Walking on towards the île de la Cité in the center of Paris on an early April afternoon... Many people were out strolling along les berges de la Seine (the walkways down on the banks of the river), or even sunbathing, enjoying one of the first warm, sunny days of the year. The equestrian statue depicts king Henri IV, who was assassinated nearby in 1610. Do you know where the bronze Winged Victory stands?
I thought the winged victory was the Génie de la Liberté better known as le Génie de la Bastille on top of the Colonne de Juillet. The one here stands on top of another colonne in a park located between two theaters, le Théâtre du Châtelet et le Théâtre Sarah Bernhardt, a.k.a. Théâtre de la Cité, if I'm not mistaken. I didn't know there were so many winged people in Paris!
ReplyDeleteBTW, the French flying man, Franky Zapata, died a few days ago in an flying accident. He flew over the English Channel a few years ago. RIP
As usual, this is a very well composed slideshow with very good photos.
DeleteAs its name implies (!) le Pont Neuf (the New Bridge) is the oldest in Paris. The statue of Henry IV, stands mid way on the bridge and behind it is the square du Vert-Galant named after king Henry known for his many mistresses!
I think it is not Franky Zapata who died but Vince Reffet, known as l'homme volant.
DeleteAnd yes the winged victory in my photo is at the Place du Châtelet. I think the theater you mention is the Théatre de la Ville, not de la Cité.
It seems the old Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt was at one time named Théâtre de la Cité, then Théâtre des Nations, and, finally, Théâtre de la Ville starting in 1990. I think people in Paris always called it the Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt until recently, because that's the name I remember.
DeleteYes, you're right about Vince Reffet. Both names were not familiar so I didn't remember who died, just a flying man.
DeleteNo, I did not know where that statue was, so thanks for telling us :)
ReplyDeleteThese are captures of quintessential scenes of Paris :)
I had to do some searching before finding out where the Victory statue was. Going through my photos from back then according to their date-and-time stamps led me to the answer. I learn a lot by doing this blog.
DeleteYou learn a lot, but so do we!
DeleteHere's a photo of the statue atop the colonne de juillet à la place de la Bastille.
DeleteI was going to guess the winged victory statue was on top of the roof of the Opera Garnier! Ha! Not even close. By the way Ken, New York Times just came out with an article on how to pretend you're in Paris for a night to avoid dealing with Covid: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/travel/paris-vacation-at-home.html
ReplyDeleteGreat minds think alike, but you beat them to it by quite a bit!
For a minute there, I thought you all were talking about Frank Zappa. LOL
ReplyDeletechm is right, Paris is full of winged people. Such a beautiful place.