tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28669048256319098422024-02-29T00:43:12.544+01:00PHOA newly retired Swede, living in Paris.Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.comBlogger343125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-17134431622592842832008-03-24T21:22:00.000+01:002008-03-24T21:29:08.862+01:00New site (2)<div align="justify"><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Referring to the below post, answering some questions and possibly making it more clear: This site will still be here, but not anymore in operation. All new posts will be on my new site, which you can find <a href="http://peter-pho2.blogspot.com/">HERE</a>. </span></strong></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-65194111604985866702008-03-23T16:02:00.008+01:002008-03-23T16:21:39.711+01:00New site<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0uc2A168VA73b8Yg66V5sHe4V0IL3WmfzCqt2mt35bVCkRmSafss2x_PJUwZNrYwX3rhqN7svp3atTo0uIaXQdV0wenLyGXWkinL0K_RJYjHseUZnQqM4ZWeqHh5bDL7h3sBpTsFgeii/s1600-h/champagne.jpg"><strong><span style="color:#ff6600;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5180952850860893394" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW0uc2A168VA73b8Yg66V5sHe4V0IL3WmfzCqt2mt35bVCkRmSafss2x_PJUwZNrYwX3rhqN7svp3atTo0uIaXQdV0wenLyGXWkinL0K_RJYjHseUZnQqM4ZWeqHh5bDL7h3sBpTsFgeii/s320/champagne.jpg" border="0" /></span></strong></a><strong><span style="color:#ff6600;"> <span style="color:#ffcc33;">This site has now been in operation for exactly one year. Some 350 posts. Thanks for all your visits!<br /></span></span></strong></div><div align="justify"><strong><span style="color:#ffcc33;"><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"></span></span></span></strong></div><div align="justify"><strong><span style="color:#ffcc33;"></span></strong></div><div align="justify"><strong><span style="color:#ffcc33;">I thought it was time sto start a new one.<br /></span></strong></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><strong><span style="color:#ffcc33;"></span></strong></div><div align="justify"><strong><span style="color:#ffcc33;">So, if you hopefully wish to continue reading my posts, please go</span></strong><strong><span style="color:#ffcc33;"><span style="font-size:180%;"> </span></span></strong><a href="http://peter-pho2.blogspot.com/"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#ffcc33;">HERE</span></strong></a><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#ffcc33;">!</span></strong></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-62012204660562412382008-03-21T00:01:00.001+01:002008-03-20T23:50:57.514+01:00La Butte aux Cailles (1)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslNT3BOViriGNs-0gVLEy3RVr0Yisd1aC_FBe1u5bZJ3Nw9GwCVwvo-_4kdBSrxxjqlkjLC6uF6Xi8TjU2DyaE4AXgfxEbB4EtZKmDENYZ32DclQu0kyiii6ynun1ZhClS_iNnNa2u9f4/s1600-h/IMG_6317+com.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179956804995278018" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhslNT3BOViriGNs-0gVLEy3RVr0Yisd1aC_FBe1u5bZJ3Nw9GwCVwvo-_4kdBSrxxjqlkjLC6uF6Xi8TjU2DyaE4AXgfxEbB4EtZKmDENYZ32DclQu0kyiii6ynun1ZhClS_iNnNa2u9f4/s400/IMG_6317+com.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div><div align="justify">Yesterday, I talked about water sources, including one at <strong><span style="color:#ff6600;">La Butte aux Cailles</span></strong> (the “Quail Hill”), Place Paul-Verlaine. La Butte aux Cailles can be found a few paths from Place d’Italie (13th arrt.). In the surrounding you can find a lot of dull modern apartment buildings from the 60’s and 70’s, but this little area has been well preserved, probably due to difficult ground conditions.<br /><br />A small river, Bièvre, used to pass by at the bottom of the hill (today the river is underground), limestone mining and dyeing industry seems to have been rather dominant and on the hill you could find a number of wind mills. The area was annexed to Paris in 1860. Important battles took place here during the Paris Commune (1871). It remained a working class area until rather recently, but... there is soon no more "working class" living in Paris - too expensive. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179954524367643746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqVZQXkaJhmDtFt-NOqBVv7aveYGgLdzJe0PWsD4X3LYO6o3CSTMD2FCm-_PIkUjEwPAnRu_onGQodFjbxwsj31g2z_7n-LYbtgN_sQ1Ha3hWGW7X8rBa91P5GBzf4Fj2TytR8ttI3xA2T/s400/google+total.jpg" border="0" />This is in my taste a fabulous little area, a small Montmartre – without tourists. (Sorry, I have nothing against kind tourists, but…).<br /><br />There are a number of things to say about La Butte aux Cailles and I will do it in two or three episodes.<br /><br />You can reach the “Butte” in different ways, but I chose to climb some stairs just in front of the metro station Corvisart. The birches have got their first leaves. (See top picture.) You reach a small playground. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179955525095023746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSi-QiZZX_nUbyJQCtxQAhMN1pQQlPBc8ctm5FXu0R7w7YsW2tcAJCSlts8I-E0YP83O7yU7OHb32jYNTgBejn0U2xGkDnoKgWAob7s4rvn0QM5DFBdV3Bwoq4LWAmpWEYgDtNO43NdT9X/s400/01.jpg" border="0" />I then headed for the central place, on top of the hill, Place Paul-Verlaine, where we find our spring water and the public swimming bath, built in 1924 (see yesterday's post). <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179955855807505554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWYgl34ixay1CeuFQ9ORCX4LLQPRICJdnkaurY14JRuC11beg27TrT6BswMbADH6HtKEbNeiRg2rby_UEfbGM0alUIU3DQ84sKEzu-qHRtTUn9_rLOd0ZuT3bgb1FX_bo3uk_NJO-6-xkb/s400/01.jpg" border="0" />This is also the spot which was reached by the first ever human flight, by a “montgolfière”, coming from La Muette (16th arrdt,) some 9-10 km (6 miles) away. (See my <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2008/02/jardin-du-ranelagh-2-post-not-ready.html">post February 08</a>). You can find a small memorial.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179956212289791138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK5Y1bVA7conDqgA0uHMzETxk9lX9RHbWHpUs5TR273KPWWSTntmVoeJkB1348i56UsQdfWSWhHmMHldPR0H3WIfDY09yfJEKSt6_62kUbMIz0iZGUck_lDZZnewSdRJ13dmAgCStPS9tK/s400/02.jpg" border="0" />Opening to the place is also a school, founded in the middle of the 19th century by the Sisters of Saint Vincent de Paul. It was originally thought for the professional education of girls of modest origin. They were taught the ladies' professions of those times; they prepared even dresses for Queen Victoria! Today, it’s just a “normal school”. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179956220879725746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAyN1WT18PKNSSCawZbD9NS-dqvGPt1IC-aC5JyRgBc09gMxlumPzBJCjEOzT8YMfEUmwhPDtlserj0UNqNiwgVaBBacwalvxhiCCdM8-6ji5qN3Q8HE0j6t7Ir5PbUPyMrPy-bA0S1ahy/s400/03.jpg" border="0" />The place is full of narrow streets, small houses, small private gardens … and of course bars and restaurants. I will come back to all this, but in the meantime, let’s celebrate Easter! (See you Monday – or Tuesday!) </div><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify"><span style="font-size:180%;color:#ff6600;">Happy Easter!<br /></span><br /><em>Some of these pictures can be found on my </em><a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/03/la-butte-aux-cailles-1.html"><em>photo-blog</em></a><em>!</em></div></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-11609073322794831562008-03-20T00:01:00.003+01:002008-03-20T00:15:27.349+01:00Water<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7GlXURCZGAKn1hDEH_JyFeL0ZvopaNtu_CFPNKQGYunAxGyWoNC_CYDuIZCmeWX_X_c3viy3gRqce6UZP7HRQSVLmeqD4fzOzSklmITNYWVprso1Z49T_yIsqzCKBCsGvUo__0GOw93G/s1600-h/IMG_6327+fontaine.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179591621105968082" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx7GlXURCZGAKn1hDEH_JyFeL0ZvopaNtu_CFPNKQGYunAxGyWoNC_CYDuIZCmeWX_X_c3viy3gRqce6UZP7HRQSVLmeqD4fzOzSklmITNYWVprso1Z49T_yIsqzCKBCsGvUo__0GOw93G/s400/IMG_6327+fontaine.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div align="justify">Water supply is of course an issue for a big city.<br /><br />Paris, within the city limits and not counting the suburbs, is actually not that big in surface and has hardly more than 2 million inhabitants. It becomes really big only when you include the suburbs.<br /><br />Anyhow the city consumes something like 500 000 m3 (= some130 000 US gallons) of drinking water per day, which if I have calculated correctly corresponds to some 250 litres (around 65 US gallons) per person and day, of course not all swallowed.<br /><br />In ancient times, water came from a few local sources and fountains and was also partly brought to Paris in aqueducts and partly taken directly from the Seine where a first hydraulic pump was installed during the 17th century (called “La Samaritaine”, which gave the name to the department store which later was built there). Water was carried to people’s homes by water carriers – the last ones disappeared around 1910. In my yesterday’s message I talked about the Bassin de la Villette as a fresh water reservoir where water was brought in via the Canal de l’Ourcq. This did not last long. The water distribution was finally correctly organized during the second half of the 19th century and houses began to get water supply at home.<br /><br />Today the water comes from different sources up to some 150 km (100 miles) away, but part comes also from upstream the Seine.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJoMt6ARYu-AvQygsoTdYf4bqgViAaMB6IHDl_OTnlY9L5HVRy-PRIYxoj2ENMON0kpv0nXo9y5nQ9PFE41OiPb_CYb6zHsxmMznZmPVbydeKNhZi28ZnY6W2aVYedp16aDyE6pwdlPb9s/s1600-h/google+.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179589172974609266" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJoMt6ARYu-AvQygsoTdYf4bqgViAaMB6IHDl_OTnlY9L5HVRy-PRIYxoj2ENMON0kpv0nXo9y5nQ9PFE41OiPb_CYb6zHsxmMznZmPVbydeKNhZi28ZnY6W2aVYedp16aDyE6pwdlPb9s/s320/google+.jpg" border="0" /></a>You can also get pure spring water in Paris – and for free! Some 600 or 700 meters under the ground you can find some 25 000 years old fresh water from an underground river and you can still get hold of it at three places in Paris, quite distant from each other (see the map). It holds some 25-30 Centigrades (some 80° Fahrenheit) if you drink it immediately, but if you live fairly close you would probably bring some plastic bottles and then take them to your fridge. Many people do. If you are interested in the water quality, it’s checked regularly and you can find an updated report on the spot.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghSdwDcuGv8zo-_m3pCN2qyMiBYc5llsHqZJirh9RhGrVFGxI_HKd9JadmfjbyukPSOxG1MQ7Q8avvqSzm8UWK085M7U5DwyqYBSvblsEgDFj4HPHMP9qQ7h4VhD3Oj18Nv1Cy6g2zwVsU/s1600-h/IMG_6313+water+analysis.jpg"></a><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179593124344521698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSbbd7vip7uGwQkA89obiM6ICn0nICycX8jhwnOK5KC4qkKMeF-4c0A4at2lRYpvPeT5LyC-xvLiBuaDJvKr5mb9DBtqchtmsReOwu0sFcYmRX2FYbhaq-Lwj5REV2AEH41EK5ZmybpnWD/s400/IMG_6313+water+analysis.jpg" border="0" />One of the sources can be found at the <span style="color:#ff6600;">Buttes aux <span id="google-navclient-hilite">Cailles</span></span>, <span style="color:#ff6600;">Place Paul-Verlaine</span>, 13th arrondissement. It gives enough of water also to feed the local swimming bath. (I will soon come back to this area.) <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179589533751862146" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcWcJiYR2SnjNFa-HJSsgxxNE7z6rY7acIVtFn_PlhxW2r4bD1McV2LJ6oGVAdyCquPmQh_0QWPY1v8cNegzpbsn67l9vXpgTV4v_U1XV1d-TjDCxVV4x5UR7CnuyYCbWk1dpcCRKjJI_B/s400/01.jpg" border="0" />Another one is at <span style="color:#ff6600;">Square Lamartine</span> in the bourgeois 16th arrondissement.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179589538046829458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk2wqEoBH_XA-85KqNSA0UVEpn35KmmyBbwwfn1PxiJ0Q5CHNgMGJygYg4-2YBxbd-54K7aUCmpmXbjalk0iHZ0ylJ0q10EBUWNry0YYe94wXyGPeaaz3l5iek2KhoxOLFsZgT8iYAUpbR/s400/02.jpg" border="0" />… and the third one is in the much more popular 18th arrondissement, <span style="color:#ff6600;">Square de la Madone</span>, today surrounded by a number of Chinese shops and supermarkets. (We are getting a number of China towns).<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179589538046829474" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPb7T8YumSg3oI3QKHGC3vLtlBFAgaihJ9ZQmyEmqqtrNBMUT4MSu8_Bb0ywRsNw9GbI2DNaRqQHI_cJV27M0dC7N70qqoU-n30JVGk_EiPxvmE6nGVlY_KkLvpTPmLDkUTAo4VRwl2zRu/s400/03.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Another nice possibility to get rid of your thirst, free of charge, is to drink from one of the numerous Wallace fountains (of which I already made <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/search/label/Wallace%20fountains">some posts</a>). The water here comes from the normal distribution system, not from the underground river. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179591445012308930" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbUt-pYeV8Ks5z_X1HIL-buqDXA8NYWWYPYq5IXUxEyEaaz2hdJ-rHhfOZrxdILxsJTercNbcZqbvQaYhai3GXGeLoiY8bw7cUhHxaB6kTteF3ScZR8_3dz2Uj-iFSTtFaYJTVGg9eDEKu/s400/wallace.jpg" border="0" /></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-57254251689590080782008-03-19T00:01:00.000+01:002008-03-20T00:19:59.709+01:00Bassin de la Villette<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xTygjymuWrDpgLyafTVOqFHMbJ_J1gJuaHjX4hpyzqUKg-mEnWrLB8aIGgYLf35syGAQ7Q8UpmHKGf7wIleUzv3ccXOPuSlpoLc-rEfPjRTeN0v6mU-hE-YBJZWwbmg7x5ElONZhn-Ev/s1600-h/IMG_6231+co.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179222571955635010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1xTygjymuWrDpgLyafTVOqFHMbJ_J1gJuaHjX4hpyzqUKg-mEnWrLB8aIGgYLf35syGAQ7Q8UpmHKGf7wIleUzv3ccXOPuSlpoLc-rEfPjRTeN0v6mU-hE-YBJZWwbmg7x5ElONZhn-Ev/s400/IMG_6231+co.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2fXRtEJiCG1QsrX3ct9cH332KxIIdYJI-NgwDImcfk4L9gABBzwJySfUCY2a2eHVmtNFNGKwY8eRzQvkfxrSB0SeIhAvprxLGx1aQ7sJhckzY-30YcoHaUFhJg22GOOC7ykJtB4w3YXQ/s1600-h/google+bassin%2B.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179220707939828402" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="229" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2fXRtEJiCG1QsrX3ct9cH332KxIIdYJI-NgwDImcfk4L9gABBzwJySfUCY2a2eHVmtNFNGKwY8eRzQvkfxrSB0SeIhAvprxLGx1aQ7sJhckzY-30YcoHaUFhJg22GOOC7ykJtB4w3YXQ/s320/google+bassin%2B.jpg" width="303" border="0" /></a>The Canal Saint Martin (my post yesterday) ends (or starts) with the <strong>Bassin de la Villette</strong>. This is the largest open water space in Paris. At the opposite end, this basin meets the Canal de l’Ourcq which brings the water to the canal system from the river Ourcq, some 100 km (60 miles) away. The basin is actually in two parts; a larger one (700 x 70 m = 2300 x 230 ft) and a second more narrow one (730 x 30 m = 2400 x 100 ft). They are separated by a hydraulic lift-bridge from 1885, still functioning and causing some traffic jams when it nowadays occasionally has to be opened (or lifted). <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179221103076819682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphen-xMmjP8SVelGT3p6Vj5u61Ya6B8aS7FJlbwB0UD1rW746ZAKV1c5kEMa0joRtN-EjDZS5jmUoVfiOcZj64A_t29blH4oT3JD0_7gmLwvFmVL4vHGcbBM8n-5fPY2hDCx3HjNqkMmY_o/s400/bassin+01.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179221103076819698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvHUrXmuhhnkI7neisCIkxmS9s1YwH-pIg1o6IwNGUZ4A1YViTaObq8i3jBp89lZZCWvbtWutPN2YInT9BZm680sXBwLTYUAiDbpXui6MTb-6qDDhluM1rUH6P5MjiRoh5bm-umhxGT0em/s400/bassin+04.jpg" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Cq73kuOgEllYcDAQYX5MOdANEORZGnt849w_9hpK5qEgjqgRK-ezeaZ5yBdnaCcAqGZVuw6u8OjeSHZBs1qf5M3zmTnfKvmvm37Sq0tkZIUDMu7qYIuXAs-rZGcWh51ZjqsGJipwCXFl/s1600-h/villette+18e.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179221433789301506" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="131" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_Cq73kuOgEllYcDAQYX5MOdANEORZGnt849w_9hpK5qEgjqgRK-ezeaZ5yBdnaCcAqGZVuw6u8OjeSHZBs1qf5M3zmTnfKvmvm37Sq0tkZIUDMu7qYIuXAs-rZGcWh51ZjqsGJipwCXFl/s320/villette+18e.jpg" width="274" border="0" /></a>The larger part of the basin was in the beginning of the 19th century, just after its construction, surrounded by green areas and it was popular to come here for picnics in the summer and for skating in the winter. (Yes, the climate is getting warmer – no ice here anymore.) It served as an enormous reservoir of drinking water. During the second part of the 19th century, the basin became more and more industrial and the port activities were at a time considerable (same volumes as in the port of Bordeaux). Some of the old administrative and warehouse buildings (partly tagged) are still there.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179221674307470098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCEtqHN_iRFev_KdJxvd3k69Xkc_Jw6LV7VW3KMQiyc9EJp5xt9sXvR5GrpaEHBSH6lH8Jr6gspcvDoBAGvYiwczE4TAlpBeeB5JcMfmRWkYE66fAz0OYJZLyahdjUyOJO4vGqTwWfzjvu/s400/bassin+03.jpg" border="0" />Nowadays, both basins are basically surrounded by modern apartment and office buildings, but around the larger part of the basin you can also find some more distracting activities. There are two multiplex cinemas, one on each side of the basin, belonging to the same company - offering a boat trip from one quay to the other. There are some installations for kids to play, some statues (including a laying Eiffel-tower-like one), some cafés and restaurants, some barges used as theatres… Part of July-August the Paris-Plages is now also installed here with a lot of “beach-activities”, as along the Seine river <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2007/07/paris-beach.html">(see my post from July 21, 2007)</a>. This is also the base for a number of sightseeing boats, which can bring you along the Canal Saint Martin or elsewhere. (My photos from a relatively cold March day show fewer activities.) <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179221932005507874" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqTVXBO1VGc3uz8lXDrZneIKpoX5tkbKsgmufahTlYCYSD24qQnK6m8psUJmkSqtSwS7J1x_ikitR4zbR3uvUZYzX3CVG0MNLPCQX9VQ7ejfw-AtXCSjG5kjmJ6OuGP_da7sMPD9yWgSmx/s400/bassin+02.jpg" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUxHuFWHbY5z6HZzSgAyZKhGop8-XlamjNjkzmo_fA2e-uaqAK3JxvR8f_KjdlfTZ3MfkC4y7uu7ssH8T1OWPVtWcj7Jehm12843CCLFV3ze_0sfoGjWbCSSFCtLoLkduaAB29ILyK923/s1600-h/IMG_6251+co.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179222249833087794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUxHuFWHbY5z6HZzSgAyZKhGop8-XlamjNjkzmo_fA2e-uaqAK3JxvR8f_KjdlfTZ3MfkC4y7uu7ssH8T1OWPVtWcj7Jehm12843CCLFV3ze_0sfoGjWbCSSFCtLoLkduaAB29ILyK923/s200/IMG_6251+co.jpg" border="0" /></a>At the end of the basin, where the Canal Saint Martin begins (or ends) you will find a round building, the “Rotonde de la Villette”, which dates from around 1787 and was part of the wall “Fermiers Généraux” (served as office), built around what was those day’s smaller Paris, to enable tax collection for food, beverages, building material etc. entering the city; a very unpopular tax which was stopped a few years later, immediately after the Revolution. <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2008/01/walls.html">(See my post of January 18.) </a>The building will now be transformed into some kind of small cultural centre.<br /><br /><em>Some of these pictures can also be found on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/03/bassin-de-la-villette.html">photo-blog</a>.</em></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-44139481606093477622008-03-18T00:01:00.004+01:002008-03-18T00:48:12.581+01:00Canal Saint Martin<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmOyMlkmb-_Sxdt_4s4jLeMzMhMix8d2_tEHFSh_T7DDNCx4oj4d62nqalAb-0AnjDW45R6iWFAy6kIuhnJkWZsv2quN2h6U4R7VlKYBL9LYq7s9FYHAmzhl4b4Vc_pjQqFLMJX40bokh/s1600-h/IMG_6268+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178858053786255746" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmOyMlkmb-_Sxdt_4s4jLeMzMhMix8d2_tEHFSh_T7DDNCx4oj4d62nqalAb-0AnjDW45R6iWFAy6kIuhnJkWZsv2quN2h6U4R7VlKYBL9LYq7s9FYHAmzhl4b4Vc_pjQqFLMJX40bokh/s400/IMG_6268+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5-4fG3qfFYZFMY4osfcATZ1HBzsK36k5dumCHVn11iexZOcxNYJ4K2E-sh7V-5-DZfDZjk64G4A0dzyi19aEQwAzEJ95eussd4u4SZTj_C6HQ163bGAUDgjmXnMUBU46FhpG4ub_I8W7/s1600-h/google+%2B%2B%2B.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178856078101299474" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5-4fG3qfFYZFMY4osfcATZ1HBzsK36k5dumCHVn11iexZOcxNYJ4K2E-sh7V-5-DZfDZjk64G4A0dzyi19aEQwAzEJ95eussd4u4SZTj_C6HQ163bGAUDgjmXnMUBU46FhpG4ub_I8W7/s320/google+%2B%2B%2B.jpg" border="0" /></a>You can follow the trace of <strong>Canal Saint Martin</strong> on this map. The starting (or ending) point is close to Place de la Bastille. I already talked about this part, the so called Port de l'Arsenal, in some previous posts (<a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2007/08/around-place-de-la-bastille-ter.html">1,</a> <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2007/11/la-bastille-post-not-ready.html">2</a>). After La Bastille the canal goes underground, more or less until it reaches a point near <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2008/01/place-de-la-rpublique-post-not-ready.html">Place de la République </a>(the dotted line).<br /></div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">This is where you will find the more romantic part of the canal (with trees, pedestrian bridges...). Further up, the canal becomes more industrial (or rather used to be) and finally it reaches a basin, Bassin de la Villette (of which I plan to talk tomorrow).<br /></div><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">Napoleon (sorry, it's he again) decided in 1802 to have the canal built. One of the purposes was to bring (relatively) clean water to Paris, the other was of course to use the canal for transport of merchandise. The port handling took basically place in the extreme ends of the canal, Port de l'Arsenal and Bassin de la Villette. The canal was finished in 1825, has nine locks enabling to compensate for 25 meters (80 ft) of level difference.<br /><br /></div><div align="justify">Part of the canal was later during the 19th century covered, (of course) due to Haussmann and the wish to open for large avenues and boulevards. More or less a total loss of traffic brought again the idea in the 60's to cover also the rest of the canal. Fortunately this never happened.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178857461080768834" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZMCQsxEaZGzVuYcGJ3s8KT381PzWfxATguqxLvqaX9K3UgAo5jS2Pq824IxTRRJqb5FTTBjwOvIugcOAahLsWQ9FxOgDr8Rm9mBz3hqYrHtN5Oaxa_levygdMKMauWEJ3iC2ZD59w838x/s400/01.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178857469670703442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIfR2SBqlv4Z1TJRIYaCRrVmF9JuKkJeVl28WGDHoW5EhPp-T7D0vEEuPSVaOcQubmRf8WlU3Xc2k2jbSYw9Mk0ejYp0kwVUmzyOH0mO15ictLcnKkDADYnr5IGGf-NW5t2YnYfuOx2GRo/s400/02.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178857482555605346" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSnS8ytdwSk6IdbMJcnmsIE2dVgpZbLh7xPjy42UG3EG0dsbdx5rWoZ1wJow6VTl4t5LWXlKNYOmpOJ6nOdo0AZAuiPYUm3XUVxZse5HnCLJaUpJtTzYRddCAx_A5psRLusooj5s2Ml9JX/s400/03.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="justify">Today you can have a boat ride or take a pleasant walk on the quays - and there are plenty of places for refreshment. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178857495440507250" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLj7OqUmqTSvnzmN3XjSA6vXqv0Rv8svcGLjpUwTxxDQlmqv8pgbg9dcu-tPQ39Qla-j_guhKmUljlSH5Rksoyr6Kdk3bXW-pMVM08iPBJf7mRpm0bowFyFCMe4pVDG45h_Yt9quWxNm56/s400/04.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="justify"></div><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEjn58F5jdX6zh1hK5Zob3uZ-sIrekzPY5siVsmyZWrwYXAY4ilFjAyQiedI5k_e0NQuDH8mTN2YP97rdFqLazhBu9ZgM9-I3_y38p8f87PJsw-J7IFEAARmKPi1ki9T8ilKYznG32jKZ/s1600-h/05.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178856821130641698" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZEjn58F5jdX6zh1hK5Zob3uZ-sIrekzPY5siVsmyZWrwYXAY4ilFjAyQiedI5k_e0NQuDH8mTN2YP97rdFqLazhBu9ZgM9-I3_y38p8f87PJsw-J7IFEAARmKPi1ki9T8ilKYznG32jKZ/s320/05.jpg" border="0" /></a>Along the canal you can find the - at least for Frenchmen - well-known "Hôtel du Nord" - still there - which, with the pedestrian bridge in front of it, is the place of some famous film scenes; "Hôtel du Nord", Marcel Camus, 1938. The film was however made with studio decoration. A scene from "Amélie Poulain" was shot on the spot. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesKMqBzQg6Mj8-YFZ_aIQL8j2rsihHOa1_bbKz323YII_-eyKcyD3ZmIj6IMPov3x4I3OzyMbKFAeDDzOiLvmIU-37qmWA7E2UG1Hs-Zkkb88cFkRTzifzCWEeLgd_SglkM2i4v00h_ek/s1600-h/AmeliePoulain%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178857010109202738" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesKMqBzQg6Mj8-YFZ_aIQL8j2rsihHOa1_bbKz323YII_-eyKcyD3ZmIj6IMPov3x4I3OzyMbKFAeDDzOiLvmIU-37qmWA7E2UG1Hs-Zkkb88cFkRTzifzCWEeLgd_SglkM2i4v00h_ek/s400/AmeliePoulain%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"><em>You can find most of these pictures on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/03/canal-saint-martin.html">photo blog</a>.</em></div><br /><div align="justify"></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-59981096525508034492008-03-17T00:01:00.000+01:002008-03-16T23:37:14.345+01:00An (almost) normal Saturday<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvus03Ppgrwc6KwlEN507AXOWI4wg0rgbkWqKlhVLUMmugGVOY57P6b8wJkev6IDGk25_MfHizBQTn1PkEvDc6gV_MFO4as_lEE-Esoi9yoaujWmjWB-cVipKnQAi0-mKqfwb3M_57CmNs/s1600-h/IMG_6184+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178471403650400258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvus03Ppgrwc6KwlEN507AXOWI4wg0rgbkWqKlhVLUMmugGVOY57P6b8wJkev6IDGk25_MfHizBQTn1PkEvDc6gV_MFO4as_lEE-Esoi9yoaujWmjWB-cVipKnQAi0-mKqfwb3M_57CmNs/s400/IMG_6184+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div align="justify">Today, just a report on last Saturday.<br /><br />The cleaning service in Paris includes collecting the garbage on a daily basis. Early morning the green trucks arrive. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178469372130869138" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWd447BVwWhfGTCPe72uCaC6wIAmkLsEot4PK97lOMnakV1poVRkNyi0jx-_di-2QbpPKRo_X1Rlmc3YnyP2nl5WQbMjcxIxq-lt4jvUprzXJMDd77OY9L4qmp-5FGxhABrAs-_O8CokhT/s400/01.jpg" border="0" />I like the atmosphere in the local street Saturday morning – and also on Sunday morning – when you find the population which normally is working or in school during the week. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178469389310738338" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSXjhHgMrn6zBkIyiyJDYiNFXfA2C4FnHxXSwtlX9pppiTk9NZLnyli9WstOgWrXowa7HqbL1tSdzd-ySAg5HsjHQMTA2sTY952DqPe9L2xd6KBRTIWY7Ac8KDxjoJVVNnAU5OLOxB7ImJ/s400/02.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178469393605705650" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNy-ZMTmPukfGZQAtviDfl4RoyLSTpbLjZhJCTVDHzW0QzpW8cNzh7FoAWmUO_8U1UnoXW5F18dJUEtTCatdB0zYumfGOMFPVvPBYjUnXR-fxk4HyDRuS-uu9g53grD5HxOwblx1hTSQv/s400/03.jpg" border="0" />Saturday morning there is also a local open market.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178470149519949778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnM1p6vmCmKqEEWLRK15whpM51rLlNCP7WGMrfcbOLCuyfiQRmQ823jdQUI4vvvfCFVqvxX_aZ_3CQRUranAFOc0dBJsr0e4Ry1tLrDkYCJPrv_2IECrfjYcUKB3TTHBBcPd7L6Rj_7MyG/s400/05.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178470145224982466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPR3qLJhsO80gsvP0YQqVf-PVQqBFsWgehhpU3JhK7Atf52hVFgZf-IudfcVigPvmohhoh5tP-0LvE3sSE0cs6Xi19DSc82CL3p-0GonJ690F-RC8GhWnb81qB0rBHrCgy0mlpI-qOsVq6/s400/04.jpg" border="0" />After shopping, I made a small detour to “my” park. The tulips have now taken over the reign after the narcissuses. The weather was sufficiently nice to enable a pleasant pause on a bench. Some people got married. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178470153814917090" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTW1lyuQTOIRxNl2Gk0unOyvx5W_Ro3Jj7raVPl-Odd4TKQ8b36d2e2pW8aKsW40scHIeWR5Qonl7aHGToZYZBZ-xfuWthpZbo9I16zDBMjPSrrd1y2OMi7B5i3Apws_S0s2UDsVM-Dm5n/s400/06.jpg" border="0" />On the way home, I found that a small demonstration took place. The controversial Church of Scientology is present in our quarter. A group, calling itself “Anonymous”, held a worldwide protest action day Saturday (L. Ron Hubbard’s birthday), including here. It was a calm and peaceful demonstration, but obviously the church does not appreciate criticism and had asked for (strong) police protection. The protesters are in general bearing masks, wishing to stay anonymous, claiming having received menaces. (There is much more to be said about this, but here is perhaps not the forum – I tried a rather “neutral” statement… however, if you wish, feel free to express your opinion.)<br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178470153814917106" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOMv5182fTvRPOl-dovHd7lKnbVNcc8Hbhqlfk0ifTOvOAlvL8VWY05Vq20WaDkJdQUpLWYqKZzRlyjwvcSRuyMg1tQBsN5RCmTpcd6Y4r50t2TX_ApNxRYGVDXrJujm3p3YAYgXoAbBCl/s400/07.jpg" border="0" />In the evening I assisted at a local gathering with a nice meal and some nice music, performed among others by Russian and Kabyle (Algerian ethnic) representatives living in the area. (I did not bring my camera.) </div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-58843039863203704432008-03-15T00:24:00.001+01:002008-03-15T00:35:47.266+01:00Mid-month theme - subway day<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsnJAys0oW83nDTQvlX_qfU_1l7zkvtxflgNWS43avmdYxq1iHqgH1yp_m5H6HKuij5AzE5yBKyl1TbqTxvGAwc52ybu3Za9vYR_AfNDdGeFU0fYFks8n02mFeXN1c4p6chyphenhyphenYsqzQjmV7/s1600-h/IMG_6172+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177743870550196098" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEsnJAys0oW83nDTQvlX_qfU_1l7zkvtxflgNWS43avmdYxq1iHqgH1yp_m5H6HKuij5AzE5yBKyl1TbqTxvGAwc52ybu3Za9vYR_AfNDdGeFU0fYFks8n02mFeXN1c4p6chyphenhyphenYsqzQjmV7/s400/IMG_6172+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div align="justify">Normally I don’t make any post during weekends, but the 15th of each month is the day for the « mid-month-theme » - subway – which I share with bloggers in NYC and Stockholm. This month’s theme is “ticket system”.<br /><br />We just learnt this week that within the next two or three years there will not anymore be any personnel selling tickets in the different Paris metro entrances. The machines, which are already there, will be the only way to buy your weekly, monthly, yearly subscription or possibly some loose tickets. "Smart cards" (called "Navigo") are already in use. In the beginning of the 70’s the last “poinçonneurs” (metro employees who punched your tickets) disappeared… (If you have saved a ticket with a small punch hole from these days, you can sell it at a good price). Today some of the metro trains don’t even have a driver…</div><br /><div align="justify"><br />You can find today’s posts – and some other subway related posts – by using the following links:<br /><br /><a href="http://nyc2dailyphoto.blogspot.com/search/label/subway">New York City Daily Photo</a> – <a href="http://www.stockholmbypixels.com/search/label/subway">Stockholm by pixels</a> – <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/search/label/subway">PHO (Paris)</a>.</div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-30360160447744692752008-03-14T00:01:00.003+01:002008-03-13T23:49:54.990+01:00Rue des Francs-Bourgeois (2)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnJzUdhvAFxmqXWZ2n1SJxIfQEwpr7ayiGs4CKtc1yKVP-HK3wis4K0sPTC88NT6gbsjm3_QRwv0HdM3y3EX3K7EIHuwTptxukYakobCI5TYnvElrl4DusXtp_Nklip8mmayJP-z0502g/s1600-h/IMG_6107+com.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177358667818319714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJnJzUdhvAFxmqXWZ2n1SJxIfQEwpr7ayiGs4CKtc1yKVP-HK3wis4K0sPTC88NT6gbsjm3_QRwv0HdM3y3EX3K7EIHuwTptxukYakobCI5TYnvElrl4DusXtp_Nklip8mmayJP-z0502g/s400/IMG_6107+com.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div align="justify">Before we are leaving <strong>rue des Francs-Bourgeois</strong>, there are two other buildings to which I would like to draw some attention.<br /><br />One of them is the <strong>Crédit Municipal de Paris</strong> (no. 55). This is one of the oldest financial institutions in France, created in 1777, which among other things acts as a pawnshop – it will (possibly) lend you money in exchange for a deposit of some more or less valuable merchandise, and when you (possibly) can pay back, they will return your belongings. This kind of institution has several nick names, like “Mont-de-Piété” (after a charitable Italian institution, “Monte-de-Pietà”). Another name for it is “Chez ma Tante” (“At my Auntie”); normally you would not too openly admit that you had to borrow from this institution, you would more easily pretend that you got some money from your auntie. Another version for this expression is that one of the royal princes did not want his mother to find out that he had pawned his watch, so he just said that he had forgotten it at his aunt’s house. The place has still 600 visitors per day and a lot of famous personalities have passed the gate – in the past even Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, Claude Monet... When the not reclaimed belongings are later auctioned, you can make some good business here.</div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify">An additional interesting thing can be found in the court yard: The trace of the 13th century Philippe-Auguste city wall (which we have already followed in a number of <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/search/label/Paris%20walls">posts</a>). <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177356447320227618" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_4nq8aQAusiYOlPZlTY1JEitKdlA5hFKcL36-hpF-PFSiU49w2NoaXtqVPUUasW4oQcPLFynOspizhEUTQwHs11slrDMrSUzm8Wbpjn6OrB31bADsvzU6sqGNnfiGhRCALjhbJ_h8Nq1R/s400/bis03.jpg" border="0" />The other building I wanted to mention is the <strong>“Hôtel de Soubise”</strong> (no. 60), built in the beginning of the 18th century (top picture). It replaced another mansion built during the 13th century and which during the 15th century became the residence of the Guise family, fervent Catholics, and this was where e.g. the Saint Bartholomew”s Day massacre was planned (1572), leading to the death of thousands of Huguenots. You can still see the old entrance to the previous building on the back side (bottom right picture on the below patchwork). The present building was in 1808 (Napoleon again) taken over by the French state and is since the place for (today, part of) the National Archives and also a museum. Only here – and in adjacent buildings - are today stored some 100 km (60 miles) of documents, the oldest form the 7th century. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177357104450223922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhKsz_iLVZq8RFGkYXuMyznyfl-whhQ6PXYcLJIOgC7mCogHsfxpV5-niorP2tIYqFopM3nSDVIOgenEdboSy2gOeiU4Of9q90OPbC7ZS60sctRV-bt5dDMLVnqh-vmo64gjbQjZzUCxx0/s400/bis02.jpg" border="0" />When walking along this street at lunch time together with a friend on our way from Place des Vosges, we made a small deviation, turned to the left at rue Vieille du Temple and found (at no. 30) a small restaurant, <strong>"Au Petit Fer à Cheval"</strong> (the Small Horse Shoe). The menu and the place looked nice, so we decided to give it a try. I can now say that it was nice. The restaurant dates from 1903, the marble-topped bar in the entrance has the shape of a horse shoe and behind the bar there is room for maybe twenty guests. The restaurant has obviously at a certain moment been restored with some type of 1925 decoration, but it all gives a very authentic impression, the waiters look like the waiters used to look like, the place got full and I believe only with more or less regular guests! Traditional dishes, nice atmosphere and reasonable prices! <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177357430867738434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihg1wH-h30G-bG6XgcN3qTGfAq2le1VCG4GsZWL0ENxscyR1X3QmsivFXvzYNoaxkQb_7xgVAU5WgwWKsZVLLVzt4z2wr7XTLy0W0vyne-NuT4fBw1xL_vkQsuNIYE2OrA9mJcV9mOyx3E/s400/bis01.jpg" border="0" /><em>Some of these pictures can be found on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/03/rue-des-francs-bourgeois-2.html">photo blog</a>.<br /></em><br />Before “closing” for the weekend, I wished to show some more details from the Paris spring development (photos from yesterday). <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5177358229731655506" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV2fcE_6VJYPVf8sgn_93Z-wVtSusvgZHqnE4mRGFsfC2wnPzMO1bcD0KxQ9ACAK5VVSftc63_nI3os_XTuXfTGwOCn6m0tskFAiHUG6iI7Ppir0eI0VWBK3NAdQuSOxU1QBt07cEFcoij/s400/feuilles+vertes.jpg" border="0" /><strong><em>Have a nice weekend!</em></strong></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-90894803269989434482008-03-13T00:01:00.002+01:002008-03-13T09:57:27.613+01:00Rue des Francs-Bourgeois (1)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8e9Jl14mJxfVkjqm1yPbQlLRsZjITan1iiDUSlg9BZGFY2zok620geCJ_5qF7UffjRafTjFnNElnA5FZdEBe2KTiJLg2gUyoec05ZVBUsB5sXAUfdWVoSK-RN9MN-ypndb-MxhLqL4yc/s1600-h/IMG_6050+COMPR.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176992998597705394" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN8e9Jl14mJxfVkjqm1yPbQlLRsZjITan1iiDUSlg9BZGFY2zok620geCJ_5qF7UffjRafTjFnNElnA5FZdEBe2KTiJLg2gUyoec05ZVBUsB5sXAUfdWVoSK-RN9MN-ypndb-MxhLqL4yc/s400/IMG_6050+COMPR.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMwplW0fx6hKGmN7d5H9phoUPNCDGaSINZ8jqh1RSn2qkWyNhBYxoJltQ5fk42uZhfO9HxhwNauCOUCH-Wd8cvGYR93CFLQSZHxDuOI1e3M9tBxi5kN0JyPt7pirv1aQg7LQQUYV4Sq3Vi/s1600-h/google+.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176991104517127778" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMwplW0fx6hKGmN7d5H9phoUPNCDGaSINZ8jqh1RSn2qkWyNhBYxoJltQ5fk42uZhfO9HxhwNauCOUCH-Wd8cvGYR93CFLQSZHxDuOI1e3M9tBxi5kN0JyPt7pirv1aQg7LQQUYV4Sq3Vi/s320/google+.jpg" border="0" /></a>On your way from Place de Vosges to e.g. Centre Pompidou, you could take <strong>rue des Francs-Bourgeois</strong>, which is the central and a very ancient street in the “le Marais “ area. There is a lot to see also in the crossing and neighbouring streets, but today – and tomorrow – we will just follow this one.<br /><br />The name of the street, which means “exempt citizens”, was given during the Revolution and because of the existence of a mansion in the street where in the 15th century some poor people who didn’t have to pay taxes to the city were given a place to live.<br /><br />Along the street you will find a large number of mansions (“hôtels particuliers”), most of them several hundred years old. Many of them are closed to public – today mostly occupied by different administrations - and you can only with a bit of luck see what is behind the gates and the facades. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176991310675558002" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYTML3xCT1sjWCXhWz-ByFy2WDpx99riM7tl6kIWn5HKMyNFgI3aI5vpaD0b80jsnCYhT_bTLDcZyYg6oxBBkUBNfk89AysML4jZUnti75_b6Ub8XODlT7rvQSfg8tXJpRPlEHMQyb3JSK/s400/04.jpg" border="0" />One of the nicer mansions and open to public is Hôtel Carnavalet (see below), built in 1548, which used to be the home of Madame Sévigné (her birthplace was Place des Vosges, as I mentioned yesterday). It’s today the Museum of the History of Paris. It’s certainly worth a visit (free of charge), is magnificently decorated (to a great part with interiors from different epochs and often coming from other palaces) and shows a lot of interesting documentation. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176992620640583330" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1X7JEDpJYvs_JtmHu6O73P8r8hxrtN6FHTBbGfJLlbme288vQRDT4CoW_0jQ3kdULfOsDXGmsnREja8FRioo9-ZasSupB_OJs7n2B05eIeuWC7znHdkBDmONkjf4-Bfsi1bjE5-H91B3-/s400/01.jpg" border="0" />The street is full of boutiques – often old bakeries or butchers which, fortunately, in some cases have kept the old ensigns and part of the decoration. Here almost everything is open even on Sundays, so it’s a nice shopping street. ... and if you are hungry or thirsty, you will easily find a place. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176991632798105218" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8znvL5nrdZjSKqz9amTC0w9jJYU-ppOCVblaepK2saqat8BJ_ivvsy3yVKHSDUWQId2A4HdOabk3JOOC16gYdOSRFMWkFJi73X6uyaEocZjsfhjTYoZKmOmhRM7EZpJHL9RDNeUOS2J0F/s400/02.jpg" border="0" />I always advise you to look to the right and the left, into the small side streets, alleys and inner yards (when they are open); this is what adds to the charm of many of these old streets. As an example, if you look on the lower left corner of the below patchwork, you can see an alley, called “Impasse des Arbalétriers” (arbalète = cross-bow) where in 1407 the brother of King Charles VI was killed, which led to about 15 years of civil war, or at least brutal struggle, between the “Armagnacs” and the “Burgundians”. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176991963510587026" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2y0yT6Swr7pUYFYtVJ9jpvuwQ3Spe9UfH6arBw8CKLVcvZXR8e5sxwXVZkNnfmkorUsdUsaUearDeu6M-XfwEqG9WgY1H-BryFPVaey2I3_AJtFbK2PUJsHCfh_RYbNqjV2hk4wxw64LM/s400/03.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><em>As usual, you can find these pictures "full size" on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/03/rue-des-francs-bourgeois-1.html">photo blog</a>.</em></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-34778802163375073232008-03-12T00:25:00.003+01:002008-03-12T01:14:14.884+01:00Place des Vosges<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP1T5HUFOSGL31_rdwTH3I7ku8sRbcC4yeI_moEJoBvtHwPnEIzOHLtkPSPrcKsAnfIsJp-143DBAu6QIVAYxHpKK7DjYIlYnJEiTExCeapa5gzLbEfk9weAqXDDxYJdFE59CX_ApjCpq5/s1600-h/IMG_6041+COMPR.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176633677338754274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP1T5HUFOSGL31_rdwTH3I7ku8sRbcC4yeI_moEJoBvtHwPnEIzOHLtkPSPrcKsAnfIsJp-143DBAu6QIVAYxHpKK7DjYIlYnJEiTExCeapa5gzLbEfk9weAqXDDxYJdFE59CX_ApjCpq5/s400/IMG_6041+COMPR.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEcqjCQDO53BXaMdEnBiSOdBS5TwoQmq574RCpwra7R-AtNhGzv-01pnZSXdK_kKLfp_Tzt0MZl3r88H1tKU-YtUWBmqyk2H5NRIM8tQgtcgF-bc0YSxANL3ku3A0cyFH_-0MIt3w0yXn/s1600-h/google+.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176630327264263250" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEcqjCQDO53BXaMdEnBiSOdBS5TwoQmq574RCpwra7R-AtNhGzv-01pnZSXdK_kKLfp_Tzt0MZl3r88H1tKU-YtUWBmqyk2H5NRIM8tQgtcgF-bc0YSxANL3ku3A0cyFH_-0MIt3w0yXn/s320/google+.jpg" border="0" /></a>We are now in the area called “le Marais” and will start with a look at the central place, <strong>Place des Vosges</strong>. Here used to be a royal residence (Hôtel des Tournelles) with a garden where the king Henry II was killed in a tourney in 1559, after which his widow, Catherine de Medicis, got the building destroyed.<br /><br />Henry IV decided to build a square, which was finished in 1612 (after his death) and then became a very fashionable place, originally called Place Royale. It got its present name, Place des Vosges, in 1799 to honor the first French provincial department to pay taxes to support the Revolutionary army.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176630722401254498" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVH0mWogSLKlqVD2wL7LEB5zXlqEcGgQHT2WNNoceKAE6Y5tnejo3fZzRxlYyEMRvbmQkpr09f-Aw4xbrXaGkX5_KAtqheMXnIVwHZmb8Oqht8BhTHBCnuhfSVpDr1aq_rxSrvIXwfABr-/s400/01.jpg" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGj57sWfePVvWuDmt1C_2IMSaNmU09t9AeLi1_xAH45gCzw4qyNojCBKyGD7Ip9iRG7S7ANUfrvvCHza1LaENh0u4f5Hd3PQgc0HhzthyTFRf3nJgawvk1AaN4wU68td6h2gN7TZpVv4FM/s1600-h/IMG_0570+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176631001574128754" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGj57sWfePVvWuDmt1C_2IMSaNmU09t9AeLi1_xAH45gCzw4qyNojCBKyGD7Ip9iRG7S7ANUfrvvCHza1LaENh0u4f5Hd3PQgc0HhzthyTFRf3nJgawvk1AaN4wU68td6h2gN7TZpVv4FM/s320/IMG_0570+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a>The place looks a bit empty and dull on the pictures I took last week; as a comparison you can see a photo I took last summer.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiFCggjfk1NaonBuT1nk3FEoph8MVVayBrvpxFklekKYX93plRn53E6dfHHcNM7BoT95dq7wTmCXNsC3KDejEDOIFJnOi44DE0O-RHG529Z1tnQkEnAttkLJj68x9hOUieu79-eCZAIIHf/s1600-h/google+pr%C3%A8s%2B.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176631534150073490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiFCggjfk1NaonBuT1nk3FEoph8MVVayBrvpxFklekKYX93plRn53E6dfHHcNM7BoT95dq7wTmCXNsC3KDejEDOIFJnOi44DE0O-RHG529Z1tnQkEnAttkLJj68x9hOUieu79-eCZAIIHf/s320/google+pr%C3%A8s%2B.jpg" border="0" /></a>It’s a true square, 140 x 140 meters (460 x 460 ft), all the buildings are in the same style with the same design and measures, except two pavilions with slightly higher roofs, designated as the King’s and the Queen’s pavilions. No king or queen ever lived here, but a lot of aristocracy and other prominent people. Among those, you can mention Sully, Cardinal Richelieu, Madame de Sevigné, Victor Hugo, Théophile Gautier, Alphonse Daudet...<br /><br />Under the arcades you find today a number of art galleries, shops and a few cafés and in the middle of the place you can find a statue of Louis XIII - the original one was melted down during the Revolution and replaced in 1825.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176631916402162866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDqYxqATx7ew1iOt-s7gGDfuxsWq2A-evxzWCftknVqtTCVCIeuXDuWbK3qhJpwZvTmPdViuo8iQVGINxLphFsMu9cIy8VQ7fRKhApjgyKDztOfkRTAOrbGZOhDDikbVFvRu-oDTuWwAiT/s400/04.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176631899222293666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYW4apE5vgPkvDgaKYj9r9U9-iKqgtghzP-h0IPDqixQXXNEcvC61eGTeVs9Si_WOq55ngv6qU12kjnbO0rB6BCMogWu0oYavhtCTDHpiE97_LQHDLgzGn6Z5TQB-waURTcGMGKCChki8x/s400/02.jpg" border="0" />Behind no. 9, where you find the top restaurant “l’Ambroisie”, you will find another open garden or square (the gate is normally open). It’s surrounded by the Hôtel de Chaulnes and the Hôtel Sully, today housing respectively the Academy of Architecture and the “Caisse nationale des Monuments Historiques”. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176633131877907666" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhStREKYpRKfbmgtoTgz9nj6S2JgvLsilP4eEaRFG4W_ODhcQw9ubdjFjZAwxAnFAptWRxU_6lSQycm6a3QF6jkG2wn0twLGqnyAjrszepEp_yVIsasGVkDMoEOQnfPM8kyDn3_QAtv0rOc/s400/03.jpg" border="0" /><em>As usual, some of these pictures can be found on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/03/place-des-vosges.html">photo blog</a>.</em></div><div align="justify"><em></em></div><br /><div align="justify"><em><span style="font-size:130%;">I made an extra post today - see below!!</span></em></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-13359900252829446612008-03-12T00:14:00.001+01:002008-03-12T00:25:17.062+01:00Extra post<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXVoPIxkLlHTEb96wDxUMZl0kR5ZMtyrBaQURCIEkAePsUSbcRPu1FUTV6KgXeZ_JZ9XTYPHBmuryZLCTc7baQdrieLcI-PE9uroxV1Hbbg3UsKsrllinGZPaorR4ZxRJQeKARh3gZfRG/s1600-h/IMG_6156+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176627819003362354" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXVoPIxkLlHTEb96wDxUMZl0kR5ZMtyrBaQURCIEkAePsUSbcRPu1FUTV6KgXeZ_JZ9XTYPHBmuryZLCTc7baQdrieLcI-PE9uroxV1Hbbg3UsKsrllinGZPaorR4ZxRJQeKARh3gZfRG/s400/IMG_6156+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div align="justify">Leena (<a href="http://onlyforphotos.blogspot.com/">leenam</a>) asked me to show some updated spring pictures from “my” park. These ones were taken yesterday. If some of you would feel jealous, I can maybe comfort you by showing the last patchwork – it was raining. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176627217707940850" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin2lI92UIZI4MPAZfo5EY9cYIjxrINpoe_qIJjFKejrsHUI2zaUB4jlCLCsF2_RipICJEahOum9K9UadBwTwRmVc1z-k6SVLN2QhN2eHSwX-iX5RCbqig8zhVZdD_iYOAJVaXFKiGHdrfC/s400/01.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176627226297875458" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGUZxYO-a4slP8PMo0d2TUckOEC4e5RlsyjC8Qy2oXeIggUhwNzFV1VKX2Dsn7zfw6RflgNaei8CFOZ68Vguom3E48NKwUNRMA0f1xlN48NvlrvGi4_Q3hsEvglpjjwILzFsqa2C-lAWOs/s400/02.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176627234887810066" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnHQ_GsaNibPYmUEdjUHIav00yVGTe0B0VpfcjYt9ZdXbvpRi0wvxDET5OT5_YHiMqzDhtkfDwoU6nukzu85Q0RLU-EE2yYjrqJVG45VDfUyrsTuxDE50yyI2IcPcRGE1L7bOaIFwQ4fNf/s400/03.jpg" border="0" /></div></div></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176628970054597698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgU3e9506VU7mdS9dWWeQT8SuKYqWnxclRAOt5UF9WNiXBtUb5yjmbLK8DV2sgHVI63AuWZ8kZdinUJXbcdblUn3Ht6YORUjsCStKABS1-bPlPBPo64lpTQJJJD0LZNvFaVTFinHoeXhw9/s400/04.jpg" border="0" />Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-50164634647406413222008-03-11T00:04:00.001+01:002008-03-11T00:20:29.743+01:00Rue de Seine (2)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVP_FMGAFaxCE0FUtc7lPLTgqDqGF0UA-tDm1u-unF3wtQj6hsOwYFUH6CVGYa23GHtqpQ7XOGujUmcq5e_qtg_mzYABxl96FAy5XiaxGUO8iWpjoaslrEfLZg19ZxdVUIvwhTk3iw3VE/s1600-h/IMG_5997+COMPR.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176255965029841698" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYVP_FMGAFaxCE0FUtc7lPLTgqDqGF0UA-tDm1u-unF3wtQj6hsOwYFUH6CVGYa23GHtqpQ7XOGujUmcq5e_qtg_mzYABxl96FAy5XiaxGUO8iWpjoaslrEfLZg19ZxdVUIvwhTk3iw3VE/s400/IMG_5997+COMPR.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div><div align="justify">Yesterday I concentrated on the more historical facts around Rue de Seine. What’s happening around this street today?<br /><br />The first part of the street, closest to the Seine (as well as some surrounding streets) is today full of high class art galleries. You can find and buy works of a number of well known artists – of course not only -, if you have the funds for it. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176253632862599890" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq24D9Jz07eZYHdDsUxG7ZSnwBkK48eTUJOdK3TjEZIiM_kVpSL4VkF3J9EN_rxSyP2FB6__wl9OgH8REJwTH6ajMqep355TT115zBRM2c8JFONogSRCVJMSS5W63QTsYs4NogmFM6VPvO/s400/04.jpg" border="0" />What I would also recommend is that you look to the right and the left and you will find a number of small attractive side streets – and behind some more or less closed gates – some very nice court yards. Many of these are also dedicated to art and art business. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176253993639852770" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbskUx1kzlVSE-cllXVexnaVcWvWstaoqvLWAPXtQJbLlrqLFyulYW9POKOSTSHvC86l8nnY3khlk80Z9dgPNt6aR2KcZQoDWg8fv5cqNBcuSvHKD9ORuhwCkShgOzbhtPtlYuwAPJvRaF/s400/03.jpg" border="0" />There are a few small hotels and cafés in this part of the street, but you will find more of them, some restaurants and some attractive food shops higher up on the street, the more “modern” part (18th – 19th century). (05) <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5176255264950172434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQhNSbf45ojgHFq4HMk-xPjY3TrmI22BURAp63g2ysQcAF6AezaHHUsdz4UynpqlWr37giUuoWxcXVfsdYWAkCG_eJUuqbb7onW0sqmm7H0OofUx17-w4OKRnXgP_6wpxJ9g9I60rOWZTX/s400/06.jpg" border="0" /><em>You can find some of these pictures on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/03/rue-de-seine-2.html">photo blog</a>.</em></div></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-34299550235123151482008-03-10T00:01:00.004+01:002008-03-10T00:26:58.805+01:00Rue de Seine (1)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyqbxaDodvpeMI0DUySccpS29CKubOuNTm-xXWUSsxgYjQvDLDtZZVn0_jcs6RHi3N9_wyBhuNRp35hqFbIb5VC3boqmaYQg0WtcxN8uIyCdyjKrzESmWfTEk1kZ4WfzaKZLcB6lypxBz/s1600-h/IMG_6000+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175885184798144866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyqbxaDodvpeMI0DUySccpS29CKubOuNTm-xXWUSsxgYjQvDLDtZZVn0_jcs6RHi3N9_wyBhuNRp35hqFbIb5VC3boqmaYQg0WtcxN8uIyCdyjKrzESmWfTEk1kZ4WfzaKZLcB6lypxBz/s400/IMG_6000+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div align="justify">I thought I had finished with the Quartier Latin, Saint-Germain-des-Prés and the 6th arrondissement for a while, but <a href="http://hpyl.blogspot.com/">HPY</a> asked me for some news concerning <strong>Rue de Seine</strong>, so I went back! The street may not have anything very spectacular to show at a first sight, but I would say it’s clearly worth a visit.</div><br /><div align="justify"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrg9nqWfXKTi4LqFE7XUzrFYcConi6Bnzx7qTjCp_AWbaA1t6UTmCvQifZHSw2HDZs5JJH3ej2-g80u1GSgZuaAGFXJRJLP_CErXuku6_nha01TUq28g_CwtZzSbX_boDZQ5HE63JVmZy/s1600-h/IMG_4050+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175881108874180866" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrg9nqWfXKTi4LqFE7XUzrFYcConi6Bnzx7qTjCp_AWbaA1t6UTmCvQifZHSw2HDZs5JJH3ej2-g80u1GSgZuaAGFXJRJLP_CErXuku6_nha01TUq28g_CwtZzSbX_boDZQ5HE63JVmZy/s320/IMG_4050+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a>Rue de Seine, or at least the part of it close to the Seine, is one of the oldest still existing streets in Paris, dating from at least the 13th century, now and then under different names. You can use it on your way from Saint Germain des Prés to e.g. the Louvre, or the other way, on the way from the Louvre. You cross the pedestrian bridge “Pont des Arts”, which connects the Louvre and the “Institut de France” which is the building where different French academies, including the famous “Académie Française”, meet under the “coupole”. The building dates from 1688.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvswevuZCFq9lJE4qlIJZzs-LysV47-4O0eQNJvmC_bNALuB-Q8ruvT-GfKgBjf3S0YK5l__Zz_qkyJ7CaCa50tr6Msw2pYDY7ip_iFx9DjCbyMg0ZgYZ1FNCogxpJVbFCH7F_VYSetimP/s1600-h/Comp.plans.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175881585615550738" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 232px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 401px" height="371" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvswevuZCFq9lJE4qlIJZzs-LysV47-4O0eQNJvmC_bNALuB-Q8ruvT-GfKgBjf3S0YK5l__Zz_qkyJ7CaCa50tr6Msw2pYDY7ip_iFx9DjCbyMg0ZgYZ1FNCogxpJVbFCH7F_VYSetimP/s320/Comp.plans.jpg" width="231" border="0" /></a>Rue de Seine starts just behind the “Institut”. (In Paris, the street no. 1 is always for the building closest to the Seine.) This first half of the street (top picture) is the oldest and the historically most interesting part. The upper part was opened only during the 19th century, connecting with rue de Tournon, opening in front of the Palais de Luxembourg, today housing the French senate. (Here, a comparison between 1734 and today.)<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175882002227378466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiifSnqmSHO06CdyrPooAlQttpGlGZWcjTAfuthQKdEpeTQMHOKdaCDJmiXzv3CmFUcTb6v-cQn6dOPLf4pnfUyiAvt22R9A-kDe8SmOyfyst2GlXiFMDs2ofqj1dynCt8-ZmIeHhiaxeCN/s400/02.jpg" border="0" />Just behind the “Institut”, you will first find two small squares with some statues, including the ones of Voltaire and of Montesquieu. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175882401659337010" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IUCCZLndpGN9SXsvCrg4HD_NJ7-yuNMDHflBn7Q_oRgvcmZtktBc48j0NHlJx_sV3qTJR_YzJwE85pqppEzdHZkx2kYDxJhHQ9S8i5JKf2oQuCorKGo0fXp6jynE7dV7yMgqaMyBVMWT/s400/01.jpg" border="0" />This first part of the street was formerly occupied by some castle like buildings (including for Queen Margot, the first wife of Henry IV). The present buildings are mostly from the 17th century and many of them have been inhabited by - at least in France - well known personalities, like Saint Vincent de Paul, d’Artagnan, Armande Béjart (Molière’s widow), Beaudelaire… For our Polish friends I would like to make a special mention for Adam Mickiewicz who lived here when he published his famous” Pan Tadeusz” (1834). <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175883002954758466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpIbrE9KE6V6aKTRFOQ6N3V91jk83Vri8p6lvMaXBtEhxVwwvbRuxbGYvZkdKe-q4VK99wXRB0LUCWbJ02pOdmnMQRmuqmz7eVwPbxsWlruuud5ldps9u4fsWbH6FKsGlRMtkSKX0ROKjx/s400/05.jpg" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-U1Rs6PP6mKgXUR5Aupn3kxgBkfh75zC2mSDzMI2qiQw4RNHtVWKfRikrghxCVgI5z4RcK_5ffka5wLyez6JFYYNkOPhcI1oI3usDrC9KMdXl5XsCy3KtFzLgS9wGmqxDA2up3RY0cyt/s1600-h/240px-Jeu_de_paume%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5175883462516259154" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL-U1Rs6PP6mKgXUR5Aupn3kxgBkfh75zC2mSDzMI2qiQw4RNHtVWKfRikrghxCVgI5z4RcK_5ffka5wLyez6JFYYNkOPhcI1oI3usDrC9KMdXl5XsCy3KtFzLgS9wGmqxDA2up3RY0cyt/s320/240px-Jeu_de_paume%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>During the 17th century you could find not less than ten “jeu de paume” courts along the street. <em>(Maybe a parenthesis to recall some details regarding the “jeu de paume”, the predecessor to lawn tennis and some other ball games: The points were already counted 15, 30, 40 and the word “deuce” comes from the French "à deux", indicating that two points must be won consecutively to win the game. Also the word “love” obviously comes from “l’ouef” – the egg - , the oval shape of the egg being a symbol for "0." Finally, the word “tennis” of course comes from “tenez” = take it, be ready…, which was the word the gentlemen (ladies hardly played those days) used to indicate that they were serving.)<br /></em><br />There is more to be said about this street and its today’s life. I will revert to that tomorrow.<br /><br /><em>Some of the above pictures can be found on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/03/rue-de-seine-1-post-not-ready.html">photo blog</a>.<br /></em></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-59152735562334946572008-03-05T20:37:00.002+01:002008-03-05T20:58:22.048+01:00Saint-Eustache<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdpYtMOb40kQFLf22rBZMMSHo9BidgxeQymBL2tbk63sC2OeL7tTsD2zA47SIPY4mB4V7gURr_RRNPYdDfdCmkWar1QiKFsxFEqebjUVsuxRdId35r-8eZTxsYJG7DFpqxRSIPVyUMtPl/s1600-h/IMG_5809+COMPR.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174347086135753282" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdpYtMOb40kQFLf22rBZMMSHo9BidgxeQymBL2tbk63sC2OeL7tTsD2zA47SIPY4mB4V7gURr_RRNPYdDfdCmkWar1QiKFsxFEqebjUVsuxRdId35r-8eZTxsYJG7DFpqxRSIPVyUMtPl/s400/IMG_5809+COMPR.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div align="justify">Some of you suggested that I should now offer you a lunch or dinner at “Lipp”. I’m sorry, but immediately after Saint-Germain-des-Prés, there will be another church - <strong>Saint-Eustache</strong>, some 500 years younger; the construction started in 1532 and lasted for about 100 years. The facade was rebuilt during the 18th century and the church was restored in 1844 after a fire, by Baltard, especially known for the creation of “les Halles”, the central market place in Paris, torn down in 1972-73. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174346222847326738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiackGaVyXOlLySbzzuaHGKHpQnKrcQ1Y8ZmMNwp_QF8XoUWZ8wA480Ybga9cf6-wrqspFVa5t3InBI3jiAWoj_yfYxaFBrTxli_4mpSH5wryps_zxG9j3hyphenhyphenAZ5rjz_Au7BbdiQo8f-rEEY/s400/01.jpg" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiK7SSCx_3QOFN3UZpB9iOyICaUCaUlSTf5CXhLi3O9fIwSFgZhJHOiwEqfvzyt9Hi_xqp2sy2wqtl12cS3dX-xfqS1WbDFAVFhWxYJkzqzOi5a-T_aJQaKErsqea6uRwv3RiAe_pqBpB1/s1600-h/google+.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174345832005302786" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="282" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiK7SSCx_3QOFN3UZpB9iOyICaUCaUlSTf5CXhLi3O9fIwSFgZhJHOiwEqfvzyt9Hi_xqp2sy2wqtl12cS3dX-xfqS1WbDFAVFhWxYJkzqzOi5a-T_aJQaKErsqea6uRwv3RiAe_pqBpB1/s320/google+.jpg" width="287" border="0" /></a>As you can see, the church is situated very close to what still is called “les Halles” and it’s also close to rue Montorgueuil (on which I recently <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/search/label/Rue%20Montorgueil">posted</a>), which starts at the back end of this church.<br /><br />The church represents a mixture of gothic and renaissance style.<br /><br />Molière was baptized and got married in this church and Louis XIV received his communion here. You can find a lot of paintings, including by Rubens. Among the tombs, you can find the one of Colbert, great statesman and minister of finance, who managed to keep the French finances more or less afloat despite big expenditures by Louis XIV for wars and for the building of Versailles.<br /><br />The church’s musical tradition is very strong; Lully and Rameau performed here and the premieres of Berlioz’s “Te Deum” and Liszt’s “Messiah” took place in this church. Rameau is buried here. I don’t know if Mozart played at Saint Eustache, but he organized the funeral of his mother. A lot of concerts are still given. The organ has been completely rebuilt in recent years and is considered as one of the biggest and best in the world.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174346244322163234" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIq8yaTdea2wh9_Vn3b_vaEdI8RUbved6bXyZ38dmAAl1eH2vbabUjHRHJrPZFtvEroBmTFs5yGsGjkWWt_fHqlc2inpWdwHAesPx_zEDDtnZ0Z8-2H6NxA8XFb8aBgROCpGH5EytSvq3/s400/02.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174346252912097842" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW8ZdzswRYcB9MaEE6lPykAYgA1Q6zhMrgLeDynIxNvraloPi4oTUvETRdxPg9f-zgK0wUmpxefoHiu6ahD16GhCH38IS4TKVZRN0aGk_ozAVreTH0yU-KT3McK15RqQWsxA9Qi4f9Fkdw/s400/03.jpg" border="0" />In front of the church you can find a different kind of sculpture, called “l’Ecoute” (see photo bottom right on the first patchwork). If you want to know something more about it, I can refer to a recent <a href="http://cergipontin.blogspot.com/2008/02/paris-1er-lglise-sainte-eustache-et.html">post</a> by <strong>Cergie</strong>.<br /><br /><em>Some of the pictures can be found on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/03/saint-eustache-post-not-ready.html">photo blog</a>.<br /></em><br /><strong><em>I have visitors around I may not find the time to post tomorrow, nor to visit your blogs as I usually try to do, … so I wish you already now a nice weekend!</em></strong></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-71794240759968958202008-03-05T00:11:00.002+01:002008-03-05T00:39:20.465+01:00Saint-Germain-des-Prés<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifn1OK2znu8VC0xFU937DfcG5rFrr47h92jYZuRROFJ8XvHiE9bsXH4MFxxfHhfzilXjeUzGtLsnUVBSbs5_V6nujAjoRMlqCUVqZPZDKC61eFDV6Cs__vE0qKRNXYCFs4fl346S4C06rW/s1600-h/IMG_5910+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174032862033410370" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifn1OK2znu8VC0xFU937DfcG5rFrr47h92jYZuRROFJ8XvHiE9bsXH4MFxxfHhfzilXjeUzGtLsnUVBSbs5_V6nujAjoRMlqCUVqZPZDKC61eFDV6Cs__vE0qKRNXYCFs4fl346S4C06rW/s400/IMG_5910+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div><div><div align="justify">After strolling around a bit in the area, we have now reached the church <strong>Saint-Germain-des-Prés</strong>, which used to be part of an abbey with the same name. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174030139024144578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQ5axuuOdv3sIZJ2Vvd3TEsUgNRSOmKmYhKH9Fu9BDMqE1L7NsdZ3G0bZeFZlKxyvNqnaHR2zM-aOAIZRx-U16QCCy1j0toyR4vLvmOzkgMBRXUtN282wza6w4Z7PhIqvLi2_uDdqxBC6/s400/dehors.jpg" border="0" />Just in front of the church you have one of Paris’ most well-known cafés, "Les Deux Magots", and very close you find also "Café Flore" and the famous brasserie "Lipp". <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174030147614079186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilsNqJ4t-4hE_3ppQfzRbVdYsQcfdQrUd1fUs-hAeLEsI6izksvL_WAIlVBtx1BBo1CMzFmAICw9Q-YSdioMJvtajT_0IBQUWWY2Pw2Ykd0iS4nKgXTTaWgRoZH9JtwShIPO3vKVltnpas/s400/caf%C3%A9s.jpg" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvG0EAFPchLIyiX3RgojaPNaffaSXNPhYXJ5FC3KO6xLzG1gWkmSaQOUdBlQJYAsCH_TWLlDf3G4A0oKNm-7F7qvvGuScVB1p_VifcL8prbdvkfwGRCwVg8FFqE1UkWrh1JX8fhmlL-1vq/s1600-h/IMG_5762+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174031470464006386" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="166" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvG0EAFPchLIyiX3RgojaPNaffaSXNPhYXJ5FC3KO6xLzG1gWkmSaQOUdBlQJYAsCH_TWLlDf3G4A0oKNm-7F7qvvGuScVB1p_VifcL8prbdvkfwGRCwVg8FFqE1UkWrh1JX8fhmlL-1vq/s320/IMG_5762+compr.jpg" width="251" border="0" /></a>The name “…-des- Prés” (= “… in the Fields”) indicates that the abbey was not in the centre of the city when it was founded, as we can see on this old picture where there are no other buildings all the way down to the Seine bank (the old Louvre on the other side of the river). The abbey was outside the "Philippe Auguste wall" (of which we saw some traces at <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2008/02/cour-du-commerce-saint-andr-post-not.html">Cour-du-Commerce-Saint-André </a>and at <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2007/08/st-paul-etc.html">Saint Paul </a>and which I traced on a map in a <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2008/01/walls.html">previous post</a>).<br /><br />The origins are very old; the abbey was founded already in the 6th century (now and then destroyed – the Normans again). In 990 it was decided to rebuild the church, starting with the tower – the one which is still there, the oldest one in Paris. The construction of the complete present church was basically finished in 1163 with a roman older part and newer gothic part.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwK4Ucy0wZZ8HdxIYi6kiK-Oza6RXvlPdS2T8eWTJj14g532ssPTKoNwjxAK9uozd7JerA7ptf1ImV47tzzoltBQDXmki28VbaLLzqSl9cK82ZsJyddzmfpOhar_-MZjBlipomfxSKB_8/s1600-h/google+persp+%2B.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174031814061390082" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDwK4Ucy0wZZ8HdxIYi6kiK-Oza6RXvlPdS2T8eWTJj14g532ssPTKoNwjxAK9uozd7JerA7ptf1ImV47tzzoltBQDXmki28VbaLLzqSl9cK82ZsJyddzmfpOhar_-MZjBlipomfxSKB_8/s320/google+persp+%2B.jpg" border="0" /></a>The church and the abbey remained as a basic intellectual centre until the Revolution. We can see how in the 18th century the abbey covered a large area. Fires, the Revolution and urbanization destroyed most of the surrounding abbey, but the church (in the red circle) survived and was restored during the 19th century.<br /><br />Along the church wall you can still find some traces of the connection between the church and the rest of the abbey and one abbey building remains, the abbot’s red brick residence, which you can see here photographed from Place de Furstenberg. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174032110414133522" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmnpcxms2cMhyS1__NY_aOC2xu7Rh5RkQ0ZvABpwZGx5sayY-dN7f2S7eVaqwPvBNOP8JRVgUsN_isdGuLih2zAeqRFUtNw6Hm81EehEC9UHhUBsQG_qCa_wWmyzNc-uM1whw1_1WJ5wS/s400/abbey.jpg" border="0" />The interior of the church has some original stained glass windows from the 13th century. You can find the tombs of, among others, Descartes and John Casimir (Jan Kazimierz), a Polish king (only their hearts are now left here).<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174032436831648050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD4FDwu0G_JYcqgzpeWgXrae_y8nN6wLMvHMY9zCG4nD3xK68OI4UaAanQDsUhDYlP1oO7ZKMrQF-zgDU1AhaYhjwgBYSOmxW48ahEDLu9qUHhRkKvJQvyXIw3LQ7_jH3mk9egtX4VD59N/s400/int+02.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5174032428241713442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBTxIfERYC5pU_MgiOt7RUf0unacuKZhl0ZtlHoHPPW7taYoEQmWko9rBCzIqAT2Z6BshHwpUARXRX1LDNLqBzADc3_YBn-mz9RR4OvTqJqio7rfXJJl0WYmYXkhF5saSFpNp6jOlIy97D/s400/int+01.jpg" border="0" /></div><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><em>A few of these pictures can be found on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/03/saint-germain-des-prs-post-not-ready.html">photo blog</a>.</em></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-86386671697075029012008-03-04T00:01:00.002+01:002008-03-04T00:19:21.104+01:00Place de Furstenberg<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUmFeDNx8pxKKWnZSnK1-MM2RrLrsImwJWILYfp6Uwi55jFYo-vew9T1qCzK8nXBxCfmVVjrsi3rZBE_MJN8f_sI7nFW7XOwG4ZgmTSGWsrosaX1b4aYJWCY6Qm2PG628JEYrOvojILOu/s1600-h/IMG_5699+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173656929868177314" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcUmFeDNx8pxKKWnZSnK1-MM2RrLrsImwJWILYfp6Uwi55jFYo-vew9T1qCzK8nXBxCfmVVjrsi3rZBE_MJN8f_sI7nFW7XOwG4ZgmTSGWsrosaX1b4aYJWCY6Qm2PG628JEYrOvojILOu/s400/IMG_5699+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUB6BbENHbu_yWGNuW-qzWCAvZB0tKRuKhCoONTnBvmW2MZrsszsYX_g5X4TPkikIyH_W2nE7b6Pf5f-EpNXpUuJ33n_5td1MEtScuiD0-FJmu7WSUVWyXz6v1_RxZu8P6dlHrbPrg-X_/s1600-h/google+.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173654206858911538" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFUB6BbENHbu_yWGNuW-qzWCAvZB0tKRuKhCoONTnBvmW2MZrsszsYX_g5X4TPkikIyH_W2nE7b6Pf5f-EpNXpUuJ33n_5td1MEtScuiD0-FJmu7WSUVWyXz6v1_RxZu8P6dlHrbPrg-X_/s320/google+.jpg" border="0" /></a>On our way to the church Saint-Germain-des Prés, I would propose a stop at one of the smallest – and nicest – squares in Paris, Place de Furstenberg. Once again, this is a very calm place, where you can find some exclusive shops and art galleries.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173654408722374466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqzLW07cnRkepFZfrkZWhpWqhYgqCnVa9UZ_ae26_nnRidIUthAPeoO-7CUh4dgff4SdWW5u44U9Qs_nS6zhhq4PS7lg2O1fMdDTJzYpD8VFkMfSpzRMcF24rhKSlQOMnX3b8ih6SKHzSk/s400/01.jpg" border="0" /><em>(The negative side of taking photos during the winter months is that the leaves on the trees are missing; the positive side is that you can see buildings which in a couple of weeks will be hidden.)<br /></em><br />The name of the place comes from William Egon von Fürstenberg, who had been archbishop, cardinal etc. and ended up his career at the Abbey of Saint-Germain where he died in 1704.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUy4VSTwSaY_fLOZPAQ3_E1FG3Z3SoOoLLN7Yj2cSlNnKRv_sdMUxDSCN1H_XgwvDCnUiT_ljkkp8i8fxeMVkIfxWOsERbJFVImy8W4ZRXyUSB2dqmJx6bsDTVMPTfn3SP5dqdk168CBb4/s1600-h/200px-Eugene_delacroix%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173655010017795922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUy4VSTwSaY_fLOZPAQ3_E1FG3Z3SoOoLLN7Yj2cSlNnKRv_sdMUxDSCN1H_XgwvDCnUiT_ljkkp8i8fxeMVkIfxWOsERbJFVImy8W4ZRXyUSB2dqmJx6bsDTVMPTfn3SP5dqdk168CBb4/s200/200px-Eugene_delacroix%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>In one of the corners, you will see an arch (top photo). If you use it, you will reach an inner court, where you will find the apartment where Eugène Delacroix spent his last years and died in 1863 (bottom left on the patchwork). Today it’s his museum.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjciyrAmqdAxV4jAfD87bvj3Ciyz_ZJDhCfazYyzvLxaA6U1TCbbrqOm2fLOQk0jwiUDcMslBAdmdpdC0uRm0fBadsof_-qt8xWuHITP_ISJysYViCxVse7lAsmKY_WQsBC3Eo5Ya4NBK-a/s1600-h/320px-Eug%25C3%25A8ne_Delacroix_-_La_libert%25C3%25A9_guidant_le_peuple%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173655422334656354" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="247" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjciyrAmqdAxV4jAfD87bvj3Ciyz_ZJDhCfazYyzvLxaA6U1TCbbrqOm2fLOQk0jwiUDcMslBAdmdpdC0uRm0fBadsof_-qt8xWuHITP_ISJysYViCxVse7lAsmKY_WQsBC3Eo5Ya4NBK-a/s320/320px-Eug%25C3%25A8ne_Delacroix_-_La_libert%25C3%25A9_guidant_le_peuple%5B1%5D.jpg" width="299" border="0" /></a>I show here a famous self portrait of Eugène and the “Liberty Leading the People” which you can find at the Louvre (and, in copy, at Versailles).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenTX3B3gBw3WQQz0zfZtMd-VIKKQgdYlsHmupVLWTRrHl7ijvJWUgFujjPtYMkUsg5fevUfMql8czIclTxWFZHhS5OtMi7jFnWNq9ifdvb4-8fj9OmHv0fmVW3nsVhJZ3PesWaUuuQ0JC/s1600-h/19-P%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173655869011255154" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenTX3B3gBw3WQQz0zfZtMd-VIKKQgdYlsHmupVLWTRrHl7ijvJWUgFujjPtYMkUsg5fevUfMql8czIclTxWFZHhS5OtMi7jFnWNq9ifdvb4-8fj9OmHv0fmVW3nsVhJZ3PesWaUuuQ0JC/s200/19-P%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>The place has been painted by many artists, including, among more recent ones, Salvador Dali and David Hockney. It has also frequently been used in cinema.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-RWmeCjMITQfk_DNFpGotBZxHHw7iX7z92QlSBg7F7fjMT0P5avIMjusmr3njJYguyux_woXr5RfT4W8ildp3ostoLcncRLyo6J5sRJzBdLkX04D8fK32w5eRUXimJFe3gBJtitdmQXg/s1600-h/images%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173656268443213714" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 184px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 139px" height="125" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9-RWmeCjMITQfk_DNFpGotBZxHHw7iX7z92QlSBg7F7fjMT0P5avIMjusmr3njJYguyux_woXr5RfT4W8ildp3ostoLcncRLyo6J5sRJzBdLkX04D8fK32w5eRUXimJFe3gBJtitdmQXg/s200/images%5B1%5D.jpg" width="172" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div align="justify"></div><div align="justify"><em>I put a few of these pictures on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/03/place-de-furstenberg-post-not-ready.html">photo blog</a>.</em></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-56471178472921954752008-03-03T00:01:00.011+01:002008-03-03T15:49:36.081+01:00Ceramic facade<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizW_eQLPDurDvtMezl-sXNcGhntcQ7RGtjwrp7zeGUGwPJVAxCeFl26XlEOcn_lLDKjNZAiYwh-kdwnKHQ84sESY-arJVDZG6b9AQ8i3XHb6rUg7xH2EUlTxQMxSg0SVcWDN-mwBeVBmuh/s1600-h/IMG_5739+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173281287484669122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizW_eQLPDurDvtMezl-sXNcGhntcQ7RGtjwrp7zeGUGwPJVAxCeFl26XlEOcn_lLDKjNZAiYwh-kdwnKHQ84sESY-arJVDZG6b9AQ8i3XHb6rUg7xH2EUlTxQMxSg0SVcWDN-mwBeVBmuh/s400/IMG_5739+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div align="justify">Walking along the Boulevard St. Germain - from places I showed on my most recent posts (including maps) -, heading for the church Saint-Germain-des- Prés, (or Café de Flore, Les Deux Magots or whatever) I would suggest that you stop at the small garden or ancient church yard, just behind the church, and have a look at this spectacular ceramic façade which covers the gable of an adjacent building – very few people seem to pay attention.<br /><br />I had great difficulties to find any information about it, but it seems that it was originally part of the Sèvres Pavillion during the 1900 Universal Exhibition in Paris and later put here. Why here, I don’t know, possibly that we are close to the Rue de Sèvres, which leads to Sévres and the Sèvres Manufacture? I even found the names of the creators (Charles Risier and Jules Courtan), but nothing about them. I think that this “monument” would be worth some more attention!</div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173278740569062514" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNXj01HfB6uetlQj_PuFylqNOtbuEiPRjXxvFSE8-5ebXKd37dq6rYyeHwTDhtqw34wgedOw4GXifBiZzUByDhsAHcIsC0oUtRj_D-UXZH0UY6uGdhKycJUlKcJE-GFszCSp6xTsD7ay3/s400/s%C3%A8vres.jpg" border="0" />Let’s remember that the 1900 Universal Exhibition somehow was an “art nouveau” exhibition and that the Pont Alexandre III bridge (see my <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2007/06/pont-alexandre-iii.html">post</a> of June 7, 2007), the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais, the Gare de Lyon, the Gare d’Orsay (now the Orsay Museum) and many other buildings were created for this occasion. (Most of the pavilions were of course considered as temporary and disappeared after the exhibition.) During this Exhibition, the first metros started to run. … and the second Olympic Games took place in Paris.<br /><br /><em>(A few of these pictures can be found on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/03/ceramic-facade-post-not-ready.html">photo blog</a>.)<br /></em><br />Before closing for today, I wanted to show you some further spring progress in “my” park, although the weekend weather could have been better.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173279152885922946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilTyC_60EDAI9uidGiTUECPN3Meo57lHpORg6mDpneZjMxolFKD3NquK6gcCc11uR7__v9WtT_3FJjEixFEUC9PAcbqjNnGoP99QrSS4Lfg9weCu82VNu_z-te_xN6jv9w61rIEnwt9r0B/s400/Fleurs+mars+01.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173279161475857554" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHfEcgHh1AKczdyIWz6IluUBzt_mSneF9pUb5i0XecgoO0UUh57CfUiuUiPWxAe1CylT3k7rD2i6SW5a-ZBWS6MjqYSNlFj48zkiCV5-nitOYdZAQgOSU1w9trYQIB_WeTDWbJBVfM2leG/s400/Fleurs+mars+02.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRtausgmzzQKbZhxbF7S2KK121v-zqVc1FkSWoFkCZejOV4GyH8KoxsFt7Boexzbh3ZRB7AZxPDcD7xXKFpfMhjk1ySUMuzVCPPAMlvWqcHrGeqt5NImH7DPEyzU1blHHGgTXo0Ko3OLYE/s1600-h/Pal+%2B+Mat+0308.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173279835785723042" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRtausgmzzQKbZhxbF7S2KK121v-zqVc1FkSWoFkCZejOV4GyH8KoxsFt7Boexzbh3ZRB7AZxPDcD7xXKFpfMhjk1ySUMuzVCPPAMlvWqcHrGeqt5NImH7DPEyzU1blHHGgTXo0Ko3OLYE/s320/Pal+%2B+Mat+0308.jpg" border="0" /></a>The weather was anyhow good enough to allow Paloma and Mattias to have some outdoor fun in the Jardin du Ranélagh.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1I1bQbNu5MUrrOAZZaKVGpwQg-JsolruM7Z2hGFfwxy9zSLKL31ms3jnv4wuzqivicvzBgTZnxfPNCT1VIPc5lR6yYDZPjA_MrajHqDdmc0G0CoZMo-ea4CVOX-JhJT969FVO0G2RY_oT/s1600-h/IMG_5772+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5173280849398004914" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1I1bQbNu5MUrrOAZZaKVGpwQg-JsolruM7Z2hGFfwxy9zSLKL31ms3jnv4wuzqivicvzBgTZnxfPNCT1VIPc5lR6yYDZPjA_MrajHqDdmc0G0CoZMo-ea4CVOX-JhJT969FVO0G2RY_oT/s320/IMG_5772+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a>My new “toy” is fairly new on the market and draws some attention to it!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div></div><div><strong><em></em></strong></div><div><strong><em></em></strong></div><div><strong><em></em></strong></div><div><strong><em></em></strong></div><div><strong><em>Addendum:</em></strong></div><div><strong><em></em></strong></div><div align="justify"><em>Thanks to <a href="http://objectif.blogspot.com/"><strong>Maxime</strong></a> we have answers to my questions above:</em></div><div align="justify"><em><strong>Charles Risler</strong> was a Parisian architect who also designed the pavilion for the department store "Au Printemps" for the same Universal Exhibition.</em></div><div align="justify"><em><strong>Jules Félix Coutan </strong>has made several sculptures around Paris which can be found e.g. at the Palais de Justice ("La Clémence"), Opéra Comique ("Cariatides"), the National Library ("La Calligraphie"), the Bir-Hakeim Bridge ("La Science", "Le Travail"). One of his monumental works ("<a href="http://www.insecula.com/oeuvre/photo_ME0000049958.html">Les Chasseurs d'Aigles"</a>) can be found at the Orsay Museum. (You can se the Bir-Hakeim sculptures on one of my previous <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2007/09/pont-de-bir-hakeim.html">posts</a>.)</em></div><div><em></em></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com40tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-70064917913430987282008-02-29T00:01:00.003+01:002008-02-29T00:12:06.746+01:00Another Charles Garnier building<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXIKaeGME-E9SnN0SH37GxN1nIAC1aZZclHC_yce2gN8FDiIoVGPPkwCiBeX2W2tYzw-W_tqxwP5rYAyQx1G2U-Zvb3QS56tDEk-iJv6F_ahyphenhyphenZrKgQbSlzUTHu8hRXKpOwXddfyJ-Mq6L/s1600-h/IMG_5726+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172170061717713634" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheXIKaeGME-E9SnN0SH37GxN1nIAC1aZZclHC_yce2gN8FDiIoVGPPkwCiBeX2W2tYzw-W_tqxwP5rYAyQx1G2U-Zvb3QS56tDEk-iJv6F_ahyphenhyphenZrKgQbSlzUTHu8hRXKpOwXddfyJ-Mq6L/s400/IMG_5726+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_mjfCVEUhsoHMtcYps5kAvwfCt2psYdNRdb7gFc_-NyCD6P10_B_2FfMYgeLuI3E2SWq_MhJ5VE1BnHQCg_74yl08olMG34YOdVczgFkA7ZiMMQgTojY7G5IyfBoc-dOhgWGgYI52hJI/s1600-h/Google+.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172168339435827858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx_mjfCVEUhsoHMtcYps5kAvwfCt2psYdNRdb7gFc_-NyCD6P10_B_2FfMYgeLuI3E2SWq_MhJ5VE1BnHQCg_74yl08olMG34YOdVczgFkA7ZiMMQgTojY7G5IyfBoc-dOhgWGgYI52hJI/s320/Google+.jpg" border="0" /></a>When walking from the Cour du Commerce Saint André and Cour Rohan (see my two preceding posts), along Boulevard Saint Germain in the direction of the church Saint Germain des Prés (or the cafés Les Deux Magots and Flore etc…) you can find a building created by Charles Garnier,<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKpRREiB83mv6F_gTjjGTpRfzOYw8_4-OZRY0RL1cSAvHdXeMojfuwd01iheDJVNQ1iYMxKXg1zmci1rKCdShvdb68j7i4iaaNDMhwUnZorN2yob8QHVVbKUvSXkyqkk0QimHXIZW73eD/s1600-h/S5004097%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172168747457720994" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOKpRREiB83mv6F_gTjjGTpRfzOYw8_4-OZRY0RL1cSAvHdXeMojfuwd01iheDJVNQ1iYMxKXg1zmci1rKCdShvdb68j7i4iaaNDMhwUnZorN2yob8QHVVbKUvSXkyqkk0QimHXIZW73eD/s200/S5004097%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>… who of course is particularly known as the architect of Opéra Garnier (see my <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2007/08/opra-garnier.html">post</a> August 2, 2007). This is a very much more modest building.<br /><br />Actually, Charles had some difficulties to find new jobs after the Paris opera house, much criticized those days, much praised later, and he had to wait two years after finishing the opera to get this job in 1877.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwunF8ZVASwNEUjfWamd-tPCRnl5L-wgOwuhlFRJl1nEa7qu_u3aeqGr53UCXnLZ3sbG0L4CPJwVEGzs6JciZzhTbQMPBPx-tkSzoXznS7xEaq1W2uMD5tB30i8TiJfKfzlFVuEd1voH1/s1600-h/Monte_Carlo_Casino%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172168992270856882" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUwunF8ZVASwNEUjfWamd-tPCRnl5L-wgOwuhlFRJl1nEa7qu_u3aeqGr53UCXnLZ3sbG0L4CPJwVEGzs6JciZzhTbQMPBPx-tkSzoXznS7xEaq1W2uMD5tB30i8TiJfKfzlFVuEd1voH1/s200/Monte_Carlo_Casino%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>However, he then, later, also created the casino <span style="font-size:85%;">(Wikipedia photo)</span>, opera and Hôtel de Paris in Monte Carlo, the casino and the spa hotel in Vittel, a theatre in Paris (Marigny) and several other buildings.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FaiSRGn8Tukoyds72vw7JP-bkfFfAbbM08_Ql51odj2NEBbjHLuRoyfL-3DiBUR8l5VnMKCesP08Am-Me4OGG96dcJx9T4tgqON6CGB2HQ7GfU87mBR5KTw28IES6JXntDQ0rCV-boJH/s1600-h/Jacques%252BOff%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172169348753142466" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8FaiSRGn8Tukoyds72vw7JP-bkfFfAbbM08_Ql51odj2NEBbjHLuRoyfL-3DiBUR8l5VnMKCesP08Am-Me4OGG96dcJx9T4tgqON6CGB2HQ7GfU87mBR5KTw28IES6JXntDQ0rCV-boJH/s200/Jacques%252BOff%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>He also created the tomb of Jacques Offenbach in 1880 (see my <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2007/04/jacob-eberst.html">post </a>April 24, 2007).<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />This building on Boulevard Saint Germain (no. 117), completed in 1879 is not one of the most well known among his creations, but is certainly worth having a look at. It was built for the “Le Cercle de la Librairie”, where all syndicates and professional associations representing the publishing and editing industry met until 1979. Today, after some interior modifications, the building houses L’Ecole Nationale du Patrimoine (the National School of Patrimony) which should give a good guarantee that the building will be kept in good shape.<br /><br />It’s not open for visits, but I managed to get in - thanks to a tolerant door man - and to take a few pictures also of the interior stairs. <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172169769659937490" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBfeJYTQ-BRpTqbaulyADm2TdC6V9ReQowveOpfAQaL1ch8B5V89eSZzqDllqVjSbJMzontS0VdL-Mu7YwtGrBWUIYhit0bkvt5m6UHRU9aYACCT8jOE7wEeLBkCH51b9_b02HdN64NbBN/s400/01.jpg" border="0" /><em>I put the original pictures on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/02/another-charles-garnier-building-post.html">photo blog</a>.</em><br /><br /><strong><em>... and it's again time to wish you a nice weekend!</em></strong> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com36tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-88042592208697431882008-02-28T00:01:00.003+01:002008-03-13T22:55:56.539+01:00Cour de Rohan<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2UYMU9hX_EX1hOaAgUEAfqR3sNwO8kJNn3VvH4U-lu7IG33I_of-cnKjN_Y_OxNvlk7a7OwT6ZdDdFLZJoFSgAvl3X2_IvV_m1OMdicp9FP9hNjgKsGT5tC3CpM64M3BzekIgLL3jWIn/s1600-h/IMG_5701+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171795154022445602" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ2UYMU9hX_EX1hOaAgUEAfqR3sNwO8kJNn3VvH4U-lu7IG33I_of-cnKjN_Y_OxNvlk7a7OwT6ZdDdFLZJoFSgAvl3X2_IvV_m1OMdicp9FP9hNjgKsGT5tC3CpM64M3BzekIgLL3jWIn/s400/IMG_5701+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div align="justify">If you are visiting <strong>Cour du Commerce Saint André</strong> (my post yesterday), I would propose that you also make a small deviation to <strong>Cour de Rohan</strong> which you easily reach by taking a small alley, some kind of secret passage, just opposite to (the backside of) the Procope restaurant. This opening did not originally exist as here was the <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2008/01/walls.html">Philippe Auguste wall</a>, which I also referred to in yesterday’s post. You can see some old stones on the house illustrated on top. Originally, you had to enter here from the other side – still possible.<br /><br />By the way, the name should rather refer to Rouen than to Rohan as this is the way to a mansion formerly supposed (but not confirmed) to have been used by the archbishops of Rouen.<br /><br />Once you have entered, you will meet a rather authentic several hundred years old surrounding. There are no shops or restaurants here, just private homes. The entrance gate may be closed during weekends and evenings. When it’s open, very few people (good for the inhabitants) dare to pass the gate, which leads to three successive and irregularly shaped courtyards. It’s extremely calm, although so close to a very busy area. A wonderful place to live if you accept the idea of not bringing your car to the front of your house!<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171795145432510994" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh31_2TYJ0yTq98PXTtTWQd5PgzMqh8oo30wHmUKPlfpbaptUNeZJDscsxdcYuSyW-b777ZXiJ_SpPz81Lp6gH2SKklROS0bJXHKEmupyQQw9saomIxp7Zl3JxI65B4dQic6rIOfcTyArlf/s400/01.jpg" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ASCvBl2IiGdEO9HPAuT6OyiYZRPeq6xxfNIluEQhkxGH_HPM6_hsNc2Pa_RNo2idLo16KUL_vbTAdimCSgktBEF3GMay-bdapVv7vXMXuQbpc4lb11O0BZJ56ZvmbtdHQ7L9sYBQgHC-/s1600-h/IMG_5711+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171794625741468146" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0ASCvBl2IiGdEO9HPAuT6OyiYZRPeq6xxfNIluEQhkxGH_HPM6_hsNc2Pa_RNo2idLo16KUL_vbTAdimCSgktBEF3GMay-bdapVv7vXMXuQbpc4lb11O0BZJ56ZvmbtdHQ7L9sYBQgHC-/s320/IMG_5711+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a>In one of the courtyards, you can find the only (?) in Paris remaining “pas-de-mule”, or “montoir” (horse-block?), a tool to help you to mount a horse.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2oCMz1efLXS8OwH4BtYuErD7eNEgDm7DH9uEYX526CPVy3oMxZ56-65qEmB7Sjrm7VaQIaxfUj0H_MGtDIr7HOe6QodcE54KzbB1MHfTc0YUBn4HQsESUlicKILgUv92FMjUscXSqUyz/s1600-h/gigi1%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171794642921337346" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="293" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT2oCMz1efLXS8OwH4BtYuErD7eNEgDm7DH9uEYX526CPVy3oMxZ56-65qEmB7Sjrm7VaQIaxfUj0H_MGtDIr7HOe6QodcE54KzbB1MHfTc0YUBn4HQsESUlicKILgUv92FMjUscXSqUyz/s320/gigi1%5B1%5D.jpg" width="217" border="0" /></a>Part of the scenes of Vincente Minelli’s film, Gigi, were turned here (Leslie Caron’s home in the film) – now 50 years ago.<br /><br /><em>You can find some of these photos on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/02/cour-de-rohan-post-not-ready.html">photo blog</a>.</em></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-66756219078961140842008-02-27T00:01:00.002+01:002008-02-27T00:25:47.164+01:00Cour du Commerce Saint André<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fU1ZV1j95ap-FOck4ww-Nw4q-2BbopJCn7RUdrocKIBCz0TiD_Ykqb_nFkdjMeZJU7sPtynsr0dEHbpckY-oX8KpOA7rdhMj1JRoXlBxmFUKI18rc8Gx3BLK-eFHzdjWez9xZHfeG6dE/s1600-h/IMG_5618+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171431765429465442" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2fU1ZV1j95ap-FOck4ww-Nw4q-2BbopJCn7RUdrocKIBCz0TiD_Ykqb_nFkdjMeZJU7sPtynsr0dEHbpckY-oX8KpOA7rdhMj1JRoXlBxmFUKI18rc8Gx3BLK-eFHzdjWez9xZHfeG6dE/s400/IMG_5618+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2mlj4g3tJU9jVt3LZGxxum9Ui1WivNZtf9lpK3guI5uxrAKe51hIikjDhfH1n7QDQdwyZT04J_8ttuuvB3m_Snl5y2z0VuxxOUEH78ufAet8GVOM6Yd4oPXs8KjmqAtHu4GkCQdCI_5K/s1600-h/Google+%2B.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171429639420653842" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2mlj4g3tJU9jVt3LZGxxum9Ui1WivNZtf9lpK3guI5uxrAKe51hIikjDhfH1n7QDQdwyZT04J_8ttuuvB3m_Snl5y2z0VuxxOUEH78ufAet8GVOM6Yd4oPXs8KjmqAtHu4GkCQdCI_5K/s320/Google+%2B.jpg" border="0" /></a>Most tourists and other visitors of the Quartier Latin, would walk up (or down) Rue Saint André des Arts, not all will deviate to see also the narrow passageway <strong>Cour Commerce Saint André</strong>. Even fewer (hardly anybody) would visit <strong>Cour Rohan</strong>. I will talk about Cour Rohan tomorrow, today just a few words about Cour du Commerce Saint André.<br /><br />One entrance to this partly covered narrow street is from Rue Saint André des Arts, the other one is from Boulevard Saint Germain. The oldest known Paris wall, the Philippe-Auguste wall (built 1190-1213, see my <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2008/01/walls.html">post Jan 8, 2008</a>), used to pass here and there are still some traces, however inside an existing building (the Catalogne tourism office).<br /><br />Anyhow, the street has some kind of 18th century atmosphere, is covered by centuries- old cobble-stones, has a lot of charm and a number of historical references.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171429940068364578" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Q9tithJd7OAEhpFcjHEaP0vyF0dE-eHpYHW5MXHkyKoUYyCV2gkEudwbKgpAIQerlfbN062K5_bw3eyQeZEgks1DWjTx6UoBgLYZw8ewxmBjQ4gdOq_ZOzA3cdHqANvN6jMoQBKGUVfj/s400/01.jpg" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyyPmiebJd2zopsLMSOBT1wFwRg2qtlAB3jSzOZyekWpMizJoTK_ObRGKVjtS2kYkAvk_L05pJAeqz4aXCa5bmLax1UokPUYZEPfJsxHEbqty2FDWq49njP3rYwFbpRmy_j5ewablmHljY/s1600-h/IMG_5623+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171430262190911794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="182" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyyPmiebJd2zopsLMSOBT1wFwRg2qtlAB3jSzOZyekWpMizJoTK_ObRGKVjtS2kYkAvk_L05pJAeqz4aXCa5bmLax1UokPUYZEPfJsxHEbqty2FDWq49njP3rYwFbpRmy_j5ewablmHljY/s320/IMG_5623+compr.jpg" width="276" border="0" /></a>The first experiments with the guillotine (on sheep) took place in this building (no. 9).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HNVEv_1CBPJVlGN33IJeGQBUbsII_7WXcU_O7Gety8ImyJyUJvYF2DVjhNNREfo0uutx4a6VJg8QPdNDclLQjryA_1F8SI8SXYws5dySH5l9Y39EEwzsk8OoevJhwy6u3qbBKEteqGAS/s1600-h/IMG_5707+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171430846306464066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1HNVEv_1CBPJVlGN33IJeGQBUbsII_7WXcU_O7Gety8ImyJyUJvYF2DVjhNNREfo0uutx4a6VJg8QPdNDclLQjryA_1F8SI8SXYws5dySH5l9Y39EEwzsk8OoevJhwy6u3qbBKEteqGAS/s320/IMG_5707+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a>The oldest still existing Paris café*, Le Procope – opened in 1686 - , has its (today backdoor) entry here. Among its regular visitors you can mention Racine, Molière, Voltaire, Diderot, Balzac, Napoleon and his marshals, George Sand, Victor Hugo, Oscar Wilde, Thomas Jefferson … Benjamin Franklin (who is said to have “fine-tuned” the American constitution here)… a lot of ancient times’ actors (the old Comédie Française was just across the street) .. and the Revolutionary Robespierre, Marat, Danton….and Guillotin.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25d6CuP1erNyn1D5H5sZb_0SYORR8TAxnxd_QenX_Re9-wiGunTrygaWBTQM6RAT634S1Mk6JtALTKfq3Z0i2Ep3K2iO5k80VWdHaOdVK0GieOJZNUg8HhiPNtaFl0nsd2yzgg50poaYT/s1600-h/IMG_5630+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171431292983062866" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi25d6CuP1erNyn1D5H5sZb_0SYORR8TAxnxd_QenX_Re9-wiGunTrygaWBTQM6RAT634S1Mk6JtALTKfq3Z0i2Ep3K2iO5k80VWdHaOdVK0GieOJZNUg8HhiPNtaFl0nsd2yzgg50poaYT/s320/IMG_5630+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a>Marat also printed the Revolutionary newspaper “L”Ami du Peulple” in this street (no. 8) and Danton had his home at no. 20 which corresponds to a part of the street which disappeared with the construction of Boulevard Saint Germain. Danton’s statue now stands where his house used to be.<br /><br /><em>*/ As a small extra note – I referred to Le Procope as a “café”: Did you know that the word “restaurant” comes from the French word “restaurer” (to restore)? It was used for an eating establishment for the first time around 1765 by a Parisian soup-seller. The first restaurant in the form we know it today (sitting down, ordering from a menu…) was founded in Paris in 1782. Previously eating places were basically for travelling people who paid a flat rate for what the inn owner wanted to serve.</em><br /></div><br /><div align="justify"><em>A few of these pictures can be found on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/02/cour-du-commerce-saint-andr-post-not.html">photo blog</a>.</em></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-15489347920242555392008-02-25T23:48:00.003+01:002008-02-27T00:32:08.002+01:00Saint Sulpice<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rB3FfmfhBrTS1Xhw68bID3013jDtHdhQKrVscf34BxisTlj_YtGXc4Z-CHwUkWEyWm61IleHy085GpF-vgfYmamMtxl9wu66siR4T2OCQSHUKetC5OXzrWB-4MHs-Qg86PceCkCuJZuT/s1600-h/IMG_5650+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171057471914520706" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rB3FfmfhBrTS1Xhw68bID3013jDtHdhQKrVscf34BxisTlj_YtGXc4Z-CHwUkWEyWm61IleHy085GpF-vgfYmamMtxl9wu66siR4T2OCQSHUKetC5OXzrWB-4MHs-Qg86PceCkCuJZuT/s400/IMG_5650+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div align="justify">The <strong>Saint Sulpice</strong> church is situated on the east side of Place Saint Sulpice, not far from the Luxembourg Gardens. The place as such is quite nice and in the middle you find a fountain, created by Ludovico Visconti in 1844, just renovated.<br /><br />Saint Sulpice is the second biggest church in Paris – after Notre Dame. The present church which replaced an older one from the 13th century was mostly completed in 1732 (the facade a few decades later). (Half of the church facade is under renovation, so I show only the other half.) <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171055152632180754" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH-ypOzaUX8XJmJQK7bC-E-AVbAd7Q2LmNNrGnZOQcsUKjx0f9wvcR7PDUarOpnFfQ1P2kz6UWH_e45_Xpocu2gh2lsqN44Y43lnRHKhBSLfjJnUBlrbQchqhy3Z6xf3ZFoO_CDELuHE_A/s400/02.jpg" border="0" />From the interior you can note a beautiful pulpit, the Chapel of the Madonna (statue by Pigalle) and some wall paintings by Delacroix (too dark to be correctly photographed). <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171055418920153122" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYBnwrbNR7HyTf5VisoNNWRpf0BnjIjGKVdNHB7Z-cAI_A52nIY-XeDyPQuBAl16zm975Aut9UVDE3ZKdMJ0-MUYS64ju3-CWcD22Km87j2sCoR2E9q9C1gaIh9lkgjWvafATcAZk1qrg/s400/03.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171055427510087730" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEiU66Kd_YVhlHmhvR2onxR2ruR7lIqJdIhOMjN_woz7EAQ9_D6_BLyIh9jJ6aSiUx20tjSb7NMJ-jmcV0jgQA2RIPjbwLvSiIZW05LlVk_bHLfmjhR_njaKN50Jky_dRdQn-_iJu-ngZS/s400/04.jpg" border="0" />The church is known for its organ, which is supposed to be one of the best in the world, created by Arisitide Cavaillé-Coll in 1862, but still with a lot of material from its original construction in 1781. Cavaillé-Coll is considered as one of the world’s best organ builders ever. The church has also always employed top class organists (and composers). The organ is frequently used for concerts and recordings.<br /><br />The church is also known for its gnomon (from 1749). It was requested as part of the original church construction. The purpose was to determine the time of equinoxes (and hence of Easter). A meridian brass band crosses the floor and ends up on the gnomon, a marble obelisk. The sunlight comes in through a small lens on the opposite side of the church. The fact that this was also used for different scientific experiences may have saved it from destruction during the Revolution (when the church temporarily became a “Temple of Victory”). <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171055839826948178" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjADbFERrEWcoMYDIpbb_dXTcBG_csAilll6bHHhOpwFElnRkuEJm37waXXRDTQmlsX14fEcOZc2W6xIuI0LdyLgGgFZw4k4w3ZrTsZC99juvxNmzY49yPRvvukd1IlaGYQB1VLpJh8VZo2/s400/Plan+%2B.jpg" border="0" /> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171055839826948162" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1SX6NZJCvX9259PdVjxxqUoYNaf73kYDYhu2z_nx2MWqmRtokW-idK1r5XBC2x8Au0j3ZyjpXn3cqXTCQH9ykedZDKmIE9YDu0k5qsb3nxmgHZR6ZZa0-e4MRa-n65gDPKj1hzi_mqRii/s400/01.jpg" border="0" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXAz2UiJgLd0Ev7Xll0MmVvRV50i5-NxXVs4ehz2StRhAhUDdIiM_dEjWCu4rMoMKI91ZyRDWOMZnnyPsbXWt2vQa_l5pwEjEJ28wYaz8glYNqx7bsuAsBWOSgwfeDps8qUfuJgrSrMDMB/s1600-h/Google+louvre+Invalides+%252B%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5171056247848841314" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 224px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 257px" height="183" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXAz2UiJgLd0Ev7Xll0MmVvRV50i5-NxXVs4ehz2StRhAhUDdIiM_dEjWCu4rMoMKI91ZyRDWOMZnnyPsbXWt2vQa_l5pwEjEJ28wYaz8glYNqx7bsuAsBWOSgwfeDps8qUfuJgrSrMDMB/s320/Google+louvre+Invalides+%252B%5B1%5D.jpg" width="143" border="0" /></a>The church was made even more famous thanks to the "Da Vinci Code". I have already in a previous post indicated that the <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2007/09/before-agreement-to-use-greenwich-as.html">“French Prime Meridian”</a> and this Saint Sulpice meridian have nothing to do with each other. The church is situated some hundred meters from the “French Prime Meridian” (referred to as the “Rose Line” by Dan Brown). Furthermore, relating to the "Da Vinci Code": The church does not stand on the place of an old pagan temple and the symbolic “PS” you can find in the church refer to St. Pierre and to St. Sulpice and not the invented “Priory of Sion”.<br /><br /><em>Some of these pictures can as usual be found on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/02/saint-sulpice-post-not-ready.html">photo blog</a></em>. </div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-82311671952883614612008-02-25T00:01:00.003+01:002008-02-25T00:13:21.473+01:00Ingrid Betancourt<div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8YQHXGpau-saxIU2HcG7o3Vi5cNErMr7-gUaUJg2MrnKUqKwVGdZ8QTKmrtwtcv1yepfcrS348av1WhyphenhypheneXpkedaCaAZJSnbghR7Y4IVwsNfVz5HZrCAC2Z2YSAccmi9Wv2I_D9kO8cLs/s1600-h/IMG_5586+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170685836984331906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR8YQHXGpau-saxIU2HcG7o3Vi5cNErMr7-gUaUJg2MrnKUqKwVGdZ8QTKmrtwtcv1yepfcrS348av1WhyphenhypheneXpkedaCaAZJSnbghR7Y4IVwsNfVz5HZrCAC2Z2YSAccmi9Wv2I_D9kO8cLs/s400/IMG_5586+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div align="justify"><strong>Ingrid Betancourt</strong>, French-Colombian citizen and former Colombian presidential candidate, has been in captivity in the Colombian jungle since February 23rd 2002. She was kidnapped, together with her vice presidential candidate, Clara Rojas, by FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).<br /><br />Clara Rojas and the ex-Colombian Senator, Consuelo Gonzales de Perdomo, were liberated last month through intervention by Hugo Chavez, the Venezuelan President.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe1SsMtg9hIDYpd6yIM6LWzXRS6knKLImr2AsSMzu2NgHrSIvGpzvuQ_AIlJe1y4NcIckVJBnJI68n8eCMqlUcVeMiwTpQcBub8SAa0kZwU-ZXSlLSMmIjKuBPN8kc6fqmdRccy0akc7yB/s1600-h/before+after.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170684728882769490" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="253" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe1SsMtg9hIDYpd6yIM6LWzXRS6knKLImr2AsSMzu2NgHrSIvGpzvuQ_AIlJe1y4NcIckVJBnJI68n8eCMqlUcVeMiwTpQcBub8SAa0kZwU-ZXSlLSMmIjKuBPN8kc6fqmdRccy0akc7yB/s320/before+after.jpg" width="279" border="0" /></a>Ingrid is still in rebel custody together with many others, mostly members of the Colombian Army, but also some civilians, including three US citizens. Ingrid has become an international symbol for all these hostages. (<span style="font-size:85%;">Photos from </span><a href="http://www.agirpouringrid.com/base/"><span style="font-size:85%;">official site</span></a>).<br /><br />Ingrid’s two charming children, Mélanie and Lorenzo, living in France, her mother, her husband, her ex-husband and a large number of personalities, are campaigning for the liberation of Ingrid and the other hostages; a liberation which has become a major objective also for our French President, Nicolas Sarkozy.<br /><br />Last Saturday was thus the sixth anniversary of Ingrid’s kidnapping and another manifestation took place in front of the magnificent Paris Town Hall (at present with an ice rink in front), where her portrait is permanently exposed, with an updated indication of the number of days she has been in captivity – today Monday, 2193 days. Short speeches were made by her children, by the liberated ex-Senator Consuela Gonzales and by the Paris Major in presence of different personalities. Thousands of people assisted and after the manifestation we were all asked to make a “human chain” around the Town Hall. </div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170685540631588466" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEUXwHXpZg6ZFGRyRLUBkfj3iR4BD9TPtEqsB1kCMZj1HxvYpgFBKzeYVy0Zv2InKnwCXnVjsQ4Inxo5CaPnmXlpjem_xTOa8if_oW4bq2GM8AUGCKxAxx6x71c01W-4TsLRnuiHjg4Zw/s400/01.jpg" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpbSjuY3JzCEU0vVMPpFJ-aVPwSmEKR_UK-C_f5Em6OJugZlfrCd6GWQ0uFLYDRNeQC8rar12YgmlttMkwlzfKUXWoXtyO3HZZlTwoQ3E32QZgSfvg95OPU53etSNct5fQrxHFfTfRlk4/s1600-h/sarko+carla003.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170685102544924258" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="181" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicpbSjuY3JzCEU0vVMPpFJ-aVPwSmEKR_UK-C_f5Em6OJugZlfrCd6GWQ0uFLYDRNeQC8rar12YgmlttMkwlzfKUXWoXtyO3HZZlTwoQ3E32QZgSfvg95OPU53etSNct5fQrxHFfTfRlk4/s320/sarko+carla003.jpg" width="274" border="0" /></a>The family members and the liberated Colombian senator were later (again) received by the French President - and his new wife, Carla Bruni. <span style="font-size:85%;">(Photo AFP)</span>.<br /><br />The last couple of days, the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, has had meetings with the Colombian and the Venezuelan Presidents, Chavez and Uribe.<br /><br />Let’s hope that there will soon be a happy end, not only for Ingrid but for all the hostages; some of them have been in captivity for more than ten years.<br /><br />(It was not easy to make decent photos behind the thick wall of official photographers and camera men.)<br /><br /><em>… and yesterday the spring was here and my daughter tried my new toy!</em> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5170686313725701778" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWHndXYSyb5i9c9GAk-oke8_GomtfqEjaJKuXCcae-7P2uw72C_op-jFYMqOoRJkVPAWHDptJkg5riKdVnE9OaR02xbztMEzaiTKWIfrr5g3xDaXCriwpQcNCpdDA_C7GSgIF13e4zP_L/s400/Printemps+St%C3%A9ph.jpg" border="0" /><br /></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-13519564613639081462008-02-22T00:01:00.001+01:002008-02-21T23:50:43.578+01:00No smoking... smoking?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUcdiMirLgtwa0bw2Hcg106b1-qBKkG9hi_A040BNz3QOwYkrTR7EirlmusGdqhOFuWEjaI9f5gdOxgUNxmFd0n0m3Ad-JIRcGNnP_REmzHzA5vOjgXWJGLyXtxhg-j6sW4ONnqzn9rrN/s1600-h/IMG_5509+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169568767530249794" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsUcdiMirLgtwa0bw2Hcg106b1-qBKkG9hi_A040BNz3QOwYkrTR7EirlmusGdqhOFuWEjaI9f5gdOxgUNxmFd0n0m3Ad-JIRcGNnP_REmzHzA5vOjgXWJGLyXtxhg-j6sW4ONnqzn9rrN/s400/IMG_5509+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div align="justify">You shouldn’t smoke! Some people still do!<br /><br />In France, the interdiction against smoking in cafes, bars, restaurants and nightclubs came into force in January this year. In the immediate it seems that the turnover at these places on average has decreased by some 5% due to lost customers and there are of course some demonstrations and other manifestations against these measures! Experience from other countries seem however to prove that customers will come back after a while and that new customers (non-smokers, families with kids…) will more than replace this loss. Let’s see!<br /><br />You are still allowed to smoke outside! So what is inside or outside? As France is very good in creating laws and rules, but often is even better in finding out how to escape from them, you can now see a large number of places arranged so that you can pretend that customers are outside; terraces under some kind of awning, with cellophane walls etc… and, for the winter, with gas or electric braziers! For some suppliers of such equipment, the new ban has been very good business! <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169568758940315186" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAV9sr0rXxzQAm7psUiiK0piOQdzde-XQKZYRkzlVXpNgLI_maAuFJ8WyWzqTZhBnlX3Q8T7TP2idzNkWnlo2PavTvAW-IUM4JBH6cKgb3AgLYgdNZzhnvVrBje7nnpqdkjCKNTqY8_nXt/s400/No+smoking.jpg" border="0" /></div><br /><em>It's already time to wish you a nice weekend again!</em>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2866904825631909842.post-91174936767385327002008-02-21T00:01:00.006+01:002008-02-21T00:22:43.885+01:00Another Lavirotte building<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY8J6k3dUz1DBvjwFPMCcZ1nvryGieeJ3BXbM11mG5pcjSHLld6hMlL1FHYU1MXtFYVaczKhlxU153L8XzOJfPDuCuJ1vRyhpWOTBkK5pI6C2iOhdZ5ccTPUNyXZrKw535XUMl240i0NFe/s1600-h/IMG_5480+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169200607228603922" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY8J6k3dUz1DBvjwFPMCcZ1nvryGieeJ3BXbM11mG5pcjSHLld6hMlL1FHYU1MXtFYVaczKhlxU153L8XzOJfPDuCuJ1vRyhpWOTBkK5pI6C2iOhdZ5ccTPUNyXZrKw535XUMl240i0NFe/s400/IMG_5480+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><br /><div align="justify"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkBE7n0bO6Kr2eCsYlZSV29fFzoQxG0ojnnCtLm9zpQfDesDH97put4_gZLpaZx76hdj6QgyBj-GRLk9p18TxqwqD5P08qi5CQPEXHqTnscfoRrWAMGSSe_iYW3ljIYU4xv7gR8lgePWK/s1600-h/IMG_1503%5B1%5D.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169197510557183378" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkBE7n0bO6Kr2eCsYlZSV29fFzoQxG0ojnnCtLm9zpQfDesDH97put4_gZLpaZx76hdj6QgyBj-GRLk9p18TxqwqD5P08qi5CQPEXHqTnscfoRrWAMGSSe_iYW3ljIYU4xv7gR8lgePWK/s320/IMG_1503%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a>I have several times talked about “art nouveau” (<a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/search/label/Guimard">Guimard</a> and others). A couple of months ago, I made a post on <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/2007/09/some-ceramic-buildings.html">« Ceramic buildings »</a>, presenting among others two buildings by one of the foremost “art nouveau” architects, Jules <strong>Lavirotte</strong> (1864-1928) (Example from Avenue Rapp on the left).<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnT68oPYe4XDqJzQNBojRGrOlQE-diUtJrUC13tVKQSgBuHmqSUipjdiNKmy9wBpD5bwCTR5H0Gi2PL8qh3SrDzHIOq4e1mBum8BwCJalCMAQ5SOAzL25BpTbh6WDtpCr02mY7KqvBBMiM/s1600-h/IMG_5491+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169198129032474018" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="147" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnT68oPYe4XDqJzQNBojRGrOlQE-diUtJrUC13tVKQSgBuHmqSUipjdiNKmy9wBpD5bwCTR5H0Gi2PL8qh3SrDzHIOq4e1mBum8BwCJalCMAQ5SOAzL25BpTbh6WDtpCr02mY7KqvBBMiM/s200/IMG_5491+compr.jpg" width="211" border="0" /></a>Very close to the large and nice <a href="http://peter-olson.blogspot.com/search/label/Parc%20Monceau">Parc Monceau</a> and its spectacular gates, on Avenue Messine (8th arrdt.), we can find another example of a Lavirotte building.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NNt9SCtGXPt-PfuMPjNKgpODBlFe0bV8FoRCeJPl_u8pvf9gAAuy718zF7INjPSZCDrJy73RhELvPHM7ELWcxbG6VMReb3dplwPGrL58AzvF3z3I1SrwZUsgLO_c2n1v2mSJcEWm54_K/s1600-h/Google+.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169198318011035058" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 249px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 202px" height="181" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6NNt9SCtGXPt-PfuMPjNKgpODBlFe0bV8FoRCeJPl_u8pvf9gAAuy718zF7INjPSZCDrJy73RhELvPHM7ELWcxbG6VMReb3dplwPGrL58AzvF3z3I1SrwZUsgLO_c2n1v2mSJcEWm54_K/s200/Google+.jpg" width="219" border="0" /></a>This one which has been recently renovated is some six years younger than the ones I showed last time and is not so “extreme” in its design (1907); the “art nouveau” had possibly already passed its fashion peak. There is not any coloured ceramic anymore but you can still find some rather extravagant glazed earthenware and some typical ironworks on the balconies.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169205937283018274" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPpzAeQFadtpvb6ieKl6pq1dkxae5dLIWoxWtM3DHr0No4KtHWaosnfCZs1xPjYbpx4uIa246bIvuycFCf7DovXtE3i7gL2WpnjNnIq2Z1cOFR2AwDDdasrEBcg8nl5nqhaEX7Un-_bH90/s400/02.jpg" border="0" /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWBqEgcQ-KrgktZ78652eWgWhhZ0EyZRtHg7pvsobpGG2BcAONAzDeVcxGsCSEehKXO_2Vl_04wSplJ2OmSRqPd78V0Du-JQKAYeqQeqxsTgTuPBfo-OneNnbhOfrLyc-dOtMmFg8fd8m/s1600-h/IMG_5481+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169198721737960898" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" height="180" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTWBqEgcQ-KrgktZ78652eWgWhhZ0EyZRtHg7pvsobpGG2BcAONAzDeVcxGsCSEehKXO_2Vl_04wSplJ2OmSRqPd78V0Du-JQKAYeqQeqxsTgTuPBfo-OneNnbhOfrLyc-dOtMmFg8fd8m/s320/IMG_5481+compr.jpg" width="284" border="0" /></a>The “signatures” of the architect and the sculptor responsible for the decorations are very typical for “art nouveau”,<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ANqt9-N83j0tJUCoLgdE5H4Kso4QWBZGQpx2VTuIqqoSoimaiF_xf6rNY13UVmu_f-gWj0oc0P1GlkApWPExZr12HQekJlMLUzuia2Kouk62alySjSCnNWFRNBSpBmWQRRo5CrW0O1lW/s1600-h/IMG_5482+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169199477652205026" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ANqt9-N83j0tJUCoLgdE5H4Kso4QWBZGQpx2VTuIqqoSoimaiF_xf6rNY13UVmu_f-gWj0oc0P1GlkApWPExZr12HQekJlMLUzuia2Kouk62alySjSCnNWFRNBSpBmWQRRo5CrW0O1lW/s320/IMG_5482+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a>... so is the mosaic street address.<br /><br /><em>You can find some of the pictures on my <a href="http://peter-olson-photos.blogspot.com/2008/02/another-lavirotte-building-post-not_20.html">photo blog</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></em><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Extra news<br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXIPaMezaBdXjyJuucxETigDClqNc4HosPKcz2DMJJl0rmNqOO2x3tKLvIuox57cP_tK-Et8eXmparht7eq9GijvsyaLcVDsibpvfPALdKfLuk5qtXsOgVu22ZCPv_pupYG77_9fVtu1I/s1600-h/IMG_5497+compr.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169200289401024002" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbXIPaMezaBdXjyJuucxETigDClqNc4HosPKcz2DMJJl0rmNqOO2x3tKLvIuox57cP_tK-Et8eXmparht7eq9GijvsyaLcVDsibpvfPALdKfLuk5qtXsOgVu22ZCPv_pupYG77_9fVtu1I/s320/IMG_5497+compr.jpg" border="0" /></a>Although I’m a happy metro user and walk a lot, I decided to invest in an additional means of locomotion. This is a modern version of the Solex, very popular in France in the 50’s and 60’s. Today’s version is electrically powered and is designed by Pininfarina. </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Peterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13024294080108212018noreply@blogger.com39