Journée du Patrimoine

SO: Every year France opens the doors of many of its closed state buildings to welcome in the public for one weekend only.

I first heard this from Diana at lunch this week and Chris and I would not believe her when she said that you could even go into Sarkozy's office - but you CAN! However, EVERYONE wants to go there and to get in you need to get there before 7am and given a horrific night's sleep Thursday, I most definitely wanted to faire la grasse matinée on Saturday! Besides which, I am not all that interested in politics but rather beautiful places. And what BEAUTIFUL places I found today!

I decided to go to the Palais Royal - built for Cardinal Richelieu in the 1600s, royals then lived there for a bit and now it's home to the Ministry of Culture, the Conseil d'Etat and the Constitutional Council.

The queue was long and so I got chatting to the girl behind me who turned out to also have studied modern languages, spent 6 months in Leeds, fell in love with York and worked in Madrid! She was carrying a rather flashy camera and had already visited the Ministry for Foreign Affairs that morning and advised me to go saying the queues were short and the building beautiful. Li, a kindred spirit from work then came and joined us (she lives just outside of Paris, so it had taken a while to get in) and once inside, Marion then became our own lovely personal guide and we spent a happy afternoon going round speaking franglais!

Once out, Li and I went and sat by a big fountain in the gardens outside the Louvre in the beautifully warm sunshine and chatted and ate belated lunch before making our way to the recommended Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

I took SO many photos, I apologise in advance - I SWEAR I've cut them down!

Now, I think I gave my guidebook/leaflet with Li, so I'll try to remember what everything was. This is the antechamber I think, everything was on the first floor and this is the first room you walk into:

The walls seemed to be made of felt almost, with this blue paint or ink. Really striking!

Then this was perhaps the office of the secretary to the Minister for Culture:

No computers out! ... but a printer. And a picture of Sarkozy!

Then this was the Minister's office:

quite modern-looking with its lilac walls and plastic chairs (from IKEA I assume)

It also pleased me to see that I use the very same pink stabilo highlighter as Monsieur Minister for Culture himself!

I also liked his carpet:

I liked the ceiling in this room of the Conseil d'Etat (and most other things about this room actually!):

This is the highest court room there is I think, where people contesting their constitutional rights(?) go:
This is the room where they pass laws:
It has paintings on every wall, by various different artists designed to represent all the different kinds of people of France:

This is a seat: Everyone gets their own seat with their name on and two buttons to yay or nay a law! Plus a microphone.

This little library reminded me of Beauty and the Beast!

There was a stack of shelves for each letter of the alphabet, this was I:
This is the art installation in the courtyard as you come in: (I didn't understand it - I need to look it up!)
I loved this: they have these huge french windows (obviously) which they can open up out onto the balcony and thus feel like they're working outside!

I loved this carpet:
This was an office for someone important:
I liked this sofa and table:
This was a tiny little cupboard where the royal princesses used to go and pray when they lived there! So weird to see it hidden in the middle of all these State offices of a self-declared secular country!
Literally enough room to kneel and that's it!

This is the dining room, there was a steward there inside (a cord prevented us from entering) and we got chatting and HE turned out to have been a languages student too! Amazing! He'd been an au-pair in Ireland and had worked in London too and we chatted there for ages and I asked what was behind the doors and he said "I'll show you" and disappeared off and came back with a painting of the room beyond that he'd taken off the wall! He also said that the staff (of whom there are about 50) get to eat in this dining room once a year!

I asked him what the large golden "N"s on the door handles were and he said they were left by Napoleon:
And he did the floor (Napoleon, not the steward):
And then when we'd finished chatting, he said, "would you like me to take some photos for you?" and took my camera and got these exclusive shots! Get in!

And he took one of us: Marion, Li and I!
These were some drummers outside the Assemblée Nationale, on the way to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
Here it is:
All the rooms of the first floor seemed very samey, but so deliciously ornate and golden and lit up by loads of lights and then each room had mirrors on opposing walls to create more room and light!
The ceilings were very high and very very beautiful:

I love lamp:
I love CHANDELIER:
I love stripey wallpaper:
I love this sofa:

I love ... chair:
This is the dining room and they still have breakfast here at least once a week, overlooking the Seine! This was laid out with everything for 12 people, 5 glasses each! Ridiculously over the top. I SO want to eat there!
The QUEEN'S BATHROOM!!!!
It is silver, with big mirrors, beautiful walls, glass swans, a silver mosaic bathtub, set into a beautiful mosaicked alcover, with views into the gardens and set behind these FABULOUS big drapes! I WANT a bath there.
Queen's bedroom (It was a british queen who was the last to sleep there in the 19somethings):

Queen's bed (a little small...):
King's bedroom (now an office with convenient bed! - might try introducing this concept at Alcatel: beds fit for Kings in the office!)
King's bed:
King's view:

King's BATHROOM:

It's GOLDEN!
I want a bath HERE:
Staircase and art:
big grand rooms:
I love... carpet:

Superfluous chandeliers:
Beautiful office, I assume belonging to the Minister for Foreign Affairs
Actual Peace treaty between France and Russia!
Then in the last room there were people showing their trades in restoration, this man did chairs:

This is another man making a chair-leg:
I want this one:
And this one:
This shows the five stages of making a frame:
This woman restores tapestries:

This was part of a document that was being restored:
I wanted to ask the lady how she did it but she was stood there for HOURS talking to someone else and Li was already gone so I left it...
Laura Harman, I saw these and thought of you!

It ended here in the gardens:

Greatest day - Mum, you would have loved it! I missed you!