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Published: January 17th 2017
Celebrating Bob's Birthday
with a great Lebanese lunch!We started off our next week in Paris with another birthday – Bob’s. When asked what he wanted to do those of you that know him shouldn’t be surprised with his answer – he wanted to have time exploring a DIY store and then go out to eat Chinese! It was a nice day for walking so off we went. One thing about Paris is that there are so many interesting areas to explore that you can find new things to see every day. Janice did her research and found out where a DIY was located as well as a highly recommended Chinese restaurant for lunch. On the way we walked past some places we had seen before such as Hotel de Ville (City Hall), but also found another church we hadn’t seen before. It was St. Gervais-et-St. Protais. It is located near City Hall and the present building was built between 1494-1657 on the site of its predecessor from the 7
th century. Wars and lack of funds delayed the building process resulting in the interior being of the Gothic style of architecture and the façade being the first example of French baroque in the City. If you look at the
One of Bob's Birthday Wishes? A DYI in Paris
interesting use of space in handrail of escalator! façade you will see that that ground floor has Doric columns being the simplest, the next level up being Ionic and the most ornate Corinthian columns located at the top level. The interior has a mixture of stained glass windows from the 16
th century and the 21
stcentury. One thing that definitely is different here is the seating provided as they are quite Spartan. We found out that this church stopped being a parish church in 1975 and is now the headquarters of the Monastic Fraternities of Jerusalem which helps explain this change.
Now on to main events of the day! Neighbors in the marina had told us about a DIY chain store that is located here in Paris so “had” to go. The one we went to today is actually located one level down under a large block of stores. It seemed to go on forever with various levels down and through numerous smaller rooms – it was quite a maze and Bob thoroughly enjoyed his wandering and finding out what they have to offer. Yes, many items seen here are available in the US, but there were other items that were offerings found in Europe only. I think
it is a good thing we live on a 40’ sailboat otherwise we may have been trying to bring home some interesting pieces of wood, European hardware and numerous other interesting items. As it was we did find a few things that we couldn’t do without – I have to admit this store is definitely a great find in the middle of a city such as Paris. With limited space we had to chuckle that they even found the space in the handrail area of the escalators as a place to put items for sale – you just had to be quick in picking out the item (or ride the escalator again!)
We found the restaurant that we were planning on eating lunch at, but we shouldn’t have been surprised that with the high recommendations it was packed with quite a long line waiting for a place with very few tables. It was not a place we could have made reservations at and Bob decided he’d rather find another place to eat. Fortunately for us we had passed by a Lebanese restaurant and decided to try that instead. What a great find it was! With our very limited French
Bob's Birthday Dessert Included a shot of rum
that he put in himself with the plastic tube! skills and the waitresses limited English we managed to have her recommend what we should eat - she did a fabulous job of giving us both a wonderful sampling of dishes. By the end of the meal we were both very pleased that the Chinese restaurant was full and we had an opportunity to have such a wonderful meal.
Walking back toward the marina was a very good idea after our wonderful lunch, but of course we couldn’t end the day without making a stop for Bob’s birthday dessert. There are plenty of passteries in France – the hard part is deciding where to stop. We found one that had some different offerings – Bob found one that even had a vial of rum that he had to “shoot” into the dessert which made it quite a treat. Janice found a lemon delicacy that she enjoyed as well. Bob seemed to enjoy his birthday wanderings – a good start to another week in Paris, our fourth.
We had been leaving our visits to museums until the weather started getting colder so now was the time to begin. The Musee d’Orsay had been highly recommended to us as it
is one of the best for Impressionist art. It is located along the Seine and would be a wonderful walk as well. The museum is located in what had been the railroad station. It was built in 1900 for the World Fair providing a way for people of France to attend. Within the building there was a luxurious hotel for the convenience of travelers and they have kept the grand reception room as it was. The station was abandoned in 1977 and fortunately for us the French government decided to use this space as museum which opened in 1986. The museum concentrates its collection on western world art from 1848 to 1914.
As mentioned in a previous blog entry everyone goes through security as a matter of course. Unfortunately Bob forgot and was carrying his pocket knife, but luckily they just took Bob down to the cloak room and had it checked allowing us to enjoy the day at the museum. It seems that this must happen often as it was handled as a matter of course rather than something unusual. Guess we will remember to empty pockets before going to any other museums in the future. Bob told
the guard that he carries it for cutting off pieces of bread and cheese and he just smiled and said he definitely understood!
As always we decided to rent the audio guides as they provide so much more insight into what we are viewing and allowed us to learn more about the various pieces that we wouldn’t have known otherwise. The museum is quite large and we know that we will have to return again to see more of the offerings so we decided to concentrate on the Impressionist artists today. Many we were aware and have seen their work in other museums and books, but the sheer number of offerings here is impressive. Hopefully you will see a few of the paintings and sculptures in the pictures here –as always it is difficult to try to limit the number of photos showing you what we have had the privilege of seeing in person.
We knew some of the pieces of artwork as they were the more recognizable ones that everyone knows, but we were surprised by other offerings. As one example we knew that Degas used dancers as one of his more common subjects, but did not
St Germais Church
The facade is baroque, interior is gothic realize that he also did sculptures of dancers and horses to better understand the muscles in the legs. The impressionist painters were known for their wanting to depict changes in the modern world of the 1870’s and to depict their observations of common subjects covering both leisure and industry. In viewing these paintings you could see this with the inclusion of landscapes, café scenes, dance practice, workmen at work in various fields as well as the traditional still lives but of common objects such as onions and oranges. Impressionist artist wanted to “capture the moment” and as such it is known for its rapid and many times visible brush strokes. They also concentrated on capturing the atmospheric effects of the outdoors with many painting the same scene at different times of day. They wanted to change from the more finished formal paintings done in the studios and use their surroundings as subjects. This area of France gave many artists an excellent place to do this with the variety of subjects seen daily on their walks by the Seine and the wonderful lighting effects with the reflections from the water. If you have any interest in the Impressionist movement you should
put a visit to Musee d’Orsay on your list of places to visit.
The museum does have a large area of sculptures on display as well which we visited, but ran out of time with it closing so will have to return to do it justice. We did see a few interesting sculptures outside – each one represented a different continent. Interesting to see that for North America the sculpture had the look of an American Indian with the names of famous Americans carved on a scroll.
We had a pleasant walk back to the marina as we took the path next to the Seine for quite a while – the scenes along the water are beautiful and reminded us of some of the artwork that we just saw in the museum. It was a long day on our feet, but a very rewarding one.
Another sunny day in Paris we decided to take one of our neighbors’ advice and check out the Promenade Plantee. It is a 4.5 km (2.8 mi.) walk that was created in 1988 built on a former railway bed that had not been used since 1969. Much of it is above road
Notice the "seats" in St. Gervais
it is now headquarters of a monastic fraternity level giving you a new perspective on the City. It is a wonderful way to use this space and transform it into a beautiful and serene green space. It includes water features, plenty of park benches to soak in the atmosphere and very well kept plantings along the whole route. Other cities should take note of this beautiful use of an old railroad bed. One interesting building that you see while on this walkway is a Police station that has numerous statutes lining it. This was built in the 1990’s which was when they placed the statutes that are based on Michelangelo’s sculpture “The Slave”. We didn’t have time to complete the whole length of the promenade, so will have to set aside another time to do the rest of the walk. One point that our marina neighbor told us was that a great DIY shop is located along this promenade and Bob definitely remembered this “tip” so we ended our walk at the DIY store! We found out that the DIY we went to on Bob’s birthday is a chain store and this was the same store – this one is better as it is a closer walk from
the marina.
After seeing the model of the Palais Garnier (Garnier Opera House) when at the Musee D’Orsay we decided to check it out in person. You can take a self guided tour with audio guide so spent the good part of a day exploring this spectacular building and learning about its history. The Royal Academy of Music brought together a professional orchestra and the Ballet Company of France in order to promote French opera. The academy was started in 1669 and was housed in various venues in Paris over the years. In January 1858 Napoleon III and his wife arrived by carriage at the Opera House and Italian anarchists threw bombs into the crowd killing 8 people and injuring 500. The following day Napoleon made a decision to build a new Opera House in a better location with a more secure entrance for Heads of State. An international competition occurred with 171 architects competing. In the end an unknown architect, Charles Garnier, won the competition in May, 1861. When Charles Garnier was asked by Napoleon’s wife how he would describe the style of architecture as it was an eclectic combination of bold architectural designs, he answered, “Napoleon Trois”.
A perfect answer for the winner of a competition designing a building to please Napoleon III.
Shortly after starting the construction they ran into problems as there was an underground stream which delayed the construction. After 8 months of pumping water out they found that they could not remove all of the water resulting in a small lake still existing under the building. Garnier designed a double walled and sealed cement and concrete foundation to withstand the leaks from the water and then was able to continue with the construction. Garnier decided to use a new technique of building with an iron and steel framework as it would be fireproof and stronger than wood as he wanted to use tons of marble in his design. Using a metal framework for construction will later be used in the more famous Eiffel Tower.
When one of the judges was asked why Garnier won the competition he stated it was “remarkable in its simplicity, clarity, logic, grandeur, and because of the exterior dispositions which distinguish the plan in three distinct parts – the public spaces, auditorium and stage”. The idea of grandeur was definitely realized with the use of gold, gold
A Temporary Art Instillation
was quite eye catching indeed leaf, marble, mirrors, sculptures and mosaics. The design of the staircase, the color of marble chosen and the placement of the lighting were all decided based on the fact that Garnier wanted to make the women attending the Opera look better and provide a place for them to show off their gowns. The Grand Foyer inspired by the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, was traditionally only open to male attendees to provide a place for them to smoke their cigars and socialize. When Queen Isabella of Spain was in attendance she decided to walk out to this area as she wanted to see it for herself. As a result of this event, women from then on were allowed in this very opulent area of the Opera House.
In the auditorium Garnier installed a 7 ton bronze and crystal chandelier. Unfortunately in 1896 one of the counterweights for the chandelier broke free and killed a member of the audience. With this incident and the fact that there is a lake below the Opera House, these items inspired some of the scenes in “The Phantom of the Opera”. They even have one of the seating areas labeled with a brass plaque
for “The Phantom”.
Paris now has a new opera house where most of the Operas are held, but the Palais Garnier is still used mainly for ballet performances. It is an impressive structure which unfortunately Napoleon III never got to see completed as he died 2 years before its opening in 1875.
Jennifer, the daughter of our friends, Ann and Jean-Paul lives in Paris therefore we invited her over for lunch one day. After giving her a tour of the boat (which definitely doesn’t take long!) we enjoyed our lunch in the cockpit getting a chance to visit and learn more about her and ask some of our questions about French culture and traditions. With having a British mother and a French father she is fluent in both languages and cultural understanding which allowed us to ask questions about French traditions in English – very helpful to us indeed as our French language skills are very minimal indeed. Jennifer provided dessert which was a wonderful assortment of cream puffs. These are definitely not your average cream puff – they are more petite in size than what you would see in the US, much less sweet with fabulous and
The Promenade Plantee Created in 1988
uses the old railway bed, a great vantage point unique flavored fillings. What an excellent ending to our lunch with Jennifer. It was nice of her to give up her free time on a weekend to visit with us.
The week ended with Halloween – yes, they do have signs of this holiday here as well. We saw people walking around with mask and/or costumes during the day and then when we wandered around at night we saw numerous people socializing at cafes with masks on. Some of the cafes were decorated with paper decorations such as Jack O’Lanterns, witches and ghosts. We only saw one girl at a shop doing the traditional “trick or treat” – everyone else we saw were adults just socializing and enjoying the day and evening!
It is hard to believe that we have completed a full month in Paris already. We have 2 more weeks in Paris before we leave for the US to spend the holidays with family and to continue work on the house that we purchased last year. Will update you on other activities as time allows.
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