Georges Méliès’ grave is one I should have visited when we were at the Pere Lachaise cemetery. I’ve always thought that the imaginative silent films he made at the turn-of-the-century were extraordinary. When most of the other filmmakers at that time were shooting rudimentary slices-of-life, Méliès was already experimenting with special effects. Based on a Jules Verne story,…
Roaming the Right Bank
On Tuesday we started the day off by taking the metro to the Gare Lazare neighborhood. I’ve always liked the lyrical sound of those words coupled—Gare Lazare—reminding me of a similar train station where the Lumiere Brothers shot some of the world’s first film footage in 1895. We had tickets for a 12:15 visit to the…
Just go with it
Post by Ella We. ebbed and flowed today. I am a Monet fan so that’s where we started the day. The Monet museum lacked a few of the huge canvases I had remembered from 2018. But still, some inspiring works. The temporary exhibition of trompe l’oeil (“deceives the eye”) was unique. It was crowded but…
Tomb raiders
Ella’s already detailed our walk to Montmartre. Let me add that it was another fine day weather-wise. So far in our stay we haven’t had to use umbrellas. If there are clouds, they vanish by mid-day. The temperature has been in the low sixties which, for me, is great for strolling around. The forecourt below the steps of the…
Random Oddities
Post by Ella The artist “Invader”, aka Frank Slama, started creating street art back in 1998. Mostly ceramic tile. Little mosaic pieces resembling items from the 1978 video game “Space Invaders”. I hadn’t noticed one until our stroll through Montmartre. And speaking of invaders, fungi are a strange looking species. We happened to walk by a…
Boho chic
Post by Ella Montmartre is known as the artist’s neighborhood and worth a few hours of exploring. The Sacre Couer is located up at the top of a hill and if you brave the 197 steep steps, the reward is a spectacular view. (Spoiler…there is also a funicular if your knees are too rickety). Many…
Sunday in the graveyard with Ella
We began our day by transferring from one metro line to another to get across the Seine to the Invalides stop a few blocks from the Rodin museum. The Beaux Arts building, formally the Hôtel Biron, was purchased by Rodin at the turn of the century. He turned the ground floor into studios and later donated it…
Larger than Life
Post by Ella Rodin’s realistic and giant depictions of the human body never cease to confound. The sense of tension in nearly every piece rarely fail to evoke emotion. Horror in the case of the Burghers of Calais when you know these six sacrificed themselves to King Edward III for the “greater good”. Passion when gazing…
Discord in the Cemetery
Today, we visited the ever popular cimetière du Père-Lachaise. Grubb was aiming to find the final resting places of several notable historical figures such as Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison. The cemetery is huge, divided into…well…divisions. Numbered. One to somewhere in the 90’s. No, it’s not a grid. It’s like a kids drawing…
Loose on the Left Bank
The only ticketed item we had in store for us this Saturday (9:30 AM) was the Cluny Medieval Museum on the Left Bank. (The Left Bank named for the side of the Seine you’re on in the direction the river is flowing.) And, mirabile dictu, we were on time! It was too early for the crowds to start showing…