Paris – Day Ten – MM4.Travel

Tuesday September 10

Passages

Near our hotel we explored several old arcades, one of which happens to be the oldest in Paris.

Passage Jouffroy. There was a French dandy in the 1800s who used like to walk his pet lobster through the arcades, as you do.

Arcades – they had some really interesting shops, there was an art restoration place, and we discovered a really good mini-supermarket.

Only in France can you get pre-packaged Tarte aux Pommes. Apparently the difference between a Tarte Tatin and a Tarte aux Pommes is the order when you put the pastry on. Who knew?

Disappointingly after some digging Blank is the title of the book not the surname of the painter. Still quality though.

This a railway themed restaurant in the arcade, this would be massively tacky in any other part of the world but it works here.

Heading to the Pompidou we see Parisian movers. They have a special lifting machine to get the boxes to the open window above. Impressive.

Fruit stall so French and amazing vegetables

Pompidon’t

We had hoped to go to the Pompidou, but unfortunately it seems that all the museums & galleries are closed on Tuesday’s in Paris. We decide to push on to explore the Latin Quarter.

Église Saint-Merry

Beside the Pompidou is Church of Saint Merri, the church feels fairly overlooked and a bit tucked away, if not run down. Apparently it is the daughter church of Notre Dame.

St Merri to the Left. Just realised there is giant Space Invader to the right.

Église Saint-Séverin

Crossing into the Left Bank we found the Church of Saint Severin. It turns out to be one of the oldest churches in Paris.

It had some beautiful contemporary stained glass, with traditional fresco centre.

College de France

College de France is France’s premier research institution. Academics are invited to join and are given chairs in their specific research areas. Unlike most learning institutions, they do not have students but give free lecture series that anyone can attend.

Square Michel Foucault, is a small park in front of the College de France. Foucault’s writing formed the core of my thesis.

Panthéon

The Panthéon is impressive if a slightly odd building. This reflects its past of not quite being a church, and not quite being a monument. Built between 1758-90 as a church, after the Revolution it transformed into a Mausoleum for the good and the great. Then a church again (twice) and then a Mausoleum again in 1831.

The Pantheon in the distance, we stopped at a nice cafe nearby.

Foucault’s Pendulum (different Foucault) was an experiment undertaken in 1851. We perceive the pendulum swinging back-and-forth and slowly rotating. If the earth was static the axis would remain in the same plane, but as the whole planet has moved relative to the building it causes a slight rotation, proving the Earth’s rotation.

Christian Fresco up top, Revolutionary monument down below. Sums the French political tension between traditional Catholicism and secular Laïcité.

Sorbonne

The Sorbonne was a metonym for the University of Paris. After the 1968 Student Protests the University of Paris was disestablished into eight successor Universities.

This book shop specialises in Philosophy only. Only in France.

Luxembourg Gardens

We headed to the Luxembourg Gardens, it’s very pleasant. The nearby building turns out to be the Senate Building for France. The police with military assault rifles was a slight giveaway.

We didn’t get one. I still have meringue regret.

Dinky. Out of shot was a decidedly undinky military style vehicle.

Église Saint-Eustache

We tried to see the Sainte-Chapelle on the Île de la Cité but decide against it due the queues. We push on to the hotel. Again totally unplanned we went to the Church of Saint Eustache. It is the second largest church in Paris after Notre Dame.

Walked 13.4km / Steps 19235

Paris – Day Ten

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