Tuesday, April 19th

Wheel in Place Concorde

On my way to the Jacquemart-André Museum today I went through Place Concorde and walked up the Champs-Élysées part way.  Not a favorite walk of mine though I enjoy the little esplanade/parc that runs parallel to the street.

Cherry Trees

Beautiful blossoms

The Ambassadeurs Jardin

The park ends at FDR Blvd where I turn to go up to Haussmann--I get to skip the shopping mall experience of the rest of the walk.

I couldn't take photos of the exhibit itself--the museum doesn't own the photo rights--but I took several inside the museum.  I visited this house several times and am always in awe of the ability of this couple to collect so many beautiful things.  Hmmm, they didn't have children, . . . .

Reception Room

Drawing Room

Smoking Room

Winter Garden

The special exhibit itself featured 45-50 works (many of which I hadn't seen before) by artists such as Boudin, Turner, Monet, Courbet, Renoir, Degas, Gauguin, Pissarro, Signac and Berthe Morisot.  Others as well.  The scenes were of the terrain from Dieppe,  Trouville, Deauville, Honfleur, Le Havre, Cherbourg, and along the Seine from Rouen to Giverny.   Fans and students of the Impressionists won't be disappointed to see these beautiful paintings in this beautiful venue.

Walking home along the Blvd. Haussmann, I came to the Chapelle Expiatoire which was built in 1815 at the request of Louis XVIII.  The Chapel and the surrounding park sit on an old mass grave for victims of the Revolution.  Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were buried there until they were moved to the St. Denis Basilica in northern Paris.

I couldn't walk down Blvd. Haussmann without taking some pictures of typical Haussmann-style buildings.

There is something quite elegant about seeing rows and rows of them on the grand boulevards, particularly in the center of Paris.

I also walked through the Palais Royal.   I looked for Ingrid and John, but didn't see them anywhere.

But I did find magnolias!

Adieu!

Tomorrow will be an errand, logistics kind of day, so no formal post.  Talk with you all on Thursday.

Tuesday, April 18th

Seen on my way to a restroom.

I woke up this morning with plans to go to the Musée  Jacquemart-André and see the exhibit on the Impressionists painting in Normandy.  But I looked out the window and it was spring!  Sunny and beautiful!  The museum would be there tomorrow but today I would walk to the Luxembourg Gardens to see spring in Paris.

I would walk of course, and on my way I paused for a preview in the lovely park, Place du Temple, around the corner from my apartment.

Place du Temple

Children everywhere

A tree in bloom

The blooms!

Best of all, the park has a pond!  With wildlife living in it.

And make way for ducklings!  I saw at least six of them yesterday although some were camera shy.

Reluctantly I left the ducklings and their mother to their own adventures and continued walking south to the Seine.  On the way I passed Le Tour Saint-Jacques (which for many years I thought was the Chatelet!).  Last year some friends told me that it was the Tower of Saint Jacques and that sometimes you could climb it!  300 steps.  Not today--its open on weekends with guided tours for a few hours--but before I leave I think.

Tour Saint-Jacques

 Passed by (and stopped briefly at) Shakespeare and Company.

Too many tourists!

Notre Dame

Here are some signs of spring:

Boats filled with people

People on the banks of the Seine

 A quick walk through the Latin Quarter, and I'm finally at the most magnificent Luxembourg Gardens!  If that seems a little over the top, I'm sorry.  I find this place beautiful in any season and a source of peace and renewal.  I come here more than once every time I come to Paris.  Today, it really feels like spring in the gardens.

George Sand

Nothing like mucking around in boats.

Even if it were to be cold and rainy for the next 10 days, I would feel like I had spring in Paris today!

And you've got to love a city that puts poetry on the walls.

A few minutes resting by the fountain next to Saint Suplice, and then the long walk home.  I'll have walked 8 miles today, so an early bedtime and tomorrow--the Jacquemart-Andrée Museum.


Adieu!

 

Sunday, April 17th

Seen in a pastry shop window along the way.

The day was a mix weather-wise.  The rain and the sun spent the morning flirting with each other.  First I got wet, then dried off in a warm sun, then rain again, sun came out, . . . and so on.  Just enough sun to keep me optimistic--and walking.

I walked to the Bastille and through the massive Sunday market, not stopping to take photos or buy anything.  I was a woman with a mission and I headed up the lovely Blvd. Richard Lenoir toward the north of Paris.

Eventually I ended up near Gard du Nord, and the covered market,  Marché Saint Quentin, home to my evening's dinner. 

The market is full of different stalls with everything you might want.  If you haven't been, I recommend a visit next time you are in town.

Fruit

and more fruit!

Italian looks promising!

Six kinds of lasanga

Maybe some enormous artichokes.  These were the size of cabbages and I'm not even sure how long it would take to cook them.

And what do we think is sold here (and won a palme d'or last year)?

Cheese!

Herbs improve everything.

And there is even something to feed your eyes and your soul.

But it's decided:

Handmade, freshly made dumplings for dinner!

Next I decided to visit my old neighborhood near the Canal St. Martin.  Two years ago I spent several weeks there and fell in love with the people, the shops and of course, the Canal.  It's only recently been refilled with water after being dredged and cleaned--something that happens every 10-15 years.  It's a massive undertaking that is hard to imagine.  I wonder what unusual things they found this time?

 A canal boat on it's way back to the Bastille Marina.  It's waiting for the lock to finish equalizing the water.  If you take the canal boat ride to Parc Villette, you will go through several locks.  It's a cool experience!

The boat is about to go into the tunnel that will take it from this spot (just west of Republique) to the Marina Bastille.

My last stop of the day was a soggy Place des Voges where I stopped for a hot chocolate and to dry off a little bit before I headed home.

Louis XIII

 So beautiful--even in the rain.  Perhaps more beautiful in the rain without the usual Sunday afternoon crowds.

Adieu until tomorrow.