Plucky Survivors See Europe Day 28: Paris

Had a hard time getting going this morning and don’t feel guilty about it at all.  But I eventually made it out of the hotel and found the day to be actually kind of pleasant.  The worst of the heat wave has moved east but it did its damage here.  More than 1,000 deaths have been attributed to the sweltering temperatures in France alone.

My first stop of the day was the Phono Museum, located near Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge.  It’s a small space but endlessly fascinating with the stories told by the owner.  He walked myself and two tourists from England through the early days of recordings in the late 1,800s, which were used solely for dictation, then advanced through the evolution of sound, stopping to give examples from hundred-year-old phonographs that still work somehow.

Did you know that the earliest music recordings were done by and for poor people?  It was considered gauche by the rich and famous but eventually it found its place and the rest is history.  There were cabinet phonographs in all shapes and sizes – one that looked like an old delivery truck.  There were massive phonographs used in dance halls with two cones and two needles playing the record – it was the only way to make it loud enough for a large space. 

That’s the same reason they created a plexiglass piano, to make it louder for jazz concerts where the instrument was competing with drums and horns.  The one on display had been used by Duke Ellingotn.

There were jukeboxes, including one from the 1960s that played what amounted to music videos.  Make a selection and the machine would grab an 8mm reel, then display the image on a built-in TV screen. 

He even had rare recordings, like a 1986 phone interview with Prince that had been pressed into a picture disk shaped liked him.

This was absolutely my favorite thing I’ve seen in Paris and I highly recommend it if you’re ever here.

I grabbed another subway and made my way to March Paul Bert Serpette, a massive flea market that fans of “Hacks” will remember from the series finale.  There are two sections to it – a warren of working-class and immigrant run vendors selling mostly clothes and assorted knick-knacks.  Then there’s the expensive part, which is filled with high-end furniture, jewelry, and accessories.

How high end?  I wanted to get my Paris souvenir from here and I found a beautiful, small clock – round, with a pendant base set into a metal holder.  It was gorgeous and I was reaching for my credit card when  I asked the shopkeeper about its provenance.  He told me it was Hermes from 1962.  The cost?  4,200 Euros.  The credit card went away.

Instead, I picked up a toy car – a 1958 Peugeot convertible from French toymaker Norev.  I don’t think it’s especially old, but I had a collection of Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars when I was a kid, so this worked.  And it didn’t require asking for a credit limit increase to buy it.

I had lunch at the flea market, a brasserie in business since 1946.  I went very French with a Croque Madam – Parisian ham, cheese, and a fried egg.  It was delish.

I came back to the hotel to crash – these antibiotics are wrecking me – then got myself spiffy enough to head back to the same neighborhood as the Phono Museum to go to Moulin Rouge.

Ah, what to say about this?  It’s historic and I’m glad I did it in the same way I’m glad I saw The Rockettes at Radio City a few years back.  It’s like something you have to do once in your life.  Is it a good show?  Well…

It’s basically a 70’s variety show mixed with an 80’s Vegas topless revue.  Lots of lithe, bare-breasted women parade around in big headdresses, there’s singing and dancing and colorful sets, and a few specialty acts wow the crowd with things like knife-throwing, strength and balance acts, and swimming.  Yes, a giant acrylic pool appears out of nowhere.  There are some themed numbers – pirates, clowns, trips to India and the Far East, a brief pitstop in 1945 for a big band number, and, weirdly, Disco. 

The choreography is straight out of the 1970s and the dancing, for the most part, is subpar.  I mean, it’s fine, but for $200, which about how much the ticket cost (without dinner or drinks), I expected more.

I was sitting at a very cramped table with a farmer from India and a group of young girls from Boston, the latter of whom talked through most of the show and kept asking things like “Is this, like, all it is?”  Fair question, Ashley, but shut up.

I hadn’t had dinner so I stopped at the Paris version of a street food vendor for a chicken shawarma-like sandwich, which was fine.  I have a feeling I’m going to regret it later.

One more day in Paris with some good news attached.  One of the biggest disappointments I had with all the heat-wave related closures was that I was not going to be able to see Musee des Arts Forains, the carnival ride museum.  But I put myself on their mailing list and got an email this morning that they are opening tomorrow.  The bad news is that they are only doing French language tours, but I’ll just smile and nod and look at the pretty carousel horses.