Closing Thoughts and Comments, Île-de-France, France

It is time to leave the Paris area and head south so a few comments are in order, along with a few choice images. Paris has been everything I've imagined it to be and more. A world-class city that oozes much of the history of our collective Western civilization. Sure, it has any of the problems all big cities in the world face but, they seem to face it with such aplomb.

It has seemed so dramatic to me to sit at lunch sipping local French wine and hearing the babble of conversation all around me spoken in French - it feels like I am in a foreign movie and I keep waiting for the director to yell "CUT."

It is an amazing testimony to human ability that we can make sense of and establish rules for sounds - speech sounds that make sense to each other - and do so in a polyglot of different languages.  Even more amazing that some humans can master more than one language.

Some have asked me, "don't you get tired of doing all this running around at your age?"  Well, yes sometimes but, I'm 62 years old, life is short. I'm going to keep going until I can't anymore - I'm not ready for a recliner chair, a TV remote, and the 4pm dinner special just yet. 

Although, I do like dinner early.........and a good nap in a recliner is sure nice.....and I am fond of the remote control.............

I have found the French people to be wonderful in every way - friendly, helpful, courteous, passionate and alive. In response to a question about whether we could do something, a Frenchman said to us the other day in heavily accented but clear English, "everysing iz posseebul."  A great response and a great attitude!

A city of uncommon beauty, grace, and history at any time of day or night.

But, it's time to hit the road again........next stop, Lyon, and then the Provence region of southeastern France.

Vive la France!

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, Maincy, Île-de-France, France

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte was built in 1658 - 1661 by Nicolas Fouquet, the superintendent of finances of King Louis XIV. The south-facing back view of the chateau and it's gardens look good even during our winter visit.

Same view reflected in one of the many pools.  The king felt upstaged by Mr. Fouquet's chateau, had him imprisoned for life, seized much of the estates items, and forced his design team to build a grander project just for him, The Palace at Versailles.

The front view of the chateau. Nicolas Fouquet died in prison roughly 20 years later.

This is a 180-degree front view of the chateau looking south......

.....and standing in the same spot, the other 180-degrees looking north. (Panoramas - click on image to view full width).

The similarity between this chateau and Versailles is apparent in the design of the buildings, furnishings, and grounds.

I guess King Louis XIV didn't like competition.

I'm always one to seek the high ground and inside the dome, a narrow wooden staircase leads to an outside "widow's walk" type balcony surrounding the dome. 

A pretty nice backyard view from the top of the dome.

I think she is probably bored with her parent's tourist activity so this young girl would apparently rather drop the walkway stones on her little brother for entertainment.

And speaking of entertainment, this is a photo of one of the chateau's photos - it was taken during a summer event that features candles and fireworks. I'd buy a ticket to see that........

Hôtel de Ville and Le Marais, 4th Arrondissement, Paris, Île-de-France, France

The Hôtel de Ville in Paris, France, is the building housing the city's local administration. It has been the location of the offices of the municipality of Paris since 1357. Hôtel De Ville is a generic term that basically means City Hall and there are Hôtel de Villes all over France. The sign translates as: "Charlie Hebdo, honorary citizen of the city of Paris." Charlie Hebdo is a French satirical weekly magazine that was the target of a terrorist attack in Paris in January 2015 that killed 12 people.

The bubble man having fun on the plaza in front of the building.

I think Paris must have one of the highest per capita rates of carousels anywhere.

It's nicely lighted at night, too.

A short walk from the Hôtel de Ville, Le Marais district is an historic area on the Right Bank of the Seine River in the heart of Paris. Lots of galleries, restaurants, fashions, clubs, and cabarets as well as a popular residential area.

Even more ubiquitous than creperies, produce stands seem to be in every neighborhood.

 A covered walkway along the Place des Vosges.

Old and new.

Random street scene.

A courtyard in the Marais. 

Time for lunch again.

We found  a great vegan lunch - potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini, green beans and a green salad. Tres bon!

This poster inside the cafe advertises the 1889 World Exhibition for which the Eiffel Tower was built.

Later, as the blue hour deepened, we moseyed over to the Seine River for our last nighttime look at Paris......

......and we were richly rewarded with a beautiful night view (the light at left is the rotating beacon atop the Eiffel Tower, which is out of view behind the buildings due to line of sight perspective).

Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris), Montmartre, 18th Arrondissement, Paris, Île-de-France, France

The Basilique du Sacré-Cœur (English: Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Paris), stands tall on the highest hilltop in Paris, Butte Montmartre.  Although it is a recent addition to Paris' glowing history (completed in 1914), it is a popular location for tourists and locals for it's panoramic views of the city especially on this Sunday afternoon.  The area of  Montmartre is known for is history of artists, musicians, clubs, cafes, and the vibrant and hip folk who inhabit and visit the area.

On this unseasonably warm winter day, reaching almost 70 F/ 20 C, the hillside was covered with folks enjoying life, talking, laughing, kissing, hugging, holding babies, playing or listening to acoustic music, the warm sunshine flooding the south facing hillside.

Nearby, this French woman accordionist/vocalist serenaded passersby, although, it felt so 1960's/70's that I expected to see Bob Dylan or Joni Mitchell stroll by (or even the ghost of Jim Morrison).



We sat at the outdoor cafe right at the base of the steps and watched the world go by while nursing a late lunch. Here's a table of fellow lunchers mugging for a camera.

Some opted for an ice cream lunch.



And always, always, always - someone making Nutella crepes is never too far away.



The dome of the basilica peeks out in random spots throughout the neighborhood.



One of the sets of front doors.



One of many gargoyles on the church.

A block away where they sell the tourist stuff, I met this really cute French woman and was so taken by her, I brought her home with me!  How very French.

The nearby Chocolate Museum had a great chocolate Notre-Dame replica ..........



.....and a chocolate Eiffel Tower also.



And walking back towards home from Sacré-Cœur on a random street, on a random wall - this simple reminder........the iconic saying, "je suis charlie," (I am Charlie.) It was created by a French artist shorty after the recent terrorist attack in Paris and went viral worldwide. It is reminiscent of the French reporter who, after the terrorist attack in the United States on September 11, 2001, in heartfelt sympathy said, "Ce soir, nous sommes tous Américains" (Tonight, we are all Americans).

(Note: I don't actually pick-up strange women in foreign cities; the "French woman" a few pictures above is not actually French but - she did live in France years ago, she is cute, and she is already my wife of 25+ years).

Place de la Concorde, 8th Arrondissement, Paris, Île-de-France, France

The largest public square in Paris at 21+ acres(8.5 hectares), Place de la Concorde lies between the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile and the Louvre Museum, connected by the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and the Jardin des Tuileries. Among many others, King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were guillotined here after the French Revolution. Just at the northwest end of the garden is a great spot to view the sunset with the Eiffel Tower in view. But I'm getting ahead of myself........

Before that, we were sitting at an outdoor cafe having lunch - it's about 60 degrees F, meanwhile it's 5 degrees F back home. It's Paris - the Rue de Rivoli - watching many of the "beautiful people" walk by because this is Fashion Week in Paris.  No coat, no outdoor heater, in winter, the sun at my back, sipping a glass of wine and eating a bowl of fresh French green beans (haricots verts).  The table next to us has two fashion designers from Milan/Paris/Brazil talking in breathless flurries of conversation - French, Italian, and English about the new fashion lines.  We talked with them a bit about veganism and fur and leather and animal welfare and the fashion industry.  A great time.

The cafe scene seems to bustle day and night even in winter. It is difficult to imagine how it must be in crowded peak summer tourist season.

And never too far away, the aroma of a freshly made Nutella crepe wafts by on the breeze.  But I digress, back to the sunset......

The setting sun through a street lamp globe.

What a beautiful place to be on a colorful evening!

A compressed distance view down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile.

And as darkness falls, Parisians and visitors alike head into town for dinner, walking, music, dancing, clubs, cafes, whatever suits their fancy in the city of love and light.