This is a long blog and documents the two long weekend trips we made to Paris, one in July and one in September. they are not in Chronological order, but I have tried to group them in themes or similar categories. For the people watchers there are a few nice shots in the Shopping, Marais and Luxembourg Gardens photos. For the rest of you there are plenty of monuments and a mixture of other things, including some art and architecture.
Shopping - what else!!!????
No woman can go to Paris and not go shopping, so I thought I would devote the first section of this blog to shopping in Paris. Having said that, I did not actually do much shopping due to financial constraints and also because I did not see much that was different that I really liked!!!! However, we did walk along the Champs Elysee with Dot & Joyce, at Dot's request, and had lunch and coffee on the sidewalk; and Alan & I did go to Galleries Lafayette together on our 2nd trip to Paris and enjoy the browsing.
You will note from the photos that we actually enjoyed the food & wine and the architecture more than the fashion (why is that not surprising!!!). The dome over the central area is spectacular as you can hopefully see in the photos. I have taken photos of the food / supermarket section because it was huge, fabulous and everyday items like sardines in tins were so beautifully decorated you wanted to buy them for the art, let alone the taste! They had a very nice wine bar next door to the Maxim's who have a branch of their restaurant in Lafayette. This store which is actually 3 huge buildings (think 3 x Myers) is a French version of Harrods only I think better. You can actually go on to the roof of one of the buildings for a fabulous view, but we were too tired by the time we found out, so have left that for another trip. They also do fashion parades under the dome, which I waited for dutifully for half an hour, thinking a free fashion parade in Paris - fantastic, but it turned out to be a dance display by hip hop artists etc. Still the dancing was good.
The last few photos are a little cafe opposite our hotel. I thought you might enjoy the clientele! And the other is a snap shot near Galleries LaFayette, where real life almost imitated art!
Bike Ride and Sculpture
Our friends Denise & Richard mentioned how they had rode around Paris on the almost free bike hire system throughout Paris, so never one to be afraid of a challenge, I decided to give it a try on our 2nd trip to Paris. After the hassles of working out the hiring system, despite Richard's warnings, it turned out to be a lot of fun. I had missed my bike riding and the traffic was not as daunting as I thought it would be. The hardest things were finding my way around because I couldn't check the map while I was riding and finding a bike park rack when my free half hour was up. If you swapped the bike (or in my case, just parked it and reissued the same bike because it was in good nick) every half hour it was free. I arranged to meet Alan at certain places and times, but kept getting distracted by new sights and getting lost up small one way streets, but we met up in the end and overall had a fabulous day. Alan was happy doing his own thing - revisiting the Grand Arc de Defense and finding his way around on the met. So here are a few photos of me on the bike to prove I did it and also of a fabulous sculpture I discovered - still don't know what it is called, but it was lovely.
The Marais
I read about this area in an article in the Age newspaper back in Melb and added it to my list of "must sees" when in Paris. It is the old Jewish quarter, now a yuppified fashionable suburb that still retains its roots as well. It is on the right bank just north of Notre Dame and the 2 islands. It is a fascinating area to stroll around and I went twice - once when I left Alan, Dot & Joyce and went wandering on my own to find the Jewish quarter and the 2nd time when Alan & I wandered through a different part on our way down to the Seine for our walk along the river (see below).
The Jewish quarter was great. It was just like being back in Balaclava or Ripponlea in Melb with French overtones. It did not make me think of Israel, but more of the orthodox Jewish diaspora and the little Jewish ghettos everywhere. I managed to find the main bakery and take away food shop and stocked up on Challot (the plaited bread for Sabbath), bagels, wurst (like a spicy beef salami), pastrami, brisket, poppyseed cake, chopped liver, etc. I also found gefilte fish but at at 12 euros a piece (that’s like $20 piece!! We normally pay about $5 for the same size piece, I decided to give it a miss)! I also spotted what must be the smallest synagogue I've ever seen, but it was men only so I didn't go inside, and saw other really lovely shops and interesting signs. As usual various historic plaques from the 2nd world war caught my eye. We had seen a fabulous exhibition on the famous Alfred Dreyfus Affair (an anti-semitic military scandal in France in the very early 1900's) and the plaques made you really think about being Jewish in France at different times. There were also some interesting Jewish museums that I really wanted to visit, but just ran out of time - maybe next trip.
The 2nd visit was through the more yuppified part of The Marais and was just as interesting. We caught the local village / community festival in the morning and saw a lovely accapella choir, some fabulous roller bladers doing tricks. This brought back strong memories of my trip to Paris in 1988, when I saw something similar elsewhere in Paris. Roller blades are very popular throughout France - they were certainly prolific in Montpellier. We went through small local parks for some great people watching and the best public toilet sign I have ever seen! My friend Denise had found a great op-shop in this area, but despite looking, I couldn't find it. Unfortunately she couldn't remember the street name, so that made it harder. Still this is an area well worth visiting on foot when you are next in Paris.
Luxembourg Gardens
Alan expressed a strong desire to visit the Luxembourg Gardens, on the left bank up behind the Pantheon & Sorbonne (see further down this blog). We went on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon and the Parisiennes were out in full force, enjoying one of their most beautiful and varied public gardens. These gardens contained everything - a chateau, a lake for kids (and adults) to sail wooden boats on, chess & draft games, a band pavillion and dancing (we were lucky enough to get some Breton dancing bringing back memories of our trip to Lorient a month before), a formal parterre garden, a small wood, a lovely floral garden and lots of lawn to just sit on and enjoy the sunshine. There were also lots of statues and sculptures dotted through the gardens. We really enjoyed our time there and will return.
Images of Paris
These are just photos of buildings or stations or places in Paris that I really liked.
In order: Pillar in Place de Bastille, Bastille railway Station over the Seine, views from the Place de Concorde up towards a church and then to Sacre Coeur, a sculpture on a building corner that was not Jesus, the Virgin Mary or in any way religious, various elaborate buildings and doors that I liked, the Statue of Liberty in the Place de la Republique, the remains of the Tour St Jacques, the beautiful light posts in Place de Concorde, the original art deco railway station signs, a building that I never found out the name of, the 10 - 14th century Conciergerie that became a prison including the prison that held Marie Antoinette (unfortunately that part was closed the day we went) and inside the guards hall of the building (where 2000 people used to sit down to eat!), the building and gardens of the Museum of the Middle Ages, the famous Paris Opera, and the Gare de Lyon railway station.
Walking by The SeineOn the Sunday of our 2nd visit, it was a perfect Spring day, so we did something I had always wanted to do - we just walked along the side of the river all the way from Notre Dame to the Eiffel Tower. It was just lovely. The bridges sparkled, people relaxed by the river, the boats were out in full force. It was great to see the Seine as a working river other than tourist cruises, as several fully laden barges passed by, often two tied together either end to end or side by side. There were some very interesting objects on board peoples house / long boats. The famous riverside booksellers and artists were out, the spring bulbs and flowers were on sale and generally everyone was out enjoying themselves - a perfect day in Paris.
Trocadero & Eiffel Tower
The walk above led us all the way to the Trocadero & the Eiffel Tower. For those who don't know Paris, the Trocadero is a huge exhibition, gallery and open space area on the left bank of the Seine, facing the Eiffel Tower, which is on the right bank. Behind the Eiffel Tower are the Invalides (Napoleon's Tomb), which I have written up later in this blog. It is a magnificent collection and layout of major monuments. You will notice a living statue in the gardens of the Trocadero, who whiled away the time, while I took photos. It was my first time to the Trocadero and I really liked it. We did not climb the Eiffel Tower this time - I have done it before and we wanted to get to Montmartre before the sunset.
Arc de Triomphe
Our first trip to Paris involved meeting Dot (Alan's mum) and his Aunt Joyce and spending a few days in Paris with them before heading back to our farm gite at Prunay. Dot had only been to Paris once, for a few days many years ago and Joyce not at all, so we decided that a famous monument was a must and one that provided a view of Paris. As Dot requested a walk down the Champs Elysee, the Arc de Triomphe was the obvious choice, as it is located at the start of the famous avenue.
It is amazing how much people take mobility and the use of public transport for granted! Paris is very flat and we thought it would be easy for the "mums" to get around, but alas, stairs were a problem for them and there were a lot of stairs! In addition, the easiest way to get to the Arc from our hotel was via the very efficient underground, but we discovered that neither of them like the underground much and rarely use it.
However they decided that they would give it a try, as the bus would just take too long. So, despite lots of stairs going up and down, between, & in and out every station; and Joyce getting trapped in the automatic gateways when her ticket wouldn't work properly, they survived and we reached the Arc. They even managed to climb the 46 steps from the inside museum up to the roof top to look at the view!
Photos of the views include the Arc de Grand Defense (many of you may remember seeing great close up photos of this at our place as we went there last time & Alan revisited it this time while I was at the Sorbonne); Montmartre and the Eiffel Tower.
Notre Dame
The queues to enter this famous cathedral were enormous every time we went past, and as we had seen plenty of cathedrals throughout France, we chose not to wait and go inside. However, I couldn't refuse to take a few photos of the exterior, as last time we were here, it was covered in cladding for cleaning and restoration. It was lovely to see the exterior gleaming white as if it was new!
The Sorbonne
On our second visit to Paris we fluked the "Weekend of Patrimonie" when France celebrates its heritage and opens all its historic monuments and places that are normally closed to the public for free or reduced rates. Some of the buildings had huge queues, but the Sorbonne didn't, and as I passed it on my bike ride, I decided to take advantage of the offer - it's the only time I am likely to get into the Sorbonne! It is a lovely building. They opened up the formal rooms and the library to the public. Most of the lecture rooms we saw were now used for "thesis appeals" or formal guest speakers or official functions, not normal lectures. They were certainly impressive lecture theatres. The library was fantastic with all the old fashioned reading lamps, beautiful paintings and catalogue drawers, but in fact this was only a tiny portion of the library - most books are in storage and are recalled on request. Also the library is very modernised with computers, etc but it had a lovely feel. The reference librarian had a lovely little raised cubicle to sit in. It tempted me to return to librarianship for work!!!!! (only joking) I have also included photos of the formal dining rooms, the elaborate ceilings and various art works and ceremonial paraphenalia - very impressive.
The courtyard area inside the Sorbonne
Les Invalides / Napoleon's Tomb
One of the monuments that has long been on my list of must sees, has been "Les Invalides" a church and former soldiers hospital / retirement home that is now a military museum and the home of Napoleon's Tomb. Napoleon was brought back from Elba / St Helena and encased in this ceremonial casket with five layers of protection and housed in this magnificent building, along with his brother Joseph and several famous French Marshalls such as Foch. The building is magnificent and the gold dome glistens in the sunlight and can be seen for miles. Inside it is truly a memorial and brought back lots of memories of visiting Attaturks tomb and mausoleum in Ankara, Turkey.
However, I unexpectedly found the former hospital for wounded soldiers, that was turned into a pension or retirement village for them, of even more interest. It was amazing to discover that even way back in the 17th century the French government did look after their returned soldiers, as many of them could no longer support themselves or their families. I am sure the accommodation in those days was not that great, but at least they were looked after!!! It was only in the last 50 years or so that the last soldier left there and it has been turned into a fabulous museum, chronicling all the wars that France has been involved in, housing collections of military costumes, medals, weapons, etc and a whole lot more that I did not have time to see. I am certainly not a supporter of war or glorifying war, but the history in this place was fascinating. Their presentation of the 1st & 2nd world wars and the events that led up to them were very informative and clear and easy to read and follow.
We approached the building from behind, but the front is yet another magnificent and huge Parisiene building fronting on to the Seine opposite the Eiffel Tower. There are some fabulous sculptures on the footpaths in front of the building as well.
Sacre Coeur
At the end of a lovely day we decided to revisit Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. We took the metro over there so we could catch the sunset over Paris and the lights coming on. We couldn't find the lovely little niaive art gallery that we stumbled across in 1994, and in fact by sunset most of the little art galleries had closed and the only things left open were tourist shops and restaurants. Still it was lovely to see the cathedral again. I was a naughty girl and sneaked a couple of photos inside, even though we weren't allowed to.
The Louvre
Of course no visit to Paris is complete without a visit to the Louvre! This was Alan's first visit to the famous art gallery and he loved it. As I wrote in my email from Paris, I spent as much time enjoying the interior (and exterior) architecture of the building, as I did the art!
The pyramid that caused such controversy when it was built, is, I think, really good. It is not in keeping with the exterior style of the building, but to my mind does not detract from it either; and it does make for stunning photos if the light is good. It has also improved the entrance area and accessibility enormously. Note the differences in the spiral staircase - the moving pillar is the lift.
Re the photos included: I have taken the photos of the Venitian lady to illustrate a feature I love in this style and period of paintings - the ability to paint in the finest detail the minute but elaborate detail of the dresses - the sheerness of the fabrics, the intricate lace, the folds of the material, etc. It is like a photo in one way, but completely different in others.
I have included the photo of Clytemnestre because I loved the colours and the emotion captured in the painting. I could actually feel the angst and motivations and wanted to shout a warning to the victim! I also wanted a reminder of the classical story as we came across references to the classics throughout our time in France - in tapestries, painting, sculpture, etc. At home it is a sort of lost or forgotten study, with a few exceptions, but in Europe, references are everywhere.
I have included the painting of the nude odalisque by Ingres because I enjoyed it and once again because of the detail in the peacock feathers etc. (Of note, there is reference in the plaque to the heritage of Titian and classical nudes by other Renaissance painters, which I have now seen in the Uffizzi Gallery in Florence - a coincidence but there is obviously a connection).
I have included the painting of Napoleon's coronation because I look at this every time I come to the Louvre. It is a magnificent painting and I love the story of Napoleon crowning himself!
I have included these few samples of religious works because I have always loved this style of painting, the colours and the use of gold. You can see and feel the reverence in many of the works, whether you personally believe or not.
I have not included the Mona Lisa, because you have all seen numerous pictures of it far better than I can take, but I have included a shot of the crowds looking at it! This was in late September as the tourist numbers were beginning to decline!!! Imagine it in August - or better not to!!!! As you can see it is actually a small painting, protected by perspex and barriers and surrounded by a much bigger crowd.
The crowds admiring the Mona Lisa
L'Orangerie - Monet's Water LiliesWe also took up the recommendation of our friend Megan who advised us to visit the
Orangerie in the Tuillerie Gardens next to the Louvre. The Orangerie has some fabulous collections of 19 - 20th century French art, but most importantly has been completely refurbished to show Monet's large water lilies in their original form and they are amazing. Still have to make it to Giverny for the real thing - maybe on our way home before leaving for England.
Pompidou Centre
Then there is always the modern art exhibitions and galleries at the Pompidou Centre. I still haven't made it inside, because I ran out of time, but at last I managed to circumnavigate the exterior of the building and really enjoyed the architectural concepts and overall aesthetic of the place. (How's that for artistic mumbo jumbo?) Actually, I think it looks great and I do like the idea of the structural elements of the building being on show, when it is so well done!
The Town Hall - rather elaborate we might say!
Night time entertainment
Of course we went out at night on both trips - usually just to a restaurant, mostly on the left bank. But we did have a special outing on both trips to Paris - with Dot & Joyce to the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret and on our own to a fabulous classical concert in a small 11th century church on the left bank to hear one the best violinists we have ever heard play both Baroque and modern pieces - divine! Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside Moulin Rouge - so no almost nude women for you - sorry.
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