We arrived May 23rd and by the evening had unpacked, moved in, bought groceries, etc. No need to explore the apartment nor neighborhood, since we stayed here for 7 weeks last year. Daughter Rebecca and grand-daughter Penelope were not due for a couple more days, so we mostly relaxed, took several walks, and battled the jet lag. Below are some scenes from those walks.
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| A favorite activity is just taking in all the great variety of architecture; every block has numerous examples, sometime of historic note |
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| Sometimes it's just the portal |
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| Film production underway near Rue Vavin |
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| More beauties |
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| At the Edgar Quinet market, Montparnasse, interesting display |
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| Hobbit asparagus |
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| Morelles; and not from Montana |
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| More architecture, this one, we surmised, sort of a transition from nouveau to deco |
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| Along Boulevard Raspail, a block's brocante stands...always interesting |
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| Our (now) vast experience with eBay and such has led to a protocol: shoot-it, Lens-it, consult eBay for current listings, pricing...this one not so attractive |
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| On one of several strolls in Luxembourg Garden, the palais in the background |
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| So Paris... |
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| All abloom |
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| On another walk, now in the Cite, the barrier between the cathedral and its forecourt is now a photographic tribute to the many workers, artisans, others contributing to the repair of the church |
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| A large and very tasteful tribute...carpenters, stonemasons, art historians, architects, electricians, engineers, custodial, security, management...hundreds |
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| Opening by Christmas, they now say |
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| Official Olympics poster, in the souvenir department of our favorite department store, BHV (Bazar d' l'Hotel de Ville), in the Marais; like most of Paris, seemingly, we're mostly ignoring it all, insofar as possible; I suppose I'll buy a fridge magnet eventually |
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| A block away from the BHV, our 2022 apartment was on this street in the Marais |
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| Bowellism's greatest example, the Centre Pompidou; its scheduled closing for a five-year renovation now postponed until after the Olympics; I'm still wondering why something not fifty years old needs renovation... |
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| Back in our neighborhood, Henri Sauvage's 1914 stepped/terraced apartment building, at 26 Rue Vavin...a first step toward modernism... the facade in blue-trimmed gleaming white tile; Simone de Beauvoir lived here in late 1930s, I've read, though I found no historical marker |
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| Rue de Fleurus intersects with rue Jean Bart, where we live, and, not a block away is 27 rue de Fleurus, which I've walked past dozens of times without looking up...but now I genuflect when passing by... |
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| The site of Gertrude Stein's Saturday evening salons; her guests, friends and clients being pretty much a who's who of Euro-American art and literature in the first half of the 20th century |
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| See Kathy Bates' convincing portrayal of her in Midnight in Paris |
