Thursday in Paris began beautiful and sunny, which was a fantastic thing for our first stop of the day.
The view from our terrace
Rich grabbed a coffee next door while I finished getting ready.
Hotel de Ville by day
We arrived at Sainte-Chapelle, a 13th-century church surrounded by the Palais de Justice (below). At times, it was a little hard to tell who was arriving to fight their parking tickets from the line of tourists.
We walked into the chapel and were greeted by a very solemn room with beautiful stained glass. King Louis IX had the chapel built to house his relics.
Blah, blah, blah, stained glass, Louis.
But the real show hadn't begun.
We walked up a set of stairs, and we gasped in astonishment as realized we had only been in the lower chapel ... not this.
Hundreds of panels of glass, comprising thousands of square feet of art.
The visible part of Sainte-Chappelle from the Palais de Justice
Down the street from Sainte-Chapelle and the Palace of Justice is La Conciergerie, most famous for housing Marie-Antoinette before she was beheaded. As we walked in, an exhibition of art welcomed us.
We reached the museum part and took in what's pretty macabre: an old prison, a former court, the cells where enemies of the Revolution waited to die. Fascinating stuff, really.
A guillotine blade
The women's courtyard
A re-creation of Marie-Antoinette's former cell (and a bizarre mannequin holding her place)
We then walked to Notre Dame (we skipped the tour -- the line was hours long), where you can walk through the main chapel. Mass is conducted a few times every day as tourists walked through; while many try to be solemn -- hello, Mass is being said!! -- most don't care. It made me -- actually, both of us -- angry and made me want to leave. Sigh. Too bad, because the inside is awe-inspiring.
Light a candle, say a prayer ... like a good Catholic.
The most natural place to go next, of course, was the Jewish district of Le Marais.
The golem
Chez Marianne, one of the most famous eateries in the city -- where we grabbed falafel.
In honor of Modern Art Day (well, the Bich version), our next stop was Centre Pompidou, the museum next to our flat and the home of the Musee National d'Art Moderne. Ah, this makes Brooke happy.
Cool building.
Plenty of Picasso here.
And pieces Rich really responded to.
My finger is pointing to nearly the exact spot of our flat
Next up: Musee de l'Orangerie, home of some of Claude Monet's "Water Lilies" murals and a collection of various modern art pieces. No photos allowed, alas.
And a painting we both responded to. Hee. Sneaky Rich:
Cafe stop!
Croque monsieur!
We stopped in here for a glass of wine next. This was one of those times we noticed couples bringing in occupied strollers -- they'd have a glass, a bite, chat. All the while, nary a sound from the stroller. Older children behaved in cafes while their parents nonchalantly ate and sipped wine and spoke with friends. How cool is that?
And then off to Musee d'Orsay, one of the most breathtaking sites in the city. A heaven full of modern art -- which I love -- it's a fantastically converted rail station with sculpture gracing the outside ... and on Thursday night, no line.
In the cab on our way home, Rich suddenly yelled to the driver, "Oui! Oui!" and managed to communicate that we wanted to stop. I was a bit taken aback, considering I really didn't know where we were. Turns out, he'd spotted ...
... one of the city's most famous cafes.
I had a salad, while Rich finally got ...
... his French steak tartare.
Our table for two, overlooking the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Pres
Random art
A stop next door for a glass of wine
Walking with my vin chaud (hot wine)
On our way back to the flat, we stopped by a shop so I could get my French macarons. Somehow we started talking to two Americans ... from Rumson, New Jersey. It was the man's third trip, his daughter's second (Mom was back in the room; it was her sixth). They gave us excellent tips for our trip the next day to Versailles.
Boats tied up along the Seine across from Notre Dame
Crossing the Pont de l'Archeveche bridge (no, Rich would not indulge me in this cheesy tradition)
Locks upon locks
Hotel de Ville by night
Dessert: rose and macarons.
These pictures are fantastic! Some look like paintings or postcards. Stunning. Beautiful. Have loved looking at all of them (countless times). As I said, my favorites are the two of you together. It appears you are happier as each day progresses. Hope you have more pics to share! All my love, Mom
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