Sojourn in Paris #7

Paris 2025 - 59 Rivoli

There are, of course, numerous art galleries and museums in Paris but, with limited time, we decided to give them a miss. We did, though, find this space - 59 Rivoli - which was formerly a bank and then lay derelict for 15 years. Artists took it over as a squat in 1999, exhibiting art and hosting parties. It was legalised in 2006 (because the city authorities found it was the third most visited centre for contemporary art in the city). Now the six storey building gives studio and exhibition space to thirty artists and attracts over 70,000 visitors a year, who can view the art, see the artists at work and chat to them about their vision.

The spiral stair at its centre was wildly decorated, with a different theme on each floor. The gallery was packed with visitors, so that I did find it a bit claustrophobic and, with so much to see in tight spaces, it all felt quite overwhelming. 

We both agreed that we didn't like much of what was on show. Some modern art these days seems to delight in being jarring, fragmented, 'angry', shocking and a protest, regardless of the skill used to create it. There was little 'beauty' to be found in a cursory look, though I did find just a few pieces that I quite liked. I decided I prefer to be confronted with fewer sensory inputs if I'm to enjoy exploring an art gallery! It was, however, quite photogenic in its way, and full of odd things in corners. 

The paintings above and below were two that I picked out as being more to my taste. The top one is a social commentary with more than a little truth in it. The one below seemed like a competent portrait and I found it quite engaging. 

This geometric piece would have fitted quite happily into my colour scheme at home! 

Sojourn in Paris #6

Paris 2025 - The Seine and Notre-Dame

We crossed the Seine onto the Île Saint-Louis and then again onto the Île de la Cité, determined to see at least the outside of the newly restored Notre-Dame Cathedral. The broad river was familiar from the Olympics Opening Ceremony in 2024, which took place mostly along the water and its banks. 

My daughter had tried to book tickets for a tour of Notre-Dame. It says that up to 15,000 tickets a day are released but when she found there were over 900 people ahead of her in the queue online, we decided not to bother! Neither were we prepared to queue outside in the square, where there were also hundreds of people! We contented ourselves with viewing the exterior and reading some of the signboards that explained all about the renovation that has taken place at speed since the devastating fire in 2019. 

It was all quite interesting, though the crowds made it less than enjoyable. We all want to be tourists but wish all the other tourists were not there! 

Sojourn in Paris #5

Paris 2025 - Elegant Paris 

There is undoubtedly an elegance to Paris, with its graceful architecture, lovely little green parks, fountains and statues. On Saturday, we wandered through the Marais district towards the River Seine. We passed through the lovely Place des Vosges, a fashionable and expensive place to live in the 17th and 18th centuries (no doubt still is!). The oldest square in Paris, it dates back to 1612 and was unusual for those times in that it was planned all as a piece, with the buildings all in the same design. 

Constructed between 1624 and 1630, the Hôtel de Sully was a private mansion, originally built for a wealthy financier. It now houses the organisation responsible for France's heritage sites. I found these statues (sphinxes?) really weird! 

Along the banks of the Seine, elegant houses abounded. I'd have loved to see inside the one below - Hôtel Lambert - on the Île Saint-Louis. It's not an hotel but a private mansion, built in 1640, and bought in 1975 by the Rothschilds, who restored it to its 17th century splendour. Lately owned and renovated by Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani, a member of Qatar's ruling family, it recently sold for $226 million (around £170m) to a telecoms billionaire. (See HERE for photos of the interior) 

Sojourn in Paris #4

Paris 2025 - Quintessential Paris 

Compared to the Paris I knew years ago, I couldn't help but think that even this beautiful city has been 'homogenised' or perhaps 'globalised'. At one time, there seemed a clear difference between Paris and London or any other big city. It didn't appear so marked to me any more. It's hard to pick out 'the Parisiens' from the general mass of humanity thronging the streets (and there are so many more people everywhere!) The plentiful local supermarkets had little to differentiate them from our own local ones. 

Nevertheless, there are some abiding distinctive features. Despite the cold and damp weather, the pavement cafés were busy with friends chatting over coffee and pastries. The architecture is distinctive, as are the lovely art nouveau Métro signs designed in 1900 by Hector Guimard, 86 of which survive and are now protected. In the Métro system itself, it becomes quite clear why those now resurgent 'metro tiles' are so called. There are millions of them on walls and ceilings! 

Aside from the supermarket chains - Carrefour, Monoprix and the rest - there are still delightful specialist shops: butchers, greengrocers, flower shops, cheese sellers and of course many wonderful bakers and pastry shops. Close to our accommodation there were two dedicated gluten free bakeries. That was a joy for me, to be able to have delicate pastries (lemony crème pâtissière, in a pastry case topped with meringue - yum!; and a macaron) and slices of delicious bread. ( My photo isn't of the gf bakery but another patisserie.) 

I stopped to photograph this ice cream shop (below), only then noticing the tiled sign above it, a relic of France's colonial past. It depicts a slave serving his master, who sits on sacks of coffee beans. 'Au Planteur' (a planteur being a plantation owner) was a tea, coffee and chocolate shop. The writing under the picture says 'Aucune Succursale', which means 'No branch' - the owner had no other outlets selling his products. The plaque dates from about 1890 and is now a listed, though controversial, monument. 

My daughter took us into 'Merci', a sizeable 'destination' store that sold clothing, homewares and all manner of interesting and trendy things. It had a red Fiat 500 parked in the entrance courtyard. 

Sojourn in Paris #3

Paris 2025 - Around The Louvre

My daughter could easily have a successful career as a specialist travel consultant. She loves - and is extremely good at - planning travel, holidays and trips. It made it easy for me... all I had to do was to follow closely as she navigated the Parisian streets. I could just enjoy the sights, which were especially alluring at night with all the lights, without really worrying about where we were going. Thus it was that I was enjoying the moon and the wonderful architecture... 

...when we rounded a corner and I suddenly realised we'd reached The Louvre, originally a royal palace and now one of the most famous art museums in the world. The iconic glass pyramid, completed in 1989, designed by I M Pei, is the main entrance to the galleries. It looked rather amazing all lit up. 

Opposite, we found the Arc De Triomphe du Carrousel (not to be confused with the bigger Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile on the Champs-Élysées). The Carrousel is a Neoclassical triumphal arch built between 1806 and 1808 to commemorate Napoleon's victories - again, it's rather wonderfully lit. 

From the vantage point of the Jardin des Tuileries, you could see in the distance the landmark Eiffel Tower. At night it's lit with gold and has a revolving beacon, like a lighthouse. Then, for five minutes every hour, it also sparkles with white lights, which we happened to be there at the right time to see. All very pretty, as were the twinkly models that a few vendors were selling. 

All along the side of the Tuileries garden, a Christmas market was in full swing, with gifts, food stalls and  funfair rides. It was very crowded so we didn't explore it but it was fun to see. 

Sojourn in Paris #2

Paris 2025 - At night

After our meal we just wandered the streets, soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the sights. The Hausmann renovation project, commissioned by Napoleon III between 1853 and 1870 to modernise the medieval city and rid it of its narrow streets and poor sanitation, has resulted in Paris's wide, straight boulevards and distinctive architecture. There are now cycle lanes along both sides of many of the streets and I lost count of the times I was nearly mown down by a speeding cyclist! 

I just took photos of whatever caught my eye as we wandered along. I wasn't really noticing where we were but I think I've identified where most of these images were taken. The arch below is Porte Saint-Denis. One of the four triumphal arches in Paris, this 17th century monument commemorates the victories of Louis XIV. 

Passing through numerous 'circles' and parks, we saw a lot of statues, mostly men on horseback. This one is (I think) in the elegant Place des Victoires and is the afore-mentioned Louis XIV. 

Galerie Vivienne, built in 1823, is a stylish arcade of luxury shops.

We skirted the Jardin du Palais Royal, mysterious in the moonlight. 

We then walked through the courtyard of the Palais Royal. Another former royal palace (Paris is littered with them!) it was built in the 1630s, though extensively altered since then. It was once the home of Cardinal Richlieu.

On the Rue St Honoré, the Café Nemours at the side of the square called the Place Colette looked very atmospheric. It's been used several times as a film location. 

Sojourn in Paris #1

Paris 2025 - Julien Bouillon

My daughter and I just spent a long weekend together in Paris, which was a real treat, both to enjoy her company and to explore a city that I have not visited for a good few years. 

We flew from Manchester and, although it's not really that far, it took all day to get there. We got an early train to the airport. There was the usual waiting around pre-flight, then a very long (over an hour) queue at Border Control at Paris CDG, as the EU is introducing a new biometric entry system. Everyone had to get their photos and fingerprints taken (though for some reason they didn't bother with my fingerprints!) Then we had a longish train and metro journey to our accommodation. 

We'd booked an evening meal at a restaurant called Julien Bouillon, which my daughter had spotted online. It was rather an amazing place - and good that we had a booking, since there was a queue of would-be diners outside. It's said to be 'one of the most beautiful restaurants in Paris, if not the world'. It's a wonderfully preserved example of the Art Nouveau style. The building was constructed in 1906 by the French architect Edouard Fournier. It has stunning ceramic tiles and plasterwork, ornate stained glass panels in the ceiling and a beautifully carved mahogany bar. It was decorated by a number of exceptional craftspeople: Armand Segaud (peacock panels), Charles Buffet and Georges Guenne (stained glass), Hippolyte Boulenger (ceramic tiles), Louis Majorelle (woodwork), amongst others.

The four panels of 'flower women' depicting the four seasons, created by master glassmaker Louis Trezel, were inspired by Alfons Mucha's distinctive Art Nouveau designs. The building was renovated in 2018, when they discovered that the original wall colour was céladon green rather than beige, so it has been restored with that colour.

A ‘bouillon’ is a restaurant first created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries serving traditional French cuisine, in particular a ‘bouillon’ (broth). The purpose of the ‘bouillon’ was to serve good quality food at affordable prices. In 1900, nearly two hundred and fifty bouillons could be found in Paris. Today, Julien is one of only a small handful of authentic restaurants of this kind that remain in the French capital. Still very affordable too!

As for the food, well, it was tasty. I just had a main course of smoked pork loin, sauerkraut and potatoes. My daughter enjoyed onion soup and smoked pollock brandade, then we shared a crème brûlée. It was remarkably good value. 

A memorable start to our weekend away! 

Christmas knit wit

Even with my newly discovered love of knitting, I don't think I'll be bothering with post box toppers! Whilst I can appreciate the skill that goes into them, they seem akin to 'graffiti' to me. This one (crocheted) has recently appeared on a post box nearby. 

Knitted figures are perhaps more appealing, especially if you want gifts for children. Our local yarn shop has a number of them with a Christmassy theme in the window.