Blogging Paris - 5/13/10

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Paris at Night - from the roof terrace of La Tour Montparnasse

La Tour Montparnasse is 1 block from my hotel and last night I rode to the top - the 56th floor and then went on the rooftop deck and took pictures - the view of Paris is 360 degrees and absolutely incredible!

So I headed out for my last day in Paris - took the Metro and, yes, there was a different musician this morning:

Metro Musician Man of the Day

Got off at the Tuilerie Gardens to go the L'Orangerie Art Museum - what a wonderful experience - Monet's water lilies - huge artworks - 2 oval rooms of 4 huge paintings, one on each wall.  I just sat there and was drawn into the landscape:

Monet's Water Lilies at The L'Orangerie

 I really enjoyed this art museum - In addition to Monet, there are works by Modigliani, Picasso, Derain, Rousseau, Utrillo and Matisse, among others.  And there was an excellent temporary exhibition on Paul Klee.

Then back to the Louvre for the 3rd time - I really wanted to see the Rembrandts (worth it!) and, oddly enough, Hammurabi's Code of Laws (also worth it!):

Code of Hammurabi

There were still pieces I wanted to see in the Louvre, but I'll have to return to Paris for those...I finally made it to the Champs Elysees:

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  I was here

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 Now I'm in the middle of the Champs Elysees

and why I wouldn't want to drive here...

 

But it is home to the Arc de Triomphe

and those are people walking around on the top

The Champs Elysees is also home to some famous stores like Cartier's, Mercedes-Benz and

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Louis Vuitton

It's been a grand trip, and I fly home tomorrow so it's time to go pack my not Louis bags for the trip back to the States.  Au revoir, mon ami!

Blogging Paris - 5/12/10

 The Hat - Le Chapeau - Le Tresor!

For Barbara and all the others waiting for a glimpse of my vintage Parisien hat from the Flea Market in Paris - I did wear it Sunday to church and afterwards to the Louvre, South Carolina get ready, here I come...

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The Accordian Serenade

Today was Montmartre (Mount of Martrys).  And it is a steep hill - lots of climbing, but definitely lively and picturesque - much fun - of course I knew it would be special when I got on the Metro this morning and the accordian player jumped on, too...The best deal in town was the "petite train de Montmartre" for 6 euros - a little bit of history along with recorded music like "La Vie en Rose" by Edith Piaf, the much loved "little sparrow" - probably the most famous 20th century French singer.

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Le Petite Train de Montmartre

We passed by lots of places I'd heard or read about - also saw where Theo and Vincent van Gogh stayed but the train was moving too fast for me to get a good picture.

Au Lapin Agile - frequented by famous Artists now dead

The Moulin Rouge!

Le Sacre-Coeur from Butte MontMartre (the bottom of the hill)

Le Sacre-Coeur at the top of the hill

Fabulous sanctuary - dedicated to the sacred heart of Jesus and a place of perpetual prayer, so silence and no cameras requested.  When I walked in, the nuns were singing matins (or something like that) - whatever - it was lovely.

This is the highest point in the city of Paris, and the views are breathtaking from the steps of Le Sacre-Coeur.

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Overlooking Paris from Le Sacre-Coeur

Another view of Paris from Le Sacre-Coeur.

The tower is Le Tour Montparnasse and is a block from my hotel.

Finally, I went to visit the very, very famous Pere Lachaise cemetery near Montmartre, where many of the famous dead are buried, 

including Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, Ingres, Degas, Corot, Max Ernst, Balzac, Marcel Proust, Sarah Bernhardt, Maria Callas, Modigliani, Moliere, Alice B. Toklas, Gertrude Stein and can you believe it - Jim Morrison of the Doors...

Not being one to hang around graveyards, I did not stay very long - and it's huge, but I was glad to find some signs of life among the tombs...

Les Chats Dans Le Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise

Blogging Paris - Tuesday 5/11/10

Headed back to Notre Dame de Paris with the camera and a fully charged battery.  It excites me that a church built in the 12th century incorporates modern art in the sanctuary, recognizing the excellence and validity of different creative expression to the glory of God. Notre Dame has also incorporated paintings, sculpture and altars from churches in France that were damaged or destroyed.  For me, many times the less realistic a devotional object is, the more powerful - the other evening when I saw this crucifix above a side altar, there was an immediate response - an interaction.  Notre Dame is filled with strong and powerful works of art, but this is the one that reached out to surprise me and pull me in.

Crucifixion - Notre Dame de Paris

When I got of the church, it was pouring rain, but I soldiered on, determined to visit the Musee d'Orsay.  Obviously the crowds were also thinking the same.  I would not have wanted to be in line to get a ticket.  As it was, I still had to wait in another line - but finally got in and then had to give up my bags, my umbrella.  The D'Osay is strict about what is allowed inside.  What a pleasure, however, to see the originals of paintings that are like old friends because I'm so familiar with the images.  Degas, Van Gogh, Manet, Monet, Cassatt, Gaugan just to name a few. My favorites (of the day) were Van Gogh's self-portrait and Monet's series of the facade of Rouen Cathedral.

Still soldiering on in the (very cold) pouring rain, I ran into the legendary bookstore on the left bank of Paris, Shakespeare and Company, where the books are in English.  I did not go in - I have no more room left in my luggage...but I could NOT go by without stopping into Sennelier, the famous French art store that opened in 1887 and is still owned by a Sennelier.

Sennelier - Quai Voterre - Art Heaven

C'est la vie!

Blogging Paris - Monday 5/10/10

The Lady and The Unicorn

Wool and Silk Tapestry c. 1500

(1 of 6 panels)

Musee de Cluny

The Louvre is grand but the Cluny is where I could spend all my time - it's the museum of the Middle Ages.  I really like having this Paris Museum Pass - it's certainly worth the money - you bypass the lines and you can go back as many times as you want during the number of days of your pass.  Lots of school groups coming through- an interesting and exciting way to learn history!

Part of the Holy Family sculpture

Jesus and Joseph

The wealth of Christian images in sculpture, painting, stained glass, gold liturgical objects, reliquaries and devotional objects at the Cluny is incredible.

 

St. Denis with Head in Hand

It's amazing how much has survived in France considering that during the time of the French Revolution of 1792 and then the Paris Commune in 1871, anything that could be found representing the nobility or religion was mutilated or destroyed.  There are lots of headless statues and bodiless heads around town. And not without precedent...considering that St. Denis of Paris was martyred around the year 272 by having his head cut off.  Supposedly he picked his head up off the ground and walked off - many statues depict him holding his head.

 La Sainte-Chappelle Inside

and Out

 Then I was off to see La Sainte-Chappelle, Louis IX's giant reliquary he had built for the Crown of Thorns (and other relics). It was also used as the royal family's private chapel. Tiny compared to Notre Dame, but exquisite.  The sky was overcast when I went today so I did not experience the grandeur of the light that people talk about, but there will be another time.  If you go, get the pass...the line was long when I got there and longer when I left.

After a late lunch,  I walked around the Left Bank and down the Rue de Seine art gallery window-gazing.  Tonight when it started to rain,  I went out in my raincoat and umbrella just to walk Paris in the rain.  I kept thinking of Gene Kelly "singing in the rain" in Paris, but don't worry, I did not sing out loud...bon soir!

Blogging Paris - Sunday 5-9-10

Notre Dame de Paris

Started out this morning at St. Michael's Paris, an Anglican church (the service was in English, voila!) close to the British Embassy and recommended to me by an artist friend in Washington.  Ended today downtown at Vespers (by accident? or not?) at Notre Dame de Paris on the Ile de la Cite.  Both were wonderful!

Then - on to the Louvre - a little bit of heaven there, too!

Fresco Antiquity - The Louvre

Yes, I saw La Joconde (The Mona Lisa)and the Winged Victory and the Venus de Milo among other famous and sundry masterpieces. I'll probably go back Wed evening when the Louvre is open until 10pm.  It's way too much to take in at one time. I was also surprised that photos (no flash) and videos are allowed - I've uploaded a wonderful fresco fragment - I've been fascinated by fresco the last few years and have almost completed my artwork on a related theme for Passing Notions, a multi-media show coordinated and hosted by Artist on Fire and officially sponsored by Piccolo Spoleto later this month, so I was excited to see several fresco fragments today.

I also saw a special exhibit at The Louvre on Russian icons and treasures from the time of Peter the Great - absolutely stunning. Lots of references to the famous Russian iconographer Andrei Rubliev, who a friend of mine thought he was going to meet in Washington a few years ago - until I broke the news that Rubliev worked in the 15th century and so had been dead for a long time.  Anyway, we've had discussions about viewing a DVD of the 1966 Russian movie "Andrei Rubliev" or "The Passion According to Andrei" directed by Andrei Tarkovsky which is loosely based on Rubliev's life - it's a bit strange and difficult to follow but it is a masterpiece and hailed as such and won the FIPRESCI prize at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival (which does not make it any easier for me grasp...).  Well, fortunately, the Louvre bookstore (I could have spent days in there), had a book on Andrei and the movie so I bought it to help us back home understand the film.  The fact that the book is written in French should not hold us back from understanding the film.  After all, the book does have pictures.

And by the way, the Metro even does the arts, especially on Sundays.  In one underground station, I came upon 10-12 members of the symphony playing wonderful classical pieces.  Then in another, there was a rock band and the Metro passengers were spontaneously dancing - what fun!

Blogging Paris - Saturday 5-8-10

At the Louvre

Finally!  I flew into Paris Thursday morning, maneuvered my luggage, the train and Metro from deGaulle Airport to Montparnasse and Hotel du Parc, where I was told they were going to let me into my room early because they thought I needed to rest...later that afternoon, I walked - just wanting to get the feel of Montparnasse and some of the adjacent arrondissements - I really like this city!

Yesterday I had a wake-up call for 5:30 a.m. - my transfer arrived at the hotel at 6:30 a.m. to take me to meet the bus tour for Mont St. Michel in Normandy - Incredible!  4 hours to get there, 4 -5 hours there with lunch included and 4 hours to get back - it was perfect for my first full day because the bus ride through the lovely French countryside gave me the time and rest to get acclimated to the time difference from Charleston, SC.

 Mont St. Michel, Normandy

I've always been fascinated by Mont St. Michel - ever since I first saw pictures in history books. And there simply is no substitute for the real thing!  What a visible testimony to God's Church that it has survived in good condition after 1300 years and was never taken by the enemy because of how and where it is situated - on a solid rock island surrounded by quicksand and extremely fast and high-rising tides.

And yes, we climbed all the way to the Abbey at the top - it's a long way, but certainly worth it to see the Abbey - It was pleasant and timely to find the Abbey played such an important part in preserving the Gospel and other manuscripts through the monk scribes and illuminators, an area I'm currently working with as part of my worship art at my home church, St. Andrews Mt. Pleasant.

Today, Saturday, I braved Les Puces (the flea markets of Paris - the largest in the world, I believe)! It's a lot easier to get around once I grasped the essence of the Metro (thanks to patient and clear instruction from Chantal, who with her husband, Jerome, owns Hotel du Parc. I found the 2 things I had come looking for and then stumbled onto my Big Find - a vintage (1920's -30's) Parisien Hat!  And I wasn't even looking - how in the world could I possibly come to Paris and not get a hat? Everybody that knows me knows I'm a hat person...but it can't be just any old hat - it's got to be the right hat.  Perhaps a picture tomorrow - I'm planning on wearing it to church...

A tout a l'heure!