This is Eglise St. Julienne le Pauvre, a wonderful medieval church from 1170. The relics here were on display and they are the bones of St. Ursula. Most churches keep their relics under lock & key, so I was a little surprised to see these, and even more surprised that pictures were allowed.

I then walked down Rue de la Huchette, a narrow street that is chock full of little shops filled with your typical, but fun, souviners; from silk scarves and T-shirts, to cooking utensils and fridge magnets. This street also had more cafes than I have ever seen! I stopped and had a crepe, jambon et fromage. That's my crepe that you see cooking. It was giant and I could only eat half of it. There must have been a half a pound of cheese stuffed inside. Just off of this street is an even narrower one called Rue de Chat-qui-Peche, or "Street of the Cat who Fishes" which claims to be the narrowest street in Paris. It's about 3 feet wide, and the awnings of the little shops that are across from each other almost touch. It's pretty dirty and grimy however, and the stores were not very inviting.

I don't know why the pictures I post sometimes just don't appear. I am obviously doing something wrong, but oh well...

So, the pictures below go with the post that is below them. The first one is of the sailboats at Luxumbourg Gardens (pretty self explanatory). The other 2 are of Foucaults Pendulum and the interior of the Pantheon.

The church is just outside the Pantheon, it is Eglise St Etienne Du Mont, and was built in 1492. 1492? That's when "Columbus sailed the ocean blue." Imagine...the French were building phenomenal churches, the Italians were sailing across unknown oceans, and North America was largely unsettled with nary a building. (Yeah, I know, Vikings had already been there and todays First Nations were there, but this is not a history lesson, at least not a really accurate one.)

After I had finished wandering through the cemetary, I decided to head back towards Luxembourg Gardens, since it was such a nice day I thought I'd sit in the sun for a bit and watch the sailboats. Being a Sunday, a lot of families were there enjoying the weather.

I then walked across the street and up a block or two to see the Pantheon. Inside, I was mesmerized by a Foucault's Pendulum, which I knew virtually nothing about. Luckily there was a small video to watch that explained it all, and how it proves that the earth revolves on its axis. The pendulam swings back and forth, but it is hung with such exact precision that it's the motion of the earth that you actually see. Umm..I'll admit it, it doesn't really make a lot of sense to me even after having watched the video.

Foucault's Pendulum.

The interior of the Pantheon, huge! The crypt downstairs has 80 permanent residents, including Victor Hugo and Marie Curie.

Montparnasse

Sunday. Today I walked...and walked and walked! I got up early and took the 92 bus to Montparnasse and went to the cemetary there. It was quite phenomenal, to say the least. The size alone was incredible, I'm not sure exactly how big it was, but I wandered for close to 3 hours and didn't even begin to see it all.

I was there as the gates opened, so I pretty much had the place to myself. I could see one or two other people in the distance, tending to the graves of their loved ones. As in Montmartre Cemetary, this is set up like a small town, with streets and street signs, main "roads" and tiny "alleys". On the street corners there are water taps and small watering cans so you can tend to the plants and flowers of the graves.

The graves themselves are very close together and you actually have to step on some in order to get to others. I didn't quite feel comfortable doing so (so I refrained), but it's obviously quite alright if you do...in some cases there is no other way to reach (and care for) your plot.

It was a sunny day and the birds were chirping. The walls of the graveyard muffled the sounds of the city, so it was very peaceful, and I do like graveyards. *sidebar* When we lived in Moose Jaw, there was a large, and old graveyard behind our house, my bedroom looked out at it, and I rather enjoyed the peacefulness of it. I'd often wander through it, especially during my angst filled teen years!

This place, however, was filled with the most amazing tombstones I have ever seen, from the most modern things you can imagine (the mirror laden giant bird-creature) to the ones that looked like tiny castles, complete with stained glass windows. The giant ceramic cat that belongs to Ricardo was one of my favorites. I don't imagine that in his wildest dreams, did Ricardo ever think that pictures of his tombstone would be viewed and talked about on the Internet. I guess that's one way of being remembered. Although I imagine some of the "owners" of the older ones would be even more amazed...some of them lived in times when there was no such thing as radio, never mind computers.

From the ultra modern to the old fashioned and touching. I loved this couple in their bed, he was holding an open book and (presumably) reading to his wife. Can you imagine having such a tombstone? The flowers in the pots beside the "bed" were alive, so someone still cares for them.

Like miniature castles.

I of course have no idea who Ricardo is, but I think he must have been a "fun" fellow and I love his friends for building him such an amazing tombstone.

If this isn't whimsical, then I don't know what is!

Doors

Doors in Paris

If I could, I would have opened every one of these doors and peeked inside...I can only imagine the secrets and treasures that one might find within...

Pompidou Papa!

After leaving the library I decided to head over to the Pompidou Centre via Rue Rivoli. Yikes! I think every person between the ages of 16 and 25 that live in Paris was on the street that day. It was CROWDED! Rue Rivoli is very trendy and is lined with stores like Roots, Gap, McDonalds, La Senza, Starbucks and so forth. Not my cup of tea. I elbowed my way through and as I turned the corner to the Centre, I heard a little girl shrieking with joy as she spotted the unmistakable building: "Pompidou, Papa, Pompidou!!" It's loud and colourful, and filled with buskers and street entertainers, puppet-shows and magicians, rappers, dancers, mimes and jugglers. It was quite an interesting place, filled with energy. The building itself is the most successful cultural centre in the world. It has dance and theatre venues, a very posh restaurant and an outstanding collection of modern art. I have posted one picture of one of the galleries...very modern and it made me somewhat nauseous just to look inside...again, not my cup of tea. The building itself is also very modern, it was built with many of the stairs, ducts, pipes etc on the outside, so as to utilize all the inside space. It's one of those things that the Parisians love to hate.

After that I walked over to Sainte-Chappelle, a church that I have heard a lot about, but didn't really know anything about. It's actually inside the walls of the Palais de Justice (the law courts) The Palais is still the centre of the French judicial system, so it's quite a big deal, security-wise, to go inside. There are more than one metal detectors, guards with wands, searches of all your bags, X-rays and so on. Once inside, you have to hunt a little for the church entrance and when you go in, and round the corner...your breath will leave you for a moment. If there is a place that describes the word "breathtaking", this is it. I was totally stunned into silence by the sheer beauty of this place. The walls are all stained glass, from floor to ceiling and absolutely magnificent, especially in the afternoon with the sun shining through. You are surrounded on three sides by 15 massive windows that comprise over 1,000 scenes of the Christian story, from the Garden of Eden to the Apocalypse (built in 1248) I have never been in church where you are supposed to be quiet (think Notre Dame and the Sistine Chapel) where people actually WERE quiet. There are benches along the walls and everyone just sat, silent. My photos do not do it justice at all,

Breathtaking

Wedding

Shane really doesn't like me posting pictures of him, but this is such a nice picture of him in an Armani suit (of all things) and I doubt I'll see him in a suit again anytime in the near future, so I decided to bite the bullet and show the picture...what can he do? I AM his mother!!!