Paris

I was in Paris earlier this week the main aim being to see the Monet exhibition. As I had been down in London to see the ballet I was able to go direct to Paris for the first time on the Eurostar train - I loved it! Here is the train at the Gare du Nord.

After checking in at the hotel I went to the Grand Palais and took up my place in the queue to enter the exhibition!  I waited 2 hours and was caught up in a mini French Revolution - the people in the queue were mainly French and they got fed up waiting because the queue was not being properly managed.  Very few from our queue were allowed in as the security men seemed to favour those with timed tickets and groups but as one lady said we were paying too!  Anyway after much shouting the boss of the Grand Palais appeared and then they started to let us in as well! 

The exhibition was worth the wait and there were many beautiful Monets to see - my favourite was the picture seen here in part on the poster for the show, it was on loan from the State Hermitage St Petersburg, Russia and was truly beautiful.

Another painting that I liked was Champs de Tulipes - a picture of a Dutch tulip field and the still life pictures of flowers and fruits.
Picture: art-reproductions.net

Photo:www.ociaw.com

Monets are easy on the eye and I enjoyed the show very much.

Also on in a neighbouring part of the Grand Palais was the Bulgari jewellery exhibition so on Monday I went to see that as well.














What I had not expected to see was the Elizabeth Taylor Collection of Bulgari jewels- they were magnificent!  Here is her fabulous emerald and diamond necklace.
Photo: Bulgari/nytimes.com




Photo: not known


There was also a case full of "en tremblant" diamond brooches which were amazing - tremblant meaning they tremble - and if you looked closely you could see the tiny springs upon which the gems were mounted so that they moved with the wearer's movement!  Here is one of the many stunning diamond brooches which were on display.
Photo: Not known


There were far too many people to enjoy the show really as there was a lot of pushing and shoving in the queues plus it was very hot in the rooms due to the spotlights, however I managed to extricate myself from the queues and skirted the edges so I was able to see everything without my space being quite so invaded LOL!

During my brief visit to Paris I went to see the new Hermes boutique at Rue de Sevres on the Left Bank and the new boutique is spectacular and is housed in the old swimming pool from the neighbouring Hotel Lutecia - just look at the photos:-

The new boutique includes an in house cafe and a florist - guess it is a sort of posh "one-stop-shop"!  Here is the outside showing the florists (not the best of photos!).

I called by Hermes FSH as well and they have decked their windows out for Spring with lots of flowers and butterflies!

There was quite a confection in the main display - patisserie was by Pierre Herme.