Touring the Abbaye de Chaalis
(Parisian Countryside): Visiting the
Archives for Art Historian Emile Mâle and Jean-Jacques Rousseau with Savvy Mom
Ruth Paget
We
spent Basille Day visiting the Abbaye de Chaalis in the countryside east of
Paris. This Abbaye was founded in 1136
by King Louis le Gros (Louis the Fat).
The
Abbaye de Chaalis is run by the Institut de France. They give excellent, private tours, but they
are only available in French.
I
liked the room with art historian Emile Mâle’s books and journals in it. Mâle specialized in the art of the Middle
Ages. I read all of Mâle’s books in
college in English and then in French when I lived in France. I switched my personal preferences from modern
art to French medieval art, because of his writings.
Mâle
was the curator of the collection at Chaalis at one time. His daughter gave the museum his sword from
the Académie Française to preserve and protect when he died.
We
also visited the Jean-Jacques Rousseau room.
The guide told us that whenever Russian visitors came to visit France,
they always wanted to see Rousseau’s artifacts at Chaalis. The Russians told guides that Rousseau’s book
The Social Contract was a foundation for the development of Communism.
When
Laurent and I left the Abbaye de Chaalis, we passed by Ermenoville where
Rousseau was buried on a wooded island before his tomb was moved to the Panthéon
in the Latin Quarter in Paris.
We
also passed the kiddy amusement park called Parc Astérix after the French comic
book series.
That
was a fun outing capped off by a dinner with a Margherita pizza (provolone
cheese and basil on top of tomato sauce), some rosé, and a lemon sorbet.
By
Ruth Paget, Author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
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