Friday, August 31, 2012

"It's really happening."


"This is really happening." I texted to my friend who is taking me to Paree.  We've talked about this often but I wasn't sure that it would become a reality.  But now I have airline tickets (haha...I made this one up!).....



Round trip, non-stop on American Airlines...."Second star to the right and straight on til morning"


Charles de Gaulle Airport

Landing at Charles de Gaulle airport.  My dream is coming true!

Soon I'll be strolling on Parisian boulevards and eating lots of fabulous cuisine and drinking delicious French wines, according to my personal tour guide.

Day 7 Preparation for Paris trip:  Dinner with a friend in a French restaurant.
Countess Bedelia 8/31/2012 11:11:00 AM | 0 comments |

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Musée d'Orsay



The museum is located in the Saint-Germain des Pres neighborhood, between Quai Anatole France and Rue de Lille, and faces the Seine river on the left bank. The museum is also a five minute walk across the river from the Jardin des Tuileries.

One of the world's most-visited museums, the Musee d'Orsay houses the largest collection of painting, sculpture, and decorative objects produced between 1848-1914, showcasing many of the most remarkable works of the early modern era.
Giving visitors a detailed and breathtaking look at the birth of modern painting, sculpture, design, and even photography, the Musee d'Orsay's permanent collection spans from neoclassicism and romanticism to impressionism, expressionism, and art nouveau design.

Highlights include important works by Ingres, Delacroix, Monet, Degas, Manet, Gaugin, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Van Gogh.

My very favorite artist of all time is Claude Monet.  His “Haystacks” series show the same scene at various times of day, seasons, and types of weather.  I will never forget the exhibition at the Boston Museum of  Fine Art several years ago which showed the complete collection of the paintings in one place.  He also painted beautiful scenes such as this one titled “En norvégienne”.

I see much more strolling in my future.
Day 6 Preparation for Paris trip:  Walk 3 miles
Countess Bedelia 8/30/2012 09:51:00 AM | 0 comments |

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Les Tuileries


The Tuileries area is bounded by the vast expanse of the Place de la Concorde at one end and the Grand Louvre at the other. This was the place for French kings for a long time. The Sun King (Louis XIV) lived on the Place des Victoires, which was designed solely to show off his statue. In Place Vendôme, royal glitter has been replaced by the precious stones of Cartier, Boucheron and Chaumet, and the fine cut of Arab, German and Japanese bankers, not to mention the chic ladies visiting the luxurious Hotel Ritz. The area is crossed by two of Paris’s most magnificent shopping streets – the long Rue de Rivoli, with its arcades, expensive boutiques, bookshops and five-star hotels, and the Rue St Honoré, another extensive street, bringing together the richest and humblest in people and commerce. Also the beautiful Place du Marché St Honoré was recently refurbished with exclusive boutiques and elegant restaurants and the famous Palais Royal offers a lovely garden and exceptional arcades.

 
The Musée du Louvre —in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre—is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument.  And the home of the Mona Lisa! 
 
The Tuileries Garden is a public garden located between the Louvre Museum and the Place de la Concorde in the 1st arrondissement of Paris.
There will be lots of strolling through the arrondissements of Paris according to my friend who will be my travel guide…..not walking…..in Paris we stroll J

Day 5 Preparation for Paris trip:  Walk 3 miles on the treadmill
Countess Bedelia 8/29/2012 08:55:00 AM | 0 comments |

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

All that Jazz !




"Le Caveau des Oubliettes", 52 Rue Galande, Paris 5th, is the oldest Jazz Club in Paris. It was built on the site of an ancient Latin Quarter Dungeon, so you have to go down winding stairs into a Grotto-like cavern, decorated with old chains and even inscriptions on the walls of people that died there! The music is always excellent.  No cover charge, no dress code. Be sure to go DOWNSTAIRS and not to stay at the upper bar! Most tourists don't know this, that's why it is a typical local's place.


 
Americans brought jazz to Paris after World War I and The Jazz Age began.  Paris is still considered to be among the leading Jazz cities in the world.  What could be more fitting to prepare for a Paris trip than to see a performance about Louis Armstrong, the greatest jazz musician of the twentieth century.

Day 4 Preparation for Paris trip:  Attend “Satchmo at the Waldorf” starring the incomparable John Douglas Thompson
Countess Bedelia 8/28/2012 10:25:00 AM | 0 comments |

Monday, August 27, 2012

Cartier

Everyone knows how much The Countess loves her jewels.  The Cartier store is the Holy Grail of Jewelry.  I can't wait to gawk at the magnificence.




The Cartier store on the the Champs Élysées in Paris, France.

"One of the most famous jewelers in the world, Cartier has prohibitive prices to match its glamorous image. Go to gawk, and if your pockets are deep enough, pick up an expensive trinket."
 Day 3 Preparation for Paris trip: Shopping !!
Countess Bedelia 8/27/2012 07:03:00 PM | 0 comments |

The Seine River

The Seine River winds its way through the heart of Paris.  It's always been a dream of mine to stand on one of its many bridges like the heroine in a novel by Honore' de Balzac.




The Seine River in Paris looking at the Pont de l'Alma.
The Flame of Liberty located on the north end of the bridge became an unofficial memorial for Diana, Princess of Wales after her 1997 death in the tunnel beneath the Pont de l'Alma.

Day 2 Preparation for Paris trip: Swim 10 laps in the Castle Bedelia pool.
Countess Bedelia 8/27/2012 06:59:00 PM | 0 comments |

The Countess goes to Paris

The Court of the Countess Bedelia will be traveling to Paris in 5 short weeks.  Like all royal journeys many preparations must be made....especially to ensure that The Countess is physically ready for the many demands that Parisian society will make upon her royal presence.  To that end, I have decided to document my efforts to get in shape before undertaking such a rigorous trip.




"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."
Ernest Hemingway

Day 1 Preparation for Paris trip: Drinking French Rose' wine.
Countess Bedelia 8/27/2012 06:54:00 PM | 0 comments |