We flew into Orly on Sunday at 1PM and taxied to the 11th arrondisement, to our borrowed flat compliments of Laurent, though he was still hard at work in Barcelona. He had sweetly arranged for his partner Miguel to greet us and show us around our spacious new digs which included a large terrace with a view of the Eiffel Tower.
It had been an easy travel day and we were ready to go out and explore a bit. We knocked on Miguel’s door (we are in their second flat next door) and invited him out for a drink. Fifteen minutes and a quick clothes change later we were off, Steve and I expecting to go to any one of the small bistros nearby. But Miguel was ready to show us some sights and before we knew it we were walking through Place de la Republique, where on this particular day it was the Algerian comminity’s turn to protest, something political; we were not sure what.
We eventually found our way to the Marais, a very bustling neighborhood, especially on a Sunday, and found a sidewalk table at, of course, a French bistro. Two bottles of lightly chilled red and a charcuterie plate later, we realized we had easily passed a couple of hours talking and getting to know Miguel. Heading back, we detoured to see Notre Dame (post fire, and coincidentally on the very day the first services were again being held, with the clergy in hard hats), went past the Bastille, and in view
of the Bataclan, the nightclub where the terrorist shootings took place back in 2015.
Finally back in the Oberkamp five miles and five hours later, we thanked Miguel for his wonderful tour and went in to relax. We had a quick dinner of a shared spicy pizza at Cafe Justine, one of the ten or so spots marked on a neighborhood map and annotated by Laurent for us and then we were ready for bed.
This is probably our fifth or sixth time in Paris, and so we have done all of the big sights. But since our last time here in 2013 the Frank Gehry-designed Louis Vuitton Foundation has opened. And unlike many places in Paris, it is open on Mondays, so off we went, stopping for sandwiches for a picnic and a three metro line ride to the museum.
Unlike the Pierre Cardin museum here, this is not about the Louis Vuitton empire or fashion. It is an art museum in a beautiful park and today was the last day of a special exhibition, one man’s collection (a Londoner, Mr. Courtauld) of impressionist and post impressionist art.
In addition, the permanent collection is mostly very large format, very colorful, very modern paintings. Steve’s absolute favorite (remember, he is not a modern art fan) was the 10’ x 10’ all white painting with the small blue dot. Ha!
The outdoor spaces and terraces of the building showcased Gehry’s design which surprisingly was not all shiny metallic waves but made of structural wooden beams and clear geodesic domes.
It was the only thing on our agenda today and may be the last hurrah for art museums for us this trip. A happy hour stop at La Terrasse, back in our hood before a shower, a rest and diner at Astier, another local gem nearby highlighted on our personal ‘best of the 11th’ map. Steve is making it his goal to stop at everything Laurent marked before Wednesday night!
It had been an easy travel day and we were ready to go out and explore a bit. We knocked on Miguel’s door (we are in their second flat next door) and invited him out for a drink. Fifteen minutes and a quick clothes change later we were off, Steve and I expecting to go to any one of the small bistros nearby. But Miguel was ready to show us some sights and before we knew it we were walking through Place de la Republique, where on this particular day it was the Algerian comminity’s turn to protest, something political; we were not sure what.
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| Miguel, our new best friend in Paris....He loves Disco!!! |
We eventually found our way to the Marais, a very bustling neighborhood, especially on a Sunday, and found a sidewalk table at, of course, a French bistro. Two bottles of lightly chilled red and a charcuterie plate later, we realized we had easily passed a couple of hours talking and getting to know Miguel. Heading back, we detoured to see Notre Dame (post fire, and coincidentally on the very day the first services were again being held, with the clergy in hard hats), went past the Bastille, and in view
of the Bataclan, the nightclub where the terrorist shootings took place back in 2015.
Finally back in the Oberkamp five miles and five hours later, we thanked Miguel for his wonderful tour and went in to relax. We had a quick dinner of a shared spicy pizza at Cafe Justine, one of the ten or so spots marked on a neighborhood map and annotated by Laurent for us and then we were ready for bed.
This is probably our fifth or sixth time in Paris, and so we have done all of the big sights. But since our last time here in 2013 the Frank Gehry-designed Louis Vuitton Foundation has opened. And unlike many places in Paris, it is open on Mondays, so off we went, stopping for sandwiches for a picnic and a three metro line ride to the museum.
Unlike the Pierre Cardin museum here, this is not about the Louis Vuitton empire or fashion. It is an art museum in a beautiful park and today was the last day of a special exhibition, one man’s collection (a Londoner, Mr. Courtauld) of impressionist and post impressionist art.
The outdoor spaces and terraces of the building showcased Gehry’s design which surprisingly was not all shiny metallic waves but made of structural wooden beams and clear geodesic domes.
It was the only thing on our agenda today and may be the last hurrah for art museums for us this trip. A happy hour stop at La Terrasse, back in our hood before a shower, a rest and diner at Astier, another local gem nearby highlighted on our personal ‘best of the 11th’ map. Steve is making it his goal to stop at everything Laurent marked before Wednesday night!
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