For Christmas this year I’m putting a small ornament into my wife’s stocking. It’s a miniature of… well… let’s just leave it at “a miniature” in case she reads this post. But I know she’ll love this ornament and promptly hang it on our tree for the remainder of the season. Why will she love it? Because it’ll spark fond, romantic memories. But she’ll also love this ornament because she can’t help loving something that’s a little, well, little.
One of my bucket list items – still to be fulfilled – is a trip to the south of France for a taste of those wonderful wines created from Burgundy or Bordeaux grapes. Maybe you hope to make the same trip some day so I’ll let you in on a little secret. If your trip only allows a visit to Paris, you can still visit a vineyard… right in the middle of the city. Most people visit the neighborhood of Montmartre to see the Sacre Coeur cathedral but most don’t know about the tiny vineyard just steps away. Clos Montmarte produces wine on a single acre, from 2,000 vines forging a connection to the long-ago rural times of the region. Compare an acre to the wineries in Bordeaux, with vines covering an average of fifty times that much property.
Clos Montmarte wines probably aren’t award-winning. Who knows if I’d even care for the taste of their reds or rosés. But does it really matter? I love the thought of a teeny-tiny field of grapes right in the middle of Paris. I love how the grapes are harvested by locals and transported to the cellars of the nearby Town Hall to be pressed and turned into wine. The whole operation is appealing to me because it’s quaint and because it’s small.
This affection for itty-bitty things must hearken back to our childhoods. Who among us didn’t spend countless hours of playtime with (take your pick) little dolls, little cars, little houses, or scaled-down trains? When we played at the beach we built little castles. When we played in creeks we made little boats out of sticks or leaves and watched them flow with the water. Tea parties meant tiny cups and plates on tiny tables.
In today’s world the toys might be different but the attraction to small things remains. It fascinates me to watch my (little) granddaughter choose her favorite toy from among dozens: a set of ten two-inch high Sesame Street characters. She stands them up all over the house. She hides them and then finds them. She always seems to have one or two in her hands. Even though my granddaughter doesn’t speak in complete sentences yet, she probably has complete thoughts as she considers tiny Big Bird. You are a lot smaller than me and that’s why I like you so much.
If you include Japanese toymaker MegaHouse in this year’s Christmas purchases, maybe you’ll go for their world’s smallest operational Rubik’s cube. You can’t get one until next April, but picture this: the minuscule marvel is one 1,000th of the size of the original. Pull out your metric measure to confirm it; a single face of the wee cube measures only 5mm from side to side. Best throw a pair of tweezers into the Christmas stocking along with the cube. There’s no way you’ll be able to rotate the Rubik’s colors with fingers alone.
Would I want the world’s smallest operational Rubik’s cube, you ask? Heck yeah! Consider, the faces of a traditional Rubik’s cube contain a 9×9 grid. Then someone went and created a miniature Rubik’s cube with 2×2 grids. I thought, how very cute. I just had to have one so my original would have a little buddy. My cubes are hanging out together on my home office shelf as we speak. And they’re asking for an even littler buddy for Christmas.
So let’s summarize the pint-sized products we’ve covered today. I already have the ornament for my wife in-hand (soon to be in-stocking). I won’t put a bow on a bottle of Montmartre wine this year because I want the chance to see the tiny Paris winery for myself first. And you probably thought I sprung for one of MegaHouse’s pee-wee Rubik’s cubes (and a pair of tweezers). Sadly, no. I don’t have the $5,300 it costs to buy one (minuscule marvels aren’t cheap!) Thankfully, my wife will be happy with an adorable little ornament for $15 instead.
Some content sourced from the CNN Travel article, “The secret vineyard in the middle of Paris…”, and the CNN Style article, “This is the world’s smallest Rubik’s cube…”
Life In A Word 
You do need to go to the south of France. I was there just long enough to know I need to go back for a longer stay. Who knew small would cost so much?
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Very glad (and not surprised) to hear the south of France lives up to its billing. A lot of destinations get flagged with “don’t waste your time” these days. I’m guessing this rural region is removed enough from France’s more touristy areas to where the experience remains relatively unaffected.
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When we lived in England we had friends who lived in a vineyard in Bordeaux. We visited them several times and were so naive about good wine that we did not appreciate how special those visits were!
I know what you mean about the intrigue of miniatures. When we lived overseas, I searched for, and bought very small memorabilia from most of the places we visited. I also bought Christmas tree ornaments whenever I could. Decorating my Christmas tree is always a trip down memory lane.
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Christmas ornaments seem like the perfect souvenir for travel memories. They’re small, you can choose whatever ones will spark the memories that matter to you, and once a year they’ll get their chance to shine. We have several travel ornaments ourselves, as well as a shelf of other inexpensive “small potatoes” souvenirs that bring a smile every time I look at them.
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France and Italy have been on my bucket list for a long time. I wanted to visit France as I studied French in college and spoke fluently as the last two years we never spoke English in the classroom. But time has scoured all those words and phrases from my personal RAM memory, so I decided to start studying French anew … I am now 35 days into it and I feel like I’m back in school again. I don’t think I will visit, but for now it is fun to be an armchair traveler and imagining how far my 270 words I’ve learned to date will get me. I have not done the Rubik’s cube puzzle in eons and I didn’t know there was a downsized version, let alone this mini version. The price is exorbitant for that mini version and you’d be lost without the tweezers to twirl it around. I’m glad the tweezers aren’t sold separately!
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I admire your (second) foray into the French language, Linda, and I’ll be curious to hear if it sticks. Spanish made more sense growing up in California, and Italian made more sense in college (with a year in Italy in front of me), so French never had a chance. But if I could go back in time and choose again…
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We do have a lot of Spanish-speaking people around here now too Dave. I wanted to see if I could pick it up again and am finding some interesting trends. For example, words and phrases used to address other people are different now in that you speak to people in a more familiar manner now. For example we used the “tu” form of speaking to someone only if they were a relative or a close friend; everyone else was “vous”. Now 36 days into my lessons, we have not used the “vous” form once. “Salut” is the new “bonjour” (hello) and also used for goodbye. I thought “salut” was like “cheers”. It has been fun, but it is also a challenge. I am spending a good deal of time on it daily – the verb conjugation especially. Hmm – it’s like having homework again!
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$15 is a LOT better than $5,300.
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I collect and display miniatures. I don’t know why. My Kindergarten teacher remarked on my lack of small finger dexterity and it has declined ever since!
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My examples (and memories) on this topic are endless. I wish I still had the postcard collection I kept from a childhood trip my parents took us on to see all of Colonial America. Not standard-sized postcards but the smaller-sized booklets, where one could be removed and mailed, or simply keep the whole collection as a souvenir. I ended up with twenty or thirty of those. Hard to find these days.
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The tiny Rubik’s cubes! Oh my goodness, the things you find to share here. Love it.
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Amazing that little Rubik’s cube. Start planning for France.
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I just love the interesting things you find to report on, Dave. But even more, I love that you have found something sweet and romantic that you know your life with love. Way to be, man!
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Let’s hope I’m right!
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Ha! Let’s hope indeed. You may need to report back on this!
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There is a winery downtown in my own city, though the grapes are grown 50-75 miles away. I am starting to wonder if there is anyplace there is not a winery. But I suspect the one in Paris is better than most.
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The same is true for coffee; everybody seems to be roasting beans everywhere. I’m probably selling Clos Montmartre short with my comments. After all, we’re talking about the French here. I’m sure their wines are very good.
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I’ve often wondered about our fascination with miniatures. You brought to mind Colleen Moore’s Dollhouse at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago–my first exposure to the tiny details clever artisans can create. Ms. Moore was a silent film screen star who collected tiny furniture and accessories from all over the world, filling an ornate castle with her miniature treasures. That castle fills up a whole room at the museum–and that room isn’t small. I haven’t seen it for years but my grandgirls thoroughly enjoyed the exhibit a couple of years ago. The fascination with miniatures continues–at least in our family!
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I remember your blog post on this topic, Nancy. I’m not necessarily interested in dollhouses, but the fact this one is full of miniatures would absolutely capture my attention. I’ll remember it the next time I’m in Chicago!
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