Nureyev and Sennelier

Back at the Bibliotheque chasing scraps of information which might make sense of what I already have. We were trawling through back issues of Arts and Decoration from 1895 when we received a call from Lee Vanders who had just arrived on the Eurostar with her partner. We had arranged to meet them at the Cite for lunch so packed up and returned to the studio where Marcia prepared a marvellous salad from our selection of fresh market produce. I know I keep going on about the fresh produce but even Lee was amazed at how fresh and tasty everything was - in fact, I was reading an article recently by an Australian woman who had lived in Paris for some years and she was lamenting the fact that most of the "fresh" food in Australia has been in cold storage for months before it even hits the shelves of the shop. Afterward we strolled around the area and ended up at Berthillon's on the Ile st Louis to sample their famous sorbets - yummm.
Next day it was back to Arts Decoratif for more research (it's now a race against time as we count down the days). At four we went for a stroll through the Tuilleries and across the river to Rue Voltaire to look for the apartment where Nureyev lived out his last years (tragic hero worship, but he was the man who changed forever the way dance was performed in the West).
Nearby I discovered the original Sennelier shop (1865) with 3 1/2 floors of small rooms packed with art supplies - the middle floor had small Sennelier printing presses (too expensive and heavy for the luggage unfortunately). On the top floor was a paper room with sheets and rolls from all over the world which had me drooling and there was another room completely full of easels of every shape and size. Thinking of baggage limitations I settled for a drawing pad and some pencils. From there it was back to the Jardin des Plantes to find out about two books which had been referenced in Art and Decoration. Here I learned that one was in a special library called the Bibliotheque Cryptogamie and that I would need to phone and make an appointment to see it. The other was in the Bibliotheque General upstairs but they were closed so it looked like a job for the following week.
Friday morning we had planned to go the book market at Vanves but when I phoned the Cryptogamie the lady informed me that I could visit straight away so onto the metro, through the Jardin des Plantes to the address in rue Buffon and an unremarkable entrance labelled laboratoire Cryptogamie. A push on the intercom elicited no response so we set off to explore and found another very ornate entrance inside the gardens but everything appeared deserted. Fortunately a door to a lab was open so we asked directions to the bibliotheque only to be given a blank look. I showed them the piece of paper with the phone number on it and they called the librarian who came to collect us and take us to the first floor where I was able to access the book after showing some ID (expired Uni ID) and having it taken from a locked cupboard. We thought the whole thing was a little weird but discovered that the building is in the process of being vacated so that it can be completely renovated and there are only a few people still working there.
Since the trip had been successful we decided to postpone the visit to Vanves and go see the last book in the Bibliotheque General while we were in the area. A short stroll back through the gardens with me telling Marcia about my visit in 2005 and the twice weekly research visits to the Salle de Lecture this time, and we were in the building which I have visited at least twice a week for the past six weeks. BUT as we went to go upstairs to the general library we were stopped by the security guard who told us that we could not go upstairs without a library card. I explained that I had been visiting the Salle de Lecture (on the ground floor) but now needed to access a book on the second floor - no, no card no entry. I should say that the card he was talking about is actually issued on the second floor (so how do you get one if you can't go to the second floor without one) and when I had tried to obtain one on my first visit I was told I didn't need one. Suddenly a smiling face appeared and greeted me like an old friend - it was one of the very obliging young ladies from the Salle de Lecture who vouched for me and offered to escort me to the second floor (Marcia had to remain in the lobby). After showing ID and filling out numerous forms I was issued with a library card (bring a photo tomorrow for the official one) and the librarian went to fetch the book I was after. Sometimes the bureaucracy in France does get to you but usually you are able to work around it - this was the second time I had had a run in with the security people at this particular place so I am extremely grateful for the introductions which made it possible for me to get my work done at the Jardin des Plantes.
Returning to the Cite we discovered that two of the residents were in the process of constructing an installation as part of the weekend Fete de la Musique festivities (it will be interesting to see what the weather and the birds do to it in the meantime)