Le mur des je t’aime – Wall of I love you

July 24, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

The “I love you” wall stands at the center of a garden just behind the Abesses Metro Station in Montmartre, Paris. 612 tiles of enameled lava cover a surface area of 40 square meters. The phrase “I love you” is written more than a thousand times in over 300 different languages.

The wall was created by two artists, Frederic Baron and Claire Kito, as a location for lovers to rendezvous as well as a lasting monument to eternal adoration. The phrases were collected by Frederic Baron in notebooks by knocking on the doors of embassies and asking their neighbors until he had collected more than 300 languages all expressing the powerful sentiment of love. Frederic Baron then asked Claire Kito, an artist who practices oriental calligraphy, to assemble the script. Baron states, “The bursts of color on the fresco represent the pieces of a broken heart, the heart of a humanity so often torn apart and which the wall tries to gather together.”

The garden itself–in Square Jehan Rictus–is worth stopping by for a stroll, lovely and serene, the perfect place to step away if you are in Montmarte and have battled the crowds at Sacre Coeur. Square Jehan Rictus originally opened in 1936 on the site of the old town hall where the Commune of Montmartre stood from 1837 to 1882. In 1994, the square was reconstructed and planted with a large variety of shrubs and trees, laid out around a central fountain.

The square was named after Gabriel Randon de Saint-Amand (1867-1933), alias Jehan Rictus, a Montmartre artist who gained fame with his poems and songs written in the popular French of the time. He was a friend of painter Paul Gaugin and many other famous artists. A little oasis of greenery near the busy rue des Abbesses, it’s a wonderful spot to stop and sit and enjoy the quieter side of Paris.

Directions: Paris, Montmartre, 18th District – Square Jehan Rictus
Metro station: Abbesses on Line 12

And if you want to read more about all things Pampers, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or RSS/email.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

Montmartre at midnight

June 6, 2015 by Beth Shepherd

It was Montmartre

It was midnight Come to think of it

It was spring…

~Mam’selle

At night, Paris –La Ville Lumière– comes alive with luminescence, the soft glow from iron-grated windows, a steady beam from a streetlamp, and tiny candles from the thousands of cafes. Paris has long been referred to as “The City of Light” both because of its leading role during the Age of Enlightenment, and more literally because Paris was one of the first European cities to adopt gas street lighting. Here are a few night scenes with the lights of Montmartre, my favorite neighborhood.

And if you want to read more about all things Pampers, follow me on Facebook, Twitter or RSS/email.

Take the road less traveled, Beth

Half my life

September 4, 2009 by Beth Shepherd

Walking along the Seine in late summer, I watched the sun sparkle across the water. With a baguette tucked under my arm and a chunk of French runny stinky cheese wrapped in paper, I strolled and nibbled my way along the quaint cobbled streets of the Left Bank. The year was 1985 and I was on a six week vacation in Europe before starting my second year of a Ph.D. program at the University of Washington. I adore traveling and I loved Europe. My pores soaked in every moment, the sounds the sights and the flavors. As soon as I got on the plane to return to Seattle, I began imagining when I might be back.

I never thought it would take another 24 years, half my life, to see the city of lights once again! Years paying for college and graduate school left me with mounds of debt and I worked in low-paying jobs, never seeming to be able to get ahead. If I did hop on a plane, it was to visit my family on the east coast. I longed to find some way to make a trip overseas a reality but it never happened. Somehow I managed to wander very far afield from my dreams and passions.

Last night, a friend and I went to see the movie, Julie and Julia. Julia Child’s story is amazing to watch and Meryl Streep played her to perfection. But what really stopped me in my tracks were scenes of streets and markets of Paris. In one week, I will be there. Big Papa and I are spending three nights in Paris before heading off to Yerevan, Armenia’s capitol. It will be Big Papa’s first time in Europe proper. He’s visited London and Wales, but never the European continent. I can’t wait to share it with him, even though it’s just a blink of a visit.

At first, my list of things to see and do was quite long. Surely we would not sleep. We would visit the Rodin Museum, take a boat ride on the Seine, hike up Montmartre and visit Eiffel Tower at night. There were restaurants to dine at, markets to peruse and neighborhoods to explore.

As reality began to seep in, I realized that I would need to distill my list to just a few chosen gems. I agonized about which attractions I might trade, when it finally dawned on me that what stole my heart and held strong in my memory all these years was just the experience of being there. No matter what we do or where we go, we are in Paris. Together.

I can’t wait to hold Big Papa’s hand while we traipse through the Tuileries or sweat our way up the steps to Sacre Coeur. He’ll see the light dance in my eyes when I spy a chocolate shop a few doors ahead. We’ll both relish meandering through the little market we were surprised to find when we took the wrong turn and rounded the corner.

Bon Voyage to us! All aboard to Paris and then on to Armenia.