Tea at Trianon: I Remember Paris

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

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

I Remember Paris

From Victoria:

I never imagined my husband and I would have an opportunity to spend our twentieth wedding anniversary in such a place, yet here I was, staring out over the clouded skyline from my perch on the sixteenth floor. I’d boarded an Air France jet, flown for eleven hours, too excited to sleep, and found myself safely deposited in the Hôtel Rive Gauche, alone and waiting for Matt to fly up from his business trip in the South of France. As we did not want to spend our anniversary in separate countries, it seemed the perfect solution to meet him here to enjoy a few days together in paradise. He arrived later that evening, and with very little sleep, we embarked on the next five days with unrelenting exuberance.

My sweet husband had already arranged for me to attend a market cooking class the very next morning! Before I could say bon appétit, I found my jet-lagged self pouring white wine over chicken in Chef Eric Fraudeau’s kitchen with three other participants who were eager to learn the basics of French cuisine. At the end of the class, Matt joined us in the little kitchen, where a table was piled high with our delicious accomplishments. He reached inside his rain-spotted overcoat to reveal a bottle of Champagne he’d purchased from the market down the street. I’ll never forget that meal we shared with the entire cooking class to celebrate our anniversary on that rainy, romantic afternoon.

The next several days found us strolling along the Champs-Elysées, visiting Notre Dame Cathedral during evening mass, standing in awe beneath the magnificent Eiffel Tower, trekking to the very top of the Arc de Triomphe, and encountering Mona Lisa herself at the Louvre. We drank rich espressos, ate buttery croissants, and learned about various meats and cheeses of the region, breathing in every possible sight and sound along the way. (Read more.)