Paris Day 3 (18 July)
Interesting morning. Walked to the Picasso Museum to see a recommended exhibition featuring Picasso and Calder. Was very enjoyable. Loved a lot of the Calder mobiles and some of the hanging wire sculptures; particularly some in a room where the swinging sculptures reflected their shadows on the white walls behind them. Interesting comparison of styles with Picasso. Liked a series of paintings/drawings Picasso did of a bull with varying levels of detail - from a few lines to a complete drawing. The building itself is stunning - Hotel Sale. It's been renovated since we were last there.
Wandered around the Marais a little bit after the museum. Lovely sunny day and not too hot. Decided to visit what is called the 'hidden village' of St Paul in the Marais. Supposedly there are a series of 'hidden villages' in Paris -little communities that are off the beaten track. I think I should have realised that an entry on trip adviser tends to turn 'hidden' into a misnomer. Anyway we found the 'hidden' village by following the prominent sign pointing us there. Cute little inter-connecting passages and some shops although not a lot to see at present as a lot of building works going on. Did find however a part of the wall commissioned by Philip Augustus in the 1190's before he left to go on the Crusades to tangle with Saladin. The wall was built to protect Paris - typical medieval stone wall. The part we saw was huge. Stephen commented there wasn't a lot to do in those days so they had plenty of time to build it that high. Mmmm. It took some 25 years to build. Good reminder as to how small Paris actually was in medieval times if this marked a part of the city walls. Went down a bit of a rabbit hole then when got back to hotel reading up about Philip Augustus and found out he was a medieval french king who also fought against King Richard and King John of England when not crusading. There you go.
Stephen and I are still fighting off colds although Stephen seems a bit worse for wear than me so decided a bigger feed at lunch time was in order. Ended up eating a southern French pizza and Stephen had a Marseilles beer (which he said was a bit ordinaire and can see why most places prefer German beer). Pizza was very good and waitress delightful so was a good refuelling stop.
Walked back via rue de Lappe - a little 'rat run' that gets us back to the hotel from Bastille. Tame during the day but judging by the signs on the venues it is a lively place at night. I thought one placed called Les Sans Culottes meant 'without shoes' which seemed a bit strange to me. I then worked out it means 'without trousers' or 'breeches'. Confused me almost as much but thought oh well maybe it's some nightlife/nightclub thing . Yet when I goggled 'sans culottes' my second French history lesson of the day was that the 'sans-culottes' were the common people of the lower classes in late 18th century France - many of whom joined the French Revolution. Ah hah - the nightclub/restaurant 'Les Sans-Culottes' is near the Place de Bastille. So much goes over my head sometimes. Sigh.
After an afternoon of duelling books - i.e. competing as to who would finish first (Michael Robotham won), ventured out for dinner much later than at previous nights. Stephen feeling a bit ordinary so decided not to go too far. Ended up back at the 'bossy cat' (chat bossu so actually more the scared cat)) and had a very enjoyable meal at what seems to be a local. Both went for a beef burger with salad and chips and shared a bottle of red. Not exciting fare but was very good for what it was and we really enjoyed just sitting in with the locals. No English spoken. Sat and sipped on our wine pre-dinner (after 8pm!), watching the locals (including the dogs) wandering in and out. Being covered in smoke as well, as of course the French still allow smoking outside their restaurants and it seems nearly everyone still smokes. Maybe that is why they are all still so thin. Luckily didn't venture far as it started to rain tonight. A light summer shower on the way home.
Wandered around the Marais a little bit after the museum. Lovely sunny day and not too hot. Decided to visit what is called the 'hidden village' of St Paul in the Marais. Supposedly there are a series of 'hidden villages' in Paris -little communities that are off the beaten track. I think I should have realised that an entry on trip adviser tends to turn 'hidden' into a misnomer. Anyway we found the 'hidden' village by following the prominent sign pointing us there. Cute little inter-connecting passages and some shops although not a lot to see at present as a lot of building works going on. Did find however a part of the wall commissioned by Philip Augustus in the 1190's before he left to go on the Crusades to tangle with Saladin. The wall was built to protect Paris - typical medieval stone wall. The part we saw was huge. Stephen commented there wasn't a lot to do in those days so they had plenty of time to build it that high. Mmmm. It took some 25 years to build. Good reminder as to how small Paris actually was in medieval times if this marked a part of the city walls. Went down a bit of a rabbit hole then when got back to hotel reading up about Philip Augustus and found out he was a medieval french king who also fought against King Richard and King John of England when not crusading. There you go.
Stephen and I are still fighting off colds although Stephen seems a bit worse for wear than me so decided a bigger feed at lunch time was in order. Ended up eating a southern French pizza and Stephen had a Marseilles beer (which he said was a bit ordinaire and can see why most places prefer German beer). Pizza was very good and waitress delightful so was a good refuelling stop.
Walked back via rue de Lappe - a little 'rat run' that gets us back to the hotel from Bastille. Tame during the day but judging by the signs on the venues it is a lively place at night. I thought one placed called Les Sans Culottes meant 'without shoes' which seemed a bit strange to me. I then worked out it means 'without trousers' or 'breeches'. Confused me almost as much but thought oh well maybe it's some nightlife/nightclub thing . Yet when I goggled 'sans culottes' my second French history lesson of the day was that the 'sans-culottes' were the common people of the lower classes in late 18th century France - many of whom joined the French Revolution. Ah hah - the nightclub/restaurant 'Les Sans-Culottes' is near the Place de Bastille. So much goes over my head sometimes. Sigh.
After an afternoon of duelling books - i.e. competing as to who would finish first (Michael Robotham won), ventured out for dinner much later than at previous nights. Stephen feeling a bit ordinary so decided not to go too far. Ended up back at the 'bossy cat' (chat bossu so actually more the scared cat)) and had a very enjoyable meal at what seems to be a local. Both went for a beef burger with salad and chips and shared a bottle of red. Not exciting fare but was very good for what it was and we really enjoyed just sitting in with the locals. No English spoken. Sat and sipped on our wine pre-dinner (after 8pm!), watching the locals (including the dogs) wandering in and out. Being covered in smoke as well, as of course the French still allow smoking outside their restaurants and it seems nearly everyone still smokes. Maybe that is why they are all still so thin. Luckily didn't venture far as it started to rain tonight. A light summer shower on the way home.
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