~Trocadero~

The Trocadero is the area  in the 16th arr. opposite the Eiffel Tower. Sitting on top of the hill is the Place du Trocadero; a large square with 5 large boulevards radiating out from it.  An equestrian statue of  General Foch (WWI commander of the Western front) stands in the center and many fine cafes and restaurants surround the square.  The Cemetery of Passy is adjacent to the square on the south side.

This is a bustling square.  Several bus lines pass through it, the #6 and #9 Metro lines stop here, there's a busy taxi stand and because of the spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower, the tour buses are constantly passing by or stopped and parked.  With the 5 boulevards feeding into the sqaure, it resembles (a mini version) the large circle around the Arc de Triomphe.

 The name Trocadero comes from the historic Battle of Trocadero in 1823 in Cadiz, Spain; in which French forces aided Spanish Bourbon King Ferdinand in retaining his throne.  The first Palais was built in 1878 for the Universal Esposition; at this time is was called the Palais du Trocadero. The architecture was an unusual combination of Moorish and Byzantine styles. It was so unpopular with the Parisians, that a new Palais was constructed in 1937 for the World's Fair in a style more acceptable at the time. The name was changed to Palais de Chaillot for the village originally located on the site.

The neoclassical/ art deco building with its 2 curved wings separated by the 2-tiered esplanade is on the east side of the square.  The Palais houses several museums, including the Musee de la Marine (Navy Museum) and the Cite du Patrimonie et de l'Architecture (the architecture museum) which I will include in another post.

An array of fountains extend from the terraces down to the river Seine.  The Fountains of Warsaw, when working are spectacular; sequential towers of spray culminating with the 20 large water canons sending huge arcs of water in the center.  On each side of the fountains are gardens with beautiful walkways, small streams, ponds and bridges creating a peaceful, quiet bucolic atmosphere.  The gardens are planted with a variety of flowering trees (pawlonia being the most prevalent) which make the area beautiful in Spring and the perfect frame for the view of the Eiffel Tower.

The Palais, terraces and gardens are decorated with statuary; 8 gilded statues on the terraces, "Hercules" and "Apollo" on the 2 curved wings, the "Bull and the "Horse" at the head of the fountains and "Youth" and "Joie de Vivre" at the base of the fountains.   There are others around in the gardens and on the buildings and terraces.

"Hercules"

"La Jeunesse"

"Youth"

View of the Palais de Chaillot and gardens from the Eiffel Tower.

(photo from Wikipedia)

The terraces of the Palais are massive and accommodate a lot of people.  It is a favorite place for protests, demonstrations and celebrations (more about that in a later post).  There are also dozens of guys walking around hawking small Eiffel Towers hanging on large rings.   Beware!  Most of these guys do not have a license for selling, as we witnessed. When the police are present, these guys take off  en masse.

The best time to come to view the fountains and Eiffel Tower is at night.

  It's a real treat and most spectacular site!

We were lucky.  The Trocadero was on our daily itinerary....it is not to be missed.

~Paris Five ~ Overture~

We’re back physically but I’m still somewhere between Paris and home.  Just to give you a preview of our month long vacation in Paris, I’m going to share some of the highlights.  This will be a visual, more than a literary, review.

This is our apt. building, we’re #24.  The apt. is on the very top floor. You can’t even see it in this photo.

The photo below is a view from our living room window looking across the street.  Our apt. corresponds to the top floor with the slanted roof and large sky-light type windows.

Our living room was actually quite adequate. The window let in a lot of light and there was a shade inside and a rolling shade outside.

 

The apt was located in the 16^th arr.  about 2 ½ blocks from the Eiffel Tower and Trocadero.  This was the view when we reached the end of our street heading to the Metro or bus stop.

On my list of ‘things to do ‘for this trip was to find some aerial views of the city.  We have been on top of the Arc de Triomphe (and I couldn’t do that climb again).  Some of the possibilities are the Tour de Montparnesse (the tallest building in the city) and Institute du Monde Arabe.  This photo was taken from the 9^th floor of the Institute du Monde Arabe and it is doesn’t cost a cent to use the elevator.  Fortunately, it wasn’t raining and we got beautiful photos of both of the islands in the Seine.

 

Some of my other photo themes included;

                                            Doors                                                                                                                               

Art

Pigeons

We spend a lot(!) of time in parks and gardens.  My primary intention for this trip was to visit at least five of the large parks that we haven’t seen yet.   We only made it to one on my list and came upon a second merely by chance.   The others will have to wait for another time.

 Albert Kahn Japanese Garden

 This was a breath-taking garden.  It is so well maintained ….a total surprise.   There were several groups of school children on field trips as well as 'grown up' artists.  We were here for hours and were very grateful for the sunny day.

I had several walks planned to search for examples of Art Nouveau architecture.  There are still a few very fine examples of this style to be found.

Museums weren’t a high priority for this trip; though with the weather being so inclimate, they should have been.   We visited the Architecture Museum…another wonderful surprise!   In order to see Val de Grace we had to tour the hospital museum; that proved quite interesting as well.

The one planned visit was the Mineralogy Museum at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Mines of Paris.  This was a treasure!!   We were the only ones there and had the whole place to ourselves.  The exhibits were unbelievable… much more extensive and impressive than the Mineralogy Museum at the Jardin des Plantes (which has been closed for a couple years now).

Of course a trip to Paris is not complete without a trip to the Louvre, there is always something new to be found.  We followed the crowd to the Mona Lisa, and then instead of going right, we went left to the Apollo Gallery.  Italian sculpture in the Denon wing was a new area for us too . 

Lastly, we returned to the Napoleon III Apartments.  This is a popular place and everyone was fighting for the spot to take the best photo.

I took thousands of photos.  I want to remember it all!  Somehow they aren’t as colorful or dynamic as I had hoped.   I blame it on the weather.  I certainly have a vast variety of subjects for blog posts.

Even in the cold, wet weather, the flowers were beautiful.  I regret that we didn’t get to see the lovely rose garden of the Parc de Bagatelle in the Bois du Boulogne.  The roses needed another week of nice warm days in order to bloom.   The manager of the apartment said that on Mother’s Day (May 26^th in France), there was a shortage of the traditional peonies and those that could be found were very expensive.

Most of our traveling around the city was by bus.  My legs and hips just couldn’t take all that climbing up and down in the Metro.   We got a bus map when we purchased our Metro tickets, then I researched which lines we could take to the various places we wanted to go.  We were very lucky to be close to the Trocadero and Place Victor Hugo; 2 hubs for buses.    The buses are quite modern, everything is automated and the signage is very good.   The interior is laid out to accommodate luggage and baby carriages.  There are several designated seats for handicapped and elderly.  With all of these features, the buses don’t hold a lot of people, but on most lines, the buses run every 7-10 minutes so the wait is not long.

The one side trip that we made was to Tours to see a couple more chateau.  We got our train tickets the week before at the SNCF office near the Trocadero.  Like last time, we took the TGV (fast train) so the trip only took an hour.  We knew our way around from the last visit so were able to walk to the hotel from the train station.  We traveled light!  The 2 chateaus were Chateau Ussé and Chateau Langeais.   They were very different and good choices.

This one is Chateau Ussé, called the “Sleeping Beauty Castle” because it was the inspiration for the story.

Chateau Langeais, below, is a medieval castle.  The furnishings were remarkable.

I’m going to end here.  There will be more soon.  By the way, if you subscribe to the blog, the posts will pop up in your email as they are posted
.   

 A bientot!

~Paris Planning~ Parc Georges Brassens

This park located in the 15th arrondissement was created in 1984.  The area used to be the hamlet of Vaugirard.  It was incorporated into the city of Paris during Baron Hausmann's reconstruction in the 19th century.
In the 18th century, there was a large vineyard on this site and it employed most of the inhabitants of the area. By the 19th century, the vineyard disappeared and was replaced by market gardens; then in 1894 the slaughterhouses of Vaugirard were constructed.  The slaughter houses were busy for many years but were finally destroyed in 1975.

Georges Brassens (1921-1981) was a singer, songwriter and poet.  He lived in the neighborhood on rue Santos Dumont. The park was given its name by Mayor Jacque Chirac and was opened to the public in 1984.

 At the entrance to the park are two bull statutes on pillars, symbolizing the slaughter houses.

 Several original buildings remain; the belfry from the auction houses, the metal roofed horse market and ornamental gates to the auction market.

Pool in front of the belfry.

  A vineyard  is a reminder of the original vineyards of Perichot which once 

covered the area.There are 700 Pinot Noir vines.

A bee hive was created in 1986. On the first Saturday in October,

 there is a sale of the honey produced by the hives.

 These are the original metal-roofed horsemarket buildings. 

There is a weekend bookmarket held on this site now.

 Bust of Georges Brassens by Alex Greck.

Like most parks in Paris, there are walkways, play areas for children, a carousel, a climbing area made with the stones of the former buildings, a gazebo for music concerts, a rose garden and a puppet theater.

It sounds like a beautiful place and it's high on our "must see" list.