Europe By Train: April in Paris #7

We were coming to the end of our Paris stay. I barely stopped those last few days, visiting and revisiting my favorite places, wanting to imprint everything in my heart. I had walked through the Luxembourg Gardens several times already, this would be my last. A brief stroll on a beautiful afternoon, the park incandescent.

After the park, I always pass by St-Sulpice. One year we saw Madeleine being filmed here. I love the square, the lion fountain, the promise of St-Germain.

I did not return to Ile St-Louis, another old home where one winter we marveled at snow-covered primroses on a balcony that overlooked what was then a narrow lane lost in time. This trip we were staying near Canal St-Martin, where Brooklyn meets Paris. But the quartier is fun to wander, and the canal is a wonder. It is always a thrill to watch the locks open and close.

At the bridge, I enjoyed more street art.

On the other side of the canal, Hotel du Nord remains as it always was (almost), the setting for the 1938 classic film.

I admired the living wall outside the new Musée Branly in the 7th.

The interior passage leading up to the displays is a river of words in all of man's languages.

The museum features indigenous art and culture of the last two centuries, and is not to be missed. Below are betel nut crackers from India.

These bangles are similar to the "sun and moon" one I cherish from Morocco. But I forgot to note their origin. By the sequence of the photos they appear to be from India too. I need to return to check their history.

The following is from a special exhibit about identity and the self.

Philosophical and quirky. Very Paris.

It was April and I swooned over the blooming chestnut trees.

And the bakeries. I fulfilled my noble goal to sample a croissant every day.

I kept saying this was my farewell Paris tour. Next time, Arles and the south of France where the pace is slower and the people warmer. But writing this, I know that however often I repeat, I'm done with Paris, I know that Paris is not done with me. 

I'm not sure I knew it that last day at the Gare du Nord, waiting to board the Eurostar to London. But I know it now. 

Next stop: London http://dianarchambers.blogspot.com/2016/08/europe-by-train-london-1-exploring.html

Musée d'Orsay

Europe By Train: Paris #4: Revisiting Luxembourg Garden and Belleville

The Jardin du Luxembourg has its own corner in my heart. I used to live in Montparnasse and crossed this wondrous space several times a week. Today I would walk my old streets en route to the park. I began in the 14th arrondissement at the grand lion of Denfert-Rochereau, designed by August Bartholdi, creator of the Statue of Liberty.

I wandered through the Montparnasse cemetery. In its tombstones and grave markers, I read so many stories, scholars and politicians, soldiers who served in distant lands, the women who stayed at home. In all the Paris cemeteries I visited, people of every faith were spending eternity together, including this Vietnamese family.

And this child.

Enjoying a flakey croissant on my old street, rue Delambre, I wandered up to the park. After watching a vicious game of boules, I continued to another Statue of Liberty.

I always visit my lion.

And my deer.

And "my" ivory tower overlooking the park...imagining my next life.

I turned to see the first chestnut blossom. And the Luxembourg palace, now the seat of the French Senate.

Before this trip, I had somehow I had missed the Greek Actor.

I reacquainted myself with the tranquil Medici Fountain.

I discovered a monument dedicated to the student resistors in WWII.

Leaving through the St-Germain gates,

I was certain to encounter some new delights.

It was dusk by the time I passed by another favorite haunt, the Church of St-Sulpice.

The next day, I was drawn back to gritty Belleville, quite the opposite of the chic sixth, but a more vibrant new-old. Street art is something to watch for here!

This is a hilly neighborhood and I visited the Parc de Belleville with its grand panoramic view.

The park was buzzing with life and more art.

Kids congregated in an amphitheater area listening to French rap.

Belleville is a vibrant quartier with such a sense of beginnings. Its streets are filled with Arabs and Asians, its cemetery a quiet mix of every faith. Energetic immigrants live here, not the 1%.

Artists live here too. This work warns, "One must be suspicious of words." I took this to mean that words can not express everything that matters.

Next stop: Asnières-sur-Oise: The resting place of Vincent Van Gogh.

http://dianarchambers.blogspot.com/2016/07/europe-by-train-paris-5-auvers-sur-oise.html