Springtime in Paris

Spring seems to have arrived early here in Paris.  Already, we spotted some blooming flowers here and there.

Yesterday, however, Spring was even more evident.  The high temperature was 68°F, and we saw more blooms in the Tuileries garden.  Check it out.  

We also spotted a few locals sans chemises (without shirts) (men) soaking up some rays from the sun.  

Of course, the official arrival of Spring is still 3 weeks away and the forecast has some cooler weather in store for us.  Even worse, according to a tour guide we recently met, neige (snow) in March is a possibility.  It snowed in Paris last March.  Ay caramba!

Still, we are very happy to be here and we are relieved that arriving in Paris at the end of January was not too foolish.  After all, Winter in Paris is better than Summer in some other places.  Right?

Churches in Paris: Notre-Dame-de-Lorette

Paris is home to many beautiful, large churches.  By comparison, churches in Florence, Italy are more numerous but they tend to be smaller and older on average.

We enjoy visiting churches wherever we go because their history, architecture and artwork are fascinating to us.  

Recently, with friends we visited the Eglise Notre-Dame-de-Lorette in the 9th arrondissement.  

As soon as we turned the corner and saw the church, we were struck by how much the church resembles a Greek or Roman temple.  Since Greg is fascinated with Greek temples and how their basic form has been used as a building model over the centuries, he was eager to visit the church.  

Note France's motto above the entrance:  Liberté, égalité, fraternité (Liberty, equality, fraternity) added in 1902.  Above the motto is a sculpture by Charles-François Leboeuf, Six angels in adoration before the Madonna and Child. 

Some fun facts about Notre-Dame-de-Lorette:  

• Two notable Frenchmen were baptized there, Georges Bizet (1840) and Claude Monet (1841).  
• During the Paris Commune in 1871, the church was used as a barracks and prison.  

Who knew?

The church was designed by  Louis-Hippolyte Lebas in the Neo-Classical style during the first half of the 19th century (1823-1836).  The new church replaced a nearby chapel dedicated to Notre Dame de Lorette that was destroyed during the French Revolution.  We have learned that many churches and abbeys were completely or partly destroyed during the Revolution.  So, some of the churches in Paris, like Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, are relatively new and very large. 

One of the best features of the church is the classical-style nave with a beautiful ceiling.  The entire church is colorful, much more so than many other churches in Paris.    

Notre-Dame-de-Lorette:  Nave

The church has two sets of aisles and many side chapels with paintings and sculptures.  In the diagram below, you can easily see that the church shares many similarities with a Greek temple.

One of the sculptures in the church was Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc), one of the patron saints of France.  (In future posts, you will see that Joan of Arc frequently appears in churches and elsewhere in Paris.)

Notre-Dame-de-Lorette:  Jeanne d'Arc

Notre-Dame-de-Lorette:  Altar

We were struck by artistic beauty of the stations of the cross in the church.  Below, the image is life-like even though it is monochromatic, and the lustrous blue background is eye-catching.  

Notre-Dame-de-Lorette:  A station of the cross

If you are interested in learning about the legend of Notre Dame de Lorette, click here.  The legend involves the house where Mary lived and where the Visitation occurred.  The house was transported from Jerusalem to Loreto, Italy.

Thanks for visiting Notre-Dame-de-Lorette with us.  

Shopping in Paris #1

Shopping in Paris is often a fun experience.  

Recently, Susan was shopping for a gift for a dear friend.  The gift was fine tea from the purveyor Mariage Frères, established in 1854.

We found a Mariage Frères shop nearby, in a luxury shopping mall under the Louvre.  Walking into the shop was like stepping back in time a 100+ years.  Check out the photo below.

One of the very polite clerks helped Susan select a fine tea (Marco Polo) and then lovingly wrapped the package.  In many shops in Paris, carefully wrapping and bagging the purchase is a BIG deal.  They know how to do it right.  

Below, Susan is very happy with her purchase.    

Thanks for shopping with us. 

Naming the Random Hottie

Thanks to friends Eliane and Jean-Charles, the random hottie now has a lovely, navy blue beret.  Doesn't she look  très chic!

Her French persona needs a French name, of course.  So, please send us your ideas.  The best suggestion earns 150 points.  Oh la la!

Please remember that French name police are always watching.  So, names like Crêpe Suzette (that was Greg's idea) are interdit (prohibited). 

The best names for le hottie and le dude will be revealed in a future blog post. 

Street Art in Paris #2

Since arriving in Paris, we have seen a lot of street art of all sorts.  Here is a sampling.  Can anyone identify any of the artists?

Parks in Paris: Parc de Bercy

[Today's post is #1,000, another milestone.  We hope you enjoy following Our 10 Year Plan.  Thank you for joining our odyssey.]

Recently, we had the pleasure of visiting the Parc de Bercy along the Seine's Right Bank in the 12th arrondissement.

Our informal guide was longtime friend Eliane Pasquier, who was visiting from Vichy.  Eliane lived in Paris for many years before relocating to Vichy with husband Jean-Charles.  So, she knows Paris very well.  

Eliane with some random dude in the Parc de Bercy

The Parc de Bercy was created in the mid-1990's.  The location was the former wine depot for Paris.  Barrels of wine would arrive from all over France for storage, distribution and (of course) consumption in Paris.     

According to France-travel-info.com:  "At one time this park area was outside the city of Paris’ tax boundaries. This means it was the entry point for taxable items.  Taxable items such as alcohol payed a duty tax to be enter into the city.  As some place was needed to store the wine outside of the taxable city, large wine warehouses . . . were created.  The first wine warehouse was initiated during the time of Louis XIV."  

"Throughout Parc de Bercy we saw the system of rails created to allow horse-drawn carts to haul barrels of wine to and from the port on the river.  The annexation of the Bercy area to the city of Paris came at the time of the Haussmann reorganization.  Now located inside the city, taxation applied to wine stored here.  As technology progressed, wine was stored at the vineyards, so this warehousing system became redundant in the 1970s."

Some of the buildings of the former wine depot were preserved and a large park with gardens was established.  On the edge of the park is Bercy Village, where you can find restaurants and shops housed in former warehouses.  Below are some then and now photos.

Then:

 

  Now:  

Nicolas is a chain of wine shops in France.

While visiting Bercy Village, we enjoyed lunch with Eliane at Partie de Campagne, a small resaurant with delicious food from the L'Aubrac region in southern France.  Greg enjoyed a galette--a sort of whole wheat crepe with jambon et fromage (ham and cheese).

After lunch, we toured the park, which is quite large--not NYC Central Park large, but large nevertheless.

In the park are many works of art, statues and other works.  Below is a photo of the Pavillon du vent.

Below is a sculpture by Brazilian artist Oscar Niemeyer.

The sculpture represents a hand offering a flower.

While touring the park, we also spotted a sign of Spring.

Next to the park is a modern building.  Can you guess the architect?

If you guessed Frank Gehry like Susan did, then you are correct.  Gehry originally designed the building to house the American Center in 1994.  Most recently, the building is home to the Cinémathèque Française, a film museum and archive.  (Greg hopes to visit the museum soon.)  

Appropriately, one of the streets in the park honors famed French film director and critic François Truffaut.  

Thanks for visiting the Parc de Bercy with us and our lovely guide Eliane.  

Street Art in Paris #1

If you follow this blog, then you know we love street art--unauthorized art of all types in public spaces.  

During Year 2 in Florence, we featured artistically modified street signs by Clet Abraham.  His street signs could be found all over Florence and their creativity and humor were always a delight.

While in Florence, we learned that Clet traveled elsewhere in the world to share his art, including Paris.  

The other day, we finally spotted some Clet signs here in Paris, in the 8th and 9th arrondissements.  We were delighted and are happy to share the signs with you.

To celebrate Chinese New Year, the Year of the Pig, Clet recently posted a new sign on his Facebook page.  Check it out.

Museums in Paris: Centre Georges Pompidou #1 (Part 3 of 3)

Le Cubisme continues.

As the Cubist movement developed, the degree of abstract increased over time.

Many other painters in France also embraced Cubism, including Robert Delaunay and Marc Chagall.  (Chagall denied his paintings were Cubist.  You can decide for yourself.)

We were struck by the similarity of Braque's and Picasso's paintings.  They painted side by side, experimenting with the same subject, with similar results--like the next three paintings.

We thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition.  Greg likes Cubist art because of the twofold challenge to understand the image that the artist is interpreting and the underlying message.  

Thanks for visiting the Pompidou and the Cubism exhibition with us.