The Hempsteads go to Paris - Day 5

This is my sister's little Parisian version of Sesame  Street. They've got the Bakery, the Fish  Market, the Butcher, the Cheese Shop, the Grocery, an Organic Grocery all in this one photo, along with their front door.

Before heading out today, our top notch hosts purchased all the necessary ingredients for a fabulous fish dinner upon our return in the evening.

.. And of course, a cheese course.

The we took the commensurate trip to Versailles, the nicest hunting lodge the world has ever seen. 

It's shocking to consider how this place came about. I'm sure people like us were never meant to see this place, but here we are. All the thousands of us from around the world every day. 

It turns out that there had been a strike for the previous three days, and many of those tours ended up going through with us. It was not pleasant nor was it safe doing the inside tour with all those people.

So, it was nice to get outside, to the gardens.

We took a long walk to Marie Antoinette's famous Halmet, where she would hide from the King's court, and pretend to be down to earth. This was kind of like a full size dollhouse village made for a queen.

Now, this was quite a walk from the chateau, and the park was about to close, so we were thankful to find a building that we recognized from the map, and of course our Architectural History class as well...

We were actually locked in Marie Antoinette's gardens so we were especially happy to find a gate with a guard that could buzz us out. Now we head back through the gardens of Versailles as things start to get exponentially more beautiful.

What an incredible view!

This seemed like an appropriate farewell to La France as we headed back to the train that would take us back to the apartment in order to pack for home.

 

Au Revoir!

The Hempsteads go to Paris - Day 4

Today, we started the day by walking the streetsof Paris in The neighborhood around Notre Dame on L'ile de la Cité. We saw many quaint little shops along the way, got some souvenirs, and this contraption made me hungry for pork and chicken for some reason. It smelled even better than it looks.

Here are the quaint shops along with a teaser to the Gargoyles of Notre Dame.

...and Notre Dame is more amazing than I remembered. The Window to stone ratio is pretty incredibleand the flyinging buttresses have done their job well for a long time, looking good doing it.

Inside, Norah and I really enjoyed the quality of light and space. We my be raising an Architectafterall...

Turns out Notre Dame is a destination place for Japanese wedding photos. Who knew?

Here's Norah's lunchtime sketch of the city along with a petit auto portrait.

The evening brought us to Sacre Coeur and a local vintage festival.

Too many people!

But a great view!

After searching all week for the Paresian version of Blueindy Cars, we found one station. Apparently they did a better job negotiating parking spaces in indianapolis than in Paris. Here the service is called autoLib.

C'est tout. 

The Hempsteads go to Paris - Day 3

Today we headed  straight to the Musee D'Orsey. This museum is in a renovated train station across the Seine from the Louvre.  It houses works from 1848 -1914, including Impressionist Art, Art Nouveau, and photography. The original renovation was really great. Some of the newer additions within the main space are pretty weak with multiple facades of stone splitting up the space for sculpture galleries at different levels.

The space behind the huge clock towers is now accessible for nice silhouette photos with the Louvre and Sacre Coure in the background.

Art Nouveau Norah...

A sectional model of the Paris Oprah House, almost as nice as those I used to make.

So, on the Monday before we arrived in the city, the trash men's Union went on strike. The result of that on today, Friday, is piles of trash lining the streets in front of every shop. People who say that Paris is a dirty city aren't kidding.

...And then on to the main event for the day. A river boat restaurant cruise aboard the Calife along the Seine.

We had a fabulous meal on a barge that was renovated into a beautiful retro/eclectic restaurant. Uncle Don frequents the Calif within guests so he pretty tight with the owner and Captain. We got special access to the lower level Buda lounge before dinner,

And enjoyed the view up top during our meal.

The Monkey Kingguards the Calif after hours.

Bon Nuit.

The Hempsteads go to Paris - Day 2

Our second day started slowly. A little extra sleep made up for our long day the day before.

First stop, the Louvre.

We all loved I.M. Pei's pyramid. Such an elegant solution for a new entrance to this museum.

Room by room, every turn presented another great work of art. As we looked for the Mona Lisa and Ancient Egyptian works, we happened across the Victory of Samothrace  and the Venus de Milo.

Also some great tile work from Iran.

Then to the Pompidou for some crepes and a nice view.

And dinner at Kim and Dons favorite Algerian joint.

The Hempsteads go to Paris - Day 1

If can't use them, can you make them available to the Breed

Au Revoir Etas Uni! We had a spacious comfy flight from Indy to Chicago to Paris, thanks to a seat upgrade from Uncle Don.

First stop Kim and Dons apartment in District 14, Alesia.

Then to the Metro for the Eiffel Tower

 Nous sommes arrivés.

This is not just an icon for the city. It really is a beautiful structure, which adapts to the world around it with scientific research, state of the art communications, and culture.

...And to round out the day we had a nice French meal back at the apartment of our gracious hosts Kim and Don.

Bilbao - Day 6

To Bilbao for the Guggenheim!  After a week of eating, I really was looking forward to a little architectural focus for the day as we headed to Bilbao.  The Building, designed by Frank Gehry, opened in 1997, is everything you expect from a Gehry building, lots of complexity, good light, neat relationship to water and the site.  As with most Gehry structures, you could argue some details and the "why?" of pieces and parts, but mostly it is a joyful piece of art in and of itself.

Despite the rain, the outdoor collection at the museum was then most fun from my point of view. The giant spider, topiary dog, and dancing ladies were all great fun.  Te third floor was doing an interesting exhibition of Niki De Sant Phalle- which was joyful and disturbing in equal measure, it would be fair to say it was not a hit with everyone but I liked it. The Jeff Koons exhibit is on its way, which I would love to see, but sadly, we missed it this time.

A permanent gallery houses large metal labyrinths, which were designed to cause vertigo- and succeeded admirably.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 As a going away meal, Chef's Liz and Michel took us out to La Cepa in the Old City- for a special dinner in the wine cellar. Delicious.  Even the water bottles were pretty, and the wine, Muga, went down easy.......