Its time I tell you again about wonderful France and gorgeous Paris. Today has been humid rainy and a bit grey here in Brittany with 5C now. Paris /Versailles shows a light rain and temp of 5C .
The conquistador Velazquez is coming to Paris, at last! The Spanish painter Diego Velazquez(1599-1660) , one of my favorites is showing at the Grand Palais de Paris! This is the painter , the French Manet, call the “The painter of painters”. The most influential painter of the golden age of Spain painting when Spain rule the world. It will be from March 25 to July 13 2015 , http://www.grandpalais.fr
Something different , my father took this airline Air Europa to the US last October and he had a great flight. I have use it locally to go to Spain and it confirms my mind ,this is a good airline. Something to brag on these days of disasters on airliners. This is a Spanish airlines founded in 1986. https://www.aireuropa.com
And passing over to Vincennes , we have a wonderful Bois de Vincennes with many interesting things to see. The parc Floral created in 1969 and the biggest botanical garden in the Paris area with over 8000 flowers:plants see it at Route de la Pyramide, http://www.parcfloraldeparis.com/parc_floral.html
You continue here on the zoo or parc Zoologique de Paris, by 53 avenue de Saint-Maurice, recent work has made a top attraction to see with modern facilities housing almost 1000 animals. https://www.parczoologiquedeparis.fr/fr
And last but not least the Grande Pagode, 40bis route de la Ceinture-du-lac-Daumesnil. on the lake Daumesnil the old colonial mansion take its turn for renovation and now looking great ; this is the place of Buddhism with a Tibetan temple just across it, all awaiting the new year khemer in mid April. http://www.vincennes-tourisme.fr/Decouvrir/Bois-de-Vincennes-et-ses-alentours/La-Grande-Pagode
You know the wonderful Louvre had more visitors in 2014 than any other museum in the world, 9,3 million visitors!! ahead of the British museum and the Met at New York.
And do you know the bridges of France? well they are marvelous and I passed many of them over the years. My favorites are the Pont de Ré 2926 meters long linking the island or ile de Ré in the Charente-Maritime, 2nd bridge of France. Then, pont Valentré in Cahors first stone laid in 1308! the famous Pont du Gard, built by the Romans in the 1C AD. Viaduc de Millau in the vallée du Tarn with 270 meters high almost as high as the tour Eiffel! You come nearer me at the nice and nostalgic (for me) Pont de Normandie over the Seine at Le Havre and Honfleur (where my mother lies in the sea RIP), you have the other one nearby the Pont de Tancarville, built in 1959 and now under renovation. Closer to Paris, in it, the wonderful Pont Alexandre III, built in 1900 during the Universal Expo of 1900 with the first stone laid by tzar Nicolas II of Russia.
How about going to a library in Paris, bibliothéque that is. The Book fair of Paris is gone yesterday but the impression last longer. Lots of competition from online firms and the numerique but the book form will last. There is even a Frenchmen François-Xavier Schmit who open a library in New York city , at the 5th avenue call Albertine. http://www.albertine.com/
See in Paris the nice Librarie Alain Brieux,6éme.http://www.alainbrieux.com/ or the librarie des Abbesses , you know where, http://librairiedesabbesses.blogspot.fr/ or encore the librarie d’Odessa in the 14éme on the street of same name , http://librairiedodessa.com/ and my favorite because you can read a book and have a glass of wine is La Belle Hortense, in the 4éme rue Vieille-du-Temple, http://www.cafeine.com/belle-hortense and by same owner across the street you have Les Philosophes, http://www.cafeine.com/philosophes ; we continue our rapid journey into the Librarie le Divan in the 15éme, http://www.librairie-ledivan.com/ ; one of the old time favorite the Librarie Delamain at the 1éme, http://www.librairie-delamain.com/ , and last a place to search and find books in many libraries in France, Datalib.net, http://www.datalib.net/
And how about the Art Déco, this I know from Florida , but here is at its best expression in Paris. Born in the 1920-30’s . Its start was in 1925 at the international decorative and industrial arts exposition in Paris, done between the Esplanade des Invalides and the Grand Palais. Some buildings to see it today are the sale du Théatre des Champs-Elysées done in 1913, http://www.theatrechampselysees.fr/le-theatre/un-peu-d-histoire
You can see it at the façade at 67 quai d’Orsay done in 1935. and the mansion or hotel from 1926-27 at 4 rue Mallet-Stevens in the 16émé. see it at the stairs in the restaurant Prunier, http://www.prunier.com/histoire/
You can see it at museums of Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, musée d’Orsay,and muse d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. All easy to find on the web. Other areas, palais de Chaillot, and Palais de Tokyo, Cité Universitaire in the 14éme; on the swimming pools of Paris at Molitor, Amiraux,and Pantin. More on the streets at 51 rue Raynuard 16éme and 3 blvd Victor in the 15éme; Porte Dorée 12éme, and the former Musée des Colonies today housing the Cité Nationale de l’Histoire de l’Immigration. Department like the old Samaritaine and the still there Le Bon Marché, the theaters again such as the Salle Pleyel and the cabaret Folies Bergére, and the recently renovated and opened the cinema theater Louxor 18éme. The Grand Rex 9éme, still there. So much to see and admire in Paris , the city museum or as one said, a movable feast !
Enjoy fully without moderation.
Paris1972-Versailles2003 