It was a second consecutive pleasant day, I began the day again with a walk off towards the tower. For a second day in a row I didn't actually get anywhere near the tower.
Here's an early morning view of quintessential Paris, the Seine spreading to pass on both side of Ile Saint Louis, photographed from Pont d'Arcole, a bridge from Ile de la Cite to the right bank at Hotel de Ville.
Here is my construction update for any readers who love Paris. Whatever it was that they did to Les Halles has finally been declared a failure. The underground shopping mall is safe but the above ground park has been torn completely apart with something completely different under construction.
What my post title refers to is that I spent the rest of the morning going inside old churches, four in all. It seems like there has been a lot of this and there has. But it isn't something anyone has seen before. Each and every one of these old churches is astonishing.
First up is the church behind this statue next to Les Halles, Saint Eustache.
That's "Saint Denis preaching to the Gauls".
The Museum of the Army might be the most complete museum any time any place any subject. The coverage of the subject is exhaustive, exhaustive in the extreme.
France has been a country for a long time, France has had an army for a long time, France's army has been involved in nearly every major European conflict shaping the history of the continent. From the very earliest days they kept examples of EVERYTHING.
Cannons. These are from the 17th century.
It is amazing. I will be back there some day for more. There was way, way too much to try to digest in a single setting.
So here's another shot of where we are staying, this time with the courtyard open. Remember that this house dates from the 16th century. Tourists walking by were stopping to take photos and to wander inside as much as they dared.
For last year's fellow travelers, our boulangerie.
LATE EDIT: I went out to the square in front of the big church. The photograph available when the sun is out and the sky is blue is quite a bit more attractive than the photograph against grey sky.
2 comments:
Hi. More on the post later, but did you call at 12:25 pm our time? I answered excitedly but could hear no one on the line.
Anyway, Wireless is off to the airport in a bit. She and Andy and I had a nice lunch together yesterday. She is a most excellent dafter.
See you soon.
The "big church" really is spectacular from every angle.
Morning light is nice, I agree.
That is truly an amazing pipe organ.
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