Carnavalet Charm

November 5: Because it's free and contained in two relatively small Marais mansions, the Musee Carnavalet is a worthwhile introduction to the history of Paris, particularly the revolutionary years. The city participated in four revolutions: the biggie in 1789, and three more in the 19th century. You'll see monuments and references to all four events throughout the city, and this museum sorts them out for you. However, avoid coming between 12 and 2 PM, when many rooms are closed for lunch or on Monday, when the place is closed.

One caveat: everything is in French, so find a good tour book. The Rick Steves Paris book, linked on the right side of this blog, contains a two-hour tour, or one-hour, if you concentrate on the revolution.  Many other travel guides also contain tours.

The walls were chock-full of paintings of French personalities such as Marie Antoinette, Marat and Robespierre. Two toy guillotines made of ivory were among the displays. The first highlight were the city models, particularly of the area around Notre Dame before Baron Haussmann's renovations. The location was a warren of medieval houses and crooked streets before the tore them all down to present a better view of the cathedral.

The second highlight was the full reconstruction of an Art Nouveau shop, both inside and outside, complete with bronze peacocks, stained glass accents and curved framing. I'll let the picture speak for itself.

Pompidou Center: Outside

Like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre Pyramid, the Pompidou Center was reviled by most Parisiens when it was completed in 1977 but has since been embraced by locals and tourists alike. Its skeleton rises outside the building, allowing maximum space within the structure and the colors have practical meaning. White means support, red signifies electricity, blue is for climate control and green is plumbing.

Just slightly south of the main building, we discovered the kinetic fountains at Stravinsky Place.  Fountains spurted out of spinning wheels and rotating pipes, while colorful mosaic creatures stood guard.  The broad plaza to the west of the building proved a popular hangout. Teens and tourists strolled and watched international entertainers such as a lady blowing a brown sapling that made digiridoo sounds, a Chinese man singing American songs while strumming an acoustic guitar and an elderly European couple playing stringed instruments.

Cafes and souvenir shops ringed both areas. We found our favorite Amorino Gelato in front of the plaza. We enjoyed our gelato on an outdoor table after our tour of the museum.

Pompidou Center: Inside

The Pompidou Center celebrates modern art with sculptures, paintings, photographs and assemblages.

And I didn't understand most of it.

Art requires that the artist express himself in a language that the viewer can understand. For much of history, both artist and viewer used a common language. Maybe that required learning the language, but once that happened, the art could be appreciated.

With modern art, the artist can use his own language to express himself, and not care whether the viewer understand. The question then becomes what's the point of viewing modern art, if you have no idea what the artist is saying.  It's a little like an English speaker trying to understand someone who speaks only Chinese.

In this regard, Picasso seems quaint. I could at least recognize human figures and the irreverence in his work, however distorted.

La Pisseuese by Pablo Picasso

And some of the art I could admire because it was technically proficient and attractive. Such as Double Metamorphosis by Yaacov Agam, which looked like a black painting from the side but revealed colors and shapes as you walked by an looked through slats.

Double Metamorphosis III by Yaacov Agam

But what could I make of assemblages of garbage, or random squiggles on canvas or random materials and shapes thrown on the floor. These were neither comprehensible nor attractive, and much of the Center's art was like that.

If you like modern art, then you'll enjoy the Pompidou. If your have a Museum Pass or can otherwise enter the museum for free, spend an hour or two inside, just to say you were there, and so you can see some great views of Paris from the top floor. Otherwise, don't pay to go in and instead enjoy the outdoor spectacle.

Paris Transportation Tip

Even though it's a densely-populated city of two million, Paris is scaled for human beings.  The Metro is relatively cheap and walking is a joy.

• Avoid buying the expensive tourist transportation passes, or the resident passes, which is useful only for stays of a month or so. 
• Instead, figure out how many times you'll need to use public transportation -- you'll need a ticket to go to and then from your destination. If you're a typical traveler, most of your trips will be within zones 1 and 2, and you'll decide at the last minute to walk rather than ride.
• If you're taking ten or more trips by yourself, buy a carnet (KAR-nay) at any ticket booth, which offers ten tickets at a slight discount. If you're traveling with a partner, the carnet is useful for five trips: just give half of the tickets to each traveler.
• If walking produces hurt feet, try doubling your socks for extra cushioning.

Food Budget

Both tourists and Parisiens consider food in the city to be expensive. For those of you planning a trip to Paris, here's what we typically spend for food. All costs are in American dollars and per person.

• Breakfast - $3. Usually from the corner bakery: a croissant, and a chocolate or cream-filled pastry. We eat this at home, where we have coffee and other drinks.
• Lunch - $11.20. Usually from an overpriced museum shop: a french-bread sandwich costing $7 and a smaller-than-American-size can of Diet Coke at $4.20.
• Dinner - $26 and up. Starting price of a cheap plat du jour (daily combo plate) consisting of three courses, though sometimes we order two courses and eat ice cream elsewhere.  Median prices are typically over $53 or more:
  
  • Starters include dried sausage with bread, shrimp and salmon salad, escargot, raw salmon with sauce or a paté.
  • Main courses include veal with white sauce, steak tartare, grass-fed lamb, pepper steak, broiled cod.
  • Desserts include apricot pie, creme brulée or Berthillon ice cream.