Musee Carnavalet (take two), Canal St Martin, and Ile de la Cite

Posted 5/9/2014

I mentioned in a previous post that I had been to the Musee Carnavalet, in the Marais, but that many of the rooms had been closed.  I gave it another try (it's free) and this time knew to look at the very inconspicuous sheet of paper near the entrance that tells which rooms are open.  (You can't even say it's "posted"; it's just sitting there on a table.  I even had to turn it around to face me to read it.)  The rooms I had missed before were open, so I proceeded.

The museum's shtick (not a French word) is that it tells history though art (mainly paintings, but also some busts and sculpture), along with a model or two.  It's a unique place.  Where else would you find a STOVE in the form of the Bastille??

Actually, most of it is quite serious.  Below is another model of the Bastille.  It shows how immense it was, and the notes state that it dominated the skyline and reminded the people of their powerlessness (before it was stormed and demolished, that is). 

Some of the original stones from the Bastille remain, though they are not located at the original site.  They have been moved a little ways to the southwest.  (More specifically, they are in a little park near the Sully Moreland Metro stop.)  (This picture was taken on a different day:)

There is nothing really drawing attention to the stones other than a tiny inconspicuous plaque.  (There are also some residual stones in the Bastille Metro stop, line 5.)

Back to the museum:  One of the many things I have found striking in reading about the French Revolution is the Revolutionary Calendar (also called the Republican Calendar).  In addition to renaming the twelve months and setting 22 September 1792, when the Republic was proclaimed, as the beginning of year one, a system of decimal time was introduced, in which each day was divided into ten hours.  The museum had several timepieces designed to display decimal time.  (The first clock below has two dials, one going to 10 and one going to 12.  Maybe this was designed to help with the transition?)
[But ours goes to 11!] [For Spinal Tap fans only]

According to Wikipedia, decimal time "did not catch on.  Mandatory use of decimal time was officially suspended 7 April 1795, although some cities continued to use decimal time as late as 1801".  The calendar itself was abolished in 1805.  I found it interesting that many of the explanatory notes in the museum used Revolutionary Calendar dates, with the standard date following in parentheses.

The following are a few other items I found noteworthy in the museum.  A few rooms contained paintings of Paris throughout history.  Below is a painting of Montmartre.  After visiting there several days ago, it's good to be reminded that it was once a little village on a hill, with windmills.  (Neither of the windmills in the painting is a "famous" windmill.)

Marianne (below) is "a national emblem of the French Republic, an allegory of liberty and reason, and a portrayal of the goddess of Liberty" (Wikipedia).  The rooster is also a national symbol of France and French pride.  Cocorico!

And more cat art!  The museum contains a room of hanging iron signs (it wasn't immediately clear why, but they looked good).  This sign was used for a vineyard called "The Sleeping Cat" (since the cat is ignoring the mouse right under his/her nose).  A little more appealing than the disembodied arm right above it.

And this cutie was adorning a nearby staircase:

The following day, I walked up to St Martin's Canal (near the Place de la Republique) to take a look at it.  My Lonely Planet guidebook lists it as one of their top 15 Paris sights.  I might not go that far, but sections of it were nice.  After a while, however, the surroundings got a bit dreary (right around the Louis Blanc Metro station).  So I turned around at that point.  I thus cannot vouch for the more northerly sections.
 

I saw this cute duck (goose?) who seemed to have only pigeons for avian company.  (There were mallards further upstream, though, including ducklings!  You can see their tiny little wakes in the first photo.)

This morning I did a more thorough exploration of the Ile de la Cite than I have done before.
On the way, I saw this Erlenmeyer flask.  I'm not sure how, or if, it's associated with the English.

A giant tent has been set up in front of Notre Dame for La Fete du Pain.  Well, I guess bread is sacred to the French.

I will sneak in this picture of Notre Dame that I took on Easter Sunday:

because I discovered today that the two little windows that you see at the bottom of the quay, near the lower center of the photo, are part of a holocaust memorial.  It's quite well hidden (you go down steps from the surface), and was it was small but very moving.  The docent at the entrance said that photos were ok "for yourself, not for the internet".  So I will not post any here, though you can, of course, find them on the internet...

I walked past Notre Dame again and along the Seine.  This is a view across the river to the left bank.  Between the colorful "Hotel" sign and the lighter colored building on the right lies the Rue du Chat Qui Peche (street of the fishing cat), the narrowest street in Paris:

This is the Place Dauphine, near the western tip of the island.  It faces the Palais de Justice (French Supreme Court).  It's a very pretty (especially with the chestnuts in bloom) and surprisingly quiet little place!

This is a shot of boats docked along the river, taken from the Square du Vert Galant, which is right at the western tip of the island:

This lion in front of the Palais de Justice looks much more sympathetic than those outside of City Hall-- see below:

No nonsense!  But I also saw this cute painting nearby, in someone's office window (probably not the mayor's, judging from the placement.  Too bad).

Yes, we've jumped off of the Ile de la Cite, over to the right bank, where city hall (Hotel de Ville) is.  But anything for more cat art!

A bientot,

LeeAnn