Ruth and Peter: Holidays, family events, friends and much more from 2012 onwards... : Le Weekend

The electrician arrived to inspect the faulty oven - three hours earlier than booked. No matter, we were at home although the landlady couldn't get here and he had to put up with my explanations in French and my vocabulary on the topic of electrical circuits is limited. Apparently a trip switch is a déclencheur which I'm sure will come in handy at some juncture. The electrician diagnosed a faulty heating element and proceeded to fit the new one he had thoughtfully brought with him. I paid him in cash and he emailed me my receipt. He seemed concerned that I was paying and not the landlady, but I assured him I would be reimbursed.

Piano tuner at work

We planned to eat before the concert in the evening so wandered about in the general area of the concert hall in the College des Bernadins and decided on a quick meal in a brasserie. When we arrived in the concert hall, about 20 minutes before the start, we were surprised to see the piano being tuned.
The performance began with the pianist making a short speech of which I caught very little. It was followed by another softly spoken announcement by a woman who was clearly in charge in some capacity. We were there to hear 4 Beethoven piano sonatas, one of a series of concerts taking place over the last couple of weeks covering all Beethoven's sonatas. The pianist played the first sonata, clearly not the one appearing first on the programme and then he played a second and then he left the auditorium and the woman announced a 'petit pause'. He came back and played a third sonata and then left again. Everyone sat waiting. Eventually the woman went to the front and explained that was the end of the concert and everyone filed out. Quite clearly no-one had understood the announcements and we were all equally bemused. However...his playing was beautiful.

On Sunday we took the 83 bus (I now know the route by heart) and got off in the region of Rue de Monceau. We were headed for the Musée de Nissim Camondo and on the way stopped at a restaurant advertising Brunch. For our €20 we had orange juice, scrambled eggs and bacon, followed by whatever you wanted from the buffet, followed by cheese, fruit or cake with bread and croissant on the side and coffee or tea. Quite a little feast. At the museum we took the audio guide and completely lost ourselves in the history of the place and its family for a good two hours. The house is a bit of a spoof, built in the late 1800s in the 18th Century style to house the collection of 18th Century art and furniture of its owner. It's an interesting house and there were some wonderful pieces of furniture. The son, who was due to inherit the family fortune died in the first world war and as the daughter was more interested in horses than art, the father gave the house and its contents to the people of France - the daughter, her husband and their two young children were shipped off to Auschwitz in the second world war and the family is no more. There are many wall plaques around Paris, commemorating French Jews who were deported during the German occupation. It's a depressing reminder.