A Paris Walk through Toulouse-Lautrec's Paris: Montmartre

Today we decided to take one of the walks in our book entitled "Forever Paris":  Toulouse-Lautrec's Paris that takes us around the neighborhood of Montmartre.  We've been there many times, including this trip but today we were searching for specific addresses on buildings.

We started our trek at three o'clock as we headed for our trusty Metro Station and with only a few changes we were  at the Pigalle Metro Station at the foot of the Montmartre Hill.  We walked about six blocks discovering the four apartments where Toulous lived and also a chocolate shop by the name of L'Etoile d'Or that has the very best chocolates in Paris per the book.   This was at #30 rue Pierre Fontaine.  Degas also lived in this apartment.

Our second site was the Moulin Rouge.  Been there done that but generally at night.  I was amazed at the long line of people standing in line to purchase tickets.  You couldn't pay me to go there, but it's always fun to see from the outside.   This was the favorite haunt of our artist and was the inspiration for one of his most famous posters featuring the dancer La Goulue.

A short walk towards the Montmartre Cemetery took us to the building where he spent twelve years on the fifth floor.  It has huge glass windows all along that floor making a perfect studio for him.  This is located at # 7 rue Tourlaque.  Back up the hill we continued our trip slowly up the famous rue Lepic that runs from the bottom of the hill all the way up to the top and into the artist area that is surrounded by restaurants.

Along the way we passed the old wooden windmill that stands at the top of the hill and then nearby the famous one that is surrounded by the restaurant Moulin de la Galette, a dancing hall during Toulous' day as well as a restaurant.   Soon we were at the top and enjoying the artists trying

to entice tourist to pose for a drawing.  One stopped Jim two different times and tried to talk him into a pastel drawing.  They love his beard!   One of my favorite restaurants here in the square is La Maison Catherine and the one that I always have Onion Soup at when I have the opportunity.  Today I learned that this is one of the oldest and the one that fed many of the starving artists over the years.

Around the bend and down the hill a bit on the back side we found the Montmartre Museum at # 12 Cartot.  At first we thought it might be closed as there was extensive repairs on the building next door but the garden gate was open.  So happy as it started to rain just as we arrived!

We learned that this is the oldest house on the hill.  It had fabulous views over the northwest part of Paris and today I was lucky to see a rainbow when the rain stopped.  The collection was extensive; lesser known artists but very interesting.  And, extensive amount of photos and information from the years of the Impressionistic Artists.

There was a large model of the Montmartre Hill with pins showing where all of the various artists lived.  There were two buildings that had multiple pins:  the museum and Bateau Lavoir.

Both Monet and Renior stayed in this house at various times while they were painting on the hill.  A favorite of ours was painted in the garden with a swing.   By the time we left the rain had stopped and we enjoyed the gardens before leaving this moment in history.

Back around the hill, we stopped to enjoy a silver painted mimic who danced a jig for me after we gave him a euro.  Then a quick look at Sacre Couer basilica before climbing on the Funiculaire for the trip down the hill.  We were two of four in the car; I've never seen it this empty before!

Jim window shopped all the way down the long block that is full of shops.  No bargains for what he wanted so we managed to arrive at the Anvers Metro Station without extra parcels.   When we got on the train it was packed solid...sardine can time...but by the time we were half way home it had thinned out and we both had seats.

A quick stop at the grocery store and we were home by five o'clock.  A lovely day and an even nicer evening.  I hope you enjoy the slideshow: 

Concert at Eglise Notre Dame de Lorette

Yesterday was a quiet Sunday in Paris for us.  We spent most of the day in our apartment; reading, checking the Internet for news, watching our Museum Channel on Television, bookkeeping for me and Jim did the cooking.  Our colds are using lots of tissues but we're mending.

About three o'clock we headed out the door for the Metro.  We only had to make one change to reach our destination.  There we walked up the exit and we were right next to...shall I say it sits on top of the Metro...our destination.   The church of Our Lady of Lorette.

We stopped by this church yesterday and saw the posters for the Concert tonight that is Johann Sebastian Bach:  Sonates and Partitas.  It sounded good so we came here this afternoon for Mass instead of St. Eustache as we'd originally planned.   And, it would also give us an opportunity to see the inside as it was locked up tight yesterday.

In reading our "Forever Paris" book about the walks; we discovered that this is the neighborhood where Monet lived with his parents during his early childhood.  The beautiful baptismal font that is pictured here was the very one where they baptized him as a baby.  So it has a bit of history for us also. 

We arrived early before four o'clock and checked out the best seats for acoustics and then enjoyed the practice session.   The actual performance started at four-thirty; by then the church was full and an elderly gentleman perfectly blocked my view!  Oh well.  Did I say...even with the heaters going full blast, everyone kept their coats on during the performance...it's a cold but dry day in Paris.

The first part of the event was a lecture on the music that was to be played.  We didn't get much out of that but the music was beautiful.  It you are on Facebook; I posted a short video. 

We had half an hour between the Concert and the beginning of Mass, so we took the opportunity to walk around the neighborhood.  The Mass was in French and sometimes it's hard to concentrate but we do enjoy the organ and singing by the people. 

After Mass we hopped back on our Metro at the door of the church and arrived home for a late dinner prepared by chef Jim.  Yes, I'm doing the washing up for him. 

Hope you enjoy the mini slideshow: 

Shopping Passages and the Gustave Moreau Museum

We had a relaxing day that began about noon when we headed for our Metro Station.  Three changes and we were in the ninth arrondissment.  Remember that Paris has twenty districts called arrondissments.  Arriving about 1 pm we spent the next hour walking leisurely through two of the beautiful Galeries sometimes also called Passages.  Many of these vintage covered shopping malls are being given a new life here in Paris.

Today we visited the Passage Jouffroy and the Passage Verdeau that are just across the street from each other.  The style of both is very Belle Epoque, reminiscent of the 1870's up to 1914 when many of these were originally built.  Art Galleries, Book Shops, Clothing Stores, Gift Shops and wonderful little restaurants fill these malls.   There are less than fifty of these scattered around Paris but more and more of them are being brought back to life as the French people and the Tourists flock to shop in them.

We then found a building at  #35 rue St. Georges where Renoir had a studio at one time, no plaque on the wall here.  Then nearby was #80 rue Taitbout where we found Square d'Oleans.  The door was locked but we took a photo through the grill on the gate of the beautiful residences behind the gate.  This was the home of the famous Polish Composer Frederic Chopin and the writer George Sands among other famous people.

We were standing outside the Church of Notre Dame-de-Lorette talking about the concert that is scheduled for Sunday afternoon when a group of people asked us how to find Notre Dame.  We got out the maps and gave it our best shot but in retrospect I wish we'd taken then on the Metro and shown them how to use it and also get them to Notre Dame or at least close to it.  They were walking they said.   They were from Brazil and spoke beautiful English.  Hind sight is always so much better than what we do but maybe they'll be a next time.   But as of now we do plan to go back to see the concert tomorrow night.

It was now two o'clock and our next site would now be open.  It was closed from noon to two o'clock for lunch.   Located at #14 rue de la Rochefoucauld in the ninth arr. is the home and now a museum of the artist Gustave Moreau.  He was a born in Paris and his father, an architect, recognized his talent and gave his full financial support to his son.  This allowed him to paint and also to give financial support to many struggling artists friends through the years.

Above the living quarters there were two double storied art studios that each took a full floor.  Each is full of finished and many unfinished works of art by Moreau.   We spent an enjoyable hour there looking at all of the art.   We spent time yesterday looking for his grave in the Montmartre and finally decided it was the one that was positioned on the map but the engraving had been lost over the years.  Much like the one for Edgar Degas but someone had put a marker of sorts on that grave.  That was one of the reasons that we decide to take a look at his Museum.  And, we've just discovered that it is open today for the first time in months after completing a lengthy restoration.  What luck!

After leaving the museum we started walking to some more of the Passages and then decided to hop on the Metro and head for home.  I've definitely got a head cold...but no sore throat....and we called it a day. 

But one more surprised awaited us on the Metro.  As many of you know, "street performers" hop on and off of the Metro Trains all the time for a short performance.  Then they pass the hat for coins and are off at the next stop.  But today we were in for a show!   Two neatly dressed young men, suits and ties, started a pantomime with recorded music.  Cute and the French were chuckling at their comments.  Suddenly they started a strip tease routine.  And one was doing a pole dance that had his feet on the ceiling.  The pants were fixed to come off with one swoop of the hand and suddenly they were in their underwear...and they were made from material featuring a map of the Metro System!
Needless to say they received coins from many before they hopped off at the next stop with their clothes in hand.  They dressed and we saw them across the way getting on another train to repeat the same performance.  A fun trip home.

Stopped at the grocery store for meat for tonight and tomorrow before heading home.  It's looked like rain all day but we never saw any and the sun was actually breaking through the clouds at times.   Jim fixed a delicious dinner tonight.  Yes...he's back in the kitchen again.

Hope you enjoy the slideshow: 

Montmartre Cemetery

This morning we both went to the Laundromat and did three loads of laundry including the sheets and towels.  Now we're set for the last week of our vacation.  We were surprised in the laundromat with all new posters of art shows on the walls.  Made the place very festive.  I left Jim in charge of the machines and walked over to the grocery store for a box of tissues...both of our noses are running with the cold weather.  Yes, today it seems the coldest ever! 

At three o'clock we caught the #95 bus that took us towards Montmartre; but we got off the bus at the cemetery just before you enter the area around Montmartre.  The road actually goes over the top of the cemetery.   Walking down steps we entered and stopped at the office for a free map showing the sites of some of the more famous people who are buried here.  There was a beautiful cat sitting on the counter and I remember that Jim said this cemetery is known to have many cats.  But this is the only one I saw today!

We spent nearly two hours tromping around the old cemetery and found nearly all of the ones that we had marked on the map.   One that was impossible to find was Gustave Moreau the painter.  But we think it was one of those that had such a soft stone that the engraving had disappeared. 

Some that we found:  Family of Camondo; the Jewish Banking family that donated their home to Paris in honor of the son who was killed in WW I; then the daughter was turned over to the Nazi in WW II and died at Auschwitz.  We've visited the beautiful home that is now a museum last fall.

The Painter Edgar Degas, the writer Alexandre Dumas, the composer Jacques Offenbach and Emile Zola, a writer whose body was transferred to the Pantheon but his tombstone is still here.

We watched workman use a lift with an arm that extended out far enough to reach over several rows of graves to the one that they were working on.  They put down the heavy new marble marker and then proceeded to use it for lifting the stone on the old ones that they were replacing.  Made me think of my growing up years; my father was the superintendent of a very large cemetery and we lived across the street.   We also watched from a distances as mourners came for a buried service.  Yes, the cemetery is very old but still has new burials all the time.  I'm not sure but I think if a family stops paying the fees; the ground is resold...not sure about that. 

We rode the bus both ways today, a nice change from the underground.  But it was so cold!  We walked to Notre Dame area to check out the elevator that goes down from the street to the RER B for our trip out to Charles de Gaule Airport next week.  If the weather is good we'll walk the ten minutes to this elevator that goes directly to the track for the train.  If it's raining we'll be getting a taxi for the short trip to the train station at St. Michel.   Good to plan ahead.
 
Hope you enjoy the slideshow: 

Visiting Chatou and the Ile des Impressionnistes

A rainy day full of wonderful surprises.  We took the train this afternoon and went about fifteen minutes west of Paris to the town of Chatou.   There we walked along the  Seine River towards the bridge that crosses the river to the town of Malmaison.  Half way across there is an access road to a large island in the center of the river that is known as the Isle of the Impressionists because in the late nineteenth century they would spend their weekends here painting on this island.

When we left the apartment about one o'clock it was lightly raining.  It continued raining all day but we always managed to be between storms when we were walking except for that original walk.  The walk from the station took about twenty minutes along a broad walking path boarding the river.

As we descended from the bridge we saw the set up for a large Circus that is taking place in a few days at one end of the island.  We were headed towards the other side where there is a famous restaurant that was visited by all of the artists during their weekends.  The restaurant was established in 1857 by Alphonse Fournaise and his wife.  They also rented boats and had a few rooms that they rented out.  Parisians loved to get out into the cooler countryside and enjoyed boating; easily arriving by rail. 

In the 1870's and 80's, Maison Fournaise was the place to be for Monet, Manet, Renoir and others.  One of my favorite paintings by Renoir was painted on the patio of this restaurant over a series of weeks.  Entitled "The Luncheon at the Boating Party".   I recently was given a very good copy of this painting that now hangs in my dining room.  Prior to this I enjoyed reading the book that was written about making this painting with the background stories of everyone involved.

Jim was humoring me with going but it turned out he enjoyed it as much if not more than I did.  And, this has been the first day since New Years Eve that he has felt like going out for the day.  The last luncheon customers were leaving as we arrived.  The hostess talked with us and told us where to find the Museum but she thought it might still be closed.  She suggested that we might like to come back for a coffee if it was closed.

Outside we walked around the building and found the boathouse that has been converted into a Museum.  The restaurant was closed in 1906.  It slowly became derelict until in 1977 when the city of Chatou purchased the property and finally in 1990 it reopened as a restaurant, reinstalling an orange striped awning as in Renoir's painting.  The Boathouse was made into a lovely and surprisingly modern museum. 

We tried the door and it didn't open; looked through the windows and were preparing to leave when a lovely young girl opened the door and invited us in.  We'd turned the handle the wrong way.  Not many photos as I was asked not to take photos inside the museum.

The Museum Fournaise is dedicated to the work done by all painters of this strech of the Seine River, Impressionists and Fauvists alike, as well as contemporary painters who have captured the spirit of the Seine River as it was in prior years.  The film of the river, the painters and its paintings plays continually in the last room of the Museum.  Since we were the only visitors there, she changed the audio to English.  We'd have loved to purchase a copy but none were for sale.

Jim wanted to purchase an umbrella that has the Painting of the Luncheon of the Boating Party on it; but at sixty euros, I thought it a bit expensive.  We settled on a postcard of the painting before leaving her a nice tip for inviting us into the Museum.  It was truly one of the biggest surprises that we've had due to excellent copies of many and several originals that we had not expected to see in such a small museum.  They even had audio guides in English for us to use. 

All too soon we'd seen everything and felt it was time to head to the station before another rainstorm started.  We walked around the outside with new eyes after our visit to the museum; enjoying many things that we'd missed when we'd arrived.  This time we walked on across the bridge to the station at Rueil-Malmaison.  Actually it was a shorter distance but not nearly as pretty as the one along the river on the way to the island.

Back on the train and into the city, rain threatened at any moment but held off until after we were safely back in our apartment.  Dinner tonight was chicken fillets cooked in butter and wine with slices of fresh mushrooms, baked yams and some mixed vegetables.  Most was purchased this morning on my visit to the local grocery store before our trip.

The original painting has been in the Phillips Collection, a Museum in Washington, D.C., for many years.

Hope you enjoy the slideshow: 

Completing the Hemingway Walk

We woke to sunshine again and Jim was feeling better so by eleven o'clock we were out the door and walking towards St. Suplice Church.  Walking past the church we found our first site at # 6 on Rue Ferou; a home where Hemingway lived with his second wife Pauline around 1927.  By this time he was making money but it was his wife's wealthy family that actually purchased the property for them.  A far cry from the two room apartment with the bathroom down the hall that we saw two days ago.

On this street we also found the poetry of Arthur Rimbaud chiseled into the wall.  He was a much beloved French poet who died very young.  The poem on the wall was "Le Bateau Ivre" (The Drunken Boat).   Jim was enthralled as he knew both the poem and the author.

Continued walking up the street to the entrance to the Luxembourg Museum, then around the corner to #10 Bis rue Serandoni and the favorite restaurant of the author John Baxter whose book Jim has been reading while we are here in Paris.   The Baxter family also lives in this area; but not sure just where.

Walking west along the north wall of the Luxembourg Gardens we headed towards the home of Gertrude Stein at #27 rue de Fleurus.   This street had the added bonus of many art deco buildings that were fun to look at.  Soon we walked back a block to rue d'Assas and walked south along the west wall of the Luxembourg Gardens all the way to the Gardens of Grands Explorations at the south end of the Gardens.  Here we enjoyed the beautiful fountain of wild horses; dry as all small fountains in Paris are at this time of the year.  Even the beautiful Wallace drinking fountains are turned off during the winter. 

Across the street we found the Closerie des Lilas restaurant (this was our destination when we got lost on Monday); and it was also visible from the RER Station that we'd used on Monday.   No plaque on the outside...you need to go into the bar to find it.   So we turned and walked down the nearby Notre Dame des Champs to #113.   Hemingway lived here with Hadley after he'd was making more money and it is rumored that he wrote his famous "The Sun Also Rises" while sitting in the nearby restaurant Closerie des Lilas.  The building is gone and another modern building stands in it's place.

We turned around and walked back to the restaurant and this time Jim insisted on going inside and asking if we could take a photo of the plaque at the bar.  They were wonderful...of course we remembered to greet them and then ask....and we took our photo of the place where he sat at the bar  and did his writing.

We then walked across the street and caught the RER back to St. Michel; there we changed to the Metro and exited at the Odeon Station.    This time we were looking for # 12 rue de L'Odeon; this is where the original Skakespeare and Company Bookstore was opened by Sylvia Beech.  She is also famous for being the only one who would publish "Ulysses" written by James Joyce.   Her bookstore became a haven for the many writers who flocked to Paris in the early 1900's including Hemingway.

We walked up the street to L'Odeon Theater of Europe, rounded the corner and headed for # 41 rue Monsieur le Prince:  Polidor Restaurant; a favorite of Hemingway's when he was poor!   We also think that this restaurant was used in the movie "Midnight in Paris" for the old building that turns into a laundromat when he turns around.  It looks like it and there is a photo of Woody Allen that was dated 2010 in the window.  We'll have to watch the movie again!  I do hope we've remembered that correctly. 

Our tour was finished so we turned around and headed up boulevard Saint Germain towards our apartment.   Suddenly we notice a movie theater and saw that they were playing the newly released movie "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty".  We decided to go home for lunch and come back for the three o'clock show since it is still in the English Version with French Subtitles. 

We enjoyed the movie and then walked over to the three famous restaurants on boulevard St.-Germain where everyone who was anyone spent time in the Hemingway years.  Tonight we sat outside of Les Deux Magots and enjoyed Hot Chocolate for Jim and Capachino for me after taking photos of Cafe de Flore and Brasserie Lipp.  A fun evening and something I've always wanted to do.  We made a toast to twin Mary and her friend Violett who wanted to do this in September but ran out of time!

We even stopped and purchased roasted chestnuts from the vendor in front of the restaurant before walking home to the apartment.  We were nearly there when we decided to walk out to the river before dinner.  Enjoyed the views, using my "night scene" setting I got some nice photos before we started back.   The rain started just after we saw the spot light on the wall; creating art using the branches of a tree.  We rushed the last block and then enjoyed a wonderful evening at home.

Hope you enjoy the slideshow: 

Army Patrols on the Avenue Des Champs Elysees

WHAT did I say...yes...today I strolled with a team of three army personal carrying their automatic weapons at the ready...a point man and at least thirty feet back two more spread apart making a perfect triangle as they walked the famous boulevard.  I've never felt quite so safe!

My day started about nine o'clock when I got up and opened my current book; my third since I've arrived, called "The French House" by  Nick Alexander.  A great little mindless novel about an English woman and a French man who decide to change their careers and become goat farmers in the mountains above Nice, France.  They start with a very old family owned home that is falling down literally as there is a hole in the roof when they arrive and the story goes from there.  Lots of fun and keeping me interested. 

Jim woke about eleven o'clock and after breakfast I did some shopping for groceries after Laura from the management company arrived to fix the television that stopped working last night.  Since I have to carry everything for four blocks and the storage space plus the refrigerator are all very small;  I do this nearly every other day.

Jim is thrilled to have both his computer and television working but is still under the weather so today was a day off for him.  But I was soon out the door and on the Metro; three changes and I was walking out to the Avenue Des Champs Elysees from under the Arc de Triomphe.

I snapped photos of some of the Christmas decorations that we'd missed  on New Years Eve and took others again in the daylight.  I stopped for a look at the Starbucks in an old Galerie and snapped photos of the theater marques as my object was to see if there was a new movie playing that we wanted to see and is also still in English with only French subtitles (Version Original).  The only one that seems interesting is the new one about Wall Street but I don't think that I really want to see that one. 

I stopped for some shopping at the Monoplix on the Avenue and sure enough I found some great bargains on the square pillowcases!  It was fun shopping for some new things to leave for the next guests in the apartment also. 

All too soon I was past the Rond Point, the intersection of the Champs des Elysees and Franklin Roosevelt; I crossed the street at Winston Churchill and caught the Metro at the Clementine Station.  Wasn't that the name of Winston's wife?  Back to Concorde, changed to the twelve which took me to Severs Babylone and there I changed to the ten that took me to my home station of Mabillon.  I walked into the apartment about half past four.  A nice two hour outing for me.  

I've discovered that I am just fine on my own when traveling but also that I enjoy it more when I'm sharing my journey with another person.  Solo traveling is okay but it's much more fun to share!

I'm enjoying cooking since Jim's been sick and he seems to be pleasantly surprised; he forgets that I did all the cooking during the early years but didn't have the luxury of cooking with wine, butter and special seasonings.  Tonight  I cooked rice and the sauce was slices of two large white sausage links, slices of fresh mushrooms, seasonings, butter, a touch of spicy mustard and simmered in white wine.  Mixed vegetables completed the plate.  A glass of red wine added a nice flavor to the meal.

Dessert tonight is one we have most evenings; half of a chocolate bar; like a hersey bar but European chocolate in the plain wrap on the bottom shelf in the grocery store.  One of the best bargains that my twin and I discovered back in 2009.   Delicious!   Hope you enjoy the slideshow: 

Finding Hemingway

Well....I just accidentally deleted the entire blog that I'd just finished.  So here I go again.

Today I did my grocery shopping before noon and soon we were off to find the haunts of Ernest Hemingway using our book about Paris Walks.   We caught the Metro to the stop for Cardinal Lemoine where the tour starts.  We walked up the winding and slightly uphill street to the top.  It ends at the place de la Contrescarpe that is depicted in the opening of his book "A Moveable Feast".  Just before you enter the place you'll find # 74 and a plaque commemorating his two bedroom apartment that he shared with his wife Hadley in the early days of their marriage.   This is also the spot where the street known as Rue Mouffetard ends; this street was made famous by Julie Childs as she did most of her shopping on this street and we also spent lots of time there last September.

Jim was amazed that we'd been so close and never seen the plaque.  From there we continued following the route in the book and soon we were walking past the Pantheon.  There were several huge Christmas trees set up in front with large bows tied all over the trees.  The bows had four foot ribbon streamers tied to them and with the strong winds coming over the top of the hill it looked like snow blowing off of the trees.  Suddenly Jim noticed the Eiffel Tower in the distance and suggested that I climb the stairs and take photos of it through the trees.

By this time we were having lots of fun and I suggested that I show him the apartment where we four girls stayed in September after he went home.  Off we went down a side street instead of following the route in the book that told us to walk to the Luxembourg Gardens.   I must have missed a street as I didn't find the apartment but rather than back track to find the apartment and/or the gardens we continued walking in the same direction.   I was sure we were walking parallel to the park! 
 
Well if you know Paris you realize that streets run every which way and the names change constantly on most streets.  Soon we were on Blvd. Jacques and that sounded good.  Along the way we saw the Paris American Academy next to the Val de Grace which is a church and a museum for the French Military Medical History.  Can't be far from the park I was sure.  Suddenly we were on the Blvd. Pont Royal and I knew I was in trouble.   I kept bluffing and walking but finally stopped and asked for directions.  We were way off course.  He directed us back to an RER Station and there we caught the train and headed back towards the Seine River.   Ah Paris....

We stayed on the train until it reached the Les Halles Station.  There we departed and worked our way across the huge underground shopping mall and found the exit that took us up and out right at the side entrance to the St. Eustache church.  We walked inside and admired the nativity scene and rested a bit to catch our breath and adjust our attitudes...both of us.  Ah Paris...

We enjoyed seeing all of the changes to the area with the construction gone around the outside of the church and then walked to see the front which we'd never seen before.  We were amazed at how different it looked from this angle; it looked much like a narrow St. Suplice and also like St. Madeleine.  We continued walking around the other side that has stores built right up to the walls.  From there we walked to the Metro Station on rue Etienne Marcel and hopped on board.  By the way, when we renewed our weekly pass this morning we notice that the price had increased two euros.  We assume that all of the Metro tickets went up a bit but not sure.  It's still a great bargain if you are in Paris for a week or more. 

Jim remembered that we'd promised to check out pillowcases for his sister for her square European pillows so we hopped off at Cite Station and walked to the Bazar Hotel de Ville department store.  There we found what we needed and left to catch the Metro home.

A bus stopped outside the store and I saw that it stopped at The Louvre so I grabbed Jim's arm and we hopped aboard much to his surprise.  But, when I explained that by taking this bus we wouldn't have to walk up and down all the stairs on the two changes required for the Metro from this area to home he was a happy camper!

It started to sprinkle lightly as we got off of the bus but the walk home across the bridge was shorter than from our Metro Station so we were glad that we'd used the bus.  Good day with some ups and downs.  We'll do more of the Hemingway sites another day and stick to the route!

 A good thing today, our daughter's post card arrived that she'd mailed several weeks ago.  The mailman stuck it where we could get it as he knew we didn't have keys to the mailbox!  She did a good job addressing it.  Always fun to receive mail from home when you are traveling.  A not so good thing today:  the television decided not to work this evening.  It will be interesting to see what we hear from the management company tomorrow.  But the Internet works well and I'm going to close this while I can.  Hope you enjoy the slideshow: 

Free Museums in Paris on the First Sunday

Yes...every month the city of Paris opens nearly all of it's major Museums for anyone to enter FREE.  We had gone on the first Sunday last September when we were here; we visited the Louvre but we'd gone about an hour before closing and walked right in with no lines.  We charted the opening times of the four museums that we were interested in going to today; the closest and first to open was the Louvre at nine o'clock.  

We were awake by eight o'clock; that in itself was unusual during this trip!   Jim was not feeling as well as he appears in the photos in the slideshow so it was nearly eleven o'clock before we were out the door.   We walked to the end of our block, walked across the bridge and into the Louvre...we are literally less than ten minutes away.   We could see the end of the line before we could see the glass pyramid; it stretch for nearly half a mile.   So we headed across and through the buildings to the Rue Rivoli and entered into the Carrousel Mall Entry that has an underground entrance into the Louvre.  The lines stretched from the bottom of the escalators, past the stores, around the inverted pyramid and into the entrance to the Louvre.  Unbelievable.   One would stand for hours in order to get into the museum for free at either entrance!

We got on the Metro and headed for our second choice and the furtherest away and we thought the most unlikely to be crowded.   Two metro changes and we'd arrived and to our amazement;  the line was even longer at the Pompidou Center!   We enjoyed the Stravinsky Fountain created in 1982 by the artist Niki de Saint Phalle that has sixteen mechanical pieces of art; all of a very modern design that is adjacent to the museum.

Then we walked into the church that boarders one side of the square called Saint Merry.  Very old and interesting, especially today.  They had a table set in the sanctuary with the communion things and the Mass was being said down in the center of the church with the chairs in a circle.   I've never seen this done before.  The nativity scene was also very unusual; black and white drawing on large sheets of paper.  We stayed for awhile and then continued our walk in the fourth arrondissement; stopping for a moment to admire the Tower of Saint Jacque that is the only thing that remains of a very large and old church that was destroyed during one of the revolutions.

Soon we'd arrived in front of the Hotel de Ville (City Hall) where they have the ice skating arena built every winter for the citizens of Paris.  Today the sun was shining and the rink was full of people of all ages having fun.  The lines were shorter here than that night before Christmas when we watched them skating in the rain.   Crossed the street and entered the Metro again.

This time we headed for the Place de la Concorde and L'Orangerie Musee.  We walked into the Tulleries on our way to the Museum and admired the large fountain where people were again enjoying the sunshine in the green chairs around the edge.  A beautiful gold ball sits in the middle; we assume that water flows from it during the summer.  Over to the side we found the bulk of the green metal lawn chairs that fill the park during the summer.  They've been stacked for storage during the winter. 

Then we looked up at the museum and this line stretched from the front door, all the way down the side of the building and around the corner to the middle of the back of the building!   Again...the lines are unbelievable.  One last museum was on our list of possibilities:  d'Orsay.  We walked over to the quai and headed towards that museum, crossing over a very beautiful bridge along the way.  We just started across when another gypsy tried to trick me with the gold ring again (different girl...same ring I think).  This time I walked right pass and refused to acknowledge her; she quickly scooted off the bridge with her partner.  But we watched and sure enough she tried it on a couple walking along the quai and we could tell they waggled their fingers at her showing that they also knew her game.

We're weren't surprised that the d'Orsay was also packed with long lines.  I think that we were just lucky last September because so many of the French were still on vacation.  You definitely have to be very patient to use the benefit of the FREE Sunday for Museums.  We walked on home and enjoyed some lunch and watched our wonderful Museum Channel on television that runs twenty four hours a day.  It's shows wonderful art from museums around the world with classical music in the background as it hovers very slowly over the finer points of each painting.  Jim hates to leave the house because he loves this show so much!  But, we don't think we can get it on television in the USA!   Maybe we can get it on our computers; we never will have to visit another museum again!!!   LOL

About three o'clock I decided to go out on an adventure by myself.  My good friends Pete and Judy gave me a book before we left called"Forever Paris"  25 walks in the footsteps of famous people.  I'm saving the Hemingway one to do with Jim so this afternoon I selected "Moliere's Paris - Palais Royal and Musee du Louvre".  

I took the Metro and made two changes before arriving at the underground Metro entrance to the Louvre.  Just checking to see how the line is doing.  It closes at six o'clock and it is now half past three; the lines are just as long as they were early this morning!  I called Jim to tell him that it was a good thing he stayed home; we were done with museums for the day!   Since we've been to all of them several times it wasn't really that important on this trip.

Off to the beginning of my Walk, I crossed the Rue de Rivoli, walked past the five star Hotel de Louvre and into the Comedie Francaise, the first stop on my Route.  From there into the Palais Royal Gardens.  I walked through them to the end where I found the Royal Palace Theatre.  Over to the rue de Richelieu where I located the building where Moliere died and then took photos of the large statue at the monument at the beginning of the street that is named for him. 

I then walked back towards the Louvre until I found the rue St.-Honore that parallels rue de Rivoli.  I was looking for the building where he was born.  I found the right place but no building with the address.  I looked and looked.  It was missing.  There were two other woman also looking with a book in their hands.  I finally looked up and saw the plaque on the wall.  One woman had left but the other was still there and I asked if she was looking for Moliere; she gave me a puzzled look...she didn't speak English.  I pointed to the sign on the wall and her book.  Suddenly her husband walked up and he understood.  They both smiled and thanked me and wished me well with my visit.  We each went our own way.    We were all looking for number 96; the block before started with 102 and then we had 94 and 92...no 96.  Apparently this very tiny building has that number but they neglected to put numbers on the building.   But the plaque was there on the second floor or was it the third?

My next site was the church of St. Eustache where he was baptized.  I knew this one was near the Bourse, the stock exchange; and also in the middle of a huge construction site.  But I started towards the area.  When I arrived I was absolutely amazed.  The construction was finished and the area was completely transformed.  I can't wait to take Jim over to show him the change in the area.  We had not expected it to be finished until next summer.  There are still parts further east that they are working on but for the most part the western end nearly the church is finished.

I called Jim and said I had one last site to find and then I would catch the Metro home as it was getting dark.  I found the area but not the building I needed.  I did find some new Christmas street decorations that were on and snapped a photo.  Also found a grocery store open, unusual for Sunday, and picked up some bananas and a box of tissues for Jim's nose!

Found my Metro stop and with no changes arrived back in our neighborhood before six o'clock.  Made our dinner and we've enjoyed our evening at home.  Jim does seem much better tonight and maybe we'll do a walk together tomorrow.

Hope you enjoy the slideshow: 

Luxembourg Park

Yesterday was a day of rest for Mr. Jim who is suffering from a cold and after I typed my blog from our visit to the Chateau, I had a very busy day.   I'm the cook and dishwasher along with the shopper for these few days while Jim is under the weather.  And a trip to the laundromat.  I'm enjoying my solo journeys around the neighborhood as I do my housekeeping chores. 

Late in the afternoon I walked along the Seine River and got caught in a sudden downpour.  Finished my errand and returned home before I got too wet.  Actually it had stopped by the time I arrived home.  Guess I'd better keep that umbrella in my pocket even when the sun is shining!   I'd gone to the camera shop to ask about the lens that would not close on my camera.  Apparently this is a common problem with this camera and it will have to go to the repair shop when I get home.  Fortunately I brought two cameras so I'm in good shape for the rest of the trip.

Today I got Jim to go out with me and visit the Luxembourg Park.  It's straight down our street, Jim said it was about a mile.  The street ends at the Luxembourg Palace of Maria de Medici.  This palace is now used for both government offices and a museum. 

On the way to the park I took some photos of the outside market that we walked through as we went down our street.  I wonder if these will disappear as it gets colder.  The restaurants still have many outside tables for their customers; some inside of plastic others with just heaters. 

Inside of the park I saw flowers planted; not many but some of the first that I've seen on this trip other than in the shops.

At the fountain where children play with their boats using a long stick during the summer months; today there was only one boat that was remotely controlled by an adult.   But the park was full of people; many sitting with their faces raised towards the sunshine.  They are all aware that winter is coming and these days will be fewer and fewer. 

We walked over to visit the chess players....only one table today.  Watched the tennis players; the courts were full today.  And checked out the French way to store the vast amount of leaves that are dropped by the trees; huge wire fences keep them corralled into pens for compost uses.   It was a fun couple of hours outside of the apartment. 

We walked home a different route past Saint Suplice church with it's merry-go-round outside.  Notice the Wallace Fountain; they're found all over Paris and provide safe drinking water for everyone.  There are still some Christmas decorations but most are starting to disappear.  The little white houses outside of Saint Germain des Pres church have all disappeared today except for one that is selling Hot Wine.

Back to the apartment for a snack and a nap before leaving again about four o'clock.  It had begun to rain and so instead of in the pocket the umbrellas were up as we walked to the Metro Station.  One stop and we were at Severs-Babylone Station; walked out and over towards our destination.  Along the way we spent a few minutes in the huge department store of Bon Marche; lost each other and used our cell phones again to reconnect.  They are a good investment!

We then walked half a block to the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.  When we were on our trip to Israel, several people told us about this and said we should definitely put it on our must do list.  They had a 5:15 pm Mass that we planned to attend this evening.  Arrived fifteen minutes early and it was already packed.  They have two upstairs balconies for seating and by the time Mass started they were also full.  This Chapel is in a convent of the order of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincint de Paul.  It has become famous because of a nun by the name of Catherine Laboure.  She was born in 1806 and died in 1876.  Her body was exhumed and found to be incorrupt in 1933.   She had apparitions (visions) of the Virgin Mary during her life and she saw a vision of the Miraculous Medal.  This vision was recreated as a medal that is wore by many Christians all over the world today.  It was in an earlier version of this chapel that we visited today where one of the apparitions took place.  She was canonized as a saint in 1947.   Her body lies inside of a glass coffin on the side altar of the chapel. 

The rain had stopped by the time we left the church and it was an easy trip home by Metro.  I fixed dinner and we've enjoyed another pleasant evening.  Jim even said he's feeling better; I told him it was getting out in the fresh air....he doesn't agree!   But tomorrow is the first Sunday of the month and that means many of the major museum will be FREE!   I think he's going to feel fine tomorrow morning!  Hope you enjoy the slideshow: 

Chateau de Vaux Le Vicomte

January 1st, 2014:  A quiet day spent inside the apartment.  Jim has a sore throat and needed a day of rest; much like I needed one last week when I had indigestion problems.   It was a good day for reading and catching up on bookkeeping.   We'd shopped for supplies earlier in the week and had no real reason to go out into the overcast day.  Unfortunately, we didn't have the Rose Parade to entertain us or the multitude of football games that are available in the USA on this first day of the new year.

January 2nd brought sunshine but predictions of rain.  We dressed warmly, prepared for rain, and then headed to the Metro System for a long ride with five changes of routes for the shortest way to the Gare de Lyon.  Today we're catching the train to the town of Melun located just fifty km south and a bit to the east of Paris. 

We'd read in various Internet sites that it could take us from half an hour up to nearly three hours for the trip by train.  Buying our tickets for the round trip from the machine was easy enough.  Then we found the track and a train that ended at Melun.  What we didn't think about was the fact that we were catching the "milk run" that stopped at every station.  We had a nearly empty car that left Paris at ten o'clock; enjoyed the countryside as we slowly moved from station to station and in an hour we'd arrive at Melun.  Walked outside and easily found the Taxi Que. 

Rick Steves said that a taxi should cost twenty euros each way; I asked and he said eighteen so we climbed in and enjoyed the fifteen minute ride out into the countryside to the Chateau de Vaux Le Vicomte.   We've been to this Chateau four times over the past ten years so we were familiar with the area.  One of the features that makes this one so special is that it feels like you're going back into time as you drive down the long tree lined road to the entrance.  Today will be special as we're visiting to see the Christmas decorations and real fires in many of the fireplaces.   This special event takes place every December up to January 5th; then the Chateau closes for the rest of the winter months.

The sun was shining brightly as we left the taxi; we'd asked about the return trip and he'd given us a business card with a telephone number.  He said that a staff member at the Chateau would make the call for us when we were ready to return. 

Jim was thrilled that we only paid "Senior Rate"; so often this is only for EU members.  Outside of the house they had a carousel for children and the path to the house was lined with pale blue Christmas trees lit with tiny LED white lights.  All of the lights were on in the gardens but difficult to see and photograph in the bright sunshine.  All of the ornamental trees shaped like three dimensional  triangles plus all the short hedges in the flower gardens were wrapped with red LED lights that flickered throughout the day.   We decided to view the Estate during the daylight hours so the view of the gardens wasn't all that spectacular but I loved the fact that the crowds did not arrive until we were leaving later in the afternoon.

We picked up audio headsets that described each of the rooms that we entered.  There were multiple Christmas trees in each room.  I know you'll enjoy the slideshow that features all of the different rooms and if you have access to Facebook, I've posted several videos of the decorations.

We spent nearly two hours inside of the Chateau and then wandered out into the gardens.  This Chateau is built in the middle of the formal gardens.  It is about a mile and a half from the front gate to the back of the gardens.  The Estate is 500 hectares which is 1,235 acres.   In 1641 a very young twenty-six year old man by the name of Nicolas Fouquet purchased three villages to make his Estate near the town of Melun.  From 1658 to 1661 he destroyed the villages and used the people who lived there to work on the estate, some eighteen thousand people.  The cost to build this was sixteen million french lire.  He hired Andre Le Notre to do the gardens, Le Vau to design the building and Le Brun to do the enteriors.  Together they produced a magnificent Baroque Country Home fit for a King.  In fact there are three rooms designed to be used by a King should he visit the estate and stay overnight; a common practice in those days.  But, these rooms were seldom used by Royalty but by the family members.  The rooms in this house were never slept in by Royalty.

When finished, Forquet hosted a party for King Louie XIV at his new Chateau.  Forquet was Louie's Superintendent of Finances and a member of the Royal Court.  When Louie arrived he was amazed at the beauty of this Estate, but did not stay the night.  When he returned to his palace and told his court of the beauty of Vaux Le Vicomte; one of his ministers by the name of Colbert alluded to the fact that possibly Forquet was dipping into the King's financial treasure to finance his beautiful new home.

Forquet ended in prison, his estate and family ruined.  The King hired Le Notre, Le Vau and Le Brun to create his own masterpiece at his hunting lodge in Versaille.   Today that is the most visited place in France and at least five times larger than the Chateau that we visited today. 

Vaux Le Vicomte is still privately owned, it changed hands three times over the years.   The present owners are  Patrice and Cristina De Vogue, the Comte and Comtesse De Vogue, descendants of Alfred Sommier who acquired the estate in 1875. 

Back to our story today, we walked out to the first of several large fountains, found a bench and enjoyed our snack that we'd brought with us as it was two o'clock.  The huge chocolate art in the kitchen had reminded us of our bar in the backpack!  Spent about half an hour in the gardens and then walked back to the front for a visit to the buggy museum in the stables.  Then to the gift shop where the only thing that caught my eye was a Santa about two feet high with a price of 125 euros!  Too much and how would I get him home!

I used my cell phone and called the telephone number on the card from the taxi driver:  01.64.52.51.50....just in case you make this trip.  He arrived in about fifteen minutes and after we were settled in the car he introduced himself.    He was from Portugal and I asked if his name was Matias Enrico? 

He was amazed and then we told him that in our research on the Internet we'd found a recommendation to use him as a taxi driver as he spoke very good English and was excellent.  He laughed and said he'd met "Colleen" about five years ago and her name pops up regularly among his customers.  Actually the number that Colleen gave was different from what we'd used.  I think the direct number for him is 06.07.94.07.21.   We'd called the company and just happened to get him as a driver; but he was delightful.  It was a couple of euros more for the trip back but still very reasonable.

We checked the trains and found a DIRECT to Gare de Lyon.  Could have taken a "milk run" about fifteen minutes earlier but by waiting until 3:45 pm train, we were back in Paris in half an hour!  No stops!  Back on the Metro...we did only three changes and went a bit out of our way but less of a hassle.  Soon we were back in the sixth arrondissment and after a short stop at the post office we were home by 5:30 pm.  A wonderful day full of beautiful experiences.

I hope you've time to enjoy the slideshow today: