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

Europe by Train: Paris #3: From High Art to Street Art

Paris is a little bit of everything, from high art to street art. The best way to get to know the city is by wandering her grand boulevards and petites rues, her waterways and cemeteries. Some days I would set a destination, then make my way there via serendipity and whim.

Edith Piaf, in Belleville

My every trip to Paris will include at least one visit to the Musée d'Orsay. I need to commune with my beloved Starry Night, La Nuit Étoilée. The first time I saw this painting, years ago, it was as if I had fallen into space. I was gone, spinning through the heavens. Like so many many others, I go also to pay homage to the artist, now known to all as simply, Vincent.

I love this museum. Each time here, I see something new. This time I was captivated by Degas' glowing teal-blue.

And the swirling, light-filled Impressionist skies.

I am captivated by Manet's lush peonies.

Sometimes I discover something odd or eccentric. This poster, "The Embellishment of Paris by the Métro," expresses the artist's ambivalence about progress, both fascinated and apprehensive.

I go also for the space itself, Italian architect Gae Aulenti's magnificent transformation of the old d'Orsay railway station into a temple of art. And yet, she honors its history; we are all joined in the journey.

The following day I wandered from our apartment to Canal St. Martin.

And then to a park I had never before visited, the dramatic, untamed (sauvage, as the French say) Buttes Chaumont.

A crew was filming a scene on this meadow and I thought how I'd love to set my own scene here. (And wouldn't you know, when I got home and began my next novel, that's exactly what I did!)

 I was sorry to miss the show at the old puppet theater.

Exiting through the park's southern gates, I wandered down to Belleville, the hilly, old immigrant quartier, still a mix of worlds. 

I continued south to the Père Lachaise cemetery, final resting place of Edith Piaf, who spent her early years nearby in Belleville.

I barely paused all day, sustaining myself on croissants and adrenalin. The next day we enjoyed a civilized lunch in the 6th arrondissement, home of all things chic. 

I was utterly smitten with the fabulous Sonia Rykiel boutique on St. Germain Boulevard.

The day ended with Paris in all her glory.

Next stop: No wait, I'm not leaving yet, so come back next week for more Paris!

http://dianarchambers.blogspot.com/2016/07/europe-by-train-paris-4-revisiting.html

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