some more with abby and I going back to the hotel around 10 pm and Joe continuing to walk.

Thursday we toured the Acadamia museum of venetian paintings all with a religious theme. They were so impressive in technique and scale. Then after a break, we toured St. Marks Cathedral at the San Marco Piazza. St marks has amazing mosaics dating back to the renaissance both inside and outside the church.

Then we got ready to return to the airport for our flight back to Paris. It is a beautiful and enchanting city. None of the pictures do it justice but i hope you enjoy them just the same. We were really lucky with the weather!!!!!

Oh here's one more antidote - as we walked around we saw motor boats along the smaller canals by homes instead of cars. Also on the canal there are boats for police, ambulance, cargo boats bringing supplies into the city.

A Happy new year to all our jewish family and friends. Hugs to you all.

Sydelle