Monday, December 23

Up bright and early today...well, not really bright, because the sun does not rise here until a little before 9am, so it was quite dark when I looked out the window at 6:30am. Even the Eiffel Tower was still "asleep". The lights on the tower (except for the red navigational hazard lights at the top) have been dimmed, actually turned off. I don't know at what hour this happens, but I imagine it's a little creepy if one is walking through Champs de Mars park underneath the tower and the lights go out. Of course, I don't think that will be one of our "experiences" while we're here--way, way after my usual bed-time, I'm sure.

Prior to departing for Paris, a friend had told me about an exhibit that would be at the Grand Palais during our visit. It was called "Cartier: Style and History." Lloyd had ordered tickets on-line last month in case it sold out before we arrived. Our scheduled entry time was 10:30am, but many of you know that Lloyd likes to be on time or early, if possible, for an event such as this. And I must say, good thing he pushed me out the door by 9:30.

                                       The exhibits opened shortly before we arrived--no lines!

We got in before our scheduled time and by the time we left, the lines were huge and each display had several people crowded around to read the tiny descriptions. What were we looking at? Oh, my goodness--talk about out of this world--gorgeous. There are't enough superlatives to describe all the jewels on exhibit. Somebody had the ingenious idea to contact the estate custodians of some the wealthiest people in the world and put their jewels on display, if they had been hand-crafted by Cartier. The designers of this exhibit did a wonderful job of showcasing the gems in beautiful display cases; the exhibit lights were low and everything was shimmering. Here's a small sample of what we saw:

       The diamond tiara worn by Princess Catherine (previously by Princess Margaret)

               A necklace created for Wallis Simpson, who became the Duchess of Windsor.

    A close-up of the tiara created for and worn by Princess Grace in her official portrait

Her engagement ring was also designed and created by Cartier--a 10.25 carat flawless diamond with two baguettes.

                    A necklace created for Elizabeth Taylor by husband #3 Mike Todd
                 (I'll post the video on Facebook of Mike presenting the necklace to Liz. )

    She was supposed to wear it to the Academy awards but chose a different bauble - the rubies didn't match her dress!

My favorite of the show: a ceremonial necklace created for Sir Bhupindra Singh, the Maharajah of Patiala in 1925. It contains 2,930 diamonds, 2 rubies, and the DeBeers diamond at the center--a yellow stone of 234.65 carats (7th largest in the world.)

Needless to say, I was overwhelmed with the show.  Afterwards, we went to the Grand Palais cafe to have a coffee and return to reality.
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On the way back to our neighborhood, we walked up the Champs-Elysees to window-shop (no, not for diamonds), but at some of the displays along the way. Here are a few:

                                        I don't know what happens when the wind blows....

                                     What a nice way to enter a restaurant, don't you agree?

         Off the Champs-Elysees, walking down Avenue George V--I'm sure this is beautiful at night.

      This display is in the courtyard of the Hotel George V. The lights in the tree straight ahead are individually suspended from the black wires and the other trees are filled with tiny white lights--this is spectacular.

                            This display of trees is in the lobby of the Hotel George V--beautiful beyond words.

Continuing our ecumenical excursion from yesterday (not that we had intended to), we discovered another church that we knew little about. It is called The American Cathedral in Paris, or the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity. The present building was consecrated on November 25, 1886, at the same time as the Statue of Liberty. Tours of the cathedral are offered on Sundays, otherwise a friendly docent greets visitors at the door. Services are held on Sundays throughout the year.

The altarpiece, we learned, is the last work of American painter Edwin Abbey, and it depicts the Nativity, the Crucifixion, and the Resurrection.

            JoAnn chats with today's docent. Can you believe that rain hat was worn today in Paris?!?

And I will end today's ramblings on a happy note with a picture that shows that Paris really is a city for lovers--no matter what their ages:

A la prochaine.....until next time.