May 17–Another French Holiday

As Simon Kuper pointed out to us yesterday, May is the worst when it comes to holidays and today is another one, although I am not sure what this one is. Some Saint-or-other’s Day, I think. Some stores are closed, just hope museums aren’t. Boulangerie Madam was open so there’s a good sign. Actually a lot is open, especially the recently-relocated, fascinating Museum of Letters and Manuscripts,www.museedeslettres.fr, where they had an exhibit related to Kerouac’s On the Road (“Sur la Route” here) which opens next week. They also had an exhibit on the Titanic, 100 years later, that included the manuscript on which Cameron based his movie script. Their permanent collection of autographs, letters, etc. is spectacular, even if you don’t always find that sort of thing to your liking. And for some reason, entree gratuit today. Bonus. Occasionally you want something different from French cuisine so lunch at Le Canton (recommended by Julie Delpy, Megan) was a nice change. Meanwhile, despite the hype, Jadis, in the heart of the 15eme, was disappointing. Tant pis mais c’etait seulement le diner.