Trocadéro

We started today's walk just outside the Musée du Quai Branly, which is Paris's newest museum; it opened in 2006.  The museum showcases indigenous art from Oceana, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

The structure of the museum, designed by Jean Nouvel, is both modern and beautiful.  The lush "green wall" facade grabs your attention right away.

From within the glass-enclosed garden, you can view the playful shapes and colors of the museum walls.

This is the view from behind the green wall exterior.

These chairs were set up for a puppet show in the garden.  (Correction 8/17: This was not a puppet show but was actually an art installation called "Nomad".  Sure looked like a puppet show setup to me!)

From the Quai Branly, we crossed over the Seine via the Passerelle Debilly and walked behind the Palais du Tokyo, which features two modern art museums.

As we passed by the courtyard we noticed it had been turned into a make-shift skate park and was rife with grafitti, unfortunately.  It was disappointing to see the walls and statues defaced.

Our walk took us past the Place de l'Alma underpass, the tunnel where Princess Diana and Dodi Al-Fayed were killed in a car crash in 1997.

In the Place de l'Alma is the Flame of Liberty, a torch symbolizing Franco-American friendship, dedicated in 1989.  It was donated to France as a thank-you for the 1986 restoration work done on the Statue of Liberty in New York City.

From the Pont de l'Alma we strolled over to the Avenue du Président Wilson, where there is a large twice-weekly outdoor market.

The market had all kinds of great things for sale: artisan soaps...

...fresh flowers...

...vintage clothing and hats...

...and some appealing fruit and vegetable stalls.

There were also butcher stalls, selling whole ducks and chickens.

And a fishmarket, which you could smell from across the street.

From the market we bought some goodies for a picnic lunch and headed to the Palais de Chaillot and the Jardins du Trocadéro.  The Palais is home to the national marine museum, a French architecture museum, and a theater.

The Trocadéro gardens contain a variety of interesting sculptures, including this Bull and Deer by Paul Jouve.

Down at the far end of the gardens was this grouping, called La Joie de Vivre by Léon-Ernest Drivier.

Here is a view of the Palais de Chaillot from the lower gardens.

And just across the river is the Eiffel Tower.

Here is a view from the terrace of the Palais de Chaillot.