Day 17 - Cite de la Musique tour and Walk #8

I got up early this morning and headed to the Northeast side of Paris to Cite de la Musique. I wasn’t sure how long it would take, so I ended up getting there about 20 minutes early. C’est la vie, hein? So I just sat on a ledge and read O is for Outlaw. Strange read, but it is the only English book in the bookcase that is in my room, so I’m taking what I can get. Anyway, when everyone showed up for the tour/lecture, we got started. Some French guy gave us the tour. He spoke English very well, but with a little lisp. Not important. What is important is that he knew what he was talking about and it was all very interesting. He talked to us about the evolution of instruments and of the Opera. We saw a lot of really cool instruments. Here are just a few of the many. (They actually have 1000 instruments on display, but they have 9000 in storage!)

Oldest flute, I think

One of my favorites

After that, Hanna, Courtney, Chelsea, Haley, and I did Walk #8: Marais Walk 2. Hanna, Courtney, and I inadvertently did much of this walk already. The reason why is because my mom sent me a walk-thing that went to really cheap shopping places in the Jewish quarter, which is where this walk takes place. Anyway.

This is the synagogue on rue Pavée. “An association of Jewish communities called upon Hector Guimard, whose American wife was Jewish, to be the architect for their synagogue on rue Pavée. The building was inaugurated in 1914. Inspired by the curving lines of the Art Nouveau style, Guimard designed the façade to look like an open Torah scroll. Guimard also designed many entrances to the Paris Metro—also in the Art Nouveau style.”

This didn’t really have to do with the walk, other than it was in the Jewish Quarter, but I think it is so cool. It was put together by hand. I can’t even imagine how long that would take.

This is a Jewish elementary school. “Before and since WWII, this area has been the site of several anti-Semitic manifestations—some have been quite violent, like the 1982 terrorist attack on Jo Goldenberg’s deli, when seven people were shot.”

“Since 1808, Hotel de Soubise has been the home of the Archives Nationales. In 1705, Francois de Rohan, the prince of Soubise, commissioned construction of this impressive palace. In the courtyard, admire the 24 pairs of Corinthian columns.”

A valiant attempt at a self portrait. I’m not very good at these :r

This is the Hotel Rohan. We couldn’t go into the courtyard because it was closed. “Francois de Rohan (mentioned previously) gave his fifth son, Armand-Gaston the property adjoining the garden of his property. Armand-Gaston Rohan built this nice hotel, which is now part of the Archives Nationales.”

This is the Musée Cognacq-Jay. “Items in the exhibit were collected by Ernest Cognacq and his wife, Marie-Louise Jay, the founders of the famous Samaritaine department store—a landmark in Paris since the early 1900s. In the museum, you will see paintings by Francois Boucher, Jean-Baptiste Chardin, Jean-Honore Fragonard, and Jean-Antoine Watteau.” Though I didn’t recognize the specific paintings, I definitely recognized the artists and the style. Enjoy the pictures.

I love these little boxes. They are precious :)

After that, we went to a thrift store called “Free ‘P’ Star.” I found some awesome knee high boots, but they were just a little bit too small. Oh well.

But I did get this scarf for a euro so it wasn’t a complete bust. However, I do need to figure out how to clean it because it smells very strongly of the oils from many, many hands.

Anyway, that is about all that happened today. Tune in next time :)