Crisscrossing Paris



Monday was going to be our last day without rain for a while so Shauna, Todd and I decided to make the most of it by going to outdoor monuments and more.  We took the métro to the École Militaire stop right outside the BYU apartment and walked up the Champ de Mars to the Eiffel Tower. 

When we were ready to walk under it to view it from the right bank, we ran into a jumble of fences and gates.  I was so confused but we soon discovered it was another security check.  No more peaceful strolls up the Champ de Mars to walk under the Tour Eiffel.  Instead you now encounter lines to get through security.  Can't imagine how crazy the lines will get come spring.

Shauna and Todd

View of Li'l Eiffie while crossing the Seine

As we crossed the Seine to get a view from the Palais de Chaillot we checked out the level of the river.  Unfortunately it was still rising.  The ramps from the boats go in the water rather than onto the quais.  So crazy how high it is.  You can see buildings submerged.

Seine Flooding

View from Trocadéro

Our next stop was the Arc de Triomphe at the top of the Champs-Élysée.  We climbed the 284 stairs to the top.  I prefer gazing out at Paris from the Arc rather than the Eiffel Tower.  We love this time of year without the crowds and the wait.

View towards La Défense and the Modern Arc

View of the Eiffel Tower



Under the Arc is the tomb of the unknown soldier.  The flame is lit every evening. 

Flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

From here we walked down one of the 12 boulevards emanating from L'Étoile to the Jacquemart-André Museum.  This is one of my favorite museums in Paris that many overlook.

Musée Jacquemart-André

The museum is in a mansion built in the late 1800's along boulevard Hausmann where Edouard André and his wife, Nélie Jacquemart, could entertain and display their art collection.  For six months every year they traveled and collected artwork.  They had a large ballroom with walls that could be lowered into the basement using state of the art hydraulics to make a huge room that could accommodate 1,000 guests. 
My favorite painting in the museum is one of several Rembrandts hanging in the library-Supper at Emmaus.  The backlighting and the glow around Christ is so beautiful.

Supper at Emmaus 1628

This was the first time Rembrandt painted this subject and is considered his best. 
The couple loved traveling to Italy and brought back entire frescoes and installed them in their mansion on walls and ceilings.  A Tiepolo fresco from an Italian villa is installed above the magnificent and unusual double helix staircase.

Shauna on the Staircase

Tiepolo Fresco with Cut Out

We loved how there was a cut out in the molding to accommodate the feet of the man in the foreground of the fresco.
Upstairs were rooms devoted entirely to their Italian collection, which they called their Italian Museum.  It was breathtaking.  The room was originally built as a studio for Nélie.  She was an artist and first met Edouard when she painted his portrait.  But soon after they were married she stopped painting and devoted her time to collecting art with her husband.

A Corner of the Italian Museum

Botticelli Madonna and Child



Guests could see all their magnificent art on the main floor of the home.  But the rooms upstairs were like a "secret garden" and only their closest friends were invited to their Italian Museum.

Nélie's Bedroom

Edouard's Bedroom

After a lunch break at a nearby café, our next destination was Montmartre and Sacré Coeur.  We rode the funicular up the hill since our feet were getting pretty tired by now.  It was too cold and there were not enough tourists for the street performers to really be out.  Although we did enjoy listening to a man playing La Vie en Rose on his accordion.

Sacré Coeur

We walked over to the Place du Tertre to see the artists and wandered around the charming square and streets frequented by artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec, Van Gogh and Picasso.  My favorite house made gelato spot is up there and despite the cold, I couldn't resist a little cone of lemon gelato.

Artist at Work

Artists Playing Chess while
Business is Slow

We still had daylight left so we went next to the Madeleine church that looks like a greek temple and to Ladurée nearby.  We paced ourselves and only bought two macarons each.  Rose is my favorite-it tastes like a rose smells.  But there are so many good flavors to sample.  I really need to go there more often.

Macarons at Ladurée

Trying to Choose our Flavors

We finished up the day seeing the Paris Opera House and the stained glass dome of the Printemps department store.  When we returned to the apartment we discovered we had walked about 9 miles and climbed 41 flights of stairs.  No wonder we were exhausted and our feet hurt.  We covered a lot of ground before the rainy days began again.