Musée des Arts Forains
Alexandra had discovered that the Musée des Arts Forains, a private museum of old-time carnival games, rides, exhibits, and decorations, would be open to the public in the days just after Christmas. At this time, there are also food stalls, shows, and all the old carnival games are open to be played. Adam and Alexandra asked us along to this fantastical place, and it turned out to be one of the great surprises of the year. I would recommend it to anyone -- interestingly, there were not many non-French there.
We spent some time at the self-powered merry go-round:
Not all of us hopped on -- kudos to Alexandra!
We also stayed a while at a skee-ball horse-race game in which you advance your horse along the track by rolling your ball into holes (with varying point totals). All the kids tried it, and Cyrus actually won once! The carnival barker at that game had a habit of asking the winner what he or she wanted to convey to the French nation after their great victory, but Cyrus did not have much to say (in French anyway).
Outdoors provided cooler air, room to breathe, and light. It was also done up for the season.
I am not sure the photos are conveying well how magical it felt. I, at least, felt transported to a whole different state of mind. It made me appreciate all the quirky, weird, and wonderful artists and collectors who bring new and interesting things into existence and give us all experiences that are out of the ordinary.
We spent some time at the self-powered merry go-round:
Not all of us hopped on -- kudos to Alexandra!
We also stayed a while at a skee-ball horse-race game in which you advance your horse along the track by rolling your ball into holes (with varying point totals). All the kids tried it, and Cyrus actually won once! The carnival barker at that game had a habit of asking the winner what he or she wanted to convey to the French nation after their great victory, but Cyrus did not have much to say (in French anyway).
Outdoors provided cooler air, room to breathe, and light. It was also done up for the season.
I am not sure the photos are conveying well how magical it felt. I, at least, felt transported to a whole different state of mind. It made me appreciate all the quirky, weird, and wonderful artists and collectors who bring new and interesting things into existence and give us all experiences that are out of the ordinary.
By the way... When I won in that horse game, there were different numbers for each horse 🐎.
ReplyDeleteLike, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. I was number four when I won.