Paris, Part Five: Looking for Lace, Saints Without Heads, and Obligatory Modern Art
From my notes on Sunday, October 12:
It's only noonish, but so far the day has been the most enjoyable I've had yet. I decided to go to the smaller, less touristed flea market/antiques market my guidebook recommended, and it was everything I was hoping for. I spent the morning browsing happily, meeting the local mastiff (a giant brindle hound named Yugi, who was happy to be made much of), chatting with a few strangers, and looking for a large enough scrap of lace for Boop, who had requested one. I also finally had my first crepe of the trip from a vendor selling them to the market-goers. It was gooey and delectable, and I savored every scrap of it.
Er, warning - I took lots of photos and I'm putting quite a few under the cut.
I love markets like this because of the total randomness of the things you can find.
The market was full of people taking a nice Sunday stroll, frequently with their dogs, their children, or both. Lots of them were staring keenly at each table, looking for a diamond in the rough. I met a woman from New York City who was buying up Bakelite rings with flowers embedded in them - they sold for 12 Euros here, and she said they were far more pricy in the US, so she flew to Paris once a year to shop at markets like this one. She admitted that her personal collection was getting a bit out of hand.
I also had a nice flirting experience, to make up for my previous day's Metro Masher. A charming papa about my age, walking with his adorable young son (maybe about six?) flirted casually with me for a few moments as our paths coincided. Nothing pushy or weird or creepy about it; just a mild noticing of each other and a few smiles exchanged, as well as a few pleasantries.
One of my favorite photographs from the trip
Lunch now, and then a decision - do I head to San Denis or go straight to the Marias? I'm on the same Metro line as San Denis, so I think that's where I'll head out to.
3-4 ish -
San Denis was well worth the trip. The church facade badly needs cleaning and restoration - it's caked in a sooty black layer that obscures almost everything - but the interior is gorgeous and very well maintained.
It's also stuffed to the gills with dead kings and queens, which I suppose is not precisely delightful, but is very interesting. The crypt and sub-crypt go back a ways into the earliest roots of French royalty. The remains of Marie Antoinette and her husband are there as well. I commiserated with Queen Bertha of the Big Feet, surely a woman after my own heart, and her husband, Pepin the Short. Must be lousy having to go through history with epithets like those.
Bertha
Catherine De Medici and her husband Henry II's tomb is very Rennassancey. I approve. Plus, bonus Green Men!
The lighting was dim, so some of my photos of the other effigies are blurry, but I'll put one in so you can see how densely packed they are in the cathedral.
A faithful lion at a knight's feet.
The upper ambulatory features what is apparently one of the earliest Tree of Jesse motifs in stained glass.
The lower ambulatory/crypt area is also beautiful, with some very nice illustrated capitals and stained glass.
I decided to go to the Pompidou Center, being as how I now work at a place fairly interested in modern art! The building is rather adorable and looks like something built by the critters from Fraggle Rock. It's "inside-out" and covered with what look like hamster tubes (and which are used to ferry people about the building. I should have spent more time there, but my feet were once more giving up the ship, and I rushed through it without absorbing much. Will have to make a return trip. I also walked through Brancusi's studio, which has been turned into a museum just nearby. I do like Brancusi very much, which is almost a surprise for me. He's not what I generally go for in a sculptor.
I ended up camped out on the square in front of the building, writing this and watching a mime (!) perform his act. Actually, he's not a classic mime, but he's wearing the makeup and the black tights. And he gets shirtless during his act (while undressing a hapless tourist-volunteer), which is a good reason for me to be paying attention, because he obviously prepped for the role!
There's a fountain nearby with some great sculpture/fountains in it, spinning and twirling and gushing water. I could sit here all day. And, since there's a handy crepe maker, I think I'll provide myself with the second crepe of the day (Nutella and banana this time) and sit for a while.
11:30 -
Went out for a last hurrah dinner that was absolutely marvelous. I picked out a brasserie near my hotel called Les Artisans, and had a lovely, tender steak in a mushroom sauce, frites, a nice white wine, and a creme brulee that I would commit murder for. Imagine the best toasted marshmallow that you ever managed to cook on a stick over a campfire, with an under layer of velvety, vanilla smoothness. Absolute perfection. It was my first creme brulee, and now I fear I may be spoiled for any ones I try now.
The night was made even better when I was "adopted" for the evening by a trio of Americans, two of whom (a married couple) were living in Paris long-term (they'd been there since 2003) and one of whom had lived in Paris and was planning on returning. Chatting with them was great - they had a ton of funny stories about being expats. We hung out until the proprietor was putting away the chairs and tables around us, and they gave me their cards so we can exchange emails. It was the perfect way to cap off the trip, and I'm very glad of it.
The next morning saw me off bright and early, walking over to the bus stop for the Air France shuttle, which got me to the airport in good time. I was a grubby, exhausted mess when I finally arrived home, eleven hours of flying time plus several more hours of waiting around time later, but it was a trip I'll remember gladly.
It's only noonish, but so far the day has been the most enjoyable I've had yet. I decided to go to the smaller, less touristed flea market/antiques market my guidebook recommended, and it was everything I was hoping for. I spent the morning browsing happily, meeting the local mastiff (a giant brindle hound named Yugi, who was happy to be made much of), chatting with a few strangers, and looking for a large enough scrap of lace for Boop, who had requested one. I also finally had my first crepe of the trip from a vendor selling them to the market-goers. It was gooey and delectable, and I savored every scrap of it.
Er, warning - I took lots of photos and I'm putting quite a few under the cut.
I love markets like this because of the total randomness of the things you can find.
The market was full of people taking a nice Sunday stroll, frequently with their dogs, their children, or both. Lots of them were staring keenly at each table, looking for a diamond in the rough. I met a woman from New York City who was buying up Bakelite rings with flowers embedded in them - they sold for 12 Euros here, and she said they were far more pricy in the US, so she flew to Paris once a year to shop at markets like this one. She admitted that her personal collection was getting a bit out of hand.
I also had a nice flirting experience, to make up for my previous day's Metro Masher. A charming papa about my age, walking with his adorable young son (maybe about six?) flirted casually with me for a few moments as our paths coincided. Nothing pushy or weird or creepy about it; just a mild noticing of each other and a few smiles exchanged, as well as a few pleasantries.
One of my favorite photographs from the trip
Lunch now, and then a decision - do I head to San Denis or go straight to the Marias? I'm on the same Metro line as San Denis, so I think that's where I'll head out to.
3-4 ish -
San Denis was well worth the trip. The church facade badly needs cleaning and restoration - it's caked in a sooty black layer that obscures almost everything - but the interior is gorgeous and very well maintained.
It's also stuffed to the gills with dead kings and queens, which I suppose is not precisely delightful, but is very interesting. The crypt and sub-crypt go back a ways into the earliest roots of French royalty. The remains of Marie Antoinette and her husband are there as well. I commiserated with Queen Bertha of the Big Feet, surely a woman after my own heart, and her husband, Pepin the Short. Must be lousy having to go through history with epithets like those.
Bertha
Catherine De Medici and her husband Henry II's tomb is very Rennassancey. I approve. Plus, bonus Green Men!
The lighting was dim, so some of my photos of the other effigies are blurry, but I'll put one in so you can see how densely packed they are in the cathedral.
A faithful lion at a knight's feet.
The upper ambulatory features what is apparently one of the earliest Tree of Jesse motifs in stained glass.
The lower ambulatory/crypt area is also beautiful, with some very nice illustrated capitals and stained glass.
I decided to go to the Pompidou Center, being as how I now work at a place fairly interested in modern art! The building is rather adorable and looks like something built by the critters from Fraggle Rock. It's "inside-out" and covered with what look like hamster tubes (and which are used to ferry people about the building. I should have spent more time there, but my feet were once more giving up the ship, and I rushed through it without absorbing much. Will have to make a return trip. I also walked through Brancusi's studio, which has been turned into a museum just nearby. I do like Brancusi very much, which is almost a surprise for me. He's not what I generally go for in a sculptor.
I ended up camped out on the square in front of the building, writing this and watching a mime (!) perform his act. Actually, he's not a classic mime, but he's wearing the makeup and the black tights. And he gets shirtless during his act (while undressing a hapless tourist-volunteer), which is a good reason for me to be paying attention, because he obviously prepped for the role!
There's a fountain nearby with some great sculpture/fountains in it, spinning and twirling and gushing water. I could sit here all day. And, since there's a handy crepe maker, I think I'll provide myself with the second crepe of the day (Nutella and banana this time) and sit for a while.
11:30 -
Went out for a last hurrah dinner that was absolutely marvelous. I picked out a brasserie near my hotel called Les Artisans, and had a lovely, tender steak in a mushroom sauce, frites, a nice white wine, and a creme brulee that I would commit murder for. Imagine the best toasted marshmallow that you ever managed to cook on a stick over a campfire, with an under layer of velvety, vanilla smoothness. Absolute perfection. It was my first creme brulee, and now I fear I may be spoiled for any ones I try now.
The night was made even better when I was "adopted" for the evening by a trio of Americans, two of whom (a married couple) were living in Paris long-term (they'd been there since 2003) and one of whom had lived in Paris and was planning on returning. Chatting with them was great - they had a ton of funny stories about being expats. We hung out until the proprietor was putting away the chairs and tables around us, and they gave me their cards so we can exchange emails. It was the perfect way to cap off the trip, and I'm very glad of it.
The next morning saw me off bright and early, walking over to the bus stop for the Air France shuttle, which got me to the airport in good time. I was a grubby, exhausted mess when I finally arrived home, eleven hours of flying time plus several more hours of waiting around time later, but it was a trip I'll remember gladly.