A Morning Walk

I got up on Thursday morning and took my time getting ready and packed. I had my train home at six that evening, and a lunch date with a fellow blogger (more about that later). Still, it was only about nine a.m. when I checked out of the hotel.

A produce stand at the market at Place Maubert.

I asked the desk clerk if I could leave my bag until later - most Paris hotels will let you store your bag for a while. I wasn't sure what I would do first. L & L left me a museum pass that was still valid, and the Pantheon was just up the street. But it didn't open until ten. I decided to walk over the Jardin des Plantes and see about getting into the natural history museum there which had recently been renovated in 1994.

Le Sushi Shop and its delivery bikes parked outside.

I walked up the rue Monge to the rue des Ecoles, then over to Jussieu and the rue Linné. The morning was bustling with people hurrying here and there and the gray overcast started to give way to blue sky. I snapped photos along the way.

Butresses on the church of St.-Nicolas du Chardonnet.

I arrived at the garden and walked through toward the main hall where the museum is. The plants were green and covered in buds, and were fresh and lush looking. Given that Wednesday had been a wet day, this was not surprising.

The newly renovated tower at Jussieu, one of the University of Paris campuses.

The Grande Galerie de l'Evolution, as the natural history museum is called, also didn't open until ten, so I had about twenty minutes to kill. I walked over past the Mosquée de Paris and on to Censier where I knew of a couple of cafés. I chose one and had a nice coffee, then headed back over to the museum.

On the rue Poliveau. It's a small detour I made and isn't on my route below.

By the time I got back there was a small line of about fifteen people, which I joined, and a few minutes later the doors opened and in we went.

My Thursday morning walk route.
Click on the map for a larger view.

More tomorrow...

Funiculi, Funicula(r)

Intrepid tourists that we are, L & L and I descended into the Trocadéro métro station and braced ourselves for a relatively long journey over to see the basilica of Sacré Cœur. Since we couldn't ascend Eiffel's tower, we thought we'd get some elevation up at Montmartre.

The funicular heads up the hill towards Sacré Cœur.

We got out of the subway at the Anvers station and ran the tourist gauntlet that is the rue de Steinkerque. Shop after shop of kitsch. I often imagine what future archeologists would think if they dug up a place like that. For all we know, priceless bits of ancient Egyptian pottery are what's left of the souvenir shop outside a popular temple.

Since L has a little trouble with his knee, we took the funicular up the hill to the church. There are two tracks, and one car descends while the other ascends. Unless one car is out of service, as it was when we arrived. There was a bit of line for the car that was working, but we didn't have to wait too long for our turn to go up.

Sacré Cœur's landmark white dome.

Even with the wind and the clouds, the views were pretty keen. For some reason, however, I have no pictures of the view. Being a transportation nerd, however, I do have pictures of the funicular.

We skipped the Place du Tertre and headed back down. L & L rode since they had métro passes. I walked down to save myself a métro ticket. It was getting late in the day, so we headed back to their hotel before going out for drinks on the rue de Rennes. We went to the Trait d'Union, an old café that's been hipped up since I was last there. We had a couple rounds and many laughs with our waiter, Jean-Luc, who obviously liked to have fun with the customers (I am called Jean-Luc, you know, like zee famous Capitaine Picard).

We had reservations for dinner at the Café Louis-Philippe in the Marais. I had a lentil salad followed by veal in a mushroom cream sauce. Tasty. After dinner, we took a walk over to the Ile St.-Louis for an ice cream cone, then continued over to Cité and around the impressively lit cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. We ended up back on the left bank at the legendary Shakespeare and Company bookshop (it was open until 11:00 pm) and browsed a bit. L even found a couple books that she wanted.

L & L wait to board the funicular at the top (you can see L in the red coat), with the dome of Sacré Cœur behind.

It was late and I was tired, so we headed toward my hotel, which wasn't far, and L & L found a taxi on the Place Maubert. We said our good-byes since they would need to leave early for their flight home the next morning. It was much too short a visit, but we had a great time.

I got back to my hotel and into bed. I had all of the next day in Paris on my own. More tomorrow...

La Tour Est Fermée

After our very successful visit to the Orangerie, we were feeling a bit hungry for lunch. Since we had planned to head over to the Eiffel Tower, L & L and I walked over to the Place de la Concorde and hailed a taxi to take us to the café Le Champ de Mars. It's on the corner of Avenue Rapp and Avenue de la Bourdonnais. Right off the Champ de Mars, as the name suggests.

The sign says it all. Except the only mention of the strike is in French, not in English.

Ken and I have been going to the Champ de Mars for years. They have a great selection of lunch salads, all the standard grillades, and more. All of it is very reasonably priced and good, and in good weather they have a huge terrace for outdoor dining. I had a tasty steak/frites for lunch, accompanied by a Touraine gamay, and a piece of strawberry tarte for dessert.

The south-east leg of the tower against the sky.

After lunch it was a quick walk through the park to the Eiffel Tower. I was expecting a mob scene, but as we approached the place looked eerily tranquil. The reason? The Eiffel Tower was on strike! Or, more correctly, the staff of the Eiffel Tower were on strike. The tower was closed.

A Photoshopped view from Chaillot.

I think L was relieved, since she does not enjoy heights and was considering staying on the ground while L and I went up. We walked around under the tower, trying, in vain, to dodge the onslaught of souvenir hawkers. L bought three or four little towers.

Background left, le Panthéon.
Foreground right, l'église du Dôme at les Invalides.

We didn't take the closing too hard since the weather was quite windy and wet and the experience would not have been very comfortable. Still, it was a bit of a disappointment. We walked across the river to the Palais de Chaillot for the views back toward the tower, laughing and having a great time despite the drizzle.

More tomorrow...

Quite An Impression(ist)

The lower level of the Orangerie is now home to the Jean Walter - Paul Guillaume collection of paintings, although the collection has been shown in the museum since the mid sixties. Somehow, I don't remember ever seeing these. It's hard for me to think that I didn't see some of them in the 1990s, but I just don't remember.

Cézanne, la barque et les baigneurs.

Well, I've seen them now. There are so many, and they're all beautiful and interesting, and the gallery was not at all crowded so we could enjoy strolling around and taking our time. In addition to the Impressionist paintings, the space includes beautiful works from a few Fauvist and Modernist artists.*

I'll just post my photos of a few of them and let them speak for themselves. Click on each for a larger view.

Renoir, pommes et poires.

Renoir, bouquet de tulipes.

Renoir, jeunes filles au piano.

Derain, le noir à la mandoline.

Derain, arlequin et pierrot.

More tomorrow...

* I know next to nothing about art, so I've relied on the internet for a bit of research.

Architectural Interlude

Part of the excitement of the Orangerie museum for me was the building itself. I knew that it had been renovated since the last time I visited it, but I wasn't prepared for the extent of the renovations. To my eye, the whole building was gutted and rebuilt from the inside out.

The 157 year old building is brand new on the inside.

The result is spectacular. The Nymphéas have been moved to the main floor, still in their specially constructed oval rooms, now with a very intricate ceiling arrangement to allow just the right amount of diffused natural light inside. The main staircase of the building is in the center, with a small mezzanine between floors where they've discreetly installed the gift shop.

An administrative space almost floats inside the building envelope.

Below grade is an expanded exhibition space, made up of several "rooms" that run the length of the building, but that also extend beyond the footprint. I thought it was a very successful renovation and one that makes the Orangerie a great destination and an alternative to the over-crowded Orsay museum. Our desire to view impressionist works was sated by this jewel of a museum space.

The atrium separates the museum entrance from the exhibit spaces: a bridge crosses to the Nymphéas, and a stair descends to the gift shop and the Walter-Guillaume collection below.

The orginal building was constructed in 1852 to shelter the Tuileries Garden's citrus trees over winter. Later, in 1920, it was chosen as the permament site for Claude Monet's Nymphéas. It took seven years to renovate the space and the paintings were installed in 1927. In 1965, the building was again renovated to house the permanent Walter-Guillaume collection of mostly impressionist paintings that includes works by Monet, Picasso, Renoir, Modigliani, Cézanne, Derain, Matisse, and others.

The fourth renovation of the building was completed in 2006, which resulted in the museum as it is today. I really think the concrete, glass, and brushed steel is gorgeous. More tomorrow...

L'Orangerie

On Wednesday morning, I met L & L at their hotel at 9:00 am. I actually got there a bit early, so I took a short walk around the block. The hotel is very close to the Alliance Française, where I was a student in 1981-82. I couldn't resist a photo of the old place.

My old haunt: the Alliance Française.

Our first task of the day was a visit to see the impressionists. And that means the Musée d'Orsay. So we made our way over there via métro. The line just to go through security was insane. And it was chilly and rainy out. We were not willing to tough it out for what looked like about an hour's wait. So I suggested that we cross the river to the Orangerie.

One of the very wide Monet paintings at l'Orangerie.

L said that she wanted to go there to see Monet's Nymphéas anyway, so we headed across the bridge. There was absolutely no line and we walked right in. I had been to the Orangerie only once before, in the 1990s. Since then, the place has been completely rebuilt. There's not much of the original building left, but they've done a great job of making a spectacular museum while respecting the original building envelope.

L & L pose in front of a Monet.

The Monet water lilies paintings are now on the main floor. They used to be down below, but the below-grade space has been expanded and is now home to a nice collection of impressionist works by Cézane, Renoir, Picasso, and Derain, to name just a few.

Yet another view. There weren't very many people there when we arrived, so getting unobscured shots was pretty easy.

We had a great time. And we took many pictures in the water lily galleries. Then we went downstairs to discover the other impressionist works. More about that tomorrow...

Running Errands

Once I got to Paris, I checked into my hotel and got all settled in. I was going to meet my friends around seven-thirty that evening, so I had a few hours to run some errands. And I had errands.

The BHV in the middle. Paris city hall on the right.

I picked up a few postcards at a stationery store on the Place Maubert and stopped in a tabac for a carnet of métro tickets and some stamps for the postcards. Then I went to a phone booth and called Ken to let him know I was there and checked in.

Next, I headed over the BHV (le Bazaar de l'Hôtel de Ville). It's one of the big Parisian department stores that I enjoy going to. They have just about everything in there. I was looking for some pants and/or jeans. I was quite naïf. The BHV has gone upscale, and every bit of clothing is name brand/designer. Levi's cotton Dockers were ninety-one euros a pair. That's like a hundred and twenty US dollars. Bzzzzt. Not for me.

The lowest price for a pair of jeans was over one hundred euros. I'm sorry. That's a hundred and thirty dollars for jeans, and they had more holes than the ones I've already got. I am so not an urban hipster. It's back to the local hypermarché for me. That and waiting for my next trip to the US.

But I did find hooks for my kitchen pot rack, of which I needed a couple more. And I bought some Bic pens. The pen I brought with me died. And I had postcards to write. And, as you know, Bic is the quintessential French pen. And the cheapest.

Next, I headed over to les Halles and the kitchen emporium called E. Dehillerin. Ken and I had decided that we wanted a new cutting board. We bought one there a few years ago. It's plastic, about 3/4 of an inch thick, and white. But we really wanted a larger one, and one that was black or green, so that it wouldn't take stains so easily.

Well, they didn't have a black one, but they did have a green one, so I got it and was outta there in a flash. Then I headed over to the rue Montorgueil for a rest and a glass of wine. I spent a good forty minutes there, enjoying sun, people watching, and writing my postcards. Oh, and did I mention wine?

L & L and I met up later and made our way over to the brasserie Gallopin, where I had made reservations for dinner. It's across the street from la Bourse (the Paris Stock Exchange) and is a very nice place, in my humble opinion. We had a great meal and a good time. We all had the same appetizer, a creamy "gâteau" de cèpes. My main course was a navarin de poissons, featuring salmon, cod, and shrimp. Dessert was pear sorbet with a snifter of pear brandy on the side. After dinner, we walked down through the Place des Victoires and over to the Louvre to see the Pyramid.

My Eiffel Tower video.

It turned out that we were there in time to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle, which it does for about ten minutes on the hour after dark. So I took a video. We were full of food and wine and were quite happy about the whole thing. That's pretty obvious, non? It sounds very windy, but we didn't notice. ;)

By then it was after midnight, so we headed over to the rue de Rivoli to hail a cab so L & L could get back to their hotel, and I descended into the métro to head back to mine. I was in bed by 1:00 am.

More tomorrow...