tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-258165742024-03-07T04:00:30.407-05:00Paris deconstructedRuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-144648302191916472009-07-18T13:50:00.005-04:002013-05-03T05:43:52.198-04:00Mrs. Schott - Part II<span style="color: white;">-</span><br />
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Lying in the dark in the hotel room I waited for <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Nancy</st1:city></st1:place> to finish her conversation on the phone with Mrs. Schott, the woman whose voice sounded mature and strong when I answered. As they talked I imagined her – a stately, “older” woman who sees <st1:place st="on">Europe</st1:place> from the upper floors of five star hotel rooms.<br />
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At last <st1:city st="on">Nancy</st1:city> hung up and told me what Mrs. Schott told her had transpired since she had delivered <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nancy</st1:place></st1:city>’s abandoned passport to the hotel concierge. (See last post.)</div>
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“After doing what I thought to be a good deed yesterday for you, what happened today was a surprise. I was heading to a charity luncheon – a charity for children. So on the way, I had my driver stop at the <span style="font-style: italic;">chocolatier</span> to pick up candies for the children. He had to wait in the car at the curb while I walked up the alley to the shop’s door. Suddenly a thief grabbed me, tore the ring off my finger, took my purse, and threw me to the sidewalk!”</div>
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The hard fall onto the concrete had broken Mrs. Schott’s shoulder, and she had spent the day at the hospital. A cast not being possible, she had to wear her arm in a sling.</div>
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“But I would like to meet you and your sister tomorrow if you have time.”</div>
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
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So <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Nancy</st1:city></st1:place> had arranged for us to visit her in the morning in the lobby of the InterContinental on our way out for the day.</div>
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Next morning <span style="font-style: italic;">en route</span> the few blocks between our modest little hotel and the luxe InterContinental we remembered a florist near Place Vendome, so we headed straight there to pick up a nice (expensive) arrangement for <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nancy</st1:place></st1:city>’s injured benefactor. She picked the bouquet bottom, center.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrNTpxaFqoBR_kdPj5jSop698yS1vSv3q44t4MNfa_QXkYPCRdxHiPqwcCiRbaPRp4e7MR-thFu4qH2hPENBMexDP2bC1xxUA3uSC0djb4TL8Sjec2uSnpLA19_FQpG0NHlky/s1600-h/misc+842+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359845533843055426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrNTpxaFqoBR_kdPj5jSop698yS1vSv3q44t4MNfa_QXkYPCRdxHiPqwcCiRbaPRp4e7MR-thFu4qH2hPENBMexDP2bC1xxUA3uSC0djb4TL8Sjec2uSnpLA19_FQpG0NHlky/s640/misc+842+web.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 640px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 360px;" /></a><br />
At the InterContinental the concierge escorted us to Mrs. Schott sitting in a cool, dark corner of the lobby where it seemed every staff person was attending to her. Tuxedoed men floated to her with trays and greeted her with obvious concern about her injury.<br />
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You can’t imagine <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Nancy</st1:place></st1:city>’s and my surprise when we saw her. There she was standing up to greet us, a willowy six-foot tall elegant young-ish woman reminding us of Princess Diana (who died two months later just a few blocks from that spot). We spent a short hour with Mrs. Schott and her sweet pooch <st1:place st="on">Redford</st1:place>. We bonded, and she even said she would send her driver around for us later in the week to go out for the day. She also wanted us to come visit her in <st1:country-region st="on">Switzerland</st1:country-region> where she and her husband oversaw their European-wide hotel chain.</div>
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You can barely see the empty left sleeve of her white sweater gracefully pinned up to accommodate her slinged arm against her chest.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRjWYnDpMeKGnmW4ioelg6fxr89va0otR-8_mDj-DrdZXh-DgtcILxdgbjECOMQRzBhOESRGjiIZU3CxSpcT7HmHzTEZcp9BfsF0tRxnsYv-hNghvMzhEurq-bLysqdghv44d/s1600-h/misc+847+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359845534958934930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRjWYnDpMeKGnmW4ioelg6fxr89va0otR-8_mDj-DrdZXh-DgtcILxdgbjECOMQRzBhOESRGjiIZU3CxSpcT7HmHzTEZcp9BfsF0tRxnsYv-hNghvMzhEurq-bLysqdghv44d/s640/misc+847+web.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 406px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 640px;" /></a><br />
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Our hearts were a-flutter when we left, feeling as if we’d met and befriended royalty. If we’d known she would not follow through on her promise and collect us in a couple of days, we would have asked more questions, like which hotel chain? But as we explored <st1:city st="on" style="font-family: georgia;"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city><span style="font-family: georgia;"> day after day for the remainder of our two weeks and waited for a call from Mrs. Schott, it never came, and we wistfully put our visions of a grand European friendship to rest. I have tried in vain to locate a hotel chain connected with the name Schott.</span><o:p><br /></o:p><br />
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Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-23843977480654111032009-07-10T11:26:00.004-04:002010-07-18T06:03:59.444-04:00Mrs. Schott - Part I<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgG5lNirrvbLCn-HbGUfpMFb2aD1gHKnRoaTPmqAKOWJ5wMJz0L0Ut-iDoXfJ5q0AiTyo-0D7HoriMHNGtVkM3ZkxWCTIqzD2V2xZHtWR_OU31uavOPw-QKGbUjt5SfnGxIfZ/s1600-h/hpar_b1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356853067284451026" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwgG5lNirrvbLCn-HbGUfpMFb2aD1gHKnRoaTPmqAKOWJ5wMJz0L0Ut-iDoXfJ5q0AiTyo-0D7HoriMHNGtVkM3ZkxWCTIqzD2V2xZHtWR_OU31uavOPw-QKGbUjt5SfnGxIfZ/s400/hpar_b1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 315px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
"OH NO! I don't have my passport!!"<br />
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What should have been a pleasant, relaxing moment to eat croissants and sip café crèmes in the tiny hotel dining room before a day out in sunny Paris turned into panic. My sister was frantically rifling through her bag looking for what couldn't be found. Suddenly she remembered we had stopped at the nearby Hotel InterContinental's bathroom on our way home from dinner the night before, and she had hung her little passport bag on the bathroom stall door! She lept from her chair and ran out the door "I'll be back!" leaving me and my croissant very nervous.<br />
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When she came back less than an hour later, this is what she told me.<br />
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After running the few blocks to the InterContinental, she slipped into the cool, elegant lobby and straight to the Concierge who was standing at his perch. Before she could utter a word, he said calmly with a welcoming smile, "You must be Ms. Hart, we have been expecting you."<br />
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He went on to explain that a certain Mrs. Schott had found Nancy's passport bag hanging on the bathroom stall door and delivered it to him with explicit and emphatic instructions: "Place this passport in the hotel safe, and if you do not see Ms. Hart this morning, we will contact the American Consulate to see if she has contacted them."<br />
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With relief and gratitude filling her heart, Nancy asked if he had stationery for her to write a thank you note to Mrs. Schott, a guest in the hotel. She wrote a lengthy, heartfelt message and returned to me in our tiny, shabby hotel lobby where every half minute felt like an hour to me. She held up her passport with a radiant smile.<br />
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That night, after traipsing through Paris all day up one side and down the other, our legs throbbing and our eyes drooping, we fell into bed early and slept hard. When the telephone rang suddenly at 10, with a stranger's voice telling me she was Mrs. Schott and could she please speak with Nancy, I was suddenly wide awake and handed Nancy the phone, whispering "IT'S MRS. SCHOTT!"<br />
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Next post I'll tell you what happened with Mrs. Schott. I promise it won't take me two weeks to tell the rest of the story.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-82015267565544800962009-06-22T14:17:00.009-04:002010-07-18T06:10:56.318-04:00DAY 3: Toupary restaurant (La Tour Eiffel and Musee d'Orsay)<span style="color: white;">-</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0sb9NbKoPPlLftMMZnfh0tB1BNFntmJgDXlGE4_fKoPmuzS4YO93TjthN0tZ0lnoTOdKy0ckPVlumRr4-PPioTb6CmXMGINeJIARG1WmLiQHS4D8HnPRwv10aQalRkQtEzN1/s1600-h/Eiffel+Tower+and+Invalides+032+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350207610949861362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0sb9NbKoPPlLftMMZnfh0tB1BNFntmJgDXlGE4_fKoPmuzS4YO93TjthN0tZ0lnoTOdKy0ckPVlumRr4-PPioTb6CmXMGINeJIARG1WmLiQHS4D8HnPRwv10aQalRkQtEzN1/s640/Eiffel+Tower+and+Invalides+032+web.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 371px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 640px;" /></a><br />
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<div>DAY 3 of a week in Paris - Tuesday<br />
<blockquote style="color: #6666cc; font-weight: bold;">La Tour Eiffel & Musee d'Orsay</blockquote><br />
It's taken a while, but we are waking up to our third full day in Paris. Well, to be honest, I want to skip the day for now and jump straight to evening. I can't wait to tell you about one of my favorite spots in the city. I'll tell you later about the other stops on our itinerary, ok? (I had problems with the HTML for my itinerary, strangely enough, so I am not posting it. I'll figure it out next post hopefully.)</div><br />
<span style="color: #333333;">The </span><a href="http://www.lasamaritaine.com/fr/savourer/d_savourer.asp" style="color: #333333; font-style: italic;"><span style="color: #6633ff; font-weight: bold;">Toupary</span></a><span style="color: #333333;"> restaurant may not be the best reviewed or have as fine a cuisine as </span><a href="http://www.taillevent.com/" style="color: #6666cc; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Taillevant</span></a><span style="color: #333333;">, for instance (I'll tell you about that Michelin 3-star restaurant one of these posts), but it is one of my favorite spots to eat in Paris. As I've said before, I think my simple palate would be happy with a grilled sandwich at a gas station in France, so maybe you shouldn't trust me. But I do love me some good food. And I am willing to spend money on it if the experience warrants it.</span><br />
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That said, the food I've eaten in my four or five meals there has been superb and the service terrific. But the main reason I chose it in 1997, alone for lunch in the second week with my sister Nancy after we learned in the first week we liked spending our time and money differently, was for the view. It is on the fifth floor of the Samaritaine Department store - which has since closed (is there anything else in the building now, I wonder?).<br />
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You can see the <span style="font-style: italic;">Pont Neuf</span> from my table in the top photo, my favorite bridge in the city. It's rather a cliché to love this bridge, as there have been countless movies about it. But that's OK, there are reasons for it. It is at the point of the island for one thing, and it's just so darn picturesque.<br />
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When I excused myself to myself (you must be polite to yourself when you go out alone) to go to the ladies room, I was tickled to find this gorgeous view there too. Of course I had to take my camera with me as there was no one to guard it at the table, and wasn't it handy to photograph myself in the mirror that stood in front of this marvelous sight? I nabbed the orange card for my scrapbook.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0BTuqTPTlKxUvCNoi3ajZEnFKh557PjPD7FF_G-5qrAORYH3got43nUr4M_h8DtX-Cr_jS9U-0S7h_Zu39uhSQWeSTDdbEFygVFiuSfWnXM6QYEk4zXD6Zmr3coW7njkVO30/s1600-h/Eiffel+Tower+and+Invalides+030+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350207605054211682" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0BTuqTPTlKxUvCNoi3ajZEnFKh557PjPD7FF_G-5qrAORYH3got43nUr4M_h8DtX-Cr_jS9U-0S7h_Zu39uhSQWeSTDdbEFygVFiuSfWnXM6QYEk4zXD6Zmr3coW7njkVO30/s640/Eiffel+Tower+and+Invalides+030+web.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 510px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 640px;" /></a><br />
Again when Don and I went to Paris for our 25th anniversary in 2003, I wanted to eat there to celebrate. Do you see our water glasses reflected in the window?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZwK95cLt0nr6tuPO8aL8bLRF1nlikUdwP4xQILjPOhlBV8fgOKHFS2C23S99ErMwSZ_ZP369uOx7XO4_mDDckxS5sWmaUU69FbqNW7oNmni53eOWHX-1nc-uqrnR-QwaPhsb/s1600-h/Eiffel+Tower+and+Invalides+011+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350207225604538562" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAZwK95cLt0nr6tuPO8aL8bLRF1nlikUdwP4xQILjPOhlBV8fgOKHFS2C23S99ErMwSZ_ZP369uOx7XO4_mDDckxS5sWmaUU69FbqNW7oNmni53eOWHX-1nc-uqrnR-QwaPhsb/s640/Eiffel+Tower+and+Invalides+011+web.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 486px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 640px;" /></a><br />
But below are the glasses we wanted to steal. I don't think I've ever been tempted to steal before this (and later I did steal a Guinness glass from the Guinness factory in Dublin), but this was just too sweet! Because they knew it was our big 25th anniversary, they brought our champagne in this special glass set. We asked if we could purchase one, but they didn't have them to sell. So, we seriously contemplated hiding them under Don's sportcoat. Ha. But we didn't do it, although it might have been fun to meet Inspector Clouseau.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTVetdghA421a06Ktj8FVJZYV4TVId50Vg6DSWSOhpwibgvkreM_D2B0IGVyCCyMBQz4ctFNM52TbuJ8SPV8GHFPaGTubpiJNOP7yFtLIV6WmolSrbWRpx5Hxn4KjXE9e3WvR/s1600-h/Eiffel+Tower+and+Invalides+008+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350207006697454354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOTVetdghA421a06Ktj8FVJZYV4TVId50Vg6DSWSOhpwibgvkreM_D2B0IGVyCCyMBQz4ctFNM52TbuJ8SPV8GHFPaGTubpiJNOP7yFtLIV6WmolSrbWRpx5Hxn4KjXE9e3WvR/s640/Eiffel+Tower+and+Invalides+008+web.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 422px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 640px;" /></a><br />
We asked the waitress (rare female in this male dominated profession in Paris) to snap our pic, but this is the result. It's probably not her fault, since the light was behind us.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iM_TJF7XYcLsJBxwab2NNjfEN0RdKgt9H4hQESJgn-05x1G5k3BZbnGFCLzbOCGMoFtaGeai_y0f1c5BHYVpvBFtrVc4lAB-4YvqxoND-Un8fF_6QUH8as1Z8VvSgvlM_iaI/s1600-h/Eiffel+Tower+and+Invalides+021+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5350206755686066242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5iM_TJF7XYcLsJBxwab2NNjfEN0RdKgt9H4hQESJgn-05x1G5k3BZbnGFCLzbOCGMoFtaGeai_y0f1c5BHYVpvBFtrVc4lAB-4YvqxoND-Un8fF_6QUH8as1Z8VvSgvlM_iaI/s640/Eiffel+Tower+and+Invalides+021+web.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 454px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 640px;" /></a>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-63887987048585875312009-06-03T08:35:00.003-04:002009-06-21T19:50:20.133-04:00Champs-Elysées<span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">-</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">-</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD44wh42LV2JJp-JQiV83PzA7wnDeYCxHxItunpyT1VEqxpMA5LBfrU4z9vcmv0r2cMKpObT3VGpjsKrooFtqr4Cc7vpjuPk7xPBVDPJBbOG938QaGypJxDFuZKS7md3hrRdgP/s1600-h/champs+elysee+coffee.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD44wh42LV2JJp-JQiV83PzA7wnDeYCxHxItunpyT1VEqxpMA5LBfrU4z9vcmv0r2cMKpObT3VGpjsKrooFtqr4Cc7vpjuPk7xPBVDPJBbOG938QaGypJxDFuZKS7md3hrRdgP/s640/champs+elysee+coffee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343047399028983922" border="0" /></a><br /><div>DAY 2 of a week in Paris - Monday<br /></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en">Le Louvre</a> et Champs-Elysées</span></span></p> <ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">BREAKFAST:</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">la</span> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">patisserie below the apartment</span></span></i> </li><li style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en"><span style="font-style: italic;">Le Louvre</span></a> </span></i> </li><li style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">LUNCH:</span></span></span> Angelina tea salon. 226 Rue de Rivoli (between Rues d'Alger and de Castiglione) </span></i> </li><li style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Tuilleries </span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Madeleine Church & Place de la Concorde</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Place Vendome</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Arc de Triomphe - view <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city> (daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)</span></i> </li><li style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Champs-Elysées</span> </span></i><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">- TODAY'S POST</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">DINNER:</span></span> </b><span style="font-style: italic;">La Boutique à Sandwiches. 12 Rue du Colisée </span>(between <span style="font-style: italic;">Rue de Ponethieu</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">Ave des Champs-Elysées</span>)</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Buddha Bar (8 <span style="font-style: italic;">rue Boissy d'Anglais</span>, near <span style="font-style: italic;">Place de la Concorde</span>)</span></i></li></ul>Next on our itinerary after the Tuilleries is the Madeleine Church, which I have posted about <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://paris-deconstructed.blogspot.com/2006/10/glise-de-la-madeleine.html">here</a> and <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://paris-deconstructed.blogspot.com/2006/05/mary-magdalene-in-paris.html">here</a>.<br /><br />So today I'm sharing just a little bit about the <span style="font-style: italic;">Champs-Elysées. </span>Because I have never been a person of means - or a shopper (maybe they go hand in hand) - I have not spent much time on this fashionable avenue.<span style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span><br />I have already told <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://paris-deconstructed.blogspot.com/2006/05/luxembourg-gardens-women-in-and-out-of.html">the story</a> of meeting Catherine, an American woman traveling alone like me. I first noticed her at the café in the photo of me at top drinking a <span style="font-style: italic;">café crème</span> (taken by a Chinese couple who first asked me with gestures to take their picture). Funny how you notice other Americans in a foreign city. Catherine and I didn't speak there, but later in the day when we saw each other in a totally different part of the city, we stopped and introduced ourselves. Has that ever happened to you? You're in one of the world's big cities, and you see the same people in different spots, sometimes even on different days?<br /><br />This little hour at a café on my solo 2006 trip is one of a few <span style="font-style: italic;">Champs-Elysées</span> memories.<br /><br />The first happened with Nancy in 1997. We had not yet heard of <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.sephora.com/">Sephora</a>, the cosmetics store <span style="font-style: italic;">par excellence. </span>So when we walked into their flagship store on the <span style="font-style: italic;">Champs-Elysées </span>we felt we'd entered a magical realm of womanly dreams come true. What aided that fantasy was a tall beautiful model in a maxi-length black coat and one white glove opening the door for us. Throughout the vast store were many other beautiful male and female models/sales clerks dressed in the same costume. The room's walls were lined floor to ceiling with women's perfume on one wall and men's cologne on the other, then make-up down the center. Any product queen would feel she'd died and gone to heaven. We saw dutiful husbands (or lovers) leaving with pretty little bags that we assumed contained tiny bottles of perfume. In the middle of our browsing, suddenly we were being rushed out of the store. There was a bomb scare! We were able to go back into the store after a few minutes to finish dipping white paper dipsticks into perfume bottles to sample scents. (Imagine how the avenue would have smelled if a bomb <span style="font-style: italic;">had</span> gone off. Ok, somber but fragrant thought.) I was a dutiful wife and bought my husband a bottle of cologne (was it Dior?).<br /><br />Now, of course, Americans can go into a Sephora in any shopping mall or even JC Penneys. But for us, the experience was part of the Paris mystique.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvHktFPzfb6R9xMHutSHCXt9sO-sP8AI3dGqQtDTwCr-LzIaeKX-OcalXpYwBielks_JEhyphenhyphen3-b4924pizJDH8a5tm1rVLWF6GqrCdERRnNsorW0ohohO3lvUWGadkJ-Xo1XUW/s1600-h/champs+elysees+009+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 429px; height: 640px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRvHktFPzfb6R9xMHutSHCXt9sO-sP8AI3dGqQtDTwCr-LzIaeKX-OcalXpYwBielks_JEhyphenhyphen3-b4924pizJDH8a5tm1rVLWF6GqrCdERRnNsorW0ohohO3lvUWGadkJ-Xo1XUW/s640/champs+elysees+009+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343069398619570498" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Don snapped this in 2003</span><br /></div><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">Another </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Champs-Elysées</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> memory was with Don in 2003. I <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://paris-deconstructed.blogspot.com/2009/03/ile-saint-louis-first-post-since-jan.html">posted</a> about the gracious French doctor - Giancarlo - who owned the apartment where we stayed on the tiny island </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Ile Saint-Louis</span><span style="font-size:100%;">. He refused to settle for handing us a key to the apartment in a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">café and instead insisted on picking us up at the airport! And not only that. Knowing from our emails that this was Don's first visit to this gorgeous city, he took the extra effort to drive in on the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Champs-Elysées</span> en route to the apartment so that Don would see the best and most interesting approach right off the bat. So much for a French reputation of rudeness!</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> On this crazy heart-racing drive he also told us how the city hires cleaners who every night wash graffiti off the city's white buildings, leaving them pristine and fresh every morning. Oh, and one more thing. At </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Rond-point</span><span style="font-size:100%;"> at <span style="font-style: italic;">Place de Charles De Gaulle </span>the circle around the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Arc de Triomphe</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, suddenly all cars - which had been driving at breakneck speed - slowed to a crawl. Giancarlo explained that in this circle of pavement, insurance does not cover drivers!</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-NmM7Bg0_0FKoVWMKV2XGu_cOi5bLicIkQmqo9nmQ716udNmGFVzD7TzGMTBVgTdoPOYtG6ddxQUazolveG2O3zNsoMZIHIJF0zNW-q2sA6TLz1d-khfYtTmFKgHbABg4v3j/s1600-h/champs+elysees+004+web_filtered.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 363px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc-NmM7Bg0_0FKoVWMKV2XGu_cOi5bLicIkQmqo9nmQ716udNmGFVzD7TzGMTBVgTdoPOYtG6ddxQUazolveG2O3zNsoMZIHIJF0zNW-q2sA6TLz1d-khfYtTmFKgHbABg4v3j/s640/champs+elysees+004+web_filtered.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343068285356978498" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">One of the happy discoveries while walking with Nancy, in the 1997 photo below, was the </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Allée Marcel Proust</span><span style="font-size:100%;">, just at the start of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Champs-Elysées, </span><span style="font-size:100%;">and parallel with it. It is a pretty park-like walkway, quiet and protected from the hustle of the busy avenue.</span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rP8Io7PrLH4iKkEdavOuwYT6HX-kR5UrgRgdLk4_9XCUhOCEL9vdeCQsA_jIiXgJY_keg_LVUWJGRcCHJGCA4nhpjNOBKq6EQ4AxSm_mJCfAHXXbXdQHYTYK-V5mR8mIs9MJ/s1600-h/champs+elysees+003+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 362px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3rP8Io7PrLH4iKkEdavOuwYT6HX-kR5UrgRgdLk4_9XCUhOCEL9vdeCQsA_jIiXgJY_keg_LVUWJGRcCHJGCA4nhpjNOBKq6EQ4AxSm_mJCfAHXXbXdQHYTYK-V5mR8mIs9MJ/s640/champs+elysees+003+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343067412556762930" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We found </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;">Allée Marcel Proust</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> just after watching President Clinton's limousine speed by on his way to the presidential palace to see Jacques Chirac. Clinton was in Paris to give a <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.nato.int/docu/speech/1997/s970527d.htm">NATO speech</a>.</span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXbW9IKyhARoprEpDSJpSDn1_-qGI77dy4Q9vuEXi_LedAmQycmfHZ7eFWDX54DSn3YaV9BjodMLRb7NDaKk7zMpu2BQX5jDCK_kyzBrICmNUEsjUwLYriIAj49duzrR46GjE/s1600-h/champs+elysees+007+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 368px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAXbW9IKyhARoprEpDSJpSDn1_-qGI77dy4Q9vuEXi_LedAmQycmfHZ7eFWDX54DSn3YaV9BjodMLRb7NDaKk7zMpu2BQX5jDCK_kyzBrICmNUEsjUwLYriIAj49duzrR46GjE/s640/champs+elysees+007+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343068759304182930" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-family:georgia;"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-62667757126995649872009-05-20T08:36:00.004-04:002009-06-21T19:49:58.547-04:00Jardin des Tuileries<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5A9Z-sVPx5lCV2LvMei8OOhGye9jyo-5Th3nNSn_gyUKm6Teo4ZuUp8JfgEjMG_B5i3sOtP2EO2anNE6ukI_9zR4VBRpvHbN5QRbQR5KOsxfUPFWEAoqDY8dL5oq3E1Zgm-C/s1600-h/tuileries+shots+%284%29+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 474px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgz5A9Z-sVPx5lCV2LvMei8OOhGye9jyo-5Th3nNSn_gyUKm6Teo4ZuUp8JfgEjMG_B5i3sOtP2EO2anNE6ukI_9zR4VBRpvHbN5QRbQR5KOsxfUPFWEAoqDY8dL5oq3E1Zgm-C/s640/tuileries+shots+%284%29+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337875707094031122" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div>DAY 2 of a week in Paris - Monday<br /></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en">Le Louvre</a> et Champs-Elysées</span></span></p> <ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">BREAKFAST:</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">la</span> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">patisserie below the apartment</span></span></i> </li><li style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en"><span style="font-style: italic;">Le Louvre</span></a> </span></i> </li><li style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">LUNCH:</span></span></span> Angelina tea salon. 226 Rue de Rivoli (between Rues d'Alger and de Castiglione) </span></i> </li><li style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Tuilleries - TODAY'S POST</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Madeleine Church & Place de la Concorde</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Place Vendome</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Arc de Triomphe - view <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city> (daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Champs-Elysées</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">DINNER:</span></span> </b>La Boutique à Sandwiches. 12 Rue du Colisée (between Rue de Ponethieu and Ave des Champs-Elysées)</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Buddha Bar (8 rue Boissy d'Anglais, near Place de la Concorde)</span></i></li></ul><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_73VQRANdB-PcRdFNtxf1W9TBD7Pd7x22ZpBrCEh0ZcPwWtkNi6RB5340hJqhCQ4Zwq-FGXfNlmBlJcoFUPOnW4QxfDE3DpckrH-WKgG1IPMcvyxNy5z9ggqDdnBlVBEMuHu/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+005+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 376px; height: 640px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_73VQRANdB-PcRdFNtxf1W9TBD7Pd7x22ZpBrCEh0ZcPwWtkNi6RB5340hJqhCQ4Zwq-FGXfNlmBlJcoFUPOnW4QxfDE3DpckrH-WKgG1IPMcvyxNy5z9ggqDdnBlVBEMuHu/s640/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+005+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337874118970632466" border="0" /></a><br />In most of my trips to Paris, I have sought to stay near the center of the city so that every day's jaunts end up back here, at the Tuileries gardens. It's beautiful in the morning, as the sun rises behind the Louvre, and it's more beautiful in the evening as the sun sets behind the <span style="font-style: italic;">Arc de Triomphe</span> and the obelisk at <span style="font-style: italic;">Place de la Concorde</span> (the direction of the top photo).<br /><br />At the end of a long day of walking, I feel like the fellow in the statue above - utterly spent and ready for sitting in one of the green metal reclining chairs by a fountain.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkajy02vHJgZNH8hf16oYNdr1TUc2CdVCL_jHmUgEUjBMrMj77Ur48yOAcPGxKqL4AlXARVOcyShSlJnKsV0ZBwEn_snNZEl8HeatSVYhQtsu8dl9na_xql-g5fR9EEY9JGhI-/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+007+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 228px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkajy02vHJgZNH8hf16oYNdr1TUc2CdVCL_jHmUgEUjBMrMj77Ur48yOAcPGxKqL4AlXARVOcyShSlJnKsV0ZBwEn_snNZEl8HeatSVYhQtsu8dl9na_xql-g5fR9EEY9JGhI-/s400/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+007+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337874124944280834" border="0" /></a><br />There is great people watching, especially the kids who rent toy sailboats and push them around the pool with their sticks.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpV9Vixxy-ZEzDx6nZBJjeZxMOjdkKBo1hmyKUQYpuNz4ot_2PnJKmvzS0nEHIyOYLI7i5sRGXWCKRhT2pph2gkE0W9CfC90oITgYRvWeEiv56Vw1CRiz2KitYdkMR9t6eNYW/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+006+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrpV9Vixxy-ZEzDx6nZBJjeZxMOjdkKBo1hmyKUQYpuNz4ot_2PnJKmvzS0nEHIyOYLI7i5sRGXWCKRhT2pph2gkE0W9CfC90oITgYRvWeEiv56Vw1CRiz2KitYdkMR9t6eNYW/s400/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+006+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337874123772430706" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Of course the flowers are fabulous, as are all the flowers in Paris. I've noticed year after year that the garden designers around the city do unique things each year. One year I was surprised and pleased to see thistle in the Luxembourg gardens. Wonderful!<br /><br />But each visit there have been irises.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62MKxDp-_2Aq1rLmVpGOTLfO2WZcYo7g7pyisE4s_9JE6WZjxEWzArcSXmlABAkIpPtgow-x7iMjTVNtHsbeaN27vWUylUXbXN-hDwhZ95StlSed-mop0q17sGFaYukldDG3w/s1600-h/tuileries+%2819%29+desat+darker_filtered+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh62MKxDp-_2Aq1rLmVpGOTLfO2WZcYo7g7pyisE4s_9JE6WZjxEWzArcSXmlABAkIpPtgow-x7iMjTVNtHsbeaN27vWUylUXbXN-hDwhZ95StlSed-mop0q17sGFaYukldDG3w/s400/tuileries+%2819%29+desat+darker_filtered+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337875702008585586" border="0" /></a><br />You can buy an ice cream.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ3TicCxeZ2w8RUZ8S8GgVgkMTAPOrItzBRgchWxaxmR8uxBB0HEinZrsEEtwfYnsjR94QDEdZIx8p3Pb00dHPvDQUd7ZNkTsbW0GcEgD4oXQnQLLoJcay017f3JDWC6uExCJR/s1600-h/tuileries+%281%29+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ3TicCxeZ2w8RUZ8S8GgVgkMTAPOrItzBRgchWxaxmR8uxBB0HEinZrsEEtwfYnsjR94QDEdZIx8p3Pb00dHPvDQUd7ZNkTsbW0GcEgD4oXQnQLLoJcay017f3JDWC6uExCJR/s400/tuileries+%281%29+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337875696605369266" border="0" /></a><br />You can sleep in the shade.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLG_P83NBFJT7-Gfmxmu3otvVGZlTCRgQcumZ9lPTYmEphKT47i69BizGjWQqy5yrOI6y4seDkCNXzGp_2vS4HmlMAkCK4sUblwdViVCslWYoiNqCy8ibWzyM0qNSM9-TkvQJN/s1600-h/tuileries+%284%29+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLG_P83NBFJT7-Gfmxmu3otvVGZlTCRgQcumZ9lPTYmEphKT47i69BizGjWQqy5yrOI6y4seDkCNXzGp_2vS4HmlMAkCK4sUblwdViVCslWYoiNqCy8ibWzyM0qNSM9-TkvQJN/s400/tuileries+%284%29+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337880470747202626" border="0" /></a><br />You can bring your lunch and eat with a friend.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvsYsNpfDMmRFNq54OtQjGFuurE6Tw4dqNCmqCl0D7YsOZ5gefy5iPgUeiB1i916glMRlEIkFot5QbkeR8rdNPLdh12M-qTN-8ymEO0Jxbss9axu-BsiAQoIreQMnRrZ750JB4/s1600-h/tuileries+shots+%282%29+crop+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 346px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvsYsNpfDMmRFNq54OtQjGFuurE6Tw4dqNCmqCl0D7YsOZ5gefy5iPgUeiB1i916glMRlEIkFot5QbkeR8rdNPLdh12M-qTN-8ymEO0Jxbss9axu-BsiAQoIreQMnRrZ750JB4/s400/tuileries+shots+%282%29+crop+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337880782262425778" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUrycSwlsUck43qlhvMMDvq7L-uB09zSEekTlbUrijb6KszNKl7phTPANS4vnPgm9MjRF9FzSFbXGB_M8zPiydYefd-jAiiVIs4vpixOVkUh4D1oYo2kk2uviUE6RWwmgl3It/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+019+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 408px; height: 640px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOUrycSwlsUck43qlhvMMDvq7L-uB09zSEekTlbUrijb6KszNKl7phTPANS4vnPgm9MjRF9FzSFbXGB_M8zPiydYefd-jAiiVIs4vpixOVkUh4D1oYo2kk2uviUE6RWwmgl3It/s640/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+019+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337875697600368690" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Above is me, and below is my sister Nancy, in 1997, the year our mother passed away with Alzheimer's. We treated ourselves to two full weeks in Paris - my first visit since I studied abroad in college in 1975.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpqfnpJ_nPEluJQK1yjhpthNYDjJAyP6jSKw0BXRXMUtA9nXXh-lTg2SKl5f9LfSo-xyK3y0pupq2n6PDvhHljFskgf12Z21AcbjQ9aDR4zHaNfE1iZY1kgLkZy0wZf4FZvOPK/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+018+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 362px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpqfnpJ_nPEluJQK1yjhpthNYDjJAyP6jSKw0BXRXMUtA9nXXh-lTg2SKl5f9LfSo-xyK3y0pupq2n6PDvhHljFskgf12Z21AcbjQ9aDR4zHaNfE1iZY1kgLkZy0wZf4FZvOPK/s640/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+018+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337875697919401890" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfl9Ex7khNRt6SRBxzTOjaslrwJyAua3BPxsCe-yzc3K6-ZPHe73SDGWeUdmDx5s3yP9S4toOZ3x6r6CZreLXoXT5S_3bYbG9MfAV3rwhxvXY2yctUBcAurLk1Xo_G9wXxjWv/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+016+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 370px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfl9Ex7khNRt6SRBxzTOjaslrwJyAua3BPxsCe-yzc3K6-ZPHe73SDGWeUdmDx5s3yP9S4toOZ3x6r6CZreLXoXT5S_3bYbG9MfAV3rwhxvXY2yctUBcAurLk1Xo_G9wXxjWv/s640/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+016+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337874131166170898" border="0" /></a><br />I can't say that after resting in the Tuileries we necessarily felt like doing Pilates, but it was nice to watch this lady doing hers with the Louvre in the background.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmE2Br4GBotRypGu0xx3yMdL-tA2lQbc9j07JUCzP44jZa9QwLf9Bua9H9NF5Slrhb743s05Wc4guJnB7i6P4hOKpIcVbPRcg9FsKoSbl83a1Z3rVvSzv0tZFzRZwCwEpWuxEZ/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+009+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 374px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmE2Br4GBotRypGu0xx3yMdL-tA2lQbc9j07JUCzP44jZa9QwLf9Bua9H9NF5Slrhb743s05Wc4guJnB7i6P4hOKpIcVbPRcg9FsKoSbl83a1Z3rVvSzv0tZFzRZwCwEpWuxEZ/s640/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+009+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337874125525809202" border="0" /></a><br />I leave you with this final sketch by Fabrice Moireau, from his book <a style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Sketchbook-Graham-Byfield/dp/0312284160/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b">Paris Sketchbook</a>.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGJbArtvUZPmuaEXYn2nMkl_XhH0T2JcJu37AZk0gjcdf5U5keSLz2Ys8P8zIrz2cf9pQ4MKoEeasjECeeW4WYCgRVzwzTqQPL0JyixEptjflTEEQV-0xdEl8Vpo04eDrukNp/s1600-h/misc+227+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 560px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGJbArtvUZPmuaEXYn2nMkl_XhH0T2JcJu37AZk0gjcdf5U5keSLz2Ys8P8zIrz2cf9pQ4MKoEeasjECeeW4WYCgRVzwzTqQPL0JyixEptjflTEEQV-0xdEl8Vpo04eDrukNp/s640/misc+227+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5337878746248093794" border="0" /></a>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-47101549542660498842009-05-06T09:00:00.005-04:002009-06-21T19:49:36.687-04:00Angelina Tea Salon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhagh5t30GloY-i-x99XNw2tfoL-yQTyiR1uYF1cNsIok4Z69FYbYRlEbVkJp5iv5EdCElsPJokDOPPKkHetWjoLD6MDEYTgTteWGyk7sQ_-JSJV_-TbCGMw7zzBxW8_Omi-ex/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+027+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 438px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhagh5t30GloY-i-x99XNw2tfoL-yQTyiR1uYF1cNsIok4Z69FYbYRlEbVkJp5iv5EdCElsPJokDOPPKkHetWjoLD6MDEYTgTteWGyk7sQ_-JSJV_-TbCGMw7zzBxW8_Omi-ex/s640/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+027+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332688499327983570" border="0" /></a><br /><div>DAY 2 of a week in Paris - Monday<br /></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en">Le Louvre</a> et Champs-Elysées</span></span></p> <ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">BREAKFAST:</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">la</span> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">patisserie below the apartment</span></span></i> </li><li style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><a href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en"><span style="font-style: italic;">Le Louvre</span></a> </span></i> </li><li style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">LUNCH:</span></span></span> Angelina tea salon. 226 Rue de Rivoli (between Rues d'Alger and de Castiglione) - TODAY'S POST</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Tuilleries</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Madeleine Church & Place de la Concorde</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Place Vendome</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Arc de Triomphe - view <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city> (daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Champs-Elysées</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">DINNER:</span></span> </b>La Boutique à Sandwiches. 12 Rue du Colisée (between Rue de Ponethieu and Ave des Champs-Elysées)</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Buddha Bar (8 rue Boissy d'Anglais, near Place de la Concorde)</span></i></li></ul><br />The little clipping from <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.amazon.com/Access-Paris-6th-Guides/dp/0062772295"><span style="font-style: italic;">Access Paris</span></a> calls this the Rolls-Royce of tea salons, and I imagine it is.<br /><br />It sits under the shady colonnade on rue de Rivoli - a fashionable and expensive street of touristy shops and hotels. This is where you're likely to pick up a sight-seeing bus for a two-hour tour of the city (a good idea to get the lay of the place). You can find nice souvenirs on this street, even not too expensively. But of course, you have to get off this tourist <span style="font-style: italic;">rue</span> and off into your own discoveries. I have a sweet story to share from this street one day soon, my favorite Paris story.<br /><br />Angelina is a nice stop after a long day along the Seine. The Tuilleries gardens are just across the street, next to the Louvre, so you can walk over there after tea, sit back in the sun for a while to rest your weary legs, and feel drops from the fountain blown by the wind while you watch children push toy sailboats with sticks.<br /><br />I wish I had images of Angelina besides the napkin I took away, above, but you can read a lovely post about it at <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.theparistraveler.com/angelina/">The Paris Traveler</a>. So I will give you instead images I do have from another tea salon, across from eastern-most end of the Louvre.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbU8KQ_LkDNS2EQFhP_64AQMA2X4H247YCV3eA7yBSV_us6KjrqBpmZeHvjdo2nlQJ1wM2m_9hIF242qy0Q27njJ9lzZwqw1_FEkOLJA6EYOqVxUQ6QkLmjeOBmp0Tpy_QzRP/s1600-h/salon+de+the+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMbU8KQ_LkDNS2EQFhP_64AQMA2X4H247YCV3eA7yBSV_us6KjrqBpmZeHvjdo2nlQJ1wM2m_9hIF242qy0Q27njJ9lzZwqw1_FEkOLJA6EYOqVxUQ6QkLmjeOBmp0Tpy_QzRP/s640/salon+de+the+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332692101028946322" border="0" /></a><br />These little tea stops are wonderful with a friend, but they are equally fine alone. A place to stop on a long stroll up the Seine, to write down reflections on what you just saw - because you know you'll forget. To drink a cup of tea or café crème, maybe nibble on a <a style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_%28cake%29">madeleine</a> or <span style="font-style: italic;">croissant</span>.<br /><br />Or watch the world go by.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZypthl0w4mldBTfw4KuwJ67dA_YT1Ew2T6hBKiE4_QIN1PovHlMCMCO4Q4xzk1EfzTPyfaPZ8opeMiIlJkO7thk1JI7NBTO19qoCVTR3K5USiEphvOjwlPEo8FRLYNodbeaXk/s1600-h/salon+de+the+%281%29+crop+ps_filtered+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 587px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZypthl0w4mldBTfw4KuwJ67dA_YT1Ew2T6hBKiE4_QIN1PovHlMCMCO4Q4xzk1EfzTPyfaPZ8opeMiIlJkO7thk1JI7NBTO19qoCVTR3K5USiEphvOjwlPEo8FRLYNodbeaXk/s640/salon+de+the+%281%29+crop+ps_filtered+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332692102164406226" border="0" /></a><br /><br />226 Rue de Rivoli (between Rues d'Alger and de Catiglione)<br />PARIS Métro: Concorde or TuileriesRuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-32491608798569291452009-04-27T09:06:00.003-04:002009-06-21T19:49:12.708-04:00Day 2: Le Louvre<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqNaOLtk0LWtNfVK0fvftRXHfP5kEvHG_rScNezHl0Vhudb1MydZqBUvWXJYKWOKkBf50zfFZwBPWG_13NzeHcvfPH0GtMufLztzJhSIhSk1Ns5kkJ8cAxMIirx3aTItXnkj7/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+013+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 366px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSqNaOLtk0LWtNfVK0fvftRXHfP5kEvHG_rScNezHl0Vhudb1MydZqBUvWXJYKWOKkBf50zfFZwBPWG_13NzeHcvfPH0GtMufLztzJhSIhSk1Ns5kkJ8cAxMIirx3aTItXnkj7/s640/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+013+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329021195990904898" border="0" /></a><br /><div>DAY 2 of a week in Paris - Monday<br /></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> <span style="font-style: italic;"> <a href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en">Le Louvre</a> et Champs-Elysées</span></span></p> <ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">BREAKFAST:</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">la</span> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">patisserie below the apartment</span></span></i> </li><li style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 204, 255);"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en"><span style="font-style: italic;">Le Louvre</span></a> - today's post</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">LUNCH:</span></span></span> Angelina tea salon. 226 Rue de Rivoli (between Rues d'Alger and de Castiglione)</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Tuilleries</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Madeleine Church & Place de la Concorde</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Place Vendome</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Arc de Triomphe - view <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city> (daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Champs-Elysées</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">DINNER:</span></span> </b>La Boutique à Sandwiches. 12 Rue du Colisée (between Rue de Ponethieu and Ave des Champs-Elysées)</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Buddha Bar (8 rue Boissy d'Anglais, near Place de la Concorde)</span></i></li></ul><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR_EPlcrVPV39SxkE-Xr56wXqU2QOMnQgyZ1lrQmOssinyuTCU8igSmW50dbqFKVvKqRUmIPSWJR7OkEKADgbu8r6bx-BNjnoncEVTRB_JjsJ4M29U7lni55io7QlFncTU-YA2/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+021+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 363px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR_EPlcrVPV39SxkE-Xr56wXqU2QOMnQgyZ1lrQmOssinyuTCU8igSmW50dbqFKVvKqRUmIPSWJR7OkEKADgbu8r6bx-BNjnoncEVTRB_JjsJ4M29U7lni55io7QlFncTU-YA2/s640/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+021+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329021189576867474" border="0" /></a><br />Right next door to the Tuileries gardens, the Louvre sits like a grand jewel in the center of the Paris crown. Dating back to the 12th century when it was a fortress, then a residence, its <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/musee/histoire_louvre.jsp?bmLocale=en">history</a> is long and complex (of course).<br /><br />I have us visiting the <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.louvre.fr/llv/commun/home.jsp?bmLocale=en">Louvre</a> on Monday, but in fact Nancy and I visited a second time on the following Sunday in 1997. The reason? We wanted to see more, and we're cheapskates - you can get in for free on Sundays. The downside to that, of course, is that you have to wait in line for quite a while. I think we waited an hour. But if you are in Paris more than a week, it's nice if you can make a couple of visits here, and spread out the vast collections. They say if you stopped in front of each work for 15 seconds it would take a month solid to view every work in the museum.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggybpKcZH-hvPhdxqkmcPDMisEnIm00WWes22cOY9OSkVuAd6Eg2kf2iHfjUuprVxtymNMu0TlnN-VcxxjteDzmGq-YIGa94J9BicS53urluibh98YrgM8YoBhKdCgA-amAWz/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+010+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgggybpKcZH-hvPhdxqkmcPDMisEnIm00WWes22cOY9OSkVuAd6Eg2kf2iHfjUuprVxtymNMu0TlnN-VcxxjteDzmGq-YIGa94J9BicS53urluibh98YrgM8YoBhKdCgA-amAWz/s400/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+010+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329021186203645842" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJCMbZcf3PPTzJu6Po2RpiqVIiebISJR8d_owkseGbQnDoaFfI8Y0Lf0etT5QRnma_EZfILBYJr9A3XDmNCHCVdYTF3kw35fiwrz0awZ8kZR83Jr6kuIm9MYmE1fSe4l6rvFd_/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+030+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJCMbZcf3PPTzJu6Po2RpiqVIiebISJR8d_owkseGbQnDoaFfI8Y0Lf0etT5QRnma_EZfILBYJr9A3XDmNCHCVdYTF3kw35fiwrz0awZ8kZR83Jr6kuIm9MYmE1fSe4l6rvFd_/s400/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+030+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329021186215118658" border="0" /></a><br />Personally, I find large museums incredibly daunting, and not too pleasant. Walking the long galleries of the Louvre - as long as a football field or two - is torturous for me. Like mall walking, when fatigue sets in because the pace is too slow. I much prefer the small house museums, such as the <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://paris-deconstructed.blogspot.com/search/label/Picasso%20Museum">Picasso</a> and <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://paris-deconstructed.blogspot.com/search/label/Rodin%20Museum">Rodin</a>.<br /><br />But you must go, of course, and to see the collections in bite sizes is my recommendation. I never plan to visit for more than two hours, and I set out to see specific works.<br /><br />On the first visit I recommend "Louvre Lite" - seeing the highlights, which gets you moving at a faster pace, you can even jog between them if you wish:<br /><br /><ul><li>Mary Magdalene by Erhart on the Lower Ground floor - my personal favorite; read <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://paris-deconstructed.blogspot.com/2006/05/mary-magdalene-in-paris.html">here</a> to see why.</li><li>Venus de Milo on the Ground floor</li><li>Mona Lisa and Winged Victory on the First floor</li></ul><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEphwfbNbj1IOlSUkcvRapDOLvfrH8SiXQjkNEqXXoyRFmD3yCXDLopY35LxJK-Y_L6tt7ottRmIb0pb-YOzn1r1EqTtwGutEmhFzq_r8CrRncwSp59RyEnkXAzB7AwPx5TQA1/s1600-h/Mary+Magdalene+Erhart.bmp"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 122px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEphwfbNbj1IOlSUkcvRapDOLvfrH8SiXQjkNEqXXoyRFmD3yCXDLopY35LxJK-Y_L6tt7ottRmIb0pb-YOzn1r1EqTtwGutEmhFzq_r8CrRncwSp59RyEnkXAzB7AwPx5TQA1/s400/Mary+Magdalene+Erhart.bmp" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329349477536514450" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxntu5rlyM90aFgP4ppojOnrAPriEcdUfy0EjFjzVARV68GlNbjsfJtUImfs21rPu0fxl3U6H9e498ITsd07PsONZQkdaWNzUI7ZzVWCKwab5zWpiwj-vQ2ifhxjnfjHjtLrN/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+015+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 276px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivxntu5rlyM90aFgP4ppojOnrAPriEcdUfy0EjFjzVARV68GlNbjsfJtUImfs21rPu0fxl3U6H9e498ITsd07PsONZQkdaWNzUI7ZzVWCKwab5zWpiwj-vQ2ifhxjnfjHjtLrN/s400/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+015+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329021179252746114" border="0" /></a><br />The handy map they give you displays the highlights.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2D-gILLQDwhUk9RlQNFjBFio2x27Ior2aojXeXbQXrap80o7JLPQmfI-m85496ijQ42x-IqPpC48RWT2yYViYKB4DN-32EPTpR-94FgOqOI0VD1w97R5yuYaIc_aFzTrvWkEt/s1600-h/Louvre+map.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 414px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2D-gILLQDwhUk9RlQNFjBFio2x27Ior2aojXeXbQXrap80o7JLPQmfI-m85496ijQ42x-IqPpC48RWT2yYViYKB4DN-32EPTpR-94FgOqOI0VD1w97R5yuYaIc_aFzTrvWkEt/s640/Louvre+map.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329341071335697858" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik57Xegx0VagE-71iAcuUx2wzzEIWBhIqzvdq91BEaWiIa2Oitp4Y7ciQ3seMDtHxOU6D7-XK-0SkM6V545NQQo-qKj8r432k7KQSGTws9TP22pMD6Ga72aY27zNCFeZh6VfTm/s1600-h/Louvre+map+lower+ground+floor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 352px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik57Xegx0VagE-71iAcuUx2wzzEIWBhIqzvdq91BEaWiIa2Oitp4Y7ciQ3seMDtHxOU6D7-XK-0SkM6V545NQQo-qKj8r432k7KQSGTws9TP22pMD6Ga72aY27zNCFeZh6VfTm/s640/Louvre+map+lower+ground+floor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329342232947276114" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg_Y9szWWkcjOpCx3XRa3V8vwxAs2_6b-zZ5kqhReQ_VmilgcmYk_qD-Y3s3pz2k-aB37MyZcqSfgGJTL-oI_3-xcc7sn9lTV3AptoVixy0ol3CkpS8UMQ9c54abk5OzAnyrD/s1600-h/Louvre+map+ground+floor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 355px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg_Y9szWWkcjOpCx3XRa3V8vwxAs2_6b-zZ5kqhReQ_VmilgcmYk_qD-Y3s3pz2k-aB37MyZcqSfgGJTL-oI_3-xcc7sn9lTV3AptoVixy0ol3CkpS8UMQ9c54abk5OzAnyrD/s640/Louvre+map+ground+floor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329341066910633586" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhre8DqaazcuG3mB2P2KEinpAHnTJY_C8aR52MKT1s_cqAFguTB8HknVxT5rkyhqBmIQi2Wvj_7pP65umCxcr1wCk2wDRqxubZIHEWuTGK-fgK4800M2am8azHemey1PnHm2T/s1600-h/Louvre+map+first+floor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 341px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzhre8DqaazcuG3mB2P2KEinpAHnTJY_C8aR52MKT1s_cqAFguTB8HknVxT5rkyhqBmIQi2Wvj_7pP65umCxcr1wCk2wDRqxubZIHEWuTGK-fgK4800M2am8azHemey1PnHm2T/s640/Louvre+map+first+floor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329341063867229554" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFntXrLDLMAwNybfEbZhtmtEamSxaezVQrNlSOfTNgLL_9oZT4i_t5wl4aYh01bVd-G3xfOZo8KvMbsaBQPZPTmIxIFpNx3i0npomQNwYUYu2N6n3kosu6-0Pd7pwvp3EHtDxV/s1600-h/Louvre+map+second+floor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 346px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFntXrLDLMAwNybfEbZhtmtEamSxaezVQrNlSOfTNgLL_9oZT4i_t5wl4aYh01bVd-G3xfOZo8KvMbsaBQPZPTmIxIFpNx3i0npomQNwYUYu2N6n3kosu6-0Pd7pwvp3EHtDxV/s640/Louvre+map+second+floor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329342717106578594" border="0" /></a><br />Next post: Angelina Tea Salon - a less overwhelming subject.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-22515530296055524402009-04-20T06:54:00.001-04:002009-04-20T06:57:32.418-04:00a tale of two hotels: part II - Hotel du Vieux Marais<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrG1iBGOTdAEg_DJkMwdawB_Qhq23SvuIbo0WM5XIPqVXjm_4kdBAaQnauIE5F_8kZAAHVCe0MYYoghYJS4pb2-0TDmMLi7XNNppNfkayJ14UBqtCDoT3TWh70v3rmc6TYMo4y/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+035+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 336px; height: 640px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrG1iBGOTdAEg_DJkMwdawB_Qhq23SvuIbo0WM5XIPqVXjm_4kdBAaQnauIE5F_8kZAAHVCe0MYYoghYJS4pb2-0TDmMLi7XNNppNfkayJ14UBqtCDoT3TWh70v3rmc6TYMo4y/s640/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+035+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326711965189379986" border="0" /></a><br /><div>DAY 2 of a week in Paris - Monday<br /></div> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">La Louvre et Champs-Elysées</span></p> <ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">BREAKFAST:</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">la</span> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span">patisserie below the apartment</span></span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">La Louvre</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">LUNCH:</span></span></span> Angelina tea salon. 226 Rue de Rivoli (between Rues d'Alger and de Castiglione)</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Tuilleries</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Madeleine Church & Place de la Concorde</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Place Vendome</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Arc de Triomphe - view <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city> (daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Champs-Elysées</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">DINNER:</span></span> </b>La Boutique à Sandwiches. 12 Rue du Colisée (between Rue de Ponethieu and Ave des Champs-Elysées)</span></i> </li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Buddha Bar (8 rue Boissy d'Anglais, near Place de la Concorde)</span></i></li></ul>After spending our first of two weeks in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Hotel Saint-Roch</span>, the shabby not-so-chic hotel I'd found online for us (last post) until Nancy's friend's apartment was available, we threw our things into our suitcases, hopped into a taxi and headed for <span style="font-style: italic;">rue du Platre</span> in the Marais. There is a lot of history and buzz around <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Marais"><span style="font-style: italic;">Le Marais</span></a> district of Paris, and it's a highly desirable area of residence. My sister's friend who owns the apartment is an opera singer in NYC, and she was lucky to get a prized apartment in this building that also houses the <span style="font-style: italic;">Hotel du Vieux Marais. </span><br /><br />As I mentioned in the last post, there are always certain things you expect that don't happen on a trip like this, and things you don't expect that do. When those unexpected things turn out to be life-long loves, they are good indeed.<br /><br />One of the unexpected things that wasn't so lovely was that this apartment in the Marais was a 4th floor walk-up. We had spared nothing packing our suitcases for two weeks in Paris. We must have been pretending we were Ms. & Ms. Gotrocks, taking dresses and as many shoes as we wanted. So we had BIG suitcases. But since we <span style="font-style: italic;">weren't</span> Ms. and Ms. Gotrocks, we had to carry those suitcases up four flights by ourselves. But once we were up there, it was great, complete with floor length balcony windows (ours is the top floor in the photo above, just hidden under the hotel card, my sister in her own room and me on a futon in the living room with those tall windows.<br /><br />So I'm getting to my life-long love discovery. Our first morning waking up in the apartment we decided to try out the <span style="font-style: italic;">patisserie</span> in the ground floor of the apartment building. I went for a café crème and a Danish-looking pastry. We sat outside under an umbrella in the spring sun, watching local residents hurry by on their way to work. This is not a tourist district.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEEA3AGjpYvKaZyz3dCxXIw4mNmNP1S0oyGT1V-7-mrkad8_l485o4D6D82hI1kNO-rgeQWc6BuWSy8KbXASn6j3BvTF25-k_FNE67MXC91X2s7pPA4qnIa-l_lttCCBUg_NkP/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+003+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 234px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEEA3AGjpYvKaZyz3dCxXIw4mNmNP1S0oyGT1V-7-mrkad8_l485o4D6D82hI1kNO-rgeQWc6BuWSy8KbXASn6j3BvTF25-k_FNE67MXC91X2s7pPA4qnIa-l_lttCCBUg_NkP/s400/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+003+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326710449999689586" border="0" /></a><br />We met pretty Ellen, another American from Boston, who was staying in the hotel. We invited her up for some wine and cheese later in the week, another nice reason to stay in an apartment if you can - they cost no more than a hotel per night, and you have a kitchen, washing machine and lots of room. In the photo above I'm not talking to myself, I'm talking to Ellen. In the photo below, Ellen and Nancy are there looking pretty at our table.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTw1dg7aZxg-S9euGD6xsP5iTiZ-uMCBsgeDtmD-98jW8e3Br5mnykHTA8fDBzDJL4wEp0qzi7NSxLGUOH_hDFe4tcBAY8XHdGtoaW-0z6bsk3MNz1-sM5bR_8egDXl4nIcRDV/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+032+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 410px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTw1dg7aZxg-S9euGD6xsP5iTiZ-uMCBsgeDtmD-98jW8e3Br5mnykHTA8fDBzDJL4wEp0qzi7NSxLGUOH_hDFe4tcBAY8XHdGtoaW-0z6bsk3MNz1-sM5bR_8egDXl4nIcRDV/s640/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+032+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326710451712534818" border="0" /></a><br />All right, I won't keep you in suspense any longer. My life-long discovery. That Danish-looking pastry was called <span style="font-style: italic;">pain aux raisins</span> (bread with raisins). Although I tried to find its equal at many <span style="font-style: italic;">patisseries</span> in Paris, I never found one as phenomenally delicious as at this little <span style="font-style: italic;">patisserie</span> in the Marais. The secret is that within the spiral of dough and raisins is custard. Yes custard. The delicate brioche dough, combined with custard, is the most delicious thing I've ever tasted. The little woman who bakes them is not terribly friendly and doesn't seem to know a word of English, but the woman knows how to bake.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSMye-cvRy_-s0G42coZ68-rPs-F9IF0hkpjqeONfx9pnBtUneur3TVQRJbBZ-0OJeNJAwasxInisXEQWIWS-H7B4T3IIrUV3-K3yWJ-PxNhpOROPie1EZU_Di78mhj7Tz1Lq4/s1600-h/pain+aux+raisins+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSMye-cvRy_-s0G42coZ68-rPs-F9IF0hkpjqeONfx9pnBtUneur3TVQRJbBZ-0OJeNJAwasxInisXEQWIWS-H7B4T3IIrUV3-K3yWJ-PxNhpOROPie1EZU_Di78mhj7Tz1Lq4/s400/pain+aux+raisins+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326710457448054546" border="0" /></a><br />The afternoon before we left Paris after our two week stay, I ordered 18 of these to pick up in the morning, on our way to the airport. I had brought Ziploc bags for who knows what reason. I packaged up my treasures, snuggled them into the suitcase, and took them - a little flatter - to the office two days after arriving home. I shared them with my colleagues, and they declared that even two-three days old, these were the best tasting things they'd ever eaten.<br /><br />Now, when I return to Paris, I always try to find an apartment in the Marais - not only for the desirable neighborhood, but for this little <span style="font-style: italic;">patisserie</span> and its <span style="font-style: italic;">pain aux raisins</span>.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSBTRA36rsDAvhM4lrux__7K9x2kC9EUBXXZo2l7ufjOCpwgQgd0NS52A_fCX64-mmoQGHuU-fTNFbJE2GXaTkkf-B_ItfUwDD93Ctw5mlE3_ocUNvUlQuU4DkqvNB7h-9BD5/s1600-h/pain+aux+raisins+single.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaSBTRA36rsDAvhM4lrux__7K9x2kC9EUBXXZo2l7ufjOCpwgQgd0NS52A_fCX64-mmoQGHuU-fTNFbJE2GXaTkkf-B_ItfUwDD93Ctw5mlE3_ocUNvUlQuU4DkqvNB7h-9BD5/s400/pain+aux+raisins+single.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326710621669848258" border="0" /></a><br />I found this photo online at a <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/roboppy/419176643/">Flickr</a> page. Hope they don't mind.Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-73019824058206846692009-04-13T08:43:00.001-04:002009-04-13T08:46:40.695-04:00a tale of two hotels: part I - Saint-Roch<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUxy6UYPDoTRxV9e7wJxvBPiWVLGYYeHkCpseqAIajDpi-OI4cdLHZ2NiM-g1FKICaSRZ-vERNbi9Py3zqISSHVZVPSa_K14bMRu2rKHmeDibqJwl9OKILj6z8IDm-P7ImdhG8/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+037+shadow+web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323839941085214098" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 285px; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUxy6UYPDoTRxV9e7wJxvBPiWVLGYYeHkCpseqAIajDpi-OI4cdLHZ2NiM-g1FKICaSRZ-vERNbi9Py3zqISSHVZVPSa_K14bMRu2rKHmeDibqJwl9OKILj6z8IDm-P7ImdhG8/s400/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+037+shadow+web.jpg" border="0" /></a><div>DAY 2 of a week in Paris - Monday<br /></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">La Louvre et Champs-Elysées</span></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">BREAKFAST:</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">la</span> </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">patisserie below the apartment</span></span></i></li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">La Louvre</span></i></li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">LUNCH:</span></span></span> Angelina tea salon. 226 Rue de Rivoli (between Rues d'Alger and de Castiglione)</span></i></li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Tuilleries</span></i></li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Madeleine Church & Place de la Concorde</span></i></li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Place Vendome</span></i></li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Arc de Triomphe - view <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Paris</st1:place></st1:city> (daily 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.)</span></i></li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Champs-Elysées</span></i></li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">DINNER:</span></span> </b>La Boutique à Sandwiches. 12 Rue du Colisée (between Rue de Ponethieu and Ave des Champs-Elysées)</span></i></li><li><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">Buddha Bar (8 rue Boissy d'Anglais, near Place de la Concorde)</span></i></li></ul><br /><p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWwM_kV3DcgH_QeTafYsgvKkxeaxNiDiN2nAySlTKqWTNvMnYR8q00oSO11GsBNqeM_s8uTLJ3CRyzNBWVdUsVpdtcLDn7U4fdJHd248UmpeVPfrgL9lw2-8Uw3g8YNcTOwCnh/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+035+web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323835742473146658" style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 168px; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWwM_kV3DcgH_QeTafYsgvKkxeaxNiDiN2nAySlTKqWTNvMnYR8q00oSO11GsBNqeM_s8uTLJ3CRyzNBWVdUsVpdtcLDn7U4fdJHd248UmpeVPfrgL9lw2-8Uw3g8YNcTOwCnh/s320/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+035+web.jpg" border="0" /></a>My love of travel planning for Paris began in April 1997 when my sister told me she was taking me to Paris in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">three weeks, </span>for a<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> two week </span>stay. It was just after our mother had died of Alzheimer's, after Nancy and I had cared for her - Nancy particularly, for six months before we found a lovely home for seniors with dementia. When Mom passed away that March after eighteen months in the home, Nancy and Don began conniving secretly about a vacation for her and me, and where would Ruth want to go? First word out of Don's mouth was "Paris" - even though I hadn't really ever talked about it since a 3-day visit there in my college days. I think he just thought of the most romantic destination in that instant.<br /><br />After my sister stunned me with this news in my office it didn't take long for me to start planning the trip, which she asked me to do. Joy! Nancy had a friend who owned a Paris apartment (located above the second hotel in this tale, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Hotel du Vieux Marais</span> - in the photo at the right), but sadly it was only available the second week of our trip. So for our first week I found us a hotel online, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Hotel Saint-Roch</span>, which <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">appeared</span> cozy and charming, and was reasonably priced (under $100 a night). </p><p></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj16GnBk4TrJbL6RkjqlCv1KfcRt63PVgNFZ481ZcBybBdlguvJVSLVTTvjBXcyx_ldNIEcu8-oUu1X8ZTNkTXSBHnqQhuiiYciGwTG_O53rtzGobYr4UCvluqm3fNPko391WpY/s1600-h/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+039+web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5323842812447687378" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 184px; height: 320px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj16GnBk4TrJbL6RkjqlCv1KfcRt63PVgNFZ481ZcBybBdlguvJVSLVTTvjBXcyx_ldNIEcu8-oUu1X8ZTNkTXSBHnqQhuiiYciGwTG_O53rtzGobYr4UCvluqm3fNPko391WpY/s320/Louvre+tuilleries+etc+039+web.jpg" border="0" /></a>The Hotel Saint-Roch was on <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">rue Saint-Roch</span>, which was named for the <a href="http://www.hberlioz.com/Paris/BPStRoch.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">historic church of the same name</span></a> located there. Geographically very close to the Louvre and Tuileries gardens in the center of Paris, I thought it would make a perfect launching point.<br /><p></p>Well, certain things about the Saint-Roch were perfection, but the charm was a little ragged, and we found out it was nicknamed by Parisians "St Roach." Some things you plan, and they don't turn out so well. Other things you don't plan, and you are surprised by their astonishing beauty.<div><br /></div><div>In spite of the imperfections of this shabby little hotel, there were perfect things:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">* Location</span>. I had been right about this at least, that after a tiring day walking the city, our legs shaking with weariness, we would be glad to be at the center of things.</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">* The beauty of music</span>. So the thing we couldn't have known or planned was that this little hotel on a narrow street across from a big church would provide a serenade every evening as we walked <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">rue Saint-Roch</span>, exhausted with happy exploration, back to our room. Heavenly music shimmered down on us through the windows of the church. One night choir practice, another organ practice, yet another orchestra. We climbed the winding stair to our room to it, we undressed and washed the street grime from ourselves to it, we climbed into bed and fell asleep to it - our open windows conduits for a Paris lullaby as comforting as <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKgcKYTStMc">la Vie en Rose</a></span></span>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Next week I'll tell you about the second hotel in this tale, where we stayed our second week, and the discovery that would become one of my most important in Paris.<br /><br /><div><br /></div> <div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan.php?fm=pdf&loc=reseaux&nompdf=metro&lang="><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">PARIS Métro</span></a>: Pyramides or Tuileries<br /></span></span></div><br /></div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-21956496143743808212009-04-09T05:07:00.003-04:002009-06-21T19:48:44.898-04:00Berthillon ice cream<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">-</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Di7rbAkXAFKK7YhRTzW7eckzClOIJvDDyHvZw4mdPIZnfXGrzp0NMscUWQEZtHw2Il0ZrEAFWuo5t4sizlmzmTcTGCuxJzKot4yRCJPz525FKs2XqkIP2nPi1KTE1ru1sGCO/s1600-h/Ile+Ste+Louis+007+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 362px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Di7rbAkXAFKK7YhRTzW7eckzClOIJvDDyHvZw4mdPIZnfXGrzp0NMscUWQEZtHw2Il0ZrEAFWuo5t4sizlmzmTcTGCuxJzKot4yRCJPz525FKs2XqkIP2nPi1KTE1ru1sGCO/s640/Ile+Ste+Louis+007+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319693715474926482" border="0" /></a><br /><div><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"><span style=";font-family:";" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Day 1 of a week in Paris - Sunday</span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"><span style=";font-family:";" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> The </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Islands</span></st1:place></span><i><span style=";font-family:";" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">: </span></span></i><i><span style=";font-family:";" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ile de la Cité - Ile </span></span><span style=";font-family:";" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Saint-Louis</span></span></i><span style=";font-family:";color:#e30000;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> Berthillon</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Breakfast</span>: Hotel? (not sure if <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">la patisserie</span> is open Sundays)</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Notre Dame</span>; tour and climb tower</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Place Louis-Lepine</span> - bird and flower market</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">Sainte-Chapelle</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">; tour and purchase <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">billets</span> for evening concert - LAST POST</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Lunch</span>: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Brasserie de Isle St-Louis</span> -- Look for the stork!</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Walk </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Isle St-Louis</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">; ice cream at </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Berthillion</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">; Square Barye - THIS POST</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Supper</span>: Sandwich or omelette?</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">Evening concert at </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">Sainte Chapelle - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">LAST</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"> POST</span></span></span></span></li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">After reading about </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.berthillon.fr/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Berthillon</span></span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> in my favorite Paris travel guide </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Access-Paris-6th-Guides/dp/0062772295"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">- ACCESS -</span></span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">then finding the flagship store on </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span style=";font-family:";" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">rue St-Louis en Ile </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">the main street down the center of tiny</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Ile </span></span></span><span style=";font-family:";" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Saint-Louis </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">(the smaller "ship" island floating in the Seine, behind </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Ile de la Cité</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> on which the </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Notre-Dame</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> sits)</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> and waiting in line for maybe 30 minutes, I was starting to realize that an ice cream cone in Paris was not going to be like an ice cream cone at Baskin-Robbins. Seeing customers leave with their small cone and one or two golf-ball sized scoops, instead of baseball-and-a-half sized scoops </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">a la</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"> Baskin-Robbins, I noted that once again, the French culinary experience proved that if you eat smaller amounts of food made with expert skill from fresh, high quality ingredients, you will be satisfied with less. </span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3m-V67KmOxzlW2zkNAnlDMNIuFaOaEHJVB3jecKhMOj4Txc3blZpllCgjhyomuqgo6SuMZBQg2faqIH-aqSzI9gLqrs_XA5eclS5aO9rnxyn1qu4eFApXqDEw4XNAKDrmtVZA/s1600-h/Ile+Ste+Louis+003+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 227px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3m-V67KmOxzlW2zkNAnlDMNIuFaOaEHJVB3jecKhMOj4Txc3blZpllCgjhyomuqgo6SuMZBQg2faqIH-aqSzI9gLqrs_XA5eclS5aO9rnxyn1qu4eFApXqDEw4XNAKDrmtVZA/s400/Ile+Ste+Louis+003+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319693853767518914" border="0" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">There are unusual flavors, such as rhubarb, pear and grapefruit, but my favorite (not that I've tried them all) is strawberry, which my sister Nancy is enjoying, above, while she holds mine so I can snap the photo. The flavor is intense - as if condensed, and not overly sweet. One scoop is </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">parfait pour mois.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I skimmed the history of ice cream at </span><a href="http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/IceCream/IceCreamHistory.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">this informative site</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and learned that ices date back to 1100 BC! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Berthillon</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> began in the 1950s only. The Italians brought their </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">gelato</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to France via Catherine de Medici - known as the mother of French cuisine (interesting that she, and it, were really Italian) - in the 1500s. She's the one, remember, who at age 14 married the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Duc d'Orleans</span> (who later became <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Henri II</span>), also age 14.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><a href="http://www.berthillon.fr/mag/fr/page-112619.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This page</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> on the Berthillon web site gives locations of the shops around Paris. But you will also find their ice cream sold in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">patisseries</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> and restaurants around the city.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br />Here are two last images of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ile </span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Saint-Louis, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">as this is the last post of Day 1 on the islands. The first is of the </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Brasserie de Isle St-Louis </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">again, where we had omelettes, and the second is of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Pont St-Louis</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, the little pedestrian bridge between the islands where musicians, painters, body contortionists, magicians - entertainers of all sorts, set up their shows and hope for a few Euro in their boxes. </span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCP4l0fjcHrAKHQKAFiqrGqeSgvmsJapHCqXkbd1pMmUGpSPFRzfPcOKqSBL1-eQ1T9Q27CjUVb9rNDeKPhLXhgsm3I1nRkh4xirKIucQ6b7chZsNigs-ml24q4hEg_JFHtNa/s1600-h/Ile+Ste+Louis+013+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 434px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCP4l0fjcHrAKHQKAFiqrGqeSgvmsJapHCqXkbd1pMmUGpSPFRzfPcOKqSBL1-eQ1T9Q27CjUVb9rNDeKPhLXhgsm3I1nRkh4xirKIucQ6b7chZsNigs-ml24q4hEg_JFHtNa/s640/Ile+Ste+Louis+013+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319694866921324530" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I loved the horn player with his child on his back.</span></div><div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_FNJcjZUNm-CBPKITPS8T_V7Ab2Aj269_FXVvbydMH7Q6EKKk_LtgwPBFFGr1dmm-oP6aqFeF1OAAwMQnoJSgCqqtJ59E3arydL0ie2DcYOIIK0rb3fh65R5-VNE7Qq0zU9m/s1600-h/Ile+Ste+Louis+011+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 422px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_FNJcjZUNm-CBPKITPS8T_V7Ab2Aj269_FXVvbydMH7Q6EKKk_LtgwPBFFGr1dmm-oP6aqFeF1OAAwMQnoJSgCqqtJ59E3arydL0ie2DcYOIIK0rb3fh65R5-VNE7Qq0zU9m/s640/Ile+Ste+Louis+011+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319695475730413202" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Next post we'll move on to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Day 2 </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> of a week in Paris.</span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan.php?fm=pdf&loc=reseaux&nompdf=metro&lang="><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">PARIS Métro</span></a>: Cité</span></span><br /></div><div><div id="sidebar-wrapper"><div class="sidebar section" id="sidebar"><div class="widget HTML" id="HTML1"><div class="clear"></div></div></div></div><!-- spacer for skins that want sidebar and main to be the same height--></div></div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-2420215163739401292009-03-31T06:05:00.004-04:002009-06-21T19:48:12.518-04:00Day 1: Sainte-Chapelle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyYEzsNBaOhUg5UZQkV1PQn0SHLXm4Ha9WBi7AxPEoTH_m7tQaIjWRI_YIjP281odShqd6hRDGgZWC-rWqoTQg6Rr3htvQRr6WibiHDmPwzTYKxV2XC9XtceXDpG-zEULcFcVu/s1600-h/updike+poem+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 384px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyYEzsNBaOhUg5UZQkV1PQn0SHLXm4Ha9WBi7AxPEoTH_m7tQaIjWRI_YIjP281odShqd6hRDGgZWC-rWqoTQg6Rr3htvQRr6WibiHDmPwzTYKxV2XC9XtceXDpG-zEULcFcVu/s400/updike+poem+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312406645535147778" border="0" /></a><br /><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"></span></span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"></p><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"><span style=";font-family:";" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;">Day 1 of a week in Paris - Sunday</span></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"><span style=";font-family:";" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> The </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Islands</span></st1:place></span><i><span style=";font-family:";" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">: </span></span></i><i><span style=";font-family:";" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ile de la Cité - Ile </span></span><span style=";font-family:";" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Saint-Louis</span></span></i><span style=";font-family:";color:#e30000;" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Sainte-Chapelle</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Breakfast</span>: Hotel? (not sure if la patisserie is open Sundays)</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Notre Dame</span>; tour and climb tower</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Place Louis-Lepine</span> - bird and flower market - LAST POST</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Sainte-Chapelle</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">; tour and purchase <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">billets</span> for evening concert - THIS POST</span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Lunch</span>: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Brasserie de Isle St-Louis</span> -- Look for the stork!</li><li>Walk <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Isle St-Louis</span>; ice cream at <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Berthillion</span>; Square Barye</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Supper</span>: Sandwich or omelette?</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Evening concert at </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Sainte Chapelle - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">THIS POST</span></span></span></span></li></ul><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"><br /></p></blockquote><div>Tucked away inside the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Palais de Justice</span> is the chapel King Louis IX - the one and only French king to be canonized, St. Louis - built in less than five years, opened in 1248 to house the relics he'd bought, among them Christ's crown of thorns (now in the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Notre-Dame and exhibited only on Good Friday - hurry and book a ticket to be there Good Friday, April 10</span>). It is said that what he paid for the relics was equal to the cost of the chapel. The relics were kept in the upper chapel, where the royal family worshipped. The chapel was built without any buttress support, at 67 feet, a big accomplishment at the time.</div><div><br /></div>There is no getting around it. You must visit the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Sainte-Chapelle</span> twice - once in the day to see the 1,500 square yards of stained glass windows, with nearly 1,200 scenes - two thirds of them original - lit by sunlight, and again in the evening for one of the small concerts. I like to do both visits in one day, first touring and studying the biblical story told in the windows, then picking up tickets for the evening concert, and finally returning in the evening after a stroll down <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Isle St-Louis</span> next door, a light omelette and braised potatoes for supper at one of the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">brasseries</span>, and an ice cream at <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.berthillon.fr/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Berthillon</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="">Or, if you're of the European inclination, eat supper after the concert.</span><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""></span>As you can see in the photo below of the upper chapel, the tops of the vast windows are nearly impossible to capture in detail, so bring your opera glasses. One priest apparently came every day all day for two weeks to study each pane of Bible stories. Some of the windows tell the history of the chapel, which is lined with wooden chairs for sitting and viewing the windows and the tourists. Invariably there are uniformed schoolchildren being hushed by their teachers as they shuffle along looking awed by the high color around them.</div><div><br /></div><div>When your eyes tire from such intense study, leave the chapel, go downstairs and find the ticket office where you can purchase concert tickets for this evening.</div><div><br /></div><div>Once you've experienced the magnificent colors of the stained glass in the day, coming back for an evening concert feels like a rare privilege. Only a small number of people (100?) can sit in the wooden chairs, now lined up in rows facing a temporary staging area where a handful of string musicians make up a chamber orchestra playing Vivaldi or Brahms. </div><div><br /></div><div>A few weeks after Don and I returned from Paris in 2003 where we spent a week celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary, I was thumbing through the June 30 <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/06/30/030630po_poem_updike"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">New Yorker</span></a></span> and was stunned and pleased to find John Updike's poem, above, which I tore out and slipped into the photo album I'd made for the trip. His feelings there show the power of music in such a setting.</div><div><br /></div><div>We have one more item on our Day 1 itinerary, which I'll post next week: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.berthillon.fr/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Berthillon</span></a></span> ice cream on our stroll down the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Isle St-Louis.</span></div><div><div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuY0mdD5lBArkrIeZCRqFo79sVIYFU4l45XVEpMIEoIrYGcwwmfhrEdslHlUhhlKIweVn9R-jCF0Sp0srHKTR9t8HR3MKuCxppBSAOHLFdOJliYwIALVTlg0lzK3zX07wMAh-P/s1600-h/302px-Sainte_Chapelle_-_Upper_level_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuY0mdD5lBArkrIeZCRqFo79sVIYFU4l45XVEpMIEoIrYGcwwmfhrEdslHlUhhlKIweVn9R-jCF0Sp0srHKTR9t8HR3MKuCxppBSAOHLFdOJliYwIALVTlg0lzK3zX07wMAh-P/s400/302px-Sainte_Chapelle_-_Upper_level_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319277850791265826" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">photo courtesy <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sainte-Chapelle"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Wiki Commons</span></a></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5NNcEsuwyEUUoi3KVa_6ZtgSS7wIM-ZV3dQ_Uybdm0RZ02KyvDjEOli-TSms9GIje4QMozo0nILUWMfmtF8T1hz_p3EQ0tv8fkSJrHXAvIzeuG4_Tpf7EOjvj3iAK373Yad7/s1600-h/Paris+2004+149+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii5NNcEsuwyEUUoi3KVa_6ZtgSS7wIM-ZV3dQ_Uybdm0RZ02KyvDjEOli-TSms9GIje4QMozo0nILUWMfmtF8T1hz_p3EQ0tv8fkSJrHXAvIzeuG4_Tpf7EOjvj3iAK373Yad7/s400/Paris+2004+149+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318691326628482210" border="0" /></a><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">photo courtesy Donica Detamore</span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" ><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan.php?fm=pdf&loc=reseaux&nompdf=metro&lang=">PARIS Métro</a></span>: Cité</span></span><br /></div></div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-72309556128286387672009-03-26T05:11:00.007-04:002009-06-21T19:47:42.294-04:00Day 1: Place Louis-Lépine - bird and flower market<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">-</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6N-S2LPPiadjWUqyyB7r6yGrCtp2tVbYle0cgGav9P6nH4QPjbCAoDcznF2416vd-HgAyGNCWLsC5lsllT8mWqoQX7aKBOu9_6fb7acl1zbCYRDHb91jdDlRIHvQg5eojaUX/s1600-h/bird+-+flower+market+003+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 334px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX6N-S2LPPiadjWUqyyB7r6yGrCtp2tVbYle0cgGav9P6nH4QPjbCAoDcznF2416vd-HgAyGNCWLsC5lsllT8mWqoQX7aKBOu9_6fb7acl1zbCYRDHb91jdDlRIHvQg5eojaUX/s640/bird+-+flower+market+003+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312408707171044626" border="0" /></a><br /><div><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"><span style=";font-family:';" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ITINERARY</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sunday</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Day 1 of a week in Paris</span></span></span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"><span style=";font-family:';" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Islands</span></st1:place></span><i><span style=";font-family:';" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">: </span></span></i><i><span style=";font-family:';" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ile de la Cité - Ile </span></span><span style=";font-family:';" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Saint-Louis</span></span></i></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">BREAKFAST</span> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Hotel? (not sure if </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">la patisserie</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> is open Sundays)</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Notre-Dame</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">; tour and climb tower (last post)</span></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Place Louis-Lepine</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> - </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Marché aux fleurs </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(flower market)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">but on Sundays</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Marché aux Oiseaux</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> (bird market) - TODAY'S POST</span></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sainte Chapelle</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">; tour and purchase </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">billets</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> for evening concert</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">LUNCH</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Brasserie de Isle St-Louis</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> -- Look for the stork!</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Walk </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Isle St-Louis</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">; ice cream at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Berthillion</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">; Square Barye</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">SUPPER</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span>Sandwich or omelette?</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Evening concert at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Sainte Chapelle</span></span></li></ul></blockquote><div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Day 1</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px; white-space: normal;"><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The </span></span></span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Islands</span></span></span></st1:place></span><i><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">: </span></span></span></span></i><i><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ile de la Cité - Ile </span></span></span></span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Saint-Louis</span></span></span></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Place Louis-Lépine</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> - bird and flower market</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">We can look for the flower market on the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Île de la Cité, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">but what is the flower market every other day of the week, becomes a bird market with parakeets and finches on Sundays. They do sell flowers on Sunday too. This market has been in </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Place </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Louis-Lépine</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> 100 years.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This square was named for a police chief - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><a href="http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9C00EEDA133BE633A25750C2A9649C946296D6CF"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Louis </span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><a href="http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9C00EEDA133BE633A25750C2A9649C946296D6CF"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Lépine</span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> - who armed </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">gendarmes</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> with whistles and truncheons and was world famous as "The Little Man with the Big Stick - known the world over for handling criminal cases." Click on in his name in the first line of this paragraph and look at the archived <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">New York Times</span> article - amazing to find and a real treat to look at - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">from </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Feb. 23,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1913 (!)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> on the occasion of his retirement from the Prefecture, which is just next door. This area of the city was a center of activity when the Resistance rose up against the Nazis in August 1944. Marie Curie's son Pierre made Molotov cocktails as part of the Resistance here. For a fast and fascinating read about this time, read <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Paris-Burning-Dominique-Lapierre/dp/0446392251">Is Paris Burning?, </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;">in which you learn about Hitler's plan to blow up all the great monuments, bridges and artworks of Paris!</span></span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">This bird-selling gentleman, below, saw me snapping pictures and started gesticulating wildly (unlike one of his caged, docile birds) with his hands. I didn't know enough French to follow what he was saying, but I could see he wanted me to take his photograph and send him a copy. So my sister Nancy snapped this of me with him, below. He wrote down his mailing address - very badly - and I've included it above the image there. In the photo I am re-writing </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">"La Leay"</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> with his direction, which you can also see to the left of his hand-writing. I don't know if he ever got the print, but I wouldn't be surprised if I mis-wrote his address on the envelope. If I'd just photographed it and taped it on the envelope, maybe that would have been better.<br /></span><div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmMtYV4kxfAf8NZ72iqnxrXT8Juf9wjAqXCOWIh_hmMJdSBggPmpAL5OjZmJyKaOgxrX_nf_-9QdaY3v_azbe0esHI9wmcQ5MgDTfI3cf_NaVz_PT6vSRkWHnrBq51QfICfQL/s1600-h/bird+-+flower+market+004+web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 448px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWmMtYV4kxfAf8NZ72iqnxrXT8Juf9wjAqXCOWIh_hmMJdSBggPmpAL5OjZmJyKaOgxrX_nf_-9QdaY3v_azbe0esHI9wmcQ5MgDTfI3cf_NaVz_PT6vSRkWHnrBq51QfICfQL/s640/bird+-+flower+market+004+web.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312673838062277698" border="0" /></a></div><div><p></p></div></div></div></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan.php?fm=pdf&loc=reseaux&nompdf=metro&lang="><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">PARIS Métro</span></a>: Cité</span></span>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-15475013221635666112009-03-19T11:58:00.006-04:002009-06-21T19:47:13.546-04:00Day 1: Notre-Dame<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">-</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7pOEYH3mf7R8Lv_Tnm-b7akQ1WlhBGmy3SJNY8UsBen3B-HjPn8sb1GSot24HfzExu4j8v0b5KCJrdhVBz3pSuOJkyTBJ4jtvwYIK8Jf3iwvh_WwKMvTaM-X0WsZvkNwfSp9L/s1600-h/Notre+Dame+002+web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312681518597562226" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 246px; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7pOEYH3mf7R8Lv_Tnm-b7akQ1WlhBGmy3SJNY8UsBen3B-HjPn8sb1GSot24HfzExu4j8v0b5KCJrdhVBz3pSuOJkyTBJ4jtvwYIK8Jf3iwvh_WwKMvTaM-X0WsZvkNwfSp9L/s400/Notre+Dame+002+web.jpg" border="0" /></a><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"><span style=";font-family:';" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255); font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span>ITINERARY:</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">Sunday</span> Day 1 of a week in Paris</span></span></span></span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: left;" align="right"><span style=";font-family:';" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Islands</span></st1:place></span><i><span style=";font-family:';" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">: </span></span></i><i><span style=";font-family:';" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ile de la Cité - Ile </span></span><span style=";font-family:';" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Saint-Louis</span></span></i></p><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">BREAKFAST</span> </span>Hotel? (not sure if la patisserie is open Sundays)</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Notre-Dame</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">; tour and climb tower - </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">TODAY'S POST</span></span></span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Place Louis-Lepine</span> - bird and flower market</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Sainte Chapelle</span>; tour and purchase <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">billets</span> for evening concert</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">LUNCH</span></span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Brasserie de Isle St-Louis</span> -- Look for the stork!</li><li>Walk <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Isle St-Louis</span>; ice cream at <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Berthillion</span>; Square Barye</li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">SUPPER</span></span> </span>Sandwich or omelette?</li><li>Evening concert at <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Sainte Chapelle</span></li></ul></blockquote></blockquote></span></span><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;">Day 1</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The </span></span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Islands</span></span></st1:place></span><i><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">: </span></span></span></i><i><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Ile de la Cité - Ile </span></span></span><span style="font-size:0;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Saint-Louis</span></span></span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Notre-Dame</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><blockquote>The famously painted scene of the crowning of Napoleon took place at Notre-Dame in Paris on December 2, 1804. After taking the Charlemagne crown from Pope Pius VII and placing it on his own head, he then replaced that crown with a gold laurel wreath like those worn by Roman emperors. Then, as the painting by Jacques-Louis David below shows, he took the Charlemagne crown and crowned Josephine as his wife.</blockquote></span></span></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7PgSnGM8yjVIyflB02AXJOvNglzHvTLhFZG1Ql9oVkL7Hmk7gNtANGIrMTuW4zT-sc_3snVghzzby0J9BHlh61q3_q_spFC-In2R6uT9YAXwrg32K6WkacXFM32TqV8oWJFM/s1600-h/nxjiaa.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314260166406983586" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 640px; height: 426px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7PgSnGM8yjVIyflB02AXJOvNglzHvTLhFZG1Ql9oVkL7Hmk7gNtANGIrMTuW4zT-sc_3snVghzzby0J9BHlh61q3_q_spFC-In2R6uT9YAXwrg32K6WkacXFM32TqV8oWJFM/s640/nxjiaa.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Coronation of Napoleon</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, Jacques-Louis David</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">1805-1808, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(153, 102, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Musée du Louvre</span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In 1831 Victor Hugo was only 20 when he wrote </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Notre Dame de Paris</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, later known as </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The Hunchback of Notre Dame</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></span></div><div><p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="style4"></span></span></span></p><blockquote><span class="style4"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">'A</span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">nd the cathedral was not only company for him, it was the universe; nay, more, it was Nature itself. He never dreamed that there were other hedgerows than the stained-glass windows in perpetual bloom; other shade than that of the stone foliage always budding, loaded with birds in the thickets of Saxon capitals; other mountains than the colossal towers of the church; or other oceans than Paris roaring at their feet.'</span></span></span></blockquote></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The contrast between Napoleon I and Mr. Hunchback is striking, no?</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For those interested in an extensive history of the cathedral that was begun in 1163, read </span></span><a href="http://www.elore.com/Gothic/History/Overview/paris.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">here</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">~</span></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">A good way to start <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Day 1 - Sunday</span> is at the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Notre-Dame</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> cathedral. Between this tourist magnet and the Eiffel Tower, you will eventually have to check it out, so let's get this one on the first day. One good reason to visit on Sunday is to sit in on a morning service. I am very glad Don and I sat through the opening of a service if only to hear the priest and congregation sing. (You can see a clipping from the service's bulletin in an interior image below with mother and child statue, and I have embedded a YouTube of the audio for </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Donnes-nous Seigneur</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> too.)</span></div><div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In 1997 my sister Nancy and I saw the front of the cathedral with scaffolding for cleaning the exterior, as you see in my photo at the top of the post. Restoration of the building began in 1991 and was still ongoing in 2005, since the cleaning of old sculptures took delicate attention. I well remember the first images I saw of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Notre-Dame</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, which my brother took in 1970 when it was blackened with soot.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">By 1997 the cleaning had already been painstakingly completed on the south and east sides, seen in my photo below. You can just see the scaffolding to the left of the front of the cathedral.</span></div><div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEW6LE99zsxHWc6y38zlaX3GFULY6dcvsIbriljm4JZ5zBQgZEr3WHwzfVgK0jIrJo6l0J02rDarMf3oI-O_3NuXdMUUidLjHGctJ-NQHsRICOYQ574JNoHI1ZfMYESuKm6Zuv/s1600-h/Notre+Dame+003+web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312682234553896370" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 640px; height: 360px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEW6LE99zsxHWc6y38zlaX3GFULY6dcvsIbriljm4JZ5zBQgZEr3WHwzfVgK0jIrJo6l0J02rDarMf3oI-O_3NuXdMUUidLjHGctJ-NQHsRICOYQ574JNoHI1ZfMYESuKm6Zuv/s640/Notre+Dame+003+web.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">With Don in 2003, I snapped the next two images when we emerged from an hour's browsing in the </span><a href="http://www.shakespeareandcompany.com/index.php?width=1007&height=609"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Shakespeare & Co bookstore</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, just across the Seine from the cathedral. The sky had blackened (can you scrub a black sky?), and I don't remember where we hid out the storm from here.</span></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUvc9u9iSVn3ujGslNvcEPEZr7338tkcMjgUwDzDe3Sm6jhxj8V5J6Efge9vTP6P1cg5RcIEp1sd4hp4EVRRC0saeYPptv07hdnA9DHEHGhftws_Lp-mtZwjPDiPM3lRH5v0i/s1600-h/Notre+Dame+007+web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312682240570000098" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 271px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZUvc9u9iSVn3ujGslNvcEPEZr7338tkcMjgUwDzDe3Sm6jhxj8V5J6Efge9vTP6P1cg5RcIEp1sd4hp4EVRRC0saeYPptv07hdnA9DHEHGhftws_Lp-mtZwjPDiPM3lRH5v0i/s400/Notre+Dame+007+web.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DKUhbj5DRSVjpcDRpfiwMI0_z58EPzBjyQKdOs0pNOP1ZbK4if2sZ86j5JbRcG3Spf6RqjdM0vvslI-DfhDMVlO781dsLxmA-gsIncgiXnLCa8h6WUa-cQ1pNp7ZpflWLVd0/s1600-h/Notre+Dame+006+web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312682235409284002" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 270px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1DKUhbj5DRSVjpcDRpfiwMI0_z58EPzBjyQKdOs0pNOP1ZbK4if2sZ86j5JbRcG3Spf6RqjdM0vvslI-DfhDMVlO781dsLxmA-gsIncgiXnLCa8h6WUa-cQ1pNp7ZpflWLVd0/s400/Notre+Dame+006+web.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">The interior of the cathedral is dark, lit by candles and old lamps. It is a disconcerting experience to sit in a service on a Sunday morning in the center of the church, while tourists are quietly - and occasionally not so quietly - shuffling around the perimeter viewing artifacts and the Rose Window. There were plenty of "real" congregants, mostly elderly women.<br /><br />Below, as I mentioned, is the interior shot, and then the YouTube of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Donnes-nous Seigneur, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">which we sang with the congregation. I wish I had audio of the singing, which was sweet.</span><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHZN3UkMFVz7MCVYRjIKSrvwZjNqN0OcZm6mCJQYziMB7jomQ_YND3lKEgie3D7x3X9fiL12dzUYTOaXi5o16CHui6iQkDBsVpEK-tBdnbwouZ7RmzlNbDfKpCg15sGC8yFwf/s1600-h/Notre+Dame+009+web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312682242546795282" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 209px; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMHZN3UkMFVz7MCVYRjIKSrvwZjNqN0OcZm6mCJQYziMB7jomQ_YND3lKEgie3D7x3X9fiL12dzUYTOaXi5o16CHui6iQkDBsVpEK-tBdnbwouZ7RmzlNbDfKpCg15sGC8yFwf/s400/Notre+Dame+009+web.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JaY_ALdPjVY&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JaY_ALdPjVY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Of course the Rose window is among the things to see. Thanks to Donica for the next two images.</span></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHwLWKsUoY7bQfjXbL9sfUmmmvUTkC5R34kp25DUqghiIqYKlVLFK1AJ_XjqAMO565yH7Zs9_8VM21EEtoIssoMgSUOmLmzghS8EkKZ2IJWnL74GzRpP8zuRttAkxEVtsZVj8/s1600-h/Paris+2004+114+web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312684715970848418" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 380px; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHwLWKsUoY7bQfjXbL9sfUmmmvUTkC5R34kp25DUqghiIqYKlVLFK1AJ_XjqAMO565yH7Zs9_8VM21EEtoIssoMgSUOmLmzghS8EkKZ2IJWnL74GzRpP8zuRttAkxEVtsZVj8/s400/Paris+2004+114+web.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Another good reason to visit the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Notre-Dame</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> on the morning of your first full day is that you should climb the narrow stairway of the </span><a href="http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/Nouvelle-traduction-50-Les-Tours"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">South Tower</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> to the roof (387 steps!) to get a gargoyle-eye's view of the city, and you will still have energy for such exertions.</span></div><div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7ggAVjxJkU5xjP-Tf5Gxd_el5rvlJctmFWMfrWccWINfBsjmkDhF-Ja4EXGLxJ86Lvz5QRhMY0fv7sPKHh_1hP4Ms0Bl3BcFoseIj_wqjaLhMUmfvVvnBoYQPvnGEAWzmdxZ/s1600-h/Paris+2004+139+web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312684716736417234" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 308px; height: 400px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq7ggAVjxJkU5xjP-Tf5Gxd_el5rvlJctmFWMfrWccWINfBsjmkDhF-Ja4EXGLxJ86Lvz5QRhMY0fv7sPKHh_1hP4Ms0Bl3BcFoseIj_wqjaLhMUmfvVvnBoYQPvnGEAWzmdxZ/s400/Paris+2004+139+web.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div></div></div></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Thanks to </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Notre_dame-paris-view.jpg"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Wiki Commons</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> for the gargoyle image below, taken on the roof of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Notre Dame </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">with a distant view of the</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Tour Eiffel</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. I've walked that distance in one stretch, and it's a hike.</span></span><br /><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span>Also in front of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Notre-Dame, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">under the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> Parvis </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(sidewalk square),</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">is the </span><a href="http://www.paris.fr/portail/Culture/Portal.lut?page_id=6468&document_type_id=5&document_id=19971&portlet_id=14628"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Archeological Crypt</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">, built in 1980 to protect the archeological ruins discovered during excavations in 1965. I've never seen the crypt!</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">On my next visit to the Notre-Dame, I will photograph interior details and learn more about the </span><a href="http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/-Cathedral-for-art-and-history-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">art and history</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">. There is enough to fill a book or two.<br /></span><br /><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY767EhJkO45YGhfR6GKI9-3Z0itkZ52PgvnRtOJjmqWJorczz_K0elKpEQSB8UwXPDititWzB_BJhyphenhyphenPEEBlAHcWLVV3kT2bOuwe5WhXDzRWk5Gm0Dhychw4aoKhXx9IcCPYr_/s1600-h/Notre_dame-paris-view.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314255663843974018" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 400px; height: 300px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY767EhJkO45YGhfR6GKI9-3Z0itkZ52PgvnRtOJjmqWJorczz_K0elKpEQSB8UwXPDititWzB_BJhyphenhyphenPEEBlAHcWLVV3kT2bOuwe5WhXDzRWk5Gm0Dhychw4aoKhXx9IcCPYr_/s400/Notre_dame-paris-view.jpg" border="0" /></a><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><a href="http://www.ratp.info/orienter/f_plan.php?fm=pdf&loc=reseaux&nompdf=metro&lang="><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">PARIS Métro</span></a>: Cité</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-family:arial;" ><a href="http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/-English-"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Official Notre-Dame site</span></a></span></div><br /><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">According to my itinerary at the top of the post, next we'll visit the flower-bird market.</span><br /></div></div></div></div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-31216072317814628212009-03-12T11:02:00.060-04:002010-07-18T07:25:52.419-04:00Ile Saint-Louis - back after 2 years<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;">-<br />
</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0ehv9D8UTGRV4IDpXKLM5Jfz8r5iRUwM2Fv8RRRL_jeFZkA5fJI9NkP0eyVmPgAyrRG9EawQGF-WI9b5TnDvtTC181xsh30zBP1HOgcl257CyhKfqGIG6P5RSFNEOPuDNI6x/s1600-h/ile+st+louis+006+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312321057829013874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx0ehv9D8UTGRV4IDpXKLM5Jfz8r5iRUwM2Fv8RRRL_jeFZkA5fJI9NkP0eyVmPgAyrRG9EawQGF-WI9b5TnDvtTC181xsh30zBP1HOgcl257CyhKfqGIG6P5RSFNEOPuDNI6x/s400/ile+st+louis+006+web.jpg" style="display: block; height: 251px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><br />
<div></div><blockquote><div>No, I haven't been back to Paris, well only in my mind. But as I was writing up a Paris homesickness post at <a href="http://ruthie822.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">synch-ro-ni-zing</span></a>, it became evident that I needed to revisit this space. I had run out of digital photos to post, but I still have unposted film images, so let's see how far I can get from two visits captured on film.</div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In 2003 Don posed on the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Pont de la Tournelle</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> above, with the Notre Dame sitting atop </span><i><span style="font-size: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ile de la Cité, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">one of the two islands that float in the Seine like ships. The smaller island at the stern of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Ile de la Cité </span><span class="Apple-style-span">is</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ile Saint-Louis, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">behind Don out of view. See "Don is here" in the map, below. If you look at the Paris map at the top of my sidebar, the </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">islands are on the blue Seine river line just between the 4th and 5th <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">arrondisements</span>.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZC67WEgdbku7HbXECHdvKsCf6itbXzTNyvudyheb03LV4VHsGpTvGGw6POv1_DRn8w_GwWNCaeff8L4AhFRFRhvK0EnSqFxpFeQNw2RwyXvoYCQbnfUkFbLY3UonhgM_zRQsj/s1600-h/paris-map-seine-580+copy.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312637843368114818" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZC67WEgdbku7HbXECHdvKsCf6itbXzTNyvudyheb03LV4VHsGpTvGGw6POv1_DRn8w_GwWNCaeff8L4AhFRFRhvK0EnSqFxpFeQNw2RwyXvoYCQbnfUkFbLY3UonhgM_zRQsj/s400/paris-map-seine-580+copy.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 275px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></div><div><i><span style="font-size: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span style="color: white;">-</span><br />
</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">With its one central street - <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">rue St-Louis en Ile</span> - two streets on either coast, and a </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">few streets perpendicular to them, there is a compactness about <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Ile Saint-Louis</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">that could feel claustrophobic - or cozy. I choose the latter. We stayed on this island </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">in an old, historic apartment. My only complaints were the darkness in the apartment,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">due to the narrow streets with high buildings, and how expensive the shops were, </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">including grocery stores. But it was handy to be anchored in the center of the city </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">in our lodging.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">One aspect of apartment rental that's wonderful (besides being more economical</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">than a hotel) is meeting the owner, which we did, over wine at his place, also on </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">the island. He is a geriatrics doctor on the staff at <span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Hôtel-Dieu, </span>the oldest hospital in Paris (founded 651!), on <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Ile de la Cité</span> next to the Notre Dame cathedral. But our host had already gone beyond normal landlord hospitality and rather than just give us a key at a local watering hole when we arrived, he picked us up at the airport and drove us into the city (Don's first time in Paris) along the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Champs-Élysées</span>, just for the fun of it! (In my seven trips to Paris, I have had far more pleasant human encounters with the French than unpleasant.)</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">our host, with Don</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><br />
</span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: normal;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312743417237724498" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMLp-zKuxJdu1nMD3zfcTEbojrIdDxPgfMA7fn8wvDXc8PJHjikqdiUTc_08WnBiSdllQW1cfd5NJ91Kf5vh2Cc4w9EJLMh7mGk4Tnf6jj4b9F0DWO1IUNRpmyRfyuFgm9gJ7S/s400/Gian-Carlo+002+web.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 397px;" /></span></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; white-space: pre;">rue St-Louis en Ile:<br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; white-space: pre;"><br />
</span></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmzrpQve7E45d9cQPxCvxnmxkpcK3nB0SqagPLsLVjKnByDmgqwuXEkPp7g-YTraQznxRZ8IMgVM0EE3oEJ0F1kgyZ6XiZ5MbCl1wztP9jVf93kcL3jGLBABbywcnwluIYbA-/s1600-h/ile+st+louis+003+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312321049152780002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVmzrpQve7E45d9cQPxCvxnmxkpcK3nB0SqagPLsLVjKnByDmgqwuXEkPp7g-YTraQznxRZ8IMgVM0EE3oEJ0F1kgyZ6XiZ5MbCl1wztP9jVf93kcL3jGLBABbywcnwluIYbA-/s400/ile+st+louis+003+web.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 267px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">These two views, below, are of the <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Ile de la Cité</span>, from <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; white-space: pre;">Ile Saint-Louis. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="white-space: pre;">I believe the bridge in the first is</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; white-space: pre;"> Pont d'Arcole.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; white-space: pre;"><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKRiqkiEovZZ1zHldzUDF4OBVv6P_8d4SCDWqJf-MTw1ReGDFFmNXMNStCDEcIhC2W5_ZZRjBaPEWCvOLH-wwv2PdTXIrAYRKZiGm7Qs1ka6mA4ckUFYhZkztv7PkZdiC6jNF/s1600-h/ile+st+louis+001+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312363570512452802" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeKRiqkiEovZZ1zHldzUDF4OBVv6P_8d4SCDWqJf-MTw1ReGDFFmNXMNStCDEcIhC2W5_ZZRjBaPEWCvOLH-wwv2PdTXIrAYRKZiGm7Qs1ka6mA4ckUFYhZkztv7PkZdiC6jNF/s640/ile+st+louis+001+web.jpg" style="display: block; height: 416px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 640px;" /></a><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; white-space: pre;">I took black and white film with us on this trip </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; white-space: pre;">because I'm drawn to black and white images of Paris.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; white-space: pre;"><br />
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; white-space: pre;"><br />
</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoQsZnnY1p0SLhM_yeA3bfST8M6CutMg8rulUtDstDCfPFqu_grF4jamD7DHsji57-9cfyZo_AhSFbaov0O4DgD1YoYGumzWqifODjgRanfIzpeZfYnFr9ktqyvCDARE0pBr1z/s1600-h/ile+st+louis+002+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312321052637156386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoQsZnnY1p0SLhM_yeA3bfST8M6CutMg8rulUtDstDCfPFqu_grF4jamD7DHsji57-9cfyZo_AhSFbaov0O4DgD1YoYGumzWqifODjgRanfIzpeZfYnFr9ktqyvCDARE0pBr1z/s640/ile+st+louis+002+web.jpg" style="display: block; height: 426px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 640px;" /></a><br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">On my second Paris trip (first one I was 19 on study abroad in 1975) with my sister Nancy in 1997, we ate a couple of times at </span><st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on"><span style="font-size: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Brasserie de Isle St</span></span></span></st1:address></st1:street><span style="font-size: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">-Louis </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">with its famous stork. </span></span></span></span></blockquote><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0u1SEUr0DX3DicUqW37yNG1xGt_4DnKe_H-vBmK6O5LXyKo8-u7LqPKYsj1xJsM21sYEUGM6tXMVBUwUnCQ3tLfnru1Ac-Bz4UO5TE-88GUwyOtg7qJFiBWz_oAfkBz3cM-s/s1600-h/ile+st+louis+008+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312321061945229586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs0u1SEUr0DX3DicUqW37yNG1xGt_4DnKe_H-vBmK6O5LXyKo8-u7LqPKYsj1xJsM21sYEUGM6tXMVBUwUnCQ3tLfnru1Ac-Bz4UO5TE-88GUwyOtg7qJFiBWz_oAfkBz3cM-s/s400/ile+st+louis+008+web.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 244px;" /></a></div><div>Even an omelette in Paris tastes like food for the gods. </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZtPTuc67J_vmXhxk9pAuZfEKBl1bDhqtcWIIxujfPffk3Fxzi-HwkrY_zEcqRH9IEKhhjf6Zb8dUlZB_Eb-N3D5-1mMDT7flK-ZFsii5EbcxkQHuKffjQ82PbnHXM62-j3Bl/s1600-h/ile+st+louis+010+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312322009255993138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwZtPTuc67J_vmXhxk9pAuZfEKBl1bDhqtcWIIxujfPffk3Fxzi-HwkrY_zEcqRH9IEKhhjf6Zb8dUlZB_Eb-N3D5-1mMDT7flK-ZFsii5EbcxkQHuKffjQ82PbnHXM62-j3Bl/s320/ile+st+louis+010+web.jpg" style="float: right; height: 320px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 198px;" /></a>We like the waiters here, who act like gods and have been around forever and whom I recognized on later trips.</div><div><br />
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now that I've taken a few loved ones to Paris, planning the itinerary is a real pleasure. I always plan to arrive on Saturday, then spend Sunday, the first real day out, on the islands that float in the middle of the city, then branch out like spokes the rest of the week. A small chamber concert in the </span><span style="font-size: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Sainte Chapelle <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">in the evening</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">is a perfect ending to Day 1 - its effect is like a lullaby. </span></span></span></span></div><div><br />
</div><div><span style="font-size: 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;">I'll post more about Day 1 next week.</span></span></span></span></div><div><br />
</div><div><div align="right" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: ";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #3366ff;">Day 1 of a week in Paris - Sunday</span></span></span></span></span></div><div align="right" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: ";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The </span><st1:place st="on"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Islands</span></st1:place></span><i><span style="font-family: ";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">: </span></span></i><i><span style="font-family: ";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ile de la Cité - Ile </span></span><span style="font-family: ";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Saint-Louis</span></span></i><span style="color: #e30000; font-family: ";"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></div><ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Breakfast</span>: Hotel? (not sure if <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">la patisserie</span> is open Sundays)</li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Notre Dame</span>; tour and climb tower</li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Place Louis-Lepine</span> - bird and flower market</li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Sainte Chapelle</span>; tour and purchase <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">billets</span> for evening concert</li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Lunch</span>: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Brasserie de Isle St-Louis</span> -- Look for the stork!</li>
<li>Walk <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Isle St-Louis</span>; ice cream at <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Berthillion</span>; Square <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Barye</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Supper</span>: Sandwich or <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">omelette</span>?</li>
<li>Evening concert at <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Sainte Chapelle</span></li>
</ul></div><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBdtgCygj9q5iqMCOoIOtjhlVgJweBk216P9weSTnAuQD2jTLMSYCLfdF4iR_ynMAACU0dL211TvzbmTkOoEqs7xne2AAbTsbcxPfpDzQBEPc7UzYoElRfbs7do804ABy45H4/s1600-h/Paris+2004+158+web.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312330320432230002" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPBdtgCygj9q5iqMCOoIOtjhlVgJweBk216P9weSTnAuQD2jTLMSYCLfdF4iR_ynMAACU0dL211TvzbmTkOoEqs7xne2AAbTsbcxPfpDzQBEPc7UzYoElRfbs7do804ABy45H4/s400/Paris+2004+158+web.jpg" style="display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> </span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">this photo of <st1:street st="on"><st1:address st="on"><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Brasserie de Isle St</span></span></st1:address></st1:street><span style="font-family: Garamond;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">-Louis </span></span>taken by Donica Detamore</span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"></span>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-3414285594537908892007-01-27T08:58:00.002-05:002009-03-10T15:10:38.105-04:00Art Nouveau metro stations<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoLiSGHNCZgwHVjLzL4C5TGZ-HnhBvj3RGcxl9KY8m5Zn1lAOUwVnfsuF6BKAQAmxHtBR8g1_rwUWyhg6ebgfxkn8u7ITptoen3nmDsb8tB-ZZXsQ6mzC7zG2yGGiQzTMWGJX/s1600-h/metro+art+deco+ps_filtered+web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024717766023135602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBoLiSGHNCZgwHVjLzL4C5TGZ-HnhBvj3RGcxl9KY8m5Zn1lAOUwVnfsuF6BKAQAmxHtBR8g1_rwUWyhg6ebgfxkn8u7ITptoen3nmDsb8tB-ZZXsQ6mzC7zG2yGGiQzTMWGJX/s400/metro+art+deco+ps_filtered+web.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">There is no shortage of information and photos of these remnants from 1900 in the city.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024717770318102914" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEoiz6ErpgzT7ykFcmHolw8ILDjXBhgN9IdDACueVTw4om7F_c8JPB8G8PWs78dBkvZgU5UeyNcNCsjE6o7xeCmJN4_qoWNwLG8EipihIPnaWz5CiL81ZdHOv5SbNElPeyS7VG/s400/metro+art+deco+(2)+ps+web.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">Designed by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_Guimard">Hector Guimard</a>, there are 88 of them left in Paris. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">These three views are of the metro station "St Michel" on the #4 line, at the corner of Blvd St Michel and the Quai de Montebello, across the street from the Seine. You can see one of the roof features of Hotel de Ville (City Hall) in the top photo, across the Seine. <a href="http://www.parisinconnu.com/guimard/l4p4.php">This nice site </a>shows photos of all of them in Paris.</span></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024717770318102930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihoHY1l0iAXURiPhJTIqwDlbj1RtdSxfJr4BVwDkR_Xu2l_R79lW9zIByYsCA-N349ESuuPx0cEVXKUDk0nStov1qucGBNvGiEAPNmVGiZWe0ZTVYnaIkZN_L1QjhTI9LDYJ8-/s400/metro+art+deco+(3)+ps_filtered+web.jpg" border="0" /></span></div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-37179528856538196412007-01-11T16:35:00.002-05:002009-03-10T15:08:57.047-04:00Color<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmThip20GktZpG0z1a9iAkU5bJIK2LIuDMEkRCm3KciLib0VcygEjwnAdOPKpgBN5hbG3G-AyFA2pCzG9V3TfYUPLcbPt6YFt_z_Wi40GbnDBDxifgiLjJa9AxiHztFoh41onN/s1600-h/tuileries+(13)+web.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018889976000401522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmThip20GktZpG0z1a9iAkU5bJIK2LIuDMEkRCm3KciLib0VcygEjwnAdOPKpgBN5hbG3G-AyFA2pCzG9V3TfYUPLcbPt6YFt_z_Wi40GbnDBDxifgiLjJa9AxiHztFoh41onN/s400/tuileries+(13)+web.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I long for color. So I'm posting this of the toy sailboats at the fountain in the Tuileries Gardens from May.</span>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-10405062675079423722006-12-09T11:14:00.002-05:002009-03-26T07:31:25.652-04:00Pont d'Austerlitz<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABMk70a7Wft85Cgujzr2qbNfye7dQTGyMUCDVwyH1RoLxPUk1iI5WAKTsBzAScBelkeKbT-jMH8cPGGJ2z3kS0QDWgbcoHo4mrYKqDCh8D4sEat1J1E2ulOJ_xy8CwGOOWDiq/s1600-h/pont+d"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5006562464235347218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhABMk70a7Wft85Cgujzr2qbNfye7dQTGyMUCDVwyH1RoLxPUk1iI5WAKTsBzAScBelkeKbT-jMH8cPGGJ2z3kS0QDWgbcoHo4mrYKqDCh8D4sEat1J1E2ulOJ_xy8CwGOOWDiq/s400/pont+d%27austerlitz+bw+web.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">The first Austerlitz bridge across the Seine was built of iron and commemorated in 1805 for <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Austerlitz">Napolean's victory at Austerlitz</a> (one of his greatest victories, also known as the Battle of the Three Emporers).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">But this arch bridge was deterioriating 50 years later and was re-engineered out of masonry by Jean-Marie-Georges Choquet, Guiard, Zoroastre-Alexandre Michal and Jules Savarin in 1854.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">It is 174 meters long and 30 meters wide.</span>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-40101823534855783122006-11-11T10:13:00.001-05:002009-03-10T15:08:11.341-04:00Marquis de Lafayette<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/lafayette%20statue%20web.jpg" border="0" /> <div><div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">This French soldier was a passionate joiner in the American Revolution against Britain. He became lifelong friends with George Washington, even naming a son George Washington Lafayette.</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">This statue near <em>Quai de Albert I</em> and the <em>Champs-Élysées</em> was erected by the “schoolchildren of the U.S.”</span> </div><div align="left"><br /></div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/Paris%20misc%20319%20web.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div align="left"><a href="http://xenophongroup.com/mcjoynt/laf_mon.htm"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">This site </span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">says:</span></div><br /><div align="left"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">"A small subscription magazine booklet: The Mentor, Lafayette by Albert Bushnell Hart published in January 1918. It has a photograph of </span><a href="http://www.insecula.com/us/contact/A006610.html"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Paul Wayland Bartlett's</strong> </span></span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">statue. The statue is of the identical design to that which was placed at Metz by the Knights of Columbus in 1920. The caption with this photograph reads:<br /><br />'The Childrens Statue of Lafayette. This statue, designed by the sculptor, Paul Wayland Barlett, was a gift to France in 1908, from five million American school children. It stands in a court of the Louvre, Paris.'<br /><br />However, the statue was removed a few years back to make space for a modern pyramid of steel and glass cover to a staircase leading to a lower level entrance to the museum. The new location of this statue is along the Cours Albert 1er [right bank of the Seine], between the Pont de l'Alma and the Pont des Invalids, not far from the statue of Bolivar. It served as the focus of one of the 2004 Alliance Day Commemorations in Paris.” </span></div><div align="left"> </div><div align="left"> </div><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/Lafayette%20marker%20web.jpg" border="0" /></div></div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-62795239641974833302006-11-06T05:47:00.002-05:002009-03-10T15:09:15.291-04:00Liberty Enlightening the World (La liberté éclairant le monde)<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/statue%20of%20liberty%204%20web.0.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/statue%20of%20liberty%204%20web.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/boat%20gizmos%20ps%20web.0.jpg"></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/boat%20gizmos%20ps%20web.0.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/boat%20gizmos%20ps%20web.0.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Tensions between France and the U.S. have not always existed. For one, there's the help with the American War of Independence.</span></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">For another, there is the Statue of Liberty. </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I have seen two Statues of Liberty in Paris. The top image is the one in the Luxembourg Gardens. The other is a figurehead on a boat in the Seine. Perhaps there are many more?</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">I did not see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Paris.seine.liberty.500pix.jpg">the most famous one in Paris</a>, which is mounted next to the Pont de Grenelle, a bridge crossing the Seine, 1.5 km south of the Eiffel Tower. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"><em>The Statue of Liberty Revisited</em> edited by Wilton S. Dillon, 1994, page 155 (as quoted <a href="http://www.endex.com/gf/buildings/liberty/worldstatues/Parisseine/parisseine.htm">here</a>):</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">"On July 4, 1889 the American community in Paris offered the French people a gift of a bronze replica of the Statue of Liberty; it still stands now, on an island in the Seine River, downstream from the Eiffel Tower. In a symbolic sense, this recently restored American gift closes the circle of gift giving that was launched by the French in the 1860's with the gift of Miss Liberty. In a deeper sense, though, the American replica in Paris serves to extend and strenthen the chain of reciprocity between the two peoples that has existed since before the founding of the American Republic and that promises to continue well into the future.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">This magnificent exchange of gifts illustrates a declaration delivered by French ambassador Jule J. Jusserand on the occasion of the 1916 ceremony at which Liberty's torch was first lighted with electricity: 'Not to a man, not to a nation, the statue was raised. It was raised to an idea - an idea greater than France or the United States: the idea of Liberty.'"</span></div><br /><br /><div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Paris.seine.liberty.500pix.jpg"></a></div></div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-76612655968877722012006-11-04T14:03:00.001-05:002009-03-10T15:09:44.711-04:00Place Dauphine<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/pl%20dauphine%20(2)%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/pl%20dauphine%20%282%29%20ps%20web.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">If you click on the photo you can see a surprise painted on the roof of the apartment building.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Place Dauphine is a small "square" (more like a triangle) almost at the western tip of the Ile de la Cité, the island on which the Notre Dame cathedral sits, at the opposite end. It is lined with 17th c. houses. There is a wonderful tavern called Henry IV at the opening. Henry IV had this place built and named for the "dauphin" - - Louis XIII. Have you seen "Marie Antoinette" yet?</span><br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/5923%7EPlace-Dauphine-Posters.jpg" border="0" /> <span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;"><em>Place Dauphine</em> by Michel Delacroix</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;"></span>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-72745337904541404692006-11-02T16:43:00.001-05:002009-03-10T15:11:20.854-04:00Tour d'Argent restaurant<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/Tour%20d"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/Tour%20d%27Argent%20ps%20web.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I have never eaten at this restaurant. I love how it looks. It is one of the finest restaurants in Paris, sits on the Seine, and from its windows on an upper floor you can look at the sun setting behind the Notre Dame. Enter its <a href="http://www.latourdargent.com/">web site</a>, and you will experience the extravagance shown in the movie <a href="http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/marieantoinette/index.html"><em>Marie Antoinette</em> </a>that I saw last week. I have been fortunate enough to eat at some fine restaurants in Paris, a once in a lifetime experience for most of us. If you ask me, almost anywhere you eat in Paris is wonderful, even the humblest café. The food is better than anywhere I've been. I have a theory that the omelettes are better in Paris because they do not refrigerate the eggs as we do in the U.S.</span><br /><div></div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-11507673783656815392006-11-01T12:12:00.001-05:002009-03-10T15:12:04.554-04:00Le pont du Carroussel<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#000000;">I couldn't stay away.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;"><span style="color:#000000;">Here are a variety of views of </span><a href="http://www.pariswater.com/ponts/"><span style="color:#000000;">Le pont du Carroussel</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">, the bridge that crosses the Seine from the Left Bank to the Right where the Tuileries Gardens and the Louvre meet.<br /></span><br /></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;"></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;"><em>Click on images for larger views.</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;color:#333399;"></span><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/pont%20royal%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/pont%20royal%20ps%20web.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;">Looking north toward the Louvre and Tuileries</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;color:#333399;"></span><br /><br /><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/pont%20royal%20(2)%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/pont%20royal%20%282%29%20ps%20web.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;">Looking northwest</span><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/pont%20royal%205%20ps%20web.1.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/pont%20royal%205%20ps%20web.1.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;">Looking northeast</span></p><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/bridge%20x%201%20web.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/bridge%20x%201%20web.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;">Looking southwest toward the Left Bank and the top of the Eiffel Tower </span></p><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;color:#333399;"></span><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/bridge%20x%201%20(1)%20web.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/bridge%20x%201%20%281%29%20web.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;">Looking west on the walkway down by the Seine</span> </p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/Paris%20misc%20212%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/Paris%20misc%20212%20ps%20web.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;">Looking at the Louvre</span></p>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-20251438478700666922006-10-15T15:03:00.001-04:002009-03-10T15:12:25.408-04:00Hiatus?<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/eiffel%20tower%20(1)%20web.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/eiffel%20tower%20%281%29%20web.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I'm running out of good photographs of Paris since my last trip in May 2006. If you haven't visited Paris Deconstructed before, I hope you'll browse the posts that are here. But for now, I will not be posting until my next visit to Paris, unless I get inspired!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I have much to learn about Paris, but without my own exploration and photographs to post, the sharing will have to wait.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;">In the meantime, </span><span style="font-size:85%;">I hope you'll visit my other blogs:</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><a href="http://ruthie822.blogspot.com/">Synchronizing</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><a href="http://flying.my-expressions.com/">Flying photoblog</a></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"><a href="http://ruth-eastlansingdailyphoto.blogspot.com/">East Lansing Daily Photo</a></span></div>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-75761050069982753992006-10-09T15:24:00.001-04:002009-03-10T15:13:44.335-04:00Église de la Madeleine<img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/la%20madeleine%20%281%29%20ps%20this%20web.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Looking north from the <em>Place de la Concorde</em>, past this fountain, you can see the church dedicated to Mary Magdalene, at the end of <em>rue Royale</em>. Louis XVI was beheaded with the guillotine just near here in the square.</span><br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/magdalene%20church%20%2816%29%20ps%20web.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">The Neo-Classical <em>Église de la Madeleine</em> is affectionately called <em>"La Madeleine"</em> by Parisians. There are 52 Corinthian columns around the edifice.</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/magdalene%20church%20%281%29%20web.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">This statue inside is of Mary Magdalene's ascension. It was built in 1837 by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Marochetti">Charles Marochetti</a>.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/magdalene%20church%20(13)%20web.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/magdalene%20church%20%2813%29%20web.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">The painted frieze shows Jesus and the disciples.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/magdalene%20church%20(15)%20web.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/magdalene%20church%20%2815%29%20web.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I posted about Mary Magdalene in <a href="http://paris-deconstructed.blogspot.com/2006/05/mary-magdalene-in-paris.html">May</a>, just as the movie "The DaVinci Code" was being released. I mentioned this church briefly then.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">Two separate plans for this church were scrapped, the first in 1776 and the second in 1790.Then Napoléon thought Paris needed a temple to his army, and commissioned it to be completed as that honorary building. However, that too was scrapped for the <em>Arc de Triomphe</em> instead. In 1814 Louis XVIII decided it needed to be a church, but it was almost redesigned into Paris' first train station in 1837. Since 1842 it's been a church. (Information found at <a href="http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Madeleine/">http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Madeleine/</a>)</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">In 1969 the Catholic Church <a href="http://www.danbrown.com/media/morenews/time.html">admitted</a> quietly that there was no biblical basis for Mary Magdalene being a prostitute.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">Every day except Monday there is a flower market around the church.</span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/edouard_leon_cortes_a3762_flower_market_at_the_madeleine.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;color:#333399;">Edouard Leon Cortes(1882 - 1969) <em>Flower Market at the Madeleine</em>, Oil on canvas<br /></span>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25816574.post-63335678148627083362006-09-28T11:58:00.003-04:002009-03-10T18:51:10.855-04:00Rouge de Paris<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Studies in <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">red</span>. <span style="font-style: italic;">Les études dans </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">rouge<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">.<br /><br />Warning: I used a free online translator, so if some phraseology is BAD, pardonnez moi!<br /><br />Click on photos for larger views.<br /></span></span></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/place%20du%20marche%20ste%20catherine%20004%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 303px; height: 400px;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/place%20du%20marche%20ste%20catherine%20004%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Red curtain - <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">rideau rouge</span></span></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/yogurt%20%26%20strawberries%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/yogurt%20%26%20strawberries%20ps%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Strawberries and yogurt - <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">fraises et yogourt</span></span></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/ave%20montaigne%20%282%29%20crop%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/ave%20montaigne%20%282%29%20crop%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Window dressing on rue Montaigne - <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">la fenêtre s'habille sur rue de montaigne</span></span></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/petit-pont%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/petit-pont%20ps%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Petit-pont</span></span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-style: italic;"> - <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Petit-pont</span></span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/Paris%20misc%20379%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/Paris%20misc%20379%20ps%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Dinner cruise on the Seine - <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">la croisière de dîner sur la Seine</span></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/antique%20market%20crop%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/antique%20market%20crop%20ps%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Red stool in antique market - <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">l<span style="font-style: italic;">e tabouret rouge dans le marché antique</span></span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/place%20du%20marche%20ste%20catherine%20005%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/place%20du%20marche%20ste%20catherine%20005%20ps%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Red awning - <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">auvent rouge</span></span></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/tuileries%20%287%29%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/tuileries%20%287%29%20ps%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Red dress in the Tuileries - <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0); font-style: italic;">la robe rouge dans le Tuileries</span></span></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/cement%20wall%20notre%20dame%20with%20paint%20ps%202%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/cement%20wall%20notre%20dame%20with%20paint%20ps%202%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Top of stone wall facing Notre Dame cathedral where painters set up small easels - <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Le sommet de mur de pierre faisant face à la cathédrale de Dame de Notre où les peintres établissent de petits chevalets</span></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/Paris%20misc%20278%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/Paris%20misc%20278%20ps%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Good parking spot - <span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">le bon endroit de parking</span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/rubbish%202%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/rubbish%202%20ps%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Trash is trash in any language - <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">les déchets sont des déchets dans n'importe quelle langue<br /><br /></span></span></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/le%20louvre%20%282%29%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/le%20louvre%20%282%29%20ps%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Louvre pyramid - <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style="font-style: italic;">Louvre pyramide</span></span></span></span></span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/1600/tuileries%20kids%20%282%29%20ps%20web.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/3582/3151/400/tuileries%20kids%20%282%29%20ps%20web.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153);font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Fancy bike - <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style="font-style: italic;">vélo luxueux</span></span></span></span>Ruthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com7