My friend Ann from Cornwall, England arrived here Thursday afternoon. We met at her hotel 1/2 block down the street and started our adventures by having a French onion soup across the street at Le Week-End. It was warm and bracing on a cool day.
We walked the neighborhood and went to the Exxpiatory Chapel in the Square Louis XVI. It’s a small pavillion, considered a place of prayer, and is surrounded by a lovely garden.
We got caught in the rain so decided to come back here for tea and macarons. She left to unpack and we met up again for a light unmemorable dinner at a nearby café on the Place de la Madeleine.
Today we met up at 9:00 and went to the boulangerie for breakfast. We got lovely croissants but didn’t eat there because they didn’t serve decaf and I can’t have caffeine so we had breakfast here. We took a taxi to the Fondation Louis Vuitton to see the Morozov Collection: icons of Modern Art.
The Frank Gehry designed building is also a work of art. Designed to look like a sailing ship, he sought to “ design, in Paris, a magnificent vessel symbolizing the cultural calling of France.” This glass iconic building is constructed for the 21st century. It is situated at the edge of the Jardin d’ Acclimatation in the Bois de Boulogne, the Parisian equivalent of Nee York’s Central Park, west of the city.
The exhibit was so vast that it took most of the day. We were lucky to get tickets but I ordered early. There’s much to tell about the Morozov family and their collection but I must stop since I’m out of energy. The collection was extensive and exhausting.
I’ll pick this up when I can.
Just to give you an example…details will follow when I have more time to devote to more information about the family and their collection.
After the exhibit we visited the park, took the metro to Notre Dame to see the progress on the reconstruction, and had had dinner at a delightful restaurant next door to Shakespeare & Company bookstore called Le Petit Chatelet.
I’ll be back. Promise. Sleep calls.
Does anyone tell you anything at Notre Dame Cathedral? Or do you just look at the exterior & wonder or exclaim the extent of repair needed?
There’s a photo exhibition on the side street showing history of the fire and progress made towards the restoration. I think Macron once said it will be completed in five years, but I’m not sure about that . It was difficult to see the photos and information in the dark, however. I imagine there’s information on line. Ann said a friend of hers, an art restorer in England, gets regular updates. Good question!
I thought I had commented on this one, then realized I had seen the pictures on text. I was also thinking about the Notre Dame Cathedral … glad they have some sort of exhibit of photos. The structure is quite something!