Do Fr Girls Have Longer Legs?

I have to admit that French girls DO have longer, straighter legs. It's a hard fact of life one just has to accept living here.

These are not models imported from wherever like you see all over NYC. These are born and bred Frenchies. I've even noticed moms with daughters, both long-legged.

Of course Ines de la Fressange IS exceptionally tall no doubt about it. I've put up a video of Ines giving a little speech on YouTube (unedited btw so not so hot, still it is Ines, who can do no wrong).

The thought used to be that French girls were all petite like Leslie Caron.

No more.
 

What are they eating I ask myself to get these legs?

The only historical reference I found were French 19th century costume drawings...perhaps not very relevant?
 

Clearly Tamara de Lempika was not drawing French slender- legged girls. Were her models Slavic?
 

When I went to Brazil I noticed the girls/Brasilieras had very curvy hips. I decided this was due to standing in the water lengthy periods of time at Ipanema Beach and letting the waves 🌊 slap their hips. After 3 months of doing the same, my hips were NOT curvy like Brazilieras. It's genetic.
 

Same deal in France. It's not because they eat a lot of haricot vert.
 

 It's genetic.
 

As Americans we're brought up to believe we can change/do anything we want if we try hard enough. This is not true.

C'est la vie.

Especially with the stacks of OFD/'only fabulous desserts' everywhere you look in France.

Here's a little Frenchy with the shortest possible legs.

OK so he/she is a Scotty. She has French citizenship. At least I think she has.

Le Road Trip

Yesterday I went to CDG to pick up Vivian and escort her into town to the quite fabulous tiny hotel de Nesle in the 6th arrondissement. Viv had generously taken me to JFK when I departed NYC with my mountains of junk, so it was the least I could do.

Since Vivian has 9 cats I figured she'd bring me one. No way. But she did bring me more chewing gum than I could have dreamed of (15 packs!). Gum has become popular in France. And my Timex alarm clock-radio I left behind and impossible to find in Paris. It lights in the dark, wakes you up to Cherie FM and improves your French accent immeasurably if you listen to soccer games in the background. Almost as good as having a Fr spouse.

I didn't see a live cat at Hotel de Nesle but plenty of decorative cats.

Masses of artworks and homey tchotchkes.

Even a bear or two...

There's a delightful terrace garden up on the landing for Serenity Now and peace and quiet when you need it.

Evidently every room has a different theme at Hotel de Nesle.

A short trip to Morocco was planned, so the 'Afrique' room was perfect
 

It's pretty normal to arrive in Paris completely jet-lagged and sleepy, but as soon as she put on her J.Peterman 'English Tunic Blouse' (No. 3774) she was transformed into a dynamo raging to go. Who knew? I must get one of these.
 

Top of the to-do list was a decent cup of tea (the list includes must-dos in every arrondissement in Paris(!) so good thing her J.Peterman is with her...ahem. We headed/ran out the door enroute to that essential cup of tea at café de Nesle on the corner of Nesle and rue Dauphine, 
 

At the café my chevre chaud was disappointing. I didn't expect it to be deep-fried inside dim sum wrappers. Viv was thrilled with her omelette nature and perfect cup of tea.
 

But she left the cookie that accompanied the tea, a Speculoos cookie of all things. I asked if I could have it and how come she wasn't eating it in the first place. Didn't she eat sweets?

She said long ago a friend told her,

"Don't eat dessert if it isn't FABULOUS!"

I did not eat the cookie.

I'm immortalizing it here by posting it as the first-ever cookie I didn't eat that was there like Mount Everest sitting on the table.

It's on my desktop (not my desk) too as a reminder to not eat non-fabulous desserts. (NFD)

We'll see how long that lasts.

Bonne Trip in Paris!

Night In the Sentier

Back prowling Paris' dark streets this time in the Sentier looking for murder and mayhem as always

A particular secret passage so off we go...

Down what seems to me the loneliest and darkest of streets in Paris...

Ooopla the passage is locked tight.

This doesn't deter Cara in the least, who is climbing up the grate like a cat. My heart 's in my mouth and I'm holding my breath. No way am I game to follow suit. Just give me a nice armchair to follow Aimée Leduc's adventures thank you very much.

I'll stick to stalking Paris' dogs.

There's a fountain nearby to wash her hands...Lordie!

A murder occurs here at le Tour de Jean-sans-Peur, rue Étienne-Marcel in the Sentier mystery and no wonder - very eery...

Cara tells me, "it's not so easy to murder someone in Paris."

"Why, because of the crowds?"

"No, you need a place to hide the body...like behind construction or in a trash can.."

Ohhhhh OK. Hmmm...

We wander through passage Moliere - kind of romantic...

Never mind. Find weird shop where you can get a plaster cast of your hands/feet for 125€. Only in Paris.

In the Aimée Leduc Companion (free on Amazon). you'll find nice places to eat and visit in each murder area. No kidding.

I've always wanted to eat at Le Colbert on rue Vivienne

And especially Le Grand Vefour...

We didn't stop in either one or the recommended Brasserie Vaudeville. Instead we stick to the dark side - an area that used to be chock-a-block with street walkers but those days are over. Par hazard, as I'm filming Cara walking, a working girl pops out, blond and toute en noire and accuses us of taking her picture. She demands to view the video tape. I want to make a run for it, but cool as a cucumber,

"mais non Madame we did not take you picture." All is resolved peacefully. Whew.

My 15 seconds of video is on YouTube here.

Jacques Demy

Staying with the theme of love, romance and Spring don't miss with a visit to the Jacques Demy exposition at the musee de la Cinémathèque Française. Who hasn't seen The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at one point or another? If you haven't you can catch it at the cinemathèque with your entry ticket to the exhibit

51, rue de Bercy Metro Bercy #6

The story of boy filmmaker, Jacques Demy meets girl filmmaker, Agnes Varda could not be more endearing...

In her own words...

Demy's earliest film efforts are displayed in a facsimile setup created in his attic at age 13. "It was alone in his attic young Jacques began to make short animated films, including Attaque Nocturne, in the tradition of films painted on celluloid. His desire to make films in 1949, next led him to Paris where he took classes at the École Technique de Photographie et de Cinematographie."

Throughout the exposition there are loads of interactive displays with film clips, headphones, sketches and storyboards many drawn by Demy himself.

Jacques Demy comes across altogether a tres sympathique guy passionately committed to creating his vision and supporting his actors in every way.

Catherine Deneuve, his main muse, appears in many of his films...

"Jacques is the first director who really looked at me, who really saw me. Something brought me to light, and gave me the self-assurance I could do something and confidence I could really do something I didn't really believe in, not because I had doubts but because I had a much deeper doubt about being able to do something special, about being unique".

Demy was mad for Hollywood and Marilyn Monroe. He made Jeanne Moreau over to replicate her in appearance, voice and gesture for Des Baies des Anges.

There's artwork to compliment and reference the films like Rual Dufy's Baies des Anges in Cannes. Other artists represented:Jean Cocteau, David Hockney, Alexander Calder, Niki de Saint-Phalle.

Costume sketches like Anouk Amiee's fabulous corselet from Lola..

Plus the elaborate costumes from Demy's fantasie period film, Peau d'Ane

With Deneuve again...

Sets if course and the amazing wallpapers specially designed for each film.. "For The Umbrella of Cherbourg, 90% of the papers were specially printed with the color we wanted. When I said to the production that I needed about 15,000 Francs worth of papers in a total sets budget of 120,000 Francs, they told me I was crazy. But that's where the money had to be spent; for the rest, we were sure we'd manage." 1981

The gift shop is a joy to behold, selling multicolored parapluies and the wIld hats worn by the sisters in 'Cherbourg'. On Saturdays at 5 there's a singing duo to accompany you through the exhibit (in French bien sur). And as previously mentioned your entry ticket can be used to see whatever films are playing that day in the Cinémathèque Française. A don't miss exhibit for total French immersion in my opinion.