7-16 March 2024 Paris After so much wet and cold weather we were pleased that the weather was finally getting warmer and dryer. Aura at the Invalides On Thursday we went down to Hotel de la Marine, which overlooks the Place de la Concorde. Originally it was built as part of the development of the Place Louis XV (the original name of Place de la Concorde), and was the home of the Guarde-Meubles royal, the institution in charge of the kings furniture and, it seems everything else from kichenware and linen, to arms and armour collections and even the Crown's diamonds. As there were 9 palaces and chateaus this was a big job. During the revolution the Ministry of the Navy (Ministère de la Marine) moved into the building eventually taking over the whole building and stayed there until 2015 (hence the name). After that the Centre des Monuments Nationaux took over and have done a full restoration and the museum only opened in 2021. It is an amazing building, with fabulous parquetry, furniture and decoration. They have even included a bathroom. And as we are members of Passion Monuments - entry for us was free and included an audio guide. There was also an exihibition of Renaissance works from the Al Thani collection which was amazing. The next day we headed to the Marmottan Monet Museum in the 16th Arondissement. We had originally booked an English language tour there, but had to cancel when Howard was sick. When I called out of courtesy to let them know we couldn't make it, they let me know that they could reschedule the tickets, and gave us free audio guides instead of the guided tour which wasn't available in March. The collection there is quite eclectic, including old rooms and different unrelated collections that had been donated to them, including illuminated drawings from old books, and an excellent collection of Monet Paintings housed in the basement. We were able to borrow a wheelchair from them, but Howard had to lug the wheelchair up and down the stairs for me. Unfortunately the Morrisset paintings were not on display. On Saturday we had a The Barge Association (DBA) Flag Day. While only 6 people from the harbour attended we had a nice time in a nearby restaurant. Wayne, Elizabeth (Amarok), me, Howard, Jeannine and Jonathan (Aleau) On Sunday my friend Janet arrived for just one night on her way to the farm in Perigord. We had a nice catchup before she had to catch a train from Montparnasse the next day. On Monday our Dutch friends Jean-Marie and Leona arrived. On Tuesday they went off to explore while Howard and I stayed on board as Remy came to service the engines and do a few other jobs. In the evening we went to Bofinger for dinner and invited Jean-Marie's brother William to join us as he was also moored in the harbour. Unfortunately my feet swelled up whilst we were at dinner and I could hardly walk the 600m back to the boat. The swelling didn't go down quickly and walking anything other than very short distances was almost impossible for me for the rest of J-M and Leona's stay. Luckily Jean Marie and Leona are happy to entertain themselves, but we did have tickets to go to Aura at the Invalides on Wednesday. As the show started at 8:50pm we had dinner at a nearby restaurant beforehand. Aura at the Invalides is a light show held within the Dome of the Invalides. The tomb of Napoleon is under the dome and in the side chapels there are tombs of other notable people including, Vauban, Napoleon II (Napoleon I's son), Jerome Boneparte (Napoleon I's brother), and Marshals Foch and Lyautey. The show was 50 minutes long and included a section when the action was going on in the side chapels, so everone was wandering around. Although most of the action was on the walls, the dome itself also got some attention. And here are some more photos from the evening. One of the highlights was the Eiffel Tower which seemed to come over the top of us and head away from us. Howard, Jean-Marie and Leona caught the metro there, but to avoid walking I rode my e-bike and so was able to stop on the way home for a couple of photos. On Thursday the weather ws fine so we cycled along the Seine down to near the Statue of Liberty where some childhood friends of J-M were working. Sophie and her French husband Yve worked on Paquebot which is a large boat hired out for events, which they told us would be carrying the French team at the opening ceremony of the Olympics. It can take up to 1000 passengers. J-M's other friend works for Bateau Mouche, a tour boat company, and his boat will carry 4 different teams in the opening ceremony. On Thursday night we invited William and our neighbour Guillame over for dinner and had a convivial raclette meal. It turned out that William and Guillame knew each other from a time when they were moored alongside at another harbour. There was a lot of fun and laughter. On Friday afternoon Remy returned to fit the replacement hoses for our hot water, however we realised that, without the old flexible hoses, we may have to add an expansion tank into the line. This will be something we look into and hopefully can get sorted out before we leave in 2 weeks. In the evening we went off to the Louvre where we went to see the Dutch and Flemish masters. As usual they had an impressive collection, although one of their 2 Vermeers was out on loan. I particularly like the Rembrandts. J-M and Leona told us about a pair of Rembrants paintings that had been bought jointly between France and the Netherlands and were were moved every year or so between the 2 venues. Luckily for us they were in the Louvre when we visited. After the Louvre we went to the Hotel du Nord for dinner. There was a famous French film Hotel du Nord and J-M wanted to go there. We had a lovely meal and there was a jazz singer and pianist who were very good. We only found out later that the brasserie was named after the film, not the other way around. When the film was made there was no Hotel du Nord. On Saturday J-M and Leona had to catch a train back to the Netherlands in the late afternoon, so we went for a bike ride in the morning. We had a look at a couple of places that J-M had visited when he had his own commercial ship, then went for a meander around the nearby streets. After stopping for a coffee we decided to go through the Jardin des Plantes on the way home, however they didn't allow cycling, so I went home separately taking a few photos on the way, while the others did a walk through the gardens. Our lunch on the back deck was a lovely way to finish their visit with us. We now have only a couple of weeks left of our time in Paris.
3 Comments
Becky
18/3/2024 11:36:02 am
Amazing photographs, especially of the interior of Hotel de la Marine. It was one of my favorite monuments. You definitely are getting around!
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Jm
18/3/2024 11:41:48 am
It was again a lovely week! Nice pics!
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Johanna
18/3/2024 11:49:37 am
C’est fantastique!
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