Bonjour!
Oh, what a day! To start … we have moved! Our Airbnb, while fine for us, with scalding hot water for the shower, was FREEZING, at least to our Arizona bodies. We managed all right last night because of two very thick duvets, but honestly, the place was thoroughly cold, and I at least was chilled to the bone. I think the heating system was doing the best that it could, but R thinks that the very thick concrete building walls just weren’t up to getting warmer anytime soon. So, that left us with two options – either staying cold for three more days, or moving to a warmer clime … which is what we decided to do. I was able to get us a great rate at the Relais Saint Jacques, a 4 start hotel just one more bus stop along the 21/27 route down Rue Gay Lussac (our favorite street in the 5th Arr.) and here we are. (Fortunately for us, we have a Genius level discount at Booking.com, which saved us 37% over a great “last minute” rate here.). We were able to walk just 6 minutes from the Airbnb to the hotel. The area is great; still student-centric, and just around the corner from the Geographic Institute, but it has heat and other amenities our Airbnb did not.
So … for the day. We had not thought to pre-purchase tickets to the Louvre, which was what we wanted to do. Instead, after getting pain au chocolat for me, and veggie quiche for R along with O.J. from our local patisserie, which we ate at the flat, we took the 27 bus down the hill and across the Seine to the Louvre. Entered through Carousel du Louvre, which we have done for years, and had about a 10 minute wait for the back entrance to open. However, with only a few minutes to go, a gal from the Musee came by to check our tickets – and as we didn’t have any, turns out, this year, we can’t enter that way! Interesting, as we have been doing this for years, and there is no signage now that you can’t! However, their country, their rules! So, back out of the relative warmth and into the C-O-L-D freezing climes to the Pyramid, where a very long line stretched out before us. To be honest, we both took one look at the line and said – Uh-uh—No Way, Jose, to put it in a non-French way! So, detour number 1, and off to the number 21 or 27 back to Les Ecoles and the Musee Cluny, which had been second on our list for the day.
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| Line waiting to get in the Pyramid at the Louvre |
At Les Ecoles, (which is also the bus stop for the Monoprix department store) we got off, and as my Apple Airtag indicated yesterday that it needed a new battery, we first stopped there to pick one up. (Interesting, though, as my Apple Airtag is brand-new, and just made it first voyage being tracked! Is this going to happen every time it’s even used, we ask ourselves??)
With battery in hand (or at least in pocket) we crossed the street to the Cluny and headed inside. It has been some years since we toured the Cluny, and to be honest, we didn’t really recognize anything but the old Chapel, as everything had been redone in 2022 after a seven-year renovation.
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| Neolithic rock crystal - incredible! |
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| Modern bowl cut from rock crystal |
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| Ancient necklace pieces cut from rock crystal |
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| Reliquary with crystal pieces set in gold |
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| The Middle Ages were big into horn and ivory! |
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| It was COLD outside! |
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| Beautiful interior transformation of spaces |
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| Gold reliquary |
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| Stunning and huge tapestries |
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| Beautiful chapel as part of the original home |
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| Lady and Unicorn tapestry |
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| More Lady and Unicorn |
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| View of the Pantheon from our hotel window! |
First off, they were having a special exhibition about Rock Crystal, and it was fabulous! Their collection of gathered objects began in the Neolithic with a “blade” that was dated to between 19,000 and 16,500 years old. It continued to the present, with a special emphasis on items that were usual to the church in the form of reliquaries, which obviously served a very important purpose in the church. To begin with, Musee Cluny – the Musee National du Moyen Age (National Museum of the Middle Ages) started life as a Roman bathhouse. From there, it became a large family home for a wealthy French family, before being acquired by the state who decided to found an antiquities museum. The Cluny is now the repository of some very unusual artwork, including statuary that was ripped down from Cathedral Notre Dame at the time of the French Revolution because it represented French Kings, who had obviously fallen out of favor at the time. Some of the statuary was later found buried in rubbish tips or re-used in buildings that had been built about that time. At any rate, it houses a very usual collection, made even more so by their special exhibition on rock crystal.
The collection of reliquaries was exceptional – reliquaries, if you don’t already know, are basically (sometimes) small works of art in anything from gold, silver, bronze, pewter to ceramics or even rock crystal, that hold some part of some Saint to keep forever safe within the church treasury; sometimes referred to as a shrine.
This particular collection basically features multiple uses of rock crystal in many guises. Seeing some huge rock crystals seamlessly polished into beautiful crystal balls was amazing, as they are very much like emeralds, where there are many occlusions to mar the finished product. At any rate, the results were spectacular indeed.
The rest of the collection was also very impressive, as was just looking at how the architects have modified the building to encompass both the old building and all of the various collections in a very modern way. It was very well done!
After the Cluny, it was just one more bus stop up the 21/27 to Luxembourg, and we were back in our Airbnb. As we had some time before 3 pm hotel check-in, we both took naps, which really helped to pull us together for the rest of the day! With the cold the prior night, neither of us slept particularly well, jetlag notwithstanding!
About 3 pm we packed everything up, locked up the Airbnb and headed out for the 6 minute walk to Relais Saint Jacques. We really hadn’t stayed in exactly this area before, although we knew the market at Rue Monge very well, which was right down the street. Hotel was lovely, just as expected, and in a few minutes we were in our lovely room, 601 on the 6th floor. Lovely view of the Pantheon from our windows! I got us rearranged inside, and Robert set up the computer and phones. Also turned up the heat.
From the hotel, we decided to head down to Ile St. Louis to take a look at what progress has been made on Notre Dame. Wow! It’s truly incredible how things are going! When the fire happened in 2019, I was so sad for many reasons, but primarily because I really felt that some young friends of ours, Margaret and Ava, might never get to see Notre Dame at all! And now, it looks like they make actually make their deadline of getting it ready in time for the opening of the Olympics in July, 2024! What an operation!
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| Me in front of Notre Dame |
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| Charlemagne on horse where he has always been |
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| Lots and lots of scaffolding |
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| They're doing an amazing job; the stone is stunning! |
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| One of the office buildings behind the Cathedral |
In the back of the Cathedral, they actually have built two four and six-story temporary office buildings, by which I’m thinking they are using those offices to keep on top of everything that is and needs to be done! Whoever is in charge is a true mastermind!
As we walked past, it occurred to us that the hundreds of artisans, craftsmen, engineers who are working to restore Notre Dame must be extremely proud to be part of such a noble project. Those from other countries must have moved to Paris for the five or six years it will take to finish the job. What commitment!
From Notre Dame, we walked on to Ile de la Cite and down the main street. It’s such a lovely area, and it’s always fun to look at the store and shops. Then, as the sun was going down, and it was definitely getting colder, we decided to head back toward the hotel and look for dinner.
Caught the 75 back to the Pantheon and then the 21 one stop to Saint Jacques, and we were there.
Decided to try L’Oree du Parc, a small place just a couple of doors from our hotel – and what a find! It was only about 5:30 pm, but as we hadn’t really had much to eat since lunch on Tuesday, we were both ready to eat, and they, as it turns out, were happy to feed us! (Truly an improvement over southern Spain where the restaurants don’t open until 9 or 9:30 pm – by which time I am usually fast asleep!!)
We both ate off their special menu, starting with big bowls of truly delicious French onion soup. On such a cold day, it was really wonderful. From there, R had their boeuf bourgignon on penne pasta, and I had their pepper steak with fries and braised endive with carrots. When we order different things, usually we agree that one or the other of us “wins” – but this time, it was definitely a draw! Everything was absolutely wonderful! My steak came out rare, just as I requested, and the pepper sauce was very tangy and good. For dessert, Robert had their apple and pear cobbler, which he loved (and ate every bit) and I had their tarte citron – which was SO big that I could only eat about half of it! But I enjoyed every single bite! Everything was washed down with several glasses of a nice French burgundy; a truly fabulous meal! In fact, it was so good that we’re thinking we may probably end up there again tomorrow night! That is definitely a good sign!
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| Fabulous onion soup! |
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| R's boeuf bourguignon |
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| My cognac-flamed pepper steak with frites and endive |
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| R's fruit crumble |
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| Ah...tarte citron...my favorite! |
So, only a few doors to go to get back to the hotel, and R is now sleeping soundly!
Unfortunately, I need to wake him up to proofread this, and to put the photos into the computer so that I can choose the ones I want for tonight’s blog! So … as they say, more tomorrow! Oh! And we now have pre-reserved tickets for 9 am for the Louvre on Friday!
More tomorrow!
m
xxx
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