RED RIDING HOOD

Once upon a time….

no actually five times so far… I have been to Paris five times and defo going back again and again.

I usually do not go back to places I have visited but Paris is Paris! And is just Paris. No cliché.

In 2024

I could have not chosen the worst time to travel to Paris as the all roads from Brussels were blocked due to the farmers’ demonstrations . The usual roads via Mons or Lille were completely blocked. The only possible route was going down to Charleroi towards Reims. It took us 5 hours but the final destination was worth it. I mean, Paris is worth it!

On our way. we passed the French Ardennes which are famous for a good wild boar.

This time the visit was focused on Paris-Ville only. The charming old neighbourhood where most of the talented academics, painters, writers, poets, and philosophers lived from the Greatest to the times of the Lost Generation.

Paris is an old city that has recently celebrated its 2,000th birthday. Arriving in Montmartre is not easy. Driving in Paris is not easy. Seeing certain neighbourhoods is not easy either.

In Paris – you have to put your pinky glasses on and see the Paris that you want to see. There it is. But dig deeper.

As we parked the car around Pigalle, we started to explore. Pigalle is famous for being a tourist district, with many sex shops, theatres and adult shows on Place Pigalle and the main boulevards. The neighbourhood’s raunchy reputation led to its Second World War nickname of “Pig Alley” by Allied soldiers. Le Divan du Monde and the Moulin Rouge, a world-famous cabaret, are both located in Pigalle. Apparently, Charles Boudelaire was a frequent visitor. 😛

I have chosen a nice cafe’ at the Boulevard Clichy – the position was remarkable. Worth of being noticed.

The Art Nouveau is expressed here in door frames, cornices, scrolled and flowered balconies. It didn’t take me long to notice the Art Nouveau metro stations designed by Hector Guimard. At the time, it was characterized by a rejection of historicism and traditional architectural forms, due to a flamboyant use of floral and vegetal designs. Today it’s how we recognise the style.

Moving back in time, to one century before – I had a chance to visit the Musée de la Vie romantique. The house that is now turned into a museum was home of Dutch-born painter Ary Scheffer, one of the prominent artists of the time, close to King Louis-Philippe and his family.

For decades, Scheffer and his daughter hosted Friday-evening salons, with regular attendance of famous talents of the time like Frédéric Chopin, Eugène Delacroix, Franz Liszt, Charles Dickens, Ivan Turgueniev etc.

The owner of the house left us plenty of his and his friend’s paintings. I took a photo of some of them, which I found interesting to remember.

One of the paintings that I spent a bit more time on was the portrait of Brazilian Princess Joinville of Habsburg. Also known as Dona Francisca who was a princess of the Empire of Brazil (as daughter of Emperor Dom Pedro I, who also reigned as King Dom Pedro IV of Portugal, and his first wife Maria Leopoldina of Habsburg). As Dona Francisca married François d’Orléans, son of the French king Louis – who was friends with our host 🙂 we get to understand how her portrait ended up here. Habsburgs everywhere!

As Ary Scheffer was a friend of Frederic Chopin, you get the chance to see the plaster casts of Chopin’s delicate left hand. What an intrigue here!

The salon where the Friday events were happening is pure romanticism throwback and all the items there have remained intact and in their original place. A true treat for all the romantics that adore history.

As I said, the focus is on the Montmartre area. So let me give you a few more photos of the buildings and their facades – to keep the atmosphere here and get out of the era of romanticism. 🙂

Somehow, we got down to Galeries Lafayette and entered the magazine in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The architecture of the store is art nouveau – bien sûr, with a remarkable dome and a panoramic view of Paris that has made it a tourist attraction.

As the Opéra Garnier is nearby, I made a small detour to have a look and admire this historic opera house at the Place de l’Opéra. It was built in the 19th century at the behest of Emperor Napoleon III. The Palais Garnier has been called “probably the most famous opera house in the world, a symbol of Paris like Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, or the Sacré Coeur Basilica”. This is at least partly due to its use as the setting for Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera and later the musical. 

Circling back towards Montmartre – to this most bohemian of Paris neighbourhood, I have passed by many restaurants, brasseries and cafes. It was almost impossible not to stop in one of them. As a huge seafood lover, my choice fell to Grand Café Capucines. It was opened in 1875 and offers plenty of art nouveau and explicism.

The choice of food is fresh seafood on the platter. Hint: start with a good old french onion soup 🙂 It tastes super good after spending your day in the cold boulevards of Paris.

The 9th arrondisement is rich with the number of theatres and music venues and as such attracted many famous regulars including Émile Zola, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, and Guy de Maupassant. During the Belle Époque, the locals living there included Oscar Wilde, and the then Prince of Wales and future King of the United Kingdom, Edward VII.

One of the Places of interest is Le Figaro – a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. Which makes it the oldest, actually. It was named after Figaro, a character in a play by polymath Beaumarchais (18th century) one of his lines became the paper’s motto: “Without the freedom to criticise, there is no flattering praise”.

Anyways, trying to come back to Montmartre 😛 known for its cobblestone passageways, its village atmosphere, its nightlife, and for the artists who found a home there more than a century ago. You will always pass by something thrilling here. I stumbled upon the flea market, or in french marché aux puces.

My eyes discovered the latest hype in Paris – le colis perdu. It’s a sort of a tombola, a scam if you’d like – where the local Arabs wrap the package and sell it for 10 EUR. They say it is bought from the post office but I am pretty sure it’s a scam. Nice one though 🙂 I like the idea a lot. It is a surprise for both the giver and recipient.

The next morning I started properly with the cafe, champagne and a croissant. Life was so simple but fulfilled with joy. Everyday Parisian? Perhaps.

Montmartre is famous for its artistic heritage. It has a distinctive village atmosphere. Climbing up, I noticed some art that used some fun play with words. To the linguist like myself, these were absolutely nailing.

Passing by the Church of Saint-Jean de Montmartre – mission impossible. It was art nouveau, although to me looked more like an Anglican church. I learned it is relatively new, since the beginning of the 20th century.

Back to more walks through Montmartre. I can get pretty annoyed by the fact there is no place to sit and everyone can reach into the plate of the neighbour. But in Paris, you take it as a charm.

Lunch was – of course, more seafood. Paris is renowned for its varied and refined cuisine. In the heart of this bustling metropolis, seafood lovers can enjoy a unique culinary experience. Seafood platters have become a must for connoisseurs looking for fresh seafood and subtle flavours.

And if you are a fan of Amélie – the movie with Audrey Tautoum the Cafe des 2 Moulins is the right place for you. Here everything remained intact, just as in times when the same Amelie bartened here.

Montmartre used to have fifteen windmills but now there are only two left on the Butte. Since the 17th century the windmill has been known for more than just its milling capabilities. Nineteenth-century owners and millers, the Debray family, made a brown bread, galette, which became popular and thus the name of the windmill and its businesses, which have included a famous guinguette and restaurant. In the 19th century, Le Moulin de la Galette represented diversion for Parisians seeking entertainment, a glass of wine and bread made from flour ground by the windmill. Artists, such as Renoir, van Gogh … have immortalized Le Moulin de la Galette; likely the most notable was Renoir’s festive painting, Bal du moulin de la Galette.

 The Moulin de la Galette is now a restaurant that offers fine food in a relaxed and light-filled space. Looking into both locations and comparing, is it possible that there is a certain decadence visible? I mean, Renoir’s painting is full of well-dressed people, dancing under the clear sky, trees, chandeliers and romantic lights…

Anyways, back to positive Paris Montmartre thoughts. I went more up the Montmartre neighborhood. Set 130 meters in altitude, is the high point of the French capital attracting always more tourists as the years go by. And it can be explained! The famous Basilica of the Sacred Heart proudly standing at the top of the hill is the second religious monument the most visited in Paris, after Notre-Dame.

Criticism of the church by leftist journalists and politicians for its alleged connection with the destruction of the Paris Commune continued from the late 19th century into the 20th and 21st centuries, even though the church had been proposed before the Paris Commune took place. In 1898, Emile Zola wrote sarcastically:

Dinner was reserved in La Mascotte Restaurant. I think this was the best coquille Saint-Jacques I have eaten in my entire life. The service was great, nothing like when they say the Paris waiters are rude. I never had such an experience. Except once, and the waiter was from Bosnia claiming he was true Parisian because he was born in Paris. -.-

Anyways, sea food!!!!

The next morning was the morning to go home. I had one last turnaround Anvers and Rue des Martyrs. I made sure I bought enough stash of cheese, bread, charcuterie and butter. Oh, and I stopped for one last cafe au lait, champagne and croissant. 🙂

I mocked the Parisian lifestyle of living. Everything has to be small, unmatching but somehow charming. The joke goes so far that the old doctors’ waiting chairs are used to have a coffee in the street. I mean, you have to draw the line somewhere. Perhaps we can do that before we use the plastic chairs from the 60s as the terrace chairs. They just don’t belong there.

Visit with my brother in 2018

So let’ start first what everybody expects: the Eiffel Tower. And yes it is true, just like in american movies, it appears and peaks from almost every streat. My brother and I were the entire time playing this cou-cou game with it. 🙂

As you can see, the Eiffel Tower from Avenue Kleber. Of course, it was raining. Paris has the best PR of all the cities. It is called the city of lights and always shown with sunshine.  But actually, it is kinda grey and rainy most of the time.

Tourists that come to visit Paris and are caught by the rain, think they have just been unlucky. But actually, it is quite normal weather over there…

So, the story about the site is familiar, isn’t it? In 1889, at Champ de Mars it was constructed for the World’s Fair by Gustave Eiffel as a symbol of industrial revolution of that time. It was supposed to be removed as many Parisians didn’t like the ugly construction in the city. But it remained the global icon with the apartment of his creator at the top and restaurants with the view on the city.

The best look at the tower and place to take the best photos is Trocadero.
Not so long time ago, Hiter took his photo from here just after the Nazi’s entered the city. His most famous photo is actualy from Trocadero.

Today it is also the place where all the fashion peeps, bloggers and Eiffel tower lovers take photo for their life memories. O tempora, o moris!

My brother and I have also whitnessed weddings and photo sessions there. Sometimes it was too much as we would see pink limos stopping the traffic or old suga daddy groom with his too young diggers trying to have that perfect wedding in Paris when thousands of other turists are on their photos too.

But then again, who are we to judge? 🙂

The second fashionista popular thing in Paris is Champs-Élysées. It iused to be a walking path for Parisians during the kingdom where the king would also talke his walk from his previous palace in the center. Later the seat of french kingdom will be moved to Versailles (I will get to that too). 🙂

Today the avenue is known for its theatres, cafés, and luxury shops, (seriously, there are Ferraris and Lambourginis parked in front of shops like Louis Vuitton in order to sit inside the car and take a photo – and all that for 199 EUR!) for the annual Bastille Day military parade, and as the finish of the Tour de France cycle race. The name is French for the Elysian Fields, the paradise for dead heroes in Greek mythology but also there are many statues of famous french politicians, like ex-prime minister Clemencau. It is one of the most famous streets in the world.

The avenue leads towards the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, the monument at the center of Place Charles de Gaulle (french general and statesman from Lille). The étoile or “star” because of the juncture formed by its twelve radiating avenues.

The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed. I found the name of the croatan division too from the region of Dalmatia. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier  from World War I.

The third famous thing about Paris are churches. Most particularly Notre Dame Cathedrale – a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (island in the middle of Paris, on the river Sorbonne – where from the entire french empire started). Widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, it attracts milions and milions of visitors.

Inside we visited the throne where Napoleon was crowned, another statue of Jeanne d’Arc (just like in Reims) and the Tresory.

As I started to explain, Île de la Cité is where all started centuries ago and the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century was Sainte-Chapelle: considered among the highest achievements of the period of Gothic architecture. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion relics, including Christ’s Crown of Thorns—one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom.

Please note the blue (royal colour as the royal blod) stained glass and the natural light show!

Then Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, which is in St Denis quarter, in the outskirts of Paris – a bit dodgy area… a large medieval abbey church, completed in 1144, but originalley a Gallo-Roman cemetery in late Roman times.

The basilica became the burial place of the French Kings with nearly every king from the 10th to the 18th centuries being buried there, as well as many from previous centuries – e.g. king Louis XVI and queene Marie Antoanette. (It was not used for the coronations of kings, that function being reserved for the Cathedral of Reims).

The tombs of Louis XVI – the Sun King and Queen Marie Antoinette were demolished after French Revolution in 1791. since the devastated mass, disapointed in french kings and frustrated because of the poverty, was digging the graves in search of the jewelry. Hence their tombstones are modern marble with an inscription characteristic of today’s graves.

But my total honour went to Catherine de’ Medici, daughter of Lorenzo II de’ Medici (Florence, 16th century) an Italian noblewoman who was queen of France from 1547 until 1559, as the wife of King Henry II.  Being the daughter of influenced family, she had extensive, if at times varying, influence in the political life of France and for a time, she ruled France as its regent.

Her husband, King Henry II excluded Catherine from participating in state affairs and instead showered favours on his chief mistress, Diane de Poitiers, but Henry’s death thrust Catherine into the political arena as mother of the frail fifteen-year-old King Francis II whom she managed to put on the throne upon his adultry. Women rule through the history behind the curtains. 🙂

For the great view on the city, there is a Montmarte.

There is more than 250 steps to get there, but the view is breathtaking.

Montmartre is primarily known for its artistic history, the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré-Cœur on its summit, and as a nightclub district.

Near the end of the 19th century, during the Belle Époque, many artists had studios or worked in or around Montmartre, including Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh etc. Montmartre is also the setting for several hit films. Nowadays there are many  restaurants with live music, artists and sellers of antiquities so it gives still the c’est la vie charm.

Talking about cabaret (form of entertaining music/ dance of 19h century), just beneath Montmartre there is famous Moulin Rouge (eng red windmill). A historical place, best known as the spiritual birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance- originally introduced as a seductive dance by the courtesans.

During the World War ll was famous as the gathering of the Nazi soldiers and courtesans who were most of the time the spies, using their seduction as the main arms.

The other place for clubbing and student life is defo the Latin Quarter  where the famous Sorbonne University is.

Collège de Sorbonne, founded in 1257 as the third oldest university in Europe (after Bologna and Oxford) has mediaval surroundings and this bohemian atmosphere of students and professors

Now about the gardens of Paris!

Currently the closest one is Jardin du Luxembourg. 

The Jardin des plantes is the main botanical garden in France. My brother and I have visited there French National Museum of Natural History. 

The third garden I have visited is Tuliers.  The palace and garden itself were a royal and imperial palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the river Seine. It was the usual Parisian residence of most French monarchs.

The Tuliers garden actually leads towards the Arc de Triomphe du Caroussel de Louvre. The arc was built to commemorate Napoleon’s military victories of the previous year.

And as you can see on the photo above, the Louvre Museum is just there. The world’s most visited art museum with one of the biggest surfaces in the world.

The other side of the Tuliers gardens leads towards the Place da le Concorde and  the Luxour Obelisk – a 23 metres high egyptian obelisk, originally located at the entrance to Luxor Temple, in Egypt. In early 19th century was brought to Paris as a gift.

This square used to be a place of guillotine.

Another impressive square is Place de la Republique containing a monument which includes a statue of the personification of France, Marianne. Same Marianne is the motiv of E. Delacroix painting Liberty Leading the People, which celebrates the French Revolution (nowadays in Louvre Museum – photo above).

Place de la Bastille is where our hotel was and where the Bastille prison stood until its physical destruction during the French Revolution in 1791. If you go there, do not wander around asking the locals Where the Bastilla is? It is destroyed and the opera house is built on its place.

We visited as well the Napoleon’s tomb at Les Invalides. The building containins museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans.  The Musée de l’Armée is pretty impressive leading the visitor throgh the french military hisotry!

The Palais de Justice is among the oldest surviving buildings of the former royal palace together with the Sainte Chapell (mentioned above). It is where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned before being executed on the guillotine.

l horloge

The Hôtel de Ville has been the headquarters of the municipality of Paris since 14th century. As everything in Paris, the building is impressive gothic towered building…

Let’s just take a break for a while and look into this:

… au continuer s’il vous plait 🙂

Centre Pompidou is a complex building of Museum of National Modern Art, kinda funky building – it was complited in 1977. What a year! 🙂

And what is France without the football? Stade de France!

In case this post hasn’t have enough of burial and necrofil moments, let me show you the Père Lachaise Cemetery: being called the biggest concentration of human intelligence (or what it used to be).

And for the end… couple of photos of Senne river and the bridges: Pont Neuf and Pont Royal. 

Paris, see you next time soon!

trully yours

🙂

Third time is a charm they say! 

This time the visit was reserved for the magnificent halle of expositions at Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. The exposition was about indigenous people of North, Central and South America. Little political scientis who spent its time in Chile, was heartbeated. 🙂 

From there you can see the Eiffel tower wherever you look around. 

And just across the quai is the tunnel and the square above it that comemorates the place where Princess Diana died in 1997. 

Paris – fourth time – again and again

Just to let you know, the river Seine is still there. 🙂 

And so was L’Arc de Triomphe, but in different condition: wrapped! It was a temporary artwork for Paris realized in partnership with the Centre des Monuments Nationaux and in coordination with the City of Paris. It also received the support of the Centre Pompidou. The Arc de Triomphe was wrapped in 25,000 square meters of recyclable polypropylene fabric in silvery blue, and with 3,000 meters of red rope. L’art pur l’art. 

Nevermind, let’s do miles and miles of shopping through the Champs Elysee. This time it was less people around due to pandemic times. But still, in front of some branded shops there were lines and lines of people waiting to enter. Perhaps I will never understand… 🙂 

Place de la Concorde was, as always – amazingly windy and rainy. I guess the charma goes around as the place was the site of many notable public executions, including the executions of King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and Maximilien Robespierre in the course of the French Revolution, during which the square was temporarily renamed Place de la Révolution.

And the updates on the tragic Notre Dame? Well, sad and distinct. It is now one big construction site and there is no entrance to it. In fact, there is a huge fence far away around the church which allows you to admire the building only from the distance.

Jumping to a moment when my mother is buying an umbrella – with a typical Paris printed item. She was shopping, I had a view on the rainy Paris at  Île-de-France before the lunch time. 🙂

Lunch was scheduled in amazing La Poule au Pot, dedicated to king Henry IV who insisted in medieval times that once a week his vassals eat hen soup in order to enhance their nutrition. We ate this very hen, fois gras and charcuterie.

With such a strong nutrition recommended by the king Henrey IV, it was easy to climb to Montmartre. There were many people, as always. Many merchants trying to sell you any item as a souvenir. Many painters, musicians and souvenir shops.

And then Louvre! Huge line, many patient people that came to see the art and historical collections. Our last day was super sunny. I was standing in line with the cold sun on my back, watching the gallery security to open the gate. It’s a meditation of itself. 🙂 I knew I will see some of my favourites.

à la prochaine 🇫🇷