06-03 Grand Palais and Champs Élysées

The Grand Palais des Champs-Elysees, we'll just call it the Great Palace, was created for the 1900 World Exposition. The building is similar in structure to the Gallerias in Milan and Naples that I've talked about in this blog before. Shaped in a "+" with the ceilings made of iron, steel, and glass. This building had closed ends however.



So that was our first destination this morning, but when we got there we found there were actually two buildings across the street from each other. Sir Winston Churchill was standing outside the the first one we went into, the Petit Palais.



The amount of detail they put into painting the ceilings is amazing.



Great floors and just a wonderful feeling that it all goes together so well; mosaic floor, marble walls, and painted ceilings that looked like they are framed paintings.





Gorgeous ironwork too!



The outside has great lines as well.





We walked across the street to enter the other building but they were having an exhibit and wanted $5€ to enter. I sent Karen in alone while I wrote postcards on a bench to friends and families.



Here is her description of the exhibit.

I go inside; Wow, what a weird exhibit. OK, it doesn't interfere with my pictures.



The building has a rounded glass roof and is in the shape of a + and then there's a dome over the center. It fills the entire room with light naturally and frees up all the wall space for exhibitors. After all, this was built for fair exhibitors.

Now what's going on here is hard to describe.Round circles with colored cellophane covering them; all different colors, all touching each other on legs 9 foot tall. Everybody just walked, skipped or ran under them ???



Or you could go up on the second floor and look down over them.



Back to my building, it kind of reminded me of the inside of the Nautilus. All of the curved metal and the bolts.



One side of the building was a block off of the Champs Elysees so we continued on our day's journey and started walking on one of the most famous streets in the world.





Strangely, as we walked on the Champs I mentioned to Karen that two months ago we ate over there. So we went and ate there again. The girl that took my order was the same one. Deja vu.

Afterwards we walked up and down the avenue exploring shops and CAR Showrooms! Lots of them. It seems this is the place to show off your concept cars. We saw a few of them.

Renault Twizy



Renault Frendzy



Toyoya Hybrid FT-H5



Toyota FT-Bh



Puegeot HX1



...and for about $120US you could drive around the Champs Elysees for 20 minutes in one of these Lamborghinis.



I see that one of my favorite families has opened a restaurant on the Ave as well.



Karen's favorite perfume is called Champs Élysées and she hasn't been able to find it for awhile. She did here. Happy lady.



Dinner was subway again and then we headed for the Seine for a walk. Karen wanted to take a boat down the river but all they sold were one day passes and not just a one way trip. Bunmer. Sad lady.

So we walked all the way back to the apartment taking pictures as we went on our last day on the River Seine and in Paris.