14 July 2006

Third day in Paris

As it's the 14th of July, the celebrations of the National Day started early in the morning. Instead of  looking at the celebration en place, we took part of it via the television with military parades and speeches by the President Jacques Chirac and others.

Métro to Place d'Italie. Walked through a part of China Town looking into the food stores - of course - and other boutiques. The of course as they have good products to very good prizes. When Aurore lived in Paris during her studies, she often did her grocery shopping in the Chinese district.

We also passed La Mairie at Place d'Italie. I had the idea that there were only one Mairie in Paris but each commune within the capital, each arrondissement has its one.
Place d'Italie

La Mairie

La Manufacture des Gobelins on avenue des Gobelins The Manufacturer des Gobelins is a tapestry factory. It is best known as a royal factory supplying the court of the French monarchs since Louis XIV. It's now run by the Administration générale du Mobilier national et des Manufactures nationales de tapis et tapisseries of the French Ministry of Culture.


A detail on the facade (Gobelins)

We then went on to take a look at Aurore's and Aki Kaurismäki's University - Paris III (Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III, below).



Rue Mouffetard, Lycée Henri IV and - Panthéon, originally built as a church dedicated to Sainte Geneviève, but after many vicissitudes now combines liturgical functions with its role as a famous burial place. The arhitectural style is Neoclassicism, with a façade modelled on the Pantheon in Rome, surmounted by a small dome that owes some of its character to Bramante's "Tempietto".
Among the 'celebrities' buried in its necropolis we find Voltaire, Rousseau, Marat, Victor Hugo, Émile Zola, Jean Moulin, Marie Curie, Louis Braille and Soufflot, the architect.
A magnificent building!


Rue Mouffetard and one of many "wine shops" exposing their products.
A small alley on the way.
Lycée Henri IV
Le Panthéon

Eglise S:t Etienne. Rue Monge to Arènes de Lutèce the amphitheatre/arena where the cradle of Paris stood.
Église S:t Etienne
A detail on the facade of the church.





Rue Linné - named after the great Swedish botanist - with music stores (Jussieu musique) towards Jardin des Plantes with Musée de l'Evolution.















Hereafter the mosque - La Grande Mosquée de Paris - where we drank tea and ate sweets ("Sweets for my sweet"=Aurore). 




I was happier and more satisfied
than this photo reveales! The heat?

Rue des Écoles towards Sorbonne - Rue de la Sorbonne. Rue Monsieur LePrince where the story in August Strindberg's 'Inferno' is set.



After this we went to Jardin du Luxembourg where we bought ice-cream.
I have never seen such an amount of ice-cream flavours! More than one hundred! It's a family with an ambulant ice-cream stand, having sold ice cream here for generations, as far as Aurore knows.

We also listened to a concert in Jardin du Luxembourg.
An orchestra in Jardin de Luxembourg



La Reine Mathilde (1031-1083).
Sculptor: Jean Jacques Marie Carle Vital Elshoect (1797-1856)

Sainte-Geneviève (423-502/512).
Sculptor: Michel Louis Victor Mercier(1810-1894)





We continue Rue Bonaparte towards the church Sainte Sulpice and Marché St Germain (closed). After this, we went to Église St Germain des Près and a visit inside this the oldest church of Paris.

Sainte Sulpice


Église St Germain des Près

Rue Jacob with a small Ladurée-store with, among other things, macarons and a lot of other tasty pastry (below)! Ladurée is one of the foremost confectioners in Paris of France with shops a bit everywhere.

Theatre de L'Odéon where we rested, not least to eat something.

Université René Descartes, Rue des Écoles towards Boulevard St Michel and Musée de Moyen Age. We didn't go in there today however.


Théâtre de L'Odéon

Université René Descartes...

...with some details

Musée de Moyen Âge

A nice dinner and then to bed.

13 July 2006

Second Day in Paris

First of all a visit to Notre Dame (of course) where I took some photos inside and outside the church - its amazing architecture - and after a walk up to the tower, the lovely view of Paris. 

"Hi pal!"

"I'm bored sitting here looking out of Paris all day!"
"Oh, come on, this is not the worst place to be!"


Trumpet solo







A photo a bit blurry but...

The Square René-Viviani with the oldest tree in Paris.
More about this below.

'Shakespeare and Co' is our next stop.






These fountains (below), called the Wallace Fountains,
are to be found in different places in Paris and all over the world.
Most people however link them to the French capital.
They were designed by Charles-Auguste Lebourg, a French scultpure.
The name Wallace comes from the Englishman and philantropist
Richard Wallace who financed the construction of these fountains.
They are a blessing as the water is cool - and - good!
This one is placed right outside Shakespeare and Co as you can see.

There are or has actually existed two bookstores by this name. 
The first was opened by Sylvia Beach, on 19th of November 1919, at 8 rue Dupuytren, before moving to larger premises at 12 rue de l'Odéon in the 6th arrondissement in 1922. 
It was a gathering place for many then-aspiring writers such as Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, Djuna Barnes, James Joyce and Ford Madox Ford. 
It closed in 1941 during the German occupation of Paris and never re-opened
The second bookstore, still in operation is situated at 37 rue de la Bûcherie, in the 5th arrondissement. It opened in 1951 by the American George Whitman
He was a contemporary of writers such as Allen Ginsberg, Anaïs Nin, and Lawrence Durrell, and a lifelong friend of the poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
A short visit to a parc in the Square René Viviani-Montebello (the 5th arrondissement) with the oldest tree in Paris. It's a Black Locust, also called false acacia (Robinier faux acacia in French) planted in 1601 ! The plants was brought here from America by a botanist by the name of Jean Robin, close to the king Henri IV.
Quartier LatinRue Galande with a cinema that every week shows 'Rocky Horror Picture Show' and besides that so called artfilms
Sainte Andrés des Arts with a theater by the name of Theatre Chochotte.
But my wife is no chochotte I think?
We now start to walk towards 'L'Odéon but before that we went in to a small alley where the oldest café in Paris is situtated – Café Procope (below).

















At Place de L’Odéon I take a photo of a statue depicting Danton.

Blandine – an old friend of Aurores cousin Hervé - calls. 
She wants us to meet her at La Défense  (photo below) from where she is going to drive us to another cousin of Aurore, namely Xavier, with his wife and two sons, to whom we are invited to dine this evening.

We meet her at La Défense, as decided and on the way to Xavier, we pass Bois de Boulogne  but without duelling

A lovely dinner where I - being a lacto-ovo-vegetarian - actually eat meat! Blasphemy! 
A very nice evening ending a nice day!