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Post by Jazz on Aug 28, 2009 2:47:48 GMT
I have spent many days wandering the Marais. To me it is special... The name 'Marais' means swamp or marsh. In the 12th century, the Knights Templar cleared the northlands to the north of the wall of Philippe Auguste. From the 16th century onwards, the aristocrats built large residences in the area...the Place Royale was commisioned by Henry IV in 1605...this was later known as the Place des Vosges. The Royal Court departed for Versailles and the district declined, year after year. Towards the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, it became home to many Jewish people immigrants, thus a target for the Nazi occupation of WW2. Immediately after the war, the Marais went into decline, again. In 1969, Andre Malraux made the area a protected sector, saving it from the bullldozers. Today it is rich historically and vibrant. One day I walked from a few moments from the Seine and looked at the beautiful church of St. Gervais. (My photos are both sepia and coloured.) One day I had lunch at Chez Julian's, close to the church, A portion of the Philippe Auguste wall, Close by is the 'Village St. Paul', small, old, with many antique shops and boutiques of some brilliant designers... and, in one of the many tiny courtyards, a beautiful 'trompe d'oeil' doorway...
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Post by imec on Aug 28, 2009 2:52:36 GMT
What a great, great post!! There's a dreamy quality to these pics that I've never been able to capture. Outstanding!
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 28, 2009 3:09:50 GMT
My god, Jazz ~~ if I weren't already sitting down I would have to sink into a chair! I have seen so many of your beautifully made, carefully composed photographs on this forum, but this -- this just knocks me out of my socks.
As Imec says, dreamy, but also timeless, painterly, reverent, and very deeply felt.
It was a priviledge to be allowed to see these.
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Post by Jazz on Aug 28, 2009 3:11:53 GMT
There is so much in the Marais, le musee Carnavalet, Hotel Sulley, much more...Here are a few places I loved, an artist's cafe where I saw a painting, 'The Bathers', but it was $6,000!, The beautiful Place des Vosges, where I began many of my days at the Cafe Borgogne, The entrance from rue de Biraugue, a small cafe, Le Sevigne, just three blocks north of the enjoyable yet busy rue Francs-Bougeious...another world...a tiny park was opposite... A beautiful spice shop, Le Mondes des Epiciers, a yellow building, the color of the sun, with stairs and a small passage,
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Post by Jazz on Aug 28, 2009 3:18:15 GMT
And, three beautiful women of Paris... Sara Bernhardt in her lovely cafe, A modest cafe and the grave and beautiful owner, My most loved, a beautiful older Parisian woman...one day in a cafe on rue des Rosiers...
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Post by traveler63 on Aug 28, 2009 3:27:52 GMT
Oh Jazz!!!! These are wonderful. On our last trip in 2007 we wandered into the Marais district and I loved it. It is on my list for a day or maybe more just to wander and discover what it has to offer. I love your last picture. She looks to me to be what I have always imagined in my mind what a Parisian would look like. I truly think most tourists "stick to the guide book" and see what everyone else sees of Paris. That's ok but Kirk and I really wander of the typical beaten path when we travel because we have found charming, quiet, extraordinary places by doing just that.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2009 4:56:31 GMT
Thanks for the tour, Jazz -- I almost never go to the Marais. Most of us Parisians do a lot less tourism in the city than we should.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 28, 2009 5:15:25 GMT
Can someone identify the photo above the head of the blonde cafe owner, please? It's a well-known picture, maybe from the era of Man Ray. I think it was used on the cover of an edition of "The Sheltering Sky". Anyway I know the picture & it's teasing my brain that I can't retrieve the information.
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Post by Jazz on Aug 28, 2009 5:27:10 GMT
Can someone identify the photo above the head of the blonde cafe owner, please? It's a well-known picture, maybe from the era of Man Ray. I think it was used on the cover of an edition of "The Sheltering Sky". Anyway I know the picture & it's teasing my brain that I can't retrieve the information. Bixa, ALL except 2 of the photos are mine ( the one of Chez Julian with the bicycle and one of cafe le Sevigne. The photo of the blonde cafe owner, is mine. It is NOT from the era of Man Ray. I took it in 2005.
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 28, 2009 5:33:21 GMT
I didn't mean that, Jazz -- I mean literally the photo above her head -- behind her, on the wall.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2009 5:42:16 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Aug 28, 2009 5:45:14 GMT
I definitely had the book with that on the cover. Interesting the butt is hidden on the movie poster.
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Post by hwinpp on Aug 28, 2009 6:37:19 GMT
I like the Marais. Best memory is a dinner there but I've forgotten the name of the restaurant.
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Post by lagatta on Aug 28, 2009 11:10:26 GMT
Those are beautiful, Jazz. I like Place des Vosges on a rainy day too.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2009 11:29:48 GMT
Just exquisite. From the title of the thread all the way through I was(am) blown away by these incredible photographs. I am so glad that I viewed them at the commencement of my day ,as I will reflect upon them all day. And, I will visit them again I know. Thank you so much for this. Such a gift.
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Post by bjd on Aug 28, 2009 12:34:35 GMT
Nice photos, Jazz. Just a little addition to your store of knowledge: the little yellow shop was a barber shop until just a few years ago. I had always promised myself I would take a picture of it but never got around to it.
And if you want a bit of South American atmosphere, on the rue de Birague (leading up to the gateway of Place des Vosges), there is a Chilean restaurant. The food is not too inspired (like in S America!), but in the evenings, the atmosphere is noisy and fun.
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Post by lola on Aug 28, 2009 15:16:16 GMT
Wonderful photos, Jazz. Thanks so much.
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Post by imec on Aug 28, 2009 18:00:36 GMT
The pics of the cafes have me pining for charcuterie and cheese accompanied by simple wine. Nice day here (for a change) - methinks it'll be a wee picnic on the deck this evening while I pretend I'm back in Paris.
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Post by lagatta on Aug 28, 2009 18:25:22 GMT
Yes, I know somebody from Winnipeg who is travelling to Ottawa to deliver her daughter to university there (the daughter has also been chosen as a Parliamentary page). For once your weather is pleasant, and ours is supposed to get rainy and cool. Can you get a decent baguette in Winnipeg? Here is a very nice boulangerie-tarterie-viennoiserie in Montréal (not a chain; a small place in Outremont) www.mamieclafoutis.com/But there are even nicer ones in Le Marais. Jazz, how is "Chez Julien"? I'm sure I've heard of that resto. Of course I'm dreaming of tooling around on the yellow bicycle. There is an Italian-language bookshop in rue Roi de Sicile, Tour de Babel: www.tour-de-babel.com/ That would usually motivate me to get to le Marais, if I had travelled to Paris and was not going on to Italy.
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Post by imec on Aug 28, 2009 18:31:34 GMT
Can you get a decent baguette in Winnipeg? I used to think so...
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2009 19:34:16 GMT
This is very nice. I like the images of people.
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