Shopping Day at La Défense

Began the day with the French conversation group to learn a bit more French before venturing out to the mall again at La Défense. Wanted to buy some gifts for home as well as some groceries and a few other necessities. Thought I'd add a picture of the inside of the Quatre Temps mall this time. It's a huge mall -- at least 5 floors -- within this Metro/RER station and includes the supermarché Auchan as well as some well known stores such as Sephora, C&A department store, Virgin Records, and Toys 'r Us, along with many small boutiques and eateries. If you can't find what you're looking for at this mall, it probably doesn't exist in Paris.




Today I took the escalators all the way to the top floor of the mall, and found -- what else? -- a Starbucks. So I ordered a tall latte and went outside to sit on the steps and read my book. When I looked up, I suddenly realized I was sitting directly across from La Grand Arche. It's an extremely impressive building when you are sitting there looking at it. Pictures can't possibly portray just what a massive structure it is.

A closer view of people resting on the steps leading up to the Arch gives a better view of just how massive this building is.

Adieu

Le Promenade Planté

A perfect day in Paris! Warm weather, blue skies, and not a cloud in the sky. Even had the courage go out without my umbrella for the first time in weeks. The morning began at the ubiquitous internet cafe – yet another essential printing job – and then past the Pompidou Center from a different angle when I came across this delightful fountain. It’s the Igor Stravinsky fountain, created in 1982 by two Parisian artists, and containing 16 mechanical sculptures inspired after Igor Stravinsky's music.

Next it was on to the metro for a quick trip over to Place de la Bastille. Bastille metro is one of the few that has an egress above ground, and as I exited and looked out of the window, I saw this beautiful harbor scene with a young Frenchman lounging on his boat like a contented lizard on a rock. He's just visible here on about the third boat over.

My plan for the day was to take a picnic lunch to the Promenade Planté out near Place de la Bastille. During the violin concert the other evening I met Beth from Seattle. She'd stopped over in Paris for a few days on her way to Russia to visit her daughter and 10-year-old granddaughter – apparently a frequent trip for her. When I told her I was living here for a month, she exclaimed that I must visit the Promenade Planté which, per Beth, is the most delightful spot in Paris. It’s a two-mile-long garden walk on an old viaduct once used for train tracks. Most of the park is elevated at least one story off the ground.

Looking down the walkway, one can hardly believe this charming spot is in the middle of Paris near a very noisy and bustling intersection. As I strolled along the walkway, I looked for a bench for my leisurely picnic lunch.

Rose arbor along the way

Modern apartment houses nearby

Beautiful trees and flowers

Viaduc des Arts below

Would love to say I visited all the interesting little shops below, but since lunch was a little more "leisurely" than I intended, I ran out of time. But will definitely return to this enjoyable park again when I feel the need for rest and relaxation.

Bonne journée

Flower Shop

Since I seemed to run into roadblocks everywhere I went today [figuratively, not literally], I wound up returning home early for a bit of shopping in the neighborhood. And of course that included my favorite flower shop called by the amazingly appropriate name of “Happy”. The word also describes the proprietor who happened to be outside when I was taking the picture of her shop. She is always helpful and delightful, and tries very hard to understand my halting French as I struggle to understand her English. Somehow we manage, and I always return home with a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Not sure what it is about carrying flowers, but it seems to make people smile – even in France where most are somewhat reluctant to do so.

Here's today’s bouquet sitting prettily in my tiny apartment.
Bonsoir

A Violin in Sainte Chapelle

On a beautiful Spring evening in Paris, what better choice than to attend a violin concert at Sainte Chapelle. The violinist was Bertrand Cervera, violin soloist of the Orchestre National de France, and a member of Paris Classik – a music organization based in the Church Sainte-Chapelle, where it presents more than three hundred concerts a year. Monsieur Cervera played for almost an hour but it seemed liked minutes, so enthralled was the audience. The entire experience was beyond words – to hear a violin played with such passion and magnificence in one of the most beautiful settings in the world is indescribable.

Since it was such a warm evening, I strolled along the Seine for a bit after the concert. The area was claimed by the young this evening – picknicking with their French bread and wine, talking, and holding hands – just happy to be alive on such a day.

Just across the street, in the St Michel area, is the Shakespeare and Company bookstore. I had to literally fight my way through the crowds for a second visit to look for book bargains but found none this evening. The photo above is a café I've been looking for ever since I arrived in Paris. It was quite crowded tonight as you can see, but was one of our favorites last time Stan and I were in Paris.

Salut

A quiet kind of day.....

Began the day by working a few hours, then the sunshine and blue sky were calling too loudly, so I ventured out into the real world again. Had to stop by the internet cafe to print out my concert ticket for Sainte Chapelle tomorrow night. One can order the ticket and pay online, and then, hopefully, skip the long lines to buy tickets in the evening. The closest internet cafe is about a mile away over near Centre Georges Pompidou and on my way there, I noticed that Paris now has a public bike-rental program which is becoming very popular in Europe. The company that runs this program is called Velib – the name is a contraction of velo (cycle) and liberte (freedom). In 2007 ten thousand bicycles were introduced to the city with 750 automated rental stations each with fifteen or more bikes/spaces. This number has since grown to approximately 20,000 bicycles with 1,450 stations. The program is not without its problems though. According to the BBC, over half the original fleet of specially made bicycles have disappeared, and are presumed stolen. At a cost of 400 euros each ($519) to replace them, it may not be profitable to continue the program in the future.

Once my 2 pages were finally printed -- amazing how long it can take to do the simplest tasks in French -- I decided it was time for lunch. There are plenty of places to eat around Pompidou Center, but it's also an area where tourists gather, and I quickly learned these areas are not the best place for food for several reasons. (1) They are more expensive than other areas of the city. (2) The food is not always the best quality. And (3) I really don't want to eat pizza, hamburgers and CocaCola while in Paris. Fortunately, I remembered a cute little outdoor cafe over by the Arts & Metiers metro station, named, appropriately enough, Café des Arts et Métiers. So I strolled over there for what turned out to be a wonderful Cobb salad for lunch complete with French bread of course. No matter what one orders for lunch, a basket of bread is automatically included.

My plan for the afternoon was to wander over to the rue de Sèvres -- one of the high fashion districts of Paris. As I entered one of several metros it took to arrive at my destination, I suddenly heard strains of Pachelbel's Canon drifting through the halls. Before long I came across the unlikely scene above – well, unlikely for anywhere except a metro in Paris.

Rue de Sèvres is located over on the Left Bank of Paris. Recognized as one of the centers of haute couture in Paris, it plays host to a myriad of shops including Cacharel, Lacoste, Petit Bateau, Diane Von Furstenberg, Burberry, and Chloe to name a few. But my objective today was the Christian Louboutin shoe salon -- known for its sexy high heels with their trademark red leather soles. Who wouldn't want a pair, but at $500 and up -- mostly up -- it was not within today's budget. So, alas, I took a quick look around and then it was back home for tea.

À bientôt

Le Tour Eiffel

Today dawned bright and shiny with fluffy white clouds floating in the blue skies above – in other words, a very unusual day in Paris. Couldn’t wait to get out and enjoy the weather but realized that the route to the Eiffel Tower from here could be quite time-consuming. So I was now motivated to figure out how to take the RER – an underground train that shares many metro stations, but a lot quieter, cleaner and faster than the metro. In fact it took me only 4 stops to get to the Eiffel Tower, whereas the metro would have taken at least 16 stops on 3 different metro lines. Sufficient incentive to try it out. The RER also travels above ground outside of Paris to many Paris suburbs and beyond.

Decided to dig around on the internet for some information on the Eiffel Tower before my outing and found some very interesting facts. The Tower bears the name of its very famous creator, French engineer Alexandre Gustave Eiffel. We Americans should know the name well since he also created the Statue of Liberty in 1885 – a gift to the American people from the people of France. The Eiffel Tower was built for the 1989 International Exposition (World’s Fair). Eiffel's design was chosen over 700 other proposals; an intrinsic part of that design was that it be easily demolished 20 years after the Exposition. When the 20 years ended, Eiffel convinced the ministry that the monument could be used as a radio tower, and thus saved it from extinction. The tower is repainted on the average of every 7 years. It has been re-painted 18 times since its initial construction -- the 19th painting got underway in March 2009. There is a stict requirement that the paint must be applied manually with brushes in keeping with the original painting of the tower – the use of rollers and paint guns is strictly forbidden even today. It takes months to completely repaint and over sixty tons of paint are required for the full repaint of the tower.

When I arrived at the Eiffel Tower, there were very long lines for the lifts to the first two levels (the 3rd level being closed today), and these lines were moving slower than a slow snail. It being Monday, I had assumed the lines would be shorter, but looks like the tourists have arrived in full force. That along with the usual school groups, tour groups, family groups, church groups and the like, made me think I needed another route of access. I looked around until I found the line for climbing the stairs, saw a line with about 6 people in it, and off I went. Only 4 euros (about half the price for the elevator up), and a lot more to crow about. Turns out there are 337 steps up to the first level of the Tower; per the website, that includes 9 steps up to the ticket booth!

One of the most impressive views from the top is the Champ de Mars. During the 18th century, this land was used as a parade ground for the nearby Ecole Militaire. Now it's one of the largest parks in Paris.

A beautiful view of Hôtel des Invalides, a complex of buildings in the city's 7th arrondissement containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose. It's also the burial site for some of France's war heroes, most notably Napoleon Bonaparte.

Back home again on rue Bretagne -- about a block away from my apartment and full of shops, patisseries, art galeries, produce stores and even a small supermarket. The main reason for this picture today, however, was the blue blue sky in the background!

Time for dinner in my tiny pied-à-terre. Salade Niçoise and French bread on the menu tonight.

Bonsoir