Protest Parade
Entrance to Galerie
Inside the Galerie Vivienne
A priori thé
Forum les HallesForced to have a short outing today due to work interfering with my playing. But managed to visit two interesting shopping areas, the first recommended to me by a woman at the soirée Sunday night. I must say, these two areas are certainly on opposite ends of the shopping spectrum.
As I exited the metro Bourse [named for the French stock exchange], I again heard shouting and music, and a woman’s voice on a megaphone proclaiming something loudly in French. And again I had no idea what this protest was about other than the fact that the signs they were carrying said something about military prisoners. It was an impressive sight, though, to come up out of the metro and see a full-blown parade complete with music, signs, and police. That’s one of the most exciting things about Paris -- you just never know what's around the next corner. Makes the US look a bit dull and predictable. As luck would have it, of course, the Galerie Vivienne was right across the street from the metro which necessitated that I wend my way through the middle of this parade to get to my destination.
Located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, La Galerie Vivienne is one of several exclusive shopping areas in Paris known as Passages or Galeries. Most date back to the beginning of the 19th century and were inspired by the covered markets of the Middle East. This is reflected in the architecture which includes arches, rounded windows, domes and Egyptian motifs. These enclosed markets in Paris allowed shoppers to browse under cover from inclement weather and the dirt in the streets. Construction on Galerie Vivienne was begun in 1823 and completed in 1826. Besides being beautiful to look at – with mosaic floors, wrought iron staircases and glass rotundas – the shops are delightful – ranging from antique bookshops and toys to very sophisticated boutiques and an elegant tea salon. The tea salon, A Priori Thé, is one of the premier tea salons in Paris I am told. So what could I do but stop for tea. I had vanilla rooibos tea and a scone with bits of lemon and raisins. This was without doubt the best tea and scone I have ever had anywhere – so much so, in fact, that I’m now perusing metro lines to make sure that all of my outings detour right past this metro stop.
The second area I visited is now known as Forum Les Halles – a big suburban mall similar to Valley Fair in San Jose but nowhere near as classy. This is allegedly the most crowded shopping center in Paris; since I was there at 5 pm, I certainly believe that statistic. The mall is named for Les Halles of the past – the central market place of Paris in the 1100’s where merchants from all over came to sell their wares. Later, in the 1850’s massive glass and iron buildings were erected to house the market. Apparently this was all torn down in 1971 because no one wanted to make the needed repairs. A few years later, in 1979, the Forum les Halles shopping area was opened to the public. The shopping center looks as if it was built in a large hole in the ground. The floors go down instead of up, and the levels listed on the shopping center map are “-3” and “-4”. The central courtyard is quite interesting though, as are the gardens and park atop the shopping mall itself. Most of the shops sell women’s clothing but there are the usual fast food stands and patisseries, and even a Starbucks and a movie theater. The most interesting find in this mall was the Bibliothèque Nationale de France – the national French library – and it was full of patrons. I wanted to stop in, but since my French is still quite limited, I wasn’t sure I could read the signs well enough to gain entrance.
Located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris, La Galerie Vivienne is one of several exclusive shopping areas in Paris known as Passages or Galeries. Most date back to the beginning of the 19th century and were inspired by the covered markets of the Middle East. This is reflected in the architecture which includes arches, rounded windows, domes and Egyptian motifs. These enclosed markets in Paris allowed shoppers to browse under cover from inclement weather and the dirt in the streets. Construction on Galerie Vivienne was begun in 1823 and completed in 1826. Besides being beautiful to look at – with mosaic floors, wrought iron staircases and glass rotundas – the shops are delightful – ranging from antique bookshops and toys to very sophisticated boutiques and an elegant tea salon. The tea salon, A Priori Thé, is one of the premier tea salons in Paris I am told. So what could I do but stop for tea. I had vanilla rooibos tea and a scone with bits of lemon and raisins. This was without doubt the best tea and scone I have ever had anywhere – so much so, in fact, that I’m now perusing metro lines to make sure that all of my outings detour right past this metro stop.
The second area I visited is now known as Forum Les Halles – a big suburban mall similar to Valley Fair in San Jose but nowhere near as classy. This is allegedly the most crowded shopping center in Paris; since I was there at 5 pm, I certainly believe that statistic. The mall is named for Les Halles of the past – the central market place of Paris in the 1100’s where merchants from all over came to sell their wares. Later, in the 1850’s massive glass and iron buildings were erected to house the market. Apparently this was all torn down in 1971 because no one wanted to make the needed repairs. A few years later, in 1979, the Forum les Halles shopping area was opened to the public. The shopping center looks as if it was built in a large hole in the ground. The floors go down instead of up, and the levels listed on the shopping center map are “-3” and “-4”. The central courtyard is quite interesting though, as are the gardens and park atop the shopping mall itself. Most of the shops sell women’s clothing but there are the usual fast food stands and patisseries, and even a Starbucks and a movie theater. The most interesting find in this mall was the Bibliothèque Nationale de France – the national French library – and it was full of patrons. I wanted to stop in, but since my French is still quite limited, I wasn’t sure I could read the signs well enough to gain entrance.
I stopped by this area looking for a closer supermarché but no luck despite the fact that the internet assured me there was one located in the mall. So I hit the ATM, picked up some more euros, and found my way back home again to continue my work day.
A la prochaine
A la prochaine
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