Friday, September 9, 2011

The City that Never Sleeps, Different Directions and Cemeteries, OH MY!

Sorry for not posting yesterday, but we all made it to Paris and had to have a reunion!

Today, let the games begin!!

They say that Vegas is the city that never sleeps, well Paris is pushing hard to take this title.

Our apartment in on the Rue du Champ de Mars, is a lovely street close to so many places that we want to see, the Eiffel Tower, Rue , the Seine....life is good. We have balconies off the living room and the bunk bed room, whereby Tish, Linda and I share 3 "TWIN" beds, that in itself, is a site.

The Parisians are friendly, despite the lore, and we love being here, but they love to pick up their trash at 3 am, the motor scooters with no mufflers run all night long and of course, because we all "get hot in the middle of the night", imagine that, the door to the balcony has to stay open!!



And then there are the "3 Snooring Tenors", for which I am one, finally, I could not take any more, therefore I used the new noise reduction head phones I got for my birthday, thank you all very much, so imagine Tish and Linda waking up to that picture:)

Finally the sun comes up and we all decide that we have different directions to take.

Tish, Linda, Amelia, Susan and Jules decide to go to the Versailles, therefore I will let the "Big Broad" send that blog.



Karen and I do a "walking" tour, we went to the 6th district and did the "Painters of Paris Tour". Actually it should be called the "Artist" tour, as we walked and strolled among the streets of Paris that the writers and artist lived and breathed.

Picasso, Matisse, Chagall, Steinbeck, Hemingway, Samuel Beckett, Charles Garnier (who designed the Opera House) all roamed these streets and restaurants. The famous eating places were popular in the 20th century, when the area was a mecca for talented people. They found the eclectic people of this area, much conducive to their free ranging thought process. I personally felt the presence of greatness in a couple of places we went. It was an honor to be there!

Parts of the area reminded us of Sunset and Vine, so Karen and I soon moved to areas less commercial and a little more in tune with what we were wanting to experience.

We found the Cimetiere du Montparnasse, a cemetery filled with amazing tombs. One particular I searched out the tomb of the Pigeon family, depicting a couple in bed (fully dressed). She died before him, and once you see this, you can only imagine that he must of cared and loved her very much.





One place Karen had on her list as a must see is Gertrude Stein's home, she apparently held some amazing cocktail parties with the likes of Hemingway, Picasso and Matisse and we both wished we could just once, have been invited.



Karen reading a Gertrude Stein book in front of her home, was only appropriate!!

We finally ended our walk at a sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux (1827-1875). It symbolizes the Four Corners of the World; four women from different continents are represented, along with horses and turtles.







My feet hurt like hell, but you can't imagine the smile on my face:)

Tonight our apartment is filled with stories of the day and with friends from Germany.

Tomorrow is another day!!

With a smile on my face,
Blogger of the night - Kathy

Location:Rue du Champ de Mars,Paris,France

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