Paris and art

We went to the Louvre, the Orangerie, the Pinacothèque and  Galerie w in rue Lepic.  For a lengthier appreciation you can't do better than read Harry's Café blog entry.

Here are a few extras -

Venus en armes - I was quite taken by the little one trying on the helmet.

Lion - "I'm just a pussycat"

El greco - St Louis

Madame Récamier - Jean Louis David

Paris and Helen - Jean Louis David - the faces are very delicate and fine

From the Orangerie - Chaim Soutine - Arbre Couché

and the occasional facetiousness, such as my seeing Karl Marx's portrait in the Nymphéas,  takes nothing away from the sheer brilliance and beauty.

The Tour Eiffel - at last

 14 June 2013

Too touristy, la Tour? Eiffel that is not de France, and any experts will realize the gender’s quite different.  Female, in spite of its phallic form.

 But enough of this clever-arse-ness. 

This time we did it. Up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. You can get your tickets in advance and avoid the queues. They run a tight admission times schedule, though, so there’s no point arriving an hour early.

We walked from the Orangerie, along the left bank of the river – as you approach the tower plays hide and seek, among the buildings, but is easy to find. 

It’s possible to walk to floors 1 and 2 –  but the summit is only accessible by lift.

The views are fantastic, the engineering remarkable, - if you get the chance, do it. 

from the first floor

from the top

Versailles - jardin sous la pluie

We have our sandwiches in a recess looking out at the gardens - brollies much in evidence and not a lot of flânerie going on. By the look of that cloud,  the rain's settled in for the afternoon.

glistening cherubs

I have a sun hat and a waterproof - a spot of rain never put an Englishwoman off, did it?

There's a hidden café with parasol/umbrellas among the trees - "deux express" seem like a good idea.  Then onward to the Petit Trianon.

The way into the Petit Trianon

We all went into the house, for to get out of the rain.  This smaller palace feels far more human - wouldn't mind living there myself, though I'd need a couple of cleaners and a cook.
It was used for private meetings between Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour, then became strongly associated with Marie-Antoinette's understandable urge to escape from the big house.

Autofocus concentrates on the rainy window

Marie Antoinette's grotto in the English-style gardens

The Belvedere - unfortunately we can't go inside to shelter!

We walk around,  hoping that we're on our way to the Queen's Hamlet - the paper plan has gone soggy, and signs on the ground are thin. 
We end up walking past the Orangery to the Grand Trianon.  This smaller palace was built for Louis XIV and is where he spent time with his mistress Madame de Maintenon.  It was used as a residence for various members of the royal family, and also by Napoleon Bonaparte's family. It's an attractive one-storey building with lovely gardens.

We still hadn't found the hamlet, so we walked along to the Porte St Antoine and found our way in from there.

Note the irises growing on the roof

The animals are rather damp too.

A quote about Versailles estate, from Giuseppe Penone, an Italian sculptor whose works were exhibited around the house and garden - I didn't take much time to look at them.  I plead the weather in mitigation.

Laid out to exalt the power of one man, it underlines the force and power of nature which minimises man’s action, requiring unceasing maintenance work to preserve it.

Versailles - the house

The building was a huge expansion of what was once a royal hunting lodge, so that Louis XIV could show his power, absolute, received directly from God. It housed uppity aristocrats where the king could keep them under close watch.  He was a patron of the arts - painting, theatre and music.  It employed thousands in its building and running.  It is now one of the jewels in the crown of the French Republic.

I'm not a big fan of treks round stately homes, but it has to be done - and shouldn't be missed.

the golden gates stay shut

we are shunted in round the sides

our queuing lines can breathe again

we expand to a loose rabble

cross the courtyard

funneled

past the audio guide counter

“Follow the arrows, 

this way please,

no straying,

this is the direction of the visit"

We drift through endless glorious rooms

of paintings, carpets, luscious chairs and beds

sublime ceilings

splendid, awe-inspiring, powerful,

dazzling with wealth and colours,

light and comfort

beyond the merely human

I have no audio

to halt me and point out what I should see

then the highpoint

Galerie des Glaces, Hall of Mirrors

reflecting daylight, or the glow of chandeliers

back and forth the silver softened light

grey skies outside and lights within

Versailles - the sun king's palace in the rain

The approach:

Versailles glory of the Sun King

on a day of relentless rain

and transport strikes

advance tickets count for little

the longest queue is for the ticketed

snaking round the outer courtyard

outside the gilded gates

children pester for standing lunch

adults fume

umbrellas mushroom

slowly we come nearer the goal

creeping obedient subjects
"A toutes les gloires de la France"

we shuffle small steps forward

kept in our place by footmen

who insist on good manners

always start your question with a cheery

“Bonjour monsieur, excusez-moi, mais. . .”

about an hour to wait in line  - that’s all.