Beauty

 BEAUTY

October 29

This would be a day which began at one of Paris's most beautiful chapels, move about 45 miles northwest of the city to a place of great natural beauty, and end at another awe-inspiring Paris cathedral with sublime music. Happily for us the day began a little later with a less demanding pace. We would begin by walking to GSL and boarding the Metro for a short ride to the Ile de Cite, a small island in the Seine that has been the center of government since the days of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century. Also on the island are two of the iconic churches in this largely (60%) Catholic country, Notre Dame and Ste. Chapelle.  It's the latter where our journey could begin today. A brief digression -- Paris has so much history and manmade beauty [guess it's obvious by now why that's the title of today's entry] that on our short walk from the Metro station to Ste. Chapelle we stumbled upon places with which we weren't familiar but were clearly worth learning about and sharing with you. Voici ... 

Fontaine du Palmier

St. Jacques Tower

Gaspard de Coligny monument

Palais de Justice

And, of course, the ubiquitous Seine
and its bridges

We had a reservation to tour Ste. Chapelle at 9:00, and were becoming familiar with the routine for popular tourist sites: queue up with your time slot group, wait impatiently, pass through security, pick up your audio guide so you'll know what you're seeing, and follow the herd. Ste. Chapelle was one of the favorite and most impactful places that we visited in Paris. It's ironic because it's really a small chapel that was built by Saint Louis (previously King Louis IX) in the mid-13th Century to house the Crown of Thorns, which he had acquired during one of the Crusades (and is now housed in Notre Dame). Originally located in the royal palace, the chapel is now part of the governmental complex known as La Conciergerie. So security is extra tight ... and after clearing it, one enters on the ground floor and must climb so very narrow spiral staircase before entering a world of light, which is captured through the 1,100+ stained glass panels in 15 bays of windows that are almost 50' tall. The individual panels tell the story of the Bible from creation to Christ to Revelation, and then of the relics that were brought to the chapel. But enough words ... see for yourself (and if you want to spend 2 minutes learning more about the chapel, check out this short video by the guru of all things Europe, Rick Steves https://classroom.ricksteves.com/videos/paris-sainte-chapelle-the-most-exquisite-gothic-chapel ):

Saint Louis

The 15m tall windows

Closeup of 1 of the 1,100+ panels

The rear window of the chapel

Exterior statue of Christ

  

Statue and artwork at entrance

We had a couple of hours for lunch and R&R before the scene shifted from divinely inspired, man-made beauty to the natural beauty of His world. After the quick trip back to the Albar on the Metro we had lunch at the little restaurant at the hotel (where I was able to check off a croque monsieur (which as you may well know -- I didn't -- is simply a toasted ham and cheese sandwich) from my list of "must try" French food). [Thinking of that meal reminds me:  In France the servers routinely asked "avec (with) or sans (without) sucre (sugar)?" Interesting that sugar is a public health concern since cigarettes don't seem to be!?] After propping our feet up for a little while, we met our driver for the half day trip to Claude Monet's gardens and home in the booming Seine River valley metropolis of Giverny, population 467. It would prove to be a relaxing and enjoyable respite from the busy city.

Our driver, Fred, who could be a one-man Visitor and Tourist Commission for France, was our favorite of the many friendly, helpful, fun people we met in France. He was also quite knowledgeable and spoke better English than we did, having worked in the U.S. for several years. We took the 4-lane to get to Giverny in a hurry, then as required by a labor agreement (as you may know, strong unions in France!), gave us directions then left us to the staff at the gate to Monet's place. 

Although it's fall, and there's not much greenery (and just a couple of those famous water lilies blooming), the streams, pond, and gardens were still attractive and peaceful. And the house seemed a perfect setting for simple comfort for an artist who valued nature. In fact, the only downside was that some of the crowds from Paris had apparently followed us out into the country. We had to maneuver to dodge the tour groups and their guides (and empathetically felt a little guilt, knowing that we had been those same culprits in Rome and on the Amalfi Coast 18 months earlier). I confess -- I had had some reservations about spending my time on a side trip to the country while we were in Paris, but I thought Susan would love it. As it turned out, we both did. Let me show you why ... first, the gardens, including the pond that was home to the lilies Monet is so famous for painting:

Next, the house where he lived ...

The house from the garden

Guess he had no trouble finding a few
paintings to hang on his walls?

Monet even had a Renoir titled
"Claude Monet Reading a Newspaper."
Seems to beat an Olan Mills portrait?

Then that lovely garden is out the back window.

After touring the gardens and house, we met our driver, Fred, in Les Nympheas (The Lilies), one of the restaurants just outside the property. We considered having a glass of wine, but I needed a sugar fix and opted for an irresistible dessert. Fred then, as he had promised, took us back starting on the scenic route, a winding 2 lane rural road through the valley.  It was pretty as we meandered along and crossed the Seine, went through a few small towns, and drove into La Roche-Guyon, where we saw something that I had read about in preparation for the visit to Normandy but had no idea I would get to see -- the 13th Century castle that had been the headquarters of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel during the German occupation of Normandy. We didn't go inside, but it was spectacular from the parking lot. Adding WWII history to timeless art was icing on my cake! A few photos ...

Seine River Valley

Le Chateau de La Roche-Guyon a/k/a Rommel's HQ

The Seine near Bennecourt

Fred successfully navigated 1700 (5:00 PM) rush hour traffic and the logjam around the Arc de Triomphe and got us back to the hotel. It had been a full day, and we were getting a little hungry ... but we had one more experience awaiting us. We had bought tickets to see Les Violons de France perform Vivaldi's Four Seasons at La Madeleine cathedral, which is a 12-15 minute walk from our hotel. A command decision of whether to eat before or after the show was required. (Who wants to listen to violins on an empty stomach?!)  There were several restaurants in the neighborhood, and we stopped at the Cafe Madeleine, which was literally right across the street from the church, and asked a waiter what our chances were of getting in and out of there in time to make the 7:30 concert. [Note: This was a pretty big deal. Meals in France are usually leisurely, and Americans often are miffed by what we consider slow service when the waiter doesn't hustle over your check as you're opening your mouth for your last bite. Some French waiters, in fact, seem to take pleasure in what we might assume is dilly-dallying as our impatience shows.] This waiter understood and said he could handle it ... and did. We ordered dishes we thought would be easy to prepare and to eat quickly. It wasn't the best meal we had in Paris, but it hit the spot and more importantly, didn't delay us.

We basically slid in under the wire just as the musicians were completing their warmups, found a couple of convenient aisle seats, and settled in for what I think were our best 75 minutes in France. The nave and sanctuary where the concert was held is massive, but it's gorgeous and has phenomenal acoustics. First 5 violinists performed, then 6, and finally 7. They began with Ave Maria, launched into the Four Seasons (one of my favorites), and ended with a Mozart encore. The music and the setting literally put a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Wow! I thought La Madeleine, a relatively modern Greco-Roman temple started in 1764 but not finished until 1842, rivals Ste. Chapelle in beauty, though it is of a quite different style. See for yourself:

Front entrance of La Madeleine

Sanctuary

Les Violons de France

Pipe organ in rear of nave/narthex

This had been a busy, but not hectic day -- a full day. It was good for the soul, beginning with the aesthetic marvel of the stained glass of Ste. Chapelle, followed by the enduring tranquility of Giverny, and ending with marvelous music in a majestic setting at La Madeleine. This day was all I expected Paris to be. 

Susan and I stopped at the bar of the Albar and had a nightcap, then called it a day. Tomorrow there would be much to see and do.