Category Archives: City Breaks

Paris Rendezvous — Part Three

One of the most delightful aspects of visiting a cultural hub like Paris is the availability of things to do each day! This large and fascinating museum — Musee Quai Branly — was completely new to me.

After I finished taking photos on the Pont de L’Alma bridge overlooking the Quai D’Orsay and the Seine, we turned around and hugged the shady side of the pavement on Quai Branly. The sun was eye-wateringly bright and the temperatures were over 30 degrees celsius in the shade. The architectural style of the museum was a wonderful surprise. Both the colours and the exterior layers of planting and building placement were quite enjoyable to stroll through.

The museum is vast and contains collections from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Oceania, and the Americas — all spread out over multiple levels in a gloriously contemporary set of buildings. The photos below are a mere sample of what there is to see!

Mayan statue in one of the collections of the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

Musee Quai Branly restaurant set in the gardens of this extensive Seine-side museum in Paris.

Exterior ticket office within the cluster of contemporary buildings at the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

Massive carved sandstone head from Oceania in the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

Quite funny to watch all of these adults scampering from area to area whilst participating in some sort of corporate team-building scavenger hunt. This was going on all over the various levels of the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

One of a collection of masks from the Pacific Northwest of North America at the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

One of a collection of masks from the Pacific Northwest of North America at the Musee Quai Branly in Paris.

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©Deborah Harmes 2007-2018 and
©A Wanderful Life 2007-2018
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Paris Rendezvous — Part Two

While doing the planning for this trip, I decided that I had seen the Louvre and the Musee D’Orsay several times along with the Pompidou Center and several smaller museums — so it would be good to visit new places instead. We were staying in a wonderful neighbourhood in the 15h Arrondissement, so we had excellent transport links that started right outside the front door of the hotel.

It’s time to share something that I have been reluctant to ever discuss online. As mentioned in Part One when I was dismayed about the hotel ignoring my request to NOT place us in a room that would require climbing a lot of stairs, I’ve begun to have some issues with mobility and pain. None of it is overly-dramatic, but it is inconvenient. So I have to listen to what my body tells me it can and cannot manage each day — and it’s all quite unpredictable.

On our 3rd day in Paris, it was clear that I was going to need to stay quiet and just rest for a full day. I knew that I’d lost any sightseeing I might have planned, but the heat bouncing off the concrete walkways the previous day had left me feeling quite drained and ill by that evening. I sent Mark off with my blessings every morning because he likes to get out early for a walk and for that particular Wednesday, he also went to a museum I had wanted to see, but knew I could not. I’ll post his pictures separately in another post dedicated to his images from Paris — not mine.

Thursday started off quite nicely with an excellent lunch at the brasserie right across the street from our small hotel. The food and wine were excellent and the decor was delightfully quirky — full of advertising art or miniatures relating to Citroen automobiles.

Next we headed to the Pont de L’Alma and I stopped on the bridge to take pictures of my surroundings and the River Seine below. Then we turned around and proceeded to the museum (in the next post) and had some time amongst the paintings, sculpture, and objects on display.

Make sure to come back for the next segment — and enjoy these views of Paris!

Exterior of the Bistro D’Andre in the 15th Arrondissement of Paris, France.

Interior of the Bistro D’Andre in the 15th Arrondissement of Paris, France. The lunch rush had just ended when I took this shot because a mere half-hour earlier, these tables had all been packed with happy diners.

Specials Of The Day board at the Bistro D’Andre in Paris, France.

Honey glazed chicken skewers at the Bistro D’Andre in the 15th Arrondissement in Paris, France.

Panne Cotta with red fig coulis — still lingering in my mind!

Citroen artwork on the bistro walls in Paris.

Citroen advertising art on the bistro walls in Paris.

Bateau mouches, lined up and waiting to take tourists for a cruise on the Seine in Paris.

The Quai D’Orsay alongside the Seine.

Both the Eiffel Tower and the domes of the new Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral are now landmarks that can be seen from the Seine in Paris, France.

Opened in 2016, the glistening domes of the massive Russian Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral face the Seine on the left bank.

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©Deborah Harmes 2007-2018 and
©A Wanderful Life 2007-2018
Please respect the words and images on this page.
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Paris Rendezvous — Part One

It isn’t often that someone will begin a story by telling you that they were forced to go to Paris, but that is what happened to me this past week.

The Australian government has somehow failed to drag itself into the 21st Century, and lovely folks though they might be, they require a face-to-face appointment — a rendezvous — to renew a 10-year passport. My current passport was running out quickly and it’s tied to my French residency card, so the trip was planned and reservations were made.

For the last three months — April, May, and June — the railroad employees here in France have been conducting a rolling series of strikes. It was impossible to schedule a rail ticket to and from Paris as a result, so we were forced to travel by one of those big commercial buses that have wifi on board, usb plugs for your devices, and you are meant to be travelling in air-conditioned comfort for the 5.5 hour trip in each direction. In contrast, the train takes approximately 2 hours, so you can already begin to understand how inconvenient and time-wasting this was going to be. To compound matters, we are currently in the first big heat wave of the summer and the temperatures have been knee-buckling.

Our bus was quite old, the air-conditioning worked about 50% of the time, the reserved seating that we paid extra for wasn’t honoured, and the trip actually took 6 hours. I do plan to contact the company, Ouibus, and find out why the reality of their service from Rennes to Paris is nothing like their rah-rah advertising on their website.

It was after 8 PM by the time we arrived at our hotel and checked in, only to discover that my online requests through Booking.com had been completely ignored. We were not on the ground or first floor — we were up several levels of twisty-windy stairs in a hotel that had no elevator. My note had been quite specific about my current challenges with mobility and balance, but all of that was simply ignored.

In spite of what felt like a deluge of drama, we did manage to get to the Australian Embassy the next day for my scheduled appointment. The staff were charming and I should be receiving my new passport in the mail in about 2 weeks time. So if they’ll send it by post, why do you still need to make a personal appearance? Hmmm…

Here are some images from that first full day in Paris. Enjoy!

This was our view as we stepped off the 42 bus that took us straight from our hotel to this neighbourhood — the Eiffel Tower glistening in the heat against a cloudless blue sky in Paris.

The Australian Embassy in Paris has a lovely art gallery on the ground floor containing a range of works done by Australian artists.

The Bir Hakeim station which is a few blocks from both the Eiffel Tower and the Australian Embassy.

Purchasing tickets in packs of 10 allows you to ride for 90 minutes at a time for several days straight.

A peek-through view of the Eiffel Tower alongside a twisting angle of a concrete veranda section of the Australian Embassy in Paris.

COPYRIGHT
©Deborah Harmes 2007-2018 and
©A Wanderful Life 2007-2018
Please respect the words and images on this page.
All rights reserved.

Vibrantly Beautiful Vannes

After one of the longest, coldest, wettest, and gloomiest winters I have ever endured, I was feeling frankly tired of northern France. But that turned around when we took a much-needed 3-day getaway in Vannes.

I was unprepared for just how pretty the medieval town would be and was quite pleased that we had chosen to visit just before the hoards of summer tourists arrive in France.

For anyone who is not in a tip-top state of fitness, be warned that the hills and cobblestone streets can wear you out rather quickly. Now, having said that, enjoy this little slice of Vannes and do make an effort to see this charming small city for yourself.

A pretty street full of historic houses alongside the port in Vannes, Brittany, France.

People walking and sitting along the rampart walls in Vannes, Brittany, France,

The Derriere bar, cafe, and restaurant at the back of Les Halles, the food halls in Vannes, Brittany, France.

Walking uphill through the square in the mostly medieval heart of Vannes in Brittany, France.

Breathtaking Brittany — Multiple Posts Coming Up!

We’re on the road in Brittany right now — taking a much needed holiday. I’ll have a whole series of posts from Dinan and Morlaix and the Finistere and Quimper. From ancient towns filled with half-timbered or stone buildings to pre-historic standing stones to gothic cathedrals — this part of France is simply stunning.

Just a tease or two — so shhhh — come back soon!

Rooftop Jumble in the historic city of Quimper in the Finistere Brittany, France.

Side entry of the Cathedral in Quimper, Brittany, France.

Standing stones near Camaret-sur-Mer

Photo Of The Day: The Tourist Train in Bayeux, Normandy, France

As I mentioned in yesterday’s photo essay, Bayeux is both charming and VERY easily walkable. But apparently some people don’t want to ramble around the cobblestone streets discovering fabbo little photo ops — or maybe they just have tired feet, eh?

The local tourism board has sorted that out then with this Tourist Train that departs from the Bayeux Cathedral and rolls you along in comfort though the streets of this very pretty town in northern France.

The tourist train in Bayeux, a lovely town in the Normandy region of France.

Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris – Part One

One of the best days out we had in Paris was at the glorious Musee des Arts et Metier. This wonderful museum opened right at the end of the 18th Century in what had been an abandoned medieval priory — Saint Martin des Champs. The museum has been expanded, most notably with a more contemporary addition in the 1990s, but the elegant old priory contains some of the most beautiful of the displays under those ornate and vaulted ceilings.

Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris, France. Housed in a converted medieval priory, this is one of the landmark museums of Paris. Made famous by the novel The Da Vinci Code, it contains a Foucault pendulum.

One example of the treasures within is the room that houses a Foucault Pendulum. I know that the former purpose of the space was reverential, but it still maintains an air of ‘sacred space’ in that hushed room with the pendulum right in the center.

Foucault Pendulum beneath the vaulted ceilings of the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris.

The Foucault Pendulum within the Musee des Arts et Metiers in Paris.

When we were there, I noted that the glass table which has the pendulum suspended above it and the glossy flooring all around it appeared to be quite contemporary. That was a bit of a surprise. But as I was doing the research for this article, the information that I discovered explained all of that.

In 2010, the cable that held the pendulum snapped, damaging it badly and shattering the ancient marble floor beneath it. So the more contemporary appearance is a result of the reconstruction in the museum.

All of the photos above are available in my ZENFOLIO PORTFOLIO You may find them in the Portfolio tab under FRANCE — then under PARIS.

Enjoy!