Back in the High Life Again

Newsletter 02.04.2024

Bienvenue and welcome back to Musée Musings, your idiosyncratic guide to Paris and art. Reporting, finally, from Paris. After 10 weeks. It was difficult to leave San Francisco but it was time to go. (Fig 1) Well, not so much time to go as time to get back. My international flights have become a little tricker the past few years. Because I have started flying Air France rather than British Airways. Which you would think would make everything easier. Board the plane in San Francisco. Disembark in Paris. But I just can’t seem to figure out how to use miles to buy my tickets.

Figure 1. Saying goodbye is always bitter sweet

After we bought our pigeonnier in the Dordogne and started to fly from San Francisco to France every year, we got British Airways Visa cards. (probably because they were the easiest to get) And charged everything we bought on those cards. And amassed an impressive number of miles. Which, unfortunately, made no sense since a stop in London was obligatory. As was a change of airports, from Heathrow to Gatwick since our destination was Bordeaux. At least we took advantage of the annual London stop on the way back to San Francisco. After spending a summer in the countryside, a week in London plunged us back into city life and prepared us for San Francisco.

I stopped traveling on British Airways during the pandemic. In 2020, I booked my usual flight - Paris-London-San Francisco. At the last minute, the London-San Francisco leg was canceled and I was rerouted through Dallas. Paris to London, London to Dallas, Dallas to San Francisco. That was not a good thing for at least two reasons. My business class ticket was on the international route only - London-Dallas. And Texas was no place I wanted to be during the pandemic. I expected more people would be carrying guns than wearing masks. While people in the airport were mostly wearing masks, there were signs everywhere reminding passengers that guns were not permitted in carry-on luggage. I didn’t want to be where people needed that reminder.

I canceled my return on British Airways, applied for an Air France Mastercard, booked a flight from San Francisco to Paris and I haven’t looked back. Except that I don’t really understand how the Air France cabin upgrade system works. It’s been pretty much hit or miss. I made a discovery last year when I couldn’t upgrade from economy to business class from Paris to San Francisco. The discovery was that buying a seat in the front row of Economy from Paris to San Francisco is pretty darn comfortable. But flying from San Francisco to Paris in economy when I need to sleep just doesn’t work. In 2022 and 2023, I somehow scored a business class ticket well in advance of my travel date - sheer serendipity. But this year, my luck ran out. I kept calling the airlines to see if I could upgrade. No dice.

So, three days before I was scheduled to fly, I paid for the comfortable seat in Economy Class. Twenty-four hours before I was scheduled to fly, the system would not permit me to check-in online. The seat I had purchased disappeared, with the ominous message that seat selection would be at the airport. When I arrived at the airport, I was told that I would be traveling on a different airplane, so the seat I had paid for was no longer available. The agent said he would work with me to find a seat. I decided to ask one last time if there was a business class seat available. And there was! Which I paid for with a combination of money and miles. I breezed through security with my TSA approved status (at Erin’s suggestion, I had bought a Global Entry card), no plastic bags of toiletries to show, no computer to take out. I just walked on by and headed straight for the Air France lounge. Where I ate a light lunch of grilled salmon and vegetables with a small bowl of blueberries for dessert.

Boarding the plane was easy, of course, priority status and all. Each of the business class seats was a private cabin with a sliding door to keep the corridor at bay. (Fig 2) The seat became a completely flat bed, very comfortable, very civilized. Before I closed my eyes and willed myself to sleep, I watched Barbie (I liked it as much the second time) and I started to watch Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical film, The Fabelmans. But the movie was long and I had to get some sleep. I’ll watch it again.

Figure 2. My business class cabin

When the flight arrived an hour ahead of schedule, I was actually disappointed! I know exactly what I want for my annual round-trip flights - the comfortable economy seat from Paris to San Francisco and a business class seat from San Francisco to Paris. Now I just have to figure out how to make that happen earlier than 3 hours before the flight.

I arrived Wednesday afternoon and stayed awake as long as I could. On Thursday, I was ready to begin life in Paris as I know it. Which means art and shopping. And what better place to do both than Le Bon Marché. Which I walked to from my flat. It’s a walk I used to think was a long one but which is actually only a little over 4 km and which only takes a little longer than an hour. I wanted to do a little shopping before the sales end on February 6, but mostly I wanted to see Le Bon Marché’s temporary exhibition. It’s an annual tradition that began 9 years ago. From early January through mid-February, Le Bon Marché invites an artist to create multiple site-specific art works for the department store. This year, the artist is Daniel Buren, of Les Colonnes de Buren fame. Next week, I’ll tell you more about Buren, the art he created for the windows along the rue de Sevres, the ones he created for the store’s grand open space and the experiential rooms he designed for the exhibition space on the second floor. If you are in Paris now, you really must see go to Le Bon Marché. (Figs 3 - 8)

Figure 3. Les Colonnes de Buren, Cour d’Honneur, Palais Royal, Daniel Buren

Figure 4. Windows along rue de Sèvres, Daniel Buren

Figure 5. Grand interior space, Le Bon Marché, Daniel Buren

Figure 6. Grand interior space, Le Bon Marché, Daniel Buren

Figure 7. Experiential space, second floor, Le Bon Marché, Daniel Buren

Figure 8. Me in Experiential space, second floor, Le Bon Marché, Daniel Buren

Since winter sales are almost over, I was expecting to find, as I usually do, Wolford tights in my size at 50% with an extra 20% taken off at the caisse. But I didn’t. What I did find was a lovely navy blue cashmere Bompard sweater for 50% off. That’s a nice reduction, but the last time I bought sweaters for me and Ginevra and Nicolas from Bompard, it was at La Vallée Village, the designer outlet village just outside of Paris. Have you ever been? The reductions are greater but the merchandise is older.

Friday was February 2, la fete de Chandeleur. Which is celebrated in France by eating something, of course. Crepes to be exact. I couldn’t find any crepes at any patisseries, so a friend and I made our own. To go with the Alain Ducasse very upmarket riff on Nutella that I splurged on. You know, it’s actually very easy to make crepes. (Fig 9) Last year, I wrote about la fete de Chandeleur, which you can read about, here, after Fig. 1

Figure 9. Home made crepe and Ducasse Pâte à Tartiner, aka upmarket Nutella

I caught up with Erin and Barb on Saturday at Cafe Mulot in the Musée Victor Hugo on the Place des Vosges where there’s an exhibition on the paintings of Hugo’s grandson, Georges, they are lovely. Erin had agreed to pick up a French Bastards galette des rois for me on January 31st. But by then, the Bastards had stopped making them for the year. Her local patisserie, Leonie, was still making them, so she brought me a slice. On Thursday, I had bought an individual galette à la frangipane at Thierry Marx. (Fig 10) FYI, that’s what galette des rois are called every month but January, the only month these treats are permitted by French law to be called galette des rois. The Leonie galette was good but the Marx galette was more raffiné, more delicate. And Marx only uses skinned almonds which makes the frangipane pure white.

Figure 10. Left - slice of galette des rois, Leonie (thank you Erin) & 1/2 galette à la frangipane, Thierry Marx (Beaupassage)

Thanks to everyone who had time to send a comment about last week’s newsletter. As always, your comments are much appreciated. Gros bisous, Dr. ‘B.’

New comments on: San Francisco, a Cultural Cornucopia:

Love the vision of you channeling Madonna! What a gorgeous dress! Kathy, Oxford, England

Thank you for all the lovely pictures and museum comments. Mostly we are reading about how awful the Union Square area is which is sad. I have enjoyed in the past all the Legion of Honor and the DeYoung exhibits immensely and used to fly up for 2 days to try and coordinate visits to both of them. I was able to see the Girl with the Pearl Earring at one and a vintage couture clothing presentation which was spectacular...lovely moments to savor in this world of uncertainties. Dianne

I need a bite of that coconut tart!!! Mmmmm…., Bonnie

Dr. B, is your figure 8- A RALPH RUCCI- design? There is a former fashion model , who worked in Paris, and now lives in SF...she and Rucci are good friends , and she may have loaned the piece? Thanks for the tour through the exhibit, as I am not scheduled to go until Feb.! Also the brief on Legion exhibit...as I do love porcelain! Most appreciatively, JACQUELYN, San Francisco Bay Area