Haute couture à Paris

15/4/13 Monday
Although many shops in Paris are closed on Mondays, the high fashion houses of central Paris are not. And I've been longing to spend a day just strolling from one to the next - why? You may well ask, it's a "girl thing", a bit inexplicable I guess. Anyway that's today's plan. And my wonderful and very considerate husband, who just wants me to have the best honeymoon I can possibly have, is going to accompany me today when I know he'd rather be hunting and photographing motorbikes in the streets of Paris. Well maybe we can do both :-)
We start our stroll on Rue Cambon, the home of Chanel. The store is enormous, and the merchandise is beautiful as expected. The staff are very friendly and polite, they're clearly trained to enamour the customer. These shops all have a doorman who opens the door as you approach, greets you and welcomes you, and never looks with disdain at your Target jeans and cheap trench coat (no matter what he's thinking)!

The price tags here are phenomenal, and I wonder if I was naive to think there would be anything I'd be willing to consider buying in such a shop. If I was then I've been very quickly relieved of that fantasy!!! I tell mon amour that he's lucky he married me because I could never justify spending 350€ on a pair of pumps even if they do have the Chanel logo ostentatiously imprinted onto the dainty leather toes. And if they don't, and the evidence is only printed on the soles so that I either have to goose-step so everyone can see my famous label or "name-drop" their origin to anyone willing to listen, then that just makes me a very sad "wanna-be" indeed. Quality I can appreciate, and I do, but a leather pump is still just a flat shoe made from cow hide at the end of the day, and it doesn't deserve a 350€ price tag in anyone's language.

As for the crocodile and python skin sacs à main (handbags) with their price tags more than ten times that of the plain old leather ones (a bargain at a mere 1000€) I'm lost for words. At that price I'd feel obliged to make a career out of ensuring that everyone knows I'm carrying a 12,000€ Chanel handbag, otherwise I'm sure I'd feel like I'd wasted my money. I wonder aloud to my husband whether anyone can really tell the difference between the genuine article and a cheap Bali knock-off at first glance.
I do adore some of the elegant high heels in Chanel, Jimmy Choo and YSL, but again it's that whole "it's still just a leather shoe" thing again.  Oh well, it's fun looking and stroking and admiring and imagining my foot in one of these shoes. The assistant in Jimmy Choo, clearly fooled into thinking I'm a serious purchaser ;-) assures me that if the heel is too high for me there are 12cm and 10cm options if I'd prefer. I want to ask if there's also a discount of, oh I don't know, at least 80%, for getting less heel, but I refrain........ :-)

The real crunch for me is the Hermés scarves - I love scarves, and I love silk, but really, 600€ for a little square of fabric? It's a good thing that Hermés is way too horsey for me, or I'd be completely and utterly devastated :-)
Despite the ridiculously extravagant prices though, there's just something about being in Paris, the undisputed home of haute couture, that draws visitors to these streets with their exclusive shops and their "elite" clientele, even just for the shock and awe experience. And clearly I'm drawn, just like the rest.
My patient and lovely husband has this to say about our day:

Paris tip - if you're going to visit the 'in' shops, make sure you take the right attitude. Practice walking with one hand at ear level in Dior, put a little dog in your handbag, two if possible, cross your feet over when you walk, and make sure you expect that dude at the door of YSL to open it for you.  Look with alternating contempt and delight at successive pairs of shoes in Chanel. Pretend that shoes with heels high enough to give you an altitude-induced blood nose are passé, coo over python skin pouches with 12,000€ price tags in Givenchy, then tut tut about them being the wrong shade of puce, soooo yesterday darling.......

Don't ogle celebs.

At least the last point is easy for me - I don't seem to know any. In  Hermés we're passed by an Australian actress (instantly recognized by ma belle femme) and her French bulldog, all I can manage is a heartfelt horror over her sack of a dress/nightie thingy. Perhaps I'll fit right in after all... :-)

As for me, it doesn't take long for the novelty to wear off and I find myself becoming more interested in the motorbikes mon cher mari frequently points out. Seems I'm destined never to own a Chanel pump, or Jimmy Choo heels, or a Dior bag............... sigh..............
Truth be told, if I had a spare 12,000€ I'd rather spend it on a motorbike (just don't tell my husband......) ;-)

We wander off to somewhat cheaper and far more relaxed parts of town, the lovely and interesting Passages Couverts............

Spring in the 'lung' of Paris

14/4/13 Sunday
You'll have to forgive my excitement, but I can hardly believe it, today the weather is gorgeous!!! The forecast beautiful warm sunny day has actually eventuated, and we are definitely not going to waste it. It seems that the whole of Paris is outdoors and enjoying their lovely blue-sky Sunday, so we're going to make like Parisians and get out and about too. When we step outside our apartment, I can't believe the warmth in the air. No coats, scarves, gloves today, I even take off my possum socks ;-) We need sunscreen and hats, it's magnificent!!
We're off to spend the day in the "lung" of Paris - the Bois de Boulogne, an enormous green space on the west of the city, an entire Metro line away, but still only takes us 30 minutes or so to get there. It's situated just outside of the 20 arrondissements, in les banlieus (the suburbs), two Metro stops further than the Arc de Triomphe.

Bois means "wood" and that's exactly what it is. It's a part of the forest (Forêt de Rouvray) that once surrounded ancient Paris and has a bit of a chequered past that you can read about here but now there are lakes and little rivers, formal gardens, bike and walking tracks, and racecourses. It's 845 hectares of recreational space for Parisians to enjoy just west of the 16ème, 2.5 times larger than Central Park in New York, so I'm pretty sure we'll probably only scratch the surface today, but we're not here to cram, we're here to relax and enjoy this beautiful day.

It's such a pleasure to stroll the paths, soaking up the beautiful sunshine, and initially we can see the top of the Eiffel Tower as we walk, which reminds us that central Paris is really not that far away. We head first to the Grand Cascade, expecting to admire a beautiful waterfall, because I just love them and it sounds cool and inviting (I know, after 2 months in freezing Paris, that must sound bizarre........). What a disappointment this one is. Call me Tasmanian, but I don't consider a few man-made rocks above a stagnant pool to be a grand cascade, especially not when there's no water flowing over them. Give me Russell Falls any day!!!

Not to be put off on this gorgeous day, we continue on. There are other areas that are alive with people getting the best of the day - paddling boats on the lake, people on bikes, scooters, roller blades and lots of joggers and walkers. People picnicking and playing games, others racing very impressive remote controlled boats on the lakes. It's a flurry of summery weekend activities, and as we walk we're soon wishing we were wearing t-shirts, shorts and thongs!!!

After lunch we decide to join the fun, so we hire a couple of bikes from the nearest Vélib station. This system is fantastic, you use your credit card to hire a bike from one station, ride around as long as you like, then return it to any Vélib station you come across. The stations are all over Paris and if the one you come back to is full, there will be another within a very short distance. My only hesitation is that we don't have helmets, but Paris is a city for riding bikes and Parisian drivers are very cyclist aware, unlike some other cities, and I have yet to see anyone wearing a helmet. Still, I don't get out on a bike often and I'm a bit wobbly, so glad to be riding in a park to start with, until I get my bike legs back!!! My lovely husband says I become like a teenager when I get on a bike. I don't know about that - just because I yell out "nice bum" and "let me see you get out of the saddle" and "show me what you've got".............  Really he loves every minute of it ;-)

It feels wonderful to be on a bike, I thoroughly enjoy it, just riding around the Bois, not really caring which direction we're going and with daylight savings it doesn't matter what time it is either. We negotiate the paths and roads, dodge pedestrians (children are the riskiest, they change direction so suddenly!!!) and every now and then consult the large maps dotted around to see if we can work out where we are (it's not that easy!!!).
Thinking we're heading around the western perimeter of the bois, we inexplicably find ourselves having gone in a circle - oh well, just change direction and keep going. A tip for the Paris city council, you could do with a few more signs around the bois.............. jus' sayin'................ At the southern end is the Roland Garros tennis centre where they hold the French Open. We've also passed two large Hippodromes (horse racing tracks) and yet another château (the Château de Bagatelle) with its manicured gardens. But we're not here for châteaux today :-)

Eventually we exit the park and make our way to a Vélib station to return our bikes and hop on the nearest Metro. We're hot!!! It got to 25 degrees today (at least), and by the time we get home at 7pm it's still 23. Unheard of in the whole time I've been here, but I guess that's spring in Paris for you.
After dinner, just to consolidate the whole "warm day" thing, we head out to our local Amorino for ice cream - the first time I've had any desire for such a cold treat in two months - 3 flavours in a tub, it's delicious, and we sit by the canal to enjoy it and watch the sky darken :-)

Fondues and garden joy

13/4/13 Saturday

It's Saturday, our last weekend in Paris, and this morning we head over to the Latin Quarter, to Rue de Mouffetard (again) to browse in the lovely shops along this market street. The weather has turned colder and it's coats, scarves and gloves weather again. I'm cautiously hopeful that we might get a nice day tomorrow, as the weather website indicates. However, the forecast seems to change every 10 minutes, so it's entirely possible it will actually snow tomorrow (I wouldn't be surprised....). I guess we'll just wait and see.

Although the sun has gone away again it's still fine, and we enjoy the wander across the river and up the hill. As we stroll down Rue de Mouffetard, reading the menus outside the many little restaurants, we decide on the spur of the moment to have our fondue experience today, for lunch. Why not? We're over here and we have no other pressing plans, and no desire for crowded tourist destinations today.

We find a little restaurant that advertises its specialities as fondue, raclette and pierrade. That one will do, it looks quaint and authentic.

We order two fondues - mon cher mari decides to try the fondue à l'agneau (lamb) and I have the fondue savoyarde (three cheeses with apple). The meal is a good size, and comes with lovely sautéed potatoes and salad, and a big basket of bread to go with the cheese fondue (but goes well in hot oil too - mmmmmm!!).

We thoroughly enjoy our fondue meal - the first for my lovely husband - and it brings back memories for me of having fondues when I was a child. My mum had a fondue pot (I remember it as being copper??) and we sometimes had oil fondues, sometimes cheese, and I think occasionally even chocolate. Yum!

After lunch we head home a different way - this time through the Jardin des Plantes. I'm determined to see evidence of spring before I leave this city!! And today, voila! spring has sprung (or at least it's in the process of springing.......). And here's the evidence.............

.......... a magnificent Cerisier du Japon (or japanese flowering cherry, complete with sign underneath the tree that says "this tree is fragile, you are advised not to climb"!!) and the tree is sectioned off to protect it (and potential climbers), but a crowd of admirers has gathered around anyway. It's absolutely laden with the most gorgeous white blossoms.

There are also daffodils, grape hyacinths, magnolias, and other beautiful trees either flowering or starting to show new green leaf shoots. We thoroughly enjoy our wander through the gardens, past the menagerie (zoo) and then down to the river, where we continue to wend our way home via the islands.

We walk around the promenade of Île Saint-Louis, down at river level, and right along to the eastern tip - just because we can. Here the trees are starting to green up too. I love spring, and I've been waiting for weeks to see Paris starting to bloom, so I've got my wish now! Aaahhh, all is well with the world :-)

A well-earned rest day

12/4/13 Friday
Finally, our 4 days of museums and monuments behind us, today we feel released from our self-imposed exile in tourist hell, carefree and ready to indulge in our favourite pastime - relaxing as we wander the streets of Paris together. We shop at the markets in the morning and it feels like we've been away and now we're back where we belong. Ok, ok, enough with the dramatics.......... ;-)
After lunch we head out to do some gift shopping in the Marais district, a favourite area and only a short walk from home. The weather is glorious, sun shining and so mild that for the first time in 7 weeks we go out without our coats - yep, we don't even carry them over our arms "just in case", we actually leave them behind in the cupboard - it feels wonderful!!!!
We follow our well-trod path, strolling along Rue Saint-Antoine to Place des Vosges and then along Rue Francs Bourgeois, such a lovely street. While dawdling in the Fragonard shop the reason for the warmer weather becomes apparent when a sudden heavy rain shower turns up. Hmm, not only did we come out without coats but no umbrellas either! Looks like we'll be browsing a little longer........ well it could be worse, we could be stuck in a crowded tourist spot :-/
We spend the rest of the afternoon hopping from one shop to the next in between showers (no more heavy ones though) and it's fun - 20 minutes in Starbucks for coffee, 10 minutes browsing in the épicerie, 10 minutes in "our" pâtisserie, 10 minutes looking at cards and books, 5 minutes admiring the beautiful colours out the front of the artisan fleuriste, 15 minutes looking at Suzuki motorbikes, then Yamaha.........

By now it's stopped raining and the sun is out again and we can stroll and explore our local area a bit more. We really are blessed to be "living" in a great part of Paris. These streets are so familiar to me now, they feel like old friends, stamped into my mental map of Paris. This is "our" stomping ground now. Today we add a new street to the mental map - an ancient little cobbled laneway that connects Place de la Bastille with Rue Daval - it's quaint and pretty, with lovely old buildings. Old? Oh really? I can't imagine......... ;-)

As we wander back towards the Bastille, we discover more restaurants and shops that we haven't tried yet. My husband says we should just spend our last week here, hanging around the Place de la Bastille and its surrounds, exploring and discovering more. Maybe............ ;-)

The palace at the end of the street......

11/4/13 Thursday
It's the last day of our 4 day pass to the museums and monuments of Paris and we've planned this day on a recommendation from the website that tells us to visit on the "slow" days of Wednesday, Thursday or Friday if we want to avoid the crowds. Sounds like a plan.
So today we're catching a train and heading about 20km outside of Paris to visit the famous Circus de Versailles - ooops, did I just say circus? I meant Château.......... of course ;-)
Again, as recommended, we're on the train just after 8am, which is a bit of a honeymoon record for us, unused as we are to early starts! But everything I've read says to get there soon after opening time and to plan to spend the whole day there - the place is huge!
We get off the train just after 9am, and as we walk up the Avenue de Paris towards the Château, all we can see is gold gates and yellow signs and........... large groups of people gathering ominously in the courtyard and forming the dreaded queues. Uh-oh, what have we let ourselves in for...........
My initial impression of Versailles is of lots of buildings at the end of a wide main street, blending into the town of which they are a part, and of noisy heavy machinery and roadworks. They're doing something major at the main entrance and around the statue of Louis XIV on his horse. When we reach the front entrance, the Courtyard of Honour, there are doors; yellow doors, with A for individuals, B for groups, H for the mobility challenged (don't get me wrong, this particular one is always a good thing in my book) ............  I know it's necessary, but somehow I naively expected the château to be on a vast country estate (it is, actually) where we arrive via a long, long driveway, the château emerging like a jewel from the panorama before us.............. Ok, perhaps I've seen too many movies, but I have to say I'm a little disappointed with the way it's been "touristified". I compare my thoughts with mon amour's, and find that he has the same expectations. The jewel in the crown has already lost some of its lustre, for me anyway.

Our museum pass gets us immediately through security and straight into the grand palace to start our tour. Yay, finally a queue victory with this pass!! Complimentary audioguides as well - it's nice not to feel that extra "ripping off" in having to pay 5 or 6 euros each (on top of ticket price) for audioguides that we're not sure will really benefit us until we have them.
I can't believe Versailles could be swarming with tourists so early in the morning, but this place draws 5 million tourists each year so I guess it's not all that surprising. I take a deep breath, swallow my disappointment (does everyone feel like this when they arrive here???) and we follow the crowd. As we progress up stairs and along the corridors (past the merchandise stalls.......) it starts to remind me of those video animations of blood cells moving through capillaries...........
This palace, the former home of King Louis XIV, the almighty king of France from 1643 to 1715 (that's a long reign in anyone's language), is opulent, lush, extravagant, lavish, ostentatious, sumptuous........ I'll need a thesaurus to find other fitting words. But having seen Château de Fontainebleau on Monday, it's probably not impressing me as much as it would if it was the first royal château I'd visited this week. After all, they probably used the same decorator ;-)

As we progress through the rooms - the state apartments of the King and Queen, the King's bedchamber, the Gallery of Battles, the History Gallery, the famous Hall of Mirrors, the apartments of the Dauphin and Dauphine - I find myself heading towards the windows in each room, snapping views of the gardens from within, and yearning to be without.

The corridors go on and on, and the crowds just get bigger. It's impossible to see a mirror in the famous hall that doesn't reflect the hundreds of bodies swarming through. Eventually, though, we're taking a last look at the large portrait of Louis XIV hanging over the fireplace, as we head up the steps from the guard's room............ and then suddenly the tour is over and we're exiting into the courtyard. Phew!!
The websites recommend starting your day at Versailles with several hours in the gardens and ending it with the Palace tour, but I'm not sure I agree. Having gone straight to tour the Palace, we've begun with disappointment and a yearning to be out of there, and I feel a little scarred by the experience. But once we exit to the gardens, we start to relax and breathe and the crowds disperse throughout the almost 787 hectares. We start to have moments alone - brief moments, where there is nobody else in sight - it feels wonderful :-) I'm not sure I would have wanted to end a lovely day in the grounds of Versailles with the disappointing Palace tour "circus".

We wander through the maze of paths and gardens without a map, heading down towards the canals and beyond, and we laugh about the little royals playing hide and seek in their "backyard" - yes it's very sad, we haven't seen little Louis since 1703 when he went out to play hide and seek with his sister.......... ;-)
There are people riding bikes and segways, and paddling boats on the canals. It's cold today, and overcast, but at least it's not raining. Eventually, now enjoying the peace and fresh air, we find ourselves heading towards the Grand Trianon, the recreational residence of Louis XIV and his family. Still feeling a little of the "head spin" from our morning, we vascillate briefly about touring this one, but decide we might as well. What's the worst thing that could happen? ;-)

Built in 1688 with Carrara and Languedoc marble, this much smaller palace starts to redeem our Versailles experience as we wander through. There are no crowds here, and we can actually linger in rooms and see everything without having to peer over shoulders or lean sideways over the roped-off areas to get a photo. It's an enjoyable experience!!
A little further on is the Petit Trianon, which together with its park is linked irrevocably to the memory of Marie-Antoinette, the only queen to have imposed her personal taste on Versailles. This "tiny" palace was given to her in 1774 by her husband Louis XVI, and here she found a haven of tranquility. Again, it's a pleasure to wander through the rooms of this palace and imagine the royals living here. And yes, when I think of Marie-Antoinette, I do picture her with the face of Kirsten Dunst............

We exit this last little palace and continue to stroll the quaint country lanes, past sheep grazing, through the gardens and amongst the trees. We start to talk about "next time we come to Versailles" with the guilty pleasure of knowing that we won't need to bother with the palaces but can simply enjoy a day getting lost in the gardens, biking, walking, paddling, picnicking. It's a lovely thought. And yes, we could have done some of that today, but honestly? We're done, we just want to get out of there. It's been a long week, we've been steeped in history for days - steeped!!!! - and we are totally and utterly châteaux'd............. ;-)

With sighs of relief, we're heading out the front gates towards the train station by 2.30pm - not a bad effort I guess, that's 5 and a half hours non-stop with only a handful of nuts to sustain us :-)
So that's our Paris museum 4 day pass all finished. On the train I threaten to get off at Notre Dame to climb the dome that we still haven't managed to get to........ What? There's still time, the crowds shouldn't be too bad................. only joking ;-)
Back "home" in the Bastille, we buy deux chocolat chauds and take ourselves off to see a movie at one of our local cinemas ("Quartet" - very funny, and a star-studded cast - go see it!) :-)

Water lilies, weapons of war, bronze beauties, arch of triumph - a day of contrasts

10/4/13 Wednesday
We're up to day 3 on our Paris museum pass and we've planned another pretty full one - because we might as well get the most out of it!!
The Musée de l'Orangerie is just a tiny museum/art gallery by Paris standards, and certainly when compared to the enormity of the Musée du Louvre and its ilk. Unassuming and nestled in a corner of the Jardins des Tuileries, the Musée de l'Orangerie houses a star-studded cast. On this site the Orangery of the Tuileries was originally built in 1852, but soon lost its fruit trees to become a storehouse, and eventually the museum that it is today.
We start our visit in the 2 galleries housing Monet's famous montage of water lilies, Les Nymphéas, on which he worked for 30 years from 1914. Monet himself chose the Orangery to house the complete cycle of his landscape of water lilies, weeping willows, reflections of trees and clouds. The panels are 2 metres high and almost 100 metres long overall, and are arranged so as to give the viewer the impression of an endless and all-encompassing pond - no sky, horizon or pond edge to be seen. The colours are exquisite and peaceful and very much appeal to my preference for blue in nature, in decorating, and in art :-) We enjoy the audio commentary, the accompanying music and the story of Monet's beautiful creation. There are no photos allowed, but you can always rely on Google images............ ;-)

Downstairs is a veritable smorgasbord of famous names and their works, in the Paul Guillaume collection - Modigliani, Cezanne, Renoir, Rousseau, Matisse, Soutine, Picasso.............

This is truly a lovely collection and, in my opinion, better than any art in any museum we've seen so far. If you're wanting my recommendation, it's not to be missed.
From here we walk across the beautiful Pont Alexandre III to the Hôtel national des Invalides, built in 1671 by Louis XIV (this guy pops up everywhere!!!) to house "........ all officers, crippled, old and retired alike". It is also, now, the site for the Musée de l'Armée, and the iconic Église du Dôme, a military pantheon and location of the tomb of Napoleon I.

The gold dome is a Paris icon, but it's a surprise to me just how huge this place is. I start off pretty well, quite interested in the amazing suits of armour dating to the 1600s (or earlier) and weapons dating back to before the time of Christ. But after a while my museum fatigue starts to set in and it feels like it's just going on and on and on and on.............

........... eventually I'm sitting trying not to nod off in front of some video footage or other about one of the many, many, many wars in French history, while mon amour continues to enjoy the amazing and detailed displays.

Around lunch-time, we take a break from the endless halls of displays and head to the church with the iconic gold dome to see the monstrosity that is Napoleon Boneparte's tomb - down in the crypt but able to be viewed from above (as evidenced by the circle of school children leaning over the balustrade and peering into the bowels of the crypt below) - it's amazing, such a huge coffin for (reputedly) such a little (in stature) man (with a BIG reputation though)!!!

After lunch we continue in another area of the museum. By the time we get to the late 1800s, then WWI and WW2 my head is about to explode................ that's it for me, I'm done. Luckily, I'm not the only one, and we call it a day - for this museum anyway :-)
Literally just across the street from Les Invalides, is the Musée Rodin. Last time I visited this collection of Rodin's sculptures housed in the 18th century Hôtel Biron where Rodin lived for a while, it was December, and snowing. My gorgeous youngest son could not have been less interested in going inside to view the sculptures; all he wanted to do was stay in the garden and make snowballs :-) xoxo
Today there is no snow, for which I'm thankful. The house is undergoing major renovations, which appear to be much needed, the building is definitely showing its age. The displays inside are restricted because of the renovations - "an ensemble of emblematic works" - and we're clearly not seeing everything I saw 7 years ago, which is a little disappointing.

Outside in the garden there are more renovations going on - the fountains and landscaping are undergoing a facelift, but it's still possible to wander and enjoy the sculptures and the spring flowers that are starting to appear in this beautiful garden.

Although our feet and legs are aching - there's something about the way you walk around museums and galleries that makes you sore in a different way to more "normal" walking and exercise - my easy-going and accommodating new husband agrees to walk across the river to the Champs Élysées and up to the Arc de Triomphe. I've never climbed to the top before and although it's been a bit rainy today the cloud is high so we're hoping for a reasonable view. There are 284 spiral steps up, and it starts raining again before we begin the climb. By the time we reach the top the weather has closed in somewhat, which is a little disappointing as we need our umbrellas up, but the view is still pretty good - we can make out all the significant landmarks. It's windy and we have to hold tightly to our umbrellas and juggle cameras, but we get some souvenir photos, walk around the perimeter, then head back down.

When we get to the bottom, there's some sort of ceremony about to happen. They've fenced off the centre and a crowd is gathering. We're on the other side of the arch, the dignitaries have their backs to us, but we have a front-row view because of that!! We're not sure what we've stumbled upon, but it's definitely something military. There are old men with their great-coats, berets and military medals, young men in very impressive uniforms, one old guy directing the action, people holding flags and lining up under the arch, the laying of wreaths in front of the flame.

We can't understand anything they're saying, but later I Google this event and discover that it happens tous les soirs (every night!!!). This ritual pays tribute to the "Great Dead", where each evening at 6.30pm one of 900 associations of former combatants, regrouped as an association called La Flamme sous l'Arc de Triomphe, rekindles the Memorial Flame (burning continuously since 1923) over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. How's that for an ongoing commitment to French national military pride? As for us, it's cold and rainy now and we're not feeling very committed to staying out in this weather, so we're off to hop on the Metro and home to a nice warm and dry apartment. Three days down, one to go...................