Paris Journal 2007

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Flowers in the Champ de Mars.

 

Historical Library for the City of Paris, located in the
Marais, above and below.  Above, one of the babies is
holding a mirror, the other a serpent, symbolizing truth and
prudence.

 

Another view of the garden at the Musée du Quai Branly.
I love this cascading vine on the improbable-looking wall.

 

Shell motif over the entrance to the Musée Cognacq-Jay.

Sunday, August 12

 

Carolyn and Doug found the Nespresso boutique on their second try.  Whew.  The problem the first time was three-fold:  they approached the shop from the south, I think, on the rue du Bac, and therefore could not see the word “Nespresso” above the awnings, they didn’t recognize the Nespresso logo on the doors or on the merchandise in the windows, and it just didn’t look like a shop to them – no aisles and shelves to browse through.

 

Carolyn and Doug also found their way to Versailles yesterday.  When I spoke to Doug on the phone in the evening, he said they were exhausted and footsore.  They saw the chateau, which was included on their museum pass, and then they walked the park because the tram somehow didn’t work out.

 

This morning I had to go pretty far for my routine errands because so many places are closed.  With the Feast of the Assumption coming up on Wednesday, and with this being the middle of the month weekend, we are in the absolute nadir of August in Paris.  On the boulevard de Grenelle, as I started down the rue Violet, a very young American couple were puzzling over their map.  I heard the young woman say “maybe it is over that way,” as I went by.  A few seconds later, I turned around and even the young MAN was getting out his map.  It is serious when a man has to consult a map after his wife or girlfriend has already done so.  So I went back and asked them if I could help them find something.  The radiant smiles of relief on their faces were heartwarming.

 

She said that first of all, they were looking for the number 6 métro line, which was hovering above us (the elevated line over the busy Sunday marketplace on Grenelle).  I told them that the station there at La Motte Picquet was closed for remodeling, which they’d discovered apparently -- and that the next one was a bit of a walk away down Grenelle, and it is called Dupleix.  That was the part that they didn’t know.  One down, one to go.

 

She said they were also looking for the Eiffel Tower.  Whooaa, I thought.  They really are lost!  I pointed the way across the boulevard de Grenelle and said, “It is really easy.  You just work your way straight through this little neighborhood on the other side of this boulevard, and you come to another boulevard called Avenue de Suffren.  You cross it, and then go across one more residential street, then VOILA!  You’re at the Champ de Mars, with the Eiffel tower at one end.  You can’t miss it that way.”

 

They were so delighted as they said thanks and I wished them a good day.  Off they went, toward the Champ de Mars.

 

 

The other day when we were in the Marais, we passed by a City of Paris historical library situated in one of the grand old hôtels particuliers at 24 rue Pavée.  It’s amazing how the city has managed to latch onto so many fine hôtels particuliers! This one was built for Diane de France, duchess of Angouleme from 1538 to 1619 (and the legitimate daughter of Henry II).  It was enlarged and renovated several times, starting in the 17th Century.

 

When she died in 1619, Diane left the home to her nephew, Charles d’Angouleme, the illegitimate son of Charles IX and Marie Touchet.  He lived there until his death in 1650.  He was a bibliophile, and he constructed the north wing and an observation tower on the home.

 

It was then Guillaume de Lamoignon, the first president of the parliament of Paris from 1617 to 1677, who rented the home and made it a place where notable people gathered.  These included Madame de Sévigné, Boileau, Racine, Bourdaloue, Regnard, and Guy Patin.  He lived there just until 1750.  Then the French novelist, Alphonse Daudet, lived there for a time in the 1800s.  The City of Paris bought it in 1928, and restored it from 1940 to 1968. 

 

The first Paris public library was founded by Antoine Moriau, the procurer for the king and the city.  It opened in 1763.   This historical library has been in this current location since 1969.  It contains documents, manuscripts, and maps dating back to the 16th Century.

 

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