AND I WANT IT BACK. but more about that later.
Today was really a super packed day. We woke up early today to walk to the Ille de la cite, and island on the seine in between the right and left banks. On the Island past Notre Dame there is an AMAZING flower market, which bursts full of color with the most fragrant, beautiful, and exotic flowers in all of france - or so Frommers guidebook says. When we arrived, it was sadly closed. I suppose it makes sense that a drizzly 35 degree day in December would not be the best day for the flower market. Oh well.
We spent the rest of the morning walking around the island and visited the really interesting Concierge, first built in the 6th century and then changed and added to over time. The main hall is this really azing somewhat underground gothic hall, with really cool spiral stircases and giant fireplaces. Then as you walk through you discover the part that was used as a prison during the reign of terror to hold prosoners before they went to the guillotine. This is where Marie Antoinette was held before her execution, and you can visit her holding cell and a period accurate furnished replica that they created...there is a lifelize mannequin of marie antoinette in the cell dressed in all black, and her back is to you and she is bent over like she is praying...it is SUPER creepy.
After that we headed to Notre Dame, where I saw more tourists in a given area than I have ever seen in my whole life. My favorite thing about the church is not actually inside but on the outside...outside above all the doors are lots and lots of sculptures of various saints and religious figures. Each is holding or wearing something special to identify themself... my favorite is St. Denis, who is holding his head - he was beheaded in 250 A.D. on the highest hill in Paris (Montmarte) for his many conversions. According to legend (or Wikipedia) he then picked up his head and carried it for two miles while continuing to preach a sermon. In the picture I took, he is third to the left.
The real highlight of the day was our trip to Shakespeare & Co. bookstore, and english bookstore at 37 rue butcherie along the left bank of the Seine. I feel as though this bookstore is alot liek toy joy in many ways - it was jam packed and had lots of littel nooks and crannies to discover. Outside of teh shop books were displayed in vintage suitcases. inside they were everywhere, on shelves, in stacks on the floor, lining staircases, etc. there were also lots of cozy reading nooks and old movie theatre chairs to rest in under the staircase! Here is the front counter:
Upstairs there was a tiny nook/hutch with a typewriter in it, where you can type a little note and tack it to the wall! If you want to see what I wrote you will have to come to paris and find it here:
(me at the typewriter)
After the bookstore we went and met up with my brother, who had been hot air ballooning with his girlfriend Lily in the south of France. Together, we all went to the Louvre, which was super huge and super awesome. My brother and I toured The rooms of Napoleon's apartments, which look like this:
not too shabby, eh? We then decided to see if we could get from one end of the Louvre (Napoleons apts) to the opposite side to see the Mona Lisa before the closing of the museum in 30 mins. Lesson learned - it is possible, but it takes 20 minutes of seriously brisk walking, stairclimbing, and crowd weaving. After journeying so far, I was so hot I had to take off my coat, sweater, and hat. Only on my way out of the italian painting exhibit did I realize that my beloved sweater was gone! I think it slipped out of my jacket when I stopped to take a picture of this goon:
Sadly, guards at the Louvre are super hardcore, and there was no going back to look for this well dressed marble man or my wooly black sweater...so for now I am cold but hoping that my sweater will turn up when I call the lost and found Wednesday.
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