Inspirational Places: Place des Vosges, Paris

Inspirations: Paris

The beauty of Paris is overwhelming. On our last visit, I said that anywhere there were square trees (manicured into square or rectangular shape), there was good stuff nearby.  There were also amazing flowers, especially roses, everywhere.  It is a really studied, deliberate attention to creating beauty in every little element of life that makes Paris, and France, worth getting to know.  The French also love to wrap packages at shops.  They simply cannot deal with it if you want to take your stuff and run, a la New York City.  It's about quality of life, of living, of enjoyment -- that is too often absent in the United States. 

What to Wear, if You Can Find It

When we were in Paris, we found a little shop in the Marais called Bain Plus (Bath Plus) that sold luxurious bath towels, robes and high-end personal grooming products.  But they also carried a line of knitwear that we absolutely loved and bought lots of -- Harris Wilson.  The colors and quality are great.  The problem: we can't find them in New York or anywhere in the U.S.  So if you happen to be in the Marais, stop by Bain Plus and check out the great knits by Harris Wilson.  Their scarves are terrific, too -- bold colors, long and very well knit.  

Bain Plus, 51 rue des Francs-Bourgeois, 75004 Paris (corner rue Vieille du Temple), Tel 01 48 87 83 07

Musee du Quai Branly

Now I know that this is a blog about the Adirondacks, more or less, so it must seem strange that we post things about Paris every now and then. Well, we can't help it. We simply love Paris, and there it is. But this post about the French capital does have some relevance to the Adirondacks.


During my last trip to Paris in late September, I visited the new Musee du Quai Branly, a long overdue addition to the museum scene of the city. This museum is devoted to tribal and so-called primitive art from all over the world. The collection is extensive and stunning, a living catalogue of many brilliant cultures that preceded us, and some that persist. The building is a marvel, the latest installment of Jean Nouvel's rather iconoclastic career. Glass gives way to moss-laden walls, which terminate into rust-colored masses, much of it suspended over the garden. And it is the garden that really struck me. Here, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower and a five-minute walk from the Boulevard St-Germain, I found myself gazing upon paper birches and all manner of ferns, from delicate wood ferns to gargantuan ostrich ferns. The garden is meant to be a collection of specimens from all over the world, a horticultural encyclopedia to match the collections inside. For me, it was a little piece of the Adirondacks firmly planted in the Right Bank.

Palais Royale and Gardens, Paris

Place de la Concorde, Paris

Musee du Quai Branly

In the Seventh Arrondissement

Place des Vosges

Paris

Les Fleurs de Paris

Next Stop, Place des Vosges

Place des Vosges was commissioned by King Henry II as a jousting arena. It was here that he was mortally wounded in a jousting match in 1559, dying 9 days later. That event is one of the great crises of French royal history and marks the beginning of 50 tumultuous years in French history, known as the Wars of Religion, ending in 1610.

Sculpting the Trees in Paris

These trees, in the Jardin de Luxembourg in Paris, are unlike any in the Adirondack Park. The French people seem to enjoy pruning the trees into squares and rectangles, which lends a formality to them, as if they are not trees at all, but manmade sculptures, each in its place, in a row, in the park. Perhaps this is particular to the parks in Paris and other French cities, and not to the country trees. We like the sculpted trees of Paris.

Many Strange Things

Paris shopping is special. The shops are unique - they offer personalized service along with original wares that you cannot easily get (or get at all) in other places, even New York. One special place to visit is Deyrolle. It is a shop filled with - many strange things. It's a hundred seventy five year old shop that sells taxidermy and all manner of natural curiosities. Next time you are in Paris, take some time to explore Deyrolle. For those who read French, here is an excerpt from the Deyrolle website:

Cette maison, qui reste un lieu unique en Europe, n’a pas failli à sa vocation pédagogique depuis qu’elle fût fondée en 1831 par Jean-Baptiste Deyrolle, très vite relayé par son fils Achille. Tous deux passionnés d’entomologie ils développèrent rapidement un commerce florissant basé sur la vente des insectes et le matériel de chasse pour les collections d’histoire naturelle tout en développant parallèlement une activité de taxidermiste.En 1888, la société Deyrolle, sous la houlette d’Émile Deyrolle, petit-fils du fondateur, s’installe définitivement rue du Bac, dans l’hôtel particulier de Samuel Bernard (fils du banquier de Louis XIV).La vocation de l’enseigne est avant tout pédagogique. Outre le matériel scientifique et le mobilier scolaire fourni à toutes les écoles et universités de France, beaucoup d’ouvrages spécialisés ont été publiés par les Deyrolle.

Photo Credit: David F. Gallagher (bottom); Deyrolle (top)

Bois de Rose, a Paris Original

We admit that this is not an obviously Adirondack post, but it will have an Adirondack impact when our two nieces show up at Penwood requiring fine dresses to wear. Now, these nieces have not yet arrived in this world. They are still what we like to call "pods" -- twins -- who we have nicknamed ipod and jpod. But when they do arrive, we will be visiting Bois de Rose often to purchase beautiful smocks main -- or handmade dresses, in French -- for them. In New York City, Bois de Rose is all the rage and Upper East Side moms turn to anyone planning a trip to Paris to pick up a suitcase full of their lovely dresses. The store and its proprietress are charming, almost as charming as the fine, and fairly priced, dresses they sell. Oh, and don't forget to pick up a matching dress for your doll -- many of the dresses have doll-size twin outfits, too. If you are not planning a Paris trip, there are some select retailers in the U.S. that carry Bois de Rose dresses, but they are, of course, seriously marked up. Bon chance!