Terrace in Paris

We were very lucky to find our apartment in Paris. It was five stories up and operated with a less than a half size elevator, but it had this great private terrace on the roof that offered views of the Eiffel Tower, steeple tops of Hotel de Ville, St. Jaques Tower, and Sacré-Coeur Basilica (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) on Montmartre Hill.




#7, 4 Rue Des Juges Consuls, Paris 4th



Eiffel Tower twinkles about five minutes every hour.











The project to build the Sacré-Coeur Basilica (Basilica of the Sacred Heart) was initiated by a group of influential people. Their reasons to build this monument was two-fold: they had pledged to build a church if Paris escaped unscathed from the war with the Prussians and they saw the defeat of the French at the hands of the Prussian army in 1870 as a moral condemnation of the sins of Paris.
The project was authorized by the National Assembly in 1873, and a competition was organized. The goal was to build an imposing basilica true to Christian traditions.(1)

The Sacré-Coeur Basilica has managed to keep its beaming white color even in the polluted air of a big city like Paris. This can be attributed to the Château-Landon stones which were used for the construction of the Sacré-Coeur. When it rains, the stones react to the water and secrete calcite, which acts like a bleacher.(1)









Saint-Jacques Tower, the Tour Saint-Jacques, is a monument located in the IVe arrondissement of Paris, France. This 52 metres (171 ft) Flamboyant Gothic tower is all that remains of the former 16th century Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie ("Saint James of the butchery") which was leveled shortly after the French Revolution.[1]




The Taruns admire La Tour Saint Jaque from street level.




Hotel de Ville - 1533..... Mayor of Paris Office






In July 1357, Étienne Marcel, provost of the merchants (i.e. mayor) of Paris, bought the so-called maison aux piliers ("House of Pillars") in the name of the municipality on the gently sloping shingle beach which served as a river port for unloading wheat and wood and later merged into a square, the Place de Grève (French for "Square of the Strand"), a place where Parisians often gathered, particularly for public executions. Ever since 1357, the City of Paris's administration has been located on the same location where the Hôtel de Ville stands today. Before 1357, the city administration was located in the so-called parloir aux bourgeois ("Parlour of Burgesses") near the Châtelet.
In 1533, King Francis I decided to endow the city with a city hall which would be worthy of Paris, then the largest city of Europe and Christendom. He appointed two architects: Italian Dominique de Cortone, nicknamed Boccador because of his red beard, and Frenchman Pierre Chambiges. The House of Pillars was torn down and Boccador, steeped in the spirit of the Renaissance, drew up the plans of a building which was at the same time tall, spacious, full of light and refined. Building work was not finished until 1628 during the reign of Louis XIII.







During the Franco-Prussian War, Commune extremists set fire to the Hôtel de Ville destroying almost all extant public records from the French Revolutionary period. The blaze swallowed the building from the inside, leaving only an empty stone shell. Reconstruction of the hall lasted from 1873 through 1892 (19 years) and was directed by architects Théodore Ballu and Édouard Deperthes because they had won the contest of where the best designer in the tournament got to design the City Hall.(1)




(1)Thanks Wikipedia

Location:France

Paris Poussiere

The weather in Paris is beautiful this time of year which means sunny skies and no rain. A side effect is that dust is everywhere in the city. This is especially true in the public places around the Louvre and Palais Royal where Cerise is shown standing between a row of trees

CDG to Gare du Nord

Paris is known my different names and a common one is "The City of Light". However if you take the train from CDG airport to Gare du Nord, you may think of it as the "City of Graffiti". The side of every building along the tracks are covered with "street art". That is a long stretch covering at least 20 miles I cannot usually understand these messages in the USA, so no idea what they say here. This one was actually in the city.

Perspectives from France

We have been traveling in France for a little over a week now. Our schedule has been full and now we are on the train to Nice and looking forward to a little more laid back schedule enjoying the south of France.

On our first day in Paris, Cherry and I walked from Gare du Nord to the Louvre to get our bearings and some exercise while we waited for the Irish Taruns to arrive from Dublin. We stopped at the Palais Royal courtyard and viewed the black and white striped columns. This photo shows an unknown person seeking harmony within her environment. Perhaps she is thinking I should have worn my Beetlegeuse suit?

Travellers - May 19, 2011 - France

Cherry saw her first. I only noticed her at the gate. She was perhaps five feet tall. Slender and not hurried rolling her bag beside her on four wheels like a dog on a walk. The bag was leashed with blue straps. The bag colors were in blocks of green, aqua, plum, and banana. Reaching the gate she stopped and prepared the bag for boarding, binding it with its own straps so it could not escape as if my some magic powers it was sure to possess.

The bag was only an accessory to her outfit which was a statement on its own. Starting at the top with a charcoal wool cap sporting a short bill on front which evoked the turn of the 19th century. Next was her green coat which was somewhere between London Fog and duster that stopped four inches from the floor. A yellow collar peeked out from the the top of her coat. Then the final touch - sparkling pink sneakers on a white footbed.

So it begins. Our adventure in France is sure to fill our digital cameras with all of the advertised sights, but what else will we see and experience? Harris no doubt will charm the mademoiselles. Poppy will get lost and meet interesting people. Perhaps a nice burgundy or a truffle sniffing dog will surprise us in Beaune. No telling what we will see on the beaches of Nice. Stay tuned for more reports.

Au revoir,

Monsieur Jerome

Sent from my iPad

Shimmering sixties

It just occurred to me that shimmering is a cool word. It is hard to appreciate unless you have the proper setting. I think you have to see it to appreciate it. Tonight was one of those nights where you have to relax a little bit. I had some frozen lime and orange juice and a bottle of Silver Patron that needed draining to reduce clutter if nothing else. After four margaritas I decided TJ would enjoy his medicated bath. We tuned into XM sixties and went outside to dry of by the pool. Now the lighted Mediterranean Palms were reflecting in the pool and with the gentle breeze were shimmering under the moonlight. For a moment I thought I was in a tropical resort and could wave for another Rita. That was not happening and then the music took be back to an earlier time with the Mamas & Papas, Tommy with that silver ball, and everyone wearing flowers in their hair when they went to San Francisco.

Back to shimmering it is truly relaxing to see or remember light reflecting off water. Whether it was the sixties on a Rockport pier fishing with Poppy in the pre-dawn light, or the moon set sinking to meet the borizon of the waters off the St Andrews shoreline, or a midnight sixties XM poolside jam ession with TJ, LuC, Jac, and Champ.

Next chapter: Dancing with the Dogs under the Pale Moonlight.

Helsea Gain

Another trip to Park Plaza Hospital on Saturday night, February 23rd.   The big girls were dropped off with Janey and H once again. Since it was the weekend Dr. Joe Ed McLemore was pinch hitting for Dr. Woodward. He was a tall man with big cowboy boots and an expectation that every experienced cow should be able to drop a calf on her own.  Now Cherry and I may have been a little lax about the breathing exercises since we had been there and done that.  All of this has left Cherry with only one memory of Chelsea's birth:

                        PAIN!

Chelsea made her debut Sunday morning, February 24th, at 12:44AM.  We named her Chelsea (inspired by On Golden Pond) Jane (after her grandmother Martha Jane).  Chelsea was a pretty baby and had beautiful blond hair with a hint of red.  Cherry had realized her fear that my offspring may have the red hair I was born with.  Chelsea has gone from strawberry blonde to red although a much prettier color than her Dad.  Chelsea has since embraced being Dad's clone right down to her fake mustache collection. 

Dad was pretty busy playing Mr. Mom and taking care of the big girls so this birth seems like a blur.  It is hard for a Dad to keep up with a Mom's schedule. 

Chelsea grew up under the influence of her big sisters who always convinced her to take the blame for things since she was too young to get in serious trouble.  She called herself Helsea Gain since she had trouble with her name.  When she was young she was a great sister to Charlie as she enjoyed playing with Star Wars action figures.  Her Dad tried to make her a star basketball player because she was tall, but she just was not mean enough to play in the paint.

Chelsea has always been fun to be around.  She should always be asked to sing Hakuna Matata from The Lion King and The Cow Jumped over the Moon from Rent because she is quite good at it.  Chelsea is courageous because she seeks adventure in places like India and chooses to live in high cost and crowded California.  Most of all she seems to have a knack for falling into nettles.  See Kelly's blog to get the full account of that episode.  Now she knows the PAIN her Mom suffered through to bring her into the world.

Chelsea, I started this blog on your birthday but time ran over to the 25th before I finished.  I hope you had a great birthday and look forward to hearing more about your adventures.

Maybe not a power forward after all, maybe LPGA Tour!