French Buildings Old and New

It was wonderful to see old familiar buildings like the Hôtel de Ville

 and of course Notre Dame,

 even though the grande dame is undergoing some renovation after the fire.

 The renovation is finally complete at the Chateau of Saint Germain-en-laye,

 while the renovation at La Défense seems to be everlasting....

the buildings are just like human bodies, needing maintenance and repair to remain in working order ;)

The Bradbury & A Spicy Octopus

Like many people who never see things that are famous in the place where they live, until this year, I had never seen the Rose Parade live, nor gone to the Bradbury building. The first floor is open to the public, so next time you go the Grand Central market, walk across the street and take a look :)

The elevators still work!

 Even on a cloudy day, the skylights brighten up the center courtyard.

So many places to eat in Grand Central Market, so I stopped by La Tostadaria for a light and filling snack; they only take cash unless you buy more than $10 worth of food, so my octopus tostada just put me over the barrier.

As octopus tostadas go, this was the best I've ever eaten, with tender marinated octopus and fresh crunchy vegetables on top of a beautifully fresh tortilla. It was marked with two peppers indicating it was spicy, and halfway through eating I started blowing my nose and thanking my stars that I did not add any more of the habernero sauce that was available at the counter! I would gladly order this again, but with a cool fire dousing drink to go along with it....I must remember that here in LA a warning for spicy means business!

Piazza Venezia, Victor Emmanuel Monument, and the Roman Forum

Rome is a crazy loveable city; it is a city like your hot tempered uncle who would take a baseball bat to a car parked blocking his driveway, but who also volunteers as coach for the local Little League team and buys them all ice cream after every game, win or lose. Your ability to endure the volatility of emotions, transit, and weather will determine how much you enjoy this city. If you want everything to work logically, on time, based on efficiency or with people who are reserved, go somewhere else. Really. London perhaps, but not Rome.

This was one of the first things I saw as I landed at the airport, open at 9 AM, a wine bar:)

The baggage claim area had free tablet usage and signs in English, and of course only the youngsters (and I) took advantage of the technology. I would soon learn that there are pockets of Rome that are miraculously modern and there are many that have been left to the whims of chance.

After picking up my luggage, I found the ground transportation about half a mile away, and proceeded to wait in a growing horde of impatient people as one, then two buses, ran 30 minutes late, jammed to the aisles with arrivals and their luggage. Once I arrived at Termini Station, the central transportation hub of the city, the machines for metro and bus tickets were out of order and I had to pay cash at a newsstand to buy a pass (most newsstands sell bus, tram, and metro tickets and passes but they only take cash). I found my bus in the maze of over 12 stands (there is no map, and even the ones you buy do not list where the stops are since many are decades old). I asked my driver to let me know when my stop was coming up. Twice. He only replied, "Not yet" as he listened to his music with his earphones. I peered out at every stop to see if I was at the one I wanted since the LED display panel in the bus did not work (only about 10% of them DO work). I highly recommend that you take the train instead of any bus into town, or if you don't mind paying for being stuck in traffic, you may opt for a taxi, but make sure it's an official white one with a flat rate of 48 Euros into the center of town from Fiumicino Airport.

Three and a half hours later I finally unloaded my luggage and headed out to the Victor Emmanuel Monument next to Piazza Venezia and The Roman Forum, which are all next to each other and a major transportation hub. This is the Victor Emmanuel Monument, and getting across the round about is a challenge for many tourists. If you are not used to New York City drivers, and staring down the oncoming buses, cars, and scooters as you walk across, just follow a large group as they cross, because 1) there are no traffic lights, as if that matters, and 2) no buses, cars, or scooters will stop for you and wave you across as they would in California, so you would be stranded on a curb all day and night. 

The statue in the middle is as big as it looks, the moustache of the first King of Unified Italy is 5 feet long! Please note there are guards here, so no strollers, sitting, eating, drinking, or jumping at this monument or you will be sent outside the gates.

The staircase on the right side is a little less steep heading up to the Palazzo Senatorio.

If you want to save some climbing you can take these stairs for a "shortcut" to the top of the Victor Emmanuel Monument from this side, and if you follow the directions in the Rick Steve's Rome book, you can find the elevator in the back.

 Any way you go, there will be stairs,

 and more stairs if you want to visit the adjacent Santa Maria Aracoeli.

Once you make it to the top, go through the preserved historical area to the left under this arch

 or walk on the other side by this fountain,

 for these views of the Roman and Caesar's Forums.

 The right side of the Victor Emmanuel Monument 

abuts the Insula (apartment) Ruins and the Santa Maria Aracoeli church which you can see in the upper right side of this photo.

Finding your way around can be challenging, but there is ONE map I found at Palazzo Venezia at the terminus of the Tram stop, detailing where the buses stop so I took a photo for reference. Many times the opposite direction for the same line is a block or two behind or at a cross street, NOT across the street. 

 This map was also there showing all the trams lines and stops, and it was the ONLY one I saw.

Many of the brand new buses don't have working LED screens showing bus numbers or stops coming up, so the old fashioned paper and tape method is used to show the bus number on the windshield and occasionally on the side window. Hand written, of course. 

My bed was one of the most wonderful sights I saw all day :)

Museum of Architecture Part 2

The Museum of Architecture has so many models of old and new that I couldn't fit all the photos I took in one post, so here is part 2; this is the other half of the ground floor of the old as well as the upper floor of the modern. Enjoy!

A close up.

The other half of the ground floor (the photos in yesterday's post) can be seen and entered through several openings.

This archway

had incredible details underneath, like this in the center,

and this on the sides underneath the arch.

The intricate work standing from a few feet away,

is even more amazing up close.

There is an elevator or stairs to the upper level of modern architecture.

The Radio France Building and

the Citroen Building, both exist in present day Paris.

Resorts built into the natural landscape, skyscrapers, and temporary structures built for exhibition from all over the world, fill the upper level. There are also many video presentations about how certain structures were designed and built; I saw many students with notebooks, taking notes.

The upper floor also has a smaller exhibition of frescoes and wall paintings.

The most impressive sight was seeing three of Paris' great buildings through the windows of the Museum of Architecture. If the weather is nice, there is a ground floor cafe with a terrace overlooking the Eiffel Tower where you can enjoy a bite or a drink outside; a priceless way to spend some time in Paris :)