Happy Independence Day: A walk on my own, Carnavalet Museum, and The World Cup: France vs Germany

Paris' Hôtel De Ville. Every city has an Hôtel de Ville -- not a hotel, rather, it is the city hall. This is where the city's administration offices are located. The big screen was being set-up. For what? I'm not sure -- maybe the Coup de Monde (the World Cup for soccer). France vs Germany was going to be a big game tonight!

I thought it was nice that they had some American flags on the windows. I guess it was for our Independence Day

Coca Cola was handing-out little cans as a promotion. Aren't they adorable? Here, it is called "Un Coca."

Then, I visited a pet supply store for the project I'm doing for my French class (Dogs in Paris). Moustaches is the name of the store, in a posh area near BHV, a big upscale department store.

They even have a resident terrier mascott!

Then, I decided to walk (in the rain) to Carnavalet, the museum of Paris' History, which is housed in two ancient Parisian mansions. 

It has a beautiful courtyard, which was planted in ornamental and fruits and vegetables.

No photos allowed inside. There were rooms which were decorated as an old mansion would have traditionally been decorated. It is a fairly small museum (and free!), so I wasn't there very long.

The nearby Métro station, Saint Paul, is near the church for which it is named. Very pretty!

 

Tonight was the Coup du Monde (soccer, World Cup!) France vs. Germany. Allez Les Bleus, was the shout of the night! Our group met at a bar near Bastille, Yellow Mad Monkey. The place was PACKED!

Arab World Institute, Paris

Today, we met Pierre (our French professor from College of the Canyons, and a native Parisian) in small groups. He made it fun by giving each group a clue as to the meeting's location, rather than direct instructions. It was up to each of us to figure it our for ourselves and show-up on time. Our group was given a clue about "Mashrabiya" photovoltaiques by Jean Nouvel. 

A little sleuthing around the internet and I found the Arab World Institute in Paris. The front of this building is covered with these large windows that have modern, photovoltaic mechanisms which let light in, but close if it is too bright. Additionally, the designe echoes the ancient Arabic screens which serve as privacy screens, but are open to allow air circulation. Pretty cool! Architect Jean Nouvel has designed some really beautiful buildings around the world.

Nearby, we also visited the neighborhood that houses the largest Muslim Mosque in Paris. It is quite beautiful itself, with lots of colorful tiles inside. There is a very nice tea room here, complete with Middle Eastern pastries -- someday, maybe I will visit for lunch or mint tea and pastries!

There was a cool modern fountain in the nearby neighborhood. . .

Paris Catacombs and Musée d'Orsay

"Stop! Here is the empire of the dead." OK, this is the only photo I was able to get. It is pretty dark down here, and the tunnels kind of go on forever. The tunnels are dimly-lit, and the people taller than about 5'6" had to be careful to keep their heads down and not knock themselves out. This is no place for those who are tall or claustrophobic (or who get creeped-out by stacks and stacks of real human femurs and skulls)! Honestly, it was interesting to go down here, but the wait is pretty long to get in (we arrived at 9:20, it opens at 10, and we didn't get in until probably 10:30). Once you descend about 100 steep, narrow stairs, and you see the first stack of bones -- well, all the other stacks (millions of people's remains are here) are pretty much the same. I was glad our student cards got us in for free (otherwise, it is 10 Euros). I wouldn't recommend it.

A little interesting background: When the city was first being built, these tunnels were created as miners quarried the stones to make the buildings above. Eventually, they realized that, if they kept mining the stones, the city above would collapse and fall into the tunnels. They stopped that -- then realized that since the cemeteries were filling-up, they could dig-up the oldest graves and bring the bones down here for storage. Two birds, one stone!

Later that same day, we visited the Musée d'Orsay. . .

The lovely museum, Musée d'Orsay, is housed in what used to be a very beautiful train station. Built in 1900, it became a museum in 1986. Its collection showcases French art from 1848 to 1914, and it houses one of the best collections of Impressionist art in the world. This is my favorite museum in Paris -- maybe even the world.

I enjoyed lunch in their beautiful restaurant:  poached salmon atop a bed of pasta and peas in a lightcream   sauce. Dessert? Peach melba panna cotta and an espresso. Then, I was ready to enjoy some serious art! Unfortunately,  photos are not allowed in most of the collection. My favorites: Monet's haystacks and his turkeys!

The main hall houses some sculptures, including this miniature of the Statue of Liberty. The full-sized statue was a gift of friendship from France to the United States in 1886.

The museum's ultra-modern cafe, which is located next to a terrace where visitors can go outside for an amazing view of the Seine river, The Louvre, and Tuileries (and lots of Paris, as well).

One small corner of the Louvre across the Seine -- that museum is enormous!

Montmartre and La Basilique du Sacré Cœur in the distance.

A Visit to Versailles

Today is my birthday! Since I can't be with my family, I figure I can at least celebrate with a visit to Château de Versailles, the palace of the Sun King, Louis XIV. This palace was the center of French political power from 1682, when Louis XIV moved here from Paris, until the French Revolution in 1789.

I understand that much of the decor was stolen during the Revolution, but the Château has been faithfully redecorated to the time of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.  The rooms are filled with 18th Century (and earlier) furnishings, thick draperies hang at the windows and the walls are either painted or covered in velvet "wallpaper." 

Just a little crown moulding.

When Mark and I were here in March, 2008, there was hardly anyone visiting -- it was the off-season. Boy, it is so different in the summer! The hall of mirrors was jam-packed with sweaty, pushy tourists. I really couldn't get out of there fast enough.

One very small part of the vast, beautifully-maintained gardens. It amazes me that these gardens, complete with ponds and fountains, were designed hundreds of years ago.

Back in Paris, some friends celebrated my birthday with me, and we had a delicious dinner. The waiter was kind enough to put a birthday candle in my crêpe & ice cream dessert and they sang Happy Birthday to me. :) (left to right: Cindy and her daughter, Diana, me, Gladys and Phylise. I have been so lucky to make some sweet, smart, funny and kind new friends on this trip!)

Père Lachaise Cemetery

Established in 1804 by Napoleon I, Emperor of France, the Père Lachaise cemetery was the first garden cemetery and first municipal cemetery. Napoleon declared that "Every citizen has the right to be buried here regardless of race or religion." The largest cemetery in the city of Paris, it holds over one million interments in its 110 acres. 

When it was first established, the cemetery was actually east of the city. People didn't want to bury their loved ones so far from home, so it was not popular. Space was running-out inside the older Parisian cemeteries, so the planners decided that it would encourage people to choose Père Lachaise if they started burying famous people here. The first two celebrities were transferred here from their original resting places: Poets/Writers/Playwrights Jean de La Fontaine and Moliere. It is all about the marketing -- they knew that even back in 1804!

Above and below are photos of one very famous tomb in the cemetery. It is the tomb of an abbot and a nun who had fallen in love. When their relationship was discovered, they were sent far apart (and he was castrated!). In death, they were reunited here.

Many of the tombs have chapels built on top of them, often decorated with stained glass. The people are buried (stacked) below, and family members can comeand pray in the chapel.

Jim Morrison is buried here. The only requirement for burial in Père Lachaise is that you must have died in France. There is a barricade around the nearby graves, to discourage vandals. It wasn't enough for people to leave flowers (and alcohol, condoms, heroine needles) on Morrison's grave -- many wrote graffiti on the tombs nearby.

Oscar Wilde is buried here, too. His tomb also has a barricade, as so many women (and maybe some men, too) kissed his tombstone that it was ruining the stone.

Famous French singer, Edith Piaf, is here, as well as Chopin. . .

. . . and painter, Gericault, whose famous work "Raft of the Medusa" is depicted right on his tombstone.

There are also many tombs dedicated to the victims of the Nazis in WWII. Some are for those who died in specific camps, like Auschwitz, Ravensbruck and Dachau, some for the French Resistance fighters.

"Under this stone lies a bit of the ashes of the seven million French martyrs asassinated by the Nazis in the camp Neuengamme. They died so that we could live free. Their families and surviving comrades have erected this monument in their memory. 8 Novermber, 1949" (apologies if I got any of that wrong)

Luxembourg Marionettes and Paris' Gay Pride Parade

One of the traditional activities in the Luxembourg gardens is to rent a little wooden sailboat and push it with a stick to sail in the enormous pond in front of the palace (which is now where the Senate is housed). The park was built by Napoleon, for the enjoyment of the people of Paris and it is still used for that purpose. In addition to beautiful grounds in which you are free to stroll, sit, and/or take your kids to the playground, there are also a few places to eat, an historic marionette theater, pony rides (which I didn't see this time, but Mark and I did last time we were here) and gazebo venues for musical performances.

This morning, with many of the other students, we met Pierre, his wife, Mallory, and Pierre's daughter, Danielle and her boyfriend to watch the puppet theater's production of Les Trois Petites Cochons (The Three Little Pigs). The theater charges just under five Euro, and the first four rows of benches are for children only (strictly enforced!) so that the puppets can interact with the kids. It was super charming, and I would have loved to have taken photos of the puppet and the kids -- darling! However, photos are absolutely not allowed. I did get some photos of our group before the action began.

Tristan, Mike and Eloy (in the back).

Saul (commenting on how creepy the marionettes were) and Sarah. We all admitted to being creeped-out by the vintage marionettes (and clowns). Thank goodness, there were no clowns involved!

Katie and Mike (sister and brother)

All of the marionettes had head-shots around the room. This was one of the scariest ones, which Saul jokingly called Captain Crotch-it. LOL!

After the puppet show, which we all really enjoyed,  we went our separate ways. I stayed in Jardin du Luxembourg for a bit, enjoying the almost-rainy weather.

Catherine De Medici's fountain (my favorite fountain in Paris). She had it built in the Jardin du Luxembourg when she was Queen of France (and she missed her hometown of Florence, Italy).

Signs of the Gay Pride Parade geting ready to happen today. I loved this scene and was so happy to get this photo of a young gay man speaking with an old Parisian woman and a Muslim woman, who were all smiling and obviously chatting about the parade preparations.

It was saturday morning, and I had no plans, so I walked north, through the Isle (past Notre Dame), into the 2nd Arrondissement (past Hôtel De Ville, the City Hall, which was decorated for the Gay Pride Parade).

I continued to walk, reaching St Paul church in Le Marais, before giving-up and taking the Métro for just one stop to the Bastille, where I'd heard it would be a good location to watch the parade. I was early, so I sat on the steps of Opera Bastille  and waited. And waited. And then it started to sprinkle. And then it began to rain. Finally, the parade came. There were people everywhere, and the mood of the crowd was fiendly, electric.

Some in the crowd had wild costumes, but most were dressed in street clothes. There were rainbows everywhere on this very rainy day.

Free Hugs . . . Bisous Gratis (free kisses)!