Lutetia

This walk begins at the Musee de Cluny, one of my favorite little museums in Paris.

Inside the Musee de Cluny are statues which were once in Notre Dame de Paris
which was torn down during the Revolution.



Remember Saint Denis from the Montmartre walk? He wandered around
with his head after he was decapitated until he finally died.



There was a room full of these stained-glass windows that were once in Sainte-Chapelle.





These are the famous Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries. These tapestries were discovered in 1841 in an old castle. They were damaged along the bottom from their storage conditions.



Notice near the bottom of the tapestries there is a distinct line where the color changes. Strangely enough, the discolored part is actually the newer part that was restored when they were found in the 1840's. The older parts of the tapestries kept their color
while the newer parts faded. Interesting...



This is the ceiling of a small chapel inside the museum. I thought it was really cool.



I really enjoyed this last part of the museum. There was all of this armor and weapons from the middle ages that belonged to different knights and various royalty.
I thought it was pretty awesome.







Just a few streets over form the Musee de Cluny is the Sorbonne.
(University of Pars founded in 1257)
Pretty awesome looking school if you ask me. Unfortunately they don't allow
the public inside due to past riot issues.





We attempted to look like we fit in...not sure it's working...



The Pantheon! It was first meant to be a church dedicated to Sainte Genevieve,
but after the Revolution it was decided to make the church into a final
resting place for great people of the nation.







Inside the Pantheon



Now for the crypt underneath the Pantheon. This is a statue
of Voltaire with his tomb behind him.


I found Victor Hugo's tomb rather quickly. I was excited at the coincidence of seeing his tomb today, when the walk I went on yesterday had the tour through his house.





I know this picture is a little blurry, but this is Marie Curie's tomb.



Just behind the Pantheon is this thirteenth century Renaissance church, St-Etienne-du-Mont.



Front door to the church


Inside the church. I love the spiral staircases on the sides!


This is a reliquary holding part of Saint Genevieve's sarcophagus.
Most of her remains were burned by revolutionaries in 1793. According to legend,
Genevieve saved Paris from the Huns in 451.



We passed through this fun little square near the end of our walk. I would like to come back sometime and check out the little shops around the outside.


The last stop on this walk was an old Roman amphitheater that was built near the
end of the first century. That's a long time ago!

This has been one of my favorite walks so far. There was so much to see and so much history! Not to mention the sun was shining today! Hooray for sunshine!

Marais 1

Welcome to the Marais district of France. First stop on this walk is Hotel de Sans. Once home to the archbishop of Paris, and at one point the wife of Henry IV, today this 1519 building is now the Fine Arts Library of Paris.

Around 1200, Philippe Auguste had this wall built to enclose all of Paris. However, this is all that remains of the wall since Paris has grown much larger since the reign of Auguste.

This little passage was off to our left on the main street. The chasses roues (post like structures) along the side of the wall were meant to keep carriages from hitting the wall. This idea seemed rather strange to me. Do carriages often run into the walls?

More carriage saving stones.

At the end of the passageway is this church, l'eglise Saint-Paul Saint-Louis. Louis XIII laid the cornerstone for this church, and Cardinal Richelieu held mass here after it's completion in 1641.

Inside the church


Front door of the church



This pretty building is an entrance to...

This cool square! La Place Royale is a square that Henry IV had built in Marais for the royal court to hold private and public celebrations, parades, and even weddings. Some famous people lived in the square including Cardinal Richelieu and Victor Hugo. I loved this square. It had a very fun atmosphere.



Cardinal Richelieu had this statue of Louis XIII erected
in the middle of the square.

Victor Hugo's home!!! I was sooooo excited to see this! I LOVE Victor Hugo! It was so amazing to walk through his house where he lived and wrote. Some of the greatest literature masterpeices were penned here! Ah! I just love it!


Sooooooo happy!




On the first floor of Victor Hugo's apartment they had
displays of some of his writings.



Inside the apartment now...








And last but not least...his writing desk! I wanted to touch it so badly, but unfortunately it was ropped off. I could almost feel his muse radiating!

This is the end of Marais walk one. There is a second half to this walk that I will be doing later. . .

Playing Hooky in the Quartier Latin

Welcome to the Latin Quarter of Paris. So named because Latin was the language spoken in this quarter of town by all of the students at the Sorbonne (University of Paris). First stop is the Fountaine Saint-Michel. This fountain, depicting Saint Michel slaying a dragon, was added in the mid-nineteenth century as a focal point of an uneven intersection. Because everyone knows when something looks uneven, add a giant, dragon fountain. ?


This small theatre made its debut shortly after WWII. In 1957 it staged the famous La Cantatrice Chauve (The Bald Soprano). This show was a bigger hit than anyone could have imagined. The play is still running today.


Aren't these streets fun? I picked up a strawberry crepe walking along this road...it's so hard to pass them up. It's a good thing I'm walking so much!


Off to our left was this street, Rue du Chat-Qui-Peche (The Fishing Cat). This is the narrowest street in Paris, and it has been around since 1540.


This cool gothic church, l'eglise Saint-Severin, was built in the eleventh century, but was rebuilt in 1495. It has some very impressive stained-glass windows and beautiful architecture.


I thought the organ on the far wall was pretty nifty. I want to come back to one of the organ concerts that are held here weekly.


Le Procope is the oldest cafe in Paris. During the eighteenth century it became a spot for revolutionary thinking. Famous philosophers such as Diderot, Rousseau, and Voltaire shared their ideas over drinks here at the Procope.

Flower market! It smelled sooooooooo good!

Last stop! The Monnaie de Paris. (Paris Mint)

I really enjoyed this walk. I thought the streets were picturesque, and what people may picture in their minds when they think of Paris. I definitely plan on coming back to do some more wandering. And eating.