Parc de Sceaux

I was just listening to my MP3, Mireille Mathieu "un homme et une femme" (a man and a woman), when its sweet jazzy tune transferred my imagination back to my early 5 1/2 years of childhood (1980 - 1985). I spent those years in Antony, a small town located just 15 km or 20 minutes from Paris hence it is still a part of the region of Ile-de-France. Not much I can tell about this town as I was just a 2-year-old toddler when I got there and a 7-year old when I returned back to Jakarta, Indonesia. All I remember was blurry memory but I have committed myself to share this with you.

My Dad earned his master and doctoral degrees from the Universite Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne. This is the main reason why I had my early years abroad. Unlike me who have the luxury to live in a 2-bedroom apartment, the three of us had to share one bedroom, one bathroom, a small living room connected with the kitchen and dining room. Worst of all, the living room was even smaller than my current bedroom! The family grew larger with the addition of my Brother in 1982. The apartment, or batiment as what the French called it, was located on the north side of the town, as you can see on the map below, almost near the Parc de Sceaux, one of the famous parks in this region.

I recall my parents used to take me and my Brother playing there, I rode the tricycle (yes, tricycle, what can you expect from a toddler?) while my baby Brother (FYI, he is 22-year old now and is living in UK) learned his first steps. My Mom would look after us while my Dad was studying, busy with his textbooks and research articles. The park is oh so beautiful, with lush trees that make up a forest, pavilions, a waterfall, nature trails, fishing holes, jogging paths, picnic areas, even a contemporary gallery, a museum and two chateaux (castles). The picture below is taken from Chatenay-Malabry et la Maison de Chateaubriand.

The history of the park traversed back to 1670 when Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the finance minister of Louis XIV, purchased a land and transformed it into a magnificent estate. Like famous chateaux in France, the landscape of the park was designed by Andre Le Notre. The King himself was a frequent visitor here, especially during the lavish inauguration of the Sceaux in 1677. Later, the estate became the residence of the son of Louis XIV from Madame de Montespan, the Duc de Maine. However, it was the Duchess de Maine who reigned here in which one of her lavish festivals complete with fireworks, "Nuits de Sceaux" (nights of the Sceaux), lured the French social-elite, attracting Paris and Versailles. The picture of the minister below is taken from Placentia: the Early Years.

Well, I don`t want to bore you with history any further, let`s talk about what I had in mind. I remember during the fall season, the park would be very magnificent, forest with colors such as yellow, red, orange. In the spring and summer, it would be filled with green carpets and beautiful flowers everywhere. During winter, all the trees had no leafs, everywhere was white, and the giant ponds would be all frozen, creating an exciting panorama. I would always visit this park when I got bored or got back from school, or when my Dad needed to relax after a long-day of studying. Picture below is a courtesy of Erica Lennard from Staleywise Gallery.

When it was not in winter, the ponds were very magnificent, with lots of waterfalls and water fountains. You can see the picture of one of the ponds below taken from paristoday.free.fr.

Uuuuhhh, if only I could relive those days, when I and my Bro were innocents, and my parents were thirty-something. OK, enough daydreaming, I need to resume my study and turn off that MP3 as I have an exam tomorrow. I will try my best to keep up with this blog every Sunday, so bare with me until next weekend. For more information about this park, please visit http://www.thiscityparis.com/travel-sceaux.html or http://www.ville-antony.fr/default.cfm as these sites were where I got all the information. Please do not distribute any picture from this blog.