Today being another cloudy and cool day we lingered in the apartment through the morning and got out shortly after having lunch for a trip down to the Place des Vosges. It is the oldest square in Paris dating from the mid 1500's when it was created on the orders of Henry IV. We love this square, perhaps more than any other in Paris. One of our loveliest memories of Paris was when we came in here one summer evening, probably 20 years ago, and wandered into a live concert of hunting horns. All the players
were facing away from the audience so that the horns would be directed properly, and they played several pieces that were quite beautiful. It wasn't just a bunch of blats followed by "tally-ho" but very stately melodies wonderfully blended by about 30 hunting horns.
Today sadly no music but we did make our way over to the Victor Hugo Museum ahd house in the southeast corner of the place. Victor Hugo may be the premier writer of French fiction from the 19th century, Les Miserables, and Hunchback of Notre Dame among others. He lived in the square with his wife and children for many years before he was tempted away by a lovely young woman and left them. He also spent
several years in exile in protest against several French regimes on the island of Guernsey with his young lover. His apartment was turned into a museum in the early 20th century and contains many mementos from his life. It's not a large museum but it does give one a chance to see what an apartment in the Place des Vosges looked like and it's quite interesting.
Today being another cloudy and cool day we lingered in the apartment through the morning and got out shortly after having lunch for a trip down to the Place des Vosges. It is the oldest square in Paris dating from the mid 1500's when it was created on the orders of Henry IV. We love this square, perhaps more than any other in Paris. One of our loveliest memories of Paris was when we came in here one summer evening, probably 20 years ago, and wandered into a live concert of hunting horns. All the players
were facing away from the audience so that the horns would be directed properly, and they played several pieces that were quite beautiful. It wasn't just a bunch of blats followed by "tally-ho" but very stately melodies wonderfully blended by about 30 hunting horns.
Today sadly no music but we did make our way over to the Victor Hugo Museum ahd house in the southeast corner of the place. Victor Hugo may be the premier writer of French fiction from the 19th century, Les Miserables, and Hunchback of Notre Dame among others. He lived in the square with his wife and children for many years before he was tempted away by a lovely young woman and left them. He also spent
several years in exile in protest against several French regimes on the island of Guernsey with his young lover. His apartment was turned into a museum in the early 20th century and contains many mementos from his life. It's not a large museum but it does give one a chance to see what an apartment in the Place des Vosges looked like and it's quite interesting.
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