I’ve always loved carousels — merry-go-rounds to the unregenerate. Think of Hitchcock and “Strangers on a Train”. What could be a more dramatic way to end a movie? The hero and villain battling it out on a spinning carousel… and you know how it ends.
Of course, I also like “normal” merry-go-rounds, and there are dozens of them in Paris. My favorites are in the Tuileries, Luxembourg Gardens, Jardin des Plantes, and at the base of Montmartre. See below for more.
The other day, while attending the International Cookbook Fair out at Le 104 in the 19th arrondissement, I stumbled upon what must be the world’s most gloriously hideous, cheerless, and bizarre carousel, truly a not-so-merry-go-round.
Naturally the children riding its beetles and monsters, listening to the groans and burps and growls blasted by loud speakers, where howling with delight. I suppose it’s the Grim Brothers’ Syndrome. Kids thrive on horror.
Here’s a happier scene, an old-fashioned merry-go-round in one of the great parks in Paris…
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Who doesn’t love carousel horses !