Face Lifted Folies

Back in February when it was still raining a lot we had a day when the skies were clear, and there was a low-in-the-sky wintery sun. It was time to go out, have a walk and soak up some vitamin D as best we could. We had no particular plan, but ended up a little off our usual beaten track in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. We turned left down a typical but unremarkable Parisian side road and suddenly came upon this magnificent sight.

The Folies Bergère is one of the most prestigious music halls in the world. It first opened in 1869 as an opera house but was initially called Les Folies Trévise. During the Franco-Prussian war (1870-71), the theatre was temporarily closed and used for political meetings instead. On reopening the theatre was renamed Les Folies Bergère. The Duc de Trévise was worried that he might be associated with the dance hall and formally requested that the name be changed. It returned to theatrical glory after the war and between 1890 and the 1920s it thrived. In 1928 the original glazed facade of the theatre was replaced with Art Déco gilded frescos, by the sculptor Maurice Picaud.

By the beginning of the 21st century Les Folies Bergère was falling into a state of disrepair. The Zinc roof needed replacing, there was leaks and resulting damage inside the building. At the end of 2011 Jean-Marc Dumontet, a business man and theatre producer, bought the lease to the theatre and instigated a huge renovation programme at a cost of about 5 million euros. The renovations included re-gilding the beautiful art Art Déco frescoes. They are stunning!

I love all the Art Déco details.

Not to mention the Art Déco font.

Inside is very elaborate. Here is the entrance.

We didn't go right into the theatre but did manage to take a peek at the secondary entrance hall. To say it is over the top is an understatement.

Here is the café across the road. I love what they do with the chairs during the winter months. 

It is the gilded frescos that I like the best. Utterly gorgeous. They even inspired me to have a play with some pattern design. What do you think?

Sunset in the Tuileries

Some times you're just lucky. I'd taken the kids on a thrilling outing to the bank - oh joy - followed by a reward trip to the Apple Store to have a chat with Siri. Siri, incidentally, doesn't understand kids which when you think about it is an excellent design feature. Deliberate I'm sure. After our Apple fix we popped up above ground and walked through the Tuileries to catch the metro at Concord. This is what we popped up to.

Well yes, not bad really. Looking back towards the Louvre we had this.


Looking towards Rue de Rivoli, we got this.



The Eiffel Tower in a vase.


Dancing with statues.


Taking a swim. You can just make her out in the ripples.


Flying with gulls.


La Grande Dame.


Imagine my surprise when we came out of the Jardin des Tuileries and there was the Eiffel Tower, on Safari!

The Eiffel Tower, from afar and close up

I've written about the Eiffel Tower before. I usually see the Eiffel Tower from afar, from up the hill in Montmartre. A hazy, filigree (oh-so-incredibly-well-known) spire in the distance.


So when I cross the river I'm always pleased to get up closer, to appreciate the scale of the Eiffel Tower as it pops up in unexpected places.





I'm not a pigeon fan, but admit to being quite charmed when I saw this pigeon eye-balling the Eiffel Tower.

It's only when you get up very close you realise how incredibly intricate and elaborate the details are on the Eiffel Tower, with swirls and curls.

On the sides of the Tower, just below the first floor platform are the names of 72 famous French scientists in gold letters. Here are a few.

The Tower is painted 'Eiffel Tower Beige', by hand, with brushes! It takes 6-7 years the paint it. Three shades of brown are used to paint the Tower, starting with the darkest shade on the lower level, gradually getting lighter at each level above. The lower level looks like it must have recently been painted.

I love these giant metal pulleys, used for hauling the lifts up and down between the ground and first floor.

And finally, where do you think I took this photo from, Photoshop was not involved. Hint - the clue is in the neon light.


More photos of th Eiffel Tower can be seen here and here

Tritons and Naiads catch the sun

I've crossed the river twice in the past week. There is nothing  quite like crossing the Seine to make you realise you live in one of the most beautiful cities in the world. One thing that always strikes me as I get close to the river is how much bigger the sky feels as compared with up in Montmartre. Up in Montmartre, unless you are up by the Sacré Cœur overlooking Paris, you don't tend to see big open skies and long views like this.

Before crossing the river I cycled over La Place de la Concorde. I decided to stop half way across and have a closer look at the two fountains by the Obelisk. I've never really had a close look at them before, usually walking or cycling past them on my way to somewhere else. They're pretty elaborate! Built in 1840 they are designed round the theme of rivers and seas. The southernmost fountain is devoted to seas, and has six tritons or naiads holding golden fish that periodically spout water jets upwards.

In the centre of the fountains are are four figures depicting different arts and crafts. I love the way they shine.

The northernmost fountain is devoted to rivers and similarly has tritons and naiads. They all  have rather fine physiques I might add.

The water was spilling over the upper parts of the fountain.

A man in the centre was holding grapes.

And finally, I spotted a naiad with a rather fine hat. 

Bleu Blanc Rouge...the chairs are back

I went for a walk up to the Sacré Cœur this morning post school drop off, I haven't been up there so early for a while. As I approached the Place de Tertre, the small roads leading up to the Place were blocked with white vans. White vans everywhere.

If you ever wondered when they set up the restaurant tables and chairs again, after having taken them down in November some time. Well it was today.

The Square was buzzing with activity.

The Sacré Cœur provided a lovely back drop to the metal poles.

Deliveries carried on as usual.

If a tree got in the way, they just cut a hole to let it pass through.

Chairs, tables and planet-destroying-terrace-heaters were stacked up every where.

And the colour theme was definitely bleu blanc rouge. Vive la France!