Paris - Day 6 Aug 13

Today I rode to the outskirts of the city on the recommendation of the owner of the flat. She said that there was a concert in the park at Vicennes that I would probably enjoy.  It was a nice ride through an area that I had not been in before.  As you ride farther from the city center you can definitely see the architecture change.  More modern and less classic the farther you go.

The ride took me to the Chateau de Vincennes. That was wonderful.  The history of the place was amazing.  The site started out as a hunting lodge for the royals in the 12th century and evolved into a medieval castle in the 1300's.  It was a place of protection for the royal family and court.  Then it was developed into the grand palace for Louis XIV before he finished Versailles.  It fell out of favor after the royal court was moved to the new seat of power, Versailles.  After that it was turned into a prison much the same as the Bastille.  One of the famous inhabitants of the prison was the Marquis de Sade.

The original castle and walls from the 1300's.

The Kings residence as used in the days of Louis XIV.  You can see the beauty of the building as it is being restored to its original appearance on the left.  There is a residence directly across the massive courtyard for the queens residence.  

The Kings residence is connected to the queens residence by the private walkway on top of the wall.  This enabled the king to visit the queen without having to cross the courtyard amongst the commoners.

This is a picture of what used to be the moat.  There was a moat completely around the property that was filled with water.  Guests would have to come across the draw bridge as seen in the picture.

The grand entrance to Vincennes.  As you approach this grand entrance you would have to get the drawbridge lowered to gain entry to the Chateau.  

As you walked about the grounds and buildings you could almost see the grand coaches and carriages bringing the nobles in their finery to the court.  It truly was exactly as they depict in the movies.  Majestic!

In terms of the concert in the park... I try to have a broad acceptance of music in many forms.  It was to be a classical music concert of Bach, Mendolssohn and Stravinsky.  Well what to my surprise, there wasn't a piano in sight.  What it turned out to be was three guys playing xylophones.  Classical music can be a bit tedious at times.  But have it played by three guys on xylophones and you have a real barn burner of a performance.  It was so electrifying that I couldn't stay in my seat.  😬   As a matter of fact I gave my seat to a music connoisseur who had a greater appreciation of the subtle nuances of Bach played on a xylophone.  Everything can't be good, right?!

With that great experience behind me, I went on a quest for discovery to make up for the misstep of an auditory nature.  I rode to the Bastille or at least where it stood.  The Bastille had been torn down long ago and it's stones used in more productive ventures.  I went and saw the monument that now stands on the site.

It was impressive but it is located in the center of a very busy traffic circle and had a large construction barrier wall around the base.  You could not get out to the center of the traffic circle safely and the wall kept people from getting to the monument anyway.  So strike two for the day...

But all was not lost!  I wandered the streets of the surrounding area and was not disappointed.  I came upon a fantastic park.  

It was the Square of Louis XIII.  As you can see in the photo, there are fountains... four each anchoring a corner of the park then paths leading up to the grand statue of Louis the XIII on horseback.  It was an idyllic park filled with people enjoying the day.  The park/square is surrounded by the stately residences.  You can see a sample in the background.  There are restaurants lining the streets as well.  Just the perfect spot to sit and while away the time... 😊  a great find!

Venturing further I came to a unique area in the Marais, Centre de Pompidou.  There is a massive square here where artists perform street art, music and mime.  In the center is a fountain with unique statues(?) expectorating water...

Unique and stark contrast to the fountains in Square of Louis XIII.  But that is what the Marais has in store for you.

And to finish the day...

Another breathtaking sunset over the Seine.