Fete des Vendanges Montmartre

My first time visiting the annual October Fete des Vendanges Montmartre, Paris' 3rd largest festival. What was I waiting for?

A tiny vineyard up in the18th arrondissement on rue des Saules, Clos Montmartre, the only one in Paris producing wine since the 4th century.

The fete goes on goes on for 5 days with a presentation on the big weekend, a festive parade Saturday afternoon, a grand degustation (tasting) purveyors from all corners of France's hexagon sell sausages, charcuterie, oysters, honey, cheese and more for Friday through Sunday. Plus art exhibits, lectures, cooking classes, performances, contests, concerts.

All manner of confrerie (brotherhoods of local wine and dining societies) dress up in their velvet robes, banners, coats of arms, sing, dance, beat the drums. 

I managed to get inside the vineyard itself for the Ban des Vendages, where the maire of the 18th and other locals of note gather, sing, drum.

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Of course there's a queen of the Montmartre harvest every year. Movie actress Sandrine Bonaire was honorary guest along with renown poet-singer Jacques Higelin.

The back of the head of poet-singer Higelin..next year I'll do better.

What to wear to this event? If only I'd known.

If you're not a member of a Confrerie and garbed in Medieval dress, come in black and red like singer Aristide Bruant as Toulouse-Lautrec painted him like members of Republique de Montmartre. 

Next year I'll know better.

After the Saturday morning ceremony the feasting begins.

"Les Parcours du Gout" (journey of taste) from 10 am till 11 pm Friday - Sunday, followed by evening fireworks on Saturday night at Sacre Coeur.

Masses of Merguese sausages grilling to feed the masses of people. The Montmartre Vendanges is comparable to the Munich Oktoberfest in Germany on a smaller scale.

Gorgeous hams from Corsica, Basque, you name it.
*Buy the ham, not the ham sandwich (sandwiche jambon) for 5-6 euros. Only ONE slice within and no beurre, no nuttin'. There are far better choices. I learned the hard way.

A wide variety of wines to be tasted in tents set up around the butte (hill) Montmartre. *Bringing your own glass is not a bad idea.

Reclette is standard fare at these outdoor affairs.

*Better save yourself for regional specialties like the truffled omelette from the Sud-Ouest(7 euros). I should have...next year.

Or the freshly shucked oysters from Cancale, Brittany for a 10er. Wonderfully fresh and a major bargain in Paris.

Two plateaux around Sacre Coeur double-sided with French regional tasting. Quite an undertaking but so much fun. People picnic on the steps with goodies from the tasting. Who knew right in the heart of Paris? I wish I'd stayed for the evening fireworks. Next year.

Sonia Delaunay, les couleurs d’Abstraction, MAM

Trying to paint a geometric 'Sonia Delaunay' watercolor is not so easy.

Everyone asks what's on in Paris  My secret: posters in the Metro. I shoot & stash photos on my ipad. I noticed the Delaunay show was opening the 17th at the Musee d'art Moderne. I ran 🏃‍♂️over the day before and caught the press preview. I was lucky 🍀 

This is a huge and beautiful retrospective.

Delaunay lived to be 96 and never stopped producing art.

Her husband, Robert Delaunay, is perhaps more famous and that's her doing.

He died at the beginning of the Second World War in 1941. She promoted his paintings assiduously,

Continuing to work in a multitude of mediums including fabrics, home furnishing, fashion.

I don't know if Delaunay turned her hand to kitchen design (cuisine). If you want a break mid-show, go to Smack in the Palais de Tokyo - my favorite quick lunch places in the 16th on Avenue President Wilson. Healthy, yummy, reasonable.

Delaunay was a prolific fashion designer first herself. And then, because of demand, for others.

Her gouache sketches are simply wonderful.

Her designs were perfect for the theatre & dance - brilliant colors and graphic geometric patterns

This is a don't-miss show . You will leave inspired.

More geometry and bright colors 

These might well be the perfect colors to wear to the Delaunay show.

Printemps has lit up the entire store.

I was turned upside down by the jazzy bright colors.

Don't miss the jazzy religeuses at Cafe Pouchkine inside Printemps.

Witty fabric patterns. 

There's a new accessory floor (the 4th) and LE SNEAKER is the IT shoe.

Downstairs crazy patterns from Kenzo and cupcakes from a Sugar Daze pop-up shop. Or get your geometric kick (licorice Allsorts) in a red-striped bag at the outdoor stall at Metro Odeon.

I’m Carol Gillott, an artist living in Paris. Every month I send out beautifully illustrated letters that capture the true Parisian experience. 

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Jam Trouble - Les Confiture Letter

It's that time of the month again when I go through torture creating the newest Paris Letter.

Inspiration for October's letter came last Spring when Coco Jobard showed off her wonderful old Alsatian jam(confiture) dish towel. Jars of luscious fruity jam spell Fall to me. I'm crazy for the hand-written labels, the fluted glass jars. Jam on toast or a croissant plus tea and a good book is the best no?

But researching jam for 3+ weeks is maybe not the best kind of immersion for the easily tempted.

These jam hats (chapeau pot de confiture) made me swoon. You can find a wonderful variety of hats on Littlemarket.com.

Some of the best hats are worn on the best jam made in France by Alsatian Christine Ferber. She hand-ladles her heavenly jams into each pot to maintain quality. I dream of visiting her shop in Niedermorschwihr if I ever figure out how to pronounce it. These jams are in the new Galerie Lafayette's Food department, moved across the street from the main store.

Three glorious floors of food boutiques and mini restaurants and everything is clearly marked out. Le Grand Epicerie feels like a maze since they redid it. I forever get lost and can't find what I want.

Do come prepared and wear battle gear to browse the huge jam department at Galeries.

If you plan to make jam yourself you'll need a different kind of armor.

Head over to Librairie Gourmands on 92, rue Montmartre 75002 for the best selection of cookbooks in Paris, two floors of them. some are in English. All of them gorgeous.

Their windows right now are full of jam cookbooks. I bought this one though I'll never lift a wooden spoon or stir strawberries in a copper pot. Look for 'cuit au chaudron' (cooked in a caldron) on the labels. Traditional copper pots are great conductors of heat. You want to cook your fruit quickly and evenly.

They have adorable boxed preserves sets with all the essential  accoutrement for jam-making. So tempting.

Researching jam requires a visit to La Chambres au Confitures. There's a new branch in the Marais.

Inside it's wall-to-wall jam divided into seasonal flavors. You can sample every jam in the place and I almost did before deciding on fig. See my sampling spoons below.

If you're like me, you have 'impulse control issues'. Then its best to stick to collecting miniature jam jars. Once jam enters my house it's 'Gone Girl' in the blink of the eye.

Painting jam, on the other hand, is a perfectly safe endeavor for the jam-addicted. It is advisable to work from photographs not the real thing.

Frenchy script on jam jar labels (etiquettes) always intrigues me. My first banner for Parisbreakfast was a jam label. If you're mad for these little paper stickers the best source is BHV, second floor craft department.

I used mini jam jars to sketch from, to minimize the damage of wolfing down big jars of apricot jam in one fell swoop. Size matters.

Parisbreakfast readers often ask for old watercolor still lives so I made this Paris letter more washy.

Finally, after too much jam research, the October letter is done and on it's way to you.

You can see ALL of the October letter uncovered on Etsy. If you've been resisting subscribing here's an enticement. A jar of pear jam (an original watercolor 4" x 6") sent as a bonus if you subscribe to the Paris Sketch Letters. This is the perfect time of year for jam don't you think.