Chestnut trees in flowers, place Dauphine, with Lena

Lena - Place Dauphine

11:03 AM - Lena comes from Sweden. While running, we discovered a Paris colored by the spring.
Look at the photo above where the Place Dauphine shows proudly its chestnut trees in flower.
Created shortly after the "Place des Vosges" (at that time, Place Royale), the Place Dauphine owes its name to the son of king, the "Dauphin", future Louis XIII, son of Henri IV whose we can see the statue on the west of the Place.
Beautiful small quiet square, opened on the Justice Palace, it was until 1874 a square closed by a third side of buildings. The Place was then a complete triangle.

Before and after

Here are the buildings which constituted the basis of the triangle:

Place Dauphine before 1874 - East side - No trees at the time!

Other beautiful trees and vegetables accompanied our route:

The oldest tree in Paris

Lena - Locust tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) planted in 1602 (Square René Viviani)

The plant wall which covers a part of the buildings of the Quai Branly Museum

Lena - Plant wall created in 2004 by Patrick Blanc (Administrative buildings of the Quai Branly Museum)

The trees which follow the new banks of the Seine

Lena - Banks of the river Seine (left bank) - In the background, the Eiffel Tower

Merci Lena !

The route of the tour :

Some small secrets of the Parisian landscapes, with Kara

Kara - Bridge of the Carrousel

8:01 AM - With Kara, who comes from Atlanta (USA), we ran on an attractive route of more than 9 km and took advantage of the magnificent landscapes offered by Paris, emphasized by the sun which accompanied us this morning: splendid urban landscapes of Paris, buildings and monuments which revealed us small secrets during our running.

For example on this photo of the Louvre taken since the bridge of the Carousel: do you see the lantern stands of the Pavilion of Lesdiguières which is at the right of the photo above?
Let us look closer:

Lantern of the Pavilion of Lesdiguières

Golden "N" decorate the balcony of the lantern as on the one of the pavilion which faces it, the pavilion of Rohan. These "N" placed in the end of the Second Empire in the middle of the 19th century, honor the Emperor Napoleon III.
But here, on the pavilion of Lesdiguières, these "N" are back to front! We think that the worker who put them, would have inverted them because of his hostility to Napoleon III!
This small secret was discovered during the restoration of the Louvre museum in 1985, more than one hundred years after their installation!

On the left, the lantern of the Pavilion of Rohan - On the right, the one of the Pavilion of Lesdiguières

Not far from there, the famous Bridge of the Arts. Some tourists call it henceforth the "Love Padlocks" bridge*1...

Kara - Footbridge of the Arts

It is true that it is about one of the most romantic places of Paris, it would be only by its sight on the Island of the "Cité". But what do we see if we get closer to the Island, behind the place Dauphine? A bird...

A bird...
It is one of the Imperial Eagles of the Justice Palace of Paris (Imperial Eagles dear to Napoléon the 1st, notice the "N" under the Eagle...):

By pursuing our running in the Louvre, we decide to make a photo in the very beautiful squared courtyard ("Cour carrée du Louvre"):

Kara - Cour carrée du Louvre

Under our feet you can find the first Louvre, the Medieval Louvre, a fort protecting the West of Paris by strengthening the Outer wall of king Philippe Auguste. If you visit the basements of the Louvre, you can see the foundations of the medieval castle. Here is its representation and a photo of its foundations:

Medieval Louvre - Foundations

By leaving the Louvre, we go through the garden of Tuileries and its numerous statues:

Kara - Garden of the Tuileries

Notice for example, on the right-hand side of the photo above, the Statue of the Oath of Spartacus:

By continuing along the historical axis of Paris, we arrive Place of La Concorde, magnificent place which really deserves a stop.

Kara, "place de la Concorde" - In the axis, the Champs-Elysées with the "Arc de Triomphe"

To the right, in the entrance of the Champs-Elysées, a rearing horse: one of the Horses of Marly. A copy of which the original is in the Louvre, original now protected from the vibrations provoked by the heavy machines of the National day military parade. 
Remember this article: Passing in front of the horses of Marly with Mary

If we take a close look, we distinguish green flags. They are the flags of the Paris Marathon that took place five days earlier!

Merci Kara !

The route of the tour:

*1 The City hall of Paris recently decided to forbid the pose of these padlocks on buildings or bridges of Paris because they threaten and damage these Parisian heritage. Artists are requested to find a respectful replacement to these wild poses (Article France 3 - in French).