October 7, 2012

A WARM AUTUMN AFTERNOON IN PARIS

In the Tuilleries

The day was gorgeous. The chestnut trees had just begun to turn. The air had a hint of fall but was not at all cold. I had planned to visit a few museums, but when I realized it was probably one of the most fabulous days I'd experience here, I nixed that idea, and decided to go for a stroll wherever my feet wanted to go, so that is how I spent the afternoon, mindless and dreamy.

Place de la Concorde

 

I walked to the local bus to catch the train (as our nearby bus to the metro does not operate on Sundays) and transferred to the gold metro line for two stops, exiting at Invalides.  I had passed it so many times and wanted to know more about it.  The Musee de L'Armee is both a museum and a monument, and the place looked pretty interesting, but when the information agent told me one should allow three hours for a visit to make it worth the admission fee, I decided to leave that for a rainy day.  I'm not that interested in wars, swords and guns, and Napoleon's tomb will still be there next time. It looks pretty amazing from the brochure; Napoleon's remains were returned in 1840 to France and a tomb erected under the Dome of l'hotel Invalides.  I did take time to walk through the main courtyard, where 60 French classical bronze cannons, 200 years of the French artillery, are displayed for visitors to delve more into this aspect of French history.

Les Invalides

under Pont Alexandre III

Winston Churchill: We will never give up

After visiting the American Church, I crossed to the Left Bank on Pont Alexandre III, which never ceases to amaze me  (I studied the details underneath the bridge this time). I had not yet walked through the Place de la Concorde, so started my longer walk there, winding my way to the Tuilleries, my mind's destination, although I didn't know it yet. Imagine my surprise when I came upon my favorite restaurant so far, Le Renard--what a coincidence!  It was busy at 4:00 as everyone was outside enjoying the day. My waiter found a little table for me that was perfect and where I could watch everything going on in the park while enjoying lunch. Beginning to enjoy my salade and le vin, I was joined by a determined wasp (I think he wanted the pineapple dressing).  I'm still recuperating from the one that stung me in Ballymoney, so I became just as determined and finally got rid of him.  You may enjoy the pics of the cafe and of my lunch, which was La Salade Brasilliene-

 

 I made lunch last as long as possible before continuing my walk toward Notre Dame, as I planned to take the train from St. Michel-N.D. station (this area has been the beginning of many of my walks on both the Left and Right Banks). Ending at the back of the Louvre, I proceeded to walk along the river to the Pont des Artes, which I love with all of the padlocks of various lovers with names included (I wonder how many are still together).   And I was in luck, as the little man at the stand with the citron sorbet was there; I could not disappoint him, could I?

The walk by the Seine was absolutely scrumptious (like the citron sorbet) and my train came just as I arrived at the RER stop. That was the end of the transportation luck, as when I arrived at my local station, I had just missed the bus. What's another mile and a half? The whole day was a great walk and I enjoyed every minute.

behind the Louvre