The other day my host mother told me that if the weather was good, we would be going on a picnic during the weekend. I imagined it would be a typical picnic. At a simple park, with some food and some blankets. Well, there were food and blankets, but the park was a little more than simple.

When we parked the car, we walked across the street and down a path, following a sign that read ‘Le Moulin Jaune’ (The Yellow Watermill). Arriving a bit early, the door was not yet open, so we had to wait. Already I knew something was a bit out of the ordinary. We didn’t have to wait very long until the doors opened up. We walked inside, and I was introduced to Le Moulin Jaune.

To provide a bit of background: The origin of Le Moulin Jaune starts with a man named Slava Polunin. Slava is a famous Russian clown, who decided to start what is called ‘The Academy of Fools’, after becoming tired of performing on the stage. Together with his family and academy members, Slava allows his artistic expression to flow through the gardens of the grounds of Le Moulin Jaune. To directly quote the website:

“Moulin Jaune is a kind of laboratory: a place saturated with creativity, eternally changing, each moment full with yearning for creativity. Here, no project is ever truly over and no experiment can be deemed a failure”.

Of course, all of this I learned AFTER setting foot on the grounds. What I (and many of those around me) describe as a fairy tale brought to life. Very little could be seen as normal in the several gardens guests had the pleasure of walking through. From chairs hanging in the trees to windows in the lake, to things I couldn’t explain if I wanted to. The atmosphere is really something special. Each garden has a different color theme, and the creativity of the pieces in each area evoke a feeling of child-like wonder and curiosity from those who pass through. Alongside the gardens is a lake, which along with containing different pieces of imaginative art, provides a serene, tranquil sensation that I felt blended nicely with the surroundings. I enjoyed traversing the different paths, admiring all there was to be seen. I even found myself falling a bit behind from the group, as my pace had slowed down in order to allow time to fully appreciate each work.

After walking through some of the gardens, we came to the picnic area where we ate food, drank wine, and conversed with others in the area. Afterwards, we were treated to some musical performances: some adults, as well as some children (who were quite precious). Though most the performances were in Russian (with some Russian performers singing in English), it was an enjoyable experience, and each performer brought a different atmosphere and talent to the stage. During the last performance, there was a man with a hose spraying water into the audience like rain, while people proceeded to dance around. It was an entertaining sight, and everything coupled together created a very light and enjoyable atmosphere.

It was quite an experience, and much more than the typical picnic I had imagined it would be. I would recommend Le Moulin Jaune to anyone coming to the Paris area, although there is a small problem: It is only open to the public a few days during the entire year. I was lucky enough that my host mother was invited to come along with some of her coworkers (I guess it was a special event of some sort for her work), but otherwise I may not have had the opportunity to experience it. Though it is seldom open to the public, the website does show when they are open next, so I would encourage those who wish to see it to check, and plan a trip to France accordingly.