Monday, March 31, 2008

Les Incontournables

Paris Incontournables, original watercolor
Les Incontournables of Paris are the "must sees" or not-to-be-missed monuments that hit you in face in almost any arrondissement in Paris.

L'Arc de Triomph is waiting for you in the 16th arrondissement. Rain or shine it still knocks your socks off.

 La Madeleine in the 8th, another buliding of grand scale. That's it. The scale of Paris is mostly human-sized, so these grand monuments make a big impression by comparison.

Place Vendome is an incontournable. The grandeur of it's open spaces let you experience a terrific openess suddenly.

Notre Dame - a must. I find myself walking by most days.

There are many others. Paris kindly accomodates you with these historic plaques - good way to work on your French while promenading.

The Eiffel Tower seen from Place de Concord speaks for itself. Is there any other city so loaded with monuments or has quite this effect on us?
Of course can we ever forget the ALMIGHTY Macaron monument!
I saw this huge poster hanging in a bio marche.

19 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:55 AM

    Wish I could see Paris as it starts blooming--it will be beautiful...not that it isn't already! Wonder reminiscences in this post, Carol!
    sue

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  2. Anonymous9:55 AM

    hmmm...I meant wonderFUL reminiscences...duh...
    sue

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  3. Anonymous10:02 AM

    Your post this morning...monumental
    and adorable....a mighty macaron indeed.

    Barbara

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  4. Anonymous11:12 AM

    Have you heard that they are going to 'reconstruct' or do some changes to the Eiffel Tower
    or are they just bad rumors here?

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  5. Anonymous11:13 AM

    Bonjour Carol,
    I am glad you are having a great time in Paris--
    Thank you for bringing back to me the lovely memories of Paris--I studied there and loved every second of it.
    Merci.

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  6. Again; simply love these vignette WCs you've been doing over there, Carol! Of all the monumental structures you showed today, my favorite would be of that macaron,
    say, 100 ft wide!
    Where's Claus Oldenburg when we need him!?

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  7. And don't forget the statue of Henri IV on horseback, on the Pont Neuf, right over the lovely Square. I love Henri IV, Le Bon Roi, Le Vert Gallant. You can spot him on mascarons and other little bits all over the city.

    We leave in nine days, and counting counting counting.

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  8. Your blog is the only one I read and have ever subscribed to. I LOVE it! We are going to Paris in June and I look forward to whatever tid bits you share. Never had a Macaroon so it's a must try. The Euro-diet will be part of the trip, but surely one macaroon won't send us to the poor house?

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  9. Enjoyed your post and painting this morning. Love the monument in the painting. Love how the macaron has now become a Paris ICON. :)

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  10. I rarely see L'Arc de Triomph as Charlotte drives around it (in 11 unmarked lanes of traffic) and I have my eyes closed. Though I still gasp whenever I arrive in Paris it never fails to take your breath away.

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  11. I would have had my eyes closed too DI..
    But I took the Metro
    I'm with you on those unmarked lanes.
    How'd you happen to notice there were ELEVEN lanes?!!
    Just don't dare go to Brazilia, where every street is a highway.

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  12. Love this blog
    Kisses from Argentina !

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  13. Can you really get a macaron stuffed with raspberries and if so where? I must have one...two...or as many as I can afford.

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  14. Although I love the oversized monuments, if I had to pick just ONE quintessential thing about Paris, it would be the cafe chairs - is that more than one thing? So, okay, a single cafe chair to represent the millions.

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  15. Anonymous8:21 PM

    Vous ests les contournables de blogs. OK, so I shouldn't speak in Paris without an armed bodyguard...your posts are not to be missed!

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  16. I missed you over the weekend. Thanks for the free tour!

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  17. artistscs28I always take the weekends off at ParisBreakfast...
    To think about what I'm going to post the next week...

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  18. Wow, the "L'Arc de Triomph" picture is out of this world! Love the UFO-Macaron, no little green men but raspberries in there, who would have guessed?

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  19. P.S.:
    In Vienna, the UFO Macaron would have been loaded with raspberries + Schlag! *grin*

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