They lost a tower and nearly bulldozed le Corbusier
Jun 12th, 2002, 08:24 PM
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They lost a tower and nearly bulldozed le Corbusier
A gift certificate, a credit slip and frequent flier miles on American Airlines, I decided to fly to Paris for a long weekend. Glad I arrived at Sky Harbor two hours before my departure for the domestic flight<BR>to DFW - AA closes its check-in a half hour before departure, and it took me about an hour to get through check in and security.. My layover was about 5 hours at DFW, but I had a couple of books and didn’t mind the wait. Unfortunately the flight to Paris was delayed so I arrived in Paris about noon i/o 10:30am. Then the RER from the TGV was<BR>closed because of “vandalism” so we all had to take buses to the *old* station near Terminal 9. Because I’d waited too long to get hotel reservations, I ended up at the Hotel Davout Nation in the 20eme - the hinterlands. Only one metro line and stop nearby, the hotel was being repainted so I got blue paint on my jacket, the door<BR>to my room was still tacky, and the room itself smelled of fresh latex. The room was nice, the bed comfy, the bathroom big, the remote control missing (I think one has to ask for it at the front desk but I never thought of it until I was already upstairs in my room and wearing pajamas). Breakfast was a buffet - so-so croissants, mini pains<BR>chocolat, baaaad orange juice, and pretty good coffee out of a machine.<BR><BR>Day one - arrival day (Friday) went to the Marais and the Jewish History Museum. The security is pretty intense; I had to check *every* bag, so they gave me a plastic bag to carry my wallet. The museum is really<BR>fascinating - you get an audio player to tell you what’s what - and contains not only history of the Jews in France but throughout<BR>Europe. Old bibles and Torahs and menorrahs ...plus a description of the various religious observances like Purim. It’s a great way for non-Jews to learn about the people and religion. There was a special<BR>exhibit of Chagall and his works in stained glass. Very cool to see his sketches and then the realization in stained glass. The whole weekend it rained off and on, but I went paradin’ around the Marais - and found the shop I lost. It’s at 20, Place des Vosges - a store dedicated to writing - papers, journals, desk accessories, pens, cards, you name it. Each book I bought was carefully wrapped in pale blue paper - it reminds me of old fashioned writing paper. Decided to eat on l’Ile St Louis for no particular reason, and found a wonderful<BR>creperie le Sarrasin at 84, rue St Louis en Isle. Very small, no smoking dining room, so after dinner the waitress moved me to the bar so I could smoke. I spent 31 euros, but I ate too much, had a full picher of wine and two coffees. *TWO* people could have eaten on what I did.<BR><BR>
Jun 12th, 2002, 08:28 PM
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Day two (Saturday) got the RER to Poissy, and then the fun began. I wanted to go to the Villa Savoye, a le Corbusier house that’s open to the public. The bus leaves from Gare Nord - yup, you guessed it, I<BR>was at Gare SUD, so I had to walk around the block. Number 50 bus takes you (for 1.40euros) to the villa. It’s next door to the Lycee le Corbusier so I took a stroll through the grounds. It was just noon,<BR>and the kids were just getting out (oh yeah it’s Saturday and they are in school). School’s a little bit worse for wear, but the teachers sure aren’t. A bunch of kids were hollering and jostling each other -<BR>a male teacher, not more than 30 years old, turned on his heel and in very loud stentorian tones told them to shape up - and they did. No touchy-feely psycho babble - he YELLED. From there I went to the Villa Savoye, built in 1928 for the Savoye family. It was occupied by the Germans and seriously damaged during the war. After a variety of institutional uses, the city decided to BULLDOZE it until somebody said “hey this is a le Corbusier - are you NUTS?”. It’s been open just a couple of years to the public, and it’s really a work of art - totally unlivable, little boxy rooms that create a cubist painting, a very scary spiral staircase, narrow doorways and halls, and a lousy kitchen. All I could think was how do you get a washer and dryer in here? Definitely worth seeing if you’re into architecture. Got back to Paris and visited the Tour Jean Sans Peur. This, too, is only recently open to the public because the French LOST it for about 400 years. Six stories high, solid stone...and they lost it. Built around 1400 for the Duke of Burgundy, it was part of a huge house which has long since been destroyed and/or incorporated into surrounding commercial<BR>buildings. The Parisians found the tower when they tore down some of the area to create rue Etienne Marcel. It’s one of the last surviving pieces of medieval architecture left in Paris, and is really worth a visit. It’s a public space for plays and art exhibits, and it can be rented for receptions (what a fantastic place for a wedding reception!). It’s at 20, rue Etienne Marcel - the entrance is rather non-descript..then you look up...you can climb all the way to the top. I went paper shopping on rue Vavin, originally to go to Marie Papier at #26 (which is a wonderful store but tres cher) but found Arts du Papier at #48 on the way. Terrific store for paper, rubber stamps, journals,<BR>scrapbooks, etc. Not cheap, but not over-priced. Hustled over to the Montebello to meet Melissa, Liz, and her family. We had a great time chatting and finding out where everybody’d been and where they were going and what they did once they got there. Walked over to the Creperie des Artistes in the 6eme for dinner, where they MADE me get dessert. Started to rain, so we bid our adieus and returned to our respective lairs.<BR><BR>
Jun 12th, 2002, 08:30 PM
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Day three (Sunday) I headed for a flea market at Maubert - not much but I did find some old architectural plates and a printer’s block of a medieval statue for 2 euros (my kind of bargain); metro’d to the Bastille market for a hit of a farmers’ market - I’m still amazed at the wonderful produce, cheeses, honeys, meats, etc. that can be found outside of a chi-chi gourmet supermarket. Walked toward the Canal St Martin, and passed a half-hearted protest against Bush at Place de la Republique (he was in town that weekend). At Canal St Martin was the Printemps des Rues festivities - street performers, a giant<BR>trampoline for kids...unfortunately, it was raining beaucoup buckets so I left early (awfully glad I had TWO pairs of shoes with me - I was soaked to the skin). It was about 5pm, so no restaurants were open<BR>near the hotel (not that there were very many to begin with) but I found a cafe and begged them to make me a ham sandwich (well, not begged, just pretty much looked pathetic and the waiter took pity on me). <BR><BR>Day four (Monday) took the RER to CDG for the flight home without incident...oh wait on the flight they ran out of tomato juice so I said “okay, beer” which the (French) steward thought was hilarious. When it was meal time, they ran out of chicken, so he says “all there is is salmon...or beer”. <BR><BR>
Jun 13th, 2002, 05:31 AM
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Elvira:<BR>Your posts are always entertaining, informative (you supply addresses for your favorite places--no "across the street from the church" etc.--it never is!) and you ALWAYS enjoy yourself and it shows... I think you would even have fun at the Mud and Slime Festival in Le Swamp des Eglise during monsoon season (it occurs on the Thursday after the flood).<BR><BR>Had not known about Villa Savoye-will make a pilgrimage next time I'm in Paris. And the bit about the french teacher yelling at the kids..too true. While french kids can be as loud and unruly as any, they are expected to behave when told to, and usually, they do!<BR><BR>Look forward to your next adventure(s).<BR><BR>Judy in Germany<BR><BR>
Jun 13th, 2002, 12:08 PM
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As usual, a fun report. Two things stand out to me. First, that a seasoned traveler like Elvira could get lost, mainly by being at the wrong station -- and openly admit it! (Don't most Fodorites pretend to be absolutely mistake proof?)<BR>Secondly, that with all your trips to Paris, you always manage to find some exciting and totally new things to see and do.<BR>
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Oct 27th, 2002 06:09 AM
