Road Trip – Paris to Provence Week 1

Off to France for a month!

In Paris I stayed in the same small hotel I did in 2023, Hotel Recamier. It is in a great neighborhood in the 6th. More importantly I felt at home, same staff as last time so several recognized me. The area is very safe, great restaurants and shops, and close enough to walk to everything I wanted to see.

Luxembourg Gardens and Museum
My first stop was at the Luxembourg Gardens, one block from the hotel. Although the flowers were not as mature as the last time, it was still beautiful. The 5th image is a painting I did of the Medici Fountain from my last visit.

I hadn’t intended to go to the Musee Du Luxembourg. But when I saw the exhibit included work by Niki de Saint Phalle, I had to go. I’m kind of obsessed with her.

I’ve seen her work in New York, at her Tarot Garden in Italy, in Washington DC, Charlotte, and of course in Paris at the Strvinsky Fountain by the Musee Pompideau. (And more to come later!)

The show featured 20th-century avant-garde artists. As much as I like her whimsical work I like her life story even more. She was an early feminist, a believer in equal rights for both women and minorities, and a conceptual artist. At one point in her career she would adhere bags of paint to a wall and people would shoot them to create abstract art.

She was not a purist at all and used whatever materials it took to create her work. She created the Tarot Garden I visited in Italy and lived within one of the sculptures while building it.

She was criticized for creating souvenirs to help pay for her projects. People said it demeaned her work. I say good for her, she did what it took to survive and keep creating. Her career spanned over 50 years. 

Food

One nice thing about traveling by yourself is you can have a Sweet tart Granny Apple Confit for lunch and cheese and crackers for dinner and no one cares.  Don’t get me wrong I love going with my travel buddies too!

I never used to write about the food until I heard “but she never writes about the food” so now I do.

Somewhere I saw an ad for this Granny Apple confection, so I went in search. I found it at the A.LACROIX Pâtisserie just across the river from Notre Dame. It is a sweet/tart confection, with granny smith apple confit, apple mousse, and an almond biscuit base covered with a thin layer of chocolate. I thought it might be icky sweet but was not!

For my dinner – the mini cheese balls were rolled in Pimet doux, curry,  poivre gris, Bale rose, and estragon, making them colorful and tasty.

Saint Sulpice is not considered to be the prettiest church in Paris but I think it has the prettiest setting. There is a large square in front with a huge fountain. This is the church Dan Brown wrote about in his book The Da Vinci Code. He talks about a meridian line within the chapel. Here is a correct description of it and how it works!

It’s an amazing 18th-century astronomical instrument, often referred to as a gnomon.  It was designed by the English clock maker and astronomer Henry Sully and completed around 1727. It works like a calendar.

There is a small hole in a stained-glass window on the south wall of the church which lets a beam of sunlight in. It projects a spot of light onto the brass meridian line embedded in the floor. At the north end of the line is an obelisk. When the winter solstice occurs the light spot strikes a specific point on the line near the altar. 

Strolling

My favorite thing to do when I travel is to just walk and look at buildings, people, flowers, and parks. There are hundreds of parks in Paris. One every few blocks.

Speaking of people, about 8 blocks away from the hotel I saw this guy sitting on the curb….. the 1st photo I took in 2023, the 2nd photo just now! Same guy, same curb!

This year he looks not so forlorn and maybe has gained a little weight.

The shops have such beautiful window displays.

I did not go into Notre Dame, since I had been on a previous trip and there were huge crowds. But I did want to see point zero. It was behind the barricade last time. Well it’s uncovered now, kind of …  it now has a metal plate over part of it! And now its surrounded by concrete instead of cobblestone.

The photo on the right is what it looks like under the plate. Point zero Paris, is better known as Kilometre zero in France. It is a milestone marker and the exact spot from which all distances in France are measured. It’s also the starting point for France’s most important national roads.

Le Marche aux Fleurs was beautiful this year… 

And the Stravinsky Fountain is up and running again, by Niki de Saint Phalle!

I met Katrin when I was here in 2023 and we had lunch at Le Petit Marche. I had fish with couscous, Kat had veal, followed by a dessert that was like a soupy creme brulee with strawberries and pineapple chunks.

E. Dehillerin is where Julia Child used to shop for kitchen stuff …. It’s more like an old-fashion hardware than a fancy kitchen shop. It’s dark, with skinny isles, and cubbies to the ceiling filled with gadgets. I did not go downstairs so don’t know what that was like. I liked it better from the outside!

Love love love the passages, this time I only revisited Passage Vivienne. If you remember my story from last time, he was still there!

I managed to make it as far as Galleries Layfayette before I ran out of steam.

The dome is amazing and the view from the top is pretty impressive. It’s a high-end department store with some great clothes.

I wanted to go to the David Hockney exhibit but they were sold out until the night I was leaving. But I was able to see the entire show on YouTube. Look it up, it’s an amazing show. I was never particularly fond of his early work but in the video I saw a lot I liked. 

Day 3

Musee Marmottan Monet

I took a taxi to Musee Marmottan Monet which has the most Monets in the world in their collection.

Michel Monet the youngest son of Claude Monet, inherited the house in Giverny and all the works it contained.

The collection consisted of paintings and drawings of Eugène Delacroix, Eugène Boudin, Johan Barthold Jongkind, Gustave Caillebotte, Renoir, and others along with Monet’s last works. Those included the huge water lily canvases, some of which are in the Orangerie. Upon Michel’s death all of the paintings went to the Musée Marmottan.

Currently at the Musee is a show of the work of Eugene Boudin, who is called the Father of Impressionism.

He was one of the first French artists to paint outside. Monet wrote, at the end of his life, “I owe everything to Boudin.” Part of the reason the Impressionists were able to start painting outside was the advent of tubes for the paint.

Berthe Morisot work is also in the collection. She and Mary Cassett were among the few females in the Impressionist movement that were recognized.

I walked back by the Eiffel Tower to the Quai Branly Museum. 

Quai Branly Museum

The Branly garden and living wall are fabulous. Surrounding and beneath the museum the garden is jungle like. You would never know you were in the middle of the city. 

The museum houses a collection of indigenous art from the cultures of Africa, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. The collection is made up of more than a million objects, of which 3,500 are on display at any given time. Some of their collection is also at the Louvre.

One day I’ll get back to doing some clay sculpture. I was really inspired by what I saw in this museum. 

There was also a special exhibit featuring clothing woven with gold thread.

For the foodies ….. Grilled white asparagus, lettuce and citrus, with black current and dill.

Next I went looking for 29 Rapp. The Lavirotte Building was designed by the architect Jules Lavirotte and was built between 1899 and 1901. The building is one of the best-known surviving examples of art Nouveau in Paris.

The Petite Palace

The Petit Palais was built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition, like its neighbor the Grand Palais. It became a museum in 1902 and is free. 

Musee Orangerie

I was heading back to the hotel when I walked by the Musee Orangerie. I had not planned to go there but the line was pretty short.

I was there in the 1990s when a group of artists from our area took a trip to France lead by Janet Adkins.  During that trip I went to the Museum by myself, 2 feet from the wall the floor begins to slope. I was backing up to take a photo when I fell backwards and slid down one of the paintings!  Now of course there are guards in every room and stanchions with a cord to keep you away. 

There are two rooms displaying eight giant paintings. They are all  6 1/2 feet tall and vary in length, all in all they measure 328 feet! Amazingly he did not start these paintings until he was 74!!

Two of my favorites.

In addition to the water lilies there were some pieces by the artist David Claerbout that were very interesting. I particularly enjoyed the pencil drawing. Some of the words in the piece say “I have no patience.” I disagree looking at the drawing.

I finally made it back to the hotel in time to see the dancers setting up right outside the door. They dance here every night in good weather.

I told them I had seen them before and showed them their photo in my blog from 2023. They were thrilled and shared their ginger cake with me. 

Day 4

The Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris

On my last day is visited The Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris. It is the oldest museum in the City.

I was going to take the bus but there was a big footrace, with 8,013 registered runners. It disrupted buses and taxis, but it was fun to see so many people running.

Some of my favorite things in the museum were the signs that were used to identify who lived in a building or what business was in it.

After that I was able to take the bus to the Pantheon and went into the church to the left, Eglise Saint-Etienne-de-Mont, just in time to hear a concert of Gregorien Chant.

Before Jan, Michael was in the seminary and would occasionally break out in these chants. The interesting thing about the concert was that there were two groups of singers, one group of women and one of men. They sang separately and together. It was beautiful.

Day 5 

Chenonceau

I rented a car at CDG and drove to Chenonceau. It was about a 4-hour drive. Some of my friends were concerned about me driving by myself. After driving in Tuscany for a week. I didn’t think it would be bad and it wasn’t.

It seems the drivers in France are very courteous. They use signals when they change lanes and unless they are passing, they always move to the right lane. They don’t honk their horns unless you happen to get in the bus lane by mistake, and they let you in when the traffic is backed up. I felt no more nervous than I would driving in a place in the US I was not familiar with.

One tip, if you don’t know the language very well, and you are at a gas station that you can’t pay at the pump, take a photo of the pump you are at. Mine had 2 kinds of diesel and 3 kinds of gas. That way you can show the picture with the pump number and point to which kind of fuel you need. I didn’t think of that until after the fact but fortunately there was a customer that translated for me. 

I had been to Chenonceau during the artists trip, but wanted to return because I heard about Jean-Francois Bouch.

He runs a floral workshop there, the only chateau that has it own florist staff. The book “Les bouquets de Chenonceau” (2019) traces three years of his work. He and his team create fabulous floral displays in many of the rooms. Many of the flowers are grown on site and the displays are changed weekly.

The current chateau was built in 1514-1522 on the foundation of an old mill. There was, of course, many owners, one of which was the Crown.  Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henry II, was allowed to live there. After Henry died his widow, Catherine de’ Medici, threw her out and lived there for many years.

During WWII it was used as a hospital and occupied by the Germans. It was bombed by the allies, and restored in the 1950s.

I stayed at a beautiful Inn just steps from the Chateau, Auberge du Bon Laboureur. My room was in a little cottage and I had one of the best meals of my life in their restaurant!

I had a white sparkling local wine, Brut Tradition from JT and Jacky Blot Winery. The first course was a raw oyster (not a fan but ate it!), and some morsels, one being a square of pate.

Course 2 was a creamy asparagus soup. The main course was Parthenaise beef fillet with oyster mushrooms, potatoes and spring onions, asparagus, a few potato chips and some nuts, which added texture, accompanied by Grand Veneur sauce.

Course 4 was pre-dessert with chocolate mousse and ice cream. Course 5 was the real dessert of light strawberry mousse, rhubarb praline, strawberry sorbet, and an old-fashioned shortbread. But wait! They were not finished! Course 6 was cherries soaked in brandy and a cube of raspberry gelatin, OMG.

Day 6

I passed by the Jardin de Muses on my way out of town.

The next stop was at the huge gardens at Vilandry. I did not go into the chateau but wanted to see the garden.

The current Chateau was built in the 16th century by Jean Le Breton, around the original 14th-century keep.  In 1906 it was purchased by the Carvallo family, who still owns it. Today there are six gardens surrounded by woods. They have 10 full-time gardeners, tending to the grounds and 32 miles of hedges. It’s now owned by the great grandson Henri.

On my way to the Chateau I drove through the small village, it was so beautiful.

Azay Le Rideau Chateau

Azay Le Rideau Chateau was my last Chateau for the day. The first time I was here I did not go inside. Instead I chose to walk around the village. This time I DID go through the Chateau, I’m so glad I did. Many of the Chateau have little or no furnishings, but here about 1/3 of the rooms are furnished. And the attic room has some neat art.

The current Chateau is built on the site of a 12th-century fortress. It was built between 1518 and 1522, it’s considered one of the jewels of early French Renaissance architecture.

After the first visit I did a painting of one of the Inns in the village. The painting was in the window when our shop was on Middle Street. Nelson McDaniel came in because he recognized the Inn in the painting! I think that might have been the first time I met Nelson.

I looked for the Inn again but did not find it. But I DID find this neat little library, and a great idea for a trellis. They were all over town.

Then it was time to head south.

While I love driving on the side roads I knew I would never get there if I didn’t hop on the expressway. I ran out of steam at Clermont-Ferrard. My hotel was the Grand Mess, odd name but it is pretty new and is VERY interesting!

It had a big upscale restaurant, bar, lower-end restaurant, pretty outdoor seating area, and my room was two stories! Clever but not so practical, the comfy bed was upstairs with the shower, while the toilet was downstairs…

I finally made it to the south and spent the next evening at Nimes. That hotel was interesting as well. Turns out it is also a school for people wanting to get into the hospitality industry.

This was a whole vacation in itself but I was just getting started. Next I headed toward Aix en Provence, where I would spend the next three weeks. But Day 7 was a fun day visiting some small villages before arriving in Aix.