Paris: Parks

As much as I loved all the famous sights of Paris, one of my favourite things about being in that city were the incredible parks. Paris has so many lovely parks. They vary is size and landscape but each one is well loved and greatly visited. Especially when the weather was as bright, hot and beautiful as when we visited.

During our stay in Paris, we tried to take in as many parks as possible, though two parks quickly became favorites: The Luxembourg Gardens and Buttes-Chaumont.

The Luxembourg Gardens are right down the street from Joe’s school and are quintessential French gardens. Perfectly landscaped, with sculptures, fountains, and green space throughout. It’s also home to tennis courts, pony rides, bandstand and the Luxembourg Palace. While I loved this park as a whole, there were a few aspects that particularly captured my heart.

At this large fountain, children can float these small sailboats. They are not motorized; rather, the child is given a long reed stick with which to gently prod the boat along.

Fountain in Luxembourg Gardens

Miniature sail boats

At this pavilion, groups of people gather for games of chess! It’s absolutely fantastic to watch. While most of the participants were older men, there was a fabulous range of ages and “looks.” Everyone seemed to have such an enthusiasm for the game and crowds would often form around the two players watching.

Chess games in action!

And, really who wouldn’t fall in love with a park full of sights like these:

Flowers and Sculpture in Luxembourg Gardens

Crowds enjoying music at the Bandstand

(Luxembourg Gardens)

A couple dancing at the Bandstand

(Luxembourg Gardens)

Luxembourg Palace

Gardens in front of the Luxembourg Palace

My other favourite park was out of the main tourist area; this did not diminish the crowds but did give a much more authentic Parisian feel. The Buttes Chaumont is a park we only discovered because it was just around the corner from our flat. Some of the best features of this park are the large hill in the centre of the island, the stream that runs throughout the park and the large waterfall hidden in a small cave. All are beautiful and….every aspect is man-made! Nothing in this part is naturally occurring which, strangely, doesn’t detract from the beauty. Every time we went to the Buttes-Chaumont it was packed full of people picnicking, sun-bathing, taking pony rides and walking the paths. There was also a darling, traditional puppet theatre for the children.

Picnicking Parisians!

(Our favorite picnic spot)

The Waterfall

Besides these beauties, we enjoyed several other gardens and parks, such as The Tuilerie, a beautiful space is just outside the main plaza of the Louvre and was once part of the Tuileries Palace. My favorite part about this garden were the sculptures (some by the likes of Rodin!) spread throughout. I still can't get over priceless statues displayed in a public place like that. I think it's fabulous! (Click here to see a Pissarro painting of the Tuileries and here to see one by Manet).

Entry Gate to the Tuileries

The main fountain in the Tuileries A summer carnival set up in a far corner of the garden

The Place des Vosages: This sweet little square garden is the centre of a set of buildings--one of which was the one time home of Victor Hugo. After a lovely visit to his home and the associated museum, we enjoyed a splash in the fountains and a rest on the lawn.

Looking onto one of the surrounding buildings

It seems that no matter what day, or time of day, you happen into a park you will be greeted by scores of people also enjoying the surroundings. And, a main activity in the parks seems to be picque-niques (picnics)! Wanting to take in the culture as much as possible, we decided to enjoy a few picnics ourselves, in parks and other fun outdoor areas.

The Champs de Mars is the park surrounding the Eiffel Tower. Along with our friends, Ian and Lauren, we enjoyed a picnic dinner, followed by cards before it got dark and we were able to see the tower all lit up!

Champs de Mars around 6:30pm

Champs de Mars around 9:00pm

Look at all the people!

Also near to our flat, was the Canal St. Martin. During the daytime, this waterside was pretty empty save for a few walkers and bikers on their way to a shop, market, or work. But, this place really comes alive at night, with people laughing, picnicking, playing bocci-ball and table tennis and just enjoying a very festive atmosphere. Not wanting to miss out on this, we enjoyed a great evening with our friends Josh and Alicia along the Canal one night.

Alicia, Joe and Josh along the Canal

Picnics along the Seine seem to be quite popular and we joined the crowds with a few evening meals along the banks of the River. One of the most interesting nights, though, was when we met up with a group of friends a bit further down the Seine for a picnic and dancing! Sadly, none of us were brave enough to jump into the dancing, but we did enjoy the music and watching others participate (apparently, this Dance en Plein Air is a nightly event!)

Dancing

The Music Makers

Spectators

Joe, Lauren, Simon, Marilyn, Ian, Alicia and Josh

[fun side note, we didn’t actually know Simon, Marilyn or Andy (not pictured above) before this trip. As we were making our way through the Ryan Air boarding line one our way to Paris—at 6:30am—we noticed Simon and Marilyn whom we recognized from New College. They were headed to Paris for a short vacation and so joined us in line and we enjoyed chatting throughout the whole flight with them. When we landed we happened upon Andy in baggage claim and the 5 of us made our way into Paris—1.5 hours on bus and metro—together. After a day of travel and dinner that night, we were so happy to have made these new friends!]

New friends after a great first day in Paris

Joe, Simon, Marilyn, and Andy

I think I’ve said this before, but one of my favourite aspects of the European culture--which seems to be consistently true throughout our travels—is the less harried, hurried way of life. Don’t get me wrong, Europeans work hard, but that workaholic tendency, the long hours in the office, the constantly rushing way of life that is so normal in the US just does not seem to exist. Sure, there are workaholics everywhere, but it just isn’t the norm. People in Europe take time to enjoy others, to enjoy their food, to enjoy their surroundings and--for me anyway--no place was that more evident than in the parks. It’s been educational for me to learn to slow down and take things in. It’s a welcome change and I don’t at all mind the chance to practice in places like these!

Monumnets, Museums, and Churches...Oh My!

I'm forgetting the exact number, but I read somewhere that Paris is home to an extraordinary number of museums and monuments. Something like over 180, not including churches. It's really enough to keep someone busy--and walking a ton--for a good period of time!

We didn't make it to everything but did manage to get to a lot of the famous sites. Most will probably be pretty familiar to you....

The Eiffel Tower: What's a trip to Paris without a few trips to the Eiffel Tower? We didn't go to the top, but enjoyed a few strolls around the park and a picnic dinner one evening. The tower was originally built in 1889 for that year's world's fair. Apparently people thought the Eiffel Tower was pretty awful and wanted it removed after the fair...obviously public opinion changed as this is the world's most visited, paid, monument (attracting nearly 7 million visitors in one year).


Hotel des Invalides: Commissioned by King Louis the XIV, the Hotel des Invalides was built as a hospital and retirement community for war veterans. Although it now houses the Musee de L'Armee (the military museum), it still has a wing that continues to serve as a hospital for veterans. The big dome is part of the royal chapel and is now home to vaults and tombs of many French military figures, most notably Napolean Bonaparte.


Arc de Triomphe: Built as a monument to honor those who fought for France. There is a tomb of the unknown soldier underneath the arc, marked by an eternal flame (also apparently the inspiration for the eternal flame on President Kennedy's grave). The Arc de Triomphe is at the end of the Champs Elysees and is in the centre of the convergence of 12 different streets, all forming a massive roundabout (and a reported driving nightmare). Interestingly, the Arc is so big that a French pilot flew his biplane through the arc after WWI.


Place de la Concorde: At the other end of the Champs Elyseses is the Place de la Concorde. Originally, and currently, a pleasant city square, it was used as the location of the guillotine during the French Revolution. Marie Antionette, among many others, was executed on this plaza. Where the guillotine once stood is now the Luxor Obelisk, a 3300 year old Egyptian Obelisk that once stood in front of the Luxor Temple in Egypt and was gifted to France in the 1800s.


Notre Dame: Commissioned in 1160, this amazing Gothic Cathedral was not completed until the mid 1200s. This is truly one of the most awe-inspiring churches I have seen. The architectural design is stunning and made only more impressive to consider that it was entirely built without the assistance of any powerful, modern machinery. The detailing is exquisite and one can just imagine men perched on scaffolding high above the ground chiseling out these magnificent designs.


The Bastille: Although the actual fortress-prison was demolished in 1789, there is a monument here to commemorate the location of the famous "Storming of the Bastille."


In addition to these famous sights, we also enjoyed a few lesser known places as well:

Hotel de Ville (City Hall)
Les Jardin des Plantes (the Botanical Gardens)

Part of the Louvre

Musee de Carnavalet (Museum of the City of Paris)

Musee de Carnavalet

Bust of Victor Hugo, by Rodin
Housed in the Maison Victor Hugo, a great museum and the former home of the renowed Hugo

L'Eglise de la Madeline

Eglise Saint-Augustin de Paris

Just a small taste of some of the beautiful monuments, churches, and museums that cover Paris. Tell me....if you've been to Paris, whats your favorite monument/church/museum? If you haven't been, what's the place you'd most like to see?

Paris: Academia

Our trip to Paris wasn't just about visiting museums and monuments, eating great food, and taking in the sights and sounds of the city, but was also meant to be an opportunity for Joe to further develop his French (via daily, three hour classes). But, with Paris having a long history in academia, including the study of theology, there were several areas that offered a nice juxtoposition of these dual purposes for our visit.


The Latin Quarter, nearby to the Institut Catholique (where Joe was studying), is home to many institutions of higher education. At the heart of this district is the Sorbonne. Originially, this was the heart of the University of Paris argued to have been the first university in the world having been established in the 1100s. In 1970, however, the University of Paris came to an end and 13 separate universities were established (each centred on a particular field of study).


Today, the Sorbonne holds offices of some notable people, including Jean-Luc Marion. While you have likely not heard of Monsieur Marion, he is renowned in our household as Joe has studied him extensively and is a big fan. So, you can imagine his surprise when, as we were walking in front of the Sorbonne one afternoon, Professor Marion happened to also be out strolling. Had you seen Joe, you would have thought Brad Pitt was walking down the street--after debating a few moments, Joe approached him and they spoke briefly. It was truly a highlight of the day, if not the trip (at least for Joe). I, sadly, didn't get a picture (I thought that might be weird) but it's definitely an image I'll have in my head forever.


The Sorbonne is a beautiful building, though you apparently cannot tour inside. We did, however, enjoy several hours walking around visitng bookstores and finding fun little streets. Among Joe's favorite streets were:

Another favorite philosopher

Another common name in our home

We found a great philosophy book store, just at the bottom of the steps of the Sorbonne. The books were in English and French and provided Joe with a prime place to peruse and dream!

Ian and Joe outside the Philosophy Bookstore

We also visited a great English (as in the language) bookshop, just off the Seine, near the Latin Quarter: Shakespeare and Company. This is a fabulous bookshop, if not for their selection for the really unique atmosphere. It's a small shop piled floor to ceiling with new and used books (all mixed together). On the second floor, there are a couple of beds, workspaces and even a piano randomly scattered. Apparently, if you are an aspiring writer working on a piece, you can live here free in exchange for a few hours labor each day. Loved it! There was also a great terrace out front where you could sit and read (and eat, and talk, and smoke, and drink and play music, and listen).

Shakespeare and Company

Paris: Art

Paris is renowned for it's many art museum and fabulous art collections. It would be hard to imagine a trip to Paris without at least a few stops in some of these world famous museums.

First on our list was the Musee D'Orsay which was originally a train station built for the 1900 World's Fair. Now, it is a beautiful museum, showcasing an impressive collection of impressionist and post-impressionist masterpieces. It was really inspiring to see, up close, some works that we've only ever heard of or seen in books. Really beautiful.

Musee D'Orsay, from the river

Inside the museum

From there, we headed to the Musee de L'Orangerie on the suggestion of a friend who told us this was the museum with the Monets. Since we'd seen so many Monet's at the Musee D'Orsay, we weren't sure what to expect and were absolutely stunned to walk into the two main galleries to see 8 massive water lily murals. Honestly, I never knew these existed, and we were so taken with them. Apparently Monet painted these 8 pieces over the course of 12 years and gifted them to the city of Paris so that his fellow countrymen would be able to escape the desperation left behind from the first world war and find solace and peace amidst these beautiful and serene paintings.

Water Lillies Mural

Up close with the Water Lillies

On Bastille Day, we took advantage of the free admission and made our way to the Louvre, one of the world's most famous and largest (over 650,000 square feet) art museums. The museum was actually a palace built during the Renaissance (and added to by many of the later monarchs) or a site dating back to the middle ages The museum, which opened in 1793, apparently only displays 10% of their collection at one time and we've heard that it could take anywhere from several months to a year (depending on how long you look at each piece) to see every item in the Louvre. We spent about 7 hours there and barely scratched the surface. Although, we actually both liked the other museums a bit better (both in terms of collections and manageability) it was stunning to see some of the world's most famous paintings and sculptures: Venus de Milo, Psyche and Cupid, the Winged Victory of Samothrace, the Mona Lisa, the Wedding Feast of Cana, the Coronation of Napolean, Botticelli's frescoes, and the simply massive collection of Jean Paul Reubens.

The Louvre

Even the interior of the building is breathtaking

Botticelli

The Winged Victory

Psyche and Cupid

Napolean III's apartments, within the Louvre

Our trip to the Louvre was extra special because we got to spend the morning with some Edinburgh friends and randomly met a lovely Swedish girl in the afternoon who walked around the collections with me (while Joe took a break) and visited with us in the gardens afterwards. A fun and unexpected friendship!

Anyone who knows me knows I don't have a well developed appreciation for modern art. There is just something so meaningful and timeless about these classic masterpieces, not to mention the tremendous skill and the stories behind them, that captivates me in a way more modern art typically does not. No doubt we missed some amazing things, especially in the Louvre (and we missed the Musee Rodin entirely--we were just so exhausted by the end), but we truly loved every minute we spent in these iconic museums!

**special note: it is permitted to take non-flash photographs in the Louvre and the Musee de L'Orangerie. I was surprised, and didn't take many, but the pictures I posted were taken within the limits of the posted rules!