Easter Sunday in Paris

Easter Sunday was a quiet day for us here in Paris. In fact, from all indications is was quiet for most Parisians as well. We enjoyed being leisurely in the morning, savoring coffee and sweet treats for breakfast. One of the advantages of (a) living in Paris where there's a bakery and pastry shop on every corner and (b) married to a pastry chef.

After breakfast we showered, dressed (a well-appreciated feature here in the City of Light, rumors notwithstanding) and headed out to explore more of the city. We strolled up to the St. Martin Canal (10th arr.) where we sat and simply savored our great and good fortune, breathing in the peace of the space while we spoke of the little things that go into the everyday moments of life.

From the canal we wended our way toward the 3rd arrondissement (right next door to the 10th) looking for an Armenian church called, unsurprisingly peerhaps, Sainte-Croix des Armeniens. Susie had come across a note in the latest issue of Pariscope magazine about a series of free concerts to be given there beginning at 3pm today. We found the small slip of a church located along the short rue Perche, just around the corner from the Picasso Museum.

(Free concerts, usually of classical music of one style or another, abound in the city's churches, at least in the city center. The trick is knowing when and where and what; that's where the handy weekly Pariscope comes in -- it's in French but easy to grasp what's going on. And it's only 40 cents.)

After finding a spot in one of the comfortable pews up front (as opposed to the free standing torture chairs so commonly used in Paris churches for overflow), we took in the small yet intimate scale of the church itself.

We spent the next hour plus listening to Manami Jujisawa, a young Japanese pianist play selections from Arvo Part, Bach (the dad), Chopin, Ligetti, Haydn and Scriabin. Her fingers flew from one end of the keyboard to the other in the blink of any eye and yet her hands seemed to continually float, one above the other, like birds in flight chasing one another among the bushes. Incredible to watch.


What a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon -- something plenty of other people had also concluded since the church was packed.

From the church we pointed ourselves south toward the river but with the idea in mind to swing through Place des Vosges. Crowds were everywhere, weaving in and out along the arcades surrounding the Place, filling the upscale galleries and cafes while families and friends sprawled all over the lawn of the Place itself. People making the most of the holiday while there was still time.

And so were we.


Wish you had been there,

Steve