Celebrating the day with a post for Paris in July hosted by Readerbuzz and Thyme for Tea
by Paul Gallico
Classics, Humor, Paris | Published: 1989 (first 1958) | Goodreads
Mrs Harris is a salt-of-the-earth London charlady who cheerfully cleans the houses of the rich. One day, when tidying Lady Dant's wardrobe, she comes across the most beautiful thing she has ever seen in her life - a Dior dress. In all the years of her drab and humble existence, she's never seen anything as magical as the dress before her and she's never wanted anything as much before. Determined to make her dream come true, Mrs Harris scrimps, saves and slaves away until one day, after three long, uncomplaining years, she finally has enough money to go to Paris. When she arrives at the House of Dior, Mrs Harris has little idea of how her life is about to be turned upside down and how many other lives she will transform forever. Always kind, always cheery and always winsome, the indomitable Mrs Harris takes Paris by storm and learns one of life's greatest lessons along the way. WATCH:
Director/Screenplay: Anthony Fabian
Screenplay: Carroll Cartwright, Keith Thompson, Olivia Hetreed
Based on book by: Paul Gallico
Stars: Lesley Manville, Jason Isaacs
Comedy, Drama | imdb | my rating: 5
fun summer, fashion and good vibes
A widowed cleaning lady in 1950s London falls madly in love with a couture Dior dress, and decides that she must have one of her own.
included for the screening of Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris - so cute!
AUDIOBOOK:
by Cara Black
Mystery, Paris | Published: 2007 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
part of author binge (here)
Aimée’s childhood friend, Laure, is a policewoman. Her partner, Jacques, has set up a meeting in Montmartre with an informer. When Laure reluctantly goes along as backup, Jacques is lured to an icy rooftop, where he is shot to death. Laure’s gun has been fired, gunpowder residue is found on her hands, and she is charged with her partner’s murder.
The police close ranks against the alleged cop killer. Aimée is determined to clear Laure. In doing so, she encounters separatist terrorists, Montmartre prostitutes, a surrealist painter’s stepdaughter, a crooked Corsican bar owner, and learns of “Big Ears”—the French “ear in the sky” that records telephonic and electronic communications—which the Security Services monitor. Identifying Jacques’ murderer brings her closer to solving her own father’s death in an explosion in the Place Vendôme years earlier. It still haunts her. She cannot rest until she finds out who was responsible.
VISIT: someday...
Le mur des je t'aime
The Wall of Love (French: Le mur des je t'aime, lit. the I Love You Wall) is a love-themed wall of 40 square metres (430 sq ft) in the Jehan Rictus garden square in Montmartre, Paris, France. The wall was created in 2000 by calligraphist Fédéric Baron and mural artist Claire Kito[1] and is composed of 612 tiles of enamelled lava, on which the phrase 'I love you' is featured 311 times in 250 languages.[1] Each tile is 21 by 29.7 centimetres (8.3 in × 11.7 in). -per Wikipedia (here)
fyi: featured in the French film, Amelie.
* image source: Wall of Love
