Singular moments in Le Marais

I woke up to this view today.  Not too shabby, eh?  Cascading rooftops, sprawling vines, and random glimpses into neighbouring apartments.  It’s not the panorama of the city I had from JP’s in Montmartre but it pleased me nonetheless.  I’ve enjoyed ‘la vie quotidienne‘ in Le Marais district:  boutique shopping (July is the month of sales), gallery hopping and, naturally, stopping for a café crème is ‘a must’.  Paris has been good to me on this trip.  I’ve been here already several times in my life but have never enjoyed it as much as I did this time.

Paris’ Fête de la Bastille

I couldn’t resist taking these pictures of the apricots because the saturated colours captivated me so.  It was the afternoon of July 14th and preparations were underway for a picnic in the park just below the Eiffel Tower, in the Champs des Mars.  I had never before celebrated Fête de la Bastille in France so I was particularly excited.  Festivities were to begin in short order.  It was a memorable night.

My Parisian friends invited me to stay with them.  Fortunately for me, they live in the fabulous Montmartre district and I was blessed to have the panorama of the city as I did.  From my room, I had views of which I could identify, as countless landmarks, the following:  la Tour Eiffel, la Tour Montparnasse, l’Opéra Nationale, l’Eglise des Invalides.

I picked up a copy of the Pariscope and lined up some activities for the week that included:  a visit to the Musée Rodin, ‘Parrworld‘ – a Martin Parr photography exhibit at the Musée du Jeu de Paume at the Place de la Concorde, a stroll through the (gardens of) Jardin des Tuileries and Jardin du Luxembourg, where I engaged in a friendly chess match with a transplant from Barcelona, the city of my father.  What I enjoyed most of all, however, was the exhibit ‘l’Art du carnet de voyage‘ at the Musée de la Poste.  Displayed were travel sketchbooks of illustrators and globe-trotters, whose artistic expression was captured in varying techniques of watercolour, pen & ink and graphite – drawings of landscapes, street scenes, people and architectural details.  Knowing full well that you need a lifetime to discover Paris, I didn’t even try to do everything on this trip.