Day 11 -

I have a running list entitled "Paris Next Time" and this morning we were going to do two things on this list: The Bibliothèque Nationale de France François Mitterand to see the Coronelli Globes, and the Cinémathèque for Frank Gehry's architecture and a special exhibition on the films of Jacques Demy.

The BNF François Mitterand was built along the Seine in Bercy. I find the architecture very stark and uninteresting, but we weren't there to admire the exterior esthetics.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bnf%...CMjgyQG1lYCABw

The Coronelli Globes are two large globes given to Louis XIV by Cardinal d'Estrées, French ambassador to the Court of Rome. He had seen similar globes belonging to the Duke of Parma and commissioned these globes to give to his powerful monarch. They are impressive works of art and I'm thrilled to have seen them.

http://expositions.bnf.fr/globes/expo_us/01.htm

These wonderful globes are on display at the BNF, Entrée Ouest. There is no admission charge.

Next we walked across the Seine on the Passerelle Simone de Beauvoir to the Cinémathèque Française in the Parc de Bercy. From this graceful pedestrian bridge you see the floating swimming pool named for Josephine Baker. The Cinémathèque was housed in the Palais de Chaillot until 2005 when it moved to a Frank Gehry building that was originally designed for another occupant.

What I was really excited to see was the special Jacques Demy exhibition. I love The Umbrellas of Cherbourg/Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, The Young Girls of Rochefort/Les Demoiselles de Roquefort and Donkey Skin/Peau d'Ane. Demy departed from the new wave filmmakers of his time to create films that were unique in their use of color, design and music. The exhibition was very well done and I learned about several other Demy films to seek out to watch.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%...Fran%C3%A7aise
http://www.cinematheque.fr/

Returned to the apartment for lunch, then headed for the W. H. Smith bookstore on the Rue de Rivoli. P always finds books there from favorite authors like Nesbo that haven't made it to the US yet.

We went to Montparnasse to the Crêperie Plougastel for an early dinner. We had been there during a previous trip and liked it. It's on the Rue Montparnasse, up the street from the more well-known Josselin. We each had a galette - the Dinard for P, the Nantaise for me. Then we topped this off with a shared crêpe caramel maison au beurre salé. I also enjoyed their cider. This is a very pleasant little place with good food and friendly service. http://www.creperie-plougastel.com/

After dinner we walked around the neighborhood for awhile, then stopped for P's last Amorino treat this trip.

Tomorrow starts with another highlight for me, but ends badly.

Day 12 -

Today was to be very special for me. For the first time ever, I had tickets to a performance at the Comédie Française in the Salle Richelieu. The play was Racine's Phèdre, a classic 17th century work known to every French major. A long time ago, when studying this play, I listened to an LP recording of a performance by the Comédie Française and loved hearing the poetic dialogue in Alexandrine couplets. At that time, I never dreamed I would have the opportunity to see and hear a performance in Paris, but today I did and it was wonderful. While I was there, P wandered around the quais, looking at the bouquinistes' offerings, and visited Shakespeare & Co.

Had dinner again chez nous, then, later on, I had a crazy klutzy moment. I was down on my knees trying to plug in everything to be recharged overnight. When I tried to stand up, I lost my balance and toppled over awkwardly, injuring my hand and wrist.

Since it was late on a Saturday night, I decided that ice and ibuprofen would suffice until morning and went to bed.

Day 13 -

This morning my hand, wrist and thumb were purple and swollen. More ice and ibuprofen. I decided I needed an Ace bandage, went online to look for a pharmacy that is open on Sunday, and found one in the Place Daumesnil. There may have been one closer, but I knew that a couple of blocks from the apartment was a stop for a direct bus there. The pharmacist was very nice and gave me a light version of an Ace bandage and a tube of topical ibuprofen. He, and I, thought it was a bad sprain. So I wrapped it up tight with the bande elastique and decided to try to ignore it and get on with enjoying Paris.

By the way, I love the fountain at the Place Daumesnil. Great lions.

Took the Métro back to Bastille to walk home through the Sunday market, then returned to the apartment for a long nap.

The rest of the day was a loss.

Day 14 -

After losing an entire day yesterday, I was determined to get back to enjoying Paris.

We took the Métro to Châtelet and went to the FNAC store at the Forum to buy tickets for the Chagall exposition at the Luxembourg Museum. Along the way we went up on an observation platform to see the progress of the huge reconstruction project for Les Halles. Very ambitious.

We then walked over to the Stravinsky fountain. It's one of my favorites with its zany and whimsical figures spinning and spewing water.

Every time we are in Paris, at least once we head for the rue des Rosiers to have lunch at l'As du Fallafel - falafel for me, schwarma for P - and today we continued that tradition.

After lunch we made our way across the river to the museum for the Chagall. I like Chagall's paintings, and enjoyed this exhibition a lot. We had timed tickets, but were allowed in early since there were very few people there. A few days before there were stories of crowds and people without timed tickets being turned away.

After wandering some, we walked over to the Hotel Madison to meet my sister and her friend who were staying there. This is a lovely hotel across the street from the church of St.-Germain-des-Près. We made plans to have dinner with them the next night, then headed back to our neighborhood to shop. One of our stops was a Dia store to buy some wine Kerouac recommended. It was good, and very inexpensive.
More wine details here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...mendations.cfm

Tomorrow - two more museum visits, one very satisfying and the other really frustrating.

Day 15

Also on my "Paris Next Time" list was the Arts et Métiers Museum, so we headed there this morning. I'm not too interested in technology, but this museum is great with very detailed and comprehensive exhibits for those who are, like P.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mus%C3%...t_M%C3%A9tiers

Since we couldn't walk across the Pl. de la République due to the construction, we took the Métro. Glad we did, because the Arts et Métiers station is really interesting.
http://www.gourmantic.com/2011/08/11...metro-station/

After our visit, we stopped at a boulangerie nearby, bought sandwiches and walked to the Square du Temple where we sat on a bench and had lunch. From there, we walked through the Marais to the Place des Vosges where we treated ourselves to dessert from Amorino. After sitting in the Place for awhile, we wandered over to the Carnavalet Museum which I love, and which we have visited several times previously. I was disappointed to find that one of the exhibits that I especially wanted to see again was in a room that was closed. There was a sign that it would be reopened at 2:00, so we waited until 2:15. When no one showed up then to reopen the room, I went down to the entrance to inquire and was told to wait fifteen minutes more. Twenty minutes later, another museum staff person told me that the area would not be reopened that day at all because too few employees had come to work. Someone else disagreed and said it would probably be reopened at 3:00. It had not reopened by 3:30 so we left. It was somewhat disconcerting to see this in a major museum.

Back to the apartment for more ice and ibuprofen, and a rest, then back out by Métro to the 7th to meet my sister and her friend for dinner in one of my sister's favorite restaurants, Le Petit Niçois. We arrived a little early and were walking around the neighborhood when we noticed the much-discussed Reed restaurant half a block away. Walked down the street to have a look at it, found the owner, Catherine Reed, standing in the doorway, and stopped to chat for a few minutes. She was very cordial and I can see why people enjoy her cooking classes and the warm atmosphere in her restaurant.

Day 16 -

Last day in Paris. We made our way by Métro to the Nature de Pain boulangerie in the Rue de Lévis in the 17th. We, along with my sister and her friend, had signed up for a tour of this bakery.
http://en.meetingthefrench.com/visit...y-tour_425.htm

P enjoys baking bread at home and eating it in Paris, so I thought he would enjoy this tour. It was very thorough and informative with an excellent guide. The owner/baker gave a presentation of his ideas and methods, then our small group visited the area where baguettes were made, followed by a demonstration by a pastry chef. At the end, we all were given a fresh baguette and a pastry.

Afterwards we sat outdoors in a nearby café to chat awhile and watch the world go by. I liked this neighborhood and would like to go back and wander around another time.

Finally, we decided to head for Montparnasse where I really wanted to ascend the tower for the first time. This was another highlight of the trip for me. We went up to the outdoor observation deck on top. What wonderful views, including those of the Eiffel Tower and Champ de Mars. Really, I think the views from the Tour Montparnasse are superior to those from the Eiffel Tower, and there was no wait to go up.

Then it was back to the apartment for dinner and packing for an early departure to CDG. Packing was a real challenge with my injured hand and wrist, but it got done.

Day 17 -

We had planned to take the Métro and RER to the airport, but I was not able to manage baggage. So, I booked a 6:00 a.m. pick-up with Shuttle Inter and crossed my fingers they would arrive on time. A few minutes after 6:00, the van arrived and we were off to the airport in good time. Whew!

Flights were on time and we arrived early in Boston.

The next day I went to the doctor and had x-rays. There was a wrist fracture as well as ligament damage. Spent the next six weeks in a cast, then physical therapy, but everything seems to be working well now.

Even though I was able to get about during the last days of the trip, I was slowed down and never got to several things I really wanted to do, especially the Nissim de Camondo Museum and the Petit Palais. I had also planned to try to get into the Louvre on the free first Sunday to see the new Islamic exhibit, and perhaps the Orangerie where I had not been in decades. So the "Paris Next Time" list goes on and I hope to get back there next year.

All in all, this was another good trip to my favorite European country, with visits to new and unfamiliar areas and another stay in Paris which has become more and more familiar over the many years now I've been visiting. I never tire of being there, though, and always leave feeling that there's so much more there to explore and experience. So now it's on to planning the next trip.

MaineGG, I really enjoyed your report.

I was in the Dordogne in 2011 (stayed in Beynac) and I, too, loved the chateau des Milandes - Josephine Baker.

Will be in Paris in May and although I get there once or twice a year, I agree that there are always new things to see and do there! Your trip has provided me with a few ideas. Merci.

Thanks for sharing your trip report with us MaineGG - I was waiting to read about your last few days in Paris - too bad about your wrist! I learned a few things for our trip and enjoyed your writing style very much.

powhatangirl - Glad you enjoyed the report. I'm so jealous that you get to Paris once or twice a year.
francebound - Glad you found some useful information here for your upcoming trip. I look forward to reading all about it.

Here's a link to some photos. Out of order chronologically with Paris first then the southwest -

https://picasaweb.google.com/1080026...rwE&feat=email

I'm hoping someone can enlighten me about one of the pictures.
It's of a house in Carennac that has a tricolor shield by the front door that reads "Honneur à Notre Elue." Not sure what that's about.

I think that it is similar to the <i>Fête du patronnat</i> honoring employers. In this case, it is granting recognition to elected officials. I do not know the origin, but it may be a reaction to workers' day and celebration.

Thanks, Michael.
Your photos were a great inspiration in planning our itinerary.

Every year in May, most villages and towns in the Périgord have a fête de la mai (and no it's not related to May 1). It derives from a pagan tradition, often associated with a marriage. Villagers get together, decide who in the village deserves special recognition (it may be a single individual, or a group, as in this case of the local elected officials - it's often a local business that has brought in a lot of revenue), set up a wreath or a pine tree, and decorate it with ribbons and a sign saying "honneur à/aux...." Then they gather in a circle around the wreath or tree, pour red wine on the ground around it, and proceed to party like animals.

I've been to several of these - very interesting.

Sounds like great fun!

i love your report...heading to Paris for the umpteenth time and a week in the Dordogne. This is a wonderful report with so much useful information. thank you

Thanks, kelbo. I'm glad you found it useful.

Hr