Versailles Fountains, 1

We've been to Versailles several times over the years, usually for just a day, trying to pack in both the enormous palace and the enormous gardens, catching whatever fountains in play we could. This time, however, we planned to spend the whole day in the gardens if necessary and to follow the play as well as we could in the "Musical Fountains Show." Vicki's map reading was entirely successful, and I think we somehow managed to see most all of the working fountains doing their thing. Over the course of 4 or so hours. The experience was very much enhanced by the piping-in of regal Baroque music all over the place, by the ongoing renovation, re-painting, and re-gilding of so many of the great fountains, and by the beautiful early summer weather. Oh...there are many fountains at Versailles, so I'll do two posts.

Ceiling of the RER Versailles train

Approaching the great palace; note the chapel on the right...first time
we've seen it so gilded and without scaffolding

There was no line to get into the garden (the entrance is to the left
as you enter the complex), so we just walked right in passing by the
Orangery Parterre

Fountain du Point du Jour (kitty and puppy fountain)

Latona's Fountain

Not even Google Lens can identify this one

Ballroom Fountain

Us, there

Honoring Bacchus at the Bacchus fountain

Basin of Saturn

Mirror Basin

Walking in a grove that, until 1820, had been a pond; enormous old
trees all around 

Apollo's Fountain

Looking toward the Grand Canal and beyond

And back to the palace

The Colonnade

Girandola Fountain

Sometimes the repainting and re-gilding is better appreciated when
not in play

Scenes From Diverse Walks, 4

Another day we walked through the park to the other side, principally to explore the streets around the Pantheon but also to get a photo of me sitting on the steps of St. Etienne du Mont, waiting for that 1928 Peugeot. One thing led to another, as it always does, and we ended up on rue Mouffetarde, looking at a vide grenier (neighborhood feal market).

Every day something new pops up about the Olympics...here in
Luxembourg Garden the line is already 30 or 40 persons long, waiting
to snap a shot...

For several hundred feet along the park grill, the Senat permits 
photographic exhibits, very large and very high quality, this one
urging that all the great sights in the world, or their equivalents,
can be seen in France...this one Tibet, in France, the Alps

As far as the eye can see...Google "Allieurs en France" Luxembourg
and you will find many sites displaying these pix

Romania...in l'Aude

Texas...en le Gard

Capadoccia....in the valley of Durance

Thailand...in l'Aude

Wulingyuan...in Corsica; all of it reminding me of a conversation I had early
in our motor-homing in Europe, asking a French campeur why we so seldom saw
French RVs in other countries..."Why would you leave France?" he answered

At the bandstand, a mixed choir is performing "Dancing Queen";
and in English too

Until a pigeon landed, it took us a while to figure this out

The Pantheon, national shrine, visited in 2014

On a nearby government building...keep out

The church of St. Etienne du Mont...it really is high ground
here; note minaret-looking adjunct to the tower

Waiting for Godot...wait, no...waiting for that 1928 Peugeot that 
will take me to the Golden Age..."get in, get in!" "drink up, drink up!"
if you don't love Midnight in Paris you can't be my friend

No block in Paris has 90 degree corners; consequently
there are lots of flatiron buildings

º

Lots of giant murals too

It would be worth noting that the great poet Verlaine

died in this building; but, Hemingway lived here from 1921

to 1925; those would be the years of The Paris Wife, a wonderful

historical novel by Paula McLain I read a few years ago

Thus

Down the street, a beautiful art nouveau

We did rue Mouffetarde last year and were not impressed;
totally touristy and block after block of cheap lousy food

But somewhere in the vicinity of rue Monge, a big open flea market
appeared and consumed the rest of our exploration

Louvre Italians; Plus Some Loonies

Wanting to make our Louvre visits more disciplined and meaningful we'd been watching some of the Great Courses lectures (thank you, Prof. Brettell), and, for our next visit, wanted to focus on just the Italian paintings. The Italian works are of surpassing importance for the Louvre, since, when King Francois Premier wanted to upgrade French art, he looked south, to Italy, for great artists and great art works to import. For us it was a very successful day of art appreciation and amusement. We were nearly the first in line at the Amis du Louvre special entrance.

Ever wondered what it would be like to be the first in the door and,
for at least a few brief shining moments, have the place to yourself?

Something we'd been looking for, Tintoretto's Coronation
of the Virgin, 1580; a swirler, as became the fashion for domed
ceiling treatments; hung so high you could barely see, much
less study it

Personal favorite (paired with Manet's version); poorly displayed
and much in need of cleaning and restoration; Giorgione/Titian
Pastoral Concert

Holy Spirit going for another Immaculate Conception; Rene Sance, 1527

Interesting presentation, showing Manet's copy (above)
of Titian's Madonna of the Rabbit (important Easter
foreshadowing)

"Joseph is so gullible..."

Anonymous, early 14th, Fall of the Rebel Angels

Guido of Siena, late 13th, Nativity; really old as these things go

Rene Sance, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, 1527

In the Louvre, always look up too

Andrea Mantagna, The Virgin of Victory, 1496;
the Louvre has an impressive number of Mantagnas;
no wonder there were so few in Mantua!

"So take the effing picture already!"

Another Anonymous work, The Virgin of the Scales,
one of Leonardo's followers...the scales are pretty
ominous...gonna find out who's naughty or nice...

Both the Louvre and Google identify this as a Bacchus;
I think it is a Hermaphrodite checking his/her messages

The Louvre has three Caravaggios, this, The Death of the 
Virgin, 1606

Starting to get crowded...

One of many super-sized Guido Reni paintings, The Union of
Drawing and Color, 1625 or so; Reni was party to the big dispute
of the day, whether painting or sculpture was the foremost art

Reni again, Jesus Giving the Keys to Peter, 1626;
"Now don't lose these..."

Another Mantagna, Minerva Expelling the Vices from the Garden
of Virtue, 1502; tempura on canvas (how'd that work?)

Rene Sance, Mohawk Bambino, 1527

"Why is your halo bigger than mine?"