Day one of our stay in Vincennes, which is a suburb of Paris and only a few stops from the centre of Paris on the Metro. This is a view of the interior of the Castle of Vincennes, which is not far from where we are staying in Vincennes. This castle was the home of many Kings of France until they built more palaces and castles, notably the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre and other great (now) monuments.
Another shot of the interior of the Castle of Vincennes
The moat of the castle
The front entrance of the castle and the castle keep (keeps the nasty neighbours out).
M contemplating the front of the castle.
A typical streetscape in Paris.
This is a small park, built over a section of the RER train line in Vincennes. Kids love playing in the water to cool down. The RER is part of the public transport system, as is the Metro. The RER stops at less stations and is much faster. Neither, however, are airconditioned, which makes for a sweaty ride in a Parisian summer. The buses are not airconditioned either, but they pick up and deliver passengers to and from the RER and Metro and deliver them to stops near their homes. A great system, but the State Govt would have to build more train lines - even underground!
This is a little square behind the local City Hall. The french have great squares and parks.
More of the square and park at Vincennes.
And more.
And more
This is a section of a pathway in the Bois de Vincennes, which includes the Botanical Gardens for Paris. It's a beautiful place and only a short walk from our place.
The info centre in the Bois
An ampitheatre (or performance espace) in the centre of the park. The vegetation is outstanding and the setting is to-die-for beautiful. Lots of people enjoy this bois and lots exercise on the closed roads around the park.
M contemplating the lake. Interesting fountain in the background.
Kids playing on these unusual shapes in the park. They are covered with granite blocks, the same as comprise the cobble stones on many roads, but they were happy to slide down them on their bottoms!
Coupla birds in the park.
I think that this one didn't like me taking the photo - gave me a sharp look.
A tiny red squirrel eating food off the pathway in the park. The squirrels that we saw at Oshkosh were grey in colour, but about the same size.
A back side view of that unusual fountain that M was admiring earlier.
M posing in a section of the garden.
JB racing back to the camera during several abortive attempts to take a timed photo. M said the camera had gone off, but obviously it hadn't. Caught in mid-stride.
A kind passer-by offered to take the photo and here it is.
See that tall structure in the far distance, middle of picture? That's the Arc de Triomphe, looking straight down the Avenue des Champs Elysees from the front plaza of the Grande Arche at La Defense. Impressive, isn't it?
Same piccie, taken at max magnification.
Looking into the Granda Arche from the front plaza.
Looking up at the Grande Arche from the plaza.
Moi on the steps with M driving the camera.
An elevated walkway leads away from the Grande Arche in the opposite direction of the Arc de Triomphe
We sat on the steps at the rear, in the shade, and ate lunch. Didn't share any of it with the “rats with wings” though.
The lifts to take people into the interior of the Grande Arche are made of glass. M didn't fancy going up in them, so we stayed on terra firma. Interesting architecture and engineering.
The glass entrance to the building to access the lower floors. I think that it's a Government department/s that occupy the building.
This was a big surprise for M. When we arrived at the Trocadero via the Met, the Musee de L'Homme was immediately on our left - a large multi-floored beautiful old building. There is a large gap to the Musee De La Marne. In the middle, between the two buildings, is this view. M was not expecting to be looking at the Tour Eiffel and the look on her face was priceless!
A view of the plaza at the rear of the two museams One is the Museum of Man (showing the natural history of humankind) and the other is the Museum of the Sea. Great view, isn't it?
The view to the Ecole Militaire down the Champs de Mars. If you Google these terms you will probably find out more than I can explain here. Suffice to say that a certain Sub-Lieutenant Napoleon graduated from the school.
There is a public swimming pool near the base of the Eiffel Tower. You learn something everyday. And here we were without our togs or a towel!
Looking back through the gap between the two museums.
M enjoying the view.
Moi pointing out the bleeding obvious.
There is a kids roundabout at the bottom of the gardens leading to the Eiffel Tower. I thought that the little aircraft was cute .....................
Approaching the Eiffel Tower on the bridge over the River Seine.
A view from the tour bus of a typical Paris apartment building. They are 19th Century and, while looking similar, are beautiful buildings in their own right. I'd like to live here!
The dome of the chapel of the Hotel des Invalides. No, it is not for those who drink too much and get paralytic. This is the hospital built by Louis 14th to care for old and wounded soldiers, numbering in their thousands, who were otherwise forced to beg on the streets. Remember that France waged many wars throughout its history and, at times, controlled much of what is known as Western Europe these days.
A view of the front entrance of the Hotel Des Invalides. Note the unusual militaristic upper windows and the moat (about three metres deep). The French Revolution was launched here, with the mob breaking into the armory to get thousands of rifles to storm the Bastille. Incedentially, the ceremonial canons were confiscated by the Nazis when they took Paris in WW2, but were eventually returned to their rightful place.
A view of the Seine and some of the bridges.
Driving down (or is it up?) the Champs Elysees toward the Place de La Concorde. The Place is one of the iconic places of Paris, with the obelisk visible here. The Place De La Concorde was selected by the revolutionaries as the execution place for the french royalty and thousands of others following the revolution. The gallows were moved from the Bastille especially for these exections. These days, it's just a nice peaceful place which leads you to the Musee Du Lovre.
The obelisk in the Place De La Concorde. You can Google it to get its history and significance, but it is the only symbol that existed in the Place which did not have political significance - either royalty or revolution - for some time.
One of the fountains of the Place De La Concorde. There's two and I can't remember which one this is.
The sign on the front says it all.
In the Montmartre District, once a village on the outskirts of Paris City, there are lots of little narrow roads leading uphill to the Basilique du Sacre Coeur. It's a busy, but seedy looking place. Reminded me of the Kings Cross/Darlinhurst area of Sydney.
To get to Sacre Coeur, you have a choice. Climb the thousands of stairs or use the train pass that you have already purchased. Needless to say, we didn't count the stairs!
These blokes were doing some kind of a gymnastic performance on the steps of Sacre Coeur. People sat on the stairs to view the performance, which was accompanied by much grunting and groaning from the participants. Made it hard to navigate the stairs, but we got through.
Here is the church of Sacre Coeur. Quite beautiful and the crowds inside were incredible. It is a fully functioning church.
The view from the top of the steps of Sacre Coeur.
Looking up the steps to the church. This was leaving and the gynastic performance was finished.
Going down the little furnicular railway. Still didn't count the steps. Ah well, maybe next time? Better still, I might just Google it and see how many there are.
There's those darn steps.
Here we are - a self portrait on the hop-on-hop-off bus.
This is the entrance to the Louvre Museam. The only entrance is via the glass pyramid, directly in front.
Opposite the Louvre, looking towards the Place De La Concorde, is this mini version of the Arc De Triomphe. I forget what it's called. Feel free to Google it too.
Passing through the courtyard of the Louvre. We had lunch here on Thursday, sitting on one of the stone seats, to get out of the rain. Yep, it rains in Paris in summer too.
They are always maintaining the Louvre and all of the other important buildings and monuments in Paris.
One of the doorways into the inner courtyard of the Louvre.
A view of the River Seine, showing one of those famous bridges near the Louvre.
The view of Notre Dame Cathedral from the bus. We didn't visit it this time.
A view from the bus to the Seine and a tour boat.
The other fountain in the Place De La Concorde
Another view of the obelisk
Another fountain view towards La Medelaine.
A view of some of the gardens along the Champs Elysee.
Starting off on our River Seine cruise
A movie clip of the start of the trip on the River Seine
Another movie teaser!
A clip passing under the Pont De La Concorde
Some detail of the Pont De La Concorde.
Another bridge (foorbridge) on the Seine.
And another bridge.
Pont Du Carousel, near the road entrances through the Louvre Courtyard. They fit buses through there!
A nice bridge.
Another bridge. Check out the number of people milling about. This was taken at approximately 8:45 pm.
This is the start of the Ille De La Che, an island in the Seine, which contains the Cathedral Of Notre Dame. It is connected on this side by the Pont Neuf. Lots of people congregate down by the river to cool off. They wave to the boats, sing, dance and drink wine. Sounds like a good time is had by all.
Bridge!
In this clip, you can hear the crowd on the river bank shouting and clapping as the boat passes.
Notre Dame from the boat
Notre Dame peeking over the edge.
More bridges. Note the height of the parapets into the river. It still floods Paris.
Notre Dame again.
The entrance to the Canal Saint Martin, which heads north at this point. The Seine and canals are still used commercially and the traffic is quite dense at times.
Another view of the Notre Dame Cathedral, just on sunset.
Crowds on the river bank. I am starting to reach the practical capabilities of my camera in this light.
At the opposite end of the Ille De Che (upstream). They really should clean those boat windows!
Bridges of the Seine at sunset
More of the Seine at sunset.
A different perspective of the upstream end of the Ille De Che.
The architecture of Paris is very varied, with many styles and periods in evidence.
Coming back to the Pont De La Concorde. Note the moon to the left of the Tour Eiffel.
They were just turning on the lights of the Eiffel Tower as we got back to the quay, which is at the base of the tower.
The camera is at the max for this.
Boats on the Seine at dusk.
This is a special light show. It occurs every hour on the hour after dark. My poor camera could not cope with the lack of available light.
Going back to the digs. M on the RER platform in Paris. Note the backpack with the rehydration bladder? They saved our lives with water available at all times in the summer heat.
Moi, ditto.
This is how you get to the Arc De Triomphe - under the insane roundabout at it's base.
Under the Arc. It is a monument to the soldiers of France. A lot like our war memorials, but very imposing.
Detail of the roof of the Arc.
Flags are flown in the space under the Arc.
This is the flame of the unknown soldier. It has similar significance to our Eternal Flames in our war memorials, but this is very public and held in very high regard by the French and visitors alike.
A view of the central section of the Arc, past the flags.
A view from the top of the Arc De Triomphe towards the Grande Arche, along the Avenue De La Grande Armee and, in the middle distance, the Avenue Charle De Gaulle acros the Seine to La Defense. Stunning view, don't you think? Paris has to be the best city in the world for its design and layout - and those stunning avenues and boulevards.
La Grande Arche - closer - from the Arc De Triomphe.
More
M on the top of the Arc De Triomphe.
Moi enjoying the view (or is that “lemme out”?).
From the top of the Arc De Triomphe.
Also.
And again.
Yep, again.
Looking towards Sacre Coeur
Inside one of the spaces inside the Arc De Triomphe.
This is the memorial to the combattants of the Resistance of the second world war. It is set into the pavement under the Arc, but it is hard to avoid walking over it, as many do. I am not used to walking over public memorials.
Ascending the escaltors of the Centre Culture George Pompidou - the Gallery Of Modern Art of Paris.
M on the escalators at George Pompidou.
This piece in the GP Centre is an aircraft made of wicker, with fans under the wings blowing streamers behind to give the impression of flight.
Embedded in the wicker aircraft are scissors, knives, finger nail clippers etc. All of the things forbidden on commercial flights these days. The title was something like “Things Surrendered For Flight” according to my poor french. The camera was at the max for the lighting conditions. It took my fancy as a masterpiece of modern art and expression.
This shot is inside the glass pyramid of the Louvre. This was the start of our visit to the Louvre. We must be having a cultural day - or something.
The peak of the Louvre glass Pyramid. Everyone enters the Louvre under this glass structure.
This is the public space under the pyramid, two floors down. It is very busy, with individuals and groups scurrying everywhere. The architecture is fabulous, everywhere you look. The spiral staircase on the right leads to the entrance under the glass pyramid.
Venus de who?
A ceiling of one of the galleries.
More ceiling.
The whole ceiling.
And a wall.
More ceiling (skylight?)
Definitely skylight
Your first glimpse of the Mona Lisa by Leaonardo Da Vinci.
A closer view of Mona. M thought that it would be much larger! One woman was heard to remark: “Seen the Mona Lisa, BORING!”. I don't know what she expected.
A depiction of the Last Supper. Very large painting.
This is a view of the French Painters Gallery. Stunning!
A view of the outside - from the inside. This view is from the opposite side of the pyramid from the main entrance.
This courtyard in the Louvre contains statues from ancient Greece and Rome. Nice cool place to pause for a few minutes.
Another view of the objets d'art in the courtyard. This is a good resting place. If you plan to visit, bring your walking shoes, plenty of water and patience to deal with the pushing, shoving crowds. We visited in the peak of the french holiday month of August. Ouch!
A video clip of the space under the glass pyramid. I hope that it portrays the architecture - and the crowds that are in the Louvre at any time.
Another view of the outside from the inside.
This is the entrance to the Louvre. It's a bit of a zoo with all of the coming and going. Unlike any gallery I've ever been to.
M is taking in one of the Monet paintings in L'Orangement, a gallery near the Place De La Concorde, not far from the Louvre. It houses paintings by Matisse and Monet. This is one of Monet's most famous works, depicting the four seasons at his house at Giverny. It includes views of the famous lily ponds and took his whole life to complete, after which, he donated them to the people of France. They are mounted in two oval rooms, as per Monets instructions.
One of the round rooms of the L'Orangement gallery.
A view from the L'Orangement grounds towards the Eiffel Tower, Across the Place De La Concorde.
A view of the obelisk of the Place De La Concorde from the gates of L'Orangement.
