We don't get many kids knocking on the door around here at Halloween, because, I learned the other day, they all go down the road to St. Johns Wood. It's about a mile from us, and many of the people who live there are American, and they put amounts of time and money into their decorations in a way that hasn't seemed to catch on here. But the main thing, apparently, is that they're far more generous with their sweets. Naturally the local kids have noticed. We haven't had anyone at our door this evening!
I remembered about St Johns Wood and Halloween when T and I cycled along one of its larger roads and suddenly realised that the place looked like a magazine article on how to decorate for Halloween. Serious amounts of money had been spent, I think. Some of the gardens were expensive and elaborate, almost works of art in their way. The one below was very interesting, with skeletons climbing out of the basement and a rather nasty little demon on the left, clutching a pumpkin, among many other things.
Other displays were rather simple: just strings of eyeballs in the hedge....
Or nicely carved pumpkins, specially the cheeky one on the left.
And I really liked these three little ghosts. I had a book when I was a kid with a poem in it about "three little ghosties, sitting on posties, eating hot buttered toasties, " and I thought of that as I imagined these three rushing off to the kitchen to get their toast.
Other displays had slightly unnerving details - are those skeleton rats running up the stairs? They look a bit small to be cats, anyway, although I'm no expert.
One or two were downright scary. I wouldn't have fancied passing this at night. ...
Or enjoyed negotiating these fellas waiting right outside the front door.
But it was clear that this little skeleton meant no harm at all and was clearly enjoying the whole Halloween experience.
I hope the sweets lived up to the decorations!
Our trip to Paris seems a long time ago - well, five or six weeks now, but I promised to write about it, and so the rest of this post will be about Paris.
The reason we went was that my American cousin, Charlane, was visiting Provence at the end of the summer. We couldn't get to Provence to join them, but she took the train to Paris a couple of days before they were due to fly back.
It was so great to see her. We get on very well, and since this was her first real visit to Paris it meant that we got the chance to see some of the traditional sights and do some traditional "Paris" things of the type we generally skip ...like walking along the banks of the Seine....
It is such a beautiful river, shining many colours in the sun. We also visited Notre Dame, which is now well on the way to recovery after its devastating fire of 2019.
Huge crowds were milling around outside, viewing the large and interesting information boards which offered the latest news and information about the restoration. Charlane had watched what she thought was a very good National Geographic show about the fire and the restoration plans, and although it was slightly disappointing not to be able to see much behind the hoardings in real life, we did learn about how to get the latest news online on this very good site (in English as well as French) which is run by the Friends of Notre Dame. If you take a look, you may agree that they're making good progress on this massive task.
I am glad to say we got the chance to revisit the Cluny Museum, where I had not been for years. This is Paris's Museum of the Middle Ages, and one of its more recent major acquisitions is a group of ancient stone heads of what was once known as a "gallery of kings" from the facade of Notre Dame. Dating from the 13th century, they were supposed to be representations of the heads of past Kings of France, who were, of course, appointed by God. Naturally, the activists of the French Revolution were not keen on past kings of France, and even less keen on the idea of them being divinely appointed, so during the uprising they hacked all the heads off and threw them away. For many years it was thought that they had been destroyed or used for building-stone.
Imagine everyone's surprise when twenty-two of the heads and lots of other fragments were dug up in a garden about three kilometres away from Notre Dame, in 1977. Nobody had a clue how they had got there.
And it was also a bit late to return them to Notre-Dame. By the time it was restored in the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc, it had been decided the statues were not, after all, kings of France, but the Kings of Judah. So there was no objection to making some new king statues for Notre-Dame. Some very good new ones were made, and no room was left for the old ones. So they ended up here in Cluny where they have a bright, spacious gallery to themselves. As I wandered round looking and wondering about them, I wished for once that stones really could talk.
We could not be in Paris without seeing the Eiffel Tower, even though we didn't have quite enough time to go up it.
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It was impressive though, with the traffic passing beneath it and the city spread around. Just to add to the glamour, a photographer and stylist were creating wedding photos of a beautiful bride and her groom on the terrace overlooking the tower. I didn't get too close, not wanting to impinge on their pictures of the big day but it was a nice spot to see a bridal pair.
The Cluny Museum, by the way, is one of Paris's most interesting museums, at least in my opinion. It's in a large Gothic building in the rue du Sommerard, and is particularly famous for its tapestries, particularly the Lady and the Unicorn which I had seen a couple of times and was very happy to see again. I found the tapestries very hard to photograph - the "Unicorn" room was dimly lit and crowded - and although it was great to be able to go up close and see all the detail, my photos were terrible. So I can't show you my own pictures, but if you'd like to know more, just go here, to the museum's own website.
I also greatly appreciated another chance to see the carved wood misericords in the Cluny. Misericords are carvings under church seats, and usually show mischievous carvings of weird or rustic everyday scenes. Although they seem very odd things to find in a church, they are in many important old churches in France. They're also often found in important English churches too, probably because England was under Normandy's rule for quite a while after 1066, and picked up many French ideas.
Misericord carvings are normally hidden from view on the underside of hinged seats where monks or choirs would sit during particularly long services. Here's just one of the Cluny carvings - a poor woman wheeling her fat, drunken husband home in a wheelbarrow. It must have been a common sight, and the fed-up looking housewife is only too believable. Items like these bring home the reality of life in the past, and I really love them. I'm also very glad I didn't live then.
And of course we found and admired some of the lovely bread and cake shops which you can still find in Paris.
One thing we didn't do was fine dining, but Charlane had had some good meals with her friends in Provence, and by the time she went back to America, we'd done so much in such a short time that we didn't really miss the meals we could have had.
An hour or so before we parted from her, T. had his wallet pickpocketed on the metro. There were constant announcements on the trains to beware of pickpockets, but being big city dwellers we were not much worried. However this particular scam was unusual and clever, and T. drew some conclusions which he will put into effect the next time he visits Paris. First, (a) only bring the cards you definitely need - nothing more irritating than coming by train and then getting your driving license pinched. (b) All money cards and valuables to be kept in a money-belt or neck bag. (c) Rucksacks to be slung over one shoulder and clasped at the front of your body at all times.
To this might be added (d) don't sit down on public transport. A shame, but apparently as Paris also has a plague of bedbugs, as well as pickpockets, and the critturs supposedly like to hang out in upholstered seats in public places. Luckily we only found out about the bedbug plague after getting back to England, and we didn't encounter any bedbugs during our stay at all. If we had, I daresay we would have paid a visit to the famous Victorian pest-control shop of Julien Aurouze on rue des Halles. This photo was taken on a previous trip to Paris, but the shop is quite famous and it is still there. I hate killing animals, even vermin, but if it becomes really necessary, then this is the place to go.
I must say I'm glad they stopped selling food at Les Halles market, since it was clearly so necessary to have vermin control so handy.
We still had 3 days of our trip left after Charlane's departure, and after a horrible evening trying to stop bank cards and find our way into a Fort-Knox-like Airbnb seemingly run by a robot, things greatly cheered up the next day. I'll try to tell you some of that next time I post, although at this rate, with any luck, I will have returned to Paris for another trip by then!
Halloween here has been gradually commercialized by the leisure industry. I understand it has become a very big holiday, eclipsing Thanksgiving and Christmas, even.
ReplyDeleteThat's very hard to understand, if it is true. You do see more Halloween stuff in British shops now than you did, and it's certainly an excuse for parties but like I said nobody knocked on OUR door! I think you're supposed to leave a pumpkin out if you want callers, but I didn't see any LOL.
DeleteWhen I walked home last night after visiting my Mum, I encountered a few small groups of children dressed for Halloween, all accompanied by adults. While at our Mum's, the doorbell was rung twice, but we don't "do" Halloween and so Mum didn't want to respond.
ReplyDeleteMy front door is not visible from the street and so I have never had trick or treaters come to my house.
The decorations in your pictures are great - I find the huge spiders rather scary, and as you say, those three fellows near the front door would have had me run the opposite way!
My sister has just been to Paris to see our cousins who have been living there for decades. Her visit was largely overshadowed by the war on Gaza, as our cousins were born in Beirut and spent all their childhood and youth in the Middle East. They still have plenty of friends in the area and are very worried about some of them.
The Lady and the Unicorn is such an iconic piece of art! I have never seen it in real life.
Yes, trick or treating here seems to be families with younger children too. And no tricking - that's a relief. It must be petrifying if you have relations in the Middle East. It is such an amazing part of the world, a cradle of civilisation, with so much going for it, but the human tragedies are overshadowing everything at this time.
DeleteHalloween used to be a rather simple event long ago here in the US, with costume parties and jack-o-lanterns. Nowadays it has turned into a huge commercialized holiday, almost like Christmas. Despite this, it's still my favorite time of year. I like the Halloween decorations you photographed.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed reading about Paris - - but what a terrible ordeal concerning the pickpocket!!
I'm keeping my comment brief because I'm writing on my cell phone. I'm still in rehab for physical therapy, but should be going home in a few weeks.
Home made costumes and Jack -o-lanterns are more appealing to me than buying stuff commercially and putting it up outside. Maybe I'm old fashioned about this too.
DeleteI like it when the decorations show that thought has gone into them...those pumpkins, the skeleton hedge, the skeleton acrobat and the rats...Death of Rats had obviously been by!!
ReplyDeleteThat was (mostly) a wonderful way to catch up and visit all in one.
I was surprised at the variety in the street. It is a rather wealthy area and it did cross my mind that maybe a landscape designer had put cards round all the houses, and got a commission to design loads of house the decorations - if so they'd have to make sure all the decorations complemented each other!
DeleteI've never had kids come by here in the over 20 years I've lived here, so the fun I had as a kid in the 1960s is all I remember and things were much simpler and safer in those times. I am sorry about the pickpocket.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid there was almost no interest in Halloween in Britain, but I used to read about American kids going round and getting sweets, and it sounded like fun. I think here it caught on partly because our 5 November festival, Guy Fawkes Night, has been steadily eroded for safety reasons - it involved lots of fireworks and a big bonfire, and children used to dress up a figure to be burned, then drag it around the streets asking passers by for money.
DeleteThanks for your visit to my posts. To answer your questions, the foot is still healing4-8 weeks, Fortunately nothing broken, and yes, that was me as a bunny girl. The costume was cute but hot in the tropics. Paris can be wonderful though not all of my memories are.
DeleteOh this is such a fun post! I am not a fan of Paris so it is especially good to read about adventures from those who are fond of it. Bedbugs and pickpockets, dead kings beheaded, lost and found!
ReplyDeleteI do like Paris, although it's not my favourite city, but its history really is very interesting and it has some very unexpected corners!
DeleteSome very elaborate Halloween decorations there! I've just asked google why we have pumpkins at Halloween. It seems that in Ireland, people started to carve demonic faces out of turnips to frighten away the mythical Stingy Jack who tricked the Devil for monetary gain. When Irish immigrants moved to the USA, they began carving the jack-o’-lanterns from pumpkins, as these were native to the region. So there you have it!
ReplyDeleteI went to Paris with my parents as a child but haven't been since. There's clearly plenty more to see than we managed to see at the time. All I can remember is travelling on the Metro and going up the Eiffel Tower. I'm glad Notre Dame is already being restored. If only our local councils could move so swiftly on derelict buildings!
I was absolutely astonished at how far it had progressed, specially when you consider the specialist nature of the restoration work.
DeleteSkeletons--in fact super huge ones--seem to be quite the thing this Halloween here. Those are rat skeletons, BTW. Like you, I prefer the cute decorations and not really the scary ones. I think of the little kids and Halloween is really for them. We have quite a few people over here to decorate to the hilt. I have never been into Halloween so I wasn't one of them, but I had a girlfriend who decorated her entire yard--and house--and herself--lol! (Yes, it can be expensive!)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you got such a nice visit with your cousin! Except for the pickpocket! I was totally fascinated by the carved wood misericords!! They are just amazing!
I have mixed feelings about Halloween, and any kinds of super-decorated festivals. But maybe Halloween is better as a festival to make a party out of what is really a rather creepy subject! A bit like Mexican Day of the Dead. I want to watch the Disney movie - is it "Coco"? It always looks so colourful and fun. I see it is available for free on the BBC's catch up service this week. They must have paid Disney to offer it for nothing to their viewers.
DeleteOh Jenny, I'm so glad you posted -- Even though I'd heard from you a bit about Paris it was fun to see it with the photos. (I remember my tapestry photos were terrible.) Were you at the terrace at Trocadero for that view of the Tower? It would be a great place for wedding pix. And as you know, Cluny is, hands down, my favorite Parisian museum.
ReplyDeleteThe other real treat here was that fabulous collection of Halloween decorations. Wow -- these folks go all out and it is so darned fun and festive. It's clear they put a lot of money into this but also a lot of fun and creativity. I like the skeletons and of course the pumpkins, especially the cheeky one! A terrific post!
Yes, we were at the Trocadero! And Clunywas probably my favourite museum too although on looking through some old photos of about 10 years ago I realised that I really really love the Museum of Arts and Metiers. I had almost forgotten the details but seeing my photos brought it all back and it's on the list, for sure, if and when we returned. Also, of course - the wonderful museum of music in Park Villette.
DeleteThose are quite some Halloween decorations indeed! They would look right at home here in the States.
ReplyDeleteI do love that misericord carving. Glad you got to visit Paris but I am so sorry to hear that your husband was pickpocketed. Great way to ruin a vacation.
He decided not to let it ruin his vacation. We still had my card, and made up our minds to enjoy the rest of our stay. Yes, it was a bit hard to do that iin the immediate aftermath, what with the offputting Airbnb too! But still, we ended up feeling we'd had a good trip.
DeleteNot much Halloween stuff here....suspect the Chinese tat delivery boats are out of synch as we are swamped with Christmas stuff.
ReplyDeleteThey were jostling each other on the shelves in Marks and Spencers by the end of October. What I want to know is who is buying mince pies in early November, but I suppose someone must be.
DeleteHalloween...innocent, good fun. Nobody came a-knocking here. I probably wouldn't have answered. I do have some lollies on hand, though. :)
ReplyDeleteAh well you can always eat them yourself! a pretty good solution if you ask me.....!
DeleteParis is always wonderful - despite being robbed! We were robbed last time we went too... and we also went to the Cluny museum, and loved it. Those heads could tell us so much if they could talk. Thank you for the update on Notre Dame (we do not hear anything about the restoration over here). I am so glad they are doing an excellent job with it. Those Halloween decorations are amazing, and look very American to me too. We do not decorate at all around our area, although there were trick or treaters in costume wandering about. I have seen photos like these taken in New York where it seems to be a very big deal. The smiling ghosties are more to my taste, and look sweetly amusing. Orange pumpkins always liven up the scene, but all those skeletons: shudder....especially the rats!
ReplyDeleteWe once spent Halloween in New York and I have to say it was absolutely amazing! But I am glad we don't have so much of it here, for some reason the idea of Halloween doesn't push any buttons for me. I am sorry you were also robbed in Paris. It's a horrible feeling, isn't it? I think that National Geographic have a show about the restoration of Notre Dame, perhaps you might be able to find it on their channel if it is available.
DeleteOh my goodness, Jenny. I grew up in St John's Wood and Halloween was unheard of then. I never really know what to think of it, but I'm glad it's not big here in NL. As in London, it's mainly in cities where there's a sizeable American population. What a lovely trip to Paris, but oh so maddening to have T's pocket picked! I'm so sorry. It's incredibly frustrating and time-consuming, not to mention expensive.
ReplyDeleteAh yes I never remember St Johns Wood being like that either... used to be so pleasantly staid! And no need to apologize for Paris - all big cities have their various problems, don't they? and we felt it was basically a great trip.
DeleteHalloween? Bah!
ReplyDeletePickpockets on Metro, not unusual, but they are very skilful. Such a pest trying to sort it out. Glad you avoided the bedbugs, but most of that was Daily Mail fearmongering. That tower does look very tall in the foto. Huge indeed, shame you didn't go up. Good pics again!
"Not unusual" indeed - the announcers on the trains were contantly going on about it. I'm shocked that we both fell for it - but live and learn. We are definitely going to follow T's "anti-pickpocket" resolutions next time we go on the Paris metro!
DeleteMany here do make a big deal out of Halloween, and it gets bigger every year it seems.
ReplyDeleteParis is beautiful, I thank you so much for sharing some of your trip with us. It's been a long time since Paris for me, and as much as I'd love to, I don't see travel in the near future with my parents as old and frail as they are.
Paris is a long way from you, but I hope that in the future you get the chance to return. It's certainly a city that repays visits.
DeleteI recall watching a news story where they mentioned the billions (yes, with a b) American's spend on Halloween. The photos show just how far they will go! It was quite the display.
ReplyDeleteI thank you for posting the links to the websites, I really enjoyed them.
Yes, no expense had been spared with some of the houses. I think there might have been a touch of "keeping up with the Joneses" there too. I bet the the kids were hoping that this desire to impress extended to the candy handouts !
DeleteHi Jenny. Thanks for your kind comments. To answer your questions, my foot is healing, it can take a month or a bit longer for that to occur. Fortunately, nothing broken. I was the bunny girl in the photo and whike the costume was cute, it was hot as we lived in the tropics at the time. Paris is an interesting city and one I've visited long ago.
ReplyDeleteI am glad your foot is healing, it can be so frustrating as well as painful. Wow, I can imagine how hot that costume was in the tropics. A nice cool white sheet might have been nicer! :D
DeleteWe don't celebrate Halloween. Great photos of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral. I remember this fire (on TV) and the faces of the people who cried and sang the Marseillaise. Then everyone did not hope that the restoration would go so quickly. And it pleases.
ReplyDeleteIt's not nice to find out that you lost your wallet. This happened to us when we were traveling on a bus in Rome. One “passenger” could not get past my husband for a long time. In the evening we called the bank and canceled the cards. It was a pity for the other items in the wallet. Hope you're doing well now, Jenny.
Thanks for your comment, yes we are fine!. I think tourists are always targets for pickpockets. We were robbed in Lisbon, too, in the cathedral. We are lucky to be able to travel at all but definitely a good idea to leave as much as possible safely at home!
DeleteWe had a quiet Halloween and a few houses were decorated. The ones you show in your post are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteLovely to see your photographs from Paris, but sorry about the pickpocket experience.
Take care.
All the best Jan
Thanks, Jan.
DeleteGreat photos and trip
ReplyDeleteI've added a golden glitter Eifel Tower to the window berry garland this year.
That's nice! It's such a distinctive structure, will look good on a garland!
DeleteReally I can see that the Halloween Evening, in yout city, was lived with high intensity. The ambiente, the decorations are incredible, so nice, and very very well done. The citizens have a complete Spirit of Halloween.
ReplyDeleteYes, indeed, they took it very seriously and fully entered into the spirit of Halloween!
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