Alex and Rob’s Window on Paris

St Germain des Pres

Picked the perfect place to stay for our five days in Paris.  St Germain des Pres located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

Until the 17th century the land where the quarter is located was prone to flooding from the Seine, so open fields;  Prés, which gave the quarter its name.

It was a beautiful warm afternoon when we arrived, so we headed out, crossed a bridge into the Jardin de Tuileries where Parisians and tourists were sunning themselves in the beautiful gardens.  The grandness of Paris is immediate.

Our hotel is in a small narrow street is directly across from Serge Gainsborough’s house.  People come to play homage and each night a homeless man slept there, though he was hosed away in the morning.  The homeless make you think a lot, from Syrian refugees to those with a mental illness.  Memorable for me: the man scattering bread for pigeons near the Seine and an older woman sitting in a pile of blankets with a pet rabbit.  People were giving food to the rabbit rather than money to the woman.

We deliciously woke up each morning to order our French “express” breakfast: coffee orange juice, croissant and baguette.  Then to a big day walking.  That’s what I have loved the most, walking and taking in as much as you can.

We are very glad we have sensible, daggy shoes.  All hail the Hoka.

Just on the small suitcases.  We would never have fitted into Christian’s small Blabla car with big suitcases.  We are getting into a good rhythm of washing. Hail the small bag.

Highlights – Food tour with Lisa.  Bread, explanation of the true straight croissant, olive oils, hot chocolate, macarons and of course cheese! (even better than Ainslie IGA)

We also peeked into one of the most famous restaurants in Paris.

Other highlight’s include climbing the dome of Sacre Coeur.  As we entered the dome we heard a rendition of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison”.  When we finally came down all those stairs the bells started to chime and we were in the most beautiful echo chamber – bells bouncing off one old stone wall to another. Ding dong dell.

 

And almost best of all, walking finding beautiful French cafes and listening to live music, bringing together two great art forms: American Jazz and French food.

Other moments.

 

It’s hard to keep the farm girl from Victoria’s central west away from a good hay stack. Painting by Monet, Bernard and Van Gough at Musee d’Orsay.

One of Rob’s interests on this trip is urban design, and a tour on the very touristy hop-on- hop-off-bus, is a great way to get an overview of the city and pick up some snippets of information and history (from now on I’m going to wave at those people on the tourist buses in Canberra who I’d always thought were a bit unfortunate).

From the Louvre, we went around the major public square Place de la Concorde, where people used to lose their heads in public – travelling along the Champs Elysees and on to Arc de Triomphe.

We were told that construction of Arc de Triomphe started in 1810 when Napoleon entered Paris. However only the foundations were laid and the project was halted.  Twenty years later in 1833 King Louis-Philippe recommenced construction and although there had been many different designs he insisted that it be completed according the original plans. This reminded me that cities take a long time to develop.

I couldn’t help thinking about Canberra – and the Griffins’ vision. Driving around the circle of the Arc de Triomphe I thought of the potential for the area around City Hill to be realised.

The completion of Constitution Avenue has been a great step in the right direction.  The proposal to extend Edinburgh Ave and replace one of the LA style clover leaves so rudely inserted into the Griffins plan is another.  I have mixed views about the recent Law Court extension, which while bringing built form to the circle and helping to enclose it, it is further blocking views and access to and from University Avenue.

The construction of the Library into Civic Square has also created a barrier to City Hill.  This has added to the damage inflicted on the City by the Canberra Centre, the abomination that in my living memory has playing a major role in destroying the way Civic works.  The way that traffic, pedestrians and cyclist used to be able to navigate the city, and the loss of a significant Griffin axis with its sight lines and connection for nature between City Hill and Mount Ainslie.  In the Paris spirit of grand city design, it would be great if we could at least have public recognition that this was – and remains a great mistake.  Given that the life of a building is so much less than the life of a grand city plan, we may eventually be able to reinstate the significance of Ainslie Avenue linking City Hill to Mount Ainslie.

Likewise Paul Reid, author of the authoritative book:”Canberra Following Griffin: A Design History of Australia’s National Capital“, told me before he died that Canberra will never function as it was designed without the Causeway, the intended major north south connection between Hume Circle near the Kingston Railway Station to the point of the triangle at Russell at the other end of Constitution Avenue.  Again, if we can retain a wider public recognition of this significant axis, we may be able to celebrate it, even if just initially with a creative installation using LED lights, a boardwalk and pathway through the wetlands like the ones we recently walked over at the London Wetlands, or a bike way connection.  Over time a light rail connection or even a road constructed in a way that would minimise impacts on the wetlands values?

Ah, the strange passions a trip to Paris unleashes.

Another observation of Paris is the constant renovations of old buildings.  They seem to have mastered how to insert modern features, like skylights and new bathrooms, without upsetting the fabric of the building or the view from the street.

Compare this to Canberra where we seem to take great joy in ripping down earlier architecture.  In preparing for our visit to Berlin later in this trip, I have found architectural tours of post modern / post war buildings that are almost identical to the buildings we in Canberra have systematically neglected and are now tearing down like the Allawah, Bega and Currong buildings in the City.  While other cities value and showcase these building we won’t even be leaving a trace of this significant architectural period.

Sure, the buildings individual merit may be questioned but if we don’t maintain a rich diversity of styles we will never have a city that develops character.

 

Random tourist pics

Above a couple of tragic tourist shots, we’re looking pretty happy.

 

 

Shop and Window Photos