Finally - Day Two of my Paris Adventure

I cannot believe it has taken me a whole month to get through posting my pictures of my first day in Paris.  But here we are - day two!


We had to take a second look at the Hotel de Rohan in the Le Marais district.  As I mentioned in a previous posting, this hotel is actually 4 buildings with a park in the middle, known as the Place des Vosges.

Once known as the Palace Royal, ground was broken in 1605.  The surrounding area, including the park is referrred to as  Park Tournelles.

As you can see, it is another beautiful, sunny day in Paris.  Here I am again posing in front of the fountain in the park.  

And here is my favorite photography subject Jorge, posing in the park.

I am not really sure what the sculpture is, coming out of the ground, but it was worth taking a picture of.  Some sort of restoration work is going on to the building to the right.  Parisians take great care lovingly restoring and preserving their historical buildings.

After our delightful morning walk, we visited a cafe to have breakfast.  It was a wonderful experience to start the morning with a walk and top it off with a breakfast in a cafe with a view of the bustling street.  While we were eating breakfast, we had a lovely couple from Vermont who were also visiting Paris.  

Another beautiful start to a beautiful day in Paris.

Au revoir mes amis!

Perfect End to a Perfect First Day in Paris

After a long first day full of adventure and marvelous sights, we returned to the Le Marais district for dinner. 

La Terasse did not disappoint.   The food, wine, and service was wonderful, as is evident by the smiles on our faces.

I sampled what was to become one of my favorite French dishes.  Tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, and pesto.  I tried it at several different places, but the dish at La Terasse was my favorite.  

This cafe was quaint and romantic.  

A perfect end to a perfect day.  

Check back, as I financially move on to day two of my French adventure. 
Bon Jour mon amis!

Wonders of the IV Arrondissement – Hotel de Ville

Three different city halls have stood on the sight of the Paris city hall building.    

The first was the House of Pillars (Maison aux Piliers) from 1357 to 1533.  

In 1553 King Francis decided to build a dedicated City Hall, which was completed in 1628.  

However, the original Hotel de Ville was destroyed by fire in 1871 by insurrectionary Communards. 

In 1873, Architects Theodor Ballu and Eduard Deperthes designed the Hotel de Ville in its original Renaissance style.  

The rebuilt Hotel de Ville was completed in 1882. 

In true Parisian style, the Hotel de Ville is situated in a public park with a lovely carousel on the grounds.

Third time is a charm for the Hotel de Ville, this is an amazing place. 

Location:

The Hôtel de Ville is in the IV Arroindissement, near the Seine River.  It is near the Centre Pompidou (to the north), and the Notre-Dame Cathedral (to the south) across the pont d'Arcole.

When decided to post my pictures of my Paris on my blog, I wanted to be able to do these pictures a little bit of justice and include some history on the sights I was taking pictures of.  As I do some basic research on that various monuments, I marveling at the history of Paris.  The more research I do, the more I am convinced on visit to Paris is simply not enough!

If you have been following this blog, you know that we stayed in the La Marais district.  La Marias is located on the right back of the Seine River, near the Notre Dame.  From what I gather La Marias is located in the IV Arroindissement.  I am learning as I go….

Au revoir!  Rendez-vous la prochaine fois!

For more information visit:

http://www.aviewoncities.com/paris/hoteldeville.htm

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/443621/Paris/60497/The-Hotel-de-Ville

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/443621/Paris/60497/The-Hotel-de-Ville

Wonders of the IV Arrondissement - Tour Saint-Jacques

As we were returning to our hotel, in the La Marais district we ran across the Tour Saint-Jacques in the IV Arroindissement.  I will be honest, I am not quite yet sure if La Marais is part of the IV Arrondissement, or the IV Arrondissement is part of La Marais, but they are pretty close to each other.

This tower and surrounding park caught my attention because my name is Jacquelyn, which I shorten to Jacque, and any reference of Saint Jacques is of interest to me. 

The Saint-Jacques 170-foot bell tower is what remains of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie Church.  The Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie Church was built in the 15^th century.  The church was destroyed shortly after  the French Revolution.

The tower and the surrounding park was declared a Monument Historique in 1862, but was in disrepair.   The tower and park was reopened to the public on April, 18, 2009.

Location:

Square de la tour Saint-Jacques, 88 rue de Rivoli,4th arrondissement

Sources:

http://goparis.about.com/od/parismonuments/a/tour-st-jacques.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint-Jacques_Tower

The Palais Garnier

The Palais Garnier is relatively new when compared to some other Paris landmarks.  


It was originally built to house the Paris Opera.  The Paris ballet still performs there today.


Designed by Charles Garnier a nearly unknown architect who was selected out of a field of over 170 contestants.  


It was built between 1860 and 1875.  The grand opening was January 15. 1875.




The Palais Garnier is a reflection of the extravagance that was popular during that period.

Jorge could not get enough of pictures of this building, so here is a picture of him taking a picture...

And he caught me taking his picture and took a picture of me taking his picture.

What could I do but take his picture again!

Yes, we are the silliest people in Paris.

The following pictures were taken by Jorge.  He is quite a photographer, and we could not have asked for a more beautiful and clear day to take pictures of this beautiful building.

Location:
8 Rue Scribe
Avenue De L’Opera






For more information visit these websites:



http://www.parispass.com/paris-attractions/Opera-De-Paris-Palais-Garnier.html

http://www.parispages.com/Monuments/Opera/

http://www.parissightseeingguide.com/paris-tourist-attractions/paris-opera-house.php

Impromptu concert near the Louvre and the neighborhood nearby

Paris is a city full of wonder!  As we were going past the Louvre, we ran across an impromptu concert!  The musician were great, and it just added the the sense of wonderment I encountered during my first day of my Paris visit. 


Paris est merveilleux!






















Lost in the translation!  


Although I did attempt to learn enough French to be somewhat conversational, there were some words that I simply did not know!  


Poissons is one of the examples of words lost in translation!  Imagine my shock when I saw a restaurant that served "poison".

Ever armed with my French phrase book, I discovered that "poisson" translated to "fish" in English.  Call that my first real-life lesson in French!