Paris...yes, the city!

I have just spent four days in Paris with my cousin! As always it is a whirlwind deal because we like to do and see so many things and over the years we have developed a few "tradition" places we go to just because.

There were a few new things on the list this trip one of which was the exhibit of Jeanne Lanvin at the Palais Galliera which was newly refurbished.

The exhibit was amazing...we were NOT allowed photos inside sadly but the dresses and embroidery work of this designer were exceptional. I think we spent well over two hours oohing and ahhing over each piece and deciding if it was a gown we would/could wear today...mostly the answer was yes. What a wonderful designer she was.

It was a pretty chilly day in Paris but we decided to walk along the Champs Elysées and avenue Montaigne to check out the windows and the people going by.

I loved this beautiful necklace like a bejeweled bow in the window at Chanel. Also...what a lovely bracelet!! Diamonds of course!

The new Frank Gehry building for the Louis Vuitton Foundation was the afternoon destination. You can take a little electric shuttle bus out to the Bois de Boulogne which takes you to the door of the fantastic building. It looks like a ship with glass sails. This is the "sketch" the architect made as his first idea!

The shuttle bus dropped us off here and when we saw the line to go in we said...no way!!! But...we found a very quick way to go in and before we knew it there we were...

A food cart with security guards on horseback...I think the horse in the back was ordering something to eat!

A view of the Eiffel tower from the top floor of the building...

 The water flowing down this slanted fountain gave the impression of waves on the shore...I spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out how they got it to look so irregular and like real ocean waves.

 The building seen from the side of the Jardin d'Acclimatation which is a park our children loved to go to when we came to see Nini in Paris...the park has really changed too!

 This view of the building is from the exterior of either level three or level four...really gives the impression of "sails" I think.

The art exhibit called "Keys to a passion"(Les Clefs d'une passion) was incredible too. It presented major works of 20th century modern art by artists who contributed to the changes in art. "Scream" by Munch and works by Bacon, Matisse, Mondrian, Monet to name just a few. Besides the special exhibits the Fondation has many activities going on on regular basis dealing with art and architecture and especially things for children and families. I was really impressed. We also had a delicious tiny Tarte au citron and a great cup of espresso in the café/restaurant! If you are going to Paris any time soon I would recommend a visit here!

We did a little bit of shopping too...I love these droguerie shops where you can find some of the most fantastic household items... 

This is a photo of the new café/restaurant located in the Bon Marché grocery store l'Epicerie de Paris...(this place has a wall of bottled water I photographed last year with  Bling water costing 10 euros a bottle!!) I like how the skylight here goes up about two or three floors. You feel like you are outside. I took this from the escalator!

I caught a glimpse of this deux chevaux Citroën from the bus window on Rue de Rivoli.

On my list was to go to the Dreyfus fabric store in Montmartre and the day was perfect! Sunny, blue sky and just the right temperature.

We walked down to the metro station Abbesses, the church of Saint Jean de Montmartre is across the street...I found the brick structure interesting in the sea of pale yellow sandstone buildings here. It has a rather "art nouveau" look to it. What do you think about the great contrast with the redhead in the foreground??

 This is the metro station you see on so many postcards....

Behind the station in the greenery there is a small park and there is a wall in the park where you can write messages with a sort of white "pen." The wall is occasionally washed off to start again...like a blackboard. There is Rita Hayworth...

More later!