Place des Vosges Architecture Details

“Architecture is merely the embellishment with which we hide our basic needs.”—Jean le Rond d’Alembert, French mathematician, physicist, editor, and philosopher.

When Henri IV built the place des Vosges in the early 1600’s, the design of the pavilions and the architecture details were very specific. The ground floor, planned for shops, was set back to create a covered walkway of four arcades per lot. Each building would have two floors above the arcades capped with steep slate roofs encompassing another two floors pierced with mansard windows—two round and two square, all framed by the roofline. All facades were to be the same—brick with cut-stone trim. The plans even specified the balconies and their décor. However, at the end of the day, the facades would be too expensive, plus workers didn’t have the skills necessary to build them as designed. Thus, many owners constructed theirs of plaster on wood framing and then painted them to resemble brick in colors ranging from dusty pink to dark red. Additionally, most window sets near the rooflines ended up a little different than designed—not always having the exact same windows, shapes, or placement. Even the balconies took on different designs but only the wrought-iron ones with the straight, plain support poles are authentic. It’s very interesting to walk around the largest, most perfect square in Paris (460 x 460 feet) and study the facades of the 36 pavilions. For example, you see stones cut in little squiggles, like vermicelli, the same kind used to decorate the Seine side of the Louvre. The sharply cut ones in this photo are new; the worn ones—the squiggles on the left column—are the originals. Many of the homes or pavilions have very interesting histories of their inhabitants and subsequent dramas over the years but that would take a book to relate those details!

To read more about the place des Vosges, see the blog dated 1/28/07. This last picture is of a gallery next to an old carriage door leading into the pavilion's courtyard, a very common sight in Paris.

Amelie

The French movie, “Amelie,” is a very sweet tale of a girl living in Montmartre. Never receiving much positive attention from her parents while growing up, she relies on her vivid imagination to survive and feels different and invisible even as she reaches adulthood. Working as a waitress, she takes pleasure in the simple things in life and continues to see the world as a child might.

The movie has some interesting characters—her co-workers in the cafe, the grocer (who she ends up tormenting because of the way he treats his slow employee), the painter who lives near her, and finally, the strange young man she falls for.

The outside scenes in the movie were filmed around Paris and mainly Montmartre (the interior scenes were filmed in a Cologne, Germany studio). It’s fun to watch the 2001 movie and recognize all the landmarks that you’ve walked by and explored. The grocery store and the café are two sights that tourists seek when visiting Montmartre. Both have capitalized on their starring roles in the movie. The Café des Deux Moulins has renamed their crème brulee after Amelie; and the grocery store proudly displays movie posters, postcards, and pictures of Audrey Tautou, who also starred as Sophie Neveu in “The Da Vinci Code.” (The picture of the café was taken by Suz.)

Half-Timbered Buildings

European dwellings in the Middle Ages were often built using the half-timbered construction method. The frame of the building was timber (mainly oak) and filled with wattle and daub or brick and then whitewashed. The dwellings are called half-timbered because the exposed timber used for framing was split in half. Most have brown wood and some are painted different colors over the whitewash.

Although the earliest surviving half-timbered French buildings date from the 12th century, there are few dwellings left in Paris with this type of construction. The reasons they have disappeared, obviously, are the risk of fire and possible collapse of the old buildings.

The dwellings in the first photo (there are three built at the beginning of the 14th century) are located on la rue Fancois-Miron at the edge of the Marais. They are typical of domestic Medieval architecture found all over northern Europe and have been restored. The second and third photos were taken on the Left Bank, a block from the Seine across from Notre-Dame.

More of the Eiffel, Bir-Hakeim View

These are photos of the Eiffel Tower from a location that most tourists don’t see. I took them the day I set out to find the replica of our Statue of Liberty on the Ile des Cygnes in the Seine. And then, because the Eiffel seems soooo close no matter where you are in the city (ha, ha), I decided to walk in that direction—even though it was freezing cold and windy, of course, as it always seems to be next to the Seine.

I have since learned that this little tree-lined path is called l’allee des Cygnes (Promenade of the Swans). It was very quiet and pretty—far from the traffic—and I was rewarded with these beautiful sights. I especially loved how the walkway and park fixtures were painted this pretty shade of blue instead of the common dark green color that you normally see everywhere around Paris. Along the way, I walked along and under the original metal Passy footbridge built in 1878 for the Universal Expo. It was eventually replaced in the early 1900s by a two-tiered bridge combining a railroad viaduct over the central walking path and road. Metro line 6 (Charles de Gaulle-Etoile – Nation), which I also took one day because 60% of it runs above ground, passes over this viaduct. Called Passy Viaduct until 1949, it was renamed the pont de Bir-Hakeim to commemorate General Koenig’s 1942 victory over Rommel in the Libyan desert. During this battle, the Free French resisted long enough so the Allied forces could prevent Germany from seizing Egypt. This victory provided a much-needed boost, obviously, to the Free French movement. I really enjoyed this walk that day and the beautiful views.

King Henri IV

Henri IV was one of the most popular kings in France (from 1589 until, ironically, he was stabbed to death in 1610) and he is smiling in most paintings or busts that you see of him. His nicknames included Henri le Grand (Henry the Great), le bon roi Henri (good king Henry) and le Vert galant (the Green knight or gentleman—among other things, he protected forests and drained swamps to create crop lands but he was also a legendary lady’s man). He renewed Paris as a great city and is the one who promised a chicken in every pot on Sunday, at the least. No wonder the French loved him!

Several famous Paris landmarks attributed to Henri IV are the pont Neuf, the place Dauphine, the Louvre’s Grande Gallerie, and the place des Vosges (refer to 2/28/07 post). A statue of Henri standing on the pont Neuf and looking at the place Dauphine (refer to 3/29/07 post) was erected four years after his death. And although it was destroyed during the French Revolution as were so many other statues of French kings, it was the first one to be rebuilt in 1818 (after melting down two Napoleon statues). The tree-filled square Vert-Galant, also attributed to him, is a famous make out spot behind his statue on the tip of the Ile de la Cite. By the way, Henri was stabbed to death in 1610 by a maniac (Francois Ravaillac) who hoped to convince the King to convert the Huguenots to Catholicism. He felt that Henri’s decision to invade the Netherlands was for the purpose of starting a war against the Pope. Since he couldn’t stop him, Ravaillac decided to stab him while his carriage was stopped in traffic near the old Forum des Halles market. He was immediately seized to avoid a mob lynching and taken to the Conciergerie. His death in the place de Greve was preceded by a horrible type of torture; his family was forced into exile and ordered never to use the name “Ravaillac” again.

Montmartre's Stone Streets

A group calling itself the Collectif de la Societe Civile has sprung up to protest the city’s replacement of Montmartre’s traditional paving stones (paves) with ugly concrete, asphalt and tar. Supposedly, these paves are the type that were used for barricades built for and by various revolutionary and resistance movements.

There’s a Paris phone number to get more information about the movement, which hopes to block the paving machines. And I have no doubt they will do that and possibly be successful.

PS - You'll note that when you see Paris depicted in films or photos, the streets appear wet like it's recently rained. This may be true but the little green men also regularly pressure wash every pavement at least once a week, and three times a week, water floods the gutters. The reason is fairly obvious: to destroy all "evidence" of the dogs... (See post dated 1/25/07.)

Typical Public Garbage Receptacles

So what??

In 1995, there were a series of terrorist bombings and most of the bombs were hidden in metal garbage cans. So the Paris officials removed all the metal cans from the streets, Metro stations, etc. Their solution was to install green metal stands to hold transparent plastic bags—pretty difficult to hide bombs in a clear bag. These are everywhere all over the city so there's no excuse for dumping trash on the streets.

The little green men drive around in their little green trucks all day and night constantly exchanging used green bags with new green ones. Very efficient as long as the Parisians use the bags… Cute brooms, too, don't you think?

While looking for a picture of the "garbage can," I ran across this one sitting in the middle of place Dauphine. This cozy square sits in front of the French Supreme Court building and faces (in the distance) a statue of King Henri IV on the bridge he built, pont Neuf. He is also responsible for the place Dauphine. I'll blog more about Henri IV in the next few days because he's probably the best-loved king in France.

Gare St Lazare

Gare St Lazare, the oldest train station in Paris, was first built in 1837 (north of the current position), then rebuilt between 1841 and 1843, and then later extended by the architect Eugene Flachat in 1853. It was to serve the first train line built in Paris, the Saint-Germain line, which was only about 12 miles long. At that time, the trains could go only 25 miles an hour.

Trains were very controversial at that time. A French politician claimed that traveling by train could trigger nervous diseases and that the human eye could not adapt to the quick change of scenery when watching out the window. Another historian said that riders would become ill and possibly die because of the sudden climate change when traveling at such a high speed.

Today the present station, built in 1889 for the Universal Expo, surrounds the older structures. It has grown to house 27 platforms and has a Beaux Arts-style façade. (I love the sculpture of the various clocks.) It is the 2nd biggest train station in Paris and serves mainly the Normandy destinations (north of Paris). 80 million travelers go through Gare St Lazare each year.

Claude Monet immortalized the station in 1877 with eleven paintings by the same name. (This picture of one Monet painting was taken by my sister; it is displayed in the Orsay Museum.) The station was also used for a scene in “The DaVinci Code” when Robert Langdon and Sophie Neveu ditched les flics (the police).

PS - The twisted clock sculpture that stands in front of the station is called "Time for Everyone" (note the different times on each clock) and was done by famous French sculptor Arman. Another one of his sculptures at the station, a stack of luggage, is called Consignes a vie (life's luggage).

Award for Pompidou's Architect

Today the papers are reporting that the British architect who co-designed one of the world’s most controversial museums has won the Pritzker Prize, architecture’s top honor. In the 1970’s, Richard Rogers and his partner, Renzo Piano, stunned the design world with the Centre Georges Pompidou, the ultramodern museum in Paris’ Beaubourg quartier. Very appropriate since this is the museum’s 30th anniversary year.

At the time, people were horrified at the design, which included colorful exposed pipes, escalators enclosed in glass tubes, and the playful Stravinski fountains on the outdoor plaza. But the museum has since become a favorite gathering spot for the city’s inhabitants and tourists. Pritzhker’s committee chairperson says that the Pompidou “revolutionalized museums, transforming what had once been elite monuments into popular places of social and cultural exchange, woven into the heart of the city.”

Mr. Rogers was also praised for his Lloyds of London Tower and a terminal at Madrid’s Barajas International Airport. He also recently designed a proposed 71-story office tower at the World Trade Center site in NYC.

In other Pompidou news--The Centre Pompidou has been authorized to take over some unused spaces in the Palais de Tokyo museum (16th arrondissement) by 2009. This amounts to two-thirds of the building. The Palais de Tokyo is also a showcase for contemporary art but focuses on emerging artists. Since the Pompidou presents the work of "confirmed" artists, there's some conversation that mixing the two "missions" won't...well, mix.

Mascarons

You see these on bridges, fountains, buildings above arched doors, windows, etc. all over Paris. They are called mascarons (decorative masks) and can be quite interesting, scary, beautiful—you supply the adjectives. The first photo was taken on a bridge over the Seine--I can't remember which bridge. The one underneath was taken on the Left Bank on Boulevard Saint Germain (note the neat old mosaic street sign). The photo (above) was taken in the Marais on rue du Beaubourg. It caught my attention because my son works for a grocery association in Seattle; this is the office of the grocery syndicate in Paris. This photo (above) was taken at the hotel Sully (not really a hotel but a former grand private residence) and the last one, in place Vendome. Like I said, they're everywhere!

Those French Chococerise Cookies

Remember my favorite cookies in Paris? Wellll, I brought a box home with me, of course, and have been saving it—I guess for it to “grab” me like the box did every night in Paris. And, sad to say, I could eat the whole box without a second thought while I was there.

I finally opened the box this past weekend to share with my daughter while we chatted (Karlee was in bed). And guess what? They didn’t taste as good as they did in Paris; so I only ate one. I am trying to figure out why… Maybe because I am now sitting in an air-conditioned condo while outside temperatures are already in the 80s instead of in a chilly Paris studio apartment where the outside temps were between 30-50 degrees and I was drinking tea? I don’t want hot tea during Houston evenings. Hmmm, maybe we should’ve eaten them while drinking wine? Yes, definitely better with wine...

The three of us had a wonderful four days visiting and being Texas tourists: the beach and Moody Gardens’ Rain Forest and river boat ride in Galveston, the Houston Zoo, three Houston parks, Galleria shopping, etc. In six weeks, I’ll be in Los Angeles near Karlee’s third birthday. The rumor is that we’re returning to Disneyland while I’m there. Lots of fun!

New Bike Program, Velib

Starting this summer, Paris is setting up a bicycle-lending program of 1,451 short-term rental stations with 14,100 bikes available by mid-July (this corresponds with Paris Plage, the “beach” they create next to the Seine every summer). The program will be called Velib (vilo means bicycle), and 20,600 bikes should be available by the end of 2007.

The bikes are going to be sturdy with large baskets. And the rates will be very reasonable: one euro a day, five euros a week, and 29 euros a year. The first 30 minutes will be free. The city is relatively flat and easy to navigate so it seems like it will be a popular program. All bus lanes are open to bikers and the city has installed bike lanes all over Paris. The hope, of course, is that it will reduce the use of automobiles, pollution, accidents, etc.

PS – This bike was more yellow than it looks in this photo. Notice the name of the store.

My Tutor Hasn’t Given Up…

Myrtille emailed me this week; she is too cute. She wrote, en francais, that she hopes I am doing well. And she included addresses of people who are interested in some conversation—not only in person in Paris but possibly by email. Then she switched to English and said, “Why don’t you try to find a pen pal that would keep your French warm?”

This email reminded me how hard it is to translate our first language into another and to find the correct foreign word(s) to express our thoughts. I’ve heard that there are more English words than French words so one French word may have many different meanings; for example, the verb sortir. The dictionary lists all these definitions for this one word: to come out, to go out, to come up, to take out, to bring out, to pull through, to get through, to go out of, to leave, to come from, to be outside. I suppose that I could find the same kind of example for an English word but I already know that language so I’m not usually stumped when looking for the right word (except for my menopausal issues…).

During a visit with Rolinka and her friend, Antoine, one afternoon, we spent some time discussing this challenge. Antoine is French and Rolinka is Dutch; Rolinka is trying to improve her French and Antoine wants to speak better English. So they speak English in the AM and French in the afternoon. One word that they were debating the day I visited was “ambivalent”—what it meant, how to use it in a sentence, what Dutch and French words related to it. Antoine went to his office to get a dictionary and when Rolinka looked at it, she stammered, “Ahhh, this is a French-French dictionary…” Antoine smirked and said, “Yesss, they do still exist…” My francais-anglais – anglais-francais dictionary was an extension of my arm when I was there! And I seldom needed my Webster's American dictionary.

That day Rolinka had received an email from an American living in Phoenix who inquired about renting her apartment. His name wasn’t “Joe Smith” and I won’t comment on my opinion of the nationality of his name. Rolinka felt that he wasn’t polite enough in the email and she didn’t like “his attitude.” So she told him the apartment wasn’t available. I suggested that maybe it was a cultural difference as well as a translation challenge. I had just had a conversation with my LL, who returned from a two-week trip to India where they don’t throw around the word “thank you” like we do (and especially Parisians who begin and end virtually every sentence with merci). Adrian explained that it’s impolite in India to show appreciation for what is considered deserved or rightfully yours and she had a hard time adapting to this. Rolinka didn’t seem to “buy” this and still seemed suspicious about the manners of the guy from Phoenix.

Anyway, I digress as usual. I haven’t responded to Myrtille yet because I’m still trying to translate my response into French! And while she reads it, she’ll have her head in her hands thinking, “oh la la, I wasted a lot of time with that lady…” Of course, she’ll be thinking it en francais: “Oh la la, j’ai gaspille beaucoup temps avec cette femme.” (I think…)

Berthillon Ice Cream

I said, “WE HAVE NO ICE CREAM!!” This photo was taken on the Ile Saint-Louis, where there are several famous local Berthillon ice cream shops (but not at this café and stop asking!).

This small island in the middle of the Seine is only eight blocks long and three blocks across at the widest. There is no Metro stop, no cinema, no police station, and only one cafe-tabac. In the past decade, they finally got their own post office. Stubbornly reclusive, the long-time inhabitants, called Ludoviciens, still refer to the rest of Paris as "the Continent."

The residents of the exclusive neighborhood do not appreciate the foot traffic from tourists that crowd their few small streets looking for the famous ice cream, which is very, very tasty. But not here and stop asking!!

Paris Building Architecture and Social Status

When many of the current Paris buildings were constructed (17th, 18th, 19th centuries), the first floor (above the ground floor, originally used for the concierge) were the apartments of the wealthiest people. The windows on that floor were usually multi-paned, more elegant, and taller, which denoted higher ceilings, a mark of distinction to the wealthy. The exterior decoration on these floors—balconies and railings—was also fancier. This made the first floor apartments the most desirable. Since buildings did not have elevators at that time, all wealthy people could at least walk up one flight of stairs.

On each floor above the first, the windows became gradually smaller (apartments with lower ceilings); and the exterior decoration and/or grillwork less fancy—the same with the balconies, if any. This, in turn, related to the social status of the inhabitants who lived in the apartments on those floors. The top floor, the floor that housed the servants (some below a mansard roof), often had dormers with tiny one-paned windows. Since the servants had the lowest rank on the social scale, they were the ones to climb all those stairs. Those rooms usually had ceilings too low for a person to stand fully erect; but by the time the servants made it to their rooms, they were too tired to do anything but go to bed anyway! As these older buildings are renovated and elevators are added, the wealthier Parisians are moving to the top floors and away from the noise and dirt of the streets. Since the building concierges have all but disappeared (replaced with code-protected doors), the ground level is rented by retailers or offices. Builders add elegant penthouses to the top floors and the apartments cost more the higher in the building you live.

Posies, Pets, and Trees

There are between 600-700 flower shops in Paris and each has their own personality and beautiful displays. When you visit a French friend, it is a tradition to show up with a bouquet of flowers (if you bring a bottle of wine, they may be insulted that you thought theirs wasn’t good enough or that you suspected you wouldn’t be offered any!).

These are the tulips that I took to Rolinka’s. The young lady at the flower shop took so much care in wrapping and decorating the bouquet before I left her shop. She used three different colors of paper, tied the stems with a thin twine, and used a leaf for futher decoration when she stapled the package at the base of the petals.

For several blocks along the quai de la Megisserie above the Seine across from the Conciergerie (Right Bank), there’s a string of lively garden and pet shops. On sunny days, many people shop for plants, trees, and lawn ornaments—although very few people have any place outside to display a troll or an alligator in their yard! (They do like their window boxes though since they don't have any lawn or garden.) During the two-week winter school break, the pet stores were full of children dreaming about or picking out their new dog, turtle, rabbit, or canary.

Also notable is that there are over 475,000 trees in the city (including 300,000 in the two woods around Paris, Boulogne and Vincennes). The annual budget to care for them is eight million euros!

The Posing Dog

Jean Cocteau (famous French poet, designer, and filmmaker) said, “In Paris, everybody wants to be an actor; nobody is content to be a spectator.” This dog may qualify... This dog was sitting on a box next to Notre-Dame; and a hat sitting on the sidewalk in front of him included a hand-written sign saying ‘Photos – 1 euro.’ Believe it or not, people were dropping money into his hat! The reason I didn’t get closer was because I was afraid he’d see me taking the photo and chase me down demanding money! They’re like that, you know… PS – There was no sight of his owner. Like Victor Hugo said, "To loaf is Parisian."