Avenue Henri Martin, Avenue Georges Mandel

The way from the Eiffel Tower (see previous posts) and Trocadéro (see previous post) to the Bois de Boulogne (see previous posts) would logically be this avenue. Half way, it actually changes names; Avenue Georges Mandel - the yellow dotted line – becomes Avenue Henri Martin – the red dotted line. When the avenue was opened in the middle of the 19th century it was first called Avenue de l’Empereur, then when there was no emperor any more, for a short while, Avenue de Trocadéro. Henri Martin was an historian and mayor of the arrondissement (the 16th), Georges Mandel a politician, assassinated in 1944.

Starting from Trocadéro, on the left side, is one of the nicer Paris cemeteries, the Passy one, on which I have already posted.

Despite having two names, this must be considered as one avenue. It’s large and most of the buildings may be considered as Haussmannian, but there are also a few more recent ones. They are all quite fashionable. I have concentrated on the entrances and some facades, most with some green space in front.

In the middle of the avenue is a tree surrounded lane (now used as parking space), which has got its name from Maria Callas, who lived and died (1977) in this building.

Along the avenue you will also find a small railway station, part of the ring railroad system which was created during the second half of the 19th century (see previous post), “La Petite Ceinture”, still in use for the express metro, RER, and which also houses a restaurant. You will also pass in front of the local (16th arrondissement) Town Hall, one of the more famous Paris schools, (Lycée Janson)…

One major building is the private mansion, built in 1904 for Winaretta Singer, heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune, widow since 1901 of the Prince Edmond de Polignac. She was herself a decent painter and musician, but she is especially known for having sponsored what was then avant-garde music; several works of Debussy, Fauré, Ravel… were for the first time performed in her salon, Marcel Proust, Isabella Duncan, Claude Monet, Jean Cocteau, Serge Diaghilev… listened. Since 1928, when Winaretta moved out, the building houses the Foundation Singer-Polignac and conferences and concerts still take place here.

Some historic towers

I owe a lot of what now will follow to Jean-Paul, author of PARIS-BISE-ART, who is extremely clever in finding all kinds of  “odd things” in Paris.

I have already posted about Le Temple (The Temple) and Saint-Martin-des-Champs (Saint-Martin-in-the-Fields) and I found, at least personally, what now follows interesting as additional information.

In the previous post about The Temple, I tried to give you the history of the place, how it has been the home of the Knights Templar, the Knights Hospitaller… about the “Grosse Tower”, where the Royal family members were prisoners after the Revolution… and that nothing is left, ... except a tower of the previous surrounding wall. This tower is part of an old apartment building (rue Charlot) and can normally not be visited, but the building is now under restoration and it is possible, at least for the moment, to enter the gate which remains more or less open during the works. So, I went there…

Google Earth allows you to see the 12th century tower from the top; I and my camera could only see it from below. I copied the below illustration from my previous post to hopefully make the “story” clearer.

Very close to the Temple is what used to be the Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, founded in 1060, of which I also tried to give some historical background in my previous post. Here some of the old buildings remain, including the church buildings, a library…. Since the Revolution, this is the site for the National Conservatory for Arts and Crafts (Arts et Métiers) and since 1802 also a fabulous museum.

It was said that nothing remains of the surrounding walls, but Jean-Paul found contradictory information. Inside a do-it-yourself shop (rue Bailly), you can see the bottom of one of the angle towers which on this level is used as a storage room.

Jean-Paul even managed to get inside the tower, which on higher levels is used as stairs for an old apartment building. (I tried to get in also, but…)

Also here I copied an illustration from my previous post.

After this histry "lesson", I would like to prove to you that the spring has arrived here!

I wish you a nice weekend!

Cour Damoye

Before leaving the Bastille area (see preceding post), I thought we should have a look at Cour Damoye. Like along the neighbouring Rue du Faubourg Saint Antoine (see previous post), you will find a number of small alleys and courtyards in this area and this is one of them.

Cour Damoye opens directly (via a porch) to Place de la Bastille. Suddenly you leave all the noise…

It would of course have been better to show you this little passage when the leaves and flowers are around.

Rue de la Roquette

If you have the courage to walk between Place de la Bastille (see previous posts) and the Père Lachaise cemetery (see previous posts), you could preferably follow Rue de la Roquette. I already posted (here and here) about the particular curiosity on the more eastern part of the street (in yellow), where some olds prisons and one of the guillotines stood.

Here are some pictures from the part of Rue de la Roquette (in red) which is closer to La Bastille. This is a quite lively area, especially in the evenings, including Place de la Bastille and the close by streets, like Rue de Lappe (see previous posts and photo to the left), full of small restaurants, bars, discothèques, a theatre….

In the daytime, you can in the backyards find some old traditional activity, but nowadays also a number of smaller enterprises; architects, publicity agencies…

A special attention could be drawn to the side alley, Cité de Roquette. Some carpenters and interior decoration professionals are active here. At the end of the alley you will find a table and a sign indicating “Au Bois d’Amour, Restuarant”. I guess it’s rather a table used by the local artisans.

Shopping for perfumes (part three)

This is the third of some posts about Paris perfume boutiques. As I mentioned in my previous posts, this is done in collaboration with “Signature Scent” in London who writes and I illustrate. Here are the links to her blog and also to the posts she made about Caron and about Diptyque. As from here, the text is by ‘Signature Scent”.

“My huge thanks to Peter Olson from Peter’s Paris for contributing these lovely photos of the Caron boutique at 90 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. This is part of our ongoing Shopping for Perfume series. Peter has kindly agreed to photograph the pivotal perfume addresses in that beautiful city.

Ernest Daltroff opened the first Caron shop in 1904. Félicie Wanpouille became his artistic adviser and muse. The relationship between Daltroff and Wanpouille was the inspiration for many of Caron’s successes.

Key Caron creations include N’Aimez que Moi (1916), Tabac Blond (1919), Pour un Homme (1934) and Fleurs de Rocaille.

To escape persecution Daltroff fled to America in the 1940s. Félicie managed the perfume house until her death aged 93 in 1967.

Caron was revitalised during the 1980s when a store was founded on Avenue Montaigne. In 1998 Caron was taken over by Patrick Ales.”

“Neroli is one of my favourite ingredients in any perfume and L’Eau de Neroli is just perfect. This fragrance is almost not a fragrance at all – it’s just how people ‘should’ smell. Diptyque package this fragrance as a cologne. Not sure if this means unisex or just for men – but it’s definitely a great smell for men and women.

If, like me, you’re a fan of neroli, you could also try Neroli by Annick Goutal, Fire Island by Bond No. 9, Fleur d’Oranger by L’Artisan Parfumeur or Galatea by Strange Invisible Perfumes.”

I wish you a Happy Easter!