A Day in Paris

I spent my last day in France strolling around Paris.

Normally I would not do a separate post for a single day but I really covered a lot of Paris in that one day. I walked more than ten miles, visited the Picasso Museum, people watched in Le Marais, dodged political demonstrations and post demonstration clean up, walked around the construction site formerly known as Notre Dame, tried to visit the Louvre (but by the time my place in line gave me entry, it was about to close), sat in a few cafes, ate an amazing Lebanese ice cream, and all in all had a rather terrific day.

I didn't have an agenda, other than avoiding the  protests that were scheduled all over the city for that day. After watching protests and demonstrations outside my window in Buenos Aires almost daily just a few months back, I really wasn't interested in having my day disrupted by that again so soon. 

There is a French word, flaner. It means to wander aimlessly, taking in the scenery. And that was my plan.  I had a GPS but didn't use it much as I didn't really care where I was headed. So I started my stroll in Le Marais, the former Jewish Quarter, now a very trendy and fashionable district, where the Picasso Museum is located.

 I am not a fan of Picasso's art and certainly not of his personal life, but I am glad to have had this opportunity to visit this museum and gained a greater appreciation of his work. Here are some photos of Picasso's work that caught my eye.

A photo of a Picasso exhibition in the 1960s

A photo of Picasso's studio

An early Picasso work

On this Saturday in Paris the weather was great and the streets were packed with people. I don't exactly know where I was, (I don't know Paris well) but Le Marais seemed to be right in the center of a lot of street action. And I enjoyed every minute of it.

A mural in front of a Saturday flea market. 

I walked for a while, found a scenic cafe, sat for a while, and repeated.

Le Marais also provided great opportunities for people watching. 

I had an exceptional ice cream at a Lebanese ice cream shop

At Bachir they roll the organic ice cream in crushed pistachios and top it with whipped cream. Oh la la.  

My stroll took me past the Louvre. However, even in late afternoon the line for tickets was still very long. So instead of a visit to Mona Lisa, I kept walking through their courtyard, to the Tuileries instead.

The Tuileries is a large charming park next to the Louvre with statues and fountains, a pond, and much more. Oh yes, it also offers a nice view of the Eiffel Tower.

then I reversed my direction and walked along the Seine

toward Notre Dame.

Notre Dame is a sad sight indeed these days. Because of all the lead in the melted stained glass windows, the entire area is fenced off because of risks of lead poisoning. However, it looks like they are hard at work to repair the fire damage.

The entire area was fenced off.

Lots of scaffolding around much of the towers. 

Right across the street is a Holocaust memorial called Memorial des Martyrs de la Deportation. It is stark, particularly in comparison with it's next door neighbor, and goes unnoticed by most visitors eager to take a selfie in front of Notre Dame.

Drancy internment camp, where 200,000 Jews were sent before being relocated to concentration camps, is a quiet, almost forgotten footnote of French history. This memorial does not mention the word 'Jew',  preferring to call them 'martyrs', and identifying these victims as French citizens. Wikipedia notes that this "distorts the historical record by suggesting that victims died willingly for a national cause rather than as victims of state persecution."

A plaque from the memorial with the names of many of these camps. 

The day was drawing to a close so I enjoyed sunset on the Seine in a nearby cafe, then crossed back to the right bank and had a lovely dinner. This included a layered Napoleon of sliced lamb and diced vegetables. I didn't take a photo because I find food in a brown sauce all looks the same.. But it was inovative, delicious, and very French. Then I headed to the airport.

It was a very pleasant day with lots of walking. All in all a great way to end my really enjoyable solo trip to France.