Europe by Train: Paris #2

On our return to Paris, we changed trains at Avignon, the station as modern and vast as Arles is old-fashioned and cozy.

We passed villages and farmland, rural France at its most timeless.

Arriving at the Gare de Lyon, we couldn't resist a cocktail at the ravishing Train Bleu.

The next day, as part of my research, we went to the Musée de l'Armée, a stunning and sobering history of the past 150 years of war. 

Photo of Hitler at the Eiffel Tower

German directional signs to Paris

The War Is Over

Continuing my research, we went to France's military archives, the Service Historique de la Defense. Located in the old Chateau de Vincennes outside Paris, it comes complete with a moat.

On this cold blustery day, we enjoyed an onion soup lunch at a café across from the chateau.

Fortified, we hopped a bus that took us through the old royal forest of Vincennes and eastern Paris to the Mittérrand Library. Although closed, the space was packed with students enjoying its wifi and modern facilities. We were able to visit a monumental exhibit of ancient 16 C globes by Venetian cosmographer, Cornelli, later offered to the Roi-Soleil, Louis XIV.

We passed by Shakespeare and Company, on the Left Bank of the Seine. After a bit of a renovation, it emerges better than ever.

Next stop: More Paris: From High Art to Street Art http://dianarchambers.blogspot.com/2016/07/europe-by-train-paris-3-from-high-art.html