Paris Journal 2010 – Barbara Joy Cooley Home: barbarajoycooley.com

Photos and thoughts about Paris

Sign my guestbook. View my guestbook. ← Previous Next → ← Go back to the beginning

In the apartment, there is a framed photo of the Statue of Liberty by Bartholdi when it was under construction, as seen from the streets of the left bank in Paris. Tom admires this photo so much that he kept searching for it in the shops that might carry such a thing. I kept telling him to look on the internet. He finally did, and he found www.laphotofactory.fr. The photo he wanted was not available for sale on the web site, but it is shown as number 765. So we had to go to the Photofactory store, on the rue Renard in the 4^th arrondissement. We began our walk by going down the magnificent boulevard Saint Germain all the way to the rue Saint Jacques, the old medieval road that pilgrims took on their way to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. We crossed over the Seine and passed by the massive Hotel Dieu public hospital, originally established in 651 A.D., near Notre Dame. On the right bank, the road led us to the Tour St. Jacques, the remnant of a church that once was named St. Jacques de la Boucherie, because its well-to-do members were wholesale butchers at Les Halles – the big market that once supplied restaurants and grocers throughout Paris. Now all of that is done at Rungis, just south of Paris. Some claim that Rungis is the largest food market in the world. The site of Les Halles is now a park, an unsuccessful shopping center, and Paris’s busiest RER/metro station (under the park and shopping center). I think the shopping center and park are going to be re-designed and changed utterly. The St. Jacques church was demolished after the Revolution, and only its tower was allowed to remain. The City of Paris made it a historic monument in the 19^th century, and in recent years, completed an excellent restoration of it. The tower is the centerpiece of an attractive little park in that busy part of town. One block over, across from the Hotel de Ville (Paris city hall), is the beginning of rue Renard. We found it, and went along until we found La Photofactory. Tom had guessed that the photo would be much more expensive than it is. There are different sizes, and the one that we could easily transport back home was about 60 euros, matted but not framed. Still, Tom decided that was too much. The shopkeeper was helpful and professional. We then visited a souvenir shop down the street. Lots of these shops have nice-sized well-printed postcards of old photos. These are one of the kinds of places where Tom had been searching, unsuccessfully, for the photo he wanted. Mais voila! There was the sought-after photo on this souvenir shop’s postcard rack. We bought two, and then added several postcards of other scenes. I think we spent 8 or 9 euros. We had a very pleasant, friendly chat with the shopkeeper, a bespectacled Muslim woman who looked like she was from North Africa, but who wore her headscarf in the way that some Muslim women in other parts of the world do. I guess the tighter fit, tied at the back of the neck, is more practical, and obstructs the vision much less. Since we were in the area, we walked over to Beaubourg, the area around the Pompidou center, and briefly listened to a little band of enthusiastic guys playing not all that well. The camera batteries finally died, so I bought some at a newspaper kiosque. The prices there were the same as everyplace else that I’ve checked. I wonder if the prices of batteries are regulated? We went on to visit the St. Merry church, a beautiful and inspiring place. A banner in the church clearly names it Saint Merry, in French, but elsewhere I see it spelled Saint Merri. Its belltower has the oldest bell in Paris, c. 1331. From there we walked along the rue de la Verrerie, where wine bottles were once made. Wine used to be brought into Paris from the countryside in barrels, and put into bottles after arrival in the big city. We went to a brasserie called Le Renard, on rue Renard, for a late lunch. It was okay, but the place is obviously run entirely by men who don’t have much aesthetic sense. We only went there because it was recommended by the woman who was tending La Photofactory across the street. I will say that the service was nice and polite, and Tom’s escargots in a rich white sauce were divine. We walked back by the Hotel de Ville and this time crossed the Seine right in front of Notre Dame. There was no wait to go in the massive old cathedral, and so we did. It was full of people. In the summer, the Notre Dame staff now allow only a certain number inside at a time, and that’s why one often must wait in line to visit the church in July and August. New (new to us, anyway) explanatory signs have been added beneath each panel of the series that tells, visually, about the life of Christ. Each sign is in five languages. These panels were originally created because back in medieval times (and somewhat later), many people were illiterate and could not read the Holy Bible. Stories were told in pictures. But now, many more people are literate, so the little signs make sense. Times have changed. Crossing back over to the left bank, we decided to visit another one of our favorite, very old churches, Saint Julien le Pauvre (now used by the Greek Orthodox Church). But it was closed, as it often is. So we went to yet another favorite old church, Saint Séverin, which always seems to be open and welcoming, like the Saint Merry church. If you count the Tour St. Jacques, which is a remnant of a church, the total number of churches we visited, or tried to visit, yesterday was five. When we turned away from Saint Julien le Pauvre and looked in the direction of Saint Severin, we saw the little medieval wooden house – one of the very few remaining in Paris – that we’ve admired for years. A few years ago, it was for sale, at a price that was even affordable to us (just barely). But we thought there must be a catch, something must be wrong, or else it wouldn’t be priced that way. Well, a couple named Pavy-Theas now occupies the house as a single family residence, according to a label on the doorbell. The structure is so small it couldn’t be for any more than a single family. But it is smack in the middle of a busy area that is otherwise all shops, bars and restaurants on the street level (except for the St. Julien church, of course). The little green wooden house is the only residence like that for the area. It has been nicely restored, which is a good thing, because I think it was in bad shape before. It would have been a shame to lose a place that is now so rare. We stopped in the Abbey Bookshop, run by a genteel Canadian named Brian, on the rue Parcheminerie, and bought a copy of Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t be Wrong, a book recommended by our friend Ron. It costs $11.53, plus tax, shipping and handling, on Amazon.com, but Tom wanted to buy it from Brian, so he paid 15 euros ($19), tax included, for it. At any rate, it is nice to have it here to read. On the way back down the boulevard Saint Germain, Tom spotted a very attractive pastry shop called Masmoudi. He asked me to take a photo, which I did. I told him it was a North African pastry shop. He didn’t believe me until I found their web site today. It features fine pastries of Tunisia. Finally we made it back home and collapsed for the evening. We’d had a big, late lunch, so we just munched on vegetables in the evening at the apartment. I do love French radishes. Sign my guestbook. View my guestbook. Note: For addresses & phone numbers of restaurants in this journal, click here. And here’s the 2009 Paris Journal.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010 Two of the postcards we bought yesterday. The one on the left, showing the Statue of Liberty under construction. Bartholdi created the statue, but Gustave Eiffel designed the pilon and interior iron skeleton that supports it. The Tour Saint Jacques. A medieval wooden house (at 75 rue Galande) that we could have bought and restored, but didn’t. Using Google Street View, I just captured the image below, of the house while it was being renovated. An enthusiastic but not so good band playing near the Pompidou Center. Beautiful Masmoudi shop on the boulevard Saint Germain. ← Previous Next →