John & Anne Twisleton’s visit to Paris 14-17 October 2022

 

You’re only 70 once and my birthday present to Anne Twisleton was to travel Eurostar to Paris for a weekend in the four star Hotel Mercure Paris Montmartre Sacre-Coeur. My only concern was the stated official abandonment of sale of paper metro tickets on 14 October, the day we set off! To our relief 30 min from Paris the train cafeteria announced they were selling the 10 ticket bundles to passengers so we landed safely in every sense and were outside Notre Dame half an hour after our 1pm arrival.

On our long weekend in Paris we opted to stay in Montmartre with its artistic connections. On the eighth floor of Hotel Mercure Paris Montmartre Sacre Coeur we had a brilliant view down to the Eiffel Tower which inspired drawing. The Tower shed bright radial beams towards us at night and, on the hour, had a 5 min sparkling session. 

Lovely to see the intact facade of Notre Dame in Paris which survived the 2019 fire. On a plinth outside we saw the near life-size stone statue of Our Lady of Paris created in the early 14th century for the Cathedral. This also survived the fire and seemed to invite prayer of thanksgiving. Walking round from the Cathedral facade, however, we sensed the devastation and enormous task of renovation geared to a hoped-for 2024 reopening.

The Seine is at the heart of Paris as the Thames is at the heart of London. The river flows 775 km from the highlands of Burgundy to the English Channel at Le Havre via Paris and Rouen. On our visit to Paris we stayed in Montmartre travelling down to see sights primarily along the river such as Notre Dame Cathedral, Louvre Palace/Museum and the Tuileries.

On our visit to the Louvre Anne and I enjoyed its immense spaciousness symbolised by the glass pyramids on the way in. This gives you an eye to the intimate details conveyed by artists. ‘Two Hunting Dogs Tied to a Tree Stump’ by Jacopo Bassano painted 1548 is such, as is the feature of the boy with the doves awaiting sacrifice in ‘The Purification of the Virgin’, again oil on canvas about 1636 by Guido Reni.

Versailles

On the metro to leave Paris

for the Palace of Versailles 

in the footsteps of Kings and Queens

once with absolute power.

They built grandly inducing awe

in all who paid court.

Each gallery room dwarfed us

taking us up and out of ourselves.

Beautiful rooms and paintings,

gardens and fountains 

lifted our spirits and 

blessed us on our way.

John Twisleton 15 October 2022

Sacré-Cœur

A marathon in space and time!

We took the lift and climbed

to dizzy heights above Montmartre

and then two hours in Church

as it was Dedication Feast.

The Bishop went round the Basilica

 incensing pillars representing  

the apostles, invoking their prayers

for the Church to keep their doctrine

resting on this sound foundation.

Our two hours of prayer at Mass

took their place in a chain of prayer

unbroken, day and night, 

for a hundred and thirty five years

in Sacré-Cœur Basilica.

John Twisleton 16 October 2022

The Arc de Triomphe is Paris’s triumphal arch with an upper observation deck built to commemorate Napoleon's victories. Anne and I took the scary walk through slow swirling traffic to the tomb of the unknown soldier who is buried beneath the arch. Unlike the similar shrine in Westminster Abbey there is a flame of remembrance upon it which has been rekindled daily since 1923 during a memorial ceremony.

Tuileries gardens alongside the River Seine are among the most pleasant sights of Paris. They trace back to Queen Catherine de Medici’s building a Palace with landscaped gardens in 1561 on the site of tile kilns. On our visit we enjoyed the flower beds, statues and the large circular pond where we sat for ages watching young people sail yachts they had rented from an age-old provider.

Musee de l’Orangerie is a popular feature of Tuileries Gardens. Anne and I were a shade bemused by the Monet landscapes inside but on more familiar ground just outside the Museum with the brass statuary of Rodin’s Kiss. A splendid feature of the Tuileries are the array of green metal chairs for free use that help you breathe in the beauty of this part of Paris.

Fascinating tour of Montmartre Cemetery next door to our Paris hotel. We saw a number of graves with death defiant youthful statues on them and many others with graphic reminders of mortality. Most famous tomb perhaps was that of Berlioz whose music gives him a certain immortality. His Marseillaise is one of my favourite pieces of martial music.