The Musée Carnavalet

Our walk yesterday also took us to the Musée Carnavalet, one of several free museums in Paris.  The Carnavalet mansion was built in the 1500's with extensive renovation work done in the 1650's by François Mansart.  In 1880 it was officially opened as a museum dedicated to the history of the city.  A statue of Louis XIV (the Sun King) stands in the courtyard.

It's a very comprehensive museum, but unfortunately it is not organized in chronological order because of space considerations (some galleries were better suited to certain exhibits than others).  And several wings were closed for renovation today, so unfortunately we did not get to see the whole museum.  But one of the best exhibits we saw was the sign gallery, containing hundreds of signs from throughout the centuries.

Back in the days when most people were illiterate, signs rarely contained words and instead used pictures to get the point across.  Here you can see a sign for an optician (eyeglasses), a pub (black cat), and a tailor (scissors).

Here is a closer look at the sign for the Chat Noir Cabaret, a popular bohemian bar in Montmartre in the 1880's.  On the right is a sign for A La Tour D'Argent, one of Paris' most historic restaurants.

A large portion of the museum contained reproductions of famous rooms, complete with original furniture and decorative wainscoting. 

But we were more interested in the historical paintings and models showing how Paris used to look in the 1700's and 1800's.  It was particularly enlightening to see this contemporary model of the Bastille, since it gives its name to a square, a Metro station, an opera building, and many other things we are very familiar with. The fortress-turned-prison was destroyed in 1789 so it is nice to finally have an idea of what it looked like from all sides (up to now I had only seen paintings).

Place de Vosges and the Maison Victor Hugo

We took another walk in the Marais district today, going through the Place des Vosges which is a symmetrical square of brick buildings surrounding a pretty park.  This archway is the southern entrance to the square.

There is a large cluster of shady trees in the center of the park, and four identical fountains forming a square around the center.  More shade trees line the outer edges of the square.

It's a pleasant, quiet spot.  On nice days, you'll see lots of people enjoying the sun or a picnic on the grass.  We opted to picnic on a bench in the shade, since we get plenty of sun exposure back home!

One of the more famous former residents of the Place des Vosges is Victor Hugo.  We visited his house (which is now a museum) on a previous walk through the area a few weeks ago.

Victor Hugo was a poet, statesman, and writer.  He is probably best known for his novels The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Misérables.  He lived at the Place des Vosges from 1832 to 1848, and shortly afterwards he was exiled from France for his opposition to the reign of Napoleon III. This bust of the writer around age 30 was done by his friend David d'Angers.

Rodin sculpted this image of an older, saggier, Victor Hugo.

There were only a few rooms open to the public.  The Chinese-themed living room was extremely interesting.

The mid-1800's seemed to be an age of gaudy decor, judging by this overwhelming chandelier and the top-to-bottom patterned wallpaper in the study.

This is a pane from one of the windows in the stairwell.

Hugo returned to France from exile in 1870, after Napoleon III fell from power.  He was very popular with the people of France and his 81st birthday was celebrated almost as a national holiday, including a parade and other festivities.  He died two years later and was buried in the Panthéon with other heroes of France.

Marais: Wacky and Whimsical

Our "Paris Walks" card for today was titled "Marais: Hip and Cool".  We started out near this lovely small park near the Rue du Parc-Royal.

But as we continued on the walk, it seemed like most of the "hip" boutiques were closed today (either because it is Monday, or because they are on vacation until August -- a common practice in France).  So instead of "Hip and Cool", we focused on the "Wacky and Whimsical" things we saw along the way.  For example, this was parked on a side street:

Then there was this little man standing sentry on the side of a shop-front.  A closer look shows that he is labeled "Leo & Pipo", so I used the almighty google to find out that there are two artists (that would be Leo and Pipo) who install collages with photos of people from other eras.  The goal is to transport the viewer through time to view an alternate Paris.  More info here.

We loved the playful whimsy of this finger puppet display so much we ducked into the shop to check them out.  In addition to individual puppets (animals, princesses and the like) there were also themed sets, like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and the Three Little Pigs.  Cute!

Okay, so maybe we did see one or two "Hip and Cool" things -- like this art gallery.  But unfortunately it was closed.

Let's get back to the "wacky".  I know we've been gone for a while, so we may not be current on American fashion these days -- is this what you guys are wearing this summer in the U.S. of A? 

And now for the oddest of all.  We saw this shop window for e-loue.com ("louer" means "to rent").  It's kind of like craigslist, only with items for rent instead of for sale.

Some of the items listed were not so unusual, like a Nintendo console for €10/day, digital camera for €3/day, or a bike for €5/day.  But then there were some slightly weirder ads, like a black dress for €9/day, and a spa tub for €60/day.  And then there was this one:

Even if you don't read French, you can probably guess that this is a goat -- a goat! -- for rent, for €10/day.  "Chêvres tondeuses de pelouse" translates to "goat lawn mowers".

The Marais

The Marais is a blend of the old and the new, the hip and the historic.  Many 16th, 17th, and 18th century buildings have been preserved and repurposed into trendy apartments, with ground-floor restaurants, shops, and bars.

Our walk today begins near one of the oldest churches in Paris: Église St.-Gervais, which was begun in 1494.

The facade is from the 1600's

Simple wooden stools instead of pews in the nave of L'Église St.-Gervais

Beautiful Pietà in the transept

Music stand with book of hymns

Since the 19th century the Marais has also hosted a thriving Jewish community.  There are many Jewish-owned businesses within the district, as well as the important Mémorial de la Shoah, which houses a crypt with an eternal flame to honor the Jewish martyrs of the Holocaust.  The Wall of the Righteous is located in the Allée des Justes; this wall lists the names of non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

The Wall of the Righteous

Interlocking Star of David motif

 

Fountain in the Allée des Justes

The heavenly scent of spices from this exotic food-seller on Rue François Miron wafted out into the street.

Sacks of beans on display inside

Across the street are two of the oldest houses in the district, from the 14th or 15th century.  The narrow facades and exposed wooden beams really stand out among the more modern surrounding buildings.

On the Rue des Nonnains d'Hyères, the medieval Hôtel de Sens looks like a castle from a Grimm fairy tale.  It is now the Bibliothèque Fornay, a library specializing in art and art techniques.

Hôtel de Sens and attached garden

A cannonball from the Revolution in 1830 (overthrowing Charles X) is stuck in the exterior wall of the Hôtel de Sens.  Can you spot it?

Hôtel de Sens street view

Here it is:

On the Rue de l'Avé Maria, some kids shoot hoops in the basketball courts that are bordered by a wall and two towers from the 13th century.

From there we turn left on the Rue St.-Paul and run into all sorts of Americana.  The aptly-named "Thanksgiving" is a store that supplies hard-to-obtain American products like Lucky Charms, Kraft Mac & Cheese, and Betty Crocker mixes to the local community of expats.

The Red Wheelbarrow is an English-language bookstore.

 

And finally, Breakfast in America is an American-themed diner serving up actual breakfast (instead of the French coffee/croissant/cigarette), along with cheeseburgers, nachos, and even chicken wings.

And then suddenly we are back to delicious ethnic food with L'as du Falafel being one of the most popular spots in all of Paris for some tasty falafel.

Other fun sights seen on our walk:

Bright mosaic signage at this restaurant

For my Dad: you CAN get Miller in Paris...

...at the Lizard Lounge on Rue Bourg-Tibourg!

And just for grins, a shot of the back side of the Centre Pompidou from Rue Rambuteau as we make our way back home after a very satisfying walk.  I still don't think it's pretty, but it sure is colorful!