Saturday June 21, summer solstice and Fete de la Musique, was another beautiful day (blue sky and 24C, cooler at night). Alain went for his first run in Paris this year- a return to Jardin des Plantes for a 6.5 km jog.
After breakfast, we headed out to the Institut du Monde Arabe (Arab World Institute) to see the exhibit:
Il Etait Une Fois L'Orient Express (Once Upon a Time on the Orient Express). When we got there, we found we had to buy tickets for a specific time, so we had a bite to eat (good Lebanese food by Noura) and checked out the bookstore before our 2:00 p.m. slot.
The Institute was founded in 1980 by 18 Arab countries to research and disseminate information about the Arab world. Jean Nouvel, a French architect, won a competition to build the Institute's building, which was constructed from 1981-87 (181,850 square feet). It is a beautiful building with a rooftop restaurant with a great view of the city. We went to the rooftop and took some pictures. The restaurant on the roof was full, so we had to eat in another part of the building.
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| Jean Nouvel's building- Institut du Monde Arabe |
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| View from the rooftop-Notre Dame on left |
The Orient Express exhibit was financed by SNCF (the French National Railway company) and consisted of three restored carriages (a sleeping car, a saloon car and Train Bleu (a bar restaurant car) as well a locomotive and a Dining Car. The first three cars were the first part of the visit-- one walked through the cars, which were furnished in artifacts and name tags of famous people who had travelled on the train ( i.e. Mata Hari, Josephine Baker, Graham Greene, Agatha Christie (who met her husband on the Orient Express), and others). There were then two large rooms inside the Institute that housed artifacts, posters, historical information about the origins of the Orient Express, it's different routes over time and the Grand Hotels associated with the train.
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| Dining car that we couldn't enter- (used during exhibit for expensive dinners) |
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| First two cars that we could enter |
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| In line to board the Orient Express |
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| Close up of Dining Car |
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| Locomotive and Coal Car (no entry) |
The three cars were beautifully restored and furnished with artifacts from the period. The cars dated back to 1929 and 1949.
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| Margaux wine and backgammon |
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| Beautiful Lalique details |
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| Headlines from 1918 |
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| 1939- War! |
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| Dining area in the Orient Express |
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| In Train Bleu- the bar |
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| Beautiful inlay on walls |
There was a tag for Agatha Christie who travelled regularly on the Orient Express, and who wrote Murder on the Orient Express, which was made into a film in 1974.
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| Agatha Christie coat |
The re-creations of life on the train were very realistic.
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Gitanes, Vichy matches and Le Figaro newspaper
Comfy chairs
Tag with info about Graham Greene
The Graham Greene place setting with typewriter, gin and book
Josephine Baker tag
There were also areas for Agatha Christies' Hercule Poirot (her detective) and other characters in the Murder on the Orient Express book/movie.
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| Hercule Poirot's area on the train |
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Agatha Christie's table shared with her archaeologist husband Max Mallowan
We then exited the three train carriages and went inside the Institute building for the rest of the exhibit. There was a section about Geroges Nackelmackers (1845-1905), the founder of La Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lit, who started the Orient Express. He was from a Belgian banking family and had travelled in the United Staes for 10 months in 1867-68. He thought that Pullman cars could work in Europe. When no deal with forthcoming with Pullman, he started his own business in 1876. The first Orient Express travelled from Paris to Constantinople in 1883 (the last part of the trip was done by boat). The golden age of the Orient Express was the 1930s, when an additional Taurus Route to Baghdad, Aleppo and Cairo also ran. The last trip of the official Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul took place in 1977 and a shorter route from Strasbourg to Vienna ceased operation in 2009.
Bust of Georges Nackelmackers
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| Map with all the routes |
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Poster for Orient Express
There were a number of photos of Constantinople/Istanbul which brought back memories of our trip to Istanbul last June.
London-Baghdad- 8 days
There was also a section of the exhibit with scenes from films featuring the Orient Express.
Scene from James Bond film To Russia With Love
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After the exhibit, we paused for a delicious Lebanese coffee (similar to Turkish coffee) in the lower level cafe.
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| Lebanese coffee and baklava |
This exhibit will travel to Vienna and Istanbul as well as a few other European cities. SNCF plans to re-launch the Orient Express next spring beginning with trips from Paris to Vienna, ultimately with the aim of travel to Istanbul. [Note: there is a private company running Orient Express trips, but SNCF has the rights to the original Orient Express]
Then it was out into the sunshine. As the Institute is near the Seine, we decided to walk across the river to the Marais. We passed the Bouquinistes, the booksellers that sell old books and magazines.
The Marais was very busy. Lots of small bands were playing as part of Fete de la Musique, the annual celebration of the solstice in France. The large venues showcase more established musicians, but there are many others at small venues, or street corners- some good and some not so.
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| A very young singer (actually quite good) and her band |
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| Classic music in the front of a restaurant in the Marais |
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| Some jazz on the street |
As we were in the Marais, we had to get some treats (poppy seed and apple cake) and eggplant dip at Sacha Finkelsztajn's on Rue des Rossiers.
We then headed over to a jazz club on Rue Lombard (near the Pompidou Centre) called Sunset/Sunside for a free concert, part of Fete de la Musique. The club was featuring a piano quartet- Laurent Couthaliac Quartet-- playing the music of Duke Ellington. We got there in time and got good seats (it is a very small club). The music didn't start until 7:30 p.m., but the band played a good set. The place was full and it was an appreciative audience. Paris audiences clap loudly and are great jazz fans.
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| The Quartet |
After the hour set, we headed back across the river and had dinner at a restaurant recommended by a friend called Le Pre Verre. The chef and his brother run the restaurant. As the chef has lived in Asia- the food had an asian component. The place was very busy (mostly non-tourists). Alain had lamb chops with a vegetable mousse and I had grilled sardines on soba noodles. Unfortunately, it took a long time to get our food. Our waitress was very apologetic and gave us a free glass of wine and dessert.
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| Alain's lamb chops in vegetable mousse |
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| My sardines on soba noodles |
We got back to the apartment at about 11:30 p.m. ready for a good nights sleep.
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