Paris: the Arc de Triomphe, the Champes-Elysees, Pont Alexandre III, the Petit Palais,and the Place de Concorde

It was wet, cool and blowy when we decided that we needed to visit the Arc de Triomphe.

 

 

 It is really quite a dramatic focus to the roundabout  at Place Charles de Gaulle and the grand boulevards radiating from it.

  It seems like every street we walk on in Paris has reference to someone in French history who did something for the good of France.  Sometimes it is a musician or singer, like Josephine Baker was also a member of the Resistance, sometimes it is a politician, but this place seems to have caught France and the world's focus as being the centre for pride, triumphs and resistance to its enemies.

We thought it was too wet to visit the Bois de Boulogne so we strolled down the Champs-Elysee while the rain abated a little. gawking at the very expensive shops and deciding which pieces of souvenir jewellery that Bob could buy for me.  I did see a Daliesque watch that I quite liked,

 but thought the diamonds might get in the way of my gardening and snag on my embroidery cottons, so in spite of his pleas for me to let him invest in a 23400 E watch, or a ring for 55100E, I will come home without a souvenir from Tiffany or Cartier.  Perhaps next time I will find something to my taste.  Similarly, you won't, unfortunately see me dressed in anything by Saint-Laurent, Cardin or Gautier,  Sorry to disappoint.

Walking through gardens, we ended up at the Pont Alexandre III which is splendidly over the top with it four (naturaly) gilt statues flamboyantly watching over the bridge, atop vast stone bases.

 Facing them are the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais.

We decided to visit the Petit Palais, which is rather surprisingly glorious and  light-filled building from the inside, but has a rather mixed bag of displays.  Some of the paintings seemed a bit weak artistically, though historically interesting, but we both rather admired the portrait of Sarah Bernhardt, by George Clairin.

Other works worth noting for me were Alfred Sisley's "L'Eglise de Moret (le soir)",

Camille Pissaro's "Paris, le Pont Royale et le Pavilion de Flore",

 and Albert Bartholome's "Buste de Femme"
\

I was really interested by the collection of icons and how Jesus and his disciples were portrayed.  In many of the portraits he looks like an Ethiopian, in others like a very dark Italian, and in yet others, he appears like a darkish western European.  Very different to the story books of my childhood where he looked like a benign Englishman with fair hair and eyes.

I'd never come across Jean Carries' sculptural work before.  His grotesque masks, sculptures and toads rather tickled my fancy, though they seemed to also indicate a weird mind.

In completely different styles, I liked Henry Cros' "Azur"

and Emile Galle's "Commode".

We took a break in the cafe and discovered an incongruously wild garden with ponds and archways festooned with golden swags and overlooked by yet more golden angels.

We next visited the huge Place de la Concorde, with its fountains,

 Obelisk of Luxor

 

 

 

and, its monuments topped by the mandatory gilded statues, all with the Paris wheel as a backdrop.  As splendid a site as Paris is capable of making.

Then, it was through the back streets to do more gawking at the clothing, art and jewellery shops of the rich and famous, especially in the Rue du Fauburg, Saint- Honore.  Plus, braving the armed guards surrounding the vast and walled home of the President, we peered in to see if he wanted to  invite us in for an aperitif or two.  He didn't.