Last night in Paris - night views

I am not sure how these pictures came out this way but it is a great effect. I think I used the fireworks setting on my camera then when I used paint.net to clean up the picture, the  auto-correct created the effect.

Eiffel Tower lit up at 11:00pm.

France's Liberty - smaller version of the Statue of Liberty (aka Lady Liberty) that France gave to the United States. This one in Paris was erected in 1986 on the centennial celebration of the USA Statue of Liberty.

Last night in Paris

My friends Bud and Sureyya made their travel plans to Paris to coincide with my visit. It also happens to be Sureyya's birthday on Thursday. We met at l'Ile Restaurant in St. Germain Park. It is a trendy place mostly I think because of its locale. The service was atrocious and the food was just okay. The company was great though.

We were so busy catching up that no one thought to take a picture. Finally at the train station I remembered...hence this photo.

Me, Sureyya, Bud

Last day in Paris - part 2 of 2

I reached out to Facebook friends for guidance and got some really good suggestions.  I also did some research on the internet to scope out where to go. I knew I wasn't going to be able to spend more than a couple of hours plus when I woke up Wednesday my cold/allergy was in full bore.

So my plan was to get there in late afternoon hoping that the crowds would be reduced and it worked out perfectly.


From Notre Dame I walked to the Louvre. Wednesday was the first day of actual warmth since I arrived. The sky was blazing blue and it was forecast to get in the lower 80's. My legs were very sore from all the walking over the past week and half and especially the Versailles trip.

Representing Old Chicago at the Louvre!

My plan was based on information from Bob Davis. I headed to Winged Victory which is on the way to the Mona Lisa. Then on information from Rachel Druker, I explored the antiquities collections.

Winged Victory. I over heard a curator explain that this is one of the few pieces that has not changed bases and location since the pyramid was added to the museum.

I thought the crowds around the Mona Lisa was more interesting than the actual painting. Plus I couldn't get very close. Look at the photo. A lot of people aren't taking a photo of the painting but a photo of themselves in front of the painting.

I didn't take very many pictures in the museum. No point really because you can see a lot of the collection online. Just a few pieces really caught my eye and I wanted to keep them and share.

These stone fish (antiquities collection) are for Jill.

I just thought this vessel in the shape of an ass head was cool.

Last day in Paris - part 1 of 2

Even after a full day of Versailles on Tuesday I bucked it up and did more sightseeing. I realized I had not been to Notre Dame nor the Louvre.  This part covers Notre Dame for the most part.

These pictures are in reverse order. The bridges are some of the ones I passed walking from Notre Dame to the Louvre museum.  With the Seine River s-curving through Paris, there are lots of bridges of all different kinds.

 Notre Dame's outdoor architecture is much more fascinating that the interior in my opinion. The church is celebrating 850 year anniversary this year with renovations including new bells. There is also a large pavilion in front where you can sit and people watch.

Representing Old Chicago at Notre Dame!

An angel that looks over your back when you are in the back of Notre Dame looking down to the nave.

Versailles - part 2 of 2

My idea for capturing the interior was to take a series of photos of the ceilings. When I was trying to leave, I got confused and ended up back on the tour. It was 5:30pm by this time and the rooms were so less crowded.  I put the camera on timer, placed it on the floor in the center of the room, clicked the shutter then stepped back. I think I might have an interesting series for cards.

I don't remember all the rooms but that isn't really the point. All the rooms in the Grand Apartments on the first floor had painted ceilings.

But my favorite part of the palace was the ground floor where they have recreated The Mesdames' Apartments, two daughters of Louis XV, Adelaide and Victoire. The audio stories accompanying the rooms was informative and playful.

Versailles part 1 of 2

Well I had been warned that there was a lot to see at Versailles. And boy is there ever.

I did not get there super early like several sites had suggested. My cold/allergy thing is difficult to deal with. I think I left the apartment around 9:30am. Stopped at Kaysers my local boulanger - pastry and bread shop for picnic lunch goodies.

I can catch the train to Versailles just two Metro stops away. The train was packed so that was not a good sign.  Followed the crowd which lead to the entrance. The line to get it S-curved through the open entry way. I took the next tip which was to hit the gardens. The fountains were going. Music was going. It was lovely.

The fountains do not operate all day and some have very limited times so I focused on those. That brought me to the Petite Trianon and the other outlying areas of the vast Versailles grounds. I arrived just moments before the Petite Trianon opened (noon) and there were only a handful of people waiting. In we went and toured the Queen's private palace with very few people.

From the Petite Trianon I went to the Queen's Hamlet. This is a constructed English village. It was Marie Antoinette's idea. I can see where Disney came up with his theme park design. In addition to being a little created village it is a working farm with animals and vegetables.

From here I arrived at the Grand Trianon which was the King's residence. Beautiful and actually rather simple in design.

I had my picnic lunch before going to the Grand Trianon. A couple from Australia sat next to me on the bench. They are in Paris for a grandson's wedding. It was a lovely chat.

From the Grand Trianon I decided it was time to tackle the palace itself. I made it around to the entrance and there was no line. I got directly in lickety split.  The real challenge came when I entered the actual palace building. It was very very crowded. Everyone was holding the cameras up taking pictures. A good deal of the crowd were Japanese or Chinese so I towered above them. But boy give 'em credit, they'll push and shove with the best of 'em.

There is a really good audio tour provided with your admission. I had my ear phones with me so it made it super easy and hands free.

There really is no way to take good pictures of such a vast place. The fountain pictures mostly look small and uneventful though that is far from the reality. Indoor pictures of the rooms are flat and rather meaningless.

In this part 1 of 2 I focus on the outdoor scenes that I think capture a little taste of the place. It is so so vast.

Front entry gate top.

Petite Trianon

Queen's Hamlet

Queen's Hamlet

Panorama of palace facing the park. It is not curved. Apparently the longest building facade of its kind.

A curled tree. There is a vast forest as part of the estate.

Flea Market and Sainte Chapelle

Well, it is either a cold or allergies. My nose is running to beat the band and I have a bit of a cough.  Tried some pseudophedrine which worked for about 2 hours. Each succeeding dose was less and less effective. Next I'll try the allergy stuff.

Nonetheless, I went to a flea market on the other side of town. I was hoping to find some unique item or items to bring home. Didn't happen. Lots of clothing and household goods and very little antiques or collectible stuff. It was interesting none the less and I did get to try out my French on one transaction.

From the market I went to Metro stop Cité. A striking station in a Beau Arts style. I could not get a picture that did it justice. Cité is on an island in the Seine. The ministry of justice is located here and so is Sainte-Chappele, a church built in 1246 and is known for its stained glass windows. The windows are being restored. Slightly over 1/2 are completed. The difference is astounding.

The ceiling in the Sainte-Chappelle 'basement'

Sainte-Chapelle looking in from outside.

The sun blazing through one of the restored windows. The rose window is seen partially on the right.

I've thought this funny since arriving. Advertisement for Hangover 3 movie. Apparently the French do not have a word for hangover -- odd??

Montmartre

I hadn't intended on the day's sightseeing to be so focused but that's what happened. I wandered the Montmartre district but first I had a very long leisurely brunch at a nice cafe

This district is known for a lot of different things. One is the cemetery. There are thousands of graves of all different times and kinds. The cemetery is very much still in use today.  There are several famous people buried here. I didn't come to see those but just to explore. It was peaceful as you would want a place of rest to be.

Many of the tombs have personal plantings and other personalized symbols and mementos.

A beautiful wild rose planted for someone a long time ago??

Emile Zola grave site though he is now entombed at the Pantheon. My Metro stop is named after him.

The famous Moulin Rouge in Montmartre district.

From the cemetery I headed to Sacre-Coeur. It is a very large church on top of the mount of Montmartre. Tiny streets along the way filled with people shopping and cafe-ing.  There are hundreds of steps up to the church. People hang out on the steps overlooking the city.

Me in front of Sacre-Coeur church. It is on top of the mount.

A real find was the Musee Montmartre. It was having a three-day exhibit called Le Chat Noir (The Black Cat). It covered the time that most people think of when thinking of Paris...the late 1800's. The time of Toulouse LeTrec, the can-can girls of Moulin Rouge, the artists, the cafes, the music, the baudiness. It was a wonderful exhibit located in a home with gardens.  And as I was leaving, there was a black cat at the exit....very fitting.

A recreation of the vineyards once all around Montmartre.

I left Montmarte on the opposite side from where I had come up. It was a nice day of sightseeing.

Outside of Paris - Provins

Yesterday, Saturday, I took a train to Provins. The train departed from Gare de l'Est which is East Station.  The station is a mix of old and new. The iron and glass canopy was marvelous with the sun shining through. I was proud of my French speaking to get the correct ticket from the ticket office.

Gare de l'Est

 A gentleman at a cafe last week gave us a brochure for a train museum in Longueville. I like trains and Longueville is on the way to Provins so I decided it would be a great stop. I guess the guy from the cafe forgot to tell the guys at the museum to expect vistors. Apparently they had no.plans to open it to the public that day or again it looked to me.  I did get a few shots of the derelict train cars outside and this one of a couple of engines inside.

My real destination was Provins, a UNESCO heritage site. Part of the town is preserved/restored to medieval times. I did have a bit of fear that it would be Renaissance Fair like only medieval instead of renaissance. That was there but I avoided it.

Finally got in to my first church/cathedral on this European trip. This one was built in 12th century...or at least part of it was. Another part was constructed in 16th century. The church is in honor of Judas after he converted to Christianity and changed his name. His new name was nothing like Judas and is fairly unpronounceable or spellable.

There are home and businesses inside the medieval section of the city of Provins. People live and work there regular-like. It was a bit anachronistic to see DirecTV satellite dishes on the side a timber and stucco home.

This "castle" has also been restored. They are not sure if it ever served as a residence but to know it was a prison at one time. It was well worth the 4 euros to climb all through it.  There are two large bells in the top which work and you can get right next to them. 

A day off?

I kind of took a break today from sightseeing and running around. I woke up with a bit of a sore throat. The rain and cold yesterday probably didn't help. Chris returned to NYC today so now I'm on my own.

I slept for quite a while and took some pre-cold medicine to fight off the throat thing. Finally decided around 2pm I should get some coffee and real food.  And decided to explore the neighborhood and do some gift shopping and practice my French with the shop owners.

View of Eiffel Tower from Charles Michel metro.

 There are lots and lots of different shops..meat, high-end clothing, cheese, chocolate, bread and pastries, antiques, restaurants, and many many more.

The cheese shop closest to apartment and wonderful.

In the park fairly close by.

Eiffel Tower from the park.

Rain, rain, rain

Today we could not avoid the rain. I finally got mid-afternoon tickets to the Open which you have to buy the day before so it is a crap shoot. We planned to visit the Paris Modern museum before tennis. It is located on Rue de President Wilson and the permanent collection is free to tour. It is a small collection but the Matisse pictured below is very large and very stunning. The room was constructed for this piece and its companion which is the "test" work.

Matisse - The Dancers

 While waiting for the rain to hopefully let up, we sat at a cafe with heated outdoor seating. It was fun to relax and watch the people go by. I decided this woman waiting for the bus with the fashionable coat, pants, boots and umbrella kind of represented the day.

We did make it to Roland Garros where play was suspended. The rain let up long enough for play to resume but then it started up again. They continued to play in the light right. The line judge (wearing the red jacket) in the picture was not happy with the court referee that he had to sit in the rain and judge. What about the players?!

This match ended and we were going to stay for the next but I wanted to get up. We both did some souvenir shopping then while deciding which court to go to next, the skies opened up big time. I didn't have my rain poncho so we stood under an awning for the longest time.

It finally let up a bit but I surmised that they were not going to resume play so we left. The plan was to get to Paris Opera to see ballet but there were just too many people trying to get to the Metro and it took us longer than expected. By the time we arrived, the performance had started and there was no way to get late seating.

A non-tennis day.

Another mostly cloudy day but the rain held off until very late. Chris wanted to see the exhibit at Musee de l'Orangerie.

The building was constructed for a specific set of very very large Monet paintings called The Nymphes but also exhibits other French artists associated to Paul Guillaume and special exhibits.

I particularly liked the Derain paintings in their permanent collection and the special exhibit of Italian painters in a almost photographic style from the late 1800's call Maccheaioli.

The museum is located in a corner of the Tuileries, a park along the Seine. Lots of people were enjoying the break from the rain and the scattered sunshine. The iris are blooming in spectacular fashion. There was even a peonie blooming.

From the Tulieres we walked up the Champs Elysees to the Arc d' Triumph. So many people it was crazy.

I was not feeling great so went back to the apartment to rest for just a little. We were planning on not going to tennis and instead go to the theatre. Specifically Comedie Francaise to see a Feydeau.

Chris headed to the theatre to try to get rush tickets. I made it back to the theatre just as he was discussing something with the box office. He had stood in the wrong line, or so he thought, and got student tickets for 5 euro way way up at the top balcony.  The seats turned out to be just fine.

We couldn't really understand what they were saying as they spoke very fast but the comedy was broad and much of it was physical as we had expected. It was great fun.

The theatre itself is quite beautiful. We had a bird's eye view of the whole thing. 

This the chair that Moliere supposedly used in the production of The Imaginary Invalide. He also supposedly died in this same chair. They have it exhibited in one of the lobbies.