Can’t be too away from Paris and I need to bring up older personal pictures to my blog, As said, this is my personal life all in the blog and Paris is a big part of it, It brings great enjoyment to me to have them here. The memories of family and Paris are huge and even if written before on these monument, a personal touch is better, I will give brief text on them to go along with the pictures, Therefore, here is my personal curiosities of Paris !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
My dear late wife Martine, when I met her in Paris worked for the designer company that renovated the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild in 1990-91.!! The office is now gone but it was Kapa Promotions! in the rue d’Hauteville 10éme of Paris. She was so proud of her work, always, took me there to present me her boss and the office !
The Bois de Boulogne was always a pleasant trip for us we drove in and then walk into its many wonderful spots. I like to show you one picture of the Grand Cascade or the big waterfall ! , and my dear late wife Martine, It was built in 1856 with four thousand cubic meters of rock brought in from Fontainebleau, and two thousand cubic meters of cement. The lakes and the waterfall are fed with water from a canal on the Ourcq River, so that in this case the waterfall is gravity-fed. The Bois de Boulogne is a remnant of the ancient oak forest of Rouvray, which included the present-day forests of Montmorency, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Chaville, and Meudon. Today is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16éme arrondissement of Paris near the cities of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine, both in Hauts de Seine dept 92. And across from my old work spot in Suresnes with great memories of going over the bridge !!!
The flower and birds market at Cité in my Paris. My dear late wife Martine came here and took me here first , many memories she loves the gardens and gardening. I just carried the bags ! It is located on the Île de la Cité, however, since 2014 it has been renamed the Queen Elizabeth II flower market , or the old Marché aux Fleurs et Oiseaux , The market has been an institution since it settled there at the dawn of the 19C. Located at the exit of metro Cité, this picturesque market has kept its charm and authenticity despite the thousands of tourists who flock every day to go to the nearby Notre-Dame Cathedral. It is located on Place Louis-Lépine or square.
The Sainte Chapelle de Paris It is located at the Ile de la Cité, the historical center of Paris, right over on pont du Change, you are in Bd du Palais, and stop at metro Cité ,line 4 in the 4éme arrondissement. It sits inside the Palais de Justice, the old justice court of medieval times and today still doing its functions. It is here that the crown of thorns was brought over by king Louis IX (Saint Louis) and he wanted a place to put them. It was built between 1242-1248 ,and considered a master work of the gothic art architecture. It is two chapels actually, the inferior one for the common people and a superior one for the king and royal family. At the roof, there is a statue of angel Michael.
The porte de Saint Denis, was done in 1672 ordered by king Louis XIV. It is best serve by the metro Strasbourg-Saint Denis, line 4. It is found at the crossing of the axis rue Saint Denis with rue du Faubourg Saint Denis, and the Grands Boulevards (blvd Bonne Nouvelle and Saint Denis). The gate archway or porte was also done to honor the victories at the Rhine and Franche-Comté under king Louis XIV, on the site of previous fortifications that were replace to allow the boulevards to be built by Colbert. Our walk warrior mode in the eternal City of Paris !!
The parc Monceau is a treasure in Paris, not the biggest, not the prettiest maybe, but a wonderful collection of follies, great architecture in and out on the mansions that surrounded it and two good museums, My repeated anecdote is that I came here first in 2004 with local friends who wanted to ride a bike! and later on came back to tried the Vélib!! Only time in Paris for me lol ! The park is in neighborhood or quartier Europe in the 8éme arrondissement or district of Paris. I did come back several times later just for the walk and the wonderful mansions that surround it
What can I say more of the hugely sublime Basilica of Sacre Coeur !! It was done as a reason for the Paris uprising of 1871, Its construction began in 1876 , completed in 1914 and consecrated in 1919, The hill of Montmartre is the highest point of Paris with its 130 meters in height. From the square of the basilica there is a beautiful panoramic view of Paris !! And of course walks are superbe in quant Montmartre !!
The Eiffel Tower is located on the north end of the Champ de Mars, a large public park in the 7éme arrondissement of Paris. You can find the tower at the intersection of the Quai Branly and the Pont d’Iéna. The Eiffel Tower is not only a symbol of Paris but a symbol for all of France. I came here first in 1990 with my dear late wife Martine , and had gone regularly until 2005 and stop !! However, my office world HQ, was very near and I needed to pass by it walking every month for several years ! Not to mention the times passing by car !! , Nice memories of family visits, and even a business event held there !
There is Pizza Pino. The pizzerias are very popular and found in several locations in Paris. My favs are in more the 57 bd de Montparnasse and the Place de la République. The Champs-Elysées location has closed but the picture is from it, we had several expats meetings by the Franco-American community here for several years while me living in Versailles and working in Paris until 2011.
I found me this tidbit of information ,very nice and thought to have it on this post. Paris has 16 metro lines known to many, but there are some closed and some never open. These are, Arsenal (closed sept 1939),Croix Rouge (closed sept 1939), Saint-Martin (closed sept 1939 ,it was the biggest station, but it was decided too close to other two stations) , Champ-de-Mars (closed sept 1939), Martin Nadaud ( cancelled in august 1969 and merge with Gambetta on line 3, and creation of line 3bis) , Haxo ( was done to do the connection between lines 3bis and 7bis but the linkage never done ,and access was never completed), Porte Molitor ( access was never finished, it was to connect lines 9 and 10 to access Parc des Princes), Porte des Lilas-Cinéma ( old station in the 19éme now serve as filming spot for Paris metro). See my posts on the Metro lines of Paris.
There you go folks, life is beautiful but short to many , so do not leave for tomorrow what you can do today. Do it, we did it well !!! And the memories will lingered forever from Paris to the world, We needed to go on and wishing all best wishes for 2023 ! We will always have Paris !! Again, hope you enjoy the post on my personal curiosities of Paris !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 