Paris 2019 Day Ten

Today was our last day in Paris so Annie, Kris, and I struck out on this beautiful day to see a bit more of this marvelous city. We started in our own neighborhood with a search for a special and well-loved treat for Grandmother. The Jardin des Plantes's beds are bursting with colorful poppies that made our stroll most pleasant. Crossing to the Right Bank we walked to the Coulée Verte René-Dumont, a beautiful garden on a disused elevated railway line (think High Line in NYC). Near the Place de la Bastile not far away, we stopped for some refreshment before visiting the Place des Vosges, the first bit of Classical, Renaissance city planning in the Marais. On the Rue de Birague behind the Place des Vosges, Annie found a beautiful Turkish runner for their home. Parisian Chinese noodle makers fixed us lunch on the Rue Sainte-Antoine. We decided to give the Arc de Triomphe and a walk down The Avenue des Champs-Élysées one more try. Guess what. All the stations from the Tuilleries to Charles de Gaulle–Étoile were closed because of possible Yellow-Vest activity. Ironically the demonstrators gathered at Bastille today. We saw a few of them as they began to gather, but we missed the big action. Anyway, the Metro sailed from end to end without stopping; we switched sides and directions at the first open station and headed home. Arriving back in the neighborhood, the ladies went in and I continued on to Val-de-Grâce church, which is a lovely, but not well known Baroque hospital church. Unfortunately not open to the public today.

 The Rue Mouffetard becomes quite market-like at the bottom

 Kris found her treat for Grandmother here

 Rue Mouffetard

 Well, what do you know? Another Wallace Fountain at Place 

Bernard Halpern -- I do have a problem! 

 Moslem mosque near the Jardin des Plantes

 A pleached alley of trees

 Wonderful poppies

 Rosemary in bloom

 Springtime in Paris

 KBT and AW in the Jardin

 Plums in bloom

 The Seine from the Pont D'Austerlitz

 Garden on the former railway bridge

 Coulée Verte

 View of the Avenue Ledru-Rollin and the 

Saint-Antoine Quinze-Vingts church from the Coulée Verte

 The Coulée Verte inspired New York's High Line

Coulée Verte 1993, High Line 2009

 Place de la Bastille

 Refreshment at the Génie on the Boulevard Beaumarchais

 Place des Vosges, 1605

 Pavilion de la Reine is the northern gate of the place

 From prestigious royal development, to slum, to tony 

neighborhood in just 400 years

 Ann shopping for a rug at a shop on the Rue de Birague

 The Pavilion du Roi is the southern gateway of the Place de

Vosges that opens into the Rue de Birague

 Chinese noodle house on the Rue Saint-Antoine

 Handmade noodles

 Mind-boggling magic how she turns it into noodles

 Delicious wok-fried noodles with crispy chicken

 An accidental firing of the camera with a very familiar view 

and memory for those who are constantly looking 

down to avoid a stumble

 Fantastic Baroque Saint-Paul Saint-Louis church

where the Rue Saint-Antoine meets the Rue de Rivoli

 I love churches

 Stacked classical layers

 We finally took the Rue de Navarre exit from the Place Monge 

Metro Station that comes up right at the foot of 

the Rue Rollin steps -- it was a climb!

 Val-de-Grâce 

Possibly the finest Baroque church in Paris

Around the corner for Italian supper

Posing diners

Delicious bruschetta

Annie picked the winner: linguini with artichokes, 

sundried tomatoes, and jambon

Gelato for dessert

Another nice day, the last in Paris. There will be more, but this is all for now.

OXO

D.