Pre-Barcelona Photos (finally)

Well, here goes:

Thursday afternoon at the Sorbonne. I have several architectural details that interest me; feel free to skip them if you don't appreciate the delicate art of edifices.

Sorbonne, beautiful map that, of course, is carved into the wall. Because who doesn't have a map carved into the wall?

Looking up

Because a "Grand Amphitéatre" must have a grand door

This is the staircase of letters. THe other side is the staircase of sciences. Separate but equal?

Stanford has doors like this, too. Maybe.

The Republic of France is larger than a goddess (Athena). I wonder how Athena feels about this.

Our friendly guide showed us around. I don't think he got my sense of humor, alas.

The Sorbonne has beautiful light fixtures. All the better to read with?

The floor is ornate, too.

And the ceiling. These are the crests of the lycées or high schools, of Paris. Since, after all, they are the schools that feed into the Sorbonne.

Imagine having walls like these in your classroom.

Or maybe a wall like this.

Don't worry, Descartes and Pals are here, watching over us.

Pascal is here, too.

We even went backstage. Marie Curie hangs out here (or, at least, her statue does)

Haven't forgotten those beautiful doors yet.

How's this for a main quad?

If it's cool enough for Victor Hugo, it's cool enough for me!

The chapel is a bit…bare. That is, it is completely empty.

Doctor Who fans: Don't Blink!

Friday morning, at the Musée de Camondo:

I have a sitting room like this, too! In my future house, maybe.

I have huge amounts of appreciation for this writing desk.

Because the inside is like this!

Handy built-in vacuum to sweep away dust and keep the floors shiny. It folds down and disappears.

There are tons of clocks. This one happens to have a thermometer.

Not bad for a garden in Paris.

These chairs are designed to change upholstery by season (so they are warm in the winter and cool in the summer)

Not everyone gets to see this from their dining room window in Paris. "Not everyone" meaning practically no one.

Who can live without a dragon fish fountain in their house?

Each of these dishes is hand painted with a unique bird.

and luckily, the painter wrote the type of bird in latin and french on the back, in case anyone was wondering. What a perfect parlor game!

This is a german-style porcelain tea kettle. You can tell by the Chinese-influenced design, which is common in German porcelain.

Yes, it is a Toucan.

The ideal staircase. I found it.

Can this be my library?

And it continues.

With Parc Monceau as a view. Wow.

This bed is quite something.

Copper pots. Everywhere.

Then, my pilgrimage to Hôtel Ephrussi:

The exterior

The address

The upper section

A broader view

A vertical-er view

Then, on the way to Mont Valérien:

Sacré Coeur pops up from time to time

My sandwich (sorry, panini) was decently good. Half the preferred size, alas.

My carrots were fantastic, though. Yes, I ate the whole ting. Yes, that was 500 grams of carrots. No, I have no regrets.

The view from the train station was not bad. See the Eiffel Tower?

This would be a fantastic house. If it were not right by the train station.

These are the stairs to the bathroom at a McDonalds. Because France.

On the field trip, officially:

Even the trees are dead in the cemetery...

I have never seen a cemetery with a better view. 

Oh, did I mention that, as an American war cemetery, I was technically in the USA?

USA + Paris. Not bad.

The war memorial at the foot of the fortress. There is an ever-burning flame and a giant V.

This was the first and last stop on the tour. Sadly, I missed the information at the end because I left early, so I have no idea what this is.