Travel with Terry: PARIS

Point Zero

2012-02-02T18:26:00.000-05:00

Point zero des routes de France (point from which mileage is measured to/from Paris). This marker is installed in the pavement right in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral.

I can't think of a better excuse for taking a break from blogging about Paris -- than actually BEING in Paris with a group of travel pals. I'll resume regular posting shortly. From the heart of the Latin Quarter,
À bientôt!
Terry Sisk

Benjamin Franklin in Paris

2011-12-18T01:43:00.000-05:00

A bronze statue of Benjamin Franklin is the centerpiece of Square de Yorktown, adjacent to the southwestern wing of the Palais de Chaillot, just across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. Rue Benjamin Franklin runs from here down to Rue de Passy. Métro: Trocadéro

I’ve often read that, if Benjamin Franklin had not been our ambassador to France in the years after he signed the Declaration of Independence, we’d all still be speaking with a British accent. As it turns out, that premise is understatement.

Franklin lived in Paris for more than seven years, making his home in Passy, then a village just west of Paris (now in the city’s 8th arrondissement, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower). He was wildly popular, and known as a ladies’ man, even though he was 70 years old when he first arrived in Paris. His signature fur hat was copied in the hair styles of prominent Parisian women. Franklin wisely took the time to learn the French language and the idiosyncrasies of French manners. He was also something of a celebrity, because of his famous lightning experiment.

While living in Paris Franklin fully integrated himself into the life of the city. He even took delight in writing anonymous letters to the editor of the Journal de Paris, suggesting moving clocks forward to save on candles (an expensive luxury item in those days), presaging daylight savings time.

Franklin was temperamentally well suited for France. The streak of irreverence that ran through his entire life found a congenial reception in Paris, as did his love of laughter and the desire to amuse. He did not shock the French, nor did his interest in women, which was deemed perfectly normal. He patiently courted the French aristocracy to his cause and even gained financial support from Spain, while he was at it. The American colonists did not have the financial or manufacturing means to equip themselves to fight the British. Through Franklin’s efforts in France, a solution was found. It helped that the French wanted revenge on England, after being humiliated in the French and Indian war a decade earlier.

On the 19th of October, 1781, at Yorktown, 8,800 Americans and 7,800 French defeated 6,000 British troops. When this news reached Paris exactly one month later, Franklin was giddy with joy, exclaiming, “There is no parallel in history of two entire armies being captured from the same enemy in any one war.” The American character thus rose to new heights, and the joy of all classes of people was excessive. Paris was brilliantly illuminated for three successive nights on that glorious occasion.

Franklin stayed in Paris for two more years to negotiate the subsequent treaties. He was frequently frustrated by the amateur skills of other Americans, whose acts were detrimental to a satisfactory resolution, particularly future president John Adams.

A few years later, France went bankrupt, an incipient cause of the subsequent French Revolution of 1789. That bankruptcy happened, in part, because of the earlier French support of America in its struggle against the English.

When Franklin died in 1790, the French National Assembly went into mourning for three days, making it the first political body in the world to pay homage to a simple citizen from another land.

At no. 56, Rue Jacob (in the St-Germain des Prés neighborhood) Franklin, along with John Jay and John Adams, signed the peace treaty in which the American colonies were formally recognized as an independent nation. A plaque on the side of the building makes note of it.

IN THIS BUILDING
FORMERLY THE YORK HOTEL
ON SEPTEMBER 3rd, 1783
DAVID HARTLEY,
IN THE NAME OF THE KING OF ENGLAND,
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN,
JOHN JAY, JOHN ADAMS,
IN THE NAME OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
SIGNED THE DEFINITIVE TREATY OF PEACE
RECOGNIZING THE INDEPENDENCE
OF THE UNITED STATES.

Today’s visitor to Paris can dine in the footsteps of Franklin at Le Procope, the oldest dining establishment in the city, dating from 1686. Le Procope was notable in introducing Paris to the exotic new beverage, coffee. This was also the principal hang out of Voltaire, who drank 40 cups of coffee (mixed with chocolate) a day – quite a serious habit; his desk is enshrined upstairs and can be seen to this day, off to the left, near the rest rooms. Other Americans who joined Franklin at Le Procope were John Paul Jones and Thomas Jefferson.

Le Procope
13 rue de l'Ancienne Comédie (6th arrondissement)
Open 7 days a week, 10:30a to 1:00a.
Tél. : 01 40 46 79 00
Métro: Odéon
Observe Napoléon’s hat in a glass case near the restaurant's front door. He left it as collateral on the promise that he would return to settle his bill. They’re still waiting.

Aside: Robert Preston starred in a 1964 Broadway musical, “Ben Franklin in Paris,” which recounted these events. Music and lyrics were by Jerry Herman, of Mame and Hello Dolly fame. It played at the Lunt- Fontanne theater for 215 performances.

Paris Map-Guide

2011-12-12T10:14:00.000-05:00

Forgot those annoying folding maps (even the laminated ones that flaunt rain and the occasional spilled drink). There is only one map of Paris worth owning, and that is the 64-page Paris Map-Guide by Michael Middleditch (Penguin Reference Books ISBN 97801414 69041; Third Edition publ. 2006). The scale is so large that restaurants, museums, hotels, etc. are shown as points accurately placed and keyed, so that you can tell which side of the street you should head for before venturing out; in the front is a large scale subway (Metro) map, and a complete street index occupies the last pages.

There is a history of Paris, map of the 20 arrondissements, 29 pages of large-scale street maps, descriptions and maps of the Louvre and Notre-Dame Cathedral, listings (incl. opening times) of museums and art galleries, major points of interest, churches, shopping , markets, nightlife (incl. jazz venues), restaurants, bars, tours, parks, gardens, sports venues, Versailles, concert halls, theatres and cinemas. I'm not kidding.

And in tiny type on pg. 55 is the best tip I've ever read on finding an address in central Paris: on the right bank street numbers increase from the Seine northwards (even numbers on the right heading north); on the left bank from the Seine southwards (even numbers on the right, heading south); on streets running E-W the numbers increase as one goes westward (even numbers on the right heading west).

The legend is in 6 languages: English, French, German, Dutch, Italian and Spanish; all other text in English. At US $10 full retail, there is not a better stocking stuffer. Booklet measures just under 5.5" x 8.25"

Chapelle Expiatoire

2011-12-04T06:45:00.000-05:00

This “Chapel of Atonement” stands on the site of one of the more curious eternal resting places in all of Paris, the Madeleine Cemetery. The remains of its star tenants, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, are no longer located here, having been exhumed and removed from the site 21 years after their deaths by guillotine. In January, 1793, the body of King Louis XVI was hauled from the Place de la Concorde (where the guillotine was installed) to the Madeleine Cemetery, where his headless corpse was dumped into a mass grave and covered with quicklime. Nine months later the same fate befell the queen.

The Chapelle Expiatoire, whose construction was completed in 1826, is a royalist mausoleum built upon the grounds of that former cemetery. The site, located within the tranquil Square Louis XVI, on the south side of Boulevard Haussmann, includes this Greco-Roman necropolis, as well as an entry building designed in Neoclassic style.

The cemetery dates back to 1720, when it served as the new burial grounds of the parish of Sainte Madeleine (located a few blocks to the south), whose original cemetery had outgrown its capacity. Over the next eighty years more than three thousand bodies were interred here, most of them victims of the French Revolution, buried in mass graves.

Ironically, in 1770, the Madeleine Cemetery was used to bury 133 people who were killed in an accident resulting from a fireworks display during the wedding of the dauphin, Louis (the future king Louis XVI), and his Austrian wife, Marie Antoinette. On August 10, 1792, several hundred members of the Swiss Guard were slaughtered while making a heroic stand to protect the Tuileries Palace from a revolutionary mob. Their resistance allowed the King and Queen to escape to Versailles. All the bodies of the Swiss guardsmen were buried in the Madeleine Cemetery.

In 1802 the land in which the bodies lay was bought by Pierre-Louis Olivier Desclozeaux, a royalist lawyer who had lived adjacent to the cemetery since 1789. He had taken note of the sites where the King and Queen were buried and marked them with a hedge and several trees. In 1816, just after the bodies of the former king and queen were removed to St. Denis, Desclozeaux sold his house and the old cemetery to Louis XVIII, who shared the expense of building the Chapelle Expiatoire with his niece, the Duchess of Angoulême, daughter of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

The Chapelle Expiatoire complex is entered through an entry hall that leads to a large enclosed courtyard planted with roses and flanked with grave markers in remembrance of the dead. Beyond that, the domed Chapel of Atonement is reached by climbing a set of stairs and passing through a facade supported by Doric columns. Above the entrance is a bas-relief sculpture commemorating the exhumation and procession of the remains of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette to the Basilica of St. Denis (north of the city), the traditional repository of the remains of French royals.

A marble altar is centered along the back wall, and two marble statues stand to either side. To the left is Marie Antoinette “supported by Religion,” the work of Jean Pierre Cortot. To the right is the sculpture by Françoise Bosio which depicts Louis XVI ascending to heaven with the help of an angel. A crypt, accessed by stairs behind each statue, contains a black coffin that marks the original location of the bodies of the king and queen.

In addition to the royals, other notables who met their destiny in 1793 are commemorated at this site. Mme. Du Barry, mistress of King Louis VX, also fell victim to the guillotine. It is noted that she displayed none of the dignity of the king and queen; instead, her approach to the scaffold was hysterical, screaming and begging for mercy. Her remains were also later removed from the Madeleine Cemetery. The Bourbon Duc d’Orléans, cousin of the king, changed his name to Philippe Egalité and cast a vote for the execution of the king, but this did not prevent him from meeting the same fate. However, unlike Mme. Du Barry, eyewitnesses commented upon his courage and dignity in approaching the guillotine. Also interred here was Charlotte Corday, who was led to the scaffold just four days after she murdered Jean Paul Marat, whose incendiary writings she blamed for most of the terrors of the revolution.

The Chapelle Expiatoire complex combines history, art and architecture in an oasis of quiet from the activity of the surrounding city. It serves as the only monument to the French Revolution that is religious in nature.

Along the garden perimeter, symmetrical arcades commemorate the hundreds of members of the Swiss Guard who lost their lives defending the Tuileries Palace in 1792.

Chapelle Expiatoire
29, rue Pasquier – Square Louis XVI
Open Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays 1-5 pm; entrance fee 5 Euros (free to holders of the Paris Museum Pass)
Closed January 1, May 1, November 1, November 11, December 25.
http://chapelle-expiatoire.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/
Métro: St-Augustin

Aperitif supreme: Kir Royale

2011-11-04T21:13:00.001-04:00

In Paris it is common to order a pre-dinner drink (an aperitif), and the king of all aperitifs is the Kir Royale.

In Dijon, capital of the Burgundy region, Kir is the beverage of choice. Named after Canon Felix Kir, who worked as a priest in Dijon, it’s a mix of Aligoté (a local white wine) and crème de cassis liqueur. On special occasions, one swaps the wine for champagne to create a Kir Royale. Naturally, this drink is served in a champagne flute. Red wine can also be used to make a Kir Cardinal, so named because its color resembles the crimson of a cardinal’s robe. Virtually every region in France has its own variant of a Kir depending on what the local wine is.

Canon Kir was the mayor of Dijon from 1945-1968, and was an important figure in the French Resistance during World War II. He used to serve the combination of aligoté and crème de cassis – made from locally grown black currants – as a welcome drink to visiting officials at the town hall, causing the aperitif to become associated with his name.

In Burgundy, a Kir is typically accompanied by gougère, a savory little cheese puff made from choux pastry.

A votre santé!

École Militaire

2011-10-29T15:51:00.000-04:00

The École Militaire (Military School) is a large complex of buildings housing military training facilities. It sits on the Left Bank, bang opposite the Eiffel Tower across the vast expanse of the Champ de Mars.
It was founded by Louis XV in 1750 on the basis of a proposal of the financier Joseph Pâris (known as Duverney) with the support of Madame de Pompadour, for the purpose of creating an academic college for cadet officers from poor families. The main building was designed by Ange-Jacques Gabriel, and construction began in 1752 on the grounds of a former farm. The school did not open, however, until 1760. The Comte de Saint-Germain reorganized it in 1777 under the name of the École des Cadets-gentilshommes (School of Young Gentlemen), which accepted the young Napoleon Bonaparte in 1784; he was a superior student, graduating in only one year (instead of two).

It now hosts two elite schools, the Joint Defense College and the Institute of High Studies of National Defense.
The neoclassical chapel is of particular architectural distinction. Louis XV laid the foundation stone of the chapel on July 5, 1769. Upon its completion in 1773, the chapel was dedicated to Saint Louis, the patron saint of the army. Until 1788, it was open for worship and welcomed students and staff from the military school. Napoleon Bonaparte received his confirmation there in 1785. Devastated during the Revolution, the chapel was turned into a canteen and then a feed and weapons depot. Its furnishings were dispersed.
During the funeral of Marshal Joffre in 1931, the chapel was definitively cleared of all the items kept there. Its furnishings were recovered during the course of the 1930s and it was restored as a Catholic place of worship in 1951. The chapel is now open rarely, for weddings or other religious ceremonies and concerts organized by the Department of Defense.

Maria Callas in Paris

2011-10-10T22:16:00.000-04:00

Callas retired from the opera stage in 1965, and she spent her subsequent years living largely in isolation in Paris in her elegant apartment at 36, ave. Georges Mandel, not far from the Place du Trocadero. There is a plaque on that corner apartment building commemorating her residence there, and there are often fresh flowers tied to the gate. The service lanes in front of the building along Avenue Georges Mandel were renamed in her honor and now bear this sign:

Allée Maria Callas
1923-1977
Lyric Artist

She died alone in her Paris apartment on September 16, 1977, of a heart attack, at the age of 53. A funeral was held at Agios Stephanos (St. Stephen's) Greek Orthodox Cathedral on rue Georges-Bizet in Paris on September 20, 1977, and her ashes were interred at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in eastern Paris. After being stolen and later recovered, her ashes were ultimately scattered over the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Greece, according to her wishes. There is still an engraved plaque with gilded lettering in front of the now empty space in the wall of that famous cemetery’s columbarium.
Amazingly, thirty years after her death, she is still one of classical music’s best-selling vocalists. Maria Callas remains a phenomenon of the opera world, a prima donna assoluta whose influence has never waned. She could communicate with an audience at an emotional level as few opera singers were able. Evidence can be seen in this brief video, a televised segment of a Covent Garden recital performance in 1962, when Callas was 39 years old. Although she is standing on a nearly empty stage, Callas becomes Carmen before our very eyes. Every gesture and turn of the body reinforces the Habañera text, translated below. Even the 1960s coiffure and elegant concert attire do not distract us from her peerless interpretation.

Love is a rebellious bird that can’t be tamed.
You call out to him quite in vain if it suits him not to come.
Nothing helps, neither threat nor prayer.
One man talks well, the other's mum;
It's the latter that I prefer. He's silent, but I like his looks.

Love! Love! Love! Love!
Love is a child of the Bohemian way;
It has never, ever, known a law.
Love me not, then I love you;
But if I love you, you'd best watch out!

The bird you thought you had caught beat its wings and flew away.
Love stays away; you wait and wait. But when least expected, there it is!
All around you, swift, so swift, it comes, it goes, and then returns.
You think you hold it fast, it flees; You think you're free, it holds you fast.
(repeat of Love! Love! Love! section)

This short video is a decidedly voyeuristic visit to her Avenue Georges Mandel address; her apartment is now owned by an Arabian entrepreneur.
Note: Frenchman Georges Mandel was a Jewish journalist, politician and WWII resistance leader who was murdered in the forest of Fontainebleau in 1944.

Galerie Vivienne

2011-09-19T08:30:00.000-04:00

Conceived in the nineteenth century to protect pedestrians from mud and horse-drawn vehicles, indoor shopping arcades proliferated in the mid 19th century. By 1845 there were over one hundred of them, but today only twenty or so of these passages and galeries remain. For decades they were left to crumble and decay, but many have been renovated and restored to their former glory, creating attractive havens from the city’s choke of traffic. Their entrances are easy to miss, and where you emerge at the other end can be quite a surprise!
The flamboyant decor of Greek and marine motifs in the Galerie Vivienne establishes the perfect ambience in which to shop for antique books, wine, gourmet treats or delightful toys as souvenirs for the young ones back home. This particular galerie is distinguished by its original mosaic floors and an elegant oval staircase dating from 1826.
Note: Hector Berlioz led a large crowd gathered inside the Galerie Vivienne in singing “La Marseillaise” to celebrate the revolution of July, 1830, which resulted in the overthrow of Charles X and transfer of power away from the House of Bourbon.
A Priori Thé, one of the most celebrated tea rooms in Paris since its debut in 1980, is owned by U.S. expat Margaret Gilbert-Hancock. Open daily for breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, the offerings are of the highest quality, and booking is recommended. There are entrances from the street as well as from inside the galerie.
35-37 Galerie Vivienne; tel. 01 42 97 48 75
Métro: Bourse or Pyramides

Feast of Mary’s Assumption: August 15

2011-08-14T03:07:00.000-04:00

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Following 1,300 years of church teaching, in 1950 it was officially pronounced as dogma by Pope Pius XII that Mary, body and soul, was taken (assumed) directly into heaven at the end of her earthly life. The Catholic Church honors her every August 15, the Feast of Mary’s Assumption, which is a national holiday in France.

On August 14 the Cathedral of Notre-Dame dedicates a full day to the Anticipation of Mary’s Assumption with a Mass held at 6:30 pm, led by the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, followed by a Marian Procession (7:30 pm) from the cathedral to the boat landing platform of the quay Saint-Bernard, on the Left Bank of the Seine. The life-size silver statue of Mary holding the Infant Jesus used in this procession was given to Notre-Dame Cathedral by French King Charles X in the 1820s.

At 8:00 pm the statue and thousands of pilgrims are loaded onto nine boats to begin a floating procession that departs the quay at 8:30. The boats follow a course around the two islands of the Seine, the Île de la Cité (on which the Cathedral of Notre-Dame is located) and the neighboring Île Saint-Louis. Observers line the bridges and quays in the immediate area to witness this “Procession Fluvial,” during which time the pilgrims sing and pray. After the statue is returned to the cathedral, there is an hour long Nocturne, a projection of Marian art images onto scrims set up in the nave of the cathedral, beginning at 10:00 pm (open to the public).

The following day, August 15, the Feast of Mary’s Assumption begins in the cathedral with a Gregorian Mass at 10:00 am, followed by Solemn Vespers at 3:45 pm. At 4:30 pm a two-hour Solemn Procession of the Assumption takes place on foot through the Île de la Cité and the neighboring Île Saint-Louis, followed by a Mass at 6:30. At 9:30 pm the Nocturne projection of Marian images in the nave is repeated (open to the public).

Versailles: Royal Golden Gate

2011-08-09T21:42:00.000-04:00

The original design of the royal golden gate of the Palace of Versailles has finally been restored, after being demolished during the French Revolution in 1789. It took over two years to replicate the original 260-ft. long gilded wrought iron fence and gate. This royal gate, which stands at the entrance to the cour d’honneur, provides an essential element of Versailles’ historical identity. It returns to this area in front of the château all its impressive, symbolic force.

100,000 sheets of gold leaf were crafted onto fleur-de-lys designs, crowns, masks of Apollo, cornucopias and the crossed capital Ls representing the Sun King, Louis XIV. Private donors contributed $8 million to rebuild the 15-ton structure, and an army of historians and top craftsmen were enlisted to ensure an exact replica of the well-documented original, designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart in the 1680s. This new replica of the original, dedicated on July 8, 2008, stands atop a stone knee wall, as originally designed.

Experts studied 17th and 18th century archives and information from archaeological digs before deciding on the final installation. The gate is the centerpiece of a secure double enclosure separating the cour d'honneur from the royal courtyard, at the very heart of the palace. Versailles was the king's residence, and the whole layout aimed to demonstrate that one was approaching “his sacred person.” In fact, when the court worshiped in the Versailles chapel, only the king faced the altar. Everyone else turned around and faced the king, lest they forget who was the most important person in the room. At banquets, members of the court had to bow and curtsy to the platters of food that were intended for consumption by the king. Thus, this imposing gilded fence and gate were but a foretaste of what one could expect once on the other side of it.

Musée Delacroix

2011-06-20T07:10:00.000-04:00

The Musée Delacroix offers a surprisingly intimate and scholarly perspective on 18th century Romanticist painter Eugène Delacroix, the artistic master behind the famous painting Liberty Leading the People (1830, on display in the Louvre). The museum is situated in the refurbished three-room apartment and atelier where Delacroix lived and worked from 1857 until his death in 1863. He moved here to be closer to Saint-Sulpice church, where he was commissioned to complete a series of frescoes. Sketches, watercolors, engravings, and letters to Théophile Gautier and George Sand are part of the permanent holdings, while occasional temporary exhibits showcase significant achievements in Delacroix scholarship.

There is a lovely enclosed garden (shown above) between the atelier – equipped with Delacroix’s original palettes and studies – and the artist’s private apartment. (6 rue de Furstemberg, 6ème., St-Germain-des-Prés. Behind the Église St-Germain, off rue de l’Abbaye. At the courtyard, follow the sign to the central atelier Delacroix).

www.musee-delacroix.fr

Open 9:30am-5pm; last entry 4:30pm. Closed Tuesdays.
Admission €5. Access is just off to the right of the trees shown in the foreground in picturesque Place Furstenberg (shown below).

Note that one of the four paulownia empress trees is much larger than the others; the three smaller ones are replacements. If you come to this spot in springtime, you will treated to a magnificent display of lavender blossoms and gigantic new leaves. This is an ideal Parisian square, sunny in winter and shady in summer. If you are here for the first time, yet have a strong sense of déjà vu, it could be explained by your having seen Martin Scorsese's movie, The Age of Innocence, whose final scene was filmed here.
It is unfortunate that the benches that were located here had to be removed when this square became a hangout for an undesirable element; I remember when those benches on Place Furstenberg afforded an ideal spot for consuming a store-bought lunch. While I'm grousing, several times when I've visited this place recently, there have been hideous modern sculpture exhibits placed around the central lamppost, completely destroying the rather romantic atmosphere. But wait! I have another complaint: most of the bookstores and publishing houses that once populated this neighborhood have given over to shops and showrooms catering to the interior design trade; anyone who remembers Librairie Le Divan (since relocated) will know what I'm talking about. But I digress.

Paris - It's for the Dogs

2011-05-25T01:01:00.000-04:00

Parisians have a love affair with dogs. In fact, the love of "man's best friend" is carried to the extreme. Dogs are accepted everywhere. You may be taken aback when you see dogs entering restaurants and stores, but that’s the Parisian custom, and everyone is accepting of it. Pooch even has his own seat at a restaurant table; no one thinks it's out of the ordinary. But it is far more common to see the owner’s dog on the floor at his feet, waiting patiently for a table scrap. Many waiters even bring a bowl of water for the canine pet of their regular customers.
The special thing that I notice is that the dogs in Paris are exceptionally well-behaved. They don’t snarl, whine or jump, and they greet other dogs with a casual disinterest; and they seldom stray more than a few inches from the feet of their owners, even when off leash. Amazing, but true.

Les Colonnes Morris

2011-04-21T01:17:00.000-04:00

The ubiquitous Morris Columns are circular cast iron advertising posts that date back to the middle of the 19th century. They take their name from a Parisian printer, Gabriel Morris, who developed this advertising media and introduced them to the sidewalks of Paris, beginning in 1868. The advertising agency bore his name, so they were called Colonnes Morris. They are typically topped by a squat onion dome and a tiny spire.
As of 2006 there were 790 Morris columns in Paris, of which 18 contained telephone booths (most of these on the Champs-Élysées) and six contained Sanisette toilets! Many Morris columns rotate slowly, and the more modern ones are back-lit.
These days Morris columns are built and maintained by the JC Decaux company, which purchased Morris in 1986.
Paris does not allow billboards, so most major movie releases are advertised on a Colonne Morris, as pictured above (Thank You for Smoking, released in 2005). They also display theater, nightclub and concert announcements.

Place Dauphine

2011-03-28T05:07:00.000-04:00

17-century pavilions stand guard over the narrow entrance to Place Dauphine.

Place Dauphine was laid out in 1609 as part of a city planning project by King Henri IV that included the adjacent Pont Neuf, the oldest surviving bridge in Paris today. The original design was a triangle of three rows of residences, which conformed to the tapering shape of the western extremity of the Île de la Cité.

Two centuries earlier several small islands adjacent to the Île de la Cité had been joined together and filled in, allowing an expansion of the island west of the Conciergerie and Royal Palace. One of these islands, the Île de Juifs, had been where Philippe IV ordered and watched Jacques de Molay burn at the stake in 1314, thus ending the illustrious history of the Knights Templar. This new tract of land became the Jardin du Roi (Garden of the King), later converted to the first botanical garden by Marie de Médicis, the second wife of Henri IV. Their son, the Dauphin (who became Louis XIII), was thus honored when they named this new square after him.

Place Dauphine is shaped like a funnel, and entry is gained through a narrow opening between two striking pavilions built of brick with limestone quoins, which face the bridge and an equestrian statue of Henri IV, the centerpiece of the Place du Pont-Neuf. Once entry is gained, Place Dauphine opens up in a triangular shape, where two angled sides flank a small grassless park. Locals often play petanque, a form of lawn bowling, under the canopy of trees.

The eastern edge of Place Dauphine was later demolished to open the square to the façade of the Palais de Justice, ruining the original intimate design. This mistake was later diminished by the planting of a double row of trees along the footprint of the line of razed buildings, thereby screening off the somewhat pompous Palais de Justice.

Few tourists penetrate Place Dauphine, which provides an oasis of calm from traffic noise and city activity, even though a small hotel and several restaurants line the perimeter. Yves Montand and Simone Signoret made Place Dauphine their lifelong home.

On the other side of the Pont Neuf sits an equestrian statue of Henri IV, who appears ready to trot into Place Dauphine. Next to the statue are steps that descend down to the needle shaped Square du Vert Galant, a grassy expanse lined with willow trees that divides the two spans of the Pont Neuf. It's often described as a pointed "tongue" that sticks out into the Seine. From this choice spot tourists can view the river from the original level of the Île de la Cité, which has risen more than 2o feet over the centuries, as new buildings and streets were built atop foundations of older ones.

This little square also pays homage to Henri IV, a notorious philanderer. Its name, Square du Vert Galant, means "randy youth." It is said that Henri fathered 70 children before an assassin stabbed him while his carriage was stuck in traffic. Henri was a wildly popular ruler, and his equestrian statue was put up just four years after his death, a remarkable tribute.

Two views of the prow-shaped Square du Vert Galant

Atelier Brancusi

2011-02-12T07:34:00.000-05:00

A museum for the works of Brancusi, one of the most important sculptors of the 20th century, provides a moment of contemplative peace in one of the busiest public squares in Paris, facing the Centre-Pompidou.
The Romanian sculptor, Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957), arrived in Paris in 1904, and from 1916 until his death worked in a modest wooden shed in an alley in the Montparnasse quarter.

Brancusi in his beloved "shed"

Modest though it was, the studio space, lit by north light, acquired singular importance for Brancusi. He came to see his works and the spaces around them as a single harmonious entity. Brancusi arranged his sculptures so that their relationship one to another and to the room itself was balanced. In the end, it became difficult for him to envisage the sculptures outside his studio, and by 1950 Brancusi refused to exhibit his works elsewhere. The year before his death, he left the studio and its contents, including his tools, to the State of France, with the request that it be left undisturbed. Accordingly, Brancusi was made a naturalized citizen of France.

The Kiss - 1916

Soon after Brancusi’s death, however, the studio was demolished, along with many other structures, in order to make room for the development of the controversial Tour Montparnasse; in order to carry out the wishes of Brancusi, a replica of his atelier was built opposite the north-west corner of the Centre Pompidou. Faithful to the picturesque scruffiness of the original, it was a quietly poignant place, the more so for being next to the frenetic glamor of the Centre Pompidou’s piazza. The little building was difficult to make secure, however, and was hardly advertised, open only two afternoons a week.
Architect Renzo Piano’s scheme for renovating the Centre Pompidou included building a new Atelier Brancusi on its former site. Now completed, the "new" atelier (1997) is an evocation of Brancusi’s spirit rather than an exact replica; importantly, the replacement building conforms to standards required by modern curators and security.
Observed from the huge piazza in front of the Centre Pompidou, one scarcely notices this simple stone pavilion, which spans a change in level sloping up to Rue Rambuteau. There is just a plain wall of stone blocks with a metallic shed roof. From the steps to the right side, visitors ascend toward the street, then descend another flight of stairs to the left. There is an attractive courtyard with trees to the left of the main entrance (there is no admission fee). Because the building is set below street level, it feels separate from it, and the descent forms a gradual transition from noisy street life to the quiet, contemplative areas found inside.

Photo by M. Denancé

Brancusi’s studio now consists of a wood-framed structure divided into four interconnecting spaces with plain white walls lit by north-facing skylights. The studio itself is isolated from human traffic by glass walls, which visitors circumnavigate around the perimeter. The sculptures and various objects like Brancusi’s time-worn tools are arranged as he would have wished. There is also a small gallery for Brancusi’s photographs.
Open 2-6 pm daily, except Tuesday; free admission!
Place Georges Pompidou (rue Saint-Martin)
Métro: Rambuteau (walk south on Rue Beaubourg, then right on Rue Rambuteau; museum is on the left just before the corner of Rue Saint-Martin.

Permanent Parisians: Montmartre Cemetery

2011-01-27T08:12:00.000-05:00

The Cimetière de Montmartre (formerly called Cimetière du Nord) was a favorite of composer Hector Berlioz, who remarked, “My favorite walk, especially when it is raining, when it is pouring rain, is through Montmartre cemetery, which is near where I live. I often go there, and I have many friends there.”

Well, he never left the neighborhood, because he is buried beneath an elegant black granite tombstone in section 20 of this remarkable cemetery. In the late 1820s Berlioz became obsessed with an English actress who performed at the Odéon Theatre. Although they had never met, Berlioz stalked her, sent dozens of passionate love letters and attended performance after performance in which she starred. This actress, Harriet Smithson, was the inspiration for Symphonie Fantastique, perhaps his best known composition. They eventually married, but just six years later Berlioz took up with Marie Recio, who became his long-time mistress. Today’s visitors who come to pay homage to Berlioz might be astonished to find that things are rather cozy in the Berlioz grave, which contains the bodies of Hector, Harriet and Marie. The names of both women are literally etched in stone, side-by-side on the right vertical surface of the tombstone. Trust me on this.
There are graves of other musicians of note: Jacques Offenbach (born Jakob, a Jewish German cellist who changed his name to Jacques when he moved to Paris to delight the city with his can-can music, still performed nightly at the Moulin Rouge just down the street), Léo Delibes (composer of operas and ballet music), Charles-Valentin Alkan (composer tragically killed when a bookcase fell on him), Adolphe Adam (composer of “O Holy Night”), Nadia Boulanger (influential music teacher of scores of American composers - and her sister Lili, as well). Not to mention Adolphe Sax (Belgian by birth), who invented the saxophone.

Bust of Offenbach

But wait, there’s more!
Stuffed into these crowded 28 acres are painters Edgar Degas, Fragonard, Greuze and Delaroche; writers Émile Zola (who was later moved to the Panthéon, but his family grave and original resting place remains here), Henri Murger (see separate post: La Bohème), Alexandre Dumas, fils (see separate post), Heinrich Heine, Stendhal (The Red and the Black) and Gautier; celebrated courtesan Marie Duplessis (née Alphonsine Plessis, mistress of Alexandre Dumas, fils, and the inspiration for La Traviata – see separate post); Juliette Récamier (who gave her name to the récamier sofa of which she was fond); Foucault (demonstrator of the earth’s rotation with his pendulum) and physicist Ampère, after whom the amp (unit of electrical current) is named; Russian dancer Nijinsky; Poulbot (caricaturist and illustrator); and film maker François Truffaut (Jules and Jim).
Not to overlook Dalida, Miss Egypt 1954, who went on to become sort of a Parisian Cher. She became an actress and singer with an almost mythical cult following, especially among gay men during her later disco period; they adorn her grave with flowers to this day. She committed suicide in 1987, as did her first husband and two of her lovers.

So there you have it, all crammed into the melting pot that is Montmartre Cemetery.
Métro: Blanche (entry at Rue Rachel, just beyond the Moulin Rouge nightclub)

Ralph Lauren's Paris Restaurant

2010-12-07T09:37:00.008-05:00

The restaurant on the ground floor of Ralph Lauren’s flagship store on Blvd. Saint Germain is all the rage in Paris. The menu is all American, and Mr. Lauren flies in his beef from his own ranch in Colorado. The cheeseburger, offered at 27€, is the hot menu item at present, but customers complain about the sub-standard fries (made from frozen potatoes). Popular offerings are steaks, Maryland crab cakes, Maine lobsters and shrimp cocktails. In true American fashion, patrons may depart with leftovers in doggie bags (Parisian restaurants do not allow this – ever). The restaurant’s staff is trained in the U.S.

Interior seating is centered around an enormous walk-in stone fireplace surrounded by raised panel wainscoting. An intimate bar serves classic cocktails, including Mint Juleps, Whiskey Sours, and frozen Margaritas. The 48-seat interior restaurant is housed in the former stables of the structure, and extensive seating is available in a magnificent courtyard, around which rises the 17th century hôtel particulier, which underwent four years of restoration. Ralph Lauren Paris holds five floors of Mr. Lauren’s retail offerings, as well. Each boutique is stunningly and lavishly decorated, as one would expect.

Ralph’s is open noon-2:30p (lunch) and 7:00p-11:00p (dinner)
Brunch on Sunday 11:30a-3:30p.
Reservations: 01 44 77 76 00
173 Boulevard Saint-Germain (Paris 6) at SW corner of Rue des Saints-Pères
Métro: Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Kiosque des noctambules

2010-11-21T04:56:00.000-05:00

Photo by Eric Tenin

The Art Nouveau subway entrances designed by Hector Guimard are world famous – one is even on display at the Metropolitan Museum in NYC. However, a more recent one in Paris is an original work of modern art. This particular subway entrance canopy above the Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre station, on Place Colette (named after the popular writer, 1873-1954), really calls attention to itself. It is called the Kiosque des noctambules (kiosk of the night owls), and consists of two domes – one representing night, the other day – made of chunks of colored glass intertwined with aluminum, giving the effect of jeweled crowns.

They were designed by contemporary artist Jean-Michel Othoniel (b. 1964, photo at right) for the RATP (the French public transportation organization) and installed in October, 2000, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Paris subway system.
Part of the whimsical fun of this artwork is its juxtaposition with the neo-classical architecture of the Comédie-Française theatre that fronts onto Place Colette.

Note: The Comédie-Française is the only state theatre in all of France, and one of the few to have its own troupe of actors, in this instance specializing in the performance of the plays of Molière. The terrace of Café Nemours surrounds the columns of this theatre, and overlooks the Kiosque des noctambules. Lunch here provides a great people-watching experience, as well – all the better for its location on a traffic-free pedestrian zone.

Palais Royal

2010-08-08T11:30:00.000-04:00

Cardinal de Richelieu, the chief minister to Louis XIII, bought the old Hôtel Rambouillet and its surrounding properties in 1624, removed the buildings and built a magnificent residence and adjacent garden, known as the Palais Cardinal. Part of the complex was a theatre, commissioned by Cardinal Richelieu in 1641, and it was here that Molière produced his plays from 1660-1673. When Richelieu died in 1642, he bequeathed the entire estate to the crown.

Anne of Austria, regent of France after the death of her husband, Louis XIII, moved here from the Louvre and raised her family, which included her son, the future Louis XIV, who came to be known as the Sun King. From this point in time the structure and garden were called the Palais Royal. Louis XIV, having grown up here, eventually gave title of the Palais Royal to his brother, the Duc d’Orléans, and his family lived here until the Revolution of 1789.

In 1781, the Duc d'Orléans, later known as Philippe-Egalitié (who owned and developed the Parc de Monceau), enlarged the palace and shrank the garden, allowing for the construction of residences with regular arcaded facades on three sides of the garden. These modifications was completed in 1784. To offset construction expenses, the Duc d'Orléans built boutiques under the arcades and rented them out, opening the Jardin du Palais Royal to the public. However, he still considered the space private property and barred the police from any authority over it. It thereby became a place of liberty not found anywhere else in Paris, a gathering place for intellectuals and artists – and eventually gambling houses and prostitutes.

In 1786 a cannon was set up on the prime meridian of Paris (which bisects the garden), in which the sun’s noon rays, concentrated by passing through a glass lens, ignited the cannon’s fuse. Firing this “noon cannon” was resumed in 1990.

By 1789, the Jardin du Palais Royal was the liveliest place in Paris. People came here to get the latest news and discuss political rumors. It was a place of speeches, discussions, drinking and gaming.

On July 12th, 1789, Camille Desmoulins, a young lawyer, jumped on a table inside the Café de Foy and broke the news that Jacques Necker, the popular Minister of State, had been forced to resign. Desmoulins called out, "Aux armes, citoyens!" (To arms, citizens!). Two days later, the Bastille was taken, and the French Revolution was underway.

Subsequently the Palais Royal and its garden became property of the State. Today the Ministry of Culture has offices here, and the Comédie-Française theatre still produces the plays of Molière and Racine. The more intimate Théâtre du Palais Royal is also housed in this complex.

The garden retains its colonnaded arcades. The historic mosaics remain, fronting shops, galleries, restaurants and cafés, although the restaurant Le Grand Véfour is the only remaining establishment from the garden's pre-Revolutionary days. The garden, devoid of motorized traffic, offers a pleasant respite from the city’s clamor. Grassy lawns, rows of chestnut trees, sculptures, flowers and a fountain delight modern visitors, who can rest in peace on the shaded benches. A further enticement is that dogs are banned.

The paved courtyard of the Court of Honor is now home to a major work of modern sculpture, a set of 260 striped black and white columns of unequal height. The work of artist Daniel Buren, the columns were installed here among much controversy in 1986 (the State even tried to rescind its contract with the designer). The Orleans gallery, which separates the courtyard from the gardens, is where Belgian artist Paul Bury created sunken fountains and his sculpture of large reflective metal spheres. Chacun à son goût.

JARDIN DU PALAIS ROYAL
Gardens 7:00a-11:00p June-July-August; until 8:30p other months.
Métro: Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre

Café Le Zimmer

2010-08-06T14:44:00.000-04:00

The history of this brasserie is closely tied to the Théâtre du Châtelet, since there was a door leading directly from the theatre’s lobby into the restaurant. The name comes from the surname of an Alsatian family, the Zimmers, who left Alsace and moved to Paris in order to remain French (France had lost Alsace to arch-rival Germany in 1871). Their brasserie, when it opened, occupied four floors of the building and was elaborately decorated, in keeping with the lavishness of the Théâtre du Châtelet.

The establishment was immediately popular and trendy. Its clientele was directly linked to the two theatres that flank the Place du Châtelet: Sarah Bernhardt, Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler, Arturo Toscanini, Claude Debussy, Edmond Rostand, Igor Stravinsky, Émile Zola, Marcel Proust, Serge de Diaghilev, Vaslav Nijinski, Apollinaire, Pablo Picasso, Toulouse-Lautrec, Jules Verne. During WWII, French resistance fighters held meetings in the basement.

In the year 2000 Paris-based world renowned decorator Jacques Garcia was hired to restore the Beaux-Arts spirit of the interiors, returning Café Le Zimmer to its former glory as a place to see and be seen.

Café Le Zimmer
1, place du Châtelet
Open 7 days, 8:00a-1:30a; terrace seats 30, capacity 150 inside
tel.: 01 42 36 74 03

Métro: Châtelet

Salle Pleyel Concert Hall

2010-06-29T12:10:00.000-04:00

The Pleyel piano manufacturer had long had an intimate concert hall in Paris at rue Rochechouart (see etching above), where 19th century notables such as Chopin played. However, the piano company established a greater prominence by building a much larger new concert hall entirely devoted to concert music. This 3,000 seat auditorium, not far from the place de l’Étoile on Rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré, was constructed in Art Deco style (contemporary for the period). Salle Pleyel opened in 1927 with a monumental orchestral concert of music by Wagner, de Falla, Stravinsky, Franck, Dukas, Debussy and Ravel.
A fire ravaged the hall less than nine months after its opening. Unfortunately, the acoustics suffered from the rather slap-dash renovations that were undertaken (the economic crisis of 1929 resulted in extremely modest funds available for repairs). The branch of the maison Pleyel that managed the building never recovered from the financial shock, and in 1935 the hall, reduced to 2,400 seats, became the property of the Crédit Lyonnais bank that originally granted the loan.
Salle Pleyel became one of the most celebrated concert halls in Paris. It was here that Stravinsky directed Agon (1957) and Threni (1958), and where Otto Klemperer gave his celebrated interpretations of Mahler’s 9th Symphony and Beethoven’s Eroica. The Orchestre de Paris took up residence and gained an international audience under Daniel Barenboïm. Over the decades many of Europe’s finest orchestras graced its stage, as well as legends from the world of jazz, such as Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald, and world musicians, including Ravi Shankar. In fact, the Salle Pleyel became known as the “Carnegie Hall” of Paris.
In 1998, following financial difficulties by Crédit Lyonnais, the Salle Pleyel was put up for sale. Its new proprietor, M. Hubert Martigny, awarded the artistic direction of the hall to Carla-Maria Tarditi, until it closed in 2002 for renovation work costing €30 million.

The work completed in 2006 restored the simplicity and purity that characterized the original Art Deco aesthetic. The renovations of the façade, hall and foyer reconfigured the spaces to allot more room to the public and performers. Great effort was made to improve the hall’s acoustics, as well. There was a further reduction in the number of seats, presently 1,913 compared to 3,000 in 1927, and a choir of 160 voices can be accommodated at the back of the stage.

The inaugural concert in the refurbished Salle Pleyel took place on September 13, 2006, with a performance of the appropriately-named “Resurrection Symphony” of Gustav Mahler.
A restaurant, Café Salle Pleyel, is on the premises (lunch M-F, dinner on concert evenings).
Salle Pleyel
252 rue du faubourg Saint-Honoré
Métro: Ternes

PARIS: Hôtel de Beauvais

2010-04-30T07:00:00.000-04:00

At number 68, rue François Miron, is the Hôtel de Beauvais, originally the home of Catherine Bellier, known as “One-Eyed Kate,” the lady-in-waiting who in 1654, at age 40, deflowered the 16-year-old future King Louis XIV - at the request of his mother! Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII, feared that her son might be frigid like his father, so she asked her principal servant, Catherine, to do the deed. Success! Madame Bellier was rewarded with a fortune, mostly to appease her spouse, Pierre Beauvais, who was outraged when he found out about the arrangement. She and her merchant husband were given a baronetcy, and thus made nobles. They purchased a city lot and built a magnificent edifice, where the 7-year-old Mozart later stayed with his father and sister in 1762, when the house was home to the Bavarian ambassador. It is worth seeking out the courtyard, which is even more impressive than the street façade. You may view the courtyard but not enter the building, which is occupied by administrative offices on the Court of Appeals. The courtyard photo above attests to the luxe digs enjoyed by the young Mozart.

PARIS: St-Gervais (le Marais)

2010-04-30T06:10:00.000-04:00

Église St-Gervais-et-St-Protais

During the reign of the Carolingians (Charlemagne in the 800s), Paris began to be built up on the right bank, notably the Port du Grève, where todays’ City Hall (Hôtel de Ville) stands, and the Église St-Gervais-et-St-Protais, an unusual church with a seventeenth century neo-classical façade (the first of this style in Paris) tacked onto an earlier Gothic church. Its origins date back to the fifth century, making it one of the oldest churches in Paris, dedicated to the martyred twin brothers St-Gervais & St-Protais, the patron saints of Milan.
During the Middle Ages this church was the seat of the powerful brotherhood of wine merchants, and residents of the neighborhood would sign contracts and settle debts under the centuries old elm tree in the square in front of the church, resulting in the moniker “Crossroads of the Elm.” An oath made “under the elm” was considered inviolable. That tree was pulled down during the French Revolution, and the one that replaced it was not planted until 1912.

Beginning in 1653, the Couperin dynasty of musicians, most notably Louis and François, was employed by St-Gervais for nearly two centuries. The historic organ they played still exists, including the original 18th-century keyboards (on five manuals). The home of the Couperins still stands next to the church, and there is a plaque noting it.

In more recent times, a WW I German bomb smashed through the roof during Good Friday services in 1918, killing fifty and wounding hundreds. However, the small atmospheric square behind the church was undisturbed, and on a tiny lane leading off it is a French memorial devoted to the Jews tortured and killed by the Nazis – Le Musée du Martyr Juif Inconnu (the Museum of the Unknown Jewish Martyr), housed in a small building at 17, rue Geoffroy l'Asnier. An eternal light burns, and there is a photographic history of the systematic Nazi execution of the Jews.

Since 1975, the church has been home to the brothers and nuns of the monastic order, the Communion de Jérusalem (an Ascetic order, which accounts for the simple, backless benches that serve as seating) , which celebrates mass daily at 7 a.m. 12:30 and 6 p.m., and every Sunday at 11 a.m.

An aside: St-Gervais is the church in which the Chiracs worshiped, and during those times it was so spruced up and clean that you could eat off the floor. Now that Sarkozy is in power, we’ll have to see how well that happy state of affairs continues. Frankly, I’d be happy if Sarkozy, after one of his all-night benders, would atone at the great church of St-Eustache, which is in appalling condition, full of water leaks, mold – and in a state of general decrepitude. The city of Paris should be ashamed of such neglect.

The beautiful façade of the Couperin organ of St-Gervais.

Manufacture des Gobelins

2009-11-03T03:53:00.005-05:00

The Manufacture des Gobelins is a tapestry factory at 42 avenue des Gobelins in the 13th arrondissement. It was best known as a royal factory supplying the court of Louis XIV and later monarchs, but is now run by the French Ministry of Culture. The Manufacture des Gobelins is also a school, now 400 years old, that stills trains artisans to make and restore carpets and tapestries, making sure this great French tradition doesn’t die out.

Founded as a dye works in the mid-15th century by Jean Gobelin, Louis XIV purchased the Gobelins works in 1662. Jean-Baptiste Colbert united all the royal artisans, creating a royal tapestry, statue and furniture workshop. Royal painter Charles Le Brun was director and chief designer from 1663 to 1690. Because of the later financial problems of Louis XIV, the Gobelins works were temporarily closed from 1694 to 1697, after which the workrooms specialized in tapestry, chiefly for royal use. The buildings and grounds of the Gobelins factory adjoined the Bièvre river, but the many tanneries and dye works along this narrow stream so thoroughly polluted the water that the smell drove the 19th-century city officials to divert the water into an underground channel, through which it still runs.

The Gobelins rivalled the Beauvais tapestry works until the French Revolution, when work at the factory was again suspended. The Bourbons revived the factory during the Restoration, and in 1826 the manufacture of carpets was added to that of tapestry. In 1871 the main building was partly burned down by the Communards.

The factory still produces tapestries as a state-run institution. Today the operation consists of a set of four buildings dating to the seventeenth century, plus the building on the avenue des Gobelins built by Jean-Camille Formigé in 1912 after the 1871 fire. They contain Le Brun’s residence and workshops that served as foundries for most of the bronze statues in the park of Versailles, as well as looms on which tapestries are woven following seventeenth century techniques.

Factory at 42, avenue des Gobelins. Guided tours Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 2.00 p.m and 2.45 p.m. Admission 8 Euros. Reservations 01 44 54 19 33 and 01 44 08 52 00. Metro: Gobelins.

Louis XIV visiting the Gobelin factory with Colbert and his brother Philippe, 1667. Tapestry from the "History of the King" series designed by Charles Le Brun and woven between 1667 and 1672.

A small sampling of royal decorative items now on display (photos by Jason Whittaker):
www.jasonw.eu

Vespasiennes (street urinals)

2009-09-21T13:21:00.002-04:00

Vespasienne (photographed June 15, 2005)

A vespasienne is a street urinal, and this is the last one still in use in the city of Paris (located directly in front of the prison on boulevard Arago at rue de la Santé, where the 14th, 13th and 5th arrondissements intersect). Photographer Anthony Atkielski (see image above) says, “Amazingly, it is still in use: while I was standing preparing to take this photograph, several men stopped their cars, got out, and used the urinal – you can see the feet of one in this photo. More amazing still, they were all wearing suits.”

Note: Anthony Atkielski also conducts completely customized personal tours of Paris, for individuals, friends, families and groups. Visit his web site at:
www.atkielski.com

In the 1930s there were upwards of 1200 street urinals like this scattered throughout Paris. The locals referred to them as vespasiennes, deriving the name from Roman Emperor Vespasian, who was the first to impose a tax on public toilets.

Beginning in the 1990s, the vespasiennes (renowned for their smell and lack of hygiene) were gradually replaced by self-cleaning, high-tech Sanisettes (modern gray sculpted pay toilets), which, by order of Mayor Delanoë, are now free of charge. There is a vespasienne that can be seen in the Luxembourg Gardens (not usable) which stands like a sculpture, a relic of times gone by.

Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris

2009-08-22T05:17:00.001-04:00

Museum of Fashion
Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris
10, avenue Pierre Ier de Serbie
www.galliera.paris.fr

The Musée Galliera is the City of Paris Museum of Fashion. Opened in 1977, it is housed in a Renaissance-style palace built at the end of the 19th century for the Duchesse de Galliera. The museum collects and displays creations that have marked the development of historical and contemporary fashion. Each year it presents two exhibitions, on a specific theme or a single couturier, revealing part of its huge collection of clothing and accessories from the 18th century to the present day. Open 10a-6p except Tuesdays. 7.5€ admission. Tél.: 01 56 52 86 00. Update: this museum is presently closed for work on security systems; reopening will be spring of 2011.

Metro: Iéna
16th arrondissement (between Place de l’Alma and Trocadéro)

Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, the 16th arrondissement is home to many diplomatic embassies, the famous Avenue Foch (the widest street in Paris) and the Bois de Boulogne (the second-largest public park in Paris). This district also hosts several large sporting venues, including the Parc des Princes (the stadium where Paris Saint-Germain football club plays its home matches), Roland Garros Stadium (where the French Open tennis championships are held), and Stade Jean-Bouin (home to the Stade Français rugby union club). Most tourists come to the 16th arrondissement to view the Eiffel Tower from the terrace of the Trocadéro, situated directly across the Seine from this great iron landmark of the city.

Le mur des je t'aime

2009-03-29T06:49:00.004-04:00

Just off Place des Abbesses is a small park, Square Jehan Rictus, which is a pleasant shady corner of green offering a few wooden benches for a rest from navigating the steep streets of Montmartre. Its chief attraction, however, is “Le mur des je t'aime” – the wall of “I love you.” This wall is crafted of 511 enameled dark blue tiles that display the words “I Love You” in over 300 languages (311, to be exact). All of the languages from the 192 member states of the United Nations are reproduced. Equally represented are less known languages such as Dzongkha, Khirghiz and Bislama – plus Basque, Bambara, Catalan, Corsican, Kurdish, Innuktitut, Navajo, Occitan, Yiddish, and many others.

In 1992, as a disciple of Jules Verne’s character Philéas Fogg, composer/performer Frédéric Baron dreamed of a trip around the world in 80 "I love yous". He did not stop at 80, however. He asked his younger brother to write down the magic phrase. Then he turned to a neighbor who was Spanish or Portuguese or Russian – and so on. He opened many doors, particularly those of Embassies. In harvesting the most beautiful expressions of love, three large notebooks were filled with "I love you" written 1000 times in more than 300 languages. Then Frédéric Baron asked Claire Kito, an artist who practices oriental calligraphy, to design the collection of scripts. From their collaboration was born the image of a wall on which the principal languages and dialects of the planet glittered. Specializing in murals, Daniel Boulogne also fell in love with the project and successfully brought to completion the construction of this work of art.

The wall has its own web site at:
www.lesjetaime.com/english/index.html
Be sure to click on “virtual tour.”

Thirty-two of the languages have sound files for correct pronunciation at:
www.lesjetaime.com/english/qui.html

Club de Jazz: Le Caveau des Oubliettes

2008-10-06T12:46:00.000-04:00

Le Caveau des Oubliettes (on left) fronts onto a medieval lane that was once the principal route to Lyons and on to Rome.

This “Pub et Club de Jazz” on the pedestrian-only Rue Galande has been in business since 1920. However, the cellar (caveau) referred to in the name is not of the sort for storing wine. An “oubliette” was a dungeon cell with a trap door at the top as its only opening (the word “oubliette” comes from the French word for “forgotten,” as in to lock up and throw away the key). These cells originally served as dormitories for monks who studied in earlier times down at the end of the street, but they were later converted to prison cells connected by underground passageways to the Petit Châtelet, a medieval fortress prison once located about a block from here.
So that we do not forget its heritage, the owners have installed an actual guillotine against the wall to the right as you enter. It’s no replication, mind you, but the real deal, dating from 1792. Go ahead – you know you want to! The more timid can still get a good look by peering in through the window. I swear I’m not making this up.
The web site is: www.caveaudesoubliettes.com
The home page shows a photo of green grass. “Why might that be?” you may ask. Well, the entire ground floor surface is covered in actual sod (replaced as necessary). Don’t ask me why. I can imagine the fun a US food/health inspector would have with that!
As an enticement to go in and give the place a gander, they have even paved a portion of the sidewalk with sod, as well. Only in Paris!
Live music in the 13th century cellars starts around 10:30 daily. Cover charge on Fridays and Saturdays (usually progressive jazz); other nights offer jazz jam sessions (no cover, but 5€ drink minimum).
52, rue Galande; tel. 01 46 34 23 09
Metro: St-Michel/Notre-Dame or Maubert Mutualité

Click on the photo to prove to yourself that this isn't astroturf.

The ground floor decor is razor sharp!

Saint Médard

2008-09-02T09:21:00.011-04:00

Saint Médard, in the 5th arrondissement

The church of Saint Médard was mentioned by Pope Alexandre III when he came to Paris to lay the first stone of Notre Dame Cathedral in 1163, but construction continued in fits and starts until 1632. A new sacristry was added in 1718, and it was not until 1901 that the chapelle des catéchismes was completed. Nowadays the church is a quiet, unassuming place surrounded by trees with a little park next to it. The church property marks the end of the southern extremity of the ancient and colorful Rue Mouffetard, which dates back to Roman times.

However, Saint-Médard was the scene of bizarre events in the early 18th century. These incidents involved people who became known as the Convulsionnaires de Saint Médard, and the collective hysteria which took place during a five year period is notable.

It started with the teachings of Jansénius, Bishop of Ypres, who had published a theological treatise in 1640 about the doctrines of St. Augustin regarding the health of the soul. Jansenism, as this movement was called, was a heretical doctrine that emphasized predestination, denial of free will, and the idea that human nature is basically rotten. Internal conflicts with church authority ensued, resulting in crack-downs by the Pope.

Saint Médard became a place of pilgrimage for these Jansenists when the Deacon François de Pâris was buried there in 1727. Claims of miracles and visions by pilgrims to his tomb gave rise to fanatical crowds visiting the church. People became entranced, rolled on the ground, barked like dogs, and some even ate earth from near the tomb. Others in their hysteria had themselves crucified or pierced their tongues. The scene lasted five years before access to the cemetery was bricked up in 1732 by order of King Louis XV, who ordered a sign that read, “By order of the King, God will perform no more miracles here.”

The present choir of this ninth-century church was built between 1550 and 1586 and the vaulting between 1609 and 1622. The inside was renovated between 1777 and 1784; today visitors may admire the pulpit, which dates to 1718, the eighteenth-century organ and three paintings by Natoire, Restout and Zurbaran. This is the only church in Paris in which persons guilty of cannibalism can receive absolution.

Trivia: Charles Tournemire, noted organist and composer, was organist here prior to 1897, when he accepted the post of organist titulaire at Saint-Nicolas du Chardonnet; he later achieved greater fame as organist at Sainte-Clotilde, which had been home to Cesar Franck.

St-Médard interior photo by Mike Franklin:
http://flickr.com/photos/mikefranklin/

Musée d'Orsay: Riverfront 19th-century art

2008-08-10T18:19:00.004-04:00

Photo by Olivier Ffrench (link at upper right)

Occupying a stunning setting on the Left Bank of the Seine opposite the Tuileries and the western extremity of the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay is a triumph of recycled architecture. The museum building was originally a railway station, known as the Gare d'Orsay, finished in time for the 1900 Exposition Universelle.

By 1939 the station’s short platforms had become unsuitable for the longer trains that had come to be used for mainline service, and after being used as a suburban train station, the Gare d'Orsay closed in 1973. Plans were underway in the late 1970s to convert the disused station into an art museum, and the Musée d'Orsay opened in late 1986.

The grand vaulted interior gives the museum a sense of spaciousness that is rare for a museum. The paintings, sculpture, furniture and photographs date from 1848 to 1915. The museum is probably best known for its extensive collection of impressionist paintings, many of which were displayed at the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, adjacent to the Place de la Concorde, prior to the museum's opening.

Two paintings, in particular, draw massive crowds:

Van Gogh – Starry Night over the Rhone (1888)

Whistler – Arrangement in Grey and Black (1871) Whistler’s Mother

There are liberal sprinklings of paintings by Renoir, Manet, Degas, Cezanne and Monet, as well. An unusual feature is a scale model of medieval Paris housed under a glass floor. Another is a scale cut-away model of the Palais Garnier (the “old” opera house).

Musée d'Orsay
Closed Mondays.
Métro: Musée d'Orsay (RER-C)

Palais de l'Élysée - French White House

2008-08-07T00:36:00.002-04:00

The Palais de l'Élysée has been the official residence of presidents of the French republic since 1873. It is currently home to Nicolas Sarkozy and his third wife, Italian-born Carla Bruni, married here on February 2, 2008 (Ground Hog Day, if I recall correctly).

The Palais de l'Élysée is located in a commercial area of Paris on the fashionable Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, just opposite a Versace retail outlet (this must make the Italian-born first lady feel even more at home). The English-style gardens at the rear of the palace stretch back toward the Champs-Élysées.

The history of this palace is as lurid as the personal lives of its current occupants. In 1753 Mme. de Pompadour bought the extravagant residence of Comte d'Evreux, built in 1718, and used it for lavish entertaining when she was away from Versailles. Her opponents showed their distaste by hanging signs on the gates reading: "Home of the King's whore."

After the Empress Joséphine was divorced by Napoléon, this house became her hideaway. Ironically, it was also here that Napoléon Bonaparte signed his second abdication after the Battle of Waterloo. Subsequently, the mansion housed a restaurant and fairgrounds run by an Italian ice cream maker, Velloni (another Italian connection for Ms. Bruni!).

French President Felix Faure suddenly died here in 1899 while in the arms of his mistress, Marguerite Steinheil. During World War One, a gorilla escaped from a nearby menagerie, entered the presidential palace and was said to have tried to haul the wife of President Raymond Poincare into a tree, only to be foiled by Élysée guards. President Francois Mitterrand is said to have used its private apartments only rarely. He preferred returning at night to his own home on the Rue de Bièvre on the more bohemian Left Bank (or to the discreet flat in another district occupied by the mother of his illegitimate daughter Mazarine, whose existence was only revealed to the public in 1994).

OK. Let’s stop and take a deep breath. So far we have a palace, once owned by the rich, spoiled mistress of King Louis XV, now occupied by an Italian-born former nude model and a 5-ft 5-inch tall twice-divorced politician of Hungarian descent who happens to be the wildly unpopular President of France – all of this set amongst English gardens across the street from Versace.

Back to the height thing. Carla is 2 inches taller than Nicolas, and it kind of bothers him. So he uses some "tricks" to diminish the height discrepancy. In most photos, you'll notice that Carla is standing a step or two back from the camera, leaving Nicolas in the foreground, thus appearing taller than Carla. So far, so good. Recently Mr. Sarkozy likes to stand on the curb, while Carla is at street level. Works like a charm. And Ms. Bruni is making flat shoes fashionable again among Parisian women. And hats are out, naturally.

Sarkozy and Bruni on a date in Egypt last January.

But we’re just getting started. Within the first nine months of Sarkozy’s presidency two different first ladies occupied the premises. Carla Bruni was preceded by another former model, Cécilia Ciganer-Albéniz (great-granddaughter of composer Isaac Albéniz), who, while first lady of France, continued an affair she was having with a Moroccan-born events planner who was working in New York (and whom she married a month after Sarkozy married Carla). In a sort of perverse tit-for-tat, it should be noted that at the same time Cécilia and her beau were planning “events,” Sarkozy was himself having an affair with Anne Fulda, a journalist at Le Figaro.

Still with me? Well, you won’t want to be, because there’s more.

OK. Cécilia was nine months pregnant and 26 years old when she married her first husband, who was 52 at the time – exactly twice her age. Can you guess who conducted the civil ceremony? Nicolas Sarkozy, who was then mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine, where the wedding took place. No further comment on this tidbit.

Sarkozy’s political behavior has not exactly been astute, either. When he had an audience with Pope Benedict eight months ago, Sarkozy showed up late and proceeded to send text messages during their meeting. And he chose his buddy, a French comedian, as the companion for his audience with the pope. At a recent G8 summit, it was obvious that Sarkozy was drunk when he was trying to make a speech before live television cameras. And for his official portrait, which graces every town hall in France, he chose a paparazzi photographer. To his credit, however, he was voted one of the world’s best dressed men, just behind Brad Pitt and David Beckham.

I swear I’m not making this stuff up.

Anyway, the Palais de l'Élysée is not open to the public, so you won’t have to worry about catching anything by entering its gates. But I digress.

Back to the building itself. When Parisians talk about “L’Élysée,” they mean the president's palace, whereas the Champs-Élysées is known simply as “Les Champs.” Armed with knowledge like this, the locals will mistake you for a native.

You’re welcome.

Wait – I forgot to mention that Carla Bruni is a songwriter and successful pop music recording star (some of the tracks on her CDs are named for former lovers – cute). And as for those nude photos, her husband, the President of France, calls them “hot.”

And Carla, the former lover of Mick Jagger, Donald Trump and Eric Clapton (I kid you not), is not exactly a shining example of prudent public relations herself. To the media she drops quotes like bombshells. “I want a man with nuclear power.” “I’m monogamous from time to time, but I prefer polygamy and polyandry.” “Love can last a long time, but burning desire – two to three weeks.” And these days she is comparing herself to Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis (in her own words, “a youthful elegant woman of style”), as opposed to Bernadette Chirac, a first lady in the more traditional mold.

Let me out of here.

The imposing facade on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

Sarkozy's office.

The garden façade.

Perhaps they could shop for new guard uniforms across the street at Versace.

The Latin word “gallus” means both rooster (coq) and Gaulle. The garden gate of the Elysée Palace in Paris displays a gilded rooster, and the fleur-de-lis and rooster were both official symbols of the State of France during the 19th century.

Tour St-Jacques (St. James Tower)

2008-08-04T05:32:00.005-04:00

Built in 1512, the 170-ft. tall late Gothic tower is the only surviving part of the 16th-century church Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie (Saint James of the Slaughterhouse) that was demolished in 1797. Its congregants were the wealthy wholesale butchers from the nearby Les Halles market, accounting for its extravagance.

Fifteenth-century alchemist and philanthropist Nicolas Flamel, a patron of the church, is buried under its floor. Flamel was alleged to be the eighth “Grand Master of the Priory of Sion,” and he was mentioned as a character in Dan Brown’s 2003 novel, “The DaVinci Code.”

This church is located along the route taken by pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela, Spain, one of the three great places of pilgrimage of medieval Christendom (along with Jerusalem and Rome). In the Middle Ages this was an assembly point for pilgrims on their journey to northwestern Spain, the legendary burial-place of the remains of the Apostle James (“Santiago” in Spanish). These pilgrims, coming from the north of Paris along Rue Saint-Martin, continued on their way south via Rue Saint- Jacques (St. James street) on the Left Bank.

During the 1870s, when Rue de Rivoli and Avenue Victoria were constructed, huge quantities of earth were removed to ensure a flat path for these new streets, which flank the present-day Square de la Tour St-Jacques. Thus the street level was lowered considerably. The present-day pedestal at the base of the tower shields its foundations, which used to be below street level. Nowadays, this change in ground level can best be appreciated in rue St-Bon, just northeast of the tower, where a staircase leads up to the original street level at Rue des Lombards and the church of St-Merri. During this same time period, a statue of Saint James was installed on the top of the tower.

A statue of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) at the base of the tower is here because of his experiments in atmospheric pressure performed using this tower. He determined the effect of altitude on the height of a column of mercury relating to air pressure. A series of meteorological instruments are mounted at the top of the tower and remain in use today.

A major restoration of Tour St-Jacques, lasting many years, was completed just a few months ago. The grassy square at the base of the tower is located on the Right Bank just north of the Île de la Cité. It can be reached by crossing the Pont Notre-Dame.

Métro: Châtelet

Subway Buskers

2008-08-03T21:01:00.001-04:00

In Paris, where there are 360 licensed subway musicians (buskers), only one in three makes the cut. Nowadays the RATP requires them to audition for authorization to perform underground. Buskers are supposed to perform only in corridors and station lobbies, and not on platforms or in trains, where they might create safety hazards or assault the eardrums. If unauthorized performers get caught, they are fined 50 Euros.

Twice a year, musicians descend to the RATP’s basement to audition before a panel of judges, who have to decide from the perspective of a passenger. Is it good music? Is it music that would be nice to hear in the Métro?

Veteran buskers must renew their badges, which requires a 15 Euro processing fee. Some of them play as buskers when the regulars clubs where they work are closed. They can pick up a little pocket money, averaging 20 euros in a few hours. However, hardly anyone can make a living by just playing in the subway these days. Instead, they see the Métro as a good place to practice in public. Most musicians keep fliers, business cards and CDs at the ready when they perform, hoping for both cash and future gig work.

Subway Symphony

Saint Julien le Pauvre

2008-08-02T13:14:00.012-04:00

Just across the Seine from Notre-Dame cathedral, at the corner of Rue Galande and Rue St-Julien-le-Pauvre, stands the mess that is the front of a small church – St. Julien the Poor. As the visitor approaches, it appears that this in not a church at all, but a mere ruin of a church. To the left, stretching all the way out to the sidewalk, stands a wall that once formed part of the vestibule, most of which was torn down (as a result of student riots in the 16th century, as we are to learn). Set back from the street is a modest, squat, stuccoed neoclassical false façade with a simple door and some walled up windows – this part would not look out of place in the Mediterranean. An ancient looking round stone planter sits off to the right, and beyond that is a large paving stone jammed up against the wall of the church, set slightly above pavement level. Classical concert posters are plastered all over the fence, and there are signs in Greek. The entire ensemble appears to be a sort of architectural purgatory, not quite derelict, but certainly not fully restored. What on earth is going on here?

Actually, this is one of the oldest churches in all of Paris. A basilica was here as early as the 6th century, and pilgrims making the journey to Santiago de Compostela in Spain stopped here to make use of its dormitory and adjacent fountain, known for miraculous healing powers (the monks charged a fee to access the healing waters). The street just to the west of this church is named Rue Saint-Jacques (St. James street), and was the principal route south to Spain, where the remains of St. James were washed up on the shores and subsequently enshrined. The faithful continue to make this pilgrimage to the present day.

The extant Romanesque building, constructed 1165-1240, but never finished, has origins that are contemporary with Notre-Dame cathedral. When the great educator Peter Abelard had a theological falling out with the authorities at Notre-Dame in the early 12th century, thousands of his students followed him across the Seine and set up shop in this area. They attended lectures in the open air, perched upon bales of hay. The name of the absurdly short Rue du Fouarre, which forms the southern entry to the grounds of St-Julien-le-Pauvre, refers to this (“fouarre” is an old French word that means “forage” or “hay”). Hay protected the back sides of the students from the filth and dampness of the streets, which served as latrines for the student population. As the capacity of the colleges increased, St-Julien-le-Pauvre became the home church of the university, and construction of the present, larger church building began. However, as the university expanded southward toward Montaigne Ste-Geneviève, the fortunes of St-Julien-le-Pauvre floundered. Still, the elections of the Rector Magnificus of the university continued to be held here, until students, upset over the election of a new rector in 1524, rioted and caused so much damage to the church that it was forced to close, beginning a period of long neglect.

Soon three quarters of the vestibule was in such precarious condition that it had to be dismantled; the front door was moved back from the street as part of a false wall built across the start of the nave. This accounts for the curious, partially-ruined wall that projects out to the left of the front door; what we are looking at actually served as the north interior wall of the vestibule. The round planter to the right of the front door was formerly a well that was positioned inside the church itself, providing water for baptisms, and the elevated paving stone is an actual relic of the adjacent Roman road (Rue St-Jacques) that was unearthed and placed here in 1926.

But it gets even stranger. In the 17th century the derelict church was ceded to the hospital (Hôtel Dieu) that was based next to Notre-Dame cathedral, and they spiffed things up a bit. During this time St-Julien-le-Pauvre served as the hospital chapel, not so odd a concept when we remember that this hospital stretched all the way from the banks of the Île de la Cité across the bridge to the Left Bank. A hundred years later the revolutionaries seized all church property, and St-Julien-le-Pauvre was deconsecrated and used to store salt.

What is now the picturesque north church yard known as Square Viviani was once occupied by several three story hospital annexes, not removed until 1877, when the hospital relocated to new quarters on the north side of the Île de la Cité. The disused church of St-Julien-le-Pauvre was then deeded to the Melkites, a congregation of Eastern Catholics who observe the Byzantine Rite. This accounts for the signs outside in modern Greek.

The Melkites built the handsome wooden iconostasis with painted icons depicting Christ, the Virgin, and various saints in 1891. An iconostasis is a feature of churches that use the Byzantine rite of worship, dividing the sanctuary (representing Heaven, which only clergy are allowed to enter) from the rest of the church.

Because of its fine acoustics, many classical music concerts are held in Saint Julien le Pauvre, principally piano recitals and chamber music.

The oldest street sign in Paris, a carved 14th-century stone bas-relief above the entry to no. 42 rue Galande, depicts St. Julien the Hospitaller and his wife rowing Christ (disguised as a leper) across the river towards a chapel. This address was described in 1380 as the “Maison de la Heuze et de Saint-Julien” (House of the Boot and of Saint Julien) and “La Maison où au dessus est l'enseigne de Saint Julien” (house above which is the sign of Saint Julien).

According to legend, St. Julien unwittingly killed his own parents, and to atone for his sin he built a hospice near a river where he and his faithful wife provided lodging for poor travelers, cared for the sick, and ferried pilgrims across the dangerous waters. Julien finally earned God's forgiveness by aiding one such pilgrim, a leper who turned out to be Christ in disguise. The legend was very popular during the Middle Ages, and hospitals, hospices, and churches all over Europe were named for the Hospitaller named Julien. He was the patron saint of innkeepers, ferrymen, circus performers and travelers. Medieval travelers often prayed for his help in finding good lodgings for the night. His feast day is February 12.

In the middle of the Square Viviani, which sits between St-Julien-le-Pauvre and the banks of the Seine, there is a sunken area with an unusual fountain in the center. Dedicated in October 1995, the fountain is the work of Georges Jeanclos, and it tells the story of St. Julien the Hospitaller in scenes depicting his caring for the needy. Forty years ago this square was a run-down disused tract of weeds. It has been replanted and is now scrupulously maintained. Today weary tourists can rest their feet on the plentiful benches and take in the best view of Notre-Dame cathedral that the city affords.

Café Le Tournon

2008-08-01T00:16:00.000-04:00

During the 1950s this was the gathering spot of ex-pat African-American writers and artists, such as James Baldwin, Chester Himes, Richard Wright (who gave the pinball machine a steady workout), William Gardner Smith, painter Beauford Delaney and scuptor Howard Cousins. However, it was political cartoonist Oliver Harrington who was the main draw. A brilliant raconteur, he kept large audiences entertained and drew enthusiastic, entranced crowds. He subsequently made Le Tournon famous throughout the world. Life magazine published a feature article about African-American ex-pats at Le Tournon in the mid-1950s, greatly expanding its fame.

Paris was quite inexpensive after WWII. Americans found that they could live on twenty dollars a week. As a result, the city was crowded with ex-pat artists, poets and writers, ex-Army veterans using the GI Bill of Rights to study at the Sorbonne - and there was none of the racial prejudice that smoldered on the other side of the Atlantic.

Paris was in the midst of its long-running love affair with African-American culture, jazz in particular. Duke Ellington’s band made its Parisian debut at Le Tournon, initiating the mania for jazz that eventually took over the St-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood.

A little later George Plimpton also settled in at Le Tournon, along with others associated with the newly-formed Paris Review; Plimpton was a founding editor and continued to contribute until his death in 2003. So popular was Le Tournon with Americans that the predominant language heard throughout the café was English.

1954 Paris Review staff photo: George Plimpton (back row in hat), and author William Gardner Smith (back row, second from right).

Author Theodora Keogh, granddaughter of president Theodore Roosevelt, took up with the Paris Review literary set at the Café Le Tournon. She died earlier this year, at the age of 88.

There were notable residents in apartments upstairs in the same building. Austrian writer Joseph Roth lived above the café from 1937-1939, and there is a plaque on the building noting it. A memorable quote from Herr Roth: If you haven't been to Paris, then you're only half a person.
While they were students at the Sorbonne, sisters Elisabeth Gille and Denise Epstein were residents above Le Tournon, as well. Denise Epstein recently published long-withheld writings by her mother, Irène Némirovsky, as the award-winning novel, Suite Française (2004).

Café Le Tournon still perks along today as a wine bar and eatery with a fresh market menu, while continuing its tradition of presenting occasional live jazz concerts. The decor features murals depicting scenes of the Luxembourg Gardens, located in the back yard of the French Senate, just across the street. In good weather there is a single row of tables out front on the sidewalk terrace.

Café Le Tournon
18, rue de Tournon (6th) near the corner of rue de Vaugirard
Opens at noon.
Telephone: 01 43 26 16 16
Métro: Luxembourg or Odéon

Note: Origin of street name – Francis de Tournon (1489-1562) was an abbot of Saint-Germain des Prés, as well as a Cardinal and noted statesman.

Wine Culture

2008-07-31T01:19:00.000-04:00

It is not possible to conceive of life in France without wine. EVERYBODY in France drinks wine. Even young children visiting their grandparents on the weekend are given a sip of wine while at the dinner table. The only meal in France that is not regularly accompanied by the consumption of wine is breakfast, although champagne creeps in as a brunch staple.

Parisians stop by their favorite neighborhood café most days of the week, and nearly every visit includes drinking at least a glass of wine. Apartments in Paris are minuscule (most Americans wouldn’t even call them apartments at all, with the exception of New Yorkers), too small for entertaining friends. So most people meet up at a café after work and talk over a glass of wine. Cafés are thus the de facto living rooms of Paris.

French exchange students who study at American universities are shocked to learn that they are too young to be served alcohol. Most have been regular wine drinkers since their mid teens. There is a legal drinking age in France (16), but enforcement is non-existent, and there are no ID-checks. If young people are old enough to be out on the streets without an adult, a bartender will serve them wine. If your dinner party orders a bottle of wine, and you ask the waiter for an extra glass for the ten year old at your table, the waiter will provide one without batting an eye.

Yet almost no one in Paris appears to be drunk. Because wine is so prevalent in France, there is not the temptation to sneak off to get drunk on alcohol, as is the case with American college students. The difference between young people’s attitudes toward drinking in the U.S. and in France was summed up by one U.S. college student who had been raised in Paris. “In France,” he said, “my friends and I used to go out on Saturday night to have a good time, and occasionally somebody got drunk. Here in the U.S., everybody seems to go out to get drunk, and occasionally somebody has a good time.”

Besides, we all know by now that regular and moderate consumption of wine has enormous health benefits. Recent studies find that regular, moderate consumption of wine helps in the aging process, as well - on multiple levels of physical, psychological and social well being.

"A votre santé" never had a better ring to it!

Parc de Monceau

2008-07-30T23:46:00.005-04:00

This park was established by Phillippe d'Orléans, the richest man in France and a cousin of King Louis XVI. He adored everything English and thus established an English-style garden in Paris; by the mid 1770s his garden had grown to 30 acres. Leading features of the park are a curved row of faux-ruin Corinthian columns and an artificial waterfall. Phillippe d'Orléans was a leading freemason, and some of the elements found in the park (a pyramid, etc.) are masonic references.

In 1797 the first silk parachute jump was made from a Montgolfier hot air balloon 3,000 feet down into the park, to the delight of a large assembly of spectators.

There are statues of Frederic Chopin, wealthy writer Guy de Maupassant (he died of syphilis, insane at 42, having written his own epitaph: "I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing") and composer Charles Gounod (famous for "Funeral March for a Marionette," used as the theme to Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and the religious aria "Repentir" (O, Divine Redeemer), not to mention the operas Faust and Romeo and Juliette.

At the entrance is one of the few remaining Rotundas, a remnant from the old toll walls that completely encircled central Paris in the 1780s. Taxes on salt and wine were collected at these toll gates as goods entered the city. However here, in lieu of the usual 10-ft. high toll wall, there was an enormous moat, so as not to spoil the view for Phillippe d'Orléans (the wealthy enjoyed privilege then, as now). Parisians hated these toll walls, as they felt like prisoners in their own city, completely encircled by 16 miles of masonry and 60 toll gates. Two days before we mark the beginning of the revolution, on July 12, 1789, the citizens of Paris vented their anger by attacking these toll booths, damaging some and setting fire to others. Within 48 hours the Bastille had been breached, and the population had its hands on a large supply of firearms. They rest, as they say, is history.

Phillippe d'Orléans did not survive this turmoil, and after his death by guillotine during the revolution, the city of Paris obtained the garden and opened it as a public park. The Parc de Monceau was dramatically reduced in size during the late 1800s, when half its acreage was sold as lots for building elegant homes, most of which survive to the present time.

Today this neighborhood is one of the most exclusive and desirable in all of Paris. Avenue Hoche leads from the elaborate park gates directly to the nearby Arc de Triomphe. There is a large ex-pat Russian presence in this neighborhood, as well; the Russian Orthodox Cathédrale St-Alexandre-Nevsky sits just southwest of the park.

Métro: Monceau

Pyramid - a masonic emblem ordered by Phillippe d'OrléansGuy de Maupassant statue in Parc de Monceau

The spectacularly kitschy statue of Chopin by Jacques Froment-Meurice (1864-1948). The bas-relief angel represents “music,” while “harmony” swoons at Chopin’s feet.

Notre-Dame: Square Jean XXIII

2008-07-29T08:01:00.016-04:00

Square Jean XXIII: The neo-Gothic Fountain of the Virgin (1845)

Square Jean XXIII is located east of Notre Dame, between the Seine and the cathedral. It is a quiet place to enjoy views of the 14th century buttresses, the Seine and its bridges and the neighboring island of Île Saint-Louis to the east.

Since the 17th century this setting had been the site of the Archbishop's Palace and garden. In 1831, the palace was looted and vandalized by rioters and later demolished. In 1844, the Prefect of Paris, Rambuteau, designed and built the present-day square, named in honor of Pope John XXIII (pope 1958-1963). The centerpiece of this garden is the neo-Gothic Fountain of the Virgin (1845). There is also a bust of Carlo Goldoni, a Venetian dramatist who died in Paris in 1793. The bust was placed here in 1907, the bicentenary of his birth.

The main part of the square is shaded by lime and elm trees, and every spring there is a spectacle of blossoms from the cherry trees from Japan. The square offers a magnificent view of the flying buttresses that support the walls and roof of Notre Dame. For the comfort of tourists, there is shade, numerous benches and (best of all) toilets.

At the extreme southeast tip of the island is the Mémorial de la Déportation (1962), a crypt that honors 200,000 French citizens who perished in Nazi camps. Following Jewish tradition of placing a pebble on a grave, there is a room adorned with 200,000 quartz stones.

Dramatic illumination of 200,000 quartz pebbles.

The easternmost tip of the Île de la Cité is the location of the Mémorial de la Déportation. The blank gray square shown on the map to the right of the cathedral is the Jardin Jean XXIII. Click to enlarge.

La Crémaillère 1900

2008-07-27T21:55:00.005-04:00

Many eateries that ring the Place du Tertre are unabashed tourist traps. They are as about as authentic as the beret-wearing “artists” set up on the square, busy attacking tourists, begging to sketch their portraits.

A happy exception is La Crémaillère 1900, an authentic Belle-Epoque brasserie that retains most of its original look, including many Mucha-style art-nouveau paintings. You can choose from several atmospheric dining rooms, sit on a terrace facing the chestnut trees of Place du Tertre or opt for the courtyard garden with its Wallace fountain. A full menu of French classics is served throughout the day, from 9:00 am to 12:30 am. There is live piano music in the evenings, and a cabaret show is on offer. Demand has led to a series of additions, so that 370 guests can be accommodated in multiple dining rooms.

La Crémaillère 1900
15, place du Tertre
Montmartre

La Samaritaine to Reopen as Hotel

2008-07-26T10:06:00.000-04:00

Moët-Hennessy Louis-Vuitton has unveiled plans to convert the La Samaritaine department store in Paris into a luxury hotel, to open in 2013. The landmark Art Nouveau listed building complex overlooking the Seine at Pont Neuf has been lying dormant since it was closed for safety reasons in 2005.

Moët-Hennessy Louis-Vuitton is also planning to convert Samaritaine’s second building on the Rue de Rivoli into resident apartments and a shopping complex for luxury goods.
As the conversion plans await approval by Paris’ town hall, France’s CFE-CGC trade union, whose members had hopes of seeing La Samaritaine restored to its former glory as a department store, expressed despair that such a store is not included in the plans proposed by Moët-Hennessy Louis-Vuitton.

Photo: the spectacular Art Nouveau staircase, not seen since the store closing in 2005.

Notre-Dame: Gargoyles vs. Chimeras

2008-07-25T07:59:00.003-04:00

A gargoyle is a carved stone architecture element that serves the function of a waterspout to carry water from a roof and away from the side of a building. They are often carved in fanciful forms. In the photograph above, the water trough running the length of the gargoyle is clearly visible.

A chimera, however, is a grotesque carving that does not serve as a waterspout and has only a decorative function. Among the world’s most famous chimeras are those added to the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris during the 25-year restoration begun in 1845. Their style was influenced by the illustrations found in the original edition of Victor Hugo's Gothic novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831).

The metal spire (flèche) was added atop the nave crossing during the 1845 restoration by Parisian architect Viollet-le-Duc, who included a statue of himself (as St. Thomas) holding an architect's T-square among the apostles adorning the spire at the roof line. The popularity of Victor Hugo’s novel fueled a renewed interest in the dilapidated cathedral and led to a public campaign to raise funds for the restoration.

Rue des Barres: Marais

2008-07-23T08:26:00.018-04:00

The Rue des Barres is a cobblestone pedestrian street that leads from the rear of St-Gervais church down to the Seine, on the right bank in the Marais area, just east of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall). It is a vestige of medieval Paris that has survived modernization, and is the best spot from which to admire the gothic roofs and gargoyles of St-Gervais, which stand in stark contrast to its neo-classical façade on the opposite end. Across from the church on this lane is L’Artisanat Monastique, which sells products from monasteries all over France; the salespeople are the monks and nuns from St-Gervais.

There is also a popular, inexpensive café, L’Ebouillanté, that offers salads, pastries and light meals, specializing in hot Tunisian crèpes called bricks, as well as traditional French fare; the outdoor tables are in high demand (pictured above with blue façade at center right).

At the end of the street toward the Seine, at the corner of rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, is the atmospheric bistro Chez Julien (photos below). Its romantic, circa 1900 period interior is a delight, and the restaurant’s outdoor tables afford views of both St-Gervais and the romantic Île Saint Louis across the Seine. Traditional French cuisine. Reserve for dinner: 01 42 78 31 64; open noon to 3:00p and 7:00p to 11:00p.

Métro: Pont Marie

Chez Julien, left & below

Upper floors of medieval buildings typically overhung the ground floor, creating a natural hazard for the spread of fire. That's why so few medieval buildings have survived to modern times. This one, at the corner of Rue des Barres and Rue Grenier sur l'Eau (hayloft on the water), is an exceptional relic of medieval Paris.

Rue Sainte-Rustique

2008-07-22T19:27:00.005-04:00

The impossibly narrow Rue Sainte-Rustique is the oldest street in Montmartre. Mentioned in records more than 900 years ago, it has no automobile traffic and no sidewalks but retains its paving stones, complete with a medieval gutter running down the center of it. The length of it is just one long block between Rue du Mont-Cenis and Rue des Saules.

At the terminus with Rue des Saules sits the legendary restaurant La Bonne Franquette, a gathering place for the Impressionists: Cézanne, Sisley, Toulouse-Lautrec, Renoir, Monet, Van Gogh, Pisarro - as well as writer Émile Zola. It faces the square that is home to neighboring restaurant Le Consulat, immortalized in a painting by Utrillo.

La Bonne Franquette and its green façade is on the immediate left in this photo.

Religious processions often pass through here, departing from St-Pierre-de-Montmartre church, and magical views of the white domes of the Sacre-Cœur Basilica arise above the rooftops looking eastward.

Concierge & Conciergerie

2008-07-22T06:38:00.000-04:00

The term concierge is derived from the French term Comte des Cierges (keeper of the candles). In medieval times, the concierge was an officer of the King who was charged with executing justice, with the help of bailiffs. On the Île de la Cité, not far from Notre-Dame, a building known as the Conciergerie (part of the Palais de Justice) stands on a site that has been used as royal palace, parliament building and a prison. It was the home of the Revolutionary Tribunal, which sent 2,600 prisoners to the guillotine during the Reign of Terror. The three towers with conical tops in the center-right of the photo are survivors from medieval times. Much of this structure is still used today by the law courts, although portions are open to the public. Queen Marie Antoinette was imprisoned here prior to her execution, and her holding cell may be visited.

The bridge leading from the Conciergerie to the Right Bank owes its name, Pont au Change, to the goldsmiths and money changers who installed their shops on the bridge in the 12th century. The current structure, built in 1858, is also known as Pont Napoleon III, after the imperial “N” carved between the arches, illuminated in the center of the photograph.

In modern times the term took on a different meaning. Located on the ground floor at a building’s entrance was the small apartment of the concierge, who took care of the property, distributed mail, took out the trash and monitored who went in and out. In earlier decades there was almost no Parisian building without a live-in concierge, but now they are considered too expensive and have been mostly replaced by part-time door staff.

This photo by Eric Tenin shows the entrance to a concierge apartment located on Rue des Saint-Pères in the St-Germain neighborhood.

Place Vendôme

2008-07-21T11:15:00.030-04:00

On the site now known as Place Vendôme, just two blocks north of the Tuileries gardens, was the manor house of the 16th Duke of Vendôme. In 1626 the Duke, the legitimized son of King Henri IV and his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées, was imprisoned for three years after participating in a plot against Cardinal Richelieu. When again accused of conspiracy some years later, he fled to England. Since this choice real estate was then up for grabs, King Louis XIV (the Sun King) commissioned a new square that would house embassies, academies and the royal library – crowned by a statue of himself in the center of it all. In 1685 Louis instructed his Versailles architect, Jules-Hardouin Mansart, to begin designing the space, to be called Place Louis le Grand (quelle surprise!).

However, with the burgeoning costs of enlarging Versailles, this in-town project became too expensive, and the square was subsequently developed as a private real estate venture. Among the first to build houses there were Mansart himself and several financiers, who completed the construction in the 1720s. Because the houses on the square were built over a short span of time, there is a remarkable architectural harmony.

The enormous octagonal space (480 by 450 feet) is surrounded by street level arcades separated by horizontally ridged stonework, each with a keystone bearing a mask (mascaron) of a different design; most of the facial expressions of the mascarons are alternately grotesque or humorous.

Above each arcade is a wrought iron balcony decorated with a gilded sunburst in homage to Louis XIV, the Sun King. Eventually the statue of Louis XIV was replaced by a tall column glorifying the military prowess of Napoleon Bonaparte at Austerlitz. Even so, the square lacks any inviting human elements. There are no trees or benches, no cafés, nothing to make a person linger.

In the course of history important people and events were linked to this spot. Madame de la Parabère, the mistress of Regent Philippe II d'Orléans (after whom the U.S. city of New Orleans is named), was installed here. Napoleon II presided over the Second Empire from this square, and the Russian Embassy was once located here. Coco Chanel lived here, and Chopin died here.

But these days the elegant octagon-shaped Place Vendôme is known as home to the most famous names in fashion, jewelry and banking, as well as the legendary Hotel Ritz (at no. 15; rooms from $1,140 US).

Retailers include Cartier, Chanel, Chaumet, Piaget, Van Cleef & Arpels, Buccelati, Guerlain, Armani, Mauboussin, Bulgari, Schiaparelli, and Boucheron. The offerings are so valuable and security so tight that customers must be buzzed in to gain entry to these exclusive domains. Casual browsing is discouraged.

Some of the particular addresses have remarkable histories. No. 1, Place Vendôme, built in 1723 for Pierre Perrin, secretary to King Louis XIV, became the Embassy of the Republic of Texas in 1842. France was the first nation to recognize the independence of the Lone Star State before it achieved statehood in 1845.

EMBASSY OF TEXAS
IN 1842-1843 THIS BUILDING
WAS THE SEAT OF THE EMBASSY
OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS IN PARIS

WITH THE FRANCO-TEXAN TREATY
OF SEPTEMBER 29TH, 1839
FRANCE BECAME THE FIRST NATION
TO RECOGNIZE THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS
AS AN INDEPENDENT STATE BETWEEN 1836 AND 1845.

Note: The Republic of Texas also had embassies in London and Washington, DC. However, the French ambassador to (Austin) Texas complained that he was nearly killed by an arrow from a Comanche raid as it whizzed by his head as he left his Texas residence one afternoon. It is hoped that France rewarded him with hardship pay.

Later, in 1858, no. 1, Place Vendôme became a tourist hotel, which was recently purchased and renovated as the Hôtel de Vendôme by famed Lebanese jeweler Robert Mouawad, owner of the world-famous Grand-Hotel du Cap-Ferrat near Monaco. The Café de Vendôme inside has a bar with an English look, where you can enjoy that modern-day rarity – unamplified jazz piano – on most Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evenings. Stop by and toast our Lone Star State!

No. 3 and 5 are owned by the Sultan of Brunei, perhaps best remembered for donating $10 million to the Nicaraguan contras at the request of Ronald Reagan, who turned to a "friend" when the U.S. Congress constrained him from doing so (note: history has not yet made it clear what the Sultan received in return). The Sultan, who was declared the world's richest man in 1997, owns more than 4,000 luxury motorcars, including more than 500 Rolls-Royces, and a private Boeing 747. His subjects, to his credit, do not pay any taxes whatsover and enjoy free education and medical care. There is much controversy in Paris these days about the Sultan, because he has initiated renovations on his buildings on Place Vendôme that do not adhere to the architectural integrity of the neighbors . Stay tuned.

No. 12 was where the composer Frédéric Chopin died in 1849, at the ago of 39. There is a plaque noting that event. This was also the former residence of the treasurer of Louis XVI's Navy, and where Napoleon III met his future wife, Eugénie.

The bronze spiral column at the center of the square was constructed in 1810 by Napoleon Bonaparte to celebrate his army’s victory at Austerlitz five years earlier. Designed to be a copy of Trajan’s column in Rome, it is 144 feet high and forged from the metal of cannons and guns captured at the battle. Bas-reliefs show scenes from the Austrian campaign. The statue at the top is Napoleon dressed as a Roman emperor.

The column was pulled down in May, 1871, by militants of the Paris Commune, who saw it as a “symbol of brute force and false glory.” The realist painter Gustave Courbet, their leader, took the blame, was imprisoned and ordered by the courts to cover the cost to replace it. To avoid bankruptcy he fled to Switzerland upon his release. Finally he negotiated an installment plan by which he would repay the debt over 33 years (until his 91st birthday). On the very eve of the date the first installment was due, however, Courbet died. During 1873-1874, the column was reestablished at the center of Place Vendôme with a copy of the original Napoleon as Caesar statue on top. The original molds were used to duplicate the spiraling bas-reliefs. However, the inner staircase leading to the top is no longer accessible to the public.

Note: There is a bizarre tale relating to Place Vendôme neighborhood that must be recounted. After the death of fabulously wealthy Charles-Pierre de Savalette de Langes, who resided at nearby no. 350, rue St-Honoré (immediately to the south of Place Vendôme), his daughter Jenny returned to Paris complaining bitterly about her financial ruin as the result of her father’s unpaid loan to the brothers of Louis XVI. In recompense, she was given a state pension, a political post and an apartment in the palace of Versailles. She moved among the highest ranks of society and left a fortune of more than 200,000 francs when she died in 1858. Imagine the shock when it was discovered, while preparing her body for burial, that she was not only no relation to Savalette, “she” was actually a man who had conned everyone for years. No kidding.

Harry’s Bar

2008-07-20T22:25:00.003-04:00

Harry's Bar has been known to Americans visiting Paris since it opened on Thankgiving Day, 1911. Located at 5, rue Daunou, in the Opera-Garnier area, it has the atmosphere of a pre-Prohibition drinking establishment. Its walls and bar are of mahogany (shipped here from NY), the ceiling is copper, and the principal decorations are dark wood shields and cloth pennants bearing the insignia of American colleges.

Harry's Bar opened 97 years ago when an American jockey, Todd Sloan, joined a NY saloon owner in converting a French bistro into an American style bar. They named it “New York Bar.” Sloan sold to a Scottish bartender named Harry MacElhone in 1923, and the place has been called Harry’s New York Bar ever since. To aid happy customers in finding their way back, Americans who spoke no French were advised to tell their taxi-driver to take them to “Sank Roo Doe Noo” (5, rue Daunou), as written on the front window, still visible today. Worked every time.

Harry's fame derives from a successful record of inventing specialty cocktails. Among the many born at Harry’s are the French 75 (gin, champagne, lemon juice, sugar), the White Lady (gin, cream, egg white, sugar), and the Sidecar (brandy, triple sec and lemon juice in a sugar-rimmed glass). These were all conceived between the world wars. Oh – not to forget the Bloody Mary (1921). More than 40 cocktails were invented here. Harry's also served the first hot dog in France, in 1925 at the bar. They are still a popular menu item, along with the club sandwich. And no one will look upon you with scorn for wearing jeans.

L to R: Bloody Mary and French 75

Clientele? Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, George Gershwin, Rita Hayworth, Jack Dempsey, Sinclair Lewis, Coco Chanel, Bill Tilden, Humphrey Bogart, Gene Kelly, Glenn Ford, Noel Coward, Knute Rockne, Thornton Wilder, Marlene Dietrich – all have passed through the swinging saloon doors at the entrance. The upright piano in the basement bar is the very one on which Gershwin first tried out themes for “An American in Paris,” exactly 80 years ago (1928).

During World War II, Mr. MacElhone shuttered the bar when the occupation began, but the Germans reopened it. Many French people who had lived in America and select German officers who had studied there drifted into Harry’s, where they enjoyed speaking English. It was the one spot in Paris where English was the language of choice.

By April, 1945, the Germans were gone and Harry was once more behind the bar. Again the bar boasted the best cocktails and the best steamed hot dogs. After Harry died in 1958, his son took over, in turn followed by his son, Duncan, a Georgetown University graduate. Harry’s Bar today enjoys a thriving business as one of the most famous bars in the world. Drinks are not cheap – a fancy cocktail will set you back about 12 Euros, but drinks made with spirits are ghastly expensive all over Paris (I sheepishly confess to paying 25 Euros for a gin and tonic at a Paris hotel bar one hot summer evening three or four years ago – when exchange rates were better; the tip-off should have been the fact that the exiled Iranian royal family occupied the hotel's entire top floor).

However, for the price of a Budweiser and a hot dog, you can soak up all the atmosphere. I recall being at Harry’s with a lady friend, whom I encouraged to order a Sidecar. “Are you kidding? That’s what my grandmother drinks!” I informed her that this drink was invented here, so the least we could do was toast her granny. My companion just rolled her eyes, but did my bidding. The next day she ran up to me and said, “You were right about Harry’s inventing the Sidecar. I checked it out on the Internet and sent my grandmother an E-mail.” It’s just too easy to score points – with a little knowledge.

A word of warning – suffering the abuse of Harry’s bar staff is part and parcel of the experience, all a part of their schtick. It’s a saloon! Unfortunately, many first-timers don’t get it and leave with a bad taste in their mouths. But I suggest you check it out for yourself. Why take my word for it? Perhaps there’s a flaw in my decades of exhaustive research at Harry’s.

Homesick for New Orleans? Harry’s Sazerac:
“Attention! Il est fouété,” advises the bar man ... (fouété = kick)

Harry’s Bar
5, rue Daunou
Métro: Opéra
Open daily, 10:30a-4:00a. Don’t ask me how I know they close at 4 am.

Make plans now to go to Paris for Thanksgiving, 2011. Harry’s will celebrate its centennial, and you’ll want to be there. Grab a travel pal and have a reunion trip.

Palais de Chaillot

2008-07-19T07:42:00.010-04:00

picture from France in Photos

On the right bank of the Seine, the Palais de Chaillot is a set of curved twin white stone structures of monumental proportions built for the 1937 World Exhibition, the last colonial exhibition in Paris (at that time, France had the second largest colonial empire in the world, including important outposts in Africa and Asia). The Palais de Chaillot replaced the massive Palais du Trocadéro, demolished in 1935, which had been built for the 1878 World’s Fair. The wings of the Palais de Chaillot flank a grand terrace that overlooks the Trocadéro gardens, pool and fountains, from which there is a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower, located directly across the river. It is especially atmospheric to visit the terrace after dark, when the fountains are floodlit and the Eiffel Tower is dramatically illuminated.

Palais de Chaillot as viewed from the Eiffel Tower

The Palais complex contains notable attractions, including the Musée de l'Homme (natural history, ethnology, anthropology), Musée de la Marine (naval museum), a large theatre (Théâtre National de Chaillot) and the Café de l’Homme (photo below), whose terrace tables are coveted spots from which to view the Eiffel Tower. Most of the interior galleries, halls and staircases have retained their original Art Deco features and decor, and the theatre's original lobby remains intact.

The vast terrace of the Palais de Chaillot looking toward the Eiffel Tower. Eight gilded statues line the terrace.

The Palais de Chaillot is named after the Chaillot hill on which it stands. In the 16th century, Catherine de Medicis built a country house on this hill, which then towered above a bucolic landscape. This was replaced by a convent built by Henriette de France. The convent was later torn down to accommodate a palace that Napoleon dreamed of building for his son, the King of Rome. This plan was never materialized, due to the collapse of Napoleon’s empire. Next the 1848 revolutionaries wanted to built a vast palace of the people of France, but nothing was built here for sixty years, until the Moorish fantasy Palais du Trocadéro was erected for the Universal Exhibition of 1878. The present Palais de Chaillot replaced that structure.

Palais de Chaillot
17 place du Trocadéro
Métro: Trocadéro (lines 6 & 9)
Open: 9:45a to 5:15p except Tuesdays

The Eiffel Tower at sunrise, photographed from the grand terrace of the Palais de Chaillot.

Le Grand Rocher

2008-07-18T20:02:00.000-04:00

Note: This post is a tip of the hat to Jane MacDuff!

Parc Zoologique de Paris (Vincennes): over 200 ft. high, this false stone mountain dominates the Zoo at Vincennes in eastern Paris. The zoo occupies the western part of the great Bois de Vincennes (Vincennes forest). Climbing the surface of “The Great Rock” is not allowed (except by mountain goats), but visitors are allowed inside the structure. An interior elevator whisks tourists up to several vantage points, from which there are spectacular views. Built between 1932 and 1934 by architect Charles Letrosne, the Great Rock Rock remains a curiosity of reinforced concrete construction. The entire structure is painted to look like natural stone. After this summer the Vincennes Zoo will close for a major restoration.

Métro: Porte Dorée (line 8)

Victor Hugo

2008-07-17T21:28:00.008-04:00

Victor Hugo's likeness on a 5-Franc bank note from 1962.

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) was born in Besançon, France, near the Swiss border. His father was an officer in Napoleon's army, but his parents’ marriage fell apart early on, after which time he was raised by his mother. Hugo spent his teenage years at school in Paris, translating Virgil and writing poetry. At the age of twenty be married Adèle Foucher, the daughter of an officer at the ministry of war. Unfortunately, Victor’s brother, Eugène, was secretly in love with Adèle and lost his mind on Hugo's wedding day. Eugène spent the rest of his life in a mental institution. In the 1820s Hugo began publishing political commentary, but his political leanings were all over the place, vacillating from one extreme to the other. When his father, then General Hugo, died in 1828, Victor started calling himself a baron.

Hugo gained wide fame with his landmark historical novel, Notre-Dame de Paris (popularly called the Hunchback of Notre-Dame), which became an instant success. Since its publication in 1831 the story has remained part of French popular culture. The novel, set in 15th century Paris, tells the moving story of a gypsy girl, Esmeralda, and the deformed, deaf bell-ringer, Quasimodo, who loves her. The popularity of this novel inspired a badly needed 23-year long restoration of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame.

In the 1830s Hugo published several volumes of lyric poetry, which were inspired by Juliette Drouet, an actress with whom Hugo had a liaison until his death. Victor’s wife, Adèle, had a serious affair with Hugo’s good friend Charles-Augustin Sainte-Beuve. “Let us not bury our friendship because of it,” Hugo wrote to him.

Some of Hugo’s poems were intensely sexual. According to the writer Paul Verlaine, a typical Hugo love poem went like this: “I am attracted to you. You yield to me. I love you. You resist me. Now be off with you.” These poems could be deemed autobiographical.

In his later life Hugo became more heavily involved in politics. After three unsuccessful attempts, Hugo was elected in 1841 to the Académie Française - a post for life. This triumph was shadowed by the death of his daughter, Léopoldine. Up until the time of her death Hugo had been an atheist, but he then began a spiritual life, eventually dabbling in the supernatural, believing that he was able to communicate with her beyond the grave. Léopoldine had married Charles Vacquerie in 1843, and she drowned along with her husband just seven months after her wedding. Victor was so affected by his daughter’s death that it was a decade before he published another book.

After he was made a Pair de France (Peer – a noble title of great prestige) in 1845, he sat in the Upper Chamber among the Lords. Following the 1848 revolution, with the formation of the Second Republic, Hugo was elected to the Constitutional Assembly and the Legislative Assembly. When workers started to riot, he led soldiers in storming barricades in brutal assaults. These experiences inspired his epic story about social injustice, Les Misérables (1862).

When the coup d'etat by Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III) took place in 1851, Hugo fled to Brussels, and then to England. After he was expelled from the island of Jersey, he moved his family to Guernsey, where he wrote Les Misérables. His self-imposed exile lasted 20 years.

Political upheavals in France and the proclamation of the Third Republic in 1868 led Hugo to return to France, but he was soon driven to exile once more. During the period of the Paris Commune of 1871, Hugo lived in Brussels, from where he was expelled for sheltering defeated revolutionaries.

After a short refuge in Luxemburg, he returned to Paris and was elected as a Senator in 1876, at the age of 74. He was still sexually active, and his maid, Blanche Lavin, was the constant target of his passions. After an exhaustive session with her in June, 1878, Hugo suffered a mild stroke. The infuriated Juliette Drouet, his faithful companion from the 1830s, wrote to her nephew, “You must try to track down that creature, Blanche Lavin, who has destroyed my happiness.”

Hugo died of pleurisy in Paris on May 22, 1885, at the age of 83. His wish was to be buried in a pauper's coffin. Nevertheless, he was voted a full-blown State Funeral by the two government assemblies he had served. His body lay in state below the Arc de Triomphe, which was draped in black for the occasion. People came from all over France and Europe to pay their respects to a man who was both a great writer and humanitarian. His funeral procession from the Arc de Triomphe to the Panthéon was witnessed by two million people (many of then illiterate), a large portion of whom slept out in the open air the previous night, since every hotel room in Paris was taken. The New York Times of June 1, 1885, reported that when the head of the funeral procession reached the Panthéon, the end of it had not yet left the Arc de Triomphe, several miles away. Ten thousand policemen patrolled the route. The procession lasted over six hours, and 800 tribute wreaths were delivered to the Panthéon. This extraordinary outpouring was largely because Hugo was a genius of popular communication and sided with the cause of the common people in his later political career. His tomb in the crypt of the Panthéon is still today a place of pilgrimage by many writers.

Trivia bonus question: Who wrote the longest French sentence?
Victor Hugo's Les Misérables contains a single sentence of 823 words.

Hugo’s home at the Place des Voges (above) in the Marais district of Paris is open to the public. He lived on the second floor of the Hôtel de Rohan-Guéménée, no. 6, place des Vosges, from 1832 to 1848. In 1903 the house became a museum of his life, displaying furnishings, portraits and memorabilia.

Victor Hugo Museum
6, place des Vosges; Tues.-Sun. 10:00a-6:00p; free admission.
Métro: St-Paul, Bastille, or Chemin-Vert.

Jardin d'Acclimatation: a human zoo

2008-07-16T19:30:00.000-04:00

“Peaux Rouges” (Omaha Indians) on display in 1883

The Jardin d'Acclimatation is a 50-acre children’s amusement park in the northern part of the Bois de Boulogne, the great park set in western Paris. Among its attractions are a menagerie, a child’s scale train, lakes for operating radio-controlled toy boats, a puppet theatre and the Exploradome museum. Classes are offered for children on subjects such as cooking, gardening, magic, calligraphy and juggling.

But this “garden” had a bizarre former life. Opened in 1860 by Napoléon III and Empress Eugénie, the Jardin Zoologique d'Aclimatation, as it was first called, was a Paris zoo. Beginning in 1877, however, it was converted to a zoo that exhibited humans. The name was then changed to “l’Acclimatation Anthropologique.” In the era of colonialism, Parisians were curious about foreign people. Thus Nubians, Bushmen, Zulus and other African peoples were “exhibited” in this human zoo. One of its earliest displays of humans centered on Inuits (Esquimaux - go ahead, try pronouncing it in French!).

In 1883 a popular exhibit was called “Peaux Rouges” – redskins, a term used to designate American Indians. The Paris “human zoo” was a huge success. Almost immediately, the number of visitors doubled, reaching the million mark by 1878. In subsequent years approximately thirty different ethnological exhibitions were presented. This practice did not cease until 1912.

Today's children's park is quite a contrast to its past.

Kiosque Presse - a vanishing breed

2008-07-15T04:51:00.000-04:00

Amongst all the street hustle, a figure stands still, leaning against his newspaper kiosk. He watches the pedestrians with a keen eye. “The news is not the first priority today. Nobody cares what is going on in the world,” he mutters under his breath, before starting to rearrange newspapers into a single pile.

Roger, 62, has been a newspaper seller for nearly 40 years. “I was 15 when I first started working,” he proudly says. “I woke up before dawn and took my bicycle to deliver newspapers to the kiosks. It was hard. The stacks were sometimes almost as heavy as I was, but they had to be delivered, no matter the weather, no matter what. And we didn’t count our working hours.”

Yet, Roger has never regretted that time of his life, from which his passion for his work was born. “I watched the newsstand keepers, their heads almost disappearing behind stacks of newspapers,” he reflects with a distant look, suddenly blind to the excitement of the street. “They would stand there, sometimes light a cigarette in spite of the ban, only disturbed by a customer from time to time. I was crazy about reading, and I thought how wonderful it would be to spend the whole day learning about the world, sport, fashion – whatever subject my mood would call upon.”

His pushes one huge stack inside the kiosk. “Of course, it had nothing to do with what the job truly was, and even less with what it is now,” he continues. “The hours spent in a restricted space, the loneliness, the routine.” Then, lowering his voice as if he feared that saying it loud would make it come true, he talks about the disappearance of the traditional kiosks, their business slowly being taken away by the big firms like Hachette, whose standardized “Relay” kiosks are now everywhere. “They shut down independent newspaper kiosks all over Paris. People don’t read anymore. There are fewer and fewer kiosks, and also fewer young people willing to continue this business. I don’t blame them. In my day, I knew I wouldn’t have a grand lifestyle, but this job was enough for a simple man. We were part of people’s lives. The customers were friends who would come everyday, stop for a chat. Now, you can’t live decently with a salary like mine, and the customers are in such a rush that they don’t even say hello.”

Suddenly shy, he turns towards his kiosk and pulls down the metal shutter. A man has been standing nearby for a couple of minutes. He reaches out and places a hand on Roger’s back. “We won’t let you disappear, Sir, you’re part of the soul of Paris. Thank you.”

As the man leaves, a smile appears under Roger’s moustache. “Ah – I tell you. That is what keeps me going.”

Note: These magazine/newspaper kiosks are typically open 14 hours a day, six days a week. They often sell postcards and sundries, as well.

This account was published as a blog entry by Laura Martel, a journalism student at the Sorbonne. Her blog is called “Laura’s News Desk.”

Happy Bastille Day!

2008-07-14T11:16:00.011-04:00

Bastille Day is the French national holiday, celebrated on July 14 each year. In France, it is called “Fête Nationale” (National Holiday), but more commonly just “Quatorze Juillet” (July 14). It commemorates the 1790 Fête de la Fédération, held on the first anniversary of the storming of the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789, an event regarded as a symbol of the uprising of the modern French nation.

Festivities in Paris are held in the morning on July 14, the largest on the Ave. Champs-Élysées in the presence of the President of the Republic. A parade begins at the Arc de Triomphe with military cadets, then other infantry troops, then motorized troops (tanks and stuff!), followed by a fly-by of fighter jets. In recent times military units from France’s allies have been invited to join the parade (West Point cadets participated in 2002).

Also, the students and cadets of the École Polytechnique traditionally pull off some sort of major prank – all in good fun. The president used to give an interview to the press, discussing the situation of the country, recent events and projects for the future (sort of a State of the Union message to the press). Current president Nicolas Sarkozy (elected in 2007) has chosen not to continue this custom, but he follows tradition in hosting a garden party at the Palais de l'Elysée, the official residence of the president of France (just off the Champs-Élysées).

Bastille Day always falls during the Tour de France bicycle race and is traditionally a day on which French riders try to take a stage victory for France, making greater effort than they might otherwise.

The French Constitution grants the President authority to pardon offenders, and since 1991 the President has pardoned many petty crimes on Bastille Day (mostly traffic violations). President Sarkozy has declined to continue this practice, likely because the popular Mayor of Paris has greatly increased fines for traffic violations in an effort to ease the often unmanageable traffic congestion in Paris. Many feel that there will likely be a square off between Sarkozy and Socialist Party Mayor Bertrand Delanoë in the next French presidential election. My money is on Delanoë, currently the most popular politician in France (Sarkozy’s popularity has plummeted – but the winds of politics are fickle).

On June 30, 1878, a festival had been organized in Paris to honor the Republic (that event was immortalized by a painting by Monet)

Claude Monet: Fête de 30 Juin, 1878

On July 14, 1879, another festival took place, including a military review in Longchamp (a famous horse racing course). “Throughout France,” as Le Figaro reported on the 16th, “people celebrated and feasted to honor the Bastille.” July 14 was soon declared a national holiday, and Bastille Day has been celebrated officially since 1880. Vive la France!

Funiculaire de Montmartre

2008-07-13T10:54:00.005-04:00

The Montmartre funicular is a two-car electric incline railway that transports passengers from the base of the Montmartre butte up to the terraces of the Sacré-Cœur basilica (and vice versa). It is operated by the RATP, the Paris transport authority, so subway tickets and passes are valid (fare is one individual ticket per direction).

The original funicular opened on the eve of Bastille Day, July 13, 1900 - exactly 108 years ago today - although the present day electrical funicular dates from 1991. Each car makes the ascent or descent in 90 seconds and saves its 60 passengers more than 300 steep steps.

The first Montmartre funicular was water powered, using a system of cisterns that were filled or emptied in order to move the cars, as a function of passenger load. In 1935, the system was converted to electricity.

Métro: Anvers (nearest the base station)

Funicular or 300+ steps? - the choice is yours.

Profiteroles

2008-07-13T09:54:00.003-04:00

Profiteroles is a classic French dessert of cream puffs (made from choux pastry) filled with pastry cream, whipped cream or (most commonly) ice cream. A sauce is then poured over the top – usually chocolate, caramel or a fruit sauce.

Choux pastry was invented in Paris in 1540 by the Italian chef of Catherine de Médicis, who brought him with her from her native Florence (along with her Italian clothes, furniture, hairdressers, etc.). Although the term profiteroles has been in continuous use since the 16th century, no one knows the origin of the name.

However, “choux” means cabbage in French, a reference to the round shape of the cream puffs made from choux pastry. It contains only butter, water, flour, and eggs – the rising agent being only the high moisture content, which creates steam during cooking, puffing out the pastry. Way more than you need to know. Just grab your fork and enjoy.

Square Paul Painlevé

2008-07-12T08:40:00.019-04:00

This small square is located between the Musée National du Moyen-Age and the main entrance to the Sorbonne on the Rue des Écoles in the 5th arrondissement. It is typical of small squares located all over Paris that serve as neighborhood parks, with paths and benches scattered among coveted green space.

Born in Paris, Paul Painlevé (1863-1933) was a celebrated mathematician who taught at the Sorbonne, École Polytechnique and the College de France. He was elected a member of the Académie des Sciences in 1900. He worked with Einstein on the theory of relativity, but much of his work in the field of physics (as related to black holes) was not understood and appreciated until some thirty years after his death. Painlevé’s broad interest in engineering topics fostered an enthusiasm for the emerging field of aviation; in 1908, he became Wilbur Wright's first airplane passenger in France and in 1909 created the first university course in aeronautics. In later years he abandoned the field of science for politics. He served twice as prime-minister of France: in 1917 (succeeded by Georges Clemenceau) and in 1925, after which he served as Minister of War (through 1929).

A bronze statue of Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592), the great Renaissance thinker and essayist, sits directly across the street from the main entrance to the Sorbonne on Rue des Écoles, adjacent to Square Paul Painlevé. Montaigne is credited with elevating the essay to a literary form. The seated pose is unusual in that both his arms and legs are crossed. Montaigne, born into a wealthy family in southwest France, influenced Shakespeare, Emerson, Nietzsche and Descartes. He is most famously known for his skeptical remark, Que sais-je? (What do I know?).

A quotation carved onto the plinth reads: “I never rebel so much against France as to regard Paris with an unfriendly eye; she has had my heart since childhood. I love her tenderly, even her warts and blemishes. I am French only by this great city – the glory of France, one of the noblest ornaments of the world."

Notice the shiny tip of Montaigne's foot. Tradition holds that those who rub his toe will have good fortune, and the tip of his shoe gets a good fondling.

All previous photos by John Norstad; used by permission.

Subsequent photos from the public Flickr pages of WallyG (Hoboken, NJ).

A 1909 monument to Octave Gréard is placed within Square Paul Painlevé. Gréard's bust sits atop a bas-relief depicting a woman holding a book opposite a seated child whose eyes are lifted to the teacher. Gréard (1828-1904) was a university professor with a distinguished career in education. He was largely responsible for establishing schools for girls and played a significant role in reforming the baccalaureate. In 1875, Gréard was elected a member of the French Academy of Moral and Political Science, and in 1886 was inducted into the French Academy. A college bearing his name is located in the 8th arrondissement.

Also within Square Paul Painlevé stands La Louve Romaine (The Roman Wolf), a replica of a statue presented by the city of Rome in 1962 on the occasion of the establishment of Rome and Paris as sister capitals. Romulus and Remus suckle away at their task.

A friend and colleague of Rodin, Jules Desbois (1851-1935) was one of the great sculptors of his time. His works celebrate the human body, combining the sensuality of modeling with a graphic representation of movement, as evidenced in this statue of Pierre Puvis de Chavannes installed within Square Paul Painlevé.

Puvis de Chavannes (1824-98) was the foremost French mural painter of the second half of the 19th century. He decorated many public buildings in Paris (chief among them the Panthéon, Sorbonne, and Hôtel de Ville) and abroad (notably the Boston Public Library). His paintings were done on canvas and then applied to the walls (a technique called marouflage), but their subdued colors imitated the effect of fresco. He had only modest success early in his career, but went on to achieve an enormous reputation. He was universally respected even by artists of very different outlooks. Among his admirers were Gaugin, Seurat and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Square Paul Painlevé
Métro: Cluny La Sorbonne

Jardin des Tuileries

2008-07-11T16:59:00.037-04:00

One of the largest parks in central Paris at 63 acres, the Jardin des Tuileries (Tuileries Gardens) was once part of a palace connected to the Louvre. The building was burned down to its masonry shell in 1871 during the violent Commune uprising. The resulting ruins were finally demolished in 1882, opening up an unbroken vista from the Louvre to the Arc de Triomphe (and now on to the Grand Arch of La Défense). The Jardin des Tuileries, which border the Right Bank of the Seine, offers numerous classic and modern sculptures, large water basins, flowerbeds, wild birds – and a good view of the Place de la Concorde at its western edge. Because of its strict rectangular shape and straight lines of city buildings along its perimeter, it is often called the "Central Park" of Paris.

In the early 16th century this area was a clay tile factory (tuileries = tiles). After the death of her husband Henri II in 1559, Catherine de Médicis had a palace built here, called le Palais de Tuileries, which featured a large garden in Italian style, reminding her of her native Tuscany. Note: she hated to cave to French tastes in any facet of her life; she ordered all of her clothes from Mantua.

Between 1660 and 1664 the garden was redesigned in French formal style by Le Nôtre, the celebrated gardener of King Louis XIV. Le Nôtre built a terrace along the riverbank and opened up a central axis which he extended three years later with the creation of the Champs-Elysées. Louis XIV and his court resided at the Tuileries Palace during the time that Versailles was still under construction.

The Jardin des Tuileries, opened to the public by Louis XIV upon his move to Versailles, quickly became a place to see and be seen. Even in the 18th century the park featured amenities such as cafés, kiosks, deck chairs and public toilets. These days temporary exhibits of sculpture contrast to the classic ones installed centuries ago, some of them quite risqué and even erotic. Henry Miller used to walk the paths of the Tuileries frequently during the 1920s, and he was particularly fond of the statues of sensual females. He claimed he got an erection every time he walked past them.

Experienced traveler tip: The paths throughout the expanse of gardens will leave a white dusty coating all over your shoes. Every time. Be prepared and bring a Handi-Wipe to do a little cosmetic clean up after your walk. Go ahead - thank me.

Experienced traveler tip #2: There are cafés in the middle of the gardens, but tourists have to truck all the way to the Place de la Concorde exit to find toilets (bring coins). Gentlemen on the left as you face the Place de la Concorde. Don't ask me how I know this.

Model boat rental at the great basin

At the western edge of the gardens are two museums, the Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume and the Musée de l'Orangerie. Those two buildings are the only remains of the original Palais de Tuileries building complex. The Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume, a former royal tennis court, now displays contemporary art and photographs. The Musée de l’Orangerie is home to Claude Monet's enormous impressionist paintings, "Les Nymphéas" (water lilies).

Since 2003 there has been a serious proposal to rebuild the Tuileries Palace. The Tuileries Gardens would then recover their original purpose, which was to be a palace garden. Also, it is emphasized that the Louvre Museum needs to expand its ground plan to properly display all its collections, and if the Tuileries Palace is rebuilt, the Louvre Museum could expand into the reconstructed palace. All the plans of the palace and many photographs are still stored in French archives. Furthermore, all the furniture and paintings from the palace survived the 1871 fire, because they had been removed from the palace in 1870 at the start of the Franco-Prussian War and stored in secure locations. Today, the furniture and paintings are still deposited in storehouses and not on public display, due to lack of space in the Louvre Museum. It is argued that recreating the state apartments of the Tuileries Palace would allow the display of these treasures of the Second Empire style, which are currently hidden. Cost estimates are about 350 million euros (about $550 million U.S.). Yikes!

The following plan of the Louvre shows the original location of the Tuileries Palace in white. Its reconstruction would enclose the Arc du Carousel and Pei's glass pyramid in a huge square, as in former times. Click image to enlarge.
Historic photo below: Pre-1871 view from the Louvre courtyard, showing the joining of the Louvre (foreground) and the Tuileries Palace (background), now a large landscaped space beyond the Arc du Carousel (shown just left of center). I. M. Pei's glass pyramid now stands in the foreground, instead of trees.

Eduard Manet's "Music in the Tuileries" (1862)
This painting was Manet's first major work depicting modern city life. The band is playing and a fashionable crowd has gathered to listen. The picture includes portraits of Manet's friends and family, including Manet himself, the poet Baudelaire, poet and novelist Théophile Gautier, composer Jacques Offenbach and the artist's brother Eugène.

Métro: Tuileries (Rue de Rivoli entrance) or Concorde
Open 7:00a-9:00p April to September; 7:30a-7:30p October to March

Photo: Tuileries tourists looking for toilets (in vain)

Musée National du Moyen Âge

2008-07-10T05:43:00.015-04:00

The Museum of the Middle Ages incorporates two ancient structures: the Gallo-Roman baths (1st-3rd centuries) and a mansion built by the Cluny Abbots (late 15th century), located in the vicinity of the Sorbonne. The complex is surrounded by several themed medieval gardens of vegetable, medicinal and floral varieties. The residence, whose façade remains unaltered since its construction in 1485, encircles a courtyard that is separated from the street by a crenelated wall. The mansion maintains its original layout, including three stone spiral staircases and a chapel. Significantly, the dimensions and layout of the rooms have not been altered over time.

In 1833 Alexandre du Sommerard purchased the former abbot’s residence and installed his collection of medieval and Renaissance art throughout the mansion. Displayed were important textiles, stained glass, jewelry, crowns, sculptures, paintings, books and furnishings. Upon his death the collection was purchased by the state and opened as a museum in 1843, with his son Edmond as the first curator. Edmond oversaw the purchase of perhaps the most famous items on view, the series of six textiles know as the Lady and the Unicorn tapestries, woven in Flanders in the late 15th century. Five of them illustrate the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell and hearing); the sixth is titled “To My Only Desire.” They have been displayed here since 1882.

Historical note: In 1515 the mansion became the home of Mary Tudor, widow of French King Louis XII, who died after just three months of marriage. Mary, now the dowager queen, was installed here by Francois I (the new king) to be isolated from all other men for six weeks to see if she was pregnant and, if so, to ensure it was her former husband's child. Later, in the mansion's small chapel, Mary Tudor did the unimaginable for a princess – she married the man she chose, Charles Brandon (Duke of Suffolk), much to the annoyance of her brother, Henry VIII.

Chapel Ceiling

Adjacent to the mansion are ruins from 3rd-century Roman thermal baths, known as the Thermes de Cluny. Pictured here is one of the rooms in the the frigidarium (cold water room), the best preserved room, with intact architectural elements such as Gallo-Roman vaults, ribs and consoles and fragments of original decorative wall painting and mosaics. The caldarium (hot water room) and the tepidarium (warm water room) are both still present as ruins outside the museum itself, within the museum's grounds.

Musée National du Moyen Âge
6, place Paul Painlevé
Open from 9:15a to 5:45p; admission 7,50€
Closed Tuesdays, January 1, May 1 and December 25
Métro: Cluny-La Sorbonne

Grand and Petit Palais, Pont Alexandre III

2008-07-09T10:21:00.006-04:00

The Grand Palais and Petit Palais, along with the neighboring Pont Alexandre III (bridge), were all built for the Paris Exhibition of 1900, a world’s fair. The Grand- and Petit Palais sit opposite each other on Avenue Winston Churchill, which leads directly to the foot of the Pont Alexandre III. These three structures can thus be considered one architectural unit.
The bridge, with its exuberant Art Nouveau lamps, cherubs, nymphs and winged horses at either end, was named after Tsar Alexander III of Russia, who played an important role in the Franco-Russian Alliance of 1892. It was Alexander's son, Nicholas II, who laid the foundation stone. This single span iron bridge is classified as a national historical monument.

Click to enlarge images:

Note the illuminated decorative cattails and gilded details.

Le Grand Palais (Grand Palace) is a large glass roofed exhibition hall with a massive exterior that combines an imposing neo-classical façade with a riot of Art Nouveau ironwork. From 1993 the building was closed for 12 years for extensive restoration work after one of the iron rivets from the glass ceiling fell 148 feet to the floor during a public exhibition (no one was injured). It reopened in September, 2005. The metal structure containing the 160,000 sq. ft. of glass panes in the roof weighs 500 tons more than the Eiffel Tower.

The building also contains a noted science museum, the Palais de la Découverte (Palace of Discovery), housed in an addition added for the 1937 world's fair; its entry is on Ave. Franklin D. Roosevelt. There is a restaurant with an attractive terrace, as well (entrance is on the side along the Seine near Pont Alexandre III bridge). A little known fact is that the Grand Palais has a major police station in the basement which helps protect items on exhibit.

The Petit Palais, designed in an exuberant neo-Rococo style, houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris (fine arts museum of the city of Paris). There is an exceptionally beautiful winter garden featuring mosaic-trimmed ponds and colonnades, opening out onto a café and restaurant.
The Petit Palais was created as a city museum in which to showcase the works bought from the yearly fine art Salons. Most of the collection is the legacy of Auguste Dutuit, including ancient artifacts, medieval objects, rare manuscripts and books and Dutch paintings from the seventeenth century. The collection includes art from the Egyptian era to the present. The museum also houses the Tuck Collection of 18th century furniture and the City of Paris collection of works by French artists, such as Jean Ingres, Eugène Delacroix and Gustave Courbet.
Like many Parisian structures purpose-built for exhibitions, the Petit Palais and Grand Palais were intended as temporary buildings. Their beauty led the city to find use for them in the post-Universal Exposition years.

Thus Le Petit Palais was opened as a museum in 1902. Today tourists flock here to see famous paintings in its permanent collection, such as Poussin's The Massacre of the Innocents, Ruben's Prosperpina, and Rembrandt's Self-Portrait with Poodle. There are also Impressionist selections from the nineteenth century by Pisarro, Morisot, Cassatt, Manet, Renoir, and Gauguin. The museum houses more than 12,000 prints, as well.
Restoration of Le Petit Palais was completed in December, 2005. Admission to the permanent collections is free.

Yes, the bronze statue is of Churchill; he is facing the avenue that bears his name. Click photo to enlarge.

Spectacular rococo gilded metalwork of the main entrance.

Le Petit Palais
Avenue Winston Churchill
Open 10:00a to 6:00p daily except Mondays and holidays.
Métro: Champs-Elysées-Clemenceau or Franklin D. Roosevelt

Jardin des Plantes

2008-07-08T05:15:00.004-04:00

The Museum of Natural History amongst specimen gardens. Photos from the Flickr posts by Jason Fist.

The Jardin des Plantes is the main botanical garden in France. Situated within the garden is the National Museum of Natural History (Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle), which consists of four galleries: the Grande Galerie de l'Évolution, the Mineralogy Museum, the Paleontology Museum and the Entomology Museum. In addition to the gardens there is also an aquarium and a small zoo, founded in 1795 from animals of the royal menagerie at Versailles.

The Jardin des Plantes maintains a botanical school, with some 4500 plants displayed and arranged by family. In addition, there are horticultural displays of decorative plants. An Alpine garden has 3000 species with world-wide representation. Specialized buildings, such as a large Art Deco winter garden and Mexican and Australian hothouses display plants not native to France. A rose garden, created in 1990, has hundreds of species of roses.

The garden was originally planted by Guy de La Brosse, Louis XIII’s physician, in 1626 as a medicinal herb garden. It was originally known as the Jardin du Roi (king’s garden). In 1640 it opened to the public. In 1739 the gardens were expanded, adding a maze (Labyrinth), which remains today. During the French revolution the Royal Menagerie was moved to the gardens from Versailles in 1792.

The main entrance is at 57, rue Cuvier (5th arrondissement).
Open 7:30a until 7:45p May 1-Dec. 1; free admission, but there is a charge of 1 euro on weekends and holidays for the Alpine Garden only (tickets sold at the reptile house at the menagerie).
Métro:
Jussieu (closest to the rue Cuvier entrance) or Gare d'Austerlitz.

An 1820s map of the paths and pavilions that cover 69 acres. Click to enlarge.

Note that it was then still labeled Jardin du Roi (the king’s garden).

The Vineyard of Montmartre

2008-07-07T17:14:00.002-04:00

Wine making took hold in Montmartre when the great Abbey of Montmartre, which dates back to the 12th century, cultivated many acres of vineyards on the butte overlooking the rooftops of Paris. In the early 20th century, however, phylloxera decimated all these rootstocks, and grape production disappeared from Paris altogether.

A replanting effort in the 1930s resulted in a vineyard near the famed Lapin Agile cabaret that still produces an annual yield of 1,700 half litre bottles of red Clos Montmartre, and a wine festival complete with a parade celebrates the grape harvest every year on the first Sunday in October. Wine made from this vineyard's grapes is sold to raise money for charity.

The vineyard on Rue des Saules at the corner of Rue St-Vincent was planted in 1933 to protest planned high rise development, in an effort led by famed caricaturist and illustrator Francisque Poulbot (1877-1946). Along the fence in front of the vineyard is a plaque that credits Poulbot with preserving this plot of land as a vineyard.

Poulbot’s war-time cartoons and posters depicted Montmartre street children as they played war games, and reproductions of these posters still adorn the walls of many a Montmartre bar and restaurant today. Most had a patriotic message, unfailingly denigrating to the Germans.

Poulbot supported Le Clos de Montmartre, a charity that raised money for les Petits Poulbot, street urchins affectionately nicknamed after him. Poulbot was a dear friend and neighbor of Maurice Utrillo's mother, Suzanne Valadon, who lived in the area. In 1925 he joined her as a member of an anti-skyscraper cause in a struggle to preserve the atmosphere of Montmartre by opposing the modernist architectural movement that was pushing for the construction of new tall buildings.

To this day parents of Montmartre school children say that they are going to fetch their "little Poulbots" from their schoolyards in the afternoons, and a local traffic sign says: Automobilists ralentissez. Attention aux petit Poulbots (Drivers slow down. Watch for the little Poulbots).

Two Poulbot war-time posters:

Maurice Utrillo - Demon of Montmartre

2008-07-06T21:53:00.013-04:00

Windmills of Montmartre (1949) - Maurice Utrillo

There is a small cemetery, the Cimetière de St-Vincent, at the intersection of rue des Saules and rue St-Vincent, one of the most visited and photographed corners of all Montmartre. Notable permanent inhabitants of the cemetery are Swiss composer Arthur Honegger (1892-1955), a member of the group of French composers known as Les Six (which included Poulenc and Milhaud) and painter Maurice Utrillo (1883-1955), who terrorized the Montmartre neighborhood he was born in.

(Note: As bizarre as the following account may seem, I swear I’m not making anything up.) Utrillo’s mother, a talented self-taught painter, took Toulouse-Lautrec as her lover after a fall from a trapeze ended her aspirations to be a circus performer. She served as a model for Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec, and studied their painting techniques, incorporating their style into her own. She taught her son Maurice to paint scenes of the streets in the neighborhood, and he soon developed the habit of trading a freshly painted canvas to settle his bar tab. A hopeless alcoholic from an early age, he often picked fights in bars and was frequently arrested for assault.

From the age of 21 he started to exhibit signs of a deranged mind, which would result in his being interned in mental asylums repeatedly. The sight of women on the streets enraged him, and he would yell out and threaten them, chasing them down the street. He was particularly incensed by the sight of pregnant women. He gradually gravitated to painting from post card images, because his reputation as the village idiot made it difficult for him to work beyond the confines of his home. When he did venture out, he was often jeered, ridiculed and cursed. Eventually he was not allowed on the streets without a paid chaperone, because he had a tendency to expose himself to passers-by, shouting, "I paint with this!"

He attempted suicide in 1924, which was probably the result of years of alcohol abuse. Shortly thereafter he painted stage scenery and designed costumes for Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.

He lived with his mother (also an alcoholic), whom he revered along with Joan of Arc and the Virgin Mary, until he was 52 years old. Prices for his paintings began to soar when he was in his late 30s, but money meant nothing to him. He contented himself with toy trains and children’s musical instruments – and a lot of wine. Often after a severe drinking spree he would ask his friends to lock him up and not let him drink. He would then scream and wail piteously until someone let him out, or he could escape. Even so, he became an internationally known painter, and the French government awarded him the Cross of the Legion of Honor in 1928.

At the age of 52 he left his mother’s home to marry Lucie Valore, who died of a heart attack just three years after their wedding. Their marriage was less the result of courtship than a transfer of custody, yet she shares his grave in St-Vincent's cemetery.

When the National Museum of Modern Art exhibited a retrospective of his art works in the 1950s, he could not attend the opening because of his intolerance of other people. The museum had to give him a private tour. Today his paintings fetch more than $100,000 U.S., and the most popular ones are reproduced on postcards sold all over Montmartre. Utrillo's famous White Period, between 1909 and 1914, marked his independence from Impressionist influences, and these canvasses are the most sought after by collectors today.

An interesting note is that Utrillo’s paternity was always questioned. When Maurice was born illegitimately to Suzanne Valadon (then a prostitute), she went to Renoir, for whom she had modeled nine months previously. Renoir looked at the baby and said, "He can't be mine, his color is terrible!" Next she went to Degas, for whom she had also modeled. Degas said, "He can't be mine, his form is terrible!" At a nearby café, Valadon saw an artist she knew named Miguel Utrillo, to whom she spilled her woes. The man told her he would adopt her baby son. "I would be glad to put my name on the work of either Renoir or Degas!" Maurice resented being adopted and used his mother’s surname of Valadon until he was 27. when he started to sign his paintings, Maurice Utrillo, V.

Blanquette de veau

2008-07-05T08:03:00.004-04:00

Blanquette de veau is a French dish in the category of “comfort food” – veal stew with a white (Béchamel) sauce. The name comes from the French words for white (blanc), and veal (veau). Other meats besides veal may be prepared “en blanquette” (pork, rabbit, chicken and lamb) but blanquette de veau is the most famous example. Its classic preparation is a stew containing pieces of veal and vegetables in a creamy Béchamel sauce.
In a typical recipe, pieces of veal and aromatic vegetables (onion, celery, carrot and the like) are simmered in water or stock. The vegetables may then be discarded, and the cooking liquid is thickened and enriched with flour, butter, cream and egg yolks. Mushrooms, rice, pasta and potatoes are common accompaniments to this dish.

Musée de la Vie Romantique

2008-07-05T05:38:00.002-04:00

"She is stupid, heavy and garrulous. Her ideas on morals have the same depth of judgment and delicacy of feeling as those of janitresses and kept women....The fact that there are men who could become enamored of this slut is indeed a proof of the abasement of the men of this generation." – Charles Baudelaire

Obviously, M. Baudelaire was not a fan of Baroness Aurora Dudevant, a French novelist and early feminist. She was engaged in an intimate friendship with actress Marie Dorval, which led to widespread but unconfirmed rumors of a lesbian affair. It didn’t help that she wore men’s clothing and smoked cigars in public, both scandalous activities in the early 19th-century. Born in 1804 in Paris, she became known far beyond the boundaries of France for her plays, novels, literary criticism and political texts, her most widely used quote being, “There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.” Her social practices, writings and beliefs prompted much commentary: “What a brave man she was, and what a good woman.” – Ivan Turgenev

She died at the age of 72 and was buried on the grounds of her family home in Nohant. But instead of slowly fading into the pages of history, her memory and reputation continued to grow. In 2004, controversial plans were initiated to move her remains to the Panthéon in Paris, where she would share enshrinement with Voltaire, Zola and Victor Hugo.

If you are scratching your head because you are unaware of the output of this notable woman, a clue would be a reminder that she had a ten-year affair with Polish pianist/composer Frédéric Chopin, as illustrated in the composite painting at the beginning of this post. We are referring, of course, to the woman who was known by the pseudonym George Sand.

Estranged from her mother, Sand was raised by her grandmother in Nohant, not far from Paris. When her grandmother died, Sand was on her own at seventeen. Within a year she married Baron Dudevant, a man many years her senior. They had two children, but Sand and Dudevant became separated in 1836, after 15 years of marriage (Sand was 32 years old at the time). Thereafter she poured herself into her work, writing eight hours a day for most of her life. Her writings influenced Walt Whitman, Flaubert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and many authors referred to her works in their own creations: Dostoevsky, Tom Stoppard, and Marcel Proust chief among them.

Two films were based upon her life with Chopin: A Song to Remember (1945), with Cornel Wilde as Chopin and Merle Oberon as George Sand, and Impromptu (1991), starring Judy Davis as George Sand and Hugh Grant as Chopin. The latter (widely available on DVD), in particular, provides insight to the world of 19th-century French aristocracy and the patronage they provided for musicians, painters and writers.

Following are photographs of Chopin (1849) and Sand (from her later years, 1864).

Down a driveway leading to a flowery cobbled courtyard is a small museum in Montmartre, housed in a mansion that was the gathering place of the great artists in Paris in the first half of the 19th century, including Chopin, Liszt, Lamartine, Turgenev, Rossini, Delacroix and, of course, George Sand. The neighborhood was called “New Athens” during the 1830s, in deference to the influential literary salons of the area. Since 1987, this Musée de la Vie Romantique, at 16, rue Chaptal, has displayed the memorabilia of George Sand, including portraits, furniture, objets d’art and scores of letters and documents. Her home environment in Nohant is reproduced in two rooms, the yellow and blue salons, after engravings from the time.

Musée de la Vie Romantique
Open 10:00a to 6:00p except Mondays and holidays. Free admission to the permanent collection. Tea room on premises open from 11:30a., with seating available in the courtyard.
Métro: Blanche

EU presidency passes to France

2008-07-03T04:55:00.002-04:00

Photo credit: picture-alliance/dpa

France's six-month presidency of the European Union began Tuesday, July 1, taking the helm from Slovenia. Special Eiffel Tower lighting has been designed for the six-month period in the blue colors of the EU, along with a circle of stars, which honors Europe's flag of 12 gold stars on a field of blue.

photo by looking4poetry used under cc licence

Officially it was cause for celebration, but there are glaring problems lurking behind the festivities and handshakes. There is much turmoil within the European Union these days, especially since Ireland’s June 12 rejection of the Lisbon Treaty, designed to make reforms in the way the union is structured. My assessment is that Slovenia was only too happy to pass the baton over to France.

France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, whose popularity is sinking at home, said he hopes to be able to concentrate on five main areas as head of the EU presidency: immigration, defense, energy/environment, agriculture, and his most high-profile project: the July 13 launch of a new Union for the Mediterranean (countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, including north African nations and Turkey). Sarkozy sees the Mediterranean initiative as a way of promoting peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. What fun that should be!

I hope Sarkozy remembers to bring along his best magic wand on July 13. Opponents are already derisively calling this proposal Sarkozy’s “Club Med” plan. I would suggest that all participants bring along food tasters.

But I digress. Sarkozy’s top priority will have to be to salvage the Lisbon Treaty, encouraging other EU countries to continue ratifying the charter (all 27 EU members must ratify in order for it to be enacted in 2009, as planned). In an interview on French television late Monday, Sarkozy said the EU would take in no new members until the Lisbon Treaty is ratified. Thus, anticipated EU inclusion for Croatia and Ukraine is in jeopardy.

The political party of Poland’s Lech Kaczynski, who helped negotiate the treaty, now opposes it. Kaczynski's move follows a statement by German President Koehler on Monday that he was suspending ratification of the treaty following a request for a delay by Germany's constitutional court. With the Czech Republic also waiting on a court decision before ratifying, Sarkozy will doubtless have to spend much of the next six months trying to save the treaty. He is due to travel to Ireland on July 11 to hear first hand the concerns of Irish voters.

Are we having fun yet?

Tarte Tatin

2008-07-02T02:05:00.001-04:00

A classic Tarte Tatin is an upside-down apple tart in which the apples are caramelized in butter and sugar before being baked.
Tradition says that Tarte Tatin was first created by accident at the Hotel Tatin in Lamotte-Beuvron, France, in 1889. The hotel was run by two sisters, Stéphanie and Caroline Tatin. Stéphanie, who did most of the cooking, was overworked one day. She started to make a traditional apple pie, but left the apples cooking in butter and sugar for too long. Smelling the burning, she tried to rescue the pie by putting the pastry base on top of the pan of apples, quickly finishing the cooking by putting the whole pan in the oven. After turning out the upside down tart, she was surprised to find how much the hotel guests complimented her on the dessert.
Tarte Tatin became a signature dish at the hotel, and the recipe spread through the Sologne region. Its lasting fame is probably due to the restaurateur Louis Vaudable, who tasted the tart on a visit to Sologne and made the dessert a permanent fixture on the menu at his restaurant, Maxim's of Paris.
Restaurant versions frequently include a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or warmed heavy cream as an accompaniment. Yum!
Note: Tarte Tatin can also be made with pears, peaches or even pineapple. Savory versions are often made with tomatoes or onions.

Hall of Mirrors at Versailles

2008-07-01T23:12:00.003-04:00

The Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors) at Versailles is the crown jewel of the palace complex, and has been ever since its unveiling in 1684. Following a three-year restoration, costing €12 million ($19 million U.S.), completed in late 2007, the room now sparkles anew.

From the era of Louis XIV this room has been the scene of significant events: royal births, weddings and countless state visits. William I was declared Emperor of Germany here in January 1871, after the Franco-Prussian War (France lost). Decades later Georges Clemenceau took revenge by choosing this same room in 1919 for the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which ended World War I (Germany lost).

Mansart was the architect of the Hall of Mirrors. Measuring 240 feet long by 34 feet wide by 40 feet high, it was the masterpiece of Louis XIV’s third building phase at Versailles. Work began in 1678, and the great Charles Le Brun was commissioned to paint the ceiling. All that was complimented by 17 mirrored arches, each consisting of 21 beveled mirrored panes, placed opposite an arch framed window of similar dimensions that overlooked the gardens, designed by Le Nôtre. The great chandeliers that hung from the vaulted ceiling were reflected off the mirrored surfaces to stunning effect.

The Hall of Mirrors has been restored several times, the first just 15 years after its construction, the last in 1950. The recent restoration, however, is the most thorough ever. The paintings, sculptures, metalwork, marble, parquet, chandeliers and the mirrors – everything – was refurbished. The cleaning of the Le Brun ceiling paintings alone required 40 craftsmen. Remarkably, only 48 of the original 357 17th-century panes of mirror have been replaced. When it was necessary to do so, restorers used antique mirrors from the Senate palace in the Luxembourg Gardens. All of the room’s metalwork was re-gilded using 17th-century techniques.

Château de Versailles, open 9am-6:30pm/5:30 in winter daily except Mondays.
www.chateauversailles.fr

Hôtel du Panthéon

2008-06-30T10:54:00.003-04:00

Housed in a splendid 18th-century corner building opposite the Panthéon (5th arrondissement) and just steps from the Sorbonne and Luxembourg Gardens, the Hôtel du Panthéon is one of those top of the scale 3-star properties that provides good value for money. The decór leans toward Provence, and an added bonus is that the walls of both the rooms and corridors are upholstered in toile-du-juoy fabrics, making for a remarkably quiet hotel experience.
Rooms are small, but tastefully furnished, while the bathrooms are modern and relatively large. Closet space is tight, but some rooms have an added bonus of direct views of the Panthéon. All rooms are air conditioned. A minuscule elevator serves all 36 rooms, some of which have exposed ceiling beams. The entire hotel is non-smoking, and there is free Wi-Fi. There is no restaurant, but breakfast is served in the stone vaulted cellar. The handsome lobby doubles as a bar. Rates are about 200 Euros per room per night.
The hotel's distinguished wine-colored awnings beckon from the Town Hall of the 5th arrondissement located right across the side street.
Recently an episode of Coronation Street, the long-running British soap opera (first aired in 1960!), was shot on location in the lobby of the Hôtel du Panthéon (photo below).

This hotel was thoroughly refurbished and redecorated in 2001, and its next-door neighbor, the Hôtel des Grands Hommes, has the same ownership/management. See separate post and photo below.
The near-by (RER B-line) Luxembourg underground station connects to both Charles-de-Gaulle and Orly airports.
Hôtel du Panthéon
Métro: Luxembourg (RER B-line)

Photo below, taken from the dome of the Panthéon:
The sandstone building with the tall arched windows is the Town Hall of the 5th arrondissement. The white corner building with the wine-colored awning is the Hôtel du Panthéon:

This photo is the reverse view, looking at the dome of the Panthéon from the hotel windows:

Hôtel de Ville

2008-06-28T19:39:00.010-04:00

The Paris City Hall building (1533-1628), in French Renaissance style, was inspired by the Châteaux of the Loire Valley.

The Hôtel de Ville is the largest city hall in Europe. Located adjacent to the Seine (Right Bank) opposite the Île de la Cité, it has been the location of the Paris municipal offices since 1357. It serves multiple functions – housing the administration staff and the Mayor of Paris (since 1977), as well as a venue for important city receptions.
In July 1357, Étienne Marcel, provost of the merchants of Paris (i.e. mayor), bought a large building, known as the House of Pillars, for use as a city hall. It was located on the square next to the river port where wheat and wood were unloaded, then known as the Place de Grève (Square of the Strand). Parisians frequently gathered here, particularly for public executions.
In 1533, François I decided to endow Paris with a city hall which would be worthy of his capital, then the largest city of Europe. The House of Pillars was torn down and replaced by a magnificent Renaissance style city hall inspired by the Châteaux of the Loire Valley. Work on the building was not completed until 1628. As space became scarce over the centuries, two wings were added to the main building in 1835. They were linked to the original façade by a gallery.
On January 18, 1871, crowds gathered outside the building to protest against the speculated surrender to the Prussians, who had laid siege to Paris. Subsequently, revolutionaries demanding the formation of a commune (commons) style government set fire to the Hôtel de Ville, thus destroying almost all extant public records from the French Revolutionary period dating back to 1789. The blaze completely gutted the building, leaving only a stone shell.

The reconstruction of the building recycled the stone shell, but the interior was completely new, with ceremonial rooms lavishly decorated in the 1880s style.
The building has been the scene of a number of historic events, notably the proclamation of the French Third Republic in 1870 and the famous speech by Charles de Gaulle on August 25, 1944, during the Liberation of Paris, in which he greeted the crowds from a front window.
The statue on the south side of the building is of Étienne Marcel. He came to an inglorious end, lynched by an angry mob after trying to assert the city’s powers a bit too energetically. The current mayor, Bertrand Delanoë, a socialist and the city's first openly gay leader, almost shared his fate. He was stabbed inside the building in 2002 during the first all-night, city-wide Nuit Blanche (Sleepless Night) festival, when the long-inaccessible doors were thrown open to the public. But Delanoë recovered and has not lost his zeal for public access. He has since converted the opulent mayor’s private apartments into a day nursery for the children of municipal workers. The Mayor currently resides in his own personal residence in the Marais.
The vast masonry square in front of the building is given seasonal treatment. In winter, it is the site of a popular ice skating rink; in late summer tons of sand is imported for beach volleyball games. For the second year in a row a temporary garden has been installed (mid-June through mid-August, see photo below) as a reminder of the efforts the city is making to return thousands of acres of city property to green space.

These interior photos are by Jason Whittaker:

Jeu de Paume Mania

2008-06-28T01:06:00.000-04:00

Jeu de Paume traces its history as a sport back to the 11th century, when French monks played an early form of it, using the palms of their bare hands to volley cloth bags of hair and cork back and forth. Jeu de Paume means literally "game of palm." Over time the cloth bags gave way to balls, and wooden racquets were used for batting them.
Young nobles educated in monasteries brought the game home to their palaces and estates, and the sport caught on. Universities and entrepreneurs built courts, and by 1292 at least 13 Jeu de Paume ball manufacturers had set up shop in Paris.
The sport became a full-fledged craze, and Jeu de Paume mania conquered Paris. As the madness grew, attempts at containing it were common. In 1397 the chief magistrate of Paris forbade playing Jeu de Paume on any day but Sunday, because “tradesmen and common folk are quitting their jobs and their families in order to play Jeu de Paume during working hours.”
Though similar in ways to modern tennis, which derived from it, Jeu de Paume is a more complex and technical sport. Played on an indoor court featuring angled walls and netted windows, the game favors precision ball placement and mental strategies akin to chess. The game, then as now, features a sagging fringed rope "net."

When lawn tennis was simplified into its popular form in 1874, it appropriated the scoring system of Jeu de Paume, as well as some terminology. The word “tennis,” for example, derives from the old word “tenez” (in this usage meaning “here it comes!” or “let's play!”), which Jeu de Paume players shouted before each serve; the term “love” comes from “l'oeuf,” the French word for egg, as its oval shape represented zero.
Nearly all French royalty were familiar with the sport from the 13th century on, though no regent matched the enthusiasm of Henry II, who played daily at his palace court during his reign in the mid-16th century. Henry refused to allow deference for his royal status on the court, playing his games “clad in white, with white shoes also, and with a fine straw hat upon his head; when one sees him thus at his game one would scarcely realize that it is the king who is playing, for even his errors are openly discussed, and more than once he was taken to task.”
During this era, the French populace matched the royal obsession for Jeu de Paume: In 1600, a Venetian ambassador to Paris wrote that the city was home to more than 250 Jeu de Paume courts. An English visitor from that time noted that there were far more Jeu de Paume courts than churches in France.
Jeu de Paume even figured in Shakespeare's Henry V, first performed in 1599. Early in the play, the French Dauphin mockingly responds to Henry's claim on France by sending him a basket of Jeu de Paume playing balls.

Practicing one's back-hand (at right)

Jeu de Paume's gradual slide into obscurity began when fixed games and gambling scandals sullied its reputation in the late 17th century; it became marginalized into a purely aristocratic hobby. Disused courts around Paris were converted into synagogues, storerooms, gymnasiums, garages, sheep pens – and most notably theaters.
Old playing courts were particularly popular with performance troupes, and the origins of French public theater in Paume courts determined the elongated rectangular shape of theater designs well into the 18th century.
Molière's first plays were performed in converted Jeu de Paume facilities, causing Voltaire to shudder a century later at the notion “that for the first performances of Tartuffe there was no worthier accommodation than a Paume court, with the audience standing in the pit, and the dandies sitting amongst the actors on stage.”
During the French Revolution of 1789, the sport of Jeu de Paume almost vanished, since anything associated with the King was abolished. The very proclamation of the French Revolution became known as the "Oath of the Jeu de Paume Court" (Le Serment du Jeu de Paume), because the venue chosen for this announcement was the Royal Jeu de Paume Court at Versailles.
However, the game has managed to retain a small number of ardent followers and is especially popular in England. World titles in the sport were first competed in 1740 and continue to the present day, making Jeu de Paume men’s singles the oldest continuous championship event in sports.
Today the indoor game is referred to by English speakers as "court tennis," and there are fewer than 50 venues available for playing it worldwide. There are but ten court tennis facilities in the U.S. The newest, constructed in 1997, is located in McLean, VA (a suburb of Washington, DC).
Since the game favors strategy over brawn, a particularly agile and cunning player can dominate the game for years. Perhaps the most storied player of the game was Frenchman Edmond Barre, who retained the world championship a record 33 years, from 1829 to 1862. A flamboyant character, Barre would walk as many as 20 miles to play an exhibition match; he ALWAYS won. When invited to play in England, his terms were “fees and expenses, plus two wenches a day.” Indeed. Sometimes, when bored with the abilities of his opponent, Barre would handicap himself by playing an entire match with the umpire perched atop his shoulders. I kid you not.

Hôtel du Jeu de Paume

There is a tourist hotel on the Île St-Louis that is partly housed in an old Jeu de Paume court. A glass elevator that ascends to the bedrooms affords guests a stunning view of the full height of the playing court, the floor of which serves as the breakfast room. Note that the painting above the sideboard illustrates a 17th century Jeu de Paume match.

Church of St-Germain-des-Prés

2008-06-26T01:21:00.000-04:00

The 1,000 year old church of St-Germain-des-Prés gives its name to an entire neighborhood. The Romanesque church was once the center of a massive and powerful Benedictine monastery that covered thousands of acres along the Left Bank (today's 6th and 7th arrondissements). The abbey itself was founded in 558, and the bell tower pictured above is the oldest standing intact religious structure in all of Paris.

Today St-Germain is one of the most expensive, fashionable and trendy sectors of the city. Gone are the days when Hemingway rented rooms here for a pittance, and existential philosophers Sartre and de Beauvoir kept warm by sitting next to the stoves all day long in the literary cafés.

Famous landmarks just outside the church doors still draw tourists – The Café de Flor, Brasserie Lipp, Les Deux Magots – and the area is still the heart of publishing and government, which occupy many an impressive neighborhood mansion, known as a Hôtel Particulier.

The once powerful and mighty abbey, which had its own prison and hospital, was decimated during the French Revolution to the point that only the abbey church survives to this day. Most people regard the Place de la Concorde as being the principal location of bloodshed and violence during the Revolution, when in fact some of the bloodiest events of that era took place in the square right in front of this church.

The etching shown at right, dating from 1551, shows the church, prison and abbey with their fortifications (click to enlarge). Because it was outside of Paris at the time it was built, Saint-Germain-des-Prés was responsible for its own defense. Twice during the ninth century the abbey was sacked and burned by Viking invaders. For this reason, the abbey was surrounded by a wall with towers and a moat.

The church we see standing today has interior walls and ceilings that are handsomely painted and gilded (see photo), as were all the churches of Paris at one time. One can’t help but imagine similar decoration at Notre-Dame cathedral, whose entire facade and interior were once brightly painted and gilded .

In the 6th century, the church and abbey were known as Saint-Vincent and Sainte-Croix. Merovingian King Childebert built the abbey of Saint Vincent as a shrine to house relics of the saint as well as a jewel-encrusted cross that was reported to have been made for King Solomon. The abbey church, built on the site of a former temple to the Egyptian god Isis, was a magnificent basilica whose exterior was clad in gilded copper and gold mosaics; the interior sported marble columns and gilded rafters. All that gold led to the moniker Saint-Germain-le-Doré (doré = golden).

Germain, the Bishop of Paris, encouraged the king to build the abbey, and soon after his death, Germain was canonized as St. Germain of Auxerre.

The abbey church became the burial place for Merovingian kings until 639 (thereafter French Kings were buried at the Basilica of St. Denis, north of Paris, up until the French Revolution). Two hundred years after Saint Germain's death the church was renamed in his honor, as the church of St-Germain-des-Prés.

Before the area around St-Germain-des-Prés was inhabited, the terrain was that of a great prairie, from which the abbey took its name. “St-Germain des Prés,” literally “Saint Germain of the fields,” distinguishes it from “St-Germain l’Auxerrois,” opposite the Louvre (see separate post), also named in honor of the bishop of Auxerre.

For hundreds of years the monastery remained separate from the city of Paris and its governance, under direct control of the Pope, instead. When Philippe Auguste built his great wall around Paris in 1193, the monastery remained outside it, and the abbey had legal jurisdiction over the village that had grown up around it. In fact, the riches of the abbey approached those of the city of Paris itself, causing the successive kings to keep a close eye on what was regarded as a rival to their power.

When the university left the grounds of Notre-Dame on the Ile de la Cité and moved to the Left Bank in what is now the neighboring 5th arrondissement, there arose perennial conflicts between those students and the monks from the St-Germain abbey. The students were noisy, disturbing the monks; they trespassed on the abbey's property that had been deemed off limits, and they disturbed the peace of the local residents of the village that had grown up around the abbey, often leading to retaliation. These hostilities sometimes led to violent conflict.

In 1278 the abbey built some houses that blocked a path the students customarily used when traveling from the Latin Quarter to access sporting fields along the Seine, just north of the abbey. The students took it upon themselves to dismantle these structures, and the abbey retaliated with an armed attack, killing two of the students and injuring many more. Several were taken prisoner and cast into the abbey's dungeon (located on the site of the present-day Hotel Madison at 143, blvd. Saint-Germain). The other students appealed to both the king and the city's papal representative for retribution, receiving a sympathetic response. Both Rome and the French king were only too happy to censor the arrogance of the rich and powerful abbey. From then on the students maintained legal rights to use their beloved sporting fields, known as the Pré aux Clercs.

During the 16th century the authorities of Saint-Germain abbey dealt with the protestant Huguenots by capturing and torturing them; those who refused to deny their heretical faith under torture had their tongues pulled out and were subsequently burned alive on the square in front of the abbey church.

During the French Revolution the abbey was seized, looted and largely destroyed, and the once mighty monastery reached the end of its 1,200-year history. The church's prison was filled to overflowing with enemies of the revolution, hundreds of whom were slaughtered in the abbey's courtyard or on the square in front of the church (now the corner of Rue Bonaparte and Blvd. Saint-Germain). This activity reached its peak in September, 1792. Shortly thereafter the abbey's great library burned down in 1794.

Although the church of Saint-Germain was eventually reconsecrated after the Revolution, its status was reduced to that of a mere parish church. Its once vast tracts of land were reduced to the abbey church itself and an adjacent garden. These days many people enter the church of Saint-Germain to attend concerts and organ recitals. Others seek out the tomb of René Descartes, buried in one of the church's side chapels. However, few modern-day visitors are aware of the mighty and turbulent past of the abbey of Saint-Germain.

Paris Street Signs

2008-06-25T13:39:00.000-04:00

Before 1728 there were no street signs in Paris (or very few). From this date onward, however, it became compulsory for the owners of the first and last house of each street to engrave the street name onto their buildings. In 1806 Napoleon passed a law saying that street names should not be engraved, but painted. By 1847 the paint was gone (and so was Napoleon), and the local authorities turned to a well proven technique: porcelain enamel. This is the method used to this day, even for new streets.

Dog Poop

2008-06-24T14:00:00.001-04:00

There are about 200,000 dogs kept as pets in Paris, and they produce 16 tons of poop every day (not a typo). The situation has improved in recent years, since a fine of 183 Euros per infraction has been enacted. Dog owners are now more disciplined - thanks to signs like this: “I like my neighborhood, so I pick up after my dog.” Nowadays walking along the sidewalks of Paris yields fewer unpleasant surprises than before.