Gallivanting Grandma

Tuesday – November 1, 2011

Today we discovered and explored the Cite de la Musique in the rain.  This is a museum which traces the history of music from early instruments to modern electronic music.  Our time is Paris is flying by…..

The Plaza in the Rain

Entrance to the Music Museum

View From Inside the Musee

The String Family

Antique Harps

A Mini-Concert On An Antique Guitar

A Piano Forte

La Grande Halle Opposite the Music Museum

Parc de la Villette

Le Canal Saint Martin

Street Art On the Canal

Walking Along the Canal

Sunset At the End of the Canal

Monday – October 31, 2011

Today we took the Metro to the famous Paris Marche aux Puce (flea market).  It’s the end-point of one of the Metro lines – Clignancourt.  Then a walk through cheap-stuff stalls manned by young North African men which reminded us of the outdoor markets in Istanbul, Turkey.  No time to write; just photos:

Paris Metro

Urban Jungle

Antiques?

Baccarat Crystal?

Wooden Beads

Lalique?

Flea Market Street

Display

Antique Boxes, etc.

Dresses For Sale

Sports Equipment for Sale

Sacre Coeur

Funicular to the Top of the Hill

Famous Brassai’s Steps?

View From the Top

A Few Tourists!

Street Performer

Le Tour Eiffel at Sunset

Montmartre at Night

Sunday – October 30, 2011

We’re so busy getting out and about and walking everywhere  in Paris that I can’t keep up to writing in my blog.  My photos will have to stand in for the writing.  Here are more photos of the famous and beautiful “City of Lights”……..

Place Dauphine

Covered Walkway

Political or Traffic Warning?

Musee du Moyen Age

Middle Ages Heads

Ancient Clock

The Pantheon

Side View of the Pantheon

Demonstration in Front of the Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon

Foucault Pendulum

Voltaire’s Crypt

Antique Stone Carving

Fall Leaves in Luxembourg Gardens

Smart Car Parking Space

Saint Sulpice

Saturday – October 29, 2011

The time is speeding by, the weather in Paris is mild and we’re having fun seeing the sights in this amazing city!  This morning we decided to get an early start and go to the Musee D’Orsay. It had been closed for renovations and just opened this month. The building used to be an old railroad station and instead of tearing it down, the Paris government turned it into an art museum. It is the premier modern art museum in Paris which covers the period of 1848 through 1914. More recent and contemporary art is displayed in the Pompedieu Center and several other sites. The Musee D’Orsay has an amazing collection of the work of artists who created the term: impressionism. These are some of my favorite artists: Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, Matisse, Sisley, Corot, Lautrec, Manet, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.  The D’Orsay is full of all these artists!

One of the Clocks in the Musee D’Orsay

The biggest problem in our sojourn today to the D’Orsay were the many signs which read “NO PHOTOGRAPHY”! The building is a former railroad station with interesting ornamentation and lovely huge clocks and wonderful natural light. We didn’t want to take pictures of the art work, but the light and angles in the building are very interesting to photograph!! The last time we visited the Musee D’Orsay, photography was allowed and we have many interesting photos. Oh well, we just had to enjoy the art and flex our shutter fingers a lot.

Paris from the Inside Looking Out

It was almost one o’clock when we completed the 5th floor where the major impressionist artists’ works are displayed, and we were getting hungry because we skipped our morning croissants. There is a very nice restaurant at the end of the gallery and we decided to have lunch there. I had a great light meal of fresh salad Nicoise.

Another Clock in the Cafe

The Main Hall of the Musee D’Orsay

Coffee at a Sidewalk Cafe

The weather is still overcast but mild temperatures in the low 60s. We stopped for a rest at a typical French cafe and watched the world go by.  We still had a few hours left so we took the Metro to the Musee des Arts et Metiers.

Paris Metro – Solferino Station

The Paris Metro system is very easy to negotiate. It is much easier to use than the NYC subway system and much cleaner. This Metro line didn’t have the glass walls like the Rivoli line.

Museum of Arts & Metiers

The Arts and Metiers Museum is a really fascinating museum which traces the invention and development of machines, instruments, and mechanical devices. It is full of models of machines and also real instruments. We had discovered it on our last visit to Paris and were eager to return to see it again.

Inside the Museum of Arts & Metiers

Part of the museum is housed in an old Gothic church. This section has a real working Foucault pendulum and a display of very old French cars, trains, gliders, and other antique motorized vehicles.  It is a beautiful space.

Foucault Pendulum in Former Church

The museum has demonstrations of the history of how machines and instruments were invented and developed. It is a really interesting museum.

Hood Ornament from an Antique Car

Antique Engine

Grand Marble Staircase

Lavoisier’s Laboratory

Wooden Models of Energy Producers

We left the museum about six o’clock and took the Metro to the Chatelet Station.  There was a political demonstration going on in the small park near the station.  There were large crowds of people chanting and making lots of noise.

Arts & Metiers Metro Station

We walked to rue St. Honore where the 7th Best Boulangerie in Paris was located. We stood in a long line for a baguette “traditionelle”. Then we crossed the street to the trateur to get some pate and finally stopped at the fromagerie for some cheese. We took our treasures back to the hotel and had a yummy feast! Paris is such a fun place!!!!

Friday – October 28, 2011

Our hotel, Le Relais du Louvre, is really a very charming place to stay in Paris. I agree with everyone on Trip Advisor who stated that all the people at the reception desk are very nice, friendly, and very helpful.  They seem to be genuinely kind.

One of the Entrances to the Louvre Museum

That said, I can lodge my complaint about our neighbors who played their television too loud until 2:00 AM last night and kept us awake!

Metro Station Near Comedie Francaise

I abandoned any idea of getting an early start in the morning and slept until about nine o’clock. When I awoke, I peeked outside through the window between the curtains. Yes, Paris was still there! It’s so exciting!! Being in Paris is soooo much fun!

Palais Garnier Opera House

We tried a different cafe for cafe au lait and pain au chocolate. I wondered how long it would take to have coffee and a croissant in a different cafe every day and never repeat. So far, all the cafe au laits have been different but all very good and tasty.

Grand Staircase in the Opera House

We had decided to explore a different arrondissement today and walked up to rue St. Honore and turned left. There are many shops and restaurants along this narrow busy street.

Interior of Paris Opera House

We saw several Metro stations which seem to have been restored with interesting artistic entrances. Some have the beautiful old Art Nouveau green metalwork which resembles flowers and stems.

View of Place de l’Opera from the Balcony

We passed the entrance to Le Louvre museum and saw the famous Comedie Francaise Theater. The traffic was heavy and the sidewalks were full of people. The weather is very mild for this time of year and everyone seems to be outdoors. Today the temperature is about 64 degrees. The sky is overcast and gray, but there is only a 30% chance of rain.

Golden Auditorium of the Garnier Opera House

We walked all the way to Place de l’Opera to see the Palais Garnier Opera House. This is a magnificent Beaux-Arts building (built about 1870) which was recently cleaned outside and carefully restored inside to its original grandeur. The Paris Opera company moved out some years ago to a new modern facility near the Bastille. The old Palais Garnier Opera House had been empty, but now they are staging ballets and a few operas again.

Marc Chagall Painted Ceiling

We had toured this building on our last trip to Paris and loved it, so we wanted to see it again. The grand staircase is tres impressive decorated with different kinds of marble and beautiful marble statues. Inside the theater auditorium, the walls are all gold with red plush velvet seats and on the ceiling there is a magnificent circular Chagall painting. There are eight Gobelins tapestries on the walls of an anteroom near the box seats. The building is gorgeous! I am very happy that the French government restored it rather than take it down.

Church of the Madeleine

Afterwards we walked along the narrow rue des Mathurins which is parallel to Boulevard Haussmann. Then we turned left onto the boutique-filled rue Tronchet to the Place de la Madeleine. This is the location of the very impressive Neo-Classical Church of the Madeleine, consecrated in 1842. It has 52 huge Corinthian columns supporting the triangular roof.

Maille Speciality Mustard Shop

There are several famous shops around the Place de la Madeleine. Fauchon is a fun shop for “contemporary luxury foods”. Maille is for specialty mustards and other condiments. We continued our walk down the rue Royale toward the Place de la Concorde.

Interior Courtyard of Louvre Museum

We debated taking the Metro back to our hotel or continuing to walk and we decided to walk under the covering of the rue de Rivoli. There are many tourists in this area and also gaudy tourist shops selling gaudy souvenirs. We finally reached our hotel to rest and take a break before venturing out again.

Entrance to the Louvre Museum

The Louvre Museum is open late on Friday nights until 9:30 PM. Since it’s right across the street from our hotel, we thought it would be fun to go there. The sun was setting and it cast a beautiful warm glow on the building. We walked through the courtyard and into the central glass-pyramid ticket area. We decided to purchase a four-day “Museum Pass” because there were many more museums that we wanted to see in Paris.

Inside Looking Out

There are three main sections in the Louvre: Richelieu, Sully, and Denon. All the sections seemed to have French paintings and a wide variety of art from all parts of the world. We chose the Richelieu section because neither of us had ever been to that section before. We took the elevator to the top floor and worked our way down to the ground level. Suffice to say that there is a lot to see in the Louvre and a week is probably not enough time to enjoy all the incredible works of art.

View of Paris From the Louvre

We walked many miles today and we saw a great deal of the center of Paris and one section of the Louvre. Ahhhh Paris……. Magnifique!!