Thursday, December 15, 2011
Versailles
Getting to Versailles was an easy process after all. Navigating the weather was another story. We visited the Chateau and when we finished our tour and lunch at Angelina's and were just heading into the garden it began to storm. We decided to give it a few minutes and see what would happen. It blew through but left behind low temperatures and lots of wind. We wandered through the gardens that were opened to the Petit Trianlon and then down to the chateau.... it was unbelieveable. When they said a little storybook world they were not kidding. We got a little lost on the way home but got back to the train station just in time to catch a train back to Paris.... now for the fun part of packing up -- how is it that you return with more than you started with?? I did not buy that much - really!!
Museum and final day in Paris
This is a belated post for Wednesday - we went to the musee d l'orangie. We wanted to see Monet's waterlillies. The two rooms are bathed in natural light just like he had wanted. It was amazing to be surrounded by his work rather than just a print on a page in a book. The surprising thing was that the downstairs contained MANY works as well. We were surprised to see the number of Dali, Picasso, Manet, Monet, and other contemporaries as well.
Today was the day to find all of the final chocolatiers we wanted. We have been able to sample LaDuree, Pierre Herme, Christian Constant, Patrick Roger, La Maison... they each have unique qualities and personalities. The macaroons were the biggest challenge because we sampled them over several days. Next time we will have them side by side for a true comparison test.
Today was the day to find all of the final chocolatiers we wanted. We have been able to sample LaDuree, Pierre Herme, Christian Constant, Patrick Roger, La Maison... they each have unique qualities and personalities. The macaroons were the biggest challenge because we sampled them over several days. Next time we will have them side by side for a true comparison test.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Museum Day!
Today was back to back museums - this was planned due to expected rain. We headed via the metro for Musee D'Orsay first. No cameras are allowed so you will have to look in books or web for the images. The main hall is filled with sculptures. It is a 4 story tall room so lots of natural light. The side rooms and halls have various themes. We finished most of the main level and headed to the second to see more sculptures but smaller ones by rodin and others. The side rooms were grouped again by themes but only covered 2-3 artists. It was a nice introduction for the children to see how a single painter could go through various stages in their art. They were also able to truly study the brush strokes of each style. The final room we visited on the second floor was Van Gogh - seeing his two self portraits in person was fun. We headed to the 5th floor to the impressionists.... wow! Monet, Manet, Cezzane, etc.... By this point we needed a break.
We headed down Rue de Bac to try to get into L'Atelier Saint Germain de Joe Robuchon but no luck - it looked like there may have been space but we were not dressed appropriately... we headed back up to Eric Kayser which was our fallback. I am so glad that we did - he does AMAZING breads and you all know that I am a nut about my breads. I had his quiche which was a salmon and broccoli, two children had pizza with a rosemary crust - oh my. One sandwhich and another quiche later and we were wanting more of his food. We decided to splurge for dessert of a nut covered brownie. I had no idea how much of a difference dark chocolate made for baking!
We continued along Rue d Bac to Varenne to go to the Musee Rodin. I could not wait to see the thinker in person. We had seen a portion of his back on one of our early days, but now to really study him. The problem is that his feet start 7 feet in the air.
It was fun to wander the gardens and see his other works. They had created a glass enclosed room filled with his marble statues on the side of the garden.
In the "hotel" the townhouse in the middle of his museum are even more of his and his contemporaries works. They showed the process of creating a bronze piece. I have always enjoyed works of bronze since wandering Newbury Street in Boston but this took it to another level. His work shows the muscles of the back and leg like not many others do. Most of his works are of the human body - the busts he did on commission and otherwise were of such detail that you could imagine the personality of the person through his work. On the wall were works by Van Gogh too - not too bad for a friend. We saw his early clay creations and some of his works incorporated into others.
On the way home, we took a chance to stop by La Cerisaie to see if they had reservations either tonight or tomorrow - we will be there at 7pm tonight - Can't Wait!
We headed down Rue de Bac to try to get into L'Atelier Saint Germain de Joe Robuchon but no luck - it looked like there may have been space but we were not dressed appropriately... we headed back up to Eric Kayser which was our fallback. I am so glad that we did - he does AMAZING breads and you all know that I am a nut about my breads. I had his quiche which was a salmon and broccoli, two children had pizza with a rosemary crust - oh my. One sandwhich and another quiche later and we were wanting more of his food. We decided to splurge for dessert of a nut covered brownie. I had no idea how much of a difference dark chocolate made for baking!
We continued along Rue d Bac to Varenne to go to the Musee Rodin. I could not wait to see the thinker in person. We had seen a portion of his back on one of our early days, but now to really study him. The problem is that his feet start 7 feet in the air.
It was fun to wander the gardens and see his other works. They had created a glass enclosed room filled with his marble statues on the side of the garden.
We also saw his gates to hell .... I could have spent some time studying all the details in that
On the way home, we took a chance to stop by La Cerisaie to see if they had reservations either tonight or tomorrow - we will be there at 7pm tonight - Can't Wait!
Monday, December 12, 2011
The Louvre
On our way down we saw a sign for egyptian antiquities we decided after lunch that is where we would head. Off we went to Angelina's for our hot chocolate... to say that they just melted a chocolate bar and poured it into a cup was probably a better description. We decided to just have a "snack" so we would have room for desert. Quiches, soup, sandwich and smoked salmon along with our hot chocolate were lunch - there was no room for desert - we should have planned just desert and hot chocolate.
We wandered back to the Louvre and found a temporary exhibit of clothing from China - it was amazing. We then found the moat along with many of the items recovered from an excavation in the front of the Louvre from the 1980s... the children were amazed to see all of the items recovered. From these we found the spinx
and various gods, and burial items...
it was funny because at the smithsonian I remember seeing one or two of an item but here there are 20 of something. All the pottery that they had from Greece and Egypt were beyond. We saw yards of papyrus writings and walls of cravings.
It made we want to see just how amazing Egypt is!!! We saw classical and preclassical Greece ... the terracotta and ceramics.
Somehow we wandered into the African arts and saw an Easter Island head - very cool and now the children want to go see the entire body too.
Our feet were exhausted so we headed home stopping to find another chocolatier on our way... The chocolates here are dark so the children are struggling to enjoy them.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Busy Day
We thought we were heading to versailles but plans changed - again.
we headed through the jardin du luxembourg to the Sorbonne. As we passed we finished our tour of Marie Curie. We headed to the Musee de Cluny. As we walked around the back of the museum we were able to see some of the remains of the roman baths. Inside the museum we saw books from the 1300s with calligraphy and metal for details. We wandered further in and saw tombstones and the heads of judea that had been salvaged from Notre Dame when they were decapitated during the revolution thinking they were the heads of France rather than Judea. There were ivory carvings and altarpieces that are too ornate to be described. We saw the room containing the lady and the unicorn - little did we realize that these are actually 6 different tapestries. One for each of the senses and one representing love and understanding. The next rooms contained religious relics and daily life ones.
Our next stop was at La Bocca dela Veritas - yummy Italian!!
Stopped by St Germain des preis which is being renovated so there was not much to see on the inside. I smashed my hand on an outside door that swung more freely than I expected. We walked up Bonaparte toward the seine. We stopped in at Laduree a chocolate shop that may have outdone our original chocolate macaroons.
We walked up to the Seine to the Pont Neuf and across to the ile de la cite. We found a bench to enjoy our chocolate treats before entering the concierge. A modern art show was in the main hall - not my style but definitely set the mood for the story that was about to unfold. We saw Marie Antoinette's cell and realized that the prisoners were able to pay to have a more comfortable cell ( including cots rather than just straw). In the courtyard we saw the stone table where they ate and the fountain where they washed their clothes. The most stunning to me was the corner of 12 where they were placed to say their goodbye's before being carted away for execution.
The most brillant church so far had to be Sainte-Chapelle. Even though we visited when the rain was spitting - we could imagine the brillance of the upper chapel. When you enter you enter a lower chapel and I had a moment of disappointment but then after climbing the spiral stairs you paused to catch your breath and then lost it again as wall to wall almost floor to ceiling you were surrounded in stained glass. The images were not the large blocks of color creating a grand image but very petit pieces to create a collage of color yet a picture none the less. We hope to return and see the Chapelle in all of its brillance.
We walked along the island and the seine towards Notre Dame. As we rounded the end of the building our entire view was the cathedral. The line was very long and as we entered the scent and the environment gave us all pause. There were many visitors to see the creche. Mary was beautiful as always with the empty manger between she and Joseph. There was a large bin collecting prayers from the visitors.
After walking the inside we then passed into the garden on the side of Notre Dam to see the flying buttresses and the gargoyles. The view from the back and side are almost more impressive than the front to me. we crossed over the seine to the booksellers. Wandering along we crossed to a small park containing the oldest tree in Paris. It also had an old roman ruins church. We crossed over to St Severin and wandering inside we found an amazing organ and a statue of the virgin and child.
As we wandered toward our apartment we passed the Sorbonne again and the cluny under we reached the Jardin however at this time of night they were closed so we were forced to walk around the perimeter to our cut over...home again.
we headed through the jardin du luxembourg to the Sorbonne. As we passed we finished our tour of Marie Curie. We headed to the Musee de Cluny. As we walked around the back of the museum we were able to see some of the remains of the roman baths. Inside the museum we saw books from the 1300s with calligraphy and metal for details. We wandered further in and saw tombstones and the heads of judea that had been salvaged from Notre Dame when they were decapitated during the revolution thinking they were the heads of France rather than Judea. There were ivory carvings and altarpieces that are too ornate to be described. We saw the room containing the lady and the unicorn - little did we realize that these are actually 6 different tapestries. One for each of the senses and one representing love and understanding. The next rooms contained religious relics and daily life ones.
Our next stop was at La Bocca dela Veritas - yummy Italian!!
Stopped by St Germain des preis which is being renovated so there was not much to see on the inside. I smashed my hand on an outside door that swung more freely than I expected. We walked up Bonaparte toward the seine. We stopped in at Laduree a chocolate shop that may have outdone our original chocolate macaroons.
We walked up to the Seine to the Pont Neuf and across to the ile de la cite. We found a bench to enjoy our chocolate treats before entering the concierge. A modern art show was in the main hall - not my style but definitely set the mood for the story that was about to unfold. We saw Marie Antoinette's cell and realized that the prisoners were able to pay to have a more comfortable cell ( including cots rather than just straw). In the courtyard we saw the stone table where they ate and the fountain where they washed their clothes. The most stunning to me was the corner of 12 where they were placed to say their goodbye's before being carted away for execution.
The most brillant church so far had to be Sainte-Chapelle. Even though we visited when the rain was spitting - we could imagine the brillance of the upper chapel. When you enter you enter a lower chapel and I had a moment of disappointment but then after climbing the spiral stairs you paused to catch your breath and then lost it again as wall to wall almost floor to ceiling you were surrounded in stained glass. The images were not the large blocks of color creating a grand image but very petit pieces to create a collage of color yet a picture none the less. We hope to return and see the Chapelle in all of its brillance.
We walked along the island and the seine towards Notre Dame. As we rounded the end of the building our entire view was the cathedral. The line was very long and as we entered the scent and the environment gave us all pause. There were many visitors to see the creche. Mary was beautiful as always with the empty manger between she and Joseph. There was a large bin collecting prayers from the visitors.
After walking the inside we then passed into the garden on the side of Notre Dam to see the flying buttresses and the gargoyles. The view from the back and side are almost more impressive than the front to me. we crossed over the seine to the booksellers. Wandering along we crossed to a small park containing the oldest tree in Paris. It also had an old roman ruins church. We crossed over to St Severin and wandering inside we found an amazing organ and a statue of the virgin and child.
As we wandered toward our apartment we passed the Sorbonne again and the cluny under we reached the Jardin however at this time of night they were closed so we were forced to walk around the perimeter to our cut over...home again.
Saturday, December 10, 2011
To the Top of the World
Well, not exactly the top of the world but the top of Paris. We started this morning looking through a farmer's market that appeared at the top of our hill around the metro station. We saw a rabbit that still had his fur, lots of chickens that still had some of their head and tail feathers, giant squid, crabs cut in half, sea urchins, and beautiful fruit and flowers along with scarves, gloves, jewerly.
This was not our mission for the day, so off we went. We took the metro with the children for the first time - they seemed to enjoy not having to walk.
When we reached our destination metro we got out to realize we would be facing into the sun while walking toward the Eiffel Tower. We took pictures anyway but they are just not the same... which is not a bad thing.
I quickly joined the line while dad and the boys enjoyed being under the Eiffel. I sent the boys to see if the other tower was open - it was and there was NO line - I dropped my spot and off we went. Up to the second landing and LOTS of pictures... we were not sure if all of us wanted to head to the top. After a while, we all committed. We got tickets to the top and joined the line - it actually moved faster than I anticipated. At the top we could see people looking like ants on the bridge. We watched the soccer game from both levels. Then the trip down and down again.
It was approaching lunch when we reached the ground again so off we went for lunch. A friend had suggested Cafe Constant and are we glad he did - we dined on sea urchins, partridge, duck, scallops, brain, tongue, pumpkin soup, lobster ravoli. YUMMY!!!
We wandered over to the musee de l'armee and spent MUCH time studying all the armour... we struggled with our camera settings (they don't allow a flash in the museum).
After the armor we headed to Napoleon's tomb
and the Chapel St Louis.
We then headed back into the museum to the WWI and WWII exhibts. There was something going on in the courtyard with miltary displays - if we spoke french we may have had a clue what was going on.
We saw horses, salutes, bands, big gun.... at this point we were done and began our walk home.
This was not our mission for the day, so off we went. We took the metro with the children for the first time - they seemed to enjoy not having to walk.
When we reached our destination metro we got out to realize we would be facing into the sun while walking toward the Eiffel Tower. We took pictures anyway but they are just not the same... which is not a bad thing.
It was approaching lunch when we reached the ground again so off we went for lunch. A friend had suggested Cafe Constant and are we glad he did - we dined on sea urchins, partridge, duck, scallops, brain, tongue, pumpkin soup, lobster ravoli. YUMMY!!!
We wandered over to the musee de l'armee and spent MUCH time studying all the armour... we struggled with our camera settings (they don't allow a flash in the museum).
We then headed back into the museum to the WWI and WWII exhibts. There was something going on in the courtyard with miltary displays - if we spoke french we may have had a clue what was going on.
We saw horses, salutes, bands, big gun.... at this point we were done and began our walk home.
Friday, December 9, 2011
The best laid plans
So for the past three nights we have been awoken by neighbors banging on our door around midnight. Last night we awoke to the scared cry of our youngest; the stomach bug has reared its ugly head. Very little sleep occurred so the plans had to change. She and I stayed home today and rested and did laundry (it needed to be done soon anyway).
The boys ate a small lunch and headed out to visit the cemetary again and the catacombes. At the cemetary the boys were given a lesson on Godot while visiting tombstones. They also saw Satre's and Beauvoir. One day I hope they remember their first existentialism experience with their father.
After their cemetary visit they went a street down to the entrance to the catacombes. The boys came back saying it was the coolest thing. It looked REALLY dark and narrow from the pictures I saw. I guess that they were able to remove themselves from the fact that these were actual people at one time.
After coming home and downloading their pictures and sharing the experience with us, the oldest two ventured out to find dinner. They came home with fresh sardine salad, octopus and tomato salad, cheese wrapped in proscuitto. They also brought home cheeries, pear, and fresch litchi (lychee)... I can barely handle the smell after thai dinner much less when my stomach has been challenged. We enjoyed another dinner of baguette and leftover cheeses along with their finds. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to venture out again as a family.
The boys ate a small lunch and headed out to visit the cemetary again and the catacombes. At the cemetary the boys were given a lesson on Godot while visiting tombstones. They also saw Satre's and Beauvoir. One day I hope they remember their first existentialism experience with their father.
After their cemetary visit they went a street down to the entrance to the catacombes. The boys came back saying it was the coolest thing. It looked REALLY dark and narrow from the pictures I saw. I guess that they were able to remove themselves from the fact that these were actual people at one time.
After coming home and downloading their pictures and sharing the experience with us, the oldest two ventured out to find dinner. They came home with fresh sardine salad, octopus and tomato salad, cheese wrapped in proscuitto. They also brought home cheeries, pear, and fresch litchi (lychee)... I can barely handle the smell after thai dinner much less when my stomach has been challenged. We enjoyed another dinner of baguette and leftover cheeses along with their finds. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to venture out again as a family.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)