Lots of really old stone buildings

I am in danger of falling behind. I am forced to begin today with a few photos taken yesterday after I posted. Some of it is pretty good stuff, though, and I don't want to miss posting it.

An editorial comment is that I have lots and lots of information about some of the things I am posting. I have decided to post the photo and a short comment but when I get home I am going to come back to some of this stuff and tell the whole story. Some of this is pretty good stuff.

So we walked around the back side of the Hotel de Ville, which at some point I am going to have to post. It is a spectacular building in its own right but the front is mostly obscured right now with a giant stage for a free music festival being put on in connection with Paris Plage. I may have to come back to that too.

Across the street from the back side of the Hotel de Ville is le Eglise Saint Gervais et Saint Protais.The church is named after Gervais and Protais, two Roman soldiers who were martyred by Nero. The church dates from the 6th century and has the oldest Classical facade in Paris. The facade has a three tiered arrangement or columns, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian.

The church currently has a monastic community whose liturgy attracts people from around the world. They were having mass when we visited.This is the Hotel de Beauvais at 82 rue Francois Miron. Rue Francois Miron was for several hundred years part of a grand entry into Paris leading directly to the palace of the Louvre. I have a fabulous story about Louis XIV, his wife Marie Therese and the king's mother, Anne of Austria. The short version is that on August 26, 1660, Louis and Marie Therese made a triumphal entry into Paris.On the route they passed this spot where they stopped to salute the Queen Mother standing on that same balcony photographed yesterday by me.

So, here then is stuff I saw today.

Here is a little perspective. We walk out the door, turn right and take about 50 steps, maybe about 40 yards, a short Paris block. Turn left and here is what I see.Today we walked again on the right bank, further into the area of the Marais. We had just passed through the Allee des Justes about which I will eventually have more. For now this is the Hotel de Chatons Luxembourg.The building dates from 1625 with the large sculpted entryway considered a masterpiece of 17th century architecture.

This is the corner of Rue Charlemagne and Rue du Prevot, mostly interesting for the pedestrian, taxi and deliveries only (and quite narrow) rue du Prevot and for the former names of the two streets still visible chiseled into the sides of the buildings.This is the Hotel de Sens, built by Archibishop Tristan de Salazar between 1498 and 1519. I have a whole gargantuan bunch of interesting stuff about this one but for now note mainly that this is one of the last two remaining medieval buildings in Paris, the other being the Cluny Museum.Careful examination will discover a cannon ball lodged in the stone during the insurrection of 1830.

Passing to the photo left of the Hotel is Rue de L'Hotel de Ville. That street was named Rue de la Mortellerie for nearly 600 years. In 1832 a cholera epidemic killed 19,000 people in Paris including 300 on this street alone. The surviving residents demanded that the street name be changed because they did not want to live on a street with a name that contained the word "mort" - death.

The area in the foreground of this photo was covered with houses into the mid-1940s. Demolition of the buildings as part of widespread urban renewal in the neighborhood revealed the largest remaining section of Philippe-Auguste's wall, built between 1190 and 1210.Standing on the spot from where this photo was taken in the early 13th century would have meant being outside the city walls of Paris. The adjacent street has been called Rue des Jardins St-Paul since 1277, most likely because at that time Parisians were cultivating gardens outside the walls.

I had my good camera with me today and it came in quite handy when we arrived at Eglise Saint Paul Saint Louis. This church was built by Jesuits beginning in 1627. The Jesuits were expelled from France in 1762 but the distinctive SJ symbol is still prominent inside the building.The painting visible on the far wall is "Christ in the Garden of Olives" by Eugene Delacroix.

Another view showing more of the 60 meter high dome.The first mass in the church was conducted by Richelieu with the royal family in attendance.We walked over to Place Vosges. I have been there before but today there were 6 or 700 fewer people there on the lawn then were there the other times I have been there.We had an interesting exchange with a French workman as we approached the Pompidou. He spoke only French to us and realized that we weren't getting all of it. He did manage to convey to us his impression that the museum looks to him like a petroleum refinery.For Wireless, a view of our interior. It is a studio apartment, not very big but it seems like it is going to be just fine for two.The book with details about the Marais that I have been using also includes a section on Ile de la Cite. It identifies the address we are staying at as one of the oldest houses on the island, dating from the 16th century. In earlier days it was a residence for canons of Notre Dame.