Paris…Wonderful any time of the year

We are so happy to be back in Paris, with its wrought iron balconies

and sidewalk cafes.

There are endless neighborhoods to explore, markets to shop, and delicious food to eat. And, since we are here for 16 days – not long enough, but so much better than our last month of moving every two days – we can take some down time to just chill!

Often, in talking about our grand adventure, we are asked the question, “So, what is your favorite place?” The answer is always the same…Paris. For years, before we became Nomads, we tried to begin or end any trip abroad in Paris. We’ve been here often enough to have determined our favorite neighborhood (Le Marias) although, every time we come, we find new places to explore.

During this stay, we found more art to see, including a huge David Hockney exhibit at the Pompidou Centre, and a lovely collection of impressionist paintings (“The Hansen’s Secret Garden”) at the Musée Jacquemart Andre. We also went with our friends Anne & Jeff to an interesting exhibit at the Musée d’Art Moderne which showed how three artists – Derain, Balthus and Giacometti – influenced each other.  But my favorite sight at this museum was a large room with a huge fresco – La Fee Electricité – created by Raoul Dufy for the 1937 International Exhibition in Paris, that depicts the story of electricity.  It is colorful, full of details and simply wonderful!

We learned how to use the Velib, the Paris bike-share system, and took a long ride with a guide and one other couple finding hidden corners of neighborhoods both familiar and new.

We had a cheese tasting lesson with the charming Fabrice,
            
with whom we sampled six different cheeses, learned how to taste a cheese, and much about the specific regions from which particular cheeses come.  The rules about cheese naming are as strict as those that govern wines.  You can’t call a cheese ‘Roquefort,’for example, unless it comes from the town of Roquefort and is made following clearly spelled out rules.

We made a day trip by train to Chartres.  The famous cathedral is the main draw. We arrived in time for the daily tour by Malcolm Miller, who has been conducting tours of this cathedral for 60 years!  It seems, though, that he needed a day off, so we went with one of his understudies.  She took us into the crypt where there were some well-preserved frescoes,

and explained the stories contained in the remarkable stained glass windows.

Chartres has long been a stop for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago.  There is a tile outside the cathedral that points the way.

Although the cathedral is the main draw, we also enjoyed exploring the town of  Chartres. Situated on the Eure River,

it is a charming place.

Père Lachaise Cemetery is an interesting place on the outskirts of Paris to walk and discover graves of a wide range of famous people from Moliere (reburied here to provide prestige when the cemetery opened), Oscar Wilde (whose grave is now behind glass since it became covered in lipstick ‘kisses’) and Gertrude Stein (and Alice B. Toklas…)

to Jim Morisson (whose grave is fenced off since the graffiti was cleaned off his and several adjacent stones)

to the founder of the Paris Metro (people leave Metro tickets on his grave)

to one of the cartoonists who was killed in the Charlie Hebdo shooting in 2015.

Besides all there is to see, it is just a lovely place to walk…

I’m fascinated by the proliferation of flea markets throughout Paris.  They call them ‘Vide Greniers’ or ‘Brocantes.’ Here you can find some of the strangest pieces of furniture,

more silver than anyone needs,

and some reasonable nice paintings.

I enjoy browsing the booths and not really buying anything.  After all, where would I fit it in my single small suitcase??  I also remember that my friend Gary Hill, who lived in Paris for many years, used to find all sorts of things with which to furnish his apartment at the Paris Brocantes…

We had one last look at the Eiffel Tower – it is magical at night! – before leaving Paris to explore more of France.