Thursday, November 08, 2007

PARIS ITINERARIES - I

FROM THE GRAND HOTEL TO THE EIFFEL TOWER - FEBRUARY 2006

With this post, my delay in posting on Blogtrotter runs the risk of being reduced to only 21 months... Most of the pictures are similar to others taken previously in the seventies and eighties, the nineties and already in the 21st century!


"THE GRAND HOTEL is a great place to stay and after the renovation works is much more comfortable. Furthermore, breakfast is taken at the Cafe de la Paix..."


"PLACE DE L’OPERA - Always busy, anytime of the day..."



"THE OPERA DE PARIS, the most important symbol of the Second Empire baroque style, was designed by Charles Garnier for Emperor Napoleon III. Its construction lasted from 1862 through 1875, partly because an underground lake was then discovered. It was the hiding place of the «Phantom of the Opera» in Paul Leroux's famous play, and still exists under the building"


"AU GAGNE PETIT - An old shopping, before the shopping malls!"


"HOTEL DU LOUVRE - Another nice place to stay, close to the Louvre Museum, the Palais Royale and the Comédie Française"


"THE TUILERIES GARDEN - Catherine de Medicis, who owned this ground in the 16th Century, asked Le Notre to make a French garden out of it. It became one of the first European gardens to be opened to the public"


"MADELEINE CHURCH seen from the Concorde Place. The construction started three times, but only the 1806 version, commissioned by Napoleon to Pierre-Alexandre Vignon as the Temple to the Glory of the Great Army, was actually built. With completion of the Triumph Arch in 1808, the original role for the temple was blunted, and later King Louis XVIII determined that the structure would be used as a church"


"OBELISK - The 3,300-year-old, 23 metres high, 250 tonnes Egyptian Obelisk is one of three Cleopatra's Needles (the other two are in New York and London) and was offered to France in 1831 by the viceroy of Egypt, Mehemet Ali. The obelisk once marked the entrance to the Luxor Temple and is decorated with hieroglyphics exalting the reign of the pharaoh Ramses II. The obelisk arrived in Paris in 1833 and was placed in the centre of Place de la Concorde in 1836"


"BOURBON PALACE - The French National Assembly, a Republican institution, bears the family name of the Royal French family overthrown by the French republican revolutionaries"




"THE PETIT PALAIS was built by the City of Paris for the Universal Exhibition in 1900 and it now houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts de la Ville de Paris. Façade, Sculpture and Courtyard may be seen here"


"PONT ALEXANDRE III AND INVALIDES in the mist. Also in Paris..."


"TRIUMPH ARCH"


"BUILDING at the President Wilson Avenue. Peter was kind enough to add that this is the Galliera Palace, home to a Fashion Museum. Actually, the Palace was built in the 19th-century for Duchess de Galliera and hosts the Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, inaugurated in 1977, and with more than 90,000 pieces in its collection"


"EIFFEL TOWER"

37 comments:

Miss Kim said...

Ahhhh Paris.... I love the vintage feel of these photos!

Neva said...

I was in Paris in March of 2004....These brought back wonderful memories and me without my camera when I was there...had to rely on the cheap throwaways so I really appreciate your pictures! Thanks for stopping by for a visit...I am far behind in my blog visit! busy busy busy! I am trying to catch up!

Peter said...

I somehow recognise some of these places (except that I never stayed at Grand Hôtel, but of course know the Café de la Paix).

The "building" on the second last picture is, as you may know, now a fashion museum (used to be a modest private home)!

Nice presentation, dear blogtrotter!

alice said...

J'ai vu une fois l'Avenue de l'Opéra sans la moindre voiture, le moindre vélo ni âme qui vive, c'était en juillet 2006, très tôt le matin et il faisait déjà très chaud. J'ai traversé l'avenue avec ma fille et nous nous sommes arrêtées au milieu pour bien profiter du spectacle. J'adore cette ville. Et je la déteste aussi mais c'est un autre sujet!
Accepterais-tu de me faire connaître ton adresse internet? J'aimerais échanger avec toi sur les étudiants Erasmus (minemlarue(at)hotmail.fr.

Shionge said...

We will never get enough of Paris and even though been there four times, each time just as intrigue, beautiful and charming.

Going on a family vacation soon and between Europe & America/Canada, we will be heading to the USA...Paris will come round again as with other European countries.

Be away for a month soon GMG and so I will visit you when I get back to Singapore.

Take care and see you around :D

99 said...

I used to live across the street of La Sorbone many years ago. I enjoyed the neighborhood and my room in a French attic looking over the roofs.
Thanks for bringing back those sweet memories...
As the tango says: "20 años no es nada" (it works for photos too)

lyliane six said...

C'est beau de regarder Paris à travers les photos des touristes, car j'ai tellement l'habitude de me promener dans cette ville que parfois je n'y fait même plus attention.Mais c'est vrai que c'est beau.
J'ai vu le pendant de l'obélisque à Louxor, il n'a pas la même couleur que celui de la place de la Concorde! pollution oblige.

Aditi said...

I didnt know that bit abt the egyptian obelisk.. i always learn something new with your posts

Context. Training, coaching & more. said...

beautiful Paris! and the visit to your blog: a delight as usual! have a great evening, Lara.

S-V-H said...

I like the last picture the best, it's very nice shot of the "Eiffelturm" behind the trees. Nice ambience!

Dsole said...

Hola compañero!!
It's such a looong time without blogging! :S I was a little busy... but I have been seeing all your new post about beautiful Salamanca and cold Paris... you know, I was in Salamanca when I was a little girl, I can't remeber a thing but all the pastry/muffins whatever I ate... so I have a sweet idea about this city! :) Anyway, I want to go now, I know there's a lot of young students there, such a nice atmosphere there!
And Paris... what about Paris? my parents just arrived from there 2 weeks ago, I have seen their photos, I was there 3 years ago, on summer time so I remeber a lot of light and sun... not that cold Paris (but beautiful indeed) you showed!
And I remeber you tagged me... well, let's make a deal because I don't like this kind of chains... so I'm going to answer your tag but won't go on with it... deal? ;)
So, let's go... 2. List eight (8) random facts about yourself...
1. I'm a puzzle lover/addict!!
2. I could watch Forrest Gump movie again and again and again...
3. I cry very often reading or watching TV... :_(
....but also laughing a lot! :))
4. I hate ketchup... I suffer from ketchup-phobia!
5. I don't believe in GOD, but I believe in a lot of people.
6. I'm living a wonderful time nowadays. I'm very happy.
7. I have a red car even it's not my favourite colour.
8. Green is my fav colour!

Have a great time my friend! tomorrow we have a holiday in Madrid and I'm going to Extremadura with my partner for a long weekend! See you soon!

Peter said...

Should perhaps have added that the "building" you showed and I referred to is called the Galliera Museum. Was built for a duchesse Galliera.

Ash said...

Fantastic images. I SO love Paris.
Thank you. Diwali Greetings to you too.

leo said...

amore paris! i love the city. been there in 2006 but only for 2 nights and it was soo cold, until my camera freezed on me. didnt get to see monalisa bcos the museum was closed on tues and my schedule was pretty tight. 'sigh' reason to return perhaps ha!ha! TQ for the beautiful photos as usual.

isa said...

As mentioned before, even us Francophiles learn something new on your posts!
Now, the architecture of La Madeleine makes sense to me...it was not originally intended as a church!
And thank you for that misty shot of Les Invalides - I can pretend that Napoleon is crying for me ;-)

Anonymous said...

what a great series of photos, really enjoyed them, thanks!

Anonymous said...

Yes, Paris is always worth a visit. The photo of Eiffel tower with its lights, seen through the leafless trees, reminds me of Christmas somehow ;-)
Have a nice weekend, Gil. Here it's very windy and very, very rainy in the morning.

Lynette said...

Seeing Paris in your photos brings back great memories of my trips with students in the '90s. Thanks. And I'm glad you enjoyed the sunset at my blog--I couldn't believe that I walked out at the exact second for such a photo. Hooray!

Annie said...

A whirlwind tour of Parisian delights. Thank you for being my guide today. I've not been to Paris but it is quite alive in my imagination.

Anonymous said...

Good Sunday morning to you!It`s father`s day here.
As all other your visitors I also started to remember my visits and those buildings and streets and atmosphere of Paris. Thank you for that!

Beefybob7 said...

Paris in the springtime.
Paris in the fall.
Paris in the winter when it drizzles,
Paris in the summer when it sizzles.

I love it. Thanks Gil.

Lakshmi said...

one of the best pics of eiffel tower ive seen..

MedaM said...

Unfortunately, I've never been in Paris but these wonderful photos make me feel I was there.

Chica, Cienna, and Cali said...

that's one city that evokes a sigh in almost all of us ....i wish i were there too

JaamZIN said...

the hotel room seems to be very neat and fancy!.great photos...

Sally said...

That hotel room has me VERY envious (though can't complain after some delightfully wonderful places in Tassie!

Thanks for being such a constant and regular visitor and supporter of my blog, even when things get impossibly busy for me and I neglect everyone else! :-)

Anonymous said...

WoW...some beautifully captured shots from this place....Paris retains its attraction, charm & is ever so beautiful, the more you see it...Excellent shots!

Pijush said...

I guess these are scanned pics of still photos, wonderfully captured . The essence is distinct in these shots and I enjoyed each of them.

lv2scpbk said...

Wonderful details on these buildings. Love the gold statues and the water fountain.

Dick said...

Great photos, I think I have to visit Paris someday.

Anonymous said...

Hi everybody! Sorry for having taken so much time to reply to your comments, but these weeks have been awful. And the future is not promising, but I'll try to get to your blogs as soon as possible.

Kim,
Great to see you back here. Paris is fantastic, even with all the strikes around…

Neva,
Don’t tell me about being busy. Last three weeks were incredible; not even a chance to visit blogosphere…

Peter,
Living in Paris there is no need to stay at the Grand… Thanks for the info. I’ve added to the post!

Alice,
Adorer Paris, je comprends. Détester, j’ai quelques difficultés à comprendre, mais c’est surement une autre histoire. J’avais laissé mon email sur ton blog, il y a plus d’une semaine, je crois…

Shionge,
Have a great trip!

99,
Living next to the Sorbonne; lucky girl…

Lyliane,
Il faut faire le touriste pour connaitre les villes que nous sont proches…

Aditi,
Lara,
Sue,
Ash,
Thanks! Love to see you here!

Dsole,
Great to see you here! Come on, you should go back to Salamanca; it’s not that far…
Paris is never cold; never… ;))
Great that you accepted the tag. Really, I don’t care that you didn’t pass it on… and I’m truly happy to read that you’re “living a wonderful time nowadays”. I could feel it from your comment. Enjoy… ;))

Leo,
I’m a bit curious how you may feel that Paris is cold; even with minus 17º centigrade, which happened to me once (on my return from Saudi Arabia, where the night temperature was plus 27º), I can’t feel the cold… ;))

Isabella,
Thanks. I hesitated a lot on posting that shot of the Invalides, but at least you liked… ;))

Bluechic,
Thanks.

April,
The Eiffel tower seen from near the Palais Tokyo was one of my favourites.
It seems autumn has finally arrived here in Portugal, but I’m not sure it will last…

Lynette,
Glad to raise your good memories!

Annie,
It’s always time to get to Paris (even with all the strikes around…)

Leena,
Father’s Day in Portugal is March 19th, St. Joseph’s Day...

Bob,
So we’re two loving Paris…

Backpakker,
Thanks!

Medam,
Thanks. It’s always time for the first time!

Moi,
Not that difficult to get there…

Zsolt,
Thanks. Grand Hotel is an institution…

Sally,
Thanks for coming here. I’m envious of your stay in Tassie; it looks you had a great time!

Kalyan,
Thanks!

Pijush,
These are pictures taken directly with a digital camera…

Lv2,
Concorde is a great place and the fountains are beautiful…

Dick,
You sure have to visit Paris…

Ming the Merciless said...

The Tuileries photo is my favorite. When I was in Paris in 1996 (my first adult trip there), I spent a lot of time sitting in the Tuileries reading and contemplating my life.

Now, I do it at the Central Park.

Anonymous said...

Ming,
come on, contemplating your life at the Tuilleries or the Central Park, that makes any mortal envious... ;))

Daniel Chérouvrier said...

Il n'y a pas que les Parisiens qui parlent bien et photographient bien Paris. Vous êtes un très bon défenseur de cette belle ville.
Native Parisians are not the only ones able to speak of and to photography with talent this nice city.
You're very good.

Anonymous said...

Deslilas,
Merci! C'est vrai que moi aussi j'aime bien Paris...

Sigma said...

Hi! Thanks for your concern. I've been unwell, so rather out of circulation for a while :-)

I thought I commented on this post, but apparently either my memory or blogger played treachery :-)

Lovely pictures ... I would love to go to Paris some day ... and Venis .. and Holland ... I have a never ending list :-D

Anonymous said...

Sigma,
Hope you're feeling better now!
Blogger might be guilty; look what happened to my header...
Paris, and Venice, and Holland should be on your must see list; but Portugal too... ;))