Paris in Spring - Gehry, Stadiums & Le Corbusier

I started my birthday off with sore calves and a Starbucks coffee for "Trysh" and then headed towards Jardin d'Acclimation to see one of Frank Gehry's latest projects, Fondation Louis Vuitton.  I didn't go inside but I probably should have.  The line was really long and I hadn't gotten my Paris Museum Pass yet so I was picking and choosing which places I wanted to pay extra for.  If you go to Paris, you definitely want to get a museum pass.  I only got a 2 day but probably should have gotten 4 or 6 so I would have been a little freer to go in any of the museums.  The pass saves you money by not having to pay for each one individually and you also get to bypass the long lines (that is worth it in itself!).  

 I love how this building appears to be sitting directly in the water.

 After Gehry's building, I was on a mission to see some Le Corbusier.  Rather than walking the streets I walked the length of Bois de Boulgne so I could enjoy gardens, Lac Inferieur and Lac Superieur.

 At the southern end of Bois de Boulogne lies Hippodrome d'Auteuil which is still an active horse racing venue.

 As I continued my walk I stumbled through Jardin des Poetes which included several sculptures and placards of famous French poets.  This bust of Victor Hugo by Rodin (known for "the Thinker") was one of the garden's centerpieces.

  Just a little rugby stadium.  The recently renovated Stade Jean-Bouin.

Stade Jean-Bouin sits adjacent to Parc des Princes which is the home of the Paris Saint-Germain soccer football team.

Just past the stadiums is Boulogne-Billancourt which is one of the most populous and wealthy suburbs of Paris.

 You can't tell in this picture but the green is small tiles.

 Le Corbusier's Molitor building which houses his studio apartment on the 7th floor.  His apartment is open for viewing but only on Mondays and that wasn't really working with my schedule so I had to settle for the outside.

 I wasn't really sure what this building was and I was a bit confused by the name since I knew that Le Corbusier's building was also called Molitor.  I just did some research and found some really cool info.  Watch the video under "legacy."

 Since I had walked as far south as I could before crossing the Seine, I headed back north towards Maison La Roche which houses Fondation Le Corbusier.  

  My walk the rest of the way back to the hotel was mostly residential.

After another long day of walking, a delicious dinner of mussels and creme brulee hit the spot for the birthday girl!  33 is looking pretty good so far!

Paris in Spring - Batignolles, Montemartre & Some Train Stations

My first day of adventure began with breakfast with Jacob in the hotel lobby.  I actually didn't eat but since I was wide awake, I joined him.  I was not really feeling hungry and I knew I wouldn't eat 25 euros (about $27) worth of breakfast buffet so I just hung out.  After he finished and headed to his convention I went back to the hotel and rested for about an hour.  As I mentioned in my last post I woke up at 3 am and couldn't go back to sleep.  I finally left the hotel about 9 and grabbed a Starbucks coffee and muffin.  I probably should have gone local but I wanted my morning pick-me-up to be something I knew I liked.  In fact, I ended up at Starbucks every morning except one.

I left the hotel and wandered around a few minutes before finding the road I needed to be on.  Those who know me know that I have zero sense of direction.  In fact, I think this became a blessing on my trip because when I got lost I discovered things I wouldn't have seen had I known where I was going.  Hey - gotta find the bright side in your weaknesses.  If you look at a street map of Paris then you will notice that there is no order to the streets (ok, maybe there is but I didn't see it).  They go in any direction they please thus resulting in me getting turned around quite a bit.

 I needed to walk down Boulevard Pereire to get to my destination and I was pleasantly surprised that there was a promenade in the middle.  So instead of walking down the sidewalk I was able to jaunt through little parks.  I couldn't read the sign depicting what this sculpture was but I'm sure it had something to do with the Revolution.  A little disturbing.  I'll just tell myself they are melting crayons.

 At the entrance to Square des Batignolles which was a nice little park to walk through.

 Y'all, the tulips were so beautiful throughout the city!!

 Vulture Statue in Square des Batignolles.

 From the square, I headed to Parc Clichy-Batignolles-Martin Luther King.  They have been working on this area since 2007 and there were still areas where fresh grass was being planted.  My first architecture job was doing multi-family so I really appreciated these apartments.

 Next on the walking tour was to get a glimpse of Moulin Rouge.  Saw it and continued walking.

 My end goal was to go to Sacre Coeur but as I traveled the streets of Montmartre I stumbled upon these sweet windmills.  The Moulin Rouge windmill is not original but these 2 are.  They are the only 2 of 14 remaining on the hillside.

 I loved the hilly streets of the Montmartre district.

 Montmartre is an artist area with a bunch of street painters and studios.  I had my eye on a sweet painting of a girl on a bicycle but didn't need to spend the money.

Eglise Saint-Pierre de Montmartre is the oldest surviving church in Paris!

 View of Eglise Saint-Pierre de Montmartre from the courtyard of Sacre Couer.

 Basilique du Sacre-Coeur

 I had the hardest time finding this church.  It was on my landmark map but I couldn't find it.  I finally asked some kind people and they pulled it up on their smartphone.  They were locals and didn't even know where it was.  It was squeezed between some other buildings on the street.

 Hospital.

 Gare du Nord.  I told Jacob I was going to check out these buildings on the map.  He said, "they are just train stations, you might be disappointed."  They ended up being awesome!

 

There was an art exhibit taking place at Gare de l'Est.  These artists were famous for their paintings on the Berlin Wall in the 80's.  Here is a pdf with more info about the paintings.  It's all in French but at least you can see all of the pieces and who the artists are.

 Sainte-Trinite

 Gare Saint-Lazare

I finally made it back to the hotel after clocking close to 21 miles (according to my pedometer).  I walked all day, never stopping for lunch.  Something about the "thrill of the hunt" kept me going nonstop.  I was tired but had so much fun exploring.  Jacob got back around the same time.  We rested a bit and then headed out for dinner.  This became the norm for the rest of my trip.  I realize that others might not find this type of travel fun but I loved it and am thankful for all of the marathon training that gave me extra energy.

We shared a Caesar salad.  Jacob had sea bass and I had a smoked salmon club.