Tea at Trianon: Paris Through the Eyes of Children

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Paris Through the Eyes of Children

A creative way to explore Paris with the family.

It's no accident that a passport is a book, and no question that books are passports. Especially Paris books, and especially in our house. Whenever Ludwig Bemelmans's "12 little girls in two straight lines"—including "the smallest one...Madeline"—embark on another walk through the city, we tag along. When Albert Lamorisse's "Red Balloon" takes flight, we leap after the string. And when young Hugo nervously approaches the little toy shop in "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," we take a deep breath and follow him.

If you're packing for Paris, here's advice no guidebook will give you: Bring a 4-year-old. And a 9- and 11-year-old, if you have them. Stuff their suitcases not with electronics but books—children's books with Paris at their core—and once you land, prepare to do something really counterintuitive: Let your kids lead you around the French capital.

When my wife and I did just that for a week this spring, we not only survived, but had the most fun we've ever experienced in Europe. We saw things we'd never have otherwise: A tiny toy shop full of surprises so startling my daughters gasped. A restaurant so very French we were the only foreigners dining. And a bookstore where pondering a purchase caused us to rethink our lives.

We started with "Madeline," because Mr. Bemelmans not only takes his book's 12 little girls on a comprehensive Parisian tour, but also shows readers how to tour: Stick together, ignore the weather, run and play whenever possible and stay out of the metro.

It's not that the author had anything against the subway, just that his vibrant books made me realize the obvious—it's hard to see Paris from underground. Less obvious was that the dozen little girls don't walk a straight line through Paris. Rather, we discovered, they embark on a wandering expedition that totals almost 16 miles. Perhaps Mr. Bemelmans took liberties; we took the bus. (Read entire post.)