Visiting the Marais

We took the Metro to St Paul and walked around the area called les Marais or the Marsh.

Crossing the Seine - a barge sailing under a bridge with

Notre Dame in the background.  The barge was carrying a car and

a motorcycle for use when the owners were on land.

 

A favorite place to visit is the musee Carnavalet.  It has paintings and artifacts spanning the 

many years of history of Paris.

The two paintings above are of the construction of the Pont Alexander III and the

Grand and Petit Palais.  They were built about the same time.  The bridge

was built between 1896 and 1900.  The two art museums were begun

in 1897 and were built for a exposition. It was the built for the same World

Exposition in 1889 for which the Eiffel Tower was erected. 

Exterior of Carnavalet -  note the formal garden

The statue in this inner courtyard is titled

 Victory Allegorical Statue

This is not a cradle designed for Noah or Moses but for the Imperial Prince

born to Napoleon III and the Empress Eugenie.  Designed by the 

architect Victor Baltard and constructed by skilled craftsmen in under three months.

This is one of the few walls with any record of the wars of the 20th century.

Paintings, for example, of Foch and Joffre.

Madame de Sevigne lived in the Hotel Carnavalet from 1677 to 1696.

A gallery is dedicated to her memory with objects belonging to her and portraits of prominent

figures from the Period of Moliere.  (Visitors guide to the Musee Carnavalet)

O

One of the attractions of the musee for me is that the paintings depict every day life and 

every day Paris.  They are not famous artists, but they capture moments in 

history that we usually only read about.

Three dimensional depiction of the army parading in the 

Place Vendome

This is a replica of the bedroom of Marcel Proust.

The furniture is that actually owned by him.  He is said to have liked to

write while in bed.  

Sorbonne mid 19th century and 

the Sorbonne in the 21st century

Just the run of the mill wood burning stove

This is a painting that I particularly like.  Sorry can't remember the

artist's name or when or where it was painted.

Musee Carnavalet - museum of the history of Paris

A small distraction along the way.  Pastry window with wonderful desserts.

The cake that would feed 8 is 40 Euros.

Hotel Sully

Place des Vosges

Louis XIII at the Place des Vosges

We did not stop for a pick-up game but could not resist a picture. 

A very medieval looking building close to the St Paul Metro stop

A couple of familiar names we saw today.  Sorry no Camille.

Lunch at la Vieille Tour restaurant

62 rue Mouffetard

Boeuf Bourguignon

We cannot explain the rice and green beans.  When the waiter brought them to 

use before the stew, we were sure he had made a mistake. 

The Quartier Mouffetard is an area where the Professor served on 

his LDS mission. (1967-1969)

Parc des Buttes Chaumont

We had a beautiful day so we decided to go explore some familiar parks and places.  We took the Metro to Buttes Chaumont and since it has the most stairs to climb in all of Paris we used the elevator to reach the surface.  Despite it being winter, the park is still beautiful.  So many people were taking advantage of the mild weather to run or to eat their lunch at the park.

The suspension bridge is always interesting to walk across.  

You can feel it swaying as the people walk along it. 

The path to the pergola was closed off and there was no water in

the grotto.  Still it was delightful to be there.

The lake is full of ducks and geese.  These birds are not actually walking on water.

They are sitting on a concrete barrier that partially crosses from one side to the other.

Pergola in background

The Saint Martin Canal has been drained so that maintenance can be done on it.

It is not scheduled to be opened again until April 4th.

The Professor says that when the water was drained a lot of debris 

was found on the floor of the canal, including such things as refrigerators.

A sample of some of the refuse found in the canal.

Photos thanks to Jist News and the NY Daily News

As you can see the canal is now cleaned to all foreign objects.

Only workmen and machines are a work there.

Bassin de la Villette,

Water close to the Rotonde de la Villette

I was not at all tempted to go swimming there. 

Resting after spending the day walking around 

the park and the city

Sunday walking home

Stock Exchange/Paris Bourse

Pictures taken from rue Rivoli of Place de la Concorde

I have been searching the internet for information about this pyramid next to the 

Egyptian obelisk.  The only thing I can find are some photographs and a note saying

it was built for an art exhibition in October 2015.

Is it here to stay?  No idea.  Who designed it?  Can't find that out either. 

Getty Images appear to own all of the photographs available on the internet.

New Park where Les Halles used to be.

The area and buildings are still under construction.

Artist's concept of new building at Les Halles/Chatelet

Building in progress thanks to Youtube

This is a fun clip because you get to see other parts of the neighborhood.  

Such as the big face and hand. St Eustache and the Bourse.

This is a peculiar building close to the Stock Exchange.

It is covered with a metal design.

Madeleine at the end of the street

Jardin du Palais Royal

The last time that we were here was on a sunny day in April of 2014.  The garden was

filled with office workers who had brought lunch outdoors to enjoy the warmth and 

sunshine.  They were even sitting on edgings of concrete so that they could eat, visit

with friends and soak up the warmth.  

Place de la Concorde

I especially like this statue of Jeanne (Joan of Arc) in rue des Pyramides.

Although Jeanne is said to have cut her hair short, this statue has her long hair blowing 

behind her. 

Pompidou Centre

St Eustache Church

Saturday in Paris

We ventured out of doors a little late today due to some old woman who slept really late.  We took the metro to Opera and got off and went window shopping at Gallery Lafayette.

- Number 1:  Saturday.
- Number 2: seasonal sales/soldes.

I am sure there were some great buys, but the population in the stores was much greater than on the street.  If I want get some pictures of this chic store, I shall have to go back in mid week.  We did not make it to Au Printemps today.


When we entered the store we were greeted by four plain clothes security men. I think it was because my pockets were full of gloves and hat and a shopping bag that I was stopped and "wanded"  by a guard.  I have very bulky pockets when we go out.  Of course I was behind the Professor and he was completely unaware that he was shopping alone until I called to him.

There is evidence of security measures almost everywhere we go.  It is Washington, DC with every handbag checked.  Once in awhile we will see armed soldiers as well. They seem to come in 4s dressed in berets and camouflage and armed to the teeth.  We have seen them by Notre Dame and today they were by the Opera.  Both crowded spots with lots of tourists.



Well maybe not so many tourists.  They say that January is the month when Paris belongs to the Parisians.  Not too many people stand out in a crowd. One sad thing that we have noticed is that there are homeless men in our neighborhood and in the Metro.  I don't remember seeing anyone asleep in a doorway on av.La Motte Picquet.  I am certain we did not see anyone sleeping by a metro platform when we were here two years ago.  The Professor's opinion is that police are much to busy elsewhere to worry about indigent people.

We got off the Metro at the Opera and discovered this classical pianist sitting on the sidewalk by the stairs to the subway.  Wonderful music.  Hard to get a picture because of all of the people stopped to look at a piano on the street.

I like this shot of the Professor modeling with his peers on a walkway between two buildings.  He was a very good sport.  Oh and that includes letting me take a picture of the tourist's dream china.

We ate couscous at Les Quatre Freres.  Just as delicious as I remember. There is a very friendly atmosphere there and often people come as families, even little wanders.

 I even got treated to a "Coka light," since its only 1.90 there instead of the 5 Euros we have accidentally paid at other places .  We have since been very cautious about buying soft drinks.

Tomorrow is Church.  Can I really get up  on time to shower and dress?  

And be on the Metro by 8:45?