Vic-Views - The Life & Times of Sheila & Norm

Some Other Landmarks:

Although we didn’t participate in any walking tours on subsequent days, we continued to do a lot of walking. On the third day, we walked to L’Arc de Triomphe about 2 kilometres from our apartment. Of course we climbed to the top. The views over the city are special - in the foreground is the Champs Elysées,  one of 11 boulevards radiating out from L’Arc. In the middle distance we can see such landmarks as Le Grand Palais, Hôtel des Invalides, Place de La Concorde, farther away the Louvre, Notre Dame are visible, then in the far distance is Le Pantheon, Sacré Coeur and the Pompidou Centre. What stood out for us was the skyline could not be confused for any other city. In addition to the landmarks listed above, there were the rooftops of the apartment and commercial buildings lining the grand boulevards and smaller streets. Staying as we did in an apartment, we were able to experience the Parisian rooftop experience. Given the significance of the Arc de Triomphe to the national psyche, we were surprised at the low key security - there was tight security getting to the staircase, but apart from that it was not highly visible. Indeed, that was the case across the city. Given the tragic events that have hit Paris in recent years, we were expecting a more visible security presence. We are sure it was there, but the authorities had done a good job of it not being overly intrusive.

There were two names engraved on the structure that caught our attention - both with Scottish connections. There was Jacques Lauriston after whom our street was named; he was a brigadier in the Revolutionary Army before being appointed to several senior positions both in the army and diplomatic service. The other was Jacques MacDonald although born in France, he had Jacobite lineage going back to South Uist in the Outer Hebrides. He rose to be Marshal of France under Napoleon and also went on to various diplomatic posts.  Both individuals underscore the connections between France and the Jacobites sharing the common enemy, England.😎

After we had exhausted the views from the top of L’Arc de Triomphe, we made our way down the legendary Champs Elysées which still has some haute couture stores, but also a McDonald’s and a Footlocker, not exactly what one associates with this grand boulevard. At Le Grand et Le Petit Palais, we turned towards Pont Alexandre III,  Paris’ premiere open-air (en plein air) museum, with an array of masterful sculptures—lions, cherubs, nymphs, maidens, cupids, water spirits, fish, scalloped seashells, and sea monsters. Gorgeous Art Nouveau lamps provide illumination. And did I mention that there is gold leaf everywhere?

 From there, it was on to Place de La Concorde, the site of many guillotine executions during the Revolution, but now home to the 3,300 year old obelisk from Luxor. Will France return the obelisk to Egypt in keeping with the policy of returning other artefacts to French colonies both past and present? We ambled our way through Les Jardins Tuileries heading to our destination, Le Louvre. We were taken aback at the gravel nature of the paths in these and other gardens. Travellers tip - wear closed in shoes!! It wasn’t hard to bring up images of the works of Manet who frequently painted scenes of people out to see and be seen in these gardens which have been a feature of Paris for some 450 years.

On another day, we headed off to Le Tour Eiffel via Place de Trocadéro which was only a short walk from our apartment. We opted not to go up Le Tour since we had already had panoramic views over the city from other vantage points, although we did take time to take in the structure in some detail from ground level. On this visit we got up close to the base, but a robust 3m perspex fence was being erected whilst we were there - on our next visit access to the base of the structure will be “look don’t touch”. The site is very popular for wedding photographs, with wedding limousines frequently parked on Le Pont d’Iéna as well as the parkland surrounding Le Tour. One of the advantages of our apartment on Rue Lauriston, was that we had a clear view of Le Tour from within our apartment as well as the rooftop. Originally, Le Tour was going to be taken down after 20 years, yet it is still standing after 130 years! It was the world’s tallest structure for 41 years till the Buidling of the Chrysler Building in New York in 1930. There are 5 billion, yes billion lights on the Tower. We’ll take their word for it, rather than count them. 

l’Hotel des Invalides is one of the many building complexes to be found throughout the capital. Its primary purpose was a hospital and retirement home for French veterans; however, it is also houses several military museums. Construction started under Louis XIV in 1670 in what was then suburban Grenelle where there was lots of room for the construction of such a grand complex of hospitals, retirement homes, chapels, parade grounds. Napoleon was entombed under the great dome with great ceremony in 1840.

Opera Garnier, commissioned by Napoleon III in 1861, but named in honour if its architect Charles Garnier, claims to be the finest opera house in the world - at the least the French make that claim!! But not by all - Corbusier described the style as “décor of the grave”. Whatever its merits, it is an excellent example of how the French incorporate lines of site when designing, orienting and positioning such an iconic building: the view down Avenue de L’Opera towards the Seine is very grand! L’Opera gained further fame as the setting for Gaston Leroux’s novel Phantom of the Opera.

Close by is Les Galeries Lafayette first inaugurated in 1893, the department store is an institution; the complex, built in the Belle Epoque style sells the latest in designer fashion, jewelry, cosmetics and home furnishings all housed under the impressive dome. This department store seems to surviving the onslaught from suburban and online shopping.  Speaking of shopping, we were surprised to see that an Ikea store was going to open in downtown Paris on Avenue de Madeleine not far from Opera Garnier.

Most visitors to Paris include Notre Dame in their itinerary. However, in the shadow of the cathedral is Le Marché aux Fleurs and Ile St Louis, destinations much less frequented. Ile St Lous feels quite separate from the normal hustle and bustle of the capital.. There are fewer cars, scooters and bikes, with some streets, pedestrian only. We couldn’t resist a couple of indulgences, after all we had done a lot of walking.

When thinking about Parisian architecture, the mind unwittingly focuses on centuries past. However, there are many newer structures which have definitely sparked controversy - Le Centre Pompidou, the addition of the Pyramid to Le Louvres are two examples that come to mind. No less controversial is Les Halles - this was formerly the main food market of the city, referred to as the Belly of Paris. From the Middle Ages to modernity, the central market of Paris was one of the city’s liveliest locales, as farmers, fishermen, butchers, and customers commingled among tons upon tons of fresh produce, meat, fish, and other goods. In 1870, 12 arching glass and iron pavilions designed by architect Victor Baltard were erected to encapsulate the market — Les Halles.

The teeming arcades provided a central location for Parisians for business and distraction, not to mention the setting for Émile Zola’s novel La Ventre de Paris (The Belly of Paris).

The halls were ultimately torn down in the 1970s as the wholesale marketplace shifted out of the city centre.  Today, the location is home to a subterranean shopping mall and the city’s busiest subway station. However, it could be anywhere - to this visitor, the structure has no character nor soul.