A Travellerspoint blog

Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Hôtel de Matignon, the residence of the Prime Minister of France

Hôtel de Matignon, the residence of the Prime Minister of France


Did a little better last night and think the sore throat may finally be defeated. We ate breakfast and started walking to the Musée Rodin. As soon as we got to rue de Bac and blvd. St. Germain, we noticed a very heavy police presence. We continued on rue de Bac and turned on rue de Varenne seeing more and more police. There are government offices and the Vice President’s residence along here so some of it was expected, but it extended way past any of that and you would have thought the Rodin and Invalides were fortresses. There are so many people in Paris from the 70th anniversary of D-Day memorials that they seem to have increased security all over the city, but particularly around here. We feel very safe . . .

Balconies just off rue Varenne on Cité Vaneau in Paris

Balconies just off rue Varenne on Cité Vaneau in Paris

*****

Dome of Invalides from  ave. de Tourville

Dome of Invalides from ave. de Tourville


We got to the Rodin and there was a long line. Surprise! We've never had a line at the Rodin before. We decided to use the garden entrance by the tea room so set off down blvd. des Invalides. Another surprise. The garden entrance is gone, replaced by a very strong, forbidding gate. They are doing renovations at the Rodin Museum so have stored all their equipment back here. At that point we decided to walk on over to Pain et Chocolat for lunch and did. When we were here with the girls, we became regulars and they even opened early for us on our last day so we could get breakfast before leaving for the airport.

Invalides from ave. de Tourville

Invalides from ave. de Tourville

*****

Pain et Chocolat, a favorite restaurant

Pain et Chocolat, a favorite restaurant

Big changes at Pain et Chocolat too. Mme. and M. have been replaced by a personable young couple . . . perhaps their children? They no longer have a menu du jour but had a good selection of salads, pastas and quiches. We chose the standard quiche and it was perfect, tender crust, excellent flavor and served with the best salad we’ve had so far. Instead of sliced baguette, you get a selection of their fresh-baked rolls. Perfect. We chose our desserts from their display case. I got a pear and chocolate tart and Ed got a royal praline chocolate that was heavenly. I finished with coffee and it was a great experience. There may be changes but the food is excellent . . . and the bathroom may be the cleanest in France. Good lunch choice! (According to an Internet search, this restaurant is now closed. A shame; it was so good and so friendly. We'll call to check; I saved their number. +33 (0)1 4550-1427 It would be nice to discover they just moved a few blocks.)

Pain et Chocolat, a favorite restaurant

Pain et Chocolat, a favorite restaurant

*****

Bust of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Square Santiago du Chili

Bust of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in Square Santiago du Chili

We returned to the Rodin by way of an Invalides mobbed with tour groups. The line at Rodin was even longer so we left. We've been there several times before and will be there again so why make someone else wait that much longer in line. We decided to retrace our steps back to blvd. St. Germain and visit the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts and arrived to find no line to a nearly empty museum. Hooray! We paid for the special exhibit and were glad we did.

We also found a bust of Antoine Saint-Exupéry in a lovely square overlooking Invalides. We're fans of The Little Prince so that was fun.

Rodin Museum in Paris

Rodin Museum in Paris

Ministry of Agriculture on rue de Varenne, Paris

Ministry of Agriculture on rue de Varenne, Paris

Class trips to Invalides on a lovely day.

Class trips to Invalides on a lovely day.

Invalides as we walked to the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Invalides as we walked to the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

The Eiffel Tower from Invalides

The Eiffel Tower from Invalides

*****

Entrance to the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts in Paris

Entrance to the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts in Paris

Loy and Joseph Roux, brothers, were in WWI and had small Kodak cameras. Photography had to be authorized and they were not authorized but they were discrete and got amazing photos of the war. It had a profound affect on them and both brothers became priests. The photos were the special exhibit and it was very well done. It was of particular interest because my maternal grandfather was sent to France in World War I. Although he would never talk about it, I've always been aware of it so the exhibit held extra interest for me. [Museum of Letters and Manuscripts (Musée des Lettres et Manuscrits), 222 Boulevard Saint-Germain 75007 Paris; tel: +33 (0)1 4222-4848; [Unfortunately, this museum has closed.]

Museum of Letters and Manuscripts - Story of this special exhibit

Museum of Letters and Manuscripts - Story of this special exhibit

Museum of Letters and Manuscripts - Story of this special exhibit

Museum of Letters and Manuscripts - Story of this special exhibit

Exhibit at the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts in Paris

Exhibit at the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts in Paris

*****

Petrarque exhibit at the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Petrarque exhibit at the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts


We spent the rest of our time in the (free) permanent collection downstairs and it is fascinating. There are letters from all sorts of famous people throughout history like Marcel Proust, Victor Hugo, George Sand, Napoléon I, Saint-Exupery, General Eisenhower, General de Gaulle, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison; original music manuscripts of famous composers such as Bach, Mozart, Debussy and Beethoven; artists like Matisse, Delacroix, Van Gogh and Renoir which includes one tiny painting; first edition books, paintings and book illustrations. Great little museum.

Tiny Renoir at the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Tiny Renoir at the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Matisse in the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Matisse in the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Bach at the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Bach at the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Mozart at the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Mozart at the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Interesting doorway in the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Interesting doorway in the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Entrance to the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

Entrance to the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts

*****

Walked home, left camera and hats and went to our little restaurant, L’Empire, for tea (me) and limonade. Madame waved as we walked in. Afterwards, we did our shopping and are in for the night.

Posted by Beausoleil 11:14 Archived in France Tagged museums paris museum_of_letters_and_manuscrip

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Comments

I've never been to the Museum of Letters and Manuscripts, though I have ridden past often enough on the Vélib' bikes. I'll put it on my list for next time.

by Nemorino

Did you know they are going to replace all the vélib bicycles with lighter ones? They seem to have gotten a new company to oversee the program. If you've used the bikes in Nice, it's the same company.

by Beausoleil

Yes, I've read about that. They are going to start installing new stations and bikes in October, and the changeover is supposed to be complete by the end of this year. I've never used the Vélobleu bikes in Nice, but they seem to have solved some of the main problems of Vélib', such as stations being full. The last time I went to the Bastille Opera in Paris all five stations (with three hundred docking points) were full, which was no surprise considering that the opera seats three thousand.

by Nemorino

Thanks for describing this museum, which is new to me.

by ADAMYAMEY

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