The City of Light, Paris, France
While in between jobs and both kids being away at college, we decided to take a 3 month sabbatical. And what better place to start out the trip than Paris! Being from Belgium, this was not our first visit so besides revisiting a few famous museums and monuments, we planned on spending time on more unusual experiences.
A Large Dose of Art
The Louvre
Say Paris and many will picture museums. Whether you like the classics, contemporary art, architecture, Monet or Manet, Paris offers a gallery for each!
With its iconic pyramid, the Louvre is probably the most visited museum in the world. It is a vast place that houses more than 35,000 art works! Needless to say we spend several hours here. We were pleasantly surprised that we didn’t have to stand in line too long. Granted, we had purchased timed tickets online but even then the line was fairly short. Surely it had to do with the season.
We decided to simply stroll through the galleries and enjoy the art. One of the highlights for me was seeing Leonardo Da Vinci’s La Gioconda, better known as The Mona Lisa. How marvelous it was to be able to admire this masterpiece up close! No binos needed this time! Ok, I’m exaggerating, but in the past I had only been able to see this painting from afar due to the crowds. When I focussed on the eyes, the woman’s mouth was in my peripheral vision and because of the shaded cheekbones, I was confronted with that mysterious smile everybody talks about. But when I looked at the mouth, the smile seemed to disappear and transform into a sad expression. It left me to wonder if Mrs. Gherardini was really sad or merely pondering a thought.
I was fascinated by the sheer vastness of the painting The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I. (10 m by 6 m) But then again, a tiny and simple painting was probably out of the question for Napoleon! The painting depicts Napoleon I crowning his wife Josephine. In an honorable place in the middle of the spectacle, Napoleon’s mother is portrayed, despite her not attending the coronation because she did not approve of it. It shows how important his mother was to him.
Vermeer’s The Lacemaker was also a favorite of mine because of the incredibly accurate portrayal of the art of lacemaking. Additionally, I found the artist to be very ingenious in creating depth of field by painting certain areas of the canvas out of focus. How creative!
The Winged Victory of Samothrace is described as one of the greatest Hellenistic statues ever found and it made a huge impression on me. (Literally! The statue is 244 cm or 8 ft tall!) This original masterpiece was not only created to honor the goddess Nike (Victory), but also to commemorate a naval battle. I couldn't help but feel that this mythical creature had just descended on the prow of the ship right in front of my eyes.
We ended up meandering through the Louvre for about 4 hours. Needless to say a cup of tea and a cappuccino were very welcoming!
Musée d’Orsay
Musée d’Orsay was not originally built as a museum. In fact it was constructed as a train station for the 1900 World Fair. Both the Gare d’Orsay and the attached hotel showcase a stunning Art Nouveau architecture. But it wasn’t until 1986 that this beautiful building was turned into a museum that now houses the world’s largest collection of impressionist masterpieces.
With so many works by my favorite artist, Claude Monet, I was in heaven! The spontaneous, rapid, loose brushstrokes that capture the fleeting moments just left me in awe. I simply could not get enough of this place! The London Parliament and The Promenade were definitely my favorite works because of the brilliant capture of the sunlight by using contrasting colors directly applied to the canvas, leaving most brushstrokes very visible.
The Belgian painter Theo Van Rysselberghe’s L’homme å la barre caught my attention. This painting brought back so many childhood memories of summers spend at the Belgian coast. It reminded me of shrimp fishermen dressed in their bright yellow slickers, long rubber boots and southwesters, seated on a Brabant draft horse, dragging a shrimp net through the surf. In all honesty, it was probably the hat that stirred up the memories. I read that Emile Verhaeren, a famous poet from my hometown (What are the odds!) introduced Van Rysselberghe to the works of Seurat, which greatly influenced his art.
I couldn’t walk past the several Van Gogh’s without taking a picture. I decided I liked Bedroom in Arles the best because of the very bright and playful colors, which I later learned was actually not the original coloration as over the years the painting brightened due to aging. Van Gogh decorated his bedroom in a very simple style by using large white furniture and hanging his own pictures on the wall. The perspective in the painting is off because Van Gogh deliberately “flattened” the interior and left out shadows to make it look like a Japanese print. If you ask me, the whole picture looks a little strange but who am I to judge? I merely go by what I love at first sight. But isn’t that what Monet once said?
“Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love.”
Musée Marmottan Monet
In the basement, this small quaint museum houses a remarkable collection of works by Claude Monet. Here, I could revel in the master’s lesser known works. Aaaaah what a great few hours it was!
One of the famous works on display is Monet’s Impression Sunrise, the painting that gave Impressionism its name. Monet exhibited this work at the First ImpressionistExhibition in Paris. A group of about 30 artists, including Monet, had decided to host their own exhibition because they were fed up with the restrictions and the politics of the formal art salons. Critics sarcastically called Monet’s work “an impression” because in their eyes, the painting wasn’t finished. Little did they know the label would stick forever.
The Marmottant Museum houses several works by the first woman impressionist, Berthe Morisot. Unlike her male colleagues, she sold relatively few works and is therefore lesser known. Morisot was married to Eugène Manet, brother to her friend and fellow painter Edouard Manet. Most of Morisot’s paintings depicted private intimate scenes and I was wondering if that was a reflection of the restrictions of her class back then. The use of shades of white instead of bright contrasting colors also stood out. But I felt attracted to the simplicity of it all.
We enjoyed our time in this small and lesser known museum. It was definitely worth a visit, albeit the fact that the upper level was closed for remodeling. Now we have an excuse to come back someday.
A Poem Just For Me
One lazy afternoon, we were strolling on the Seine’s left bank and spotted a quaint little bookstore named Shakespeare and Company. Who would have thought to find an English language bookstore right there, opposite of Notre Dame? As an avid reader, I could not simply pass this little gem.
The original store was founded in 1919 by Sylvia Beach, who turned it into a popular hangout for foreign writers like Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald as well as for established French authors. She had to close shop during World War II and never reopened. However, another American, George Whitman, was inspired by Mrs. Beach and opened the present-day store in 1951. Word has it that aspiring writers sleep here on benches and cots in exchange for helping out at the store.
“Be Not Inhospitable to Strangers Lest They Be Angels in Disguise.”
Upon entering through the narrow green door, I felt like I stepped into another world, a world of a Paris long gone, until I walked into the first small room and was confronted with the pile of tourists in front of me. Gone was the nostalgic feeling and the urge to browse the many books crammed into every little nook and cranny and covering the countless shelves and benches. Instead of spending hours here, I couldn’t leave quickly enough!
Readings often take place inside or outside the store, but today, we encountered Leo Skala, a traveling poet, who sets up his mechanical typewriter and creates poems for people walking by. And just like that, in less than fifteen minutes and after asking me a few questions, he created a poem just for me.
To mull over this new treasure and to try and understand the depth of the writing, we bought a cuppa and slice of pie at the cafe next door. I couldn’t have imagined a more perfect way to end this beautiful day.
Culinary Delights
One of the experiences we both thoroughly enjoyed was a food tour through Montmartre. Perched on top of a hill, this Parisian area has kept its village like atmosphere throughout the years. It’s a melting pot of art, romantic terraces, bars, and gourmet cooking. What better place to do a food tour than in this quaint mystical area!
One late afternoon, we met up with our guide, Emmanuel, who created a very memorable tour by mixing history, culture, tasting, personal experiences, and of course information about French foods. We started out at Rue d’Orsel and visited Chocolaterie Georges Larnicol, a winner of the Meilleur Ouvrier de France, a prestigious artisan competition held every four years. Chocolatiers create beautiful chocolate masterpieces within a given time allotment, following specified rules. Georges Larnicol won the title with his stunning Notre Dame sculpture. More creations were on display and every single one was mind blowing!
After admiring all the chocolate showpieces, each member of our small tour group was allowed to pick out 2 chocolate candies. My favorites were by far the rochers, dark chocolate covered orange peels and almonds, while Bert preferred the chocolate covered cherries. And then, of course, there was also the classic nut and raisin mixture melted in dark chocolate. Yum!
We continued along the same road and visited a macarons shop. Apparently, macarons are originally Italian. The difference between the French and Italian kinds is in the way the meringue is made. The French whip egg whites until stiff peaks are formed while the Italians add a hot syrup to the egg white. In France macarons consist of two cookies to which a delicious filling is added. I decided to sample the pistachio filling in addition to the hand made lavender and apricot filling. The latter was absolutely scrumptious!
From here, we walked downhill to a bakery. I learned that it is better to buy bread and pastries at a store that is a boulangerie as well as a patisserie because that means all pastries and breads are baked on site and not imported from a large factory like bakery. That was good to know for our future morning shopping trips!
Emmanuel guided us through the actual bakery where we could witness the creation of the two types of baguettes. The ‘tradition’, or traditional baguette, is partly made of wheat flour, is richer and has a longer fermentation process than a regular baguette. That’s why, after it is baked, it has many ‘bubbles’ inside. It smelled so good inside that bakery that I could linger here forever!
Our guide bought baguettes, quiche aux poireaux (quiche with pears), tarte fine (tart made with sun dried tomatoes), crêpes, éclairs au chocolat, and croissants. I learned that there are two types of croissants: the straight butter croissant and the crescent shaped regular croissant. The butter croissant is by far my favorite as it is much richer and more flavorful than its regular counterpart. The crescent shaped croissant comes with a fun story though. Croissants were invented in Vienna and legend has it that, when the city was under siege by the Ottoman’s in the late 17th century, the Ottomans tried digging a tunnel under the city walls in the wee hours of the morning. That was the time when bakers were hard at work firing up their ovens to start baking the daily bread. The chefs found out what was going on and notified the authorities who took action and stopped the siege. To celebrate their victory, the bakers created a special crescent shaped pastry that represented the symbol on the Ottoman’s flag. Many years later, when this pastry made it to France, the French called it a croissant, which translates as crescent.
A little further down the street we walked past a fruit store and purchased raspberries and red currants. I coudn’t remember the last time I ate currants. They are not readily available where I live now, but I grew up eating these rather tart, small, red berries. I couldn’t wait to sample them at the end of the tour!
The little piece of heaven, uh I mean fromagerie (cheese shop) was next. We tasted sheep cheese inside the store and purchased Comté, an unpasteurized, hard, cow’s milk cheese in addition to Selles-sur Cher, a rich goat cheese with a grey, like ash looking rind that is supposed to be eaten. In fact it is frowned upon in France if one cuts of the rind of any cheese, unless it’s plastic.
I couldn’t wait to try the Camembert we purchased. Together with Epoisses, it is my favorite cheese. Yes, for me, the stinkier the cheese, the better! Emmanuel taught us the proper way to identify the ripeness of a Camembert. It’s not rocket science, really. Simply open the box and smell the cheese. It’s that simple! The smellier and the more convex the cheese shape, the riper it is. I secretly hoped that the one we were going to purchase was not concave at all.
To round out our cheese platter for that evening, we ended up purchasing Roquefort and Brillat Savarin, a truffle cheese, too. I was growing hungrier and hungrier by the minute!
A visit to the boulangerie (butcher)/charcuterie was last. We tried delicious pork sausage and purchased poireaux (pears) en vinaigrette, jambon (ham) de Savoie, pâté de champagne, and saucisse à l’ail (salami with garlic). We were in for a delicious meal and I could hardly hide my excitement!
After our 3 hour sampling and shopping spree, we ended up at a typical old, small house where we were guided into an old wine cellar via a narrow and steep staircase. We sat family style at a long table, sipped French wine and devoured all the delicious foods we purchased on our walk. It was terrific! I realized I was going to miss all these delicatessen once back in the US. Luckily, I had another few weeks to enjoy these fine foods.
After our meal, we strolled through Montmartre and walked down the hill to Pigall. the red-light district with the famous Moulin Rouge and the many sex shops. The stores are quite explicit and it made me realize how stark the cultural difference is between the prude Americans and the very liberal French. We descended the metro stairs and rode back to our apartment. What a wonderful afternoon it had been!
Five Hundred Years Leonardo
The year 2019 marked the 500 year anniversary of Leonardo Da Vinci’s death and the Louvre, which carries the largest collection of works in the world by this artist, decided to gather as many of Da Vinci’s works as possible to create a one of a kind exhibit. In fact, having so many of this master’s works under one roof had never happened before.
There are 15 known paintings of Leonardo Da Vinci and 12 of them were on display. The Mona Lisa was kept in its usual spot at the Louvre, and the other two missing works were The Lady with the Ermine and THE Salvator Mundi. Under no circumstances were we to miss this event!
The exhibit started out with drawings of Leonardo when he was still a student under the noted painter and sculpture Andrea del Verrochio. Most works displayed shadow and highlight studies of the way a piece of cloth folds and drapes. Because of the drawings being so small and a large group of people had just entered, it was incredibly difficult to admire the pieces.
Once we moved along, the crowd dispersed and it became a lot more pleasant to navigate the exhibit. Luckily we had an audio guide that explained us all about the infrared reflectograms. The museum uses this technique of taking an image from beneath the surface of a painting’s paint to reveal any drawings underneath. Honestly, I would not have been able to identify any differences between the reflectogram and the original work, were it not for the explanation on the audio guide. I have to admit that it was neat to see the artist’s initial drafts and how he ended up perfecting his compositions.
In the painting Virgin and Child or The Benois Madonna as it also known, the reflectogram clearly showed the original structure of the room. Look at the canopy of Mary’s bed on the top left! It definitely doesn’t show in the finished painting!
In between the famous painting, we could admire the many sketches and drawings used by Da Vinci as studies before actually creating a painting on canvas or wood paneling. It was funny to see that very inch of every piece of paper was used. I later learned that back then, paper was incredibly expensive and that’s why artists utilized every scrap they could lay their hands on.
I was attracted to The Virgin of the Rocks because of the peaceful setting and the motherly love it radiates. The backdrop reminded me of the Mona Lisa’s and I remembered I read somewhere that Leonardo Da Vinci made use of this technique to add depth and dimensions to his paintings.
The Virgin of the Rocks was originally commissioned for the Son Francesco Grande Church in Milan but after a financial disputer erupted, the painting was sold to a private buyer. Surrounding this masterpiece were many of the detailed study sketches. I was intrigued by the depth and the beauty of these examinations.
My absolute favorite part of the exhibit was the display of Da Vinci’s scientific notebooks. What an incredible collection of his vast collection of notes and studies of the natural and physical world! The amount of details and accuracy in the drawings was simply astonishing! Many of his notes were written in mirror image cursive and one theory claims that this was Leonardo’s way of keeping his hands clean and not smudging the ink. After all, he was a lefty.
Leonardo often created workable designs for machines that would not be realized for centuries! Sure enough, the design for a helicopter was readily available on one of the vellums on display. How amazing!
“He was like a man who woke up too early in the darkness, while the others were still asleep.”
Asphalt and Rubber
Behind our apartment was a rental bike station and we were both very eager to try out a bike tour through Paris. Today was a sunny albeit chilly day so it was perfect for a bike ride. We had the option of picking an electric or regular bike and because there was only one electric bike left, I hurried to claim that one. Bert was training for a mini triathlon anyways so a regular bike was perfect for him. It was as good an excuse as any because under no circumstance was I going to give up that last electric bike!
We started our tour along the Seine’s Rive Gauche (left side of the river) and it was very pleasant to bike here as this area is car free and mainly flat.
We made our way to Champ de Mars, the park surrounding the Eiffel Tower. It was still early and the park was fairly empty, which was really nice because it gave us the opportunity to shoot a few cute Eiffel Tower pictures.
Our next stop was the most ornate bridge in Paris, built for the 1900 World Fair: Pont Alexandre III. It’s probably one of the most iconic bridges in the city.
Our stomachs started to rumble a bit and we decided to stop at a snack shack along the banks of the Seine. We devoured a hot chocolate and a delicious Belgian waffle. That hit the spot!
On our way to Notre Dame, we pedaled past Musée d’Orsay and the Louvre. It was right about here that we had to start riding on the street. I was a little bit apprehensive but found out quickly that Paris has amazing bike lanes that are separated from the through traffic. Besides a stoplight here and there, we were flying! Restoration work was still in full swing at the Cathedral de Notre Dame and the building was surrounded by scaffolding and construction cranes. Visiting was strictly prohibited. Not that I was keen on visiting yet another church or museum. I was honestly a bit done with it all and enjoyed just cruising by.
We now crossed the Seine and made our way to Place de la Bastille, the place where the Bastille Prison used to stand until it was stormed and destroyed during the French Revolution. Today, the square is home to the July Column, a monument that commemorates the July Revolution in 1830 that resulted in the overthrowing of King Charles X.
We had finished the first leg of our ride and dropped the bikes around the corner from the Bastille square. From here, we walked to the Coulé Verte René-Dumont, a 4.5 km elevated promenade on top of an old railway station. I could imagine this to be beautiful in spring and summer when flowers are blooming, but in winter, it was a rather dull walkway.
We neared noon and it was definitely time for a visit to a brasserie. A meal wouldn’t have a perfect ending without enjoying a petit café and petit (small) it was!
A visit to Rue Crémieux was next. With its shuttered windows, colorful façades, and potted plants, this quaint little cobbled street gave me the feeling of being in the countryside, miles away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Many houses had a “no pictures” and “respect privacy” sign sitting in the window which made me realize how packed this throughway must be in the summer. I really could sympathize with the residents.
To reach our next destination, Picpus Cemetery, we needed to take the metro. Once there, finding this largest private cemetery in Paris, proved quite a challenge! Luckily we could count on a few local men playing pétanque to give us directions. Inside the Picpus Cemetery were two mass graves which contained the remains of the 1306 victims who were executed at the height of the Reign of Terror, a period during the French Revolution when public executions and massacres took place in response to revolutionary fervor.
The grave we came here to find, however, was that of Marquis de Lafayette, the French general who played a crucial role during the American Revolutionary War. I was puzzled as to why he was buried at this peaceful, yet fairly unknown graveyard. After asking, I found out that some of his wife’s relatives were amongst those beheaded and thrown in the common graves. Apparently, his wife was buried here first so naturally the marquis was laid to rest by her side.
“La Fayette, here we are!”
By metro, we drove to Bois de Vincennes where we rented another bicycle. Again, an electric one for me and a classic one for Bert. The large park is a beautiful piece of greenery just outside of the city center and we made the unfortunate choice to visit on a Sunday afternoon. Many people were walking their dogs or taking their families out for as stroll which made it incredibly difficult to ride a bike. Once we made it to the edge of the domaine, it was easier to navigate though. Bert was ecstatic when he heard what he thought to be a Goldcrest. Sure enough, after breaking out the binoculars, he confirmed that this tiny passerine bird was, indeed, a Goldcrest. How exciting for him to see this life bird! That was a perfect way to round off our day.
Paris’ Underworld
Paris has some very bizarre places to visit and all of them have to do with death. I’m personally not a huge fan of cemeteries and burial sites but since these places are tourist attractions, I decided to go take a peek.
In the heart of Paris, about 20 meters underground, lies a giant maze of tunnels that make up about 320 kilometers. These tunnels used to be part of an old quarry but in the late 18th century, the city’s cemeteries were overflowing to the point that corpses sometimes became uncovered, and the mines were turned into catacombs. The remains of 6 million people were unearthed and brought to their new final resting place.
The line was long when we arrived at the famous Parisian Catacombs but luckily we had purchased timed tickets in advance. We didn’t really need to wait long before we could descend the 243 steps to the creepy underworld. The audio tour guided us through the 1.5 km long tunnels and explained the history of this macabre place.
In the beginning we were led through the remains of the old quarry but in no time we entered the the burial sites. Bones were neatly and orderly stacked and entire walls were created out of human remains. Here and there a skull protruded. The entire place had a gruesome feeling. It was hair-raisingly dark and quiet down here. I have to admit that this attraction was fascinating and bloodcurdling at the same time.
I have to admit that I was happy to ascend the stairs again and breathe in fresh air after spending 2 hours in the damp. dark tombs!
Père Lachaise Cemetery was advertised as a 44 hectare open-air museum. Even though the park housed many ornate and unique graves and was the final resting place of several famous people, I wouldn’t necessarily call it a museum. It, after all, still was a cemetery where dead bodies were interned and worms were feasting on the remains. To top it off, a lot of gravestones were cracked and crows were guarding the tombstones. Could that be any creepier?
But map in hand, we, like so many other tourists, hunted down the prominent, famed, and notorious. We walked past the lipstick-kissed winged grave of Oscar Wilde. To protect the monument, the family actually had to erect a glass barrier. Yet red kisses still made it on the wall. The back of the tombstone was inscribed with a beautiful epitaph from Wilde’s poem The Ballad of reading Gaol.
“And alien tears will fill for his
Pity’s long broken urn,
For his mourners will be outcast men,
And outcasts always mourn.”
I couldn’t believe there was a line to take pictures at the famous French singer’s, Edith Piaf, final resting place. I felt like I was in Disney Land! To me all that feels strange. But like I mentioned, I’m not a fan of cemeteries.
Because Bert is a great fan of The Doors, we could not leave without visiting Jim Morrison’s grave site. It was surprisingly simple. A fence kept eager fans at bay. A chewed gum covered tree stood close by.
I know many a people find this to be a peaceful and photogenic place, but I would lie if I would say that I wasn’t glad to leave this macabre, eery tourist attraction.
Lastly, we visited the Panthéon. Situated in the Latin Quarter, the Panthéon is the final resting place for many celebrated French figures such as the novelist and poet Victor Hugo, the first female physicist and chemist to receive a Nobel Prize, Marie Curie, and the famous writer Voltaire.
The building closely resembled the Roman Pantheon and like its twin, it also used to be a Catholic church. Once inside, we were treated to beautiful mosaics and paintings depicting scenes from French history. Because signs and explanations were only displayed in French, it took us a while to move through the main floor. After all, our French was quite rusty!
In 1851, Léon Foucault demonstrated the rotation of the Earth inside the Panthéon, beneath the dome, with his famous pendulum experiment. Unfortunately, the 67 m contraption was under construction and not on display.
We strolled through the basement and walked past all the famous historical figures’ final resting places. Thank goodness this place was not macabre at all!
“Un pour tous, tous pour un”