Hi everyone,
I'm just back from Nice, where I did a French immersion course. In my first French class, my teacher handed out free tourist maps of Nice with advertisements for museums in nearby Grasse known for its production of perfume. What caught my eye was a photo from the museum about life in Provence, of a women's costume with lace on it. Wow, I thought, if I can only get there! Well, Nice has a great transit system, every ride in the entire region, 1 euro. There's a central bus station (La Gare Routière) across the street from Vieux Nice (the old city) with maps and schedules posted on the walls. I had no trouble figuring out how to get to Grasse by bus. There is a train that also goes to Grasse, but I don't care for the train station pickpockets. Grasse is a medieval hilltop village in the countryside out of sight of Nice, very picturesque with panoramic views of the area. The church, which I stumbled upon early in my quest, was amazing, romanesque, very, very old. It took quite a bit of walking up and down steeply angled narrow streets to find the museum. I had pictured something big and modern like the Folk Museum in Oslo. Boy was I wrong! It's one floor upstairs in an old mansion, beautifully restored with many original touches, and it was free. There was an exhibit of bijoux (jewelry) in the first small room and then came three more similar rooms with space for a total of about 15 costumes. Each dress dummy was surrounded closely by a glass column, so it was possible to walk all the way around, and examine the details of each costume. The high tech lighting was carefully designed to light up the entire costume. Otherwise the rooms were dark and mysterious and old. The entire display was really a pleasure to see. There was an 18th century figured silk dress, no lace alas, and a early 19th century white embroidered gauze empire style dress with a beautiful drape. All of the other dresses were local Provence costumes - quilted skirts, silk aprons, jackets, and caps where I found the lace. The lace on the caps was not mentioned in the exhibit blurbs at all. It was some kind of fine point ground, nicely ruffled and in good repair. The width of most was about 1 1/2 inches. The lace on one cap had an especially nice floral design with a width of maybe 2 1/2 - 3 inches. One costume had a piece of lace that went around behind the neck, over the shoulders, and it crossed over the chest before ending at the waist. The background was a simple beige net made from twisted pairs that double stitched at pins placed on a 45 degree angle grid. Over that background, there was chainstitched a design in colors of flowers and leaves. I have no idea how it was made. This lace was mentioned briefly in the exhibit blurb - it said only that the lace was late 18th century. I've never seen anything like it, and it was very attractive. But I wouldn't have thought it was 18th century. But then again, I'm not an expert on French laces. The thread was coarser than the cap lace, maybe something similar to 80/2 or 90/2 coton. My French immersion class was a kick! I'm 59 years old, and my classmates were all in their late teens, early 20's. Everyone came from other countries, so the class had to be all French. The first class was daunting and exhausting, but I kept my chin up, and it got easier each day. Now I can hear French words! You should have seen me trying to explain tamales, tacos, and enchiladas to my German, Swiss, Spanish, and Japanese classmates, and my French teacher. I can't wait do it again. Sally Four Corners, New Mexico - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]
