Out and about in Paris

9 June 2022.

While we continued to talk about the short-term future -- mostly through discussion of how little we could do until we tested next Monday and then how much would need to be done if I tested positive -- we decided to go for a walk in Père-Lachaise Cemetery.

Always masking on the metro, from the Campo Formio stop we rode the no. 5 to Republique and changed to the no. 3 getting off at the Père-Lachaise stop. It was such a gorgeous day it was easy to just wander around this wonderful green space, taking in the history of Paris and France in tiny increments. For me it was also an opportunity to document  a handful of the many graves I still needed to locate. 

Susie admiring Chopin while Dominique Denon admires her 

the cemetery chapel, standing on the spot where the Jesuit retreat stood some three centuries ago

On leaving the cemetery I suggested we expand our Navigos' range and take a bus to our next objective, the Les Halles area. Failing to find the right bus stop we walked a few blocks to a stop that included the number 69, our bus for the day. After waiting nearly 20 minutes the bus arrived and we stopped and started our way across Paris. Reaching the Bastille nexus of roads, the traffic was a snarled mess and we soon came to regret (my) suggestion of bus over Metro.

But even traffic eventually moves in Paris and we finally left the bus at the Châtelet stop. From there we walked to Les Halles passing the Holy Innocents' fountain. 

Once the location of the largest cemetery in Paris, the fountain is all that remains of the church and burial ground that eventually became the famous city market of Les Halles. In the lat 1960s the market was moved to Rungis, in the Paris suburbs and the space became rather desolate with developers pushing for an underground indoor mall. The area has recently undergone another makeover and is a magnet for tourists and locals alike (to what end is open to question). 

There was a street market going on next to the Saint Eustache church and we strolled through that to Boulevard Etienne Marcel where we sat outside at a familiar cafe to have lunch.

Cafes are wonderful places to just sit and watch people while sipping a glass of chilled white wine, which is what I did while Susie checked out her favorite baking supply shop, Mora, located just across the street. If you'd like to pull up a up a chair and join me for a couple of minutes, here's your chance:

v

After lunch we strolled back through the market and down a side street to Saint Eustache.

the side entrance

Back outside the church we crossed the grounds once occupied by a dozen or more steel and glass buildings that housed the culinary heart of the city of Paris. Now a park full of fun and whimsy. . .

the old Bourse

We made our way back to the metro and back home. 

A negative and a positive

8 June 2022.

The day began rainy and a gentle drizzle persisted off and on through much of the morning. Both of us just felt like a second cup of coffee and hanging around the apartment. 

After some discussion about health matters we also decided to go get "officially" tested for Covid-19.

I began developing symptoms of a rather unsettling nature the day we left Gouda for Paris (June 1). By the time we had settled in I was feeling quite sick, sore throat, cough, aches, weakness, fever, no appetite. We had brought Covid home test kits with us and I tested positive on 2 June and again 6 June. Susan tested negative. 

The good news is my fever abated quickly and my general well-being returned in fairly short order. 

So, today we went to a nearby pharmacy for an official test (€40) and sure enough, Susie was still negative and I was still positive. But with a positive test in hand and being asymptomatic I qualify for a "documentation of recovery" in order to fly out of France to the US next Tuesday. That assumes I still test positive next Monday (in order to get into the US international travelers need to show a negative test result taken within one day of departure from the originating country). If I test negative then I'm definitely good to go, literally and figuratively.

waiting to be tested

After the testing and accompanying disappointment that I may in fact have to stay in Europe, we headed back to the apartment to decide what we wanted to do with the rest of the day. We eventually concluded that a good stroll down to the Jardin des Plantes was in order and so we did.

We walked down the Boulevard l'Hôpital and entered the gardens near the natural history museum. On the right of the entrance was a wonderful statue to the noted French animal sculptor Emmanuel Fremiet. 

Not much was in bloom but the trees were certainly very green. We strolled then found a bench to sit and just take in being in the jardin.

there was a dwarf stegosaurus hiding in the bushes

Since the return trip was all uphill and we had our Navigos that just cried out to be used, after leaving the jardin we walked across the street to Gare d'Austerlitz. From there we took the no. 5 Metro two stops and a short walk home.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed by the possibility that one or both of us would not be allowed back in the US next Tuesday we hunkered down for the evening pondering the various options:

We had to be out of this apartment next Tuesday that was a given. But if I/we had to stay then what? Where to go? For how long? What about the flight next Tuesday and any future flight? When might that happen? Would I keep testing until declared negative or go for a "documentation of recovery"? And where might that "documentation" come from? And on and on and on. . . .

Stay tuned!

Carnavalet, Petit Palais, the Luxembourg Gardens and a bus ride home

7 June 2022.

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 Musée Carnavalet. 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

For more information about her go here and see her possible role in the Saint Bartholomew's Day Massacre.

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 boulangerie Les 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.