For Christmas last year, I gave Jeff a pack of 'Paris Walk' cards. They are the size of playing cards & contain directions & stopping points on one side & a map on the other. They are also convenient to hold surreptitiously in one's hand, so as not to have to wrestle with a map & consequently look like a complete prat! Today we had a few cards to walk our way through & we chose ones of places we hadn't been to before.
Our first stop was Paris' oldest church...St Germain-des-Pres. Once part of a larger Abbey complex, the Church has seen a lot of changes since it's 6th century beginnings. I was very keen to see it, because I had read that there is...allegedly...a statue of Isis at it's front entrance! Well, at the moment this Church is rather heavily wrapped up & undergoing renovation, so I don't know that the entrance we went through was the front or not. There was certainly no Isis there, but there was a begger woman standing very very still!
Inside the Romanesque features had been painted gold & with the coloured & pattererned ceilings & arches, they looked very impressive.
Just across the street is the famous Café where people like Hemingway, Picasso & the likes would drink, discuss philosophy & generally get to grips with the world. We didn't spot anyone famous sitting there today & didn't feel the need for coffee yet, so gave the over priced beverages a miss!
For the past 4 years, Jeff has been following the 'Coffee Break French' podcasts, & in the process has heard about a variety of interesting places across France. We stumbled across the impressive Fountain of St Michel today, which was the subject of one of his podcasts, so we were pretty excited. It is an impressive monument built in 1856 during the revamp of Paris.
I finally got to buy a book at Shakespeare & Co bookstore. I had never been here before & I know it isn't very Parisienne, but I really wanted to go!! It was such a treat meandering through the tiny rooms, some with writing tips on the steps & others with ancient tiles embedded in the floor. There is a tiny secondhand section, & then the main shop is full of more recently published books. I wish that books weren't quite so heavy to pack into suitcases!!! I did buy one paper back though & then we had a drink in the adjoining café, where we had a spectacular view of Notre Dame Cathedral.
The Pantheon was our next stop & we were expecting something a little more akin to the one in Rome. How wrong we were. This is HUGE. In the crypt below lie the tombs of famous French people including Louis Braille & Marie Curie.
There are many beautiful aspects of the Pantheon, but there was one feature that I doubt many people appreciate. On the lower level are a series of murals about the life of St Genevieve, the Patron Saint of Paris. I was very impressed with this small section where she is dying, & still the people come to her for blessings. Look at the feet of the woman kneeling in the foreground. They are dirty because these people had no shoes. I was very excited by this detail & quietly applauded the artist...I then went around to check that all the feet exposed to the viewer were dirty. They were. Great continuity!!
Walking through the Jardin Des Plants was bliss on such a hot afternoon. We went first to visit the Mosque & were quite disappointed with it's lack of decoration. Then walked through the gardens past the Natural History Museum. This is what we saw peering in through the window!
Our next stop was another treat that had me excited, The Institute du Monde Arabe. We knew we were nearly there when we saw this magnificent piece of Arabic calligraphy on the back wall.
This building is famous for it's high tech screens that control how much light enters the room. The sun on the exterior made it difficult to get impressive photos from outside the building, but from the ladies loo, this is what I managed to snap! Impressive is an understatement! These screens, based on traditional wooden Marabiyahs (& I know I've spelt that wrong) are electronically controlled & contain light sensors. They look incredible from the inside!! And there are 1600 of them!
There were many stunning exhibits inside & I was in a little patch of heaven. We had planned to eat in the restaurant on the top floor...until we saw the prices! Thankfully we didn't have to pay to take photo's from that wonderful vantage point. This is looking out on the great Lady herself, Notre Dame Cathedral.
Great day & after all that walking I am expecting to have the most shapely 52 year old legs in Christendom!!
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