This is our third time staying in Passy, in the 16th arrondisement. And staying with the theme of this trip--great lunches and visits to less-popular attractions, today we spent the morning a few blocks from our apartment before lunch. Our reservation at Le Grand Vefour, formerly a 3 Michelin Star restaurant now re-imagined as a brasserie, and the oldest restaurant in Paris (Le Grand Vefour), was at 1pm.
We walked the few blocks to Musee de Balzac on Rue Raynoaurd, which, to me, has some of the most beautiful Haussmann buildings in Paris.
Musee de Balzac consists of a bookstore, a cafe and garden that are all free. It cost E8 to tour the house.
The view of the Eiffel Tower from outside the bookstore is lovely.
Honore de Balzac lived in this house from 1840 to 1847 to avoid his creditors since it was, then, way in the boonies. His girlfriend hated it but staying there served its purpose because he was able to write. It was cool to see the desk at which he wrote, some of the art that he looked at, his tiny kitchen.
I liked the special exhibit about ---- by ---- which was downstairs in the basement.
I also loved the exhibit of all the characters in La Comedie Humaine. There are thousands! (wiki, 2472 named and 566 unnamed!)
Back outside, we took a turn around the gardens, which were a bit wild and unkempt, enjoying the fantastic views. It was a quick and interesting visit. And, if you're not interested in touring the house, just stop by for the garden and views would be worthwhile.
We walked through pretty Passy to our next stop, Cimitiere de Passy. It's a stone's throw from the Trocadero.
Passy is hilly.
The Cimitiere de Passy is similar to the much more famous and extensive Pere Lachaise in the 20th. It has fewer famous persons interred and we didn't have a lot of time. We located the tomb of Eugene Manet and his sister-in-law Berthe Morisot whose work I really enjoy. We couldn't track down Debuissy. Another charming thing about this cemetary is its views of the Eiffel Tower! :)
We took the Metro from Trocadero to Palais Royale for our lunch.
The interior is sumptuous, and what one might imagine a restaurant in Paris should look like. We chose to sit inside for the historic dining room but they have outside seating under the Palais Royale.
The lunch menu was not exciting, especially for this non-meat eater.
This table was several generations of French folks celebrating a birthday. And there was a wheelchair user at another table. The servers graciously accommodated us all.
After lunch, which was nice but expensive for a brasserie, we walked into the garden at the Palais Royal. So pretty!
Then we wandered the streets over to the Louvre.
It was crowded! We didn't plan to go in anyway but these crowds would have dissuaded us.
We wanted to see the Joan of Arc statue that the riders in the Tour de France whiz by. Even though we've been to Paris many times, we couldn't picture her exact location. But she is located outside a tunnel, kind of next door to the Hotel Regina (we peeped in there, looks nice), and across from the Decorative Arts museum.
Et voila! Joan of Arc and cool cars.
We kept wandering the area. Popped into Eglise Saint-Roch. The Blue Guide had a few words about this church but mass was going on so we didn't linger.
Cool shoes based on Monet's Water Lilies.
If only we were hungry... :)
This space was filled with dancers practicing their moves. Pretty cool.
The sanitation folks hard at work, even on a Sunday.
The iconic obelisk at ritzy (haha, it's where The Ritz is located) Place Vendomme. The buildings all have gorgeous doors!
We made a brief stop at Notre Dame de l'Assomption where Pope John Paul II was the main attraction given he was Polish and it's a polish church.
More wandering and admiring the pretty doors and Haussman architecture
Then back to the 16th and our Tabac de la Muette for the people (including Waldo) and cars parade before calling it a night.
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