We put our Navigos through their paces today. We started out by taking the line 5 to Bastille and switching to no. 1 and exiting at the Saint Paul stop. This was another of of our old neighborhoods and we relished being back here.
I wanted to pop in to Saint Paul church to see if I could find the tomb of François de la Chaize (1624-1809), better known as Père Lachaise. He was confessor to Louis XIV who gave him a large tract of land east of the city which the good father turned into a retreat for his Jesuit brothers. The land was eventually confiscated by the state and after going through several owners became the cemetery best known for its famous burials and bearing its one-time owner's name.
A search through the small former Jesuit church proved frustrating however. There were a number of lovely alcoves with sarcophagi but not one of them was marked. Nor was there any information in the church identifying the location let alone the names of the prominent burials.
floral fun on rue Saint-Antoine near the Saint-Paul Metro
It was a short walk from the church to our first major goal for the day: the newly renovated MuséeCarnavalet. As the Museum of the History of the City of Paris the Carnavalet is just simply amazing in both its scope and collections. The arrangement walks the visitor through the history of the city chronologically and is (mostly) successful in its effort. It had been some years since we had been here and in fact it has undergone a major renovation in the interim.
And the work shows. It was nice to see they kept the Signage room as the beginning of our experience; all the signs, large and small are from businesses that once thrived and prospered in the city but eventually became nothing more than historical oddities.
the Signage room is still the introduction to the museum
Soon you find yourself in the lower level (we might say basement) where the prehistorical and Roman collections are located.
Here one can find a number of tombstones and even sarcophagi from the 3-5 centuries AD. Apparently, in the late 19th century an ancient cemetery was discovered during construction to create the nexus of major boulevards that are today Saint-Michel and Les Gobelins. The "Saint Marcel necropolis" yielded quite a few fascinating artifacts which are well-marked in the museum and indeed the museum's refurbished collections are well-signed in both French and English.
the skeleton is a reproduction, and not original but, as the sign makes clear, included for effect
taking a break
If you're a Protestant who holds grudges you'll want to skip over this next image. . .
Catherine de Medici (1519-1589), queen of France from 1547-1559
But on a more comforting note is the story of this rather incredible woman.
painter Adélïde Binart
And for one a quick study of one helluva life -- which should make us wonder what we do with our days today -- you must read about this woman.
Madame Tallien
My personal favorite among these incredible stories told in this museum has always been the very well- and oft-told tale of Juliette Recamier, salonniere extraordinaire and one of the great beauties of her time. She not only successfully fought off the advances of Napoléon I but became lasting friends with his archenemy Madame Germaine de Staël, which speaks volumes about her character.
by François Gérard
Once our browsing of the collections was done we made our way to the museum cafe in the inner courtyard of the museum to have a bite of lunch and a glass of wine. Susie had a scrumptious-looking focaccia and I had something called a Turkish egg, basically a poached egg with sautéed eggplant and creme fraiche.
From the Carnavalet we made our wayback to the Saint Paul Metro and took the no. 1 west to the Clemenceau stop. Exiting the metro station one is immediately greeted by Charles de Gaulle forever striding down the Champs-Elyssés on 26 August 1944 welcoming the liberation of Paris from German occupation.
Leaving Chuck behind we turned to face the Grand Palais, closed during its renovation for the 2024 Olympics. But our objective was across the street, the small palace, or Petit Palais. It was just by chance that we happened across a notice that there was an exhibition at the Petit Palais of the works of Giovanni Boldini (1846-1931).
Known as the "king of swish" for his unique swirling brush style, Boldini was one of the hottest portrait painters for the wealthy and sophisticated Europeans of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
"On a bench in the Bois de Boulogne" 1872
"Crossing the Street" 1873-75
"Conversation at the café" 1879
the actress Alice Regnault 1884
two women sketching
"The Marquise Luisa Casati with Peacock Feathers" 1911-1913
"Portrait of Gladys Deacon" 1916
From the featured exhibition rooms we strolled through the main gallery and permanent collection, always free, by the way.
From the Petit Palais we headed back to the metro but this time took the no. 13 south to Duroc where we switched to the no. 10, getting off at Cluny-Sorbonne. We then walked up Boulevard Saint-Michel to the Jardin du Luxembourg. It was an absolutely gorgeous late afternoon to be in the gardens and we were not the only ones to have that idea.
From the jardin we walked back and across the boulevard onto Avenue Gay-Lussac where we caught the no. 27 bus to the Place d'Italie.
Getting off just short of the place we popped into boulangerieLes Gobelinois for 2 baguettes and 2 religeuse (for me). Across the street from the bakery was a Vietnamese restaurant where I got a rice dinner to go (Susie was still full from her lunch).
It was a short walk back home and in for the night.
The morning began with an extra-leisurely breakfast in the hotel. Richard and Pauline would be heading back home later this morning so we sat and chatted about this-and-that over food and coffee. Pretty much like usual. It had been two-and-a-half years since the four of us had traveled together and that was simply way too long. Sharing experiences on the road so-to-speak is always a pleasure and traveling with those two is doubly so.
After saying our goodbyes with hugs all around -- now keenly aware that life and circumstances cannot be taken for granted -- they headed to the desk to check out before making their way to the metro and the airport.
Susie and I also headed out to the metro with our first objective being to renew our transport passes for another 24 hours. Since we had a little time on our old ones we hopped on the first line to take us to the central station where we got off and made our way to the nearest ticket service counter. We also wanted to test out whether the following day we would schlep ourselves and bags to the train station via the metro or try a taxi again. The metro won. We concluded it would a very easy thing: elevators and escalators, no stairs!
That accomplished we got back on the metro and headed out to the Stockholm suburbs, specifically to Skogskyrkogården and the grave of Greta Garbo. This cemetery, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is an incredible green space (they offer private and public guided tours). They even have a visitor center with cafe and a city bus makes regular runs between the metro stop and the cemetery.
lane to one of the five chapels
Greta Garbo
the visitor center
Leaving the cemetery we made our way back to the metro stop and into the city. We got off at a stop that was unfamiliar to us and, after some confusion, we eventually made it down to a part of the waterfront that WAS familiar where we planned to take the tram to the central shopping mecca. Oh, and while waiting for a tram, we did catch a glimpse of the men on horseback heading off for a changing of the royal palace guard:
Susie wanted to check out a particular store which she thought seemed a bit like Galleries Lafayette in Paris, but which turned out to be more of an indoor mall for designer collections. The lower level did have some fascinating food and kitchen sections which was worth the trouble (that and I stopped to have a glass of cava while she explored). Win-win to be sure.
From the market area we returned to the tram and took it to Djurgården island. Familiar territory to us now, I was on the hunt for a small cemetery that was close to the Vasa Museum. After a few minutes walk we found it: Galärvarvs-kirkogården.
So, that's two cemeteries in one day - I believe this might be a record for me! Next up we walked down to the Slussen No. 82 ferry landing and took it across the harbor to Skeppsholmen Island, a place we had visited with Richard and Pauline. This time we walked across the island past the Museum of Modern Art and across (yet another) bridge to the National Museum.
We browsed the 19th and early 20th century artists and were pleased to see works by Degas (a study version of La Petit Danseuse), Morisot, Manet, Cassat and a Nordic artist named Carl Larsson we became quite taken with, among others.
From the museum we made our way to the bus then metro and back home. where we relaxed until suppertime. Uncertain of where to spend our last meal we walked around the corner and up a block to a place known by locals (apparently) for beer and whiskey - Akkurat. We grabbed a table and each had a lager from Germany and baked char. with roasted small potatoes. Another delicious meal in Stockholm!
A short stroll back to the hotel and pack up for tomorrow's early walk to the metro.
