Keeping up a blog is more difficult than I thought it might be. My intention was to try to post at least once a month. Somehow we slipped into and then past the month of October with little notice. The shock to me was how fast November came around. This could have been because the month of October had so many distractions. Most months in Paris there always seem to be lots of events, or special happenings. This October each week October brought something else to distract the Parisians. One of the main distractions this year was France playing host to World Cup Rugby. The first games of the events began in September. Through October the city seemed to find ways to entertain the added visitors. Many city events normally occur in the month of October, but these seemed to push harder to be more fun this year. An event like"Nuit Blanche"(White Night) is a free, all-night celebration of arts and culture. This year's sixth version of Nuit Blanche occurred on the same night as an important rugby match between France and New Zealand. People gathered in front of the Paris city hall to watch the game televised on a giant screen. The Parisians that were seemed ready to pity the French team since it was expected to be thrashed by the New Zealand team. It was quite a surprise that France came out the winners. This somehow overwhelmed the events of Nuit Blanche. Most of the people in the streets would be there to cheer for the rugby winners rather than the odd cultural performances all over town. Each weekend would see another big game until the final match. France didn't make the finals, but there were still great numbers celebrating throughout the city before and after all of the games.
Another fun event in October is the Harvest Festival in Montmartre. This is a yearly event that takes place at the top of the famous hill in Paris. There is a lot of eating and wine drinking that goes on along the streets around the church of Sacre-Coeur.
In 1933, three thousand seedling of Thomery and three seedling of Morgon were planted.Then the Féte des Vèndanges de Montmartre was celebrated for the first time the following year. Each year I've tried to make my way up to see the festivities. This year I managed to visit twice over the weekend. There can usually be a number of important people or French celebrities invited. "Les Chevaliers du Taste-Vin"or the Knights of Wine Tasting are there from from different French provinces. They are in usually dressed up in their special regional outfits or uniforms. Everybody seems to come to celebrate. "Le Clos Montmartre" is officially the only real vineyard in Paris. This year's vintage of about 1500 bottles were dedicated to George Brassens. He is a well known French singer and composer of the past. He died in the early 1980s, but his memory lives on both in this years vintage and in Brassens feast and festival also celebrated in Montmartre. He would make his debut in this part of Paris at a well known club that is planning to reopen it's doors in 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Brassens
All profits from the sale of this wine goes to help local charities. I'm still not sure of the price oaf a bottle of Montmartre wine. It can't be inexpensive.
The month of November begins with what has turned out to be one of my favorite holidays in France. The natives celebrate All Saint's Day which is called Toussaint in France. This day always falls on November 1.
There's no "trick or treating" the night before as the French do not really celebrate Halloween. It has just never caught on here no matter how much they tried to promote this. Similar to the origins of Halloween the celebration of Toussaint may have started back with the Celts. It almost sounds as if it was a sort of Celtic New Year's Day. For most of the French the first of November is the day to care for the family cemetery plot. The evolved catholic traditions of November the first are designed to allow for omissions of those Saints that have pasted on. There are lots of Saints that pass whom we forget about. So many do not have a day of their own so this is the day to remember the Saints that missed out on their own day in the year. Toussaint has also now taken on the function to remember all of those close and not so close to us, that have passed on. Basically a day to remember the dead. So, the tradition in all of France is to visit the cemetery. On this day, families and visitors in Paris will make their way to a place like cemetery Pere Lachaise, or the other famous cemeteries in the city. Families will tend their ancestor's plots. Many will lay flowers on the graves of their favorite, famous who have long pasted on. All of the cemeteries of Paris are beautiful places to visit on any day, but on the first day in November it becomes especially nice to see the traditional mum flowers covering the tombs. Many candles are also lit and placed around the monuments. Even though it was a mostly cloudy day this year, the autumn colors added to the experience. It has become a tradition that I look forward to each year. As in past years, I was at Pere Lachaise to pay my respects to a few of my favorite tenants. It's already the middle of November as I post this. Transit strikes are hitting the city of Paris along with some very winter like weather. Today I was lucky to make my way around the city by bus, but by seven in the evening my luck had run out. Living near the metro line #14 is a fortunate thing. This is the newest metro line in Paris. It's an automated line with no drivers. The run steady during any strike day. No one is yet sure what the rest of the month will bring. There is lots of positive press that the strikes will possibly end soon, but things don't appear to be close to negotiations let alone a settlement between the transit workers and the government. Hoping for the best in December as the holidays arrive.
Never a dull day in Paris.
