So, we have reached the end of our time together, Lily and I. We have seen lots together, many places I had seen before, but many I had not. I tried to plan a variety of activities. Somehow I felt we "lived" here and each day was not just a day seeing "stuff" but just "living here" and always stopping to see whatever was in the subway or the streets or visiting places both Parisians and natives like to visit.
We started the morning a little late by going to visit the church of Saint Sulpice. I had read what Rick Steves had to say about this church: (page 36 and 37 - Paris 2004) "For pipe-organ enthusiasts (I'm not exactly nor is Lily), this is a delight. The Grand-Orgue at St. Sulpice has a rich history, with a succession of 12-world-class organists going back 300 year. The 10:30 Sunday Mass is followed by a high-powered 25-minute recital at 11:40. Then, just after noon, the small, unmarked dorr is opened (left of entry as you face the rear). Visitors scamper like 16th notes up spiral stairs, past the 18th-century Stair-masters that were used to fill the bellows, into a world of 7,000 pipes, where they can watch the master play during the next Mass. You'll generally have 30 minutes to kill (there's a plush lounge) before the organ plays; visitors can leave at any time. If late or rushed, show up around 12:30 and wait at the little door (you can leave at any time)."
Well, we set out a little early. Lily said she wasn't hungry so - practically speaking - no breakfast. On the way there, we met a couple of young Russians spending only one day in the city. They were also headed for the church. We got there pretty early and by this time Lily was showing signs of the effects of no breakfast, though neither of us was aware of exactly why she was so tired until later.
We arrived just as the Mass was finishing and decided after listening a little while to the concert and talking a bit to the two Russians - it was time to leave. Perhaps on another trip Lily will scamper up the stairs like a 16th note and I will do it before I leave Paris, but in this case we needed to leave!
I knew the area, but not as well as I should have. Instead of arriving at a market, we came to the Luxembourg Gardens where I had also planned to take Lily. But - meltdown - Lily was too tired to move on. I took a couple of pictures of the Medicis Fountain and then joined her for a rest.
Notice the ivy cut in the form of a garland. The Luxembourg Garden is the 2nd largest public park in Paris, located in the Luxembourg Palace.
Erected in 1956 in memory of the students killed in the Resistance in World War II. Artist - Gaston Clotaire Watkin.
After a short time, we moved on to the gardens and the basin where young kids as well as older "kids" sail their boats. Some are mechanized now but others remain wind driven only and sometimes one has to run all the way to the other side to pick up one's boat. The weather looks menacing, only a few sprinkles fell this time. Sure was better than being in the hot sun! During the school year many students come here to study in the shade or enjoy a few minutes by the water.
This palace is now used as the Senate. The history of European monarchy includes marriages (political alliances across borders) giving the various countries much cross fertilization of culture. In the case of the Luxembourg garden and Palace, it was in 1611 that Marie de Medicis, the widow of Henry IV and regent for King Louis XIII, decided to build a palace in imitation of the Pitti Palace in her native Florence.
And in the background, a modern tower - Montparnasse. Constructed from 1969 to 1972, it was the tallest skyscraper in France until 2011 when it was surpassed by the Tour First, located in Courbevoie, a Paris suburb in la Defense district.
Lily is coming back to life!
As we exited the gardens, I suggested we stop at this cafe before going on a to see a few of the interesting buildings in the area.
We are in the Latin Quarter near where Pierre and Marie Curie did their research with radium and ultimately gave their lives for science as they underwent too much exposure to the object of their research.
In the cafe I thought I had asked for an "orange presse" (fresh squeezed orange juice), but when it arrived, I realized I had asked for lemon. Boy was that ever sour! But, I supposed it would be just as good for me as the orange I had ordered, so - bottoms up!
Lily ordered a Viennese chocolate and wanted a croissant too (she realized she was hungry by this time) but there were none left. Nevertheless, the chocolate made her perk up a bit and on we went.
Just down the street a little way, we came to the Pantheon, where France's famous men are buried. It would have been quite a walk to go closer, so we didn't.
The next famous building was the Sorbonne where both her grandfather and I studied back in our student days. No students around now, but come September, there will be plenty here, both French and others from around the world. Paris is a wonderfully cosmopolitan place where students of many races, colors and creeds study in different areas of the city.
We scrapped the idea of going to a market and headed home in the subway. As we passed MacDonald's, a woman came out with her dog on a leash. Of course, we always speak to dogs and this one was allowed to talk to us.
We found enough leftovers to keep us happy as Lily said she preferred to eat at the apartment and rest. After a couple of hours of listening to music (I think) on her "elecrtonic device," she said: "Well, what are we going to do?" I was delighted she had found some new energy after eating and so we decided that a not-too-taxing activity would be to take Rick Steves' suggestion: hop on #69 bus for the entire route.
The whole bus system is included in the price when you have a weekly or monthly pass for the subway. When I was in Paris as a student, I never really came to know the bus system so I was glad to be on the road to figuring out which buses to take where. It's much more pleasant to stay out of the subway, though if you are in a hurry, you can't beat the Paris subway! Sometimes there is 30 minutes between busses but usually the next train comes in 4 or 5 minutes.
So, Lily had a chance to see some of the same monuments (from a different perspective) that we had seen earlier in our walking or boat tours. We also saw one or two we hadn't had the time to visit. Here is the Musee d'Orsay again, certainly one of my favorite buildings.
When we came out of the Museum from our visit there on Thursday, I didn't pay much attention to this interesting looking Rhinocerous. It seems it was made by Alfred Jacquemart in 1878. The Musee d'Orsay was a train station until the 1960s and when it reopened as a museum in 1986, the rhino was moved here.
In the distance you can see the spire of the obelisk in la Place de la Concorde.
A couple of streets we passed through.
And here is the Military School.
Below is a picture of the Grand Palais. For an excellent video of this magnificent building clic on the following web address: http://www.grandpalais.fr/visite/en/#/the-ride/
Here's a bit of history on this wonderful relic of the past:
In the second half of the 19th century, World Fairs set the tone of life for European capitals. Some were destroyed after these events but many of the imaginative creations (the Tour Eiffel and the Grand Palais) have remained and changed the face of the Paris we still enjoy today.
These Fairs offered the opportunity to become acquainted with exotic places and these buildings offered ways of learning in playful and interesting ways. The first World's Fair was in London where the Crystal Palace, made of glass and metal, touches our spirit by its transparency, its size, and the techniques used in its construction. Paris offered its response in 1855 on the occasion of its first world's Fair. It was built to house the Palace of Industry.
Today there are many special events in this palace, including dance, art, science (example - April 5 to August 28, 2011 - the first exhibit dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the first maned space flight (Houri Gagarine).
One of the many cafes. However, the price of Paris cafes is double or more what it is in the south, and I find myself being more an observer and tempted to carry a bottle of water with me when I go out.
We reach the end of the line and have to wait about 10 minutes for the next run. You can see under the bus stop an electric sign that gives the start of the next run of any buses that pass through this stop. I knew this had not been the case when I was a student here and later someone told me it was a fairly new development. Since bus travel is different from the Paris subway system (trains are only about 5 or 6 minutes apart), it is quite helpful to know how much time one will have to wait to catch the next one. After Lily left and I began to use the buses more regularly, I found this quite helpful. Sometime it would allow me to take a bus to arrive somewhere and then, knowing I would have to wait 30 minutes, I might take the subway back.
Here in the background you see evidence of one phenomenon that makes city traffic the nightmare it can often be: "le camping car." Many French people are on the roads during July and August and those living in the south sometimes visit the city. I had already seen many "trailer parks" in France in the south, not at all like the ones in the States. Instead of a spacious little area (I'm thinking more of the national parks and more rural areas of Vermont and Massachusetts), many of the trailer parks I saw in France were laid out so that each vehicle was almost on top of the next. Of course I did see one in Bagneres-de-Bigorre that was not like that but had about a 30 foot area for each space and there was ample room to park and even have a little hedge or a couple of trees and a picnic table. That one was more a place where people own the trailer and the space, although there were also trailers for rent.
(see http://heleninbagneresdebigores.blogspot.com
Right click on the address and then open by "go to site.") I can't imagine that these trailers can possibly leave their vehicles here overnight, but perhaps that is the case. It's a question I'm asking myself as I take these pictures. Perhaps they are just out seeing the sights and they will find a place to park for the night later.
Mademoiselle Lily seems totally recovered from the slow start earlier in the morning. Could she be checking her pictures? Her phone is always running out of juice. My camera seems to hold the charge quite well, but I try to hold looking at my pictures at a minimum.
Perhaps you will notice the new sunglasses. World traveller at 13!
Inside the bus in a new development that helps an innocent tourist a lot! There is another electronic sign that tells which directions one is travelling (each bus run or subway line has a number and a beginning and an end). Sometimes, even if one has a map of each bus (I didn't at this juncture but do now), one doesn't know which side of the street to catch the bus even using the best maps one can find. After Lily's visit, I found myself still struggling with which side of the street was the right one to be on. It doesn't really matter if one is not in a hurry, but sometimes cutting off 20 minutes from a food-shopping trip can give that 20 minutes to say - finishing a blog or cleaning one's apartment!
Not only does it give the direction, but also the stop one is at and what the next stop will be. In addition there are very clear charts of the bus route inside each bus in addition to one's EXACT location when getting on that particular bus.
Sorry, but I just don't like what I see in the stores (please excuse Helen, fashion majors).
The book sellers along the Seine have always fascinated me. There is everything from old music and books to small touristic souvenirs and of course, post cards and tourist books. Of course, we have also seen the famous flea market at Clignacourt, a place I'm sure I will return. Perhaps I will have to rent a ship to carry all my souvenirs home! As Lily packed later, I marveled at how she did it in about 10 minutes and though it was bulging, she seems to still have space for the new clothes, scarves, and sunglasses and even presents for the family.
We hadn't yet seen the mounted police, but there they are.
And here the Conciergerie is being cleaned. It is quite amazing how each building is covered and the sand blasting seems to take place inside the "tarp" so as to cause a minimum of stress and possible damage to passers-by.
I checked the bus as we were riding along and realized that we had entered not too many stops before the end of the line. If we went around completely and got off practically in front of my apartment, the trip would become too long and it was nearing dinner time. We had originally planned to eat our last meal together somewhere near the apartement, but I told Lily if she wanted to get off, we would find a close restaurant and then return home in the subway.
Just as we reached the monument to the Bastille, she found the cat (on a wall) - the graffiti she has been looking for throughout the trip. So we hurriedly got off at the next stop, but it turned out to be just a poster in a shop window. We did, however, find a Belgian restaurant right on the square. I had moules (mussels - the classic Belgian dish) and Lily had a steak frites.
