St-Denis Basilica
The
original St-Denis was built on this spot in the 5th Century. The current
Basilica dates from the early 12th century when Louis VI made this the
official burial place for kings and queens of France. I was surprised
to find that even Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette are here. The Basilica
was very interesting. Sally and I spent about 3 hours at the Basilica
and we might have spent more time except that the Basilica was very cold.
The next time that I'm in Paris I may go back here because there is so
much to see.
Nissim de Camondo
In
1914 the Comte Moise de Camondo turned this mansion into a museum to honor
of his son Nissim who died in World War I. The mansion was build in 1863
to resemble the Petit
Trianon at Versailles. The mansion holds a large collection of 18th
Century art, tapestries and furniture. Normally, I don't care for this
type of thing, but the mansion was beautiful and it was fun to see how
the very wealthy lived in the 19th century.
Parc de Monceau
Sally
and I had visited this park in the summer
of 2005. We both enjoyed the park in the summer when it was green
and crowded with people not wearing very much because of the heat. This
time, the park was empty and there was snow on the ground. One of the
things that I like best about Paris is that there is history all around.
At the entrance to the park is one of the few remaining toll houses of
Paris. On our first visit here Sally and I walked right past the toll
house and thought it looked interesting, but had no idea what it was or
its historical significance.
Jacquemart-André
The
Jacquemart-André is another 19th Century Mansion near Parc Monceau.
It was built by Edouard André to showcase his art collection. Edouard
commissioned artist Nélie Jacquemart to paint a portrait for him.
They fell in love and were married. The couple was childless and devoted
their time to collecting art. When we visited the museum there was an
exhibition of Jacque Louis David paintings. Sally and I had recently seen
an exhibition of J.L. David at the Getty Center in Los Angeles so it was
fun to compare the two. Both exhibitions had major works by David, but
I think that the one in Los Angeles was better. The mansion was very impressive,
especially the staircase leading to the second floor which was designed
by the architect who lost to Garnier the commission to build an Opera
house in Paris.