Paris - Statue of Liberty - 11e

 Plate LXXXVI – Statue of Liberty…

Give and it will be given to you.

I’m certain that almost everyone knows that the famous Statue of Liberty (officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World) in New York’s harbour was a gift to America from the people of France. As much a political statement as a massive work of art, this is the image of Libertas the mythological Roman goddess now firmly established as the one we all reference. The statue’s history is already shrouded in fact, fiction and conjecture, despite being only some one hundred and ten years old- a period you’d expect to have been accurately recorded. Dedicated in October 1886 the monument commemorates the centennial of the signing of the American Declaration of Independence.

I had heard that the appreciative Americans (of Paris) had in return given to the donor nation, a smaller (approx 11 metres) version of their famous landmark, and determined to see it during my visit found my Parisian work colleagues, strangely, almost unaware of its existence. It’s unfathomable how much we take for granted the things we have in our own backyards. I guess the thought that they will always be there leads to such complacency.

Found on the man made island in the Seine known as the Allée des Cygnes (although I never saw a swan), this smaller Parisian version of the statue is next to the Pont de Grenelle,  a walk of some one and a half kilometres from the Eiffel Tower. It in its turn commemorates the centennial of the French Revolution and was inaugurated in November 1889. Originally sited facing the (Eiffel) Tower, the creator of the original, Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, successfully insisted it be turned to face its American counterpart. This makes it somewhat difficult for the on-foot visitor to the location to photograph from the front (especially with a camera as deficient as the one I used), but with an additional walk to next Seine bridge I managed to capture Libertas.

I’m glad I got there.

P.S. There is a smaller Statue of Liberty, said to be a cast of Bartholdi's design studies, in the Gardens of Luxembourg.

Paris – Champs Elysées - 8me

Plate LXXI1I – Champs Elysees

The most famous street in the world? Perhaps.

The Elysian Fields - what a name to live up to. From Elysium in Greek mythology it is the place where humans, offered immortality by the gods were sent. A place where perfect happiness was attained on the banks of the Oceanus River. Well let’s settle for the Seine, and walking down this avenue or settling into a chair in one of the boulevard cafes, my feeling of happiness was as close to perfect as I’ve known.

With rentals reputed to be set at around ten thousand euros per square metre it certainly has the most expensive real estate in all of Europe. Although many international names have opened retail operations along the avenue, and cinemas showing the latest international releases are to be found, it remains essentially French - and très, très chic. Part of the historical axis of the city the avenue, usually referred to simply as the Champs Elysées, runs almost 2 kilometres from the Place de la Concorde in the east to the Place Charles de Gaulle (Étoile) and the Arc de Triomphe to the west, offering upmarket shopping and famous entertainments such as the Bluebell Girls of the Lido, and the picture perfect beaux art decorated tearoom of the Lido Arcade.

The scene of many military processions, it was along the Champs Elysées that the Germans infamously marched in grand display of their occupation of France in June 1940, and it was here too that the French and American troops led by General Charles de Gaulle victoriously celebrated the liberation of the city in August 1944. The annual Bastille Day Parade is held here each 14th July, and the world famous Tour de France cycle race sees its final stage along the avenue. Most occasions of any national significance will be celebrated by a gathering here, with visiting international dignitaries being welcomed by bunting and flags in their national colours alongside the tricolore decorating the staffs along the way.

As Maurice Chevalier used to sing ... Ah! Champs Elysées, Champs Elysées …

Paris - The Seine - 7me

Plate LIV - A Restaurant Boat…

Walking through the city is hungry work. I took the opportunity of having lunch on one of the moored restaurant boats on the city. Although I am not generally great at spending time on stationery floating objects, I found the experience delightful.

Many of the pleasures of life on the Seine are available to the tourist. The most popular of these are the well known Bateaux Mouches. It is worth taking both day and night voyages along the Seine in these glass roofed vessels. The day trips help with a different city orientation than is gained from the heights of the outlooks afforded by the arches and towers of Paris. The night trips offer dining from gourmet meals to lighter fare, and one probable reason Paris has become known as the city of lights is more than apparent. I would once again take one of these night journeys purely to see once more the spectacle of the Eiffel Tower by night. I cannot imagine how the decision to dim the lights in the interests of ecology has changed this display.

Paris - Pont d’Alexandre III - 7me

Plate LIII - Detail of the Pont Alexandre III… 

Ornate, extravagant, gaudy, exuberant, excessive, showy, remarkable, opulent, lavish, magnificent, flashy, kitsch, over-decorated, and delightful. These are all descriptions I have heard applied to the Pont d’Alexandre III.  And, somehow they all fit - without any contradiction. Personally, I love it.

There is no question that the decoration on Alexandre III is the most memorable of any Parisian bridge, with its Beaux Arts styled lampposts, glistening gilt statuary and sculptures of cherubs and nymphs. As mentioned previously, beneath the ornamentation it is also a notable feat of engineering. The foundation stone of the bridge, named after his father the Russian Tsar Alexander III, was laid by Tsar Nicholas II in October 1896. Although Alexander showed sympathies toward France during the Franco-Prussian war, and was emphatically a man of peace, it was only in the latter years of his reign that he established cordial relations with the French, and this was probably more a result of his increasing alienation from Germany than a genuine wish for alignment with a country he is reported to have regarded as a breeding ground for revolution. Nevertheless, his memory is enshrined in this (choose your adjectives) city landmark.

Paris - Pont d’Alexandre III - 7me

Plate L11 - The Pont Alexandre III and Petit Palais…

Built between 1896 and 1900, to compliment the Grand Palais, and named after Tsar Alexander III, this bridge spans the Seine from the Palais to Les Invalides. A marvel of engineering, the bridge itself is a six metre high steel span construction. Built by engineers Jean Résal and Amédée d’Alby, it is the decorations of this bridge, and its seventeen metre socles counterbalancing the arch’s weight, that command attention.

The many sculptures were contributed by a number of renowned sculptors including amongst others Emmanuel Frémiet. The gilded bronze statues atop the socles are of four Fames - Science, Art, Commerce and Industry.

Behind the bridge, to the centre of the picture can be seen the roof of the apse of the Petit Palais.

Originally planned as a temporary structure, the Petit Palais now houses an impressive art collection, mostly bequeathed to the city by Auguste Dutuit. Works include paintings by Delacroix, Monet, Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec, along with tapestries, sculptures and manuscripts.

Paris - Pont Alexandre III - 7me

Plate LI - Steps of the Alexandre III Bridge…

With some twenty-eight bridges crossing the Seine in greater Paris, the Pont d’Alexandre III is to many, the most beautiful of them all.  It was here that I really confirmed that Paris was going to consume a fair metrage of film stock, for as soon as I thought I had a picture perfect view of the bridge and had taken a photograph, I’d decide only metres further on that I had been wrong, and only now had the ideal angle.

Of course a few more paces and I’d realize I had been wrong again, or had I?

After a short walk along the quayside of the Seine, mounting the steps on to the bridge I had little idea what visual pleasures lay ahead. In many visits to Europe I have been awed by the time and care craftsmen put in to their work. What will future generations think of the legacy left by the late twentieth century? And will they have the same endurance?

Paris - The Seine - 7me

Plate L – Life on the River Seine…

The river continues to define the major historical areas of Paris with the central city area, still known as the Île de la Cité, being the religious and administrative hub. The left bank or the Rive Gauche is the centre of artistic and intellectual life, with the right bank or Rive Droit arondissements being the centres of commercial and economic activities. Although these delineations have blurred somewhat over time, they still remain set in the minds of Parisians and their visitors.

As I have said before, one seems to move from one photogenic sight to another within mere metres. It doesn’t take a lot of skill to see that this image was taken very close to the previous one, and yet somehow each of these two pictures seems to capture a different mood of the river.

With the freedom allowed the photographer using today’s digital cameras and their instant image review, the only dilemma I now face is how large a memory card my camera can handle.

It was very different during this visit.

Paris - The Seine - 7me

Plate XL1X - The River Seine…

The Seine flows through the city like its aorta, and in Paris one is never far from its waters. Life on the river and its immediate surroundings appeals to the romantic visitor in us all. From the tourist laden bateaux mouches (as seen here in the river centre) that ply the waters of the central city, giving an unique view of the attractions along its banks, to the smaller privately owned craft moored along the quays, who in this city has not dreamed of sharing the freedom that the river life suggests. A dinner cruise on a bateau is a treat and the illuminated attractions of the city (if not the cuisine) still endure as a special memory of Paris.

The city started life some 2000 years ago on the island in the river, today known as the Île de la Cité . First known as Lutèce, it was inhabited by the Parisii tribes, which having made it their capital gave the city its modern name. Many of today’s landmark buildings on the island were built above the ruins of much older civilizations, Notre Dame for example was preceded by two earlier Christian churches, and they in turn were said to have been constructed on the site of a Roman temple to Jupiter.

The Seine is France’s second longest river after the Loire, but is the main waterway used for inland traffic, and is best known as the river of Paris. It rises near the town of Dijon in the Cote d’Or region of France, and flows to the English Channel near the port of Le Havre - a distance of some 780 kilometres.

Paris – Bouquinistes - 4me

Plate XXXVII - The Bouquinistes…

There is no certainty of how long the bouquinistes have been a part of Parisian city life. Some sources say since the nineteenth century, others claim from the sixteenth. It’s not important, for they are there today, and they will still be there tomorrow. There is no English word for these characters found mainly on the Rive Gauche of the Seine. Booksellers (the closest I can think of) work at FNAC or maybe at WH Smith. The bouquiniste is altogether something different. Their wares have changed over time, and today they stock compact and digital video discs (and no doubt electronic video games or, even i-Apps for all I know).

But, it is for the plethora of old postcards, posters, paintings, or pamphlets and of course those books and books and more books that you’ll want to find them. (Be warned though that their wares are mainly in French). No matter the weather, by law the licensed bouquiniste must open for business four days of every week. Those pesky intermitted Paris showers are countered with a clear plastic sheet, but they rarely stay on too long - and often trade will still be conducted beneath these temporary protective shelters. Some 250 or more of these intrepid souls are housed in wooden stalls, dotted all around the embankments of the Île de La Cité, their displays overloaded with “des choses intéressants” and if like me you love to browse the printed records of mankind, you’ll lose yourself for hours seeking out that special “je ne sais quoi”.

Maybe you’ll find it here.

Today. 

Paris - Conciergerie - 1er

Plate XXIV - The Conciergerie

Viewed here across the Seine, the fortress like stonework of the Conciergerie looks grey and forbidding. It should, for it is here that many of the 2500 victims of Madame la Guillotine (including Marie Antoinette and her King) spent the last hours of their prison days before meeting their unhappy public fates at various locations around Paris.  On a sunnier day the turreted towers can have an almost Disney like appearance belying its function as a part of the greater complex of the Palais de Justice.

It is known that the Île de la Cité has been occupied since Roman times when Paris was known as Lutèce. It was here on the west part of the isle that the Palais de la Cité was built in the Middle Ages and became a seat of the royal court of France. The Grande Salle (Great Hall) as it survives today as part of the lower Conciergerie was used as a dining hall for 2000 palace staff, as well as a meeting place for the high court of justice. Much of the original room and its furnishings were devastated by fires in 1618 and 1871, but at a length of some sixty-five and a width of twenty-seven metres it remains as impressive a chamber as you will find in all of Europe.

The palace was first converted to prison use at the end of the 14th century. There is a small chapel in the Conciergerie, reconstructed to resemble the one used by Marie Antoinette during her final moments in captivity. I found my visit there surprisingly poignant.