Today was pretty rainy -- good opportunity to use those umbrellas we bought. It is the only rainy day we've had here. A lot of things are closed on Monday, but the Pantheon was open, so we headed there.
We got a bit lost and found the Arenes de Lutece first --- very cool! A Roman arena! I'd heard about this but never seen it. Then on to the Pantheon.
It is a breathtaking building. Just huge. It must have been a gorgeous church -- there are paintings on all the walls detailing the life of Ste. Genevieve (in whose name it was originally built) and St. Louis, among others. See the photo of the painting of St. Denis. Also tapestries. Now of course, it is a "secular temple" to recognize the great men of France (and Marie Curie too). We understand the desire to praise one's own, but have to admit we find the French habit of worshipping themselves a bit much. Especially when they take a church away from the Church to do it. We really liked the upstairs and of course Foucault's pendulum (see the photo). The crypt is where some of the great non-military people of France are entombed, like Victor Hugo, Voltaire, Rousseau, Alexandre Dumas, the Curies, etc.
Then we splashed our way past the faculty of law and headed to the Musee de Cluny. GORGEOUS!! I wish my feet were not hurting so badly -- I could have spent twice as long in this museum of medieval life. The tapestries, the gold, the art, the dishes -- just wonderful. I can't say enough about it -- Mum, I remember you recommended it -- you were so right. The famous tapestry of the Lady with the Unicorn seems to be the most popular exhibit, but I could have looked at just about everything.
Outside there are Roman ruins, right there on Boul' Mich! Gotta love this city.
And what can we say about the Metro system? Brian is totally taken by it. So efficient. Multiple lines that connect, trains every 3 minutes during the week and every 5 minutes on weekends. No need to consult a schedule. Between our feet and the Metro we have gone ALL OVER Paris at minimal cost. Faster than driving or cabs. We only have to cab it from and to the airport. Brian is going to be a big fan of expanding the LRT in Edmonton and plans to use it more to support it.
We ate lunch at Nectarine on the Place des Vosges -- a croque for Brian and an omelette for me. A glass of wine with lunch is so civilized and welcome when we do not have to work in the afternoon. And a final slice of Tarte Tatin with creme fraiche. Mayo was served with the frites (*shudder*).
We have done our last little trip to the market and the boulangerie for the baguette for tonight's dinner. It has been great to "picnic" with baguette (much different than at home), cheese, soup and a little wine each night.
We have packed up now and are tidying the apartment -- bags are pretty heavy on the way home -- sorry girls, it's mostly guide books from all the sites we've visited.
See you tomorrow!!
xoxoxo
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