Siena to Florence to Paris to Maine to Paris to Providence

The Eyes of Manet and Morisot

2012-01-29T08:51:00.017-05:00

What did they see that we can't?

Edouard Manet (detail) by Carolus-Duran

Le Repose (Berthe Morisot detail) by Edouard Manet

Happy 102nd Birthday Dad!

2012-01-29T03:38:00.004-05:00

Church of Saint-Philippe du Roule by Jean Beraud

2012-01-28T05:39:00.000-05:00

This woman kept staring at me. . .

The French Tarte is now an LLC with a new space

2012-01-25T18:40:00.000-05:00

So, this past Monday, after signing a three-year lease on space in the Hope Artiste Village (home of the "Winter Farmer's Market"), Susie drove right over to the nearest relevant bureaucrat in downtown Providence and registered as an LLC. Voila!

the Farmers' Winter Market is down this hall every Saturday morning from November to May

The doorway will most likely be in the far corner, where the wall to the left meets the brick

Next she met with her contractor, Joe Pakuris, to go over the details of exactly what will happen when and by whom. HAV will be tackling several issues up front: putting in the electrical panel box, repairing the wood floor (Susie will be tiling her kitchen work space), and putting up a partition wall. Anyway, we'll have more details about all this as they unfold -- along with photos, as well.

The plan is to have the commercial kitchen space up and running by April 1.

Stay tuned!

Monet Family in their Garden at Argenteuil by Edouard Manet

2012-01-23T05:36:00.000-05:00

Painted in 1874. Detail, showing Jean Monet and his mother Camille:

Hyde Park, London by Claude Monet

2012-01-22T08:50:00.004-05:00

Two detail views, 1871:

Provincetown and Cape Cod

2012-01-21T06:32:00.001-05:00

Well, Friday we had our first real look this year at winter. (Halloween was a terrible pop at winter's power, I admit, at least for folks up north.) But last Saturday was a gorgeous day here in southern New England, chilly to be sure, but sunny and bright with a promise to keep the ice gods at bay.

So, for no particular reason, other than I've never been before, I suggested to Susie a day trip to the very tip of Cape Cod. And so, we went.

We left home mid-morning. Traffic was light, making for stress-free driving as we cruised in peace (con tranquilo) up I-195, passing Fall River ("Lizzie Borden took an axe. . . "), New Bedford ("For a whale of a good time. . . "), and Moby Dick's Bar & Grille. When the interstate ended we switched to Route 25 then across the Cape Cod Canal onto Route 6a to Route 6 and back onto 6a for the scenic tour, as we plunged ever deeper into the crazy quilt of the Cape itself.

"The Tourists"

Driving past Sandwich, Barnstable, Cummaquid ("Cummaquid?"), Yarmouth, Dennis and Brewster where we stopped at an incredible kitchen store, The Cook Shop. A fantastic selection of condiments, wide variety of tools, bakeware and cookware. And they're friendly folks (with a public bathroom in the back).

Beyond Brewster, Eastham, Orleans and Wellfleet, the land seemed to change dramatically and so did the homes. No more the rolling terrain, the quaint cottages, now we were being squeezed onto sand with row after row of tiny cabins seemingly designed for circus performers, broken up only by the numerous taffy and fudge shops thankfully closed until May.

After about two and a half hours on the road, we reached Provincetown itself, finding our way onto Commercial Street, passing homes sited cheek-by-jowl, all sitting in solitude, quietly awaiting the onslaught of humanity that would come this way this May.

Our first thought as we crawled up the narrow confines of Commercial street seeking the center of Pilgrim World was how incredibly funky (in a good way, I think) this place is: the small homes, the virtually non-existent streets, the art on the street, Fantastic!

But nearly every thing was closed so we considered ourselves lucky when we found a restaurant open for lunch. Fanizzi's was right on Commercial Street and, more importantly, right on the water. (Oddly enough, though the city seemed dead, we found what appeared to be the last parking space on the street -- for in fact we were not alone. There seemed to be people popping in and out of cars everywhere.

Anyway, we didn't have to wait long for a table even though the place was packed. We even got a table with a view. The food was OK, service friendly but rushed, but the view was incredible.

Spring rolls for starters (over-fried and oddly tough we thought):

Susan had a Caesar with grilled chicken (not bad):

And I had fresh cod (locally caught I was told), fried with cheddar on a toasted bun with fries.

I thought the fish tasted rather bland and the fries had an unusual crispy coating, which didn't have an impact on the flavor one way or the other. The slaw, however, was not the typical sloppy mayonnaise mess but a crisp, tasty vinegar concoction that was actually quite good.

We washed the meal down with an inexpensive but crisp vinho verde (Portugal). Oh, and we skipped dessert.

After lunch we drove through town down to where the fishing fleet was tied up -- yes, I'm told they do indeed fish for cod here although there were no fish mongers to be found.

But there was a nice view of the town from the docks:

All was quiet along the docks so we cruised back into town and few minutes later found us circling the spot where, it is claimed, the pilgrims first landed. (This was certainly before someone told them they were supposed to land at Plymouth because the t-shirt shops were already up and running).

We then followed the road around the end of the Cape, past the airport and down the other side, occasionally striking off toward one of the numerous beaches. The enormous parking lots were empty and so were the dunes and the beaches themselves. Peaceful and enjoyable were it not for the arctic winds and brutal temperature.

Opting not to go surfing or swimming we started our way back off the Cape. Back onto Route 6 cut off on Route 28 to Chatham and quickly realized this was a poor choice: the place was one long strip mall and we could just imagine the anguish it must produce in the thousands of drivers who fell compelled to travel this way int he summer.

So we crawled along enjoying the twilight mixed with the never-ending lights of the shops, stores and various other harbors of consumerism until we were back across the canal and on I195 heading west to Westminster Street in Providence.

Sunset across Eye 95 in Providence

2012-01-16T14:38:00.000-05:00

While walking home from work the other late afternoon I caught sight of this incredible sight across the commuter traffic snarled on I-95 in Providence:

A Walk in the fields at Argenteuil by Claude Monet

2012-01-15T08:50:00.005-05:00

Detail, 1873:

Morisot and Manet together of course

2012-01-14T14:10:00.001-05:00

Le Repos (left), study of Berthe Morisot by Edouard Manet; Manet (right) by Carolus-Duran

From the collection of the RISD Museum.

Young Lady in 1866 by Edouard Manet

2012-01-13T05:33:00.001-05:00

The model is Manet's favorite: Victorine Meurine.

The Basin at Argenteuil by Claude Monet

2012-01-08T08:49:00.006-05:00

Detail, 1875:

Faustine Leo by Karl-Heinrich Lehmann

2012-01-07T05:31:00.001-05:00

Painted in 1842 when Faustine was just 10 years old by her cousin. She would die in 1865.

Megaliths of Brittany and Providence

2012-01-02T17:22:00.024-05:00

Just a year ago this week -- just a year! - Susie and I joined friends Richard and Pauline in southern Brittany for a power tour through the neolithic stone passage graves and incredible stone alignments that dot the countryside around Carnac, just off the Golf of Morbihan. And what an experience that was!

The odd thing is, yesterday, New Year's Day 2012, Susie and I went for a casual stroll through Swan Point Cemetery on the east side of Providence. Beautifully secured along the banks of the Seekonk River, I found myself walking through a part of the cemetery I had never been to before, closer to the entrance and away from the river. Anyway, before I could say "Grand Menhir," I came face-to-face with the "Megalith of Swan Point," the centerpiece of a tranquil bit of green known as the Memorial Grove Garden.

The Swan Point stone is ancient to be sure but we know why it sits there brooding in its shadowy glen. But those thousands of stone standing like so many soldiers in line after line in southern Brittany, stones that were quarried, hauled and put into place some 5,000 years before the birth of Christ, they remain one of the puzzle of the ages.

Who did it? Why? How? When?

New Year's Eve in Rubetown

2012-01-01T16:27:00.000-05:00

Well, it's happened again -- just when I was starting to get used to one year they go and change it for a newer model. Ah, the funny ways of man (and woman come to think of it).

Although the menu was limited, what struck me -- and I think everyone at the table agreed -- this was one of those very rare times that everything on the menu seemed appealing.

After the first course, which we all shared, I started with the duck pastrami; everyone else had the tartlet.

Along with the starters, we shared a bottle of pinot gris from Willamette Valley. For the third course Dorothy had the lamb rack, Dick had the chop, and Susie had the scallops:

I had the 3-grain cassoulet:

The main course was accompanied by a bottle of Brouilly. We all shared the cheese course (scrumptious). For dessert I had the ice cream with caramel sauce, Susie had tarragon pound cake and Dick and Dorothy both had the molten chocolate cake.

We all thought the food universally delicious, the portions right and the pacing spot on as well. Bruce, Beau and the crew at New River's did a spectacular job of making a special evening truly enjoyable -- well worth the $65 per person.

Leaving the restaurant I felt the evening air was only slightly crisp and smacked more of late fall than winter. As we walked leisurely back to the car we were amazed at how quiet the city was, wondering what was really happening with the Providence Bright Night (i.e., "First Night") program. Oddly typical in a city noted for being typically odd.

Happy New Year!!

The Salon d'Or Homburg (details) by William Frith

2012-01-01T14:06:00.000-05:00

The Salon d'Or Homburg (detail above and below), 1871, by William Powell Frith

From the collection of the RISD Museum.

Trip to NYC and the Met

2011-12-31T15:01:00.003-05:00

This past Wednesday Susie and I took the 6:30am Peter Pan bus to America's own peculiar version of Never, Never Land: New York City. The motivation for the day trip was to see the French Impressionists at the Met, especially Degas and Manet. We also hoped to stroll Fifth Avenue and check out the lights and windows in the bargain.

Times Square - ready for New Year's Eve

We arrived in Gotham a little after 10am and upon leaving the Port Authority bus terminal plunged into the wilds of 42nd Street and Times Square, that latter being mostly closed off for the upcoming New Year celebration.

Late afternoon, Rockefeller Plaza

We then headed in the direction of Fifth Avenue and soon found ourselves enmeshed in a throng of what appeared to be thousands of Europeans looking to have their pictures taken in front of Rockefeller Plaza. I suspect some of those people are still waiting in line to get onto the skating rink:

Anyway, we strolled up Fifth Avenue past one designer store after another, paying our respects to the most outrageous of American consumerism. After passing the Plaza Hotel and keeping both FAO Schwarz and the Apple Store at a safe distance on our right we headed into peace and tranquility of Central Park. We stayed on the eastern side of the park until we reached the Metropolitan Museum of Art, although we did stop and say hi to "Alice" and her friends along the way. . .

Central Park

Alice in Wonderland and friends, Central Park

Standing in line to get into the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Apparently all those tourists we passed through at Rockefeller Plaza had beat us to the Met -- we had to wait about 20 minutes or so to get inside the building, pass through security and then more than a half hour in line to get tickets. The place was, in a word, packed. Using the handy map we found our way to the second floor (rooms in the 800s) -- although curiously the stairs were all cordoned off and every had to take elevators. Odd, we thought. (And of course, there were long lines of women waiting to use the bathrooms. What's up with that anyway? Why don't they simply double the size of women's restrooms?)

But it was a wonderful experience. We got the chance to spend a few choice minutes with some of the world's greatest art -- how cool is that, eh?

Anyway, one young woman who wasn't waiting for the loo was, however, waiting to be seen -- Faustine Leo, cousin of the painter Karl-Heinrich Lehmann who, coincidentally, painted her portrait when she was just 10 years old in 1842:

"Faustine Leo (1832-1865," by Karl-Heinrich Lehmann (her cousin), 1842

"The Little Dancer" by Edgar Degas

This is now the 3rd copy we have seen out of, I believe, 14 copies worldwide, of Degas' "Little Dancer." (The other two were in the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and The Clark in Williamstown, MA.)

That's Victorine Merine dressed as a matador in the far center painting, right by the arched entryway

"Young Lady in 1866" by Edouard Manet;
that's Victorine Meurine, again; she would also pose in Manet's scandalous work, "Olympia"

"Saint-Philippe du Roule" by Jean Beraud - I swear the woman holding the little girl's hand was staring right at me

"Fishing," 1862-63, by Edouard Manet

"The Monet Family in their garden at Argenteuil," 1874 by Edouard Manet

After leaving the Met we bundled up before heading out into the biting wind. Once outside we thought, "hey, let's cross Central Park to the west side." In fact, we got lost a few minutes later in that part of the park known as "The Ramble" -- which is exactly what we did for about a half hour or so until we found our way out again. What a place, though! sculptures seemed to abound everywhere we turned -- we saw busts of Schiller, Beethoven and even Victor Herbert, all seemingly scattered around with no rhyme or reason.

As we were about to pass out of the park onto Central Park West I caught sight of this statue put up in honor of the men of the Seventh Regiment (presumably from New York) who died in service of the Union during the American Civil War.

Memorial to the Seventh Regiment, Central Park

And just at the corner of the park where Broadway crosses Central Park West and 59th Street, where the park joins Columbus Circle is this incredible memorial to the dead from the USS Maine.

Memorial to the dead from the USS Maine, Central Park, Columbus Circle

As we passed the Maine memorial and walked along 59th Street we recalled with fondness the grand times we had in this neighborhood quite a few years ago -- and thought to seek out a restaurant somewhere in the area that we had remembered being quite good. All we could remember was that the name began with "Red". . . And sure enough as we turned off of 59th down 7th Avenue, after about a block and a half we came to the "Redeye Cafe."

Redeye Cafe on 7th Avenue, just south of Central Park

We found a quiet booth near the front overlooking 7th Avenue, and enjoyed a wonderful late and leisurely lunch sitting in front of a spectacular Peter Max painting.

Peter Max painting in back of our table at the Redeye

Leaving the restaurant we cut back over to Fifth Avenue where we hoped to get a glimpse of the holiday windows and lights. As we walked south we found the holiday decorations rather disappointing. The windows all seemed so pedestrian and lifeless, at least compared to past years when we've strolled through this part of Never, Never Land. No lost boys, no Wendy, no excitement -- just thousands of tourists, cheek-by-jowl, each one with a handy-dandy little digital camera fused to the palm of each hand, snapping off photos in the twilight. Even when we sought escape inside Lord & Taylor, the hordes passed through with us -- but the decorations were nicer to be sure:

Our time here was at an end and we headed back to find our bus. No sooner had we returned to the Port Authority and found our gate than we learned that Peter Pan had overbooked the one-day excursion fares it was offering on its website (the reason we took the bus in the first place). But the company did the right thing -- it had no choice, I suppose -- and arranged for an additional bus to make sure everyone got back to Providence. In fact, not long after we got to the gate, we got aboard and tucked ourselves into two seats as the bus pulled out into commuter traffic some 45 minutes early.

I found myself gazing out of the window, relishing not having to drive through snarling New York traffic and find my way off Manhattan Island in the dark, watching hypnotically as the lights of the Great City come on. we sped north up through Harlem, over the Triboro Bridge and eventually onto I-95 pointed north to Rubetown, capital of Gritworld (where the state motto was recently changed from "Creatively stealing your money since 1639" to "making a bad situation worse").

Funny thing, though. With all of our walking up and down some of the fanciest parts of the Big Apple we didn't come across one pastry shop, nor one bakery. And that seems explains so many things, we thought. . . . so many things.

Have a wonderful New Year!

Susie on the porch in Westborough

2011-12-31T08:51:00.000-05:00

Strolling through Downtown Providence

2011-12-30T08:44:00.003-05:00

Just a few things you might see this time of year. . .

From Blog photos 2

Susan's new space in Hope Artiste Village?

2011-12-29T11:25:00.020-05:00

Tomorrow Susie meets with a contractor and his plumber and electrician to work out the details of modifying a space in Hope Artiste Village just across the line in Pawtucket, RI. Hope Artiste is one of the hot new developments in the Greater Providence area with a growing list of artisans and artist studios as well as home to the winter Farmer's Market.

Anyway, I hope to post more details to come over the next few weeks, but in the meantime here are a few images to give you a sense of the space:

Far end behind the glass

Space is behind the three windows

Space runs from the far right column left to the white wall

Back to the RISD Museum

2011-12-29T09:04:00.000-05:00

Well, I suppose I should warn you, now that I'm a member of the RISD Museum, in the months to come I'm going to be posting quite a few notes and images from my visits there. And, I think it's safe to say, there will be an awkward repetition in some of the photos posted because, quite frankly, I plan to visit again and again my favorite paintings and sculptures.

It is, after all, a wonderful place to visit, especially during the day when there's hardly anyone else around. In fact, I've started walking there on my lunch hour from work; I can get there in about 15 minutes, leaving me about 25 minutes browsing time.

Anyway, here's a short slideshow from my trip there Thursday and Friday, December 22-23:

Carolus-Duran by John Singer Sargent

2011-12-28T14:20:00.000-05:00

From the collection of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.

Carolus-Duran painted the wonderful portrait of Edouard Manet that sites happily next to Berthe Morisot in the RISD Museum collection.

Modeling for Degas

2011-12-27T14:22:00.000-05:00

From the collection of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.

RISD Museum - feed your mind

2011-12-26T18:10:00.001-05:00

Now that we're officially full-fledged members (I've never joined a museum before), I hope to share an occasional photo every now and then from my foray into those hallowed halls, those quiet spaces where the mind wanders among so many imaginations, where the soul is lost without suffering anything more than a momentary uplift in the spirit. Try the European Room on for size (5th floor, right next to household notions and ladies undergarments)

Penichette 1022FB from Argens-Minervois

2011-12-24T10:01:00.000-05:00

We took the plunge -- in a manner of speaking -- to cruise the Canal du Midi in Locaboat's 1022FB. I contacted Roger Van Dyken, one of Locaboat's stateside brokers, to confirm our reservation for next fall.

We'll pick up our Penichette 1022FB at Argens-Minervois, but we haven't yet decided which direction to go: up canal toward Carcassone or down canal toward Naerbonne and Beziers. But the trip will be out and back. Any suggestions?

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View Larger Map

The 1022FB is virtually identical to the 1020FB:

. . . except that the second, rear sleeping cabin has been replaced by a second sitting area, making this an ideal cruiser for two people:

Oh, and FB stands for "flying bridge," which provides a second steering position "up top," in addition to the one inside (located in the middle or midships main sitting area). The other two styles of penichette are the classique and the aft deck.