Paris: Opera Garnier: This is the 19th century opera house, which Pat and I toured. Back in 1984, I attended the opera Werther by Massenet and sat in one of the loge seats, the front of which can be seen in the middle photo. The top photo is of the grand staircase, and the bottom photo shows detail at the top of one of the columns.

Galleries Lafayette, located near the Opera Garnier, is one of the grand magasins in Paris, and the one with the most interesting architecture. As you can see in the first two photos below, the belle epoque dome is lovely, and the next three floors can be seen from the first floor. There is also a nice cafeteria on the sixth floor and an open air rooftop view from the seventh floor, both of which Pat and I took advantage of. The view from the rooftop is in the fourth photo down.

Le Centre Pompidou

 

This building,  locatted in the 4th arrondisement, was named after Georges  Pompdou, who was President of France in the 60s. It houses a vast public library as well as the Musee National d'Art Moderne, which is the largest museum for modern art in Europe. When it was first built in 1977, the post modern architecture was loved by some Parisians and hated by the rest. One of the fascinating architectural details is the escalator, which can be seen in  the photo below, as well as a view of Montmartre from the top of the escalator through the glass in the next.

 

Montmartre can be seen from the top of the escalator.

These whimsical objects in the Homage a Stravinsky fountain next to the Pompidou were created in 1983 by sculptors Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint Phalle.

 Notre Dame, the gothic cathedral located on the Isle de la Cite, one of two islands in the Seine in the center of Paris. It was completed in 1345 and one of the first buildings in the world to use flying buttresses.around the choir and the nave.

The Holocaust Museum, located behind Notre Dame is free and worth the time. Visitors are requested to remain absolutely quiet during the visit.

Shakespeare & Company

This English bookstore was funded by George Whitman in 1951 undeer the name of Le Mistral, and later renamed it after the one run by Sylvia Beach, which was discontinued either during or after WWII. Her bookstore was frequented by the literary elite expatriots. Whitman has carried on the tradition, allowing struggling writers to stay in small rooms above the store in exchange for working there. Whitman died last year at age 98. His daughter Sylvia Beach Whitman took over the running of the bookstore in 2003.

Montmartre is located on a hill. As I pointed out earlier, it can be seen from the escalator of the Pompidou. It can be reached by taking the Metro to the Anvers station and taking the funicular up the hill. It is known for several things--l'Eglise du Sacre Coeur (below), the Place du Tertre, whiere lots of artists congregate to sell their art to the tourists, and a vinyard. It is also known for a famous Doisnois poster comprising of a photograph taken from the stairway beside the funicular.

The Paris Metro is a wonderful transportation system. The original entrances were Art Nouveau; unfortunately, not very many of them remain. In addition to frequent service, there are often musicians at the transfer points (les correspondences).

Typical of the music in the Metro is this ensemble of classical musicians.

La Tour Eiffel is still beautiful, but better seen from a distance. The crowds are

Istanbul will be in the next blog.