Morning Magnificence

July 13, 2018 --  My morning walks begin while I'm waking up.  I think about where I haven't been for a while.  I think about where I could go.  I think about what is happening where on this day of the week.  Which street markets are open?  What church or museum or park might I visit on this day?

Walking along the banks of the Seine in the early morning.

On a beautiful morning, when cool breezes prevail, I think about walking through the grand spaces, like the Tuileries.  I think about walking along the Seine.  This morning, I did both.

As I crossed the Champ de Mars, I noticed that all the structures for the equestrian event (Longines) are now gone.  The park is almost ready for tomorrow's Bastille Day concert, light show, and fireworks like you've never seen.

Russian Orthodox Church on the Avenue Rapp

I hadn't been on the Avenue Rapp yet this summer, so I selected that route from the Champ to the river.  Along the way, I noticed more and more Velib stations with bicycles in them.  Velib is slowly being resurrected!

When I was almost at the end of the avenue by the river, I paused across the street from the relatively new Russian Orthodox Church to photograph the morning sun upon its shining domes.

The walkway along the riverbank was uncrowded and clean.  The occasional runner or jogger passed me.  A few people were walking to work.  And there were four tall soldiers in camouflage uniforms carrying automatic rifles.   Security.

The walkway on the riverbank has many amenities.  I stopped to use the ladies' restroom but observed, after I opened the door, that the doorknob on the inside had been removed.  I would have been trapped if I'd gone in and let the door shut behind me.  Thank goodness I'm observant.

So I just used the handicapped restroom instead.

Chalk and paint have been used to color the pavement on the riverbank.
The fabulous Pont Alexandre III in the background.

The views along the Seine riverbank are extensive, and the steep angle of morning light illuminated the scene in a way I'd never seen before.  The archipelago barges were not open.  The gangways to them are lowered at 10AM.  Morning Seine walkers know this.  Now I know it.

Sections of the blacktop had been painted the colors of the rainbow.  In other places, swirly, colorful designs decorated the dull surface. 

As I walked, I grew thirsty.  I saw one of the City of Paris water dispensers.  For those who have their own water bottle, these dispensers offer a choice of flat water on one side, and sparkling water on the other.  I pulled my empty bottle from my bag and selected the sparkling water.  Mmmm.  Nice and cold it was. 

City of Paris water dispenser on the riverbank
offers flat and sparkling water for free --
if you have a bottle.

Off to the side, where weeds and wildflowers are allowed to grow at will, I saw a man harvesting herbs and greens.  He'll have a nice salad today.

When I reached the pedestrian bridge at Solferino, I climbed its center steps and began to cross the river.  I stopped to look at the view in the middle, and noticed the plague of love locks there.  Oh, how I wish people would stop defacing Paris in this way!

At last, at the Tuileries, I noticed the grand park's terrain was sharply divided between brilliant sun and deep shade.  Contrasts!

The ubiquitous green metal chairs, which would all be occupied this afternoon, were mostly empty.  I paused to sit in several as I wandered through the Tuileries this morning.

As I sat in one by the big pond with a fountain in the middle, in the midst of the sculpture garden, I heard a distant crowd roaring and cheering.  The sound came from the area around the Musée D'Orsay, across the river.  I imagined a bunch of French soccer fans having a pep rally in that outdoor space on the west side of the museum.

France plays against Croatia in the final game of the World Cup, on Sunday.   We three Cooleys plan to watch at least part of the game.

Love locks defacing a pedestrian bridge over the Seine.

When I almost reached the crowd of people lined up to enter the Louvre at the I. M. Pei pyramid, I turned around to begin the trek home.

Off to the right, I veered to admire a beautiful statue called Méditeranée (1905), by Aristide Maillol.

Méditeranée, by Aristide Maillol, in the Tuileries Garden.

Walking straight down the middle of the Tuileries, Louvre palace behind me and the Place de la Concorde's ancient Luxor Obelisk in front of me, I felt like a queen.  No, an Empress.  In Chico's T-shirt and jeans?  I do have an imagination.

The white dot at the far left is the hot air balloon at the Parc Andre Citroen, miles away.  On the right, the smaller
white dot is the top of the Luxor Obelisk at the Place de la Concorde.

So when I turned at the Place de la Concorde, I wished to cross the Seine on the Pont Alexandre III rather than the plainer Pont de la Concorde.  Naturally, I walked along the Cours de la Reine (Queen's Way) to reach the preferred bridge, with its fabulous golden statues against the French blue sky.

The way home from there was simple -- the Esplanade des Invalides, a little knot of streets in the 7th arrondissement, then the Avenue de la Motte Picquet and the Rue du Commerce to home.  Sweet home, where I could finally break my 12 hour fast by having some vegetable juice and café au lait.

Enjoy more of today's photos, below.  You can get a better look at any photo by double-clicking on it.

Wildflowers and weeds allowed to grow along the Berges de Seine.

Morning sun in the Tuileries.

Crazy crowds and peaceful places

August 4, 2017 – Crowds – we hope to avoid them – especially crowds so thick you can hardly move.

That’s what we found when we emerged from the Palais Royale Musée du Louvre metro station and moved toward the entrance to the Musée des Arts Decoratifs.  This decorative arts museum is located in the west wing of the Louvre, but it has its own separate entrance on the rue de Rivoli.  If it didn’t seem to be too crowded, we intended to go visit it.  But the extremely long line told us that, even if we’d bought tickets online and avoided the line of people waiting to get in, we would still find a museum that was uncomfortably crowded inside.  

Perhaps it is the Christian Dior special exhibition that is drawing the large crowd.  We will try to go some other time; there is nothing we want to see so much that we’d endure a crowd like that.

Pink flamingos atop the Rosa Bonheure cafe barge, with the statues of the Pont Alexandre III in the background.

We walked down the rue de Rivioli, and on its eastern stretch, we found those sidewalks to be uncomfortably crowded, too.  We would have fled to the streets to the north of there except that Tom wanted to visit the English-language bookstores on Rivoli – Galignani and W. H. Smith. 

On our way from the crazy part of the rue de Rivoli to the bookstore part, we strolled more easily along the stretch that is home to some of the most luxurious hotels in Paris – Le Meurice, for example.  There was room to move there, without so many souvenir shops.

In the bookstores, Tom was looking for some French language books for English speakers.  He didn’t find anything he wanted to buy, but we both enjoyed browsing through the sizeable shops.  W.H. Smith, in particular, is looking much better organized and displayed than it did years ago.  Before the internet became so useful, we used to spend a large amount of money in these two bookstores every summer, along with Brentano’s on the avenue de l’Opera, during our summertime stays.  We did it even though their prices are jacked up.  That spending was necessary, because of Tom’s work on English composition textbooks. 

View from our table on the Rosa Bonheure.

He's still writing textbooks, but can find the readings and samples needed, for the most part, via the internet.

Once we finished looking around at W.H. Smith, we headed for the Place de la Concorde again.  I enjoyed the vast area away from traffic once again, and Tom tolerated the monumental space.  When we reached the Seine, we decided to descend to its banks on the left bank side.  Oh, this part of Paris is so much more serene than that crazy area around the Louvre and Notre Dame!  I guess we’re just naturally left bank people.

At the Rosa Bonheure café barge, we stopped for refreshments, as we often do.  There is more competition for the Rosa now, and half of the barge was closed for repairs.  So we shared the part that was open with only a few other customers.  We like the simple honesty of the Rosa Bonheure space, and its great view of the Pont Alexandre III.

Restaurant/cafe barges along the left bank of the Seine.

The Rosa seemed ready to welcome we South Floridians in particular; there were two pink flamingo floats on its roof.

We took our usual route home, pausing in the garden of the Musée du Quai Branly for a rest in the smooth white shelter that’s occasionally used for classes.

We crossed the Champ de Mars right at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.  The driver of a car pulled quickly onto the sidewalk in front of us and stopped.  That was a nutty thing to do.  We walked on, behind the car, when the driver suddenly put it in reverse.  We each reacted quickly and simultaneously by raising a hand in a “stop” motion and shouting, “HEY!”

Fortunately, the driver stopped and made an apologetic gesture when I turned to look at him as we walked quickly away. 

I thought, moments later, that this could have been one of those incidents when someone drives into a crowd, intending to harm people.  But it wasn’t that, thank heavens.  This was just some frustrated driver using poor judgement, desperately trying to turn around.

Statue representing Lille on the Place de la Concorde.

We should have avoided the crowd at the foot of the Tower.  We will from now on.

The rest of the walk was peaceful and uneventful.  Even a short trip into Monoprix for my V8 juice (the only place I have found it in Paris) was surprisingly serene; usually that Grenelle store is crowded in the late afternoon.  But vacation time is here.  Over in the left bank, at least, Paris is calmer than usual as Parisians close up and head for the countryside for a few weeks.

Meanwhile, tourists from elsewhere flood into Paris.  But they gravitate mostly to the first six arrondissements.  The Eiffel Tower is our neighborhood’s only major tourist attraction.

We’re glad of it. 

The vast space of the Place de la Concorde, in the middle of everything in Paris.

The shops that have not closed for vacation are offering special deals.  The para-pharmacy on the rue du Commerce was once again offering a super deal on liquid soap from Marseilles; just as we did two summers ago, we bought plenty for the apartment – probably enough to last for another two years.

As we dine in our favorite restaurants in the 15^th, we dine with locals.  The occasional other English speakers show up, but often we are the only foreigners in the dining room.

Such was the case when we dined at L’Ardoise du XV  last night (70 rue Sebastien Mercier, off the rue St. Charles, just south of the rue de la Convention).  Our shared starter course was a country terrine that was home made.  Our main courses were a roasted guinea fowl breast with spring vegetables for me, and a pluma de negra dish of roasted pork with girolle mushrooms for Tom.  We shared a dessert that was a light version of a strawberry crumble.  As you’d expect in a restaurant run by someone (Maxime Vilatte and his wife Marie) who has earned the maître restaurateur designation, the food was all delicious and freshly made from top-quality ingredients – honest, simple, good food, beautifully presented.

Country terrine at L'Ardoise du XV.

We enjoyed our dinner there very much, and we were pleased that the restaurant is doing so well.  The place filled up with locals.  When the resto first opened just five years ago, it did so on a tight budget, we could tell.  We did not make it to L’Ardoise last year due to our abbreviated stay.  So it had been two years since we’d seen it, and evidently during those two years the resto has done well and built up a reliable clientele of locals.  We’re happy for the owners.