Saturday 22 March we woke to a wet day. Nevertheless stuck to our plan which was breakfast at Marly’s and on to see Hotel de Invalides – time for some Napoleon! In a concession to the rain we got the Metro to the Louvre where we found it raining so hard we bought cheap umbrellas from one of the tourist shops in the arcades. Just to get over the road to Marly’s. This is a cafe overlooking Mr Pei’s pyramid. The books say it is worth visiting just for the location even though the waiters are awful. Well, on this day no-one was sitting outside on the verandah with it’s spectacular view. And nor were the waiters anything other than charming. Though the guides were right in saying they would have looked good on a catwalk – all very slim and handsome! We both had omelettes – perfectly cooked and delicious. Followed by coffee and pastry. Joe took a photo from the gentlemen’s bathroom.
Still raining when we emerged so we caught the Metro to Les Invalides which took us to the Musee des Armee. Imposing building. With an imposing statue of Napoleon in the centre overlooking all who enter.
It is still a hospital for injured soldiers and there is quite an emphasis in posters in the cloister about more recent conflicts. But the centrepiece is this wonderful church, Eglise St. Louis de Invalides, dedicated to France’s soldiers. On the other side through a mirror is the chapel for Royalty. While we were there an organist was playing this spectacular instrument. I found it all very emotional.
Then we went next door to see the great man’s tomb. First saw a few others who had been brought there to rest. This chap was France’s Governor in Morocco which explains the coffin. Striking. There is a window looking back to the church for soldiers and this side which is for royalty and a shared altar in between. This was all built in the time of Louis XIV (the Sun King) which may explain all the gold.
Given the grandeur all around they had to work hard to make Napolean’s tomb stand out. They dug under the existing Church vestibule to make room for the coffin – actually there about seven inside the massive red marble sepulchre: including wood, tin and lead ones. It contains his actual remains. Brought via solemn ceremonies from St Helena depicted in bas reliefs when you enter. Another round of bas reliefs circling the tomb tell the stories of his achievements for France – restoring security, law and order, the Napoleonic Code, freedom of religion, commerce and prosperity etc. all very imposing.
We also spent some time in a museum dedicated to the life and times of De Gaulle. It is relatively recent having been opened by President Sarkozy. It was all very modern and high tech with an English audio guide that came on automatically when you stood in front of pictures. Lots of little movies then played. It was great seeing scenes of the liberation of Paris – De Gaulle at the Hotel de Ville, striding up to the Arc de Triomphe. There was also a movie about the events of 1968 although disappointingly all of those are not yet translated. It was worth doing.
We finally emerged after a couple of hours to clear skies. More wonderful clouds. I love the topiary here. And the view down towards the Grand Palais and Champs Elysee.
Joe wanted to see the Bibliotheque Cinematique. I felt like a walk. He thought it might be a bit long. Still we set off. Had a lovely walk along the Seine. Right down on the waters edge underneath the booksellers and tourists. Lots of people there doing all sorts of activities that seem to be provided to encourage participation in physical activity. For example painted hop-scotch squares. And this map of Australia for what purpose we couldn’t determine.
Other people were drawing on a big blackboard attached to the wall alongside the path. There were also pop up cafés selling light lunches and cakes and things. We marched on. And on. And on. Came to a quite suburban section of the river. Beautiful gardens and people everywhere. Again doing all sorts of things. A boxing class. Jogging and lots of parents and little kids. All lovely. Still we went on. Nearly out to the Ring Road! A bit of a commercial area. The place where barges are moored when not in use. A big shopping centre with lots of graffiti scrawled over walls underneath it, which is where we were. I was getting a bit jack of it towards the end. However we finally arrived at our destination – the Simone de Bouvoir Passerelle – fancy name for a footbridge. Between the Francois Mitterand Bibliotheque Nationale and the Frank Gehry designed building housing the Bibliotheque Cinematique. Edmond White tells us that when the library was opened they discovered that all the glass was ruinous for books so remedial action was needed. An imposing building. The Gehring was fabulous.
We checked out the history of cinema. Not a lot there, but the content was interesting. The park was lovely. People out walking their dogs, playing soccer on the grass. Contemporary statues – bigger than life size. Intriguing.There seemed to be a sports stadium down the road.
We caught the Metro home. Exhausted. But our day was not yet over. We had a quick bite to eat (pate filled small rolls purchased near home) and were back on the Metro. It’s such a great system! To The Salle Playel in Rue du Faubourg to attend a concert of Richard Wagner music. Orchestre du Conservatoire de Paris, Emmanuel Krivine Conductor and Brigitte Pinter Soprano. It was wonderful. Especially the two extracts from The Ring in the second half – Siegfried Idyll and Brunnhilde’s Immolation. The latter simply hair-raising. They did the Ouverture et Baccanale from Tannhauser and Wesendonck Lieder as well. It was all wonderful. The music, the auditorium (great acoustics) and just being there! We were back home via the Metro (along with other concert patrons) before 11pm.
Pauline says
Frank Gehry often designs great sculptures for people to do things in. Look great but not so practical. Sounds like a great walk