Monday, May 19, 2014

Paris scènes, cinq: Basilique de Saint-Denis

Our set is complete! Over the past several years we have visited virtually all of the great French Gothic cathedrals. And then some. But, despite its great historic importance, we had been saving Saint-Denis for a visit to Paris--it is in the outskirts. And now we are here, and, with Norm and Marie in tow, we made our final pilgrimage, finally. Saint-Denis is generally recognized as the birthplace of what came to be known as Gothic. (It was also the burial place of French royalty, until they discontinued the royalty thing.) Saint-Denis is a bit of a hodge-podge, Suger's original narthex and chancel, a 13th-14th century nave (with glazed triforium!), and windows that are pretty much all modern. But it's Suger's 12th century innovation--combining elements mostly in existence already in the Romanesque, here and there--that attracts and rewards. Great height and light, glass, incredibly thin walls, pointy arches, buttressing. No one else had yet strung all those pearls together.
Facade; scaffolding; earlier, there were two non-symmetrical
tours; the north one dismantled for safety reasons...





















Sculpture on the left tympanum; the others covered up for the preservation work
















What's visible of the narthex




















Nave elevation; glazed triforia! a big innovation in the 13th century
















Nave view















Chancel, the oldest part















Choir, from a Normandy chateau...the originals no doubt burned in the Revolution
















Some of the royal burial stuff; the custom then was to depict the depictee in
life (gloriously) above and in death below
















Royal marble morgue















North rose window















Spare parts















Exterior elevation




















Ambulatory















Chancel view




















Play of light

Paris scènes, quatre: Montmartre

Marie and Norm arrived Saturday night, and on Sunday we were off again, briefly visiting Pere Lachaise and then longer at Montmartre. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it seemed all of Paris was out to enjoy the weather and the sites.
At Pere Lachaise: "Hi-Yo, Silver!"




















At Pere Lachaise, another curiosity















Moving right along Metro Line #2














Best gelato ever, so far, seriously: Amorino's, in Montmartre















Pistachio, we have been told, is the flavor that separates the
great gelatos from the merely good; Amorino's pistachio was
the best ever, by far; the mango and coconut great, the
raspberry intense



















Van Gogh lived here, 1886-88; with his brother, Theo





















Les Invalides from afar















Super-size me!




















Street scene




















One of my least favorite churches














But the views are nice...city scene, Pompidou














Notre Dame de Paris; and more















Us

















The four of us, taken by a kind stranger














Planning ahead for Penelope














Street scene













Sunday, May 18, 2014

À la place de la Bastille ! Et sur le marché aux puces !

Our days of setting up housekeeping, exploring, shopping, continued...we'll get to sight-seeing once visitors arrive....
On a walk down Rue de Charonne, just off which we live, toward
Place de la Bastille, to check out Septime and Le Bistrot de Peintre





















Looking into La Chaiserie de Faubourg















Not making this up; the faubourg is St. Antoine, of 1789 fame















Peering into a hidden alley off Charonne















Opportunities to practice your dendrochronology everywhere





















On the Rue de Faubourg St. Antoine, a new entry into the Burgeoning Burger
Biz; not sure the Frogs are going to like this, despite the "genuinely good
burgers" and "frogbeer"

















Orange is the new...wait...wasn't that 2011? Or perhaps this
is the Auburn/University of Florida collection?





















The July Column in the Place de la Bastille; the old castle/
prison is, alas, long-gone; my mind is busy replaying scenes
from the 1935 Ronald Colman Tale of Two Cities, regarded
by some as Selznick's warm-up for Gone With The Wind
























The "new" Opera sits on the old ground















Leave your chopsticks at the door...at a Thai restaurant in our neighborhood
















Another day we Metro'd out to Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, the big flea market at 
Porte de Clingnancourt; although we spent most of our time at the antiques 
market here pictured

















It's a big affair















Few of the furniture dealers permitted pix, so I don't have many; but we were
really impressed with the art deco stuff that seemed to be everywhere (not
pictured here)

















In the key-chain store















Alley scene

Friday, May 16, 2014

Plus randonnée divers

At Place de la Nation















Ditto; Place du George Orwell is nearby















Along Blvd. Voltaire; alas, they're not $4.99
a piece like at Costco





















Only in France...




















Making crepes on the Champs Elysees















Big guy, big strides















Church of the Madeleine...on the site of a synagogue razed
in the 12th century; originally, under Napoleon, to be a temple
to the Grand Army; later just a neo-classical Catholic parish
church...one of the largest neo-classical temples anywhere


















We're no longer going to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for housewares















"These stilettos are made for walkin'...and that's just what
they'll do..."
















Entree at Nicolas Flamel