Paris: The Birthday Trip - Day 2 (part 2)

Sunday, July 28, 2013

We left the Eiffel Tower and began strolling along the Seine toward the Place de la Concorde. The heatwave that is covering most of France is making us appreciate being able to walk in the shade provided by the abundance of trees and parks that we find everywhere we go. The dappled parks and shaded paths not only provide relief from the heat but also give one the feeling of being in an impressionist painting.

The Place de la Concorde, known at one time as Place de la Révolution (guess which time), is where the famous guillotine did much of its work. The obelisk which now stands in the square is said to mark where the guillotine stood and where Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were executed. Today the Place de la Concorde provides wonderful views down the Champs-Élysées to the Arc de Triomphe on one side and the entrance to the Jardin des Tuileries on the other.

Have I mentioned that today is Denise's 65th birthday and that is the reason for this trip? See the big smile on her face? Denise is smiling because we are in the Tuileries Gardens, in Paris, on her birthday, and we are about to stop for crepes and ice cream and coffee in the Monet-like shade of the trees in this beautiful place.

above, left: Sculpture on the Grande Palais viewed through the treetops on our way to the Place de la Concorde.

above, right: One of the Fontaines de la Concorde (the Fountain of River Commerce and Navigation).

near right: This 3300 year old obelisk is one of a pair that once marked the entrance to the Luxor Temple. They were presented to France by Muhammad Ali Pasha, the Wāli and self-proclaimed Khedive of Egypt, in 1829.

far right: A view toward the Arc de Triomphe.

below top, left: Denise in the Tuileries on her birthday.

below top, right: A view of one of two ponds, all that remain of a design for the gardens by painter Jacques-Louis David and the architect August Cheval de Saint-Hubert.

below, bottom: A view from the restaurant.

It's difficult to describe how magical this moment was for us - the peace, the calm, with all of Paris just beyond the trees. What a wonderful place for a birthday.

This is one of those memories that will pop up, unbidden, when we are longing to be together somewhere else.

Happy Birthday, Denise.

Previously: Day 1, Day 2 (part 1),

Next: Day 2 (part 3)