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Monday, October 20, 2014

Mom's 1953 Europe Road Trip - More Shopping in Paris

From Mom's Europe trip diary, in the "PLACES VISITED" section: 
October 20, Tuesday – Paris, France
Went shopping.  Bought 2 scarves;* exchanged bottle of Arpege for larger size.**  After club sandwich lunch at Rumpelmayer's went across Seine River and bought some Édith Piaf records.***  Then walked along Left Bank looking at all the second-hand bookstalls.  Bought about six paintings.****  Walked around Notre Dame -- saw a man who had been fished out of the river.  Was really tired by the time we got back to hotel.

* According to the "PURCHASES" section of the trip diary, my mother bought the two scarves at Denis Francet for 2000 francs.

** When she exchanged the bottle of Arpege perfume she'd purchased the day before for a larger one, the price went from 1650 francs to 2500 francs.

*** The five records cost a total of 2740 francs.

**** Mom didn't record where she bought the six paintings or how much they cost.

Here are some things Mom saw this day:
The Seine, Paris, ca. 1948 [and the Pont Neuf bridge] / Albert Tucker 1914-1999 / Public domain

The Pont Neuf (New Bridge) over the Seine (pictured above) is actually the oldest bridge still standing, begun on 1577 and completed in 1607.  It joins the Left Bank and the Right Bank to the Île de la Cité, a natural island in the middle of the Seine that contains the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris, pictured below)
Paris - Notre Dame [south side of cathedral from Left Bank, 1 August 1968, cropped] / Roger W / CC BY-SA 2.0 
Paris - Notre Dame [west side, 1 August 1968, cropped] / Roger Wollstadt / CC BY-SA 2.0

Notre-Dame was built between 1163 and 1345.  Its most unique features are the gargoyles that protrude from various points along the exterior (some are visible in the photo above).  Many served as channels for rain water.  Below is a photograph of one of the gargoyles, with a view to the west of the city. The Seine is visible at the bottom. The nearer bridge is the Petit Pont, and the further is the Pont Saint-Michel. The Eiffel Tower can be seen in the distance.
Gargoyle over Paris [30 January 2004] / Michael Reeve / CC BY-SA 2.0



This is the 74th in a series of posts transcribing entries in my mother's 1953 Europe Trip journal.


© Amanda Pape - 2014 - click here to e-mail me.

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