We left Lectoure on Sunday morning, drove to Blagnac airport in Toulouse and dropped our car with Auto Europe. We love the ease of long term leasing a new car every six months! Our flight to Paris was on time and we arrived by mid afternoon at our apartment rental in the 6th Arrondissement. We dropped our bags and went for a late lunch at a local brasserie, then walked. The only indication of the past weekend’s protests were windows covered with plywood.
On Monday morning, we walked to the Notre Dame, but the lines were so long that we passed on going inside. I had reservations but we were told it would still be an hour’s wait. We walked up the River Seine and through the Louvre grounds, through the Tuileries and Place de la Concorde to Invalides. There were lots of people out on a Monday morning! A light rain started to fall, just as we entered the Musee de Invalides. We were humbled by the history we learned of French soldiers through centuries of defending French territories and homeland, and the vast numbers of casualties (French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars - 3-4 million military deaths, WWI - 1.4 million deaths/18% of mobilized military and 3.5% of total French population, WWII - 217,600 military deaths). .
On Tuesday morning, we went to the Cezanne exhibition at the Grand Palais. Arriving at the Grand Palais feels royal, crossing Pont Alexandre III bridge and with the Petit Palais across the street. The exhibition did not disappoint.
We took the metro to Fondation Louis Vuitton. The museum structure was designed by Frank Gehry and is impressive. The exhibition of Gustave Fayet’s art collection and personal art was extraordinary! His estate continues to own some of the most famous works of Cezanne, Van Gogh, Lautrec, and Gaugin. His family purchased Abbaye de Fontfroide in the early 1900’s and have kept it over a century. We have visited Fontfroide twice and it is an absolutely beautiful, tranquil place in the Aude, south of Narbonne.
On Tuesday evening, we had apéros with our friend Laurence at her apartment just before 7 pm, so we could see the Eiffel Tower glimmering in the evening, from her living room. We went for dinner at 8, to Brasserie Lipp. We enjoyed every moment with Laurence, whom we met five years ago in the village of Blaziert, at their annual fete dinner. She sat with us and introduced us to several of her friends that have become our friends too! Laurence moved to Paris during summer for health reasons. We miss her in the Gers.
On Wednesday morning, I went for a walk in the Jardin du Luxembourg. There were few people in the garden except for gardeners, cleaning and planting new flowers. We had lunch with our friends/neighbors from Lectoure, Dominique and Romain, at La Coupole. Lunch was delicious and we had fun! They recently sold their home across the street from us in Lectoure. We will miss them! We took a different way back to our apartment, stopping at three boulangeries for croissants and pastries. We went back to Jardin du Luxembourg later in the day and it was a different scene, with hundreds, maybe thousands of people, relaxing and enjoying afternoon sun on an early fall day. Along the way, while stopped at a crosswalk, we saw Alain, another neighbor/friend from Lectoure, and stopped to chat. We also stopped for a moment of quiet at Saint-Sulpice.
On Thursday morning, after breakfast of croissants and coffee, I set off on a walk to the Jardin Palais Royal. I try to always visit this garden, because it feels like a “locals only” garden. There were few people there this morning, reading books by the fountain and walking dogs. I walked back through the Louvre, also a favorite because of its grandeur and beautiful carved stone.
We had lunch at Brasserie des Prés, in an historic courtyard in Saint-Germain. We visited the colorful Eglise de Saint-Germain-des-Pres along the way. After lunch we walked to the Notre-Dame and this time the line was short! We were inside within a few minutes. The Notre-Dame is fresh and clean, sparkling white inside. It is an incredible renovation!
After a few minutes rest at the apartment, we walked to the Rodin Museum at 4. We saw our neighbor Carla, Alain’s wife, along the way. What a treat for us to see neighbors and friends from Lectoure, while in Paris! We enjoyed seeing Rodin’s sculptures all over again after our visit 20 years ago. We walked in the gardens and through all the galleries inside.
We have had a great week in Paris! We are flying back to Tucson tomorrow!
