Obligatory Eiffel Tower photo

Canal Saint Martin

Yesterday I scouted out the Canal Saint Martin, where I'd never been before but heard much about. It's a small canal in the 10th that flows into the Seine, initially established by Napoleon to provide potable drinking water to the Parisians. It's a charming slice of heaven, even in the fall with overcast skies, as it was yesterday. You feel less like you're in a metropolis and more in a small provincial town. Also included in this post are some pretty buildings I saw along the way and some intriguing street art. I've heard that the Canal area gets very busy in spring and summer, and I can see why. It's an ideal spot for an al fresco lunch or a few glasses of wine with a loved one. Check it out!

Les Jardins du Palais Royal

The Palais Royal is a beautiful, majestic building in the first arrondissement, right accross from the Louvre. True to it's name, it used to be a palace. Now it holds the Council of State and other important government offices. The only area (as far as I understand) that's open to the public are the palace's famous gardens. Given that it's a gorgeous day today, without a cloud in the sky, I decided to pay them a visit. Part of the palais (and connected Comedie Francaise) is under renovation, which slightly diminishes from the splendor. But it is still a beautiful hidden idyll amidst the hustle and bustle of Paris.

Le Chateau d'Écouen

This past thursday, a friend and I got together with the goal of visiting the Chateau de Chantilly, ancestral home of the Condé family, and home to what is purportedly one of the best art collections outside of the Louvre. As it turned out, the Chateau's website had totally misled us into thinking we could take the RER (regional rail) there. In fact, we'd have to take one of the "grands lignes" and it would cost quite a pretty euro. So we decided to scrap the trip to Chantilly and save it for another day. Instead, my friend suggested the Chateau d'Écouen, which is reachable by regional rail. It turns out, the Chateau is the national museum of the Renaissance! So I was excited to go! We had both packed a lunch, and we headed out there. First, to get to the chateau from the train station, we had to walk through a forest. It was beautiful seeing all the leaves change, surrounding us with slightly different shades of green, yellow, orange and red. We got to the chateau. It was a gorgeous building--with a moat! However, it was closed until 2 (presumably for the workers' lunchbreak). So we took a seat and ate our own lunch. We took a stroll around the town. It was very quaint and charming but DEAD. Not a soul was out and about--and mind you, this wasn't during a Sunday. So we went back to the chateau and went inside. Both of us found the collections a bit odd. For having the prestigious name of national museum of the renaissance, the chateau had surprisingly little in it's collections. Also very few painting whatsoever. There were a few tapestries, some half-destroyed frescos, some jewelry (that was cool), and a LOT of ceramics. Honestly I was more impressed by the exterior of the chateau and it's picturesque surroundings than by the museum's collections. Another thing both of us found odd was, for a chateau, there were no displays of private apartments--bedrooms, living rooms,etc. That was disappointing. One of my favorite aspects of visiting an old home is to actually see how people used to live! Anyway, here are some photos of the chateau and some highlights of the collections. By all means I'm still very happy that I went!

ANIMAL at Les Arts Décoratifs

There's a very small show on at les arts Décoratifs called ANIMAL. it traces not only images of animals through decorative arts and fashion, but also the use of various animal skins and materials. I had seen it last year, but there was an utterly different variety of objects on display this year, and it was quite a treat! I saw two other shows at les arts Décoratifs today, in addition to perusing the permanent collection, and this was easily my favorite. Why? First and foremost I am a die-hard animal lover (although that doesn't stop me from eating them or wearing their skins :-(....something I feel slightly guilty about, but the pleasure I partake of in meat and fashion outweighs this guilt. Sort of), and second of all because the range of utilization in fashion and accessories on display is exquisite. Here are some pictures I snapped, showing: ladies' fans from the 19th century crafted from shell, ladies shoes in silk and boots in leather from the same period, small decorative figurines, advertisements, and lastly, stuffed animals. I was pleased to see several familiar characters appear in this last category, some of which you will surely recognize!