Day 19, Paris

Paris

This was Britt’s and my last full day in Paris. Tomorrow we both would be flying home to Los Angeles. I wanted to see the Latin Quarter, the student part of Paris, and some other places. The following photos are of Paris street scenes around this area. I definitely would like to be sitting in this sidewalk cafe right now.

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Another cafe.

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Street scene.

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On our walk, we were surprised to find ourselves across from the Hotel Lutetia, where my cousin Meg and her husband Jovan had been staying and where we first met them in Paris.

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Nearby was the Au Bon Marche where we had gone grocery shopping with Meg.

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Britt trying to figure out how to get to our next destination.

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Tex Mex restaurant in the Latin Quarter. Tex Mex is catching on in Europe.

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Another street in the Latin Quarter. There was much graffiti here which surprised Britt. There wasn’t any last time she was here and she was somewhat distressed about it.

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Another street scene.

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Still another street scene.

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Another street scene.

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I had read an article some time ago that there were many of these toilets in Paris, but this is the only one that I saw.

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Our first stop in the Latin Quarter was the St. Severin church which was begun being built in the 13th century. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in Paris and is a perfect example of Flamboyant Gothic style.

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Inside St. Severin.

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Also inside St. Severin.

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Bas relief inside St. Severin.

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Still inside St. Severin.

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Another view of the interior of St. Severin.

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Our next stop was at the Jardin du Luxembourg which is in the Luxembourg Quarter of Paris, close to the Latin Quarter. The building in the photo is the Palais du Luxembourg, which now houses the French Senate. It was finished in 1631.

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Another view of the Jardin du Luxembourg.

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One of the famous Parisian palm trees! Actually there were several palm trees here, of course, all in containers that can be taken inside during the winter, but they were a nice touch.

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An interesting statue at the Jardin du Luxembourg.

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Another statue at the Jardin du Luxembourg.

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The Fontaine de Medicis at the Jardin du Luxembourg. It was built in 1624 for Marie de Medici who was the widow of Henry IV.

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Close–up view of the Fontaine de Medicis.

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Another statue at the Jardin du Luxembourg.

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till another statue at the Jardin du Luxembourg.

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Pantheon

Our next stop was at the Pantheon, which is located in the Latin Quarter. This was built by King Louis SV in 1744. He had been very ill and when he recovered he built this church to honor St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. It was built in the Neoclassical style. During the French revolution, it was turned into a pantheon for the tombs of France’s good and great.

Pantheon

A closer–up view of the Pantheon.

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I don’t know what this red, blue, and white artwork respresent, but from the colors themselves probably something French.

Pantheon

Inside the Pantheon. Note the pendulum in the background. There is a movie clip of inside the Pantheon on this site showing the pendulum moving––from a distance as you are not allowed near it: Go to Movies, Western Europe, France, “Pantheon, Paris.”

Pantheon

Statues of the La Convention Nationale.

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Closer–up view of these statues.

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Some of the frescoes on the walls.

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More of the frescoes.

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Still more of the frescoes.

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The crypt below the Pantheon. The list of the people who buried here reads like a Who Was Who in France.

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The tomb of the French philosopher Jean–Jacques Rousseau.

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The poster on Rousseau.

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The tomb of Voltaire.

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The tombs of the famous French novelists Victor Hugo, Emile Zola, and Alexandre Dumas.

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The poster on Victor Hugo.

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Artist’s rendition of the funeral of Victor Hugo.

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Poster on Louis Braille, also buried here, who was the inventor of the Braille system of printing and writing.

Pantheon

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Our next stop was St–Etienne–du–Mont, also in the Latin Quarter and right behind the Pantheon. It is the shrine to Sainte Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. The French literary figures Racine and Pascal are buried here. Some of the church is in the Gothic style and parts are in the Renaissance style.

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Closer–up view of the outside of St–Etienne–du–Mont.

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Still another closer up view of the outside of St–Etienne–du–Mont.

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Still another closer–up view of the outside of St–Etienne–du–Mont.

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Inside of St–Etiene–du–Mont.

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Another of the interior of the church.

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Another view of the interior of St–Etiene–du–Mont.

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Another view of the interior of St–Etienne–du–Mont.

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Still more of the interior of the church.

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Another photo of the inside of the church.

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Last photo of the interior of St–Etienne–du–Mont.

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I have added a slide show of stores in Paris to this site: Go to Slide Shows, Western Europe, France, “Paris: stores and Store Windows.” This is the end of my trip to Paris. What a great time I had, especially because I had my own two great tour guides––Britt and Chris. I thank them for showing me so much of Paris and for putting up with my constant photo taking. The only reason I was glad that I was going home tomorrow is because then I wouldn’t have to climb more stairs out of the Metro. We had our last dinner in Paris at La Sourdiere Resto, the restaurant at the end of Britt’s street. I had lobster. The wonderful waitress there gave both of us a hug goodbye. She only spoke French and had, with great elan, helped Britt and Chris learn how to order using the correct French words. I had the airport shuttle pick me up the next day at 5 a.m. I wanted to make sure that I would catch my 8 a.m. flight to Frankfurt in time. I had plenty of time and Lufthansa put me on their 7 a.m. flight. If they hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have made my 9:20 a.m. from Frankfurt to LA––too much distance between gates, two immigration checks, and very slow security checks. Britt and Chris both flew from Paris to U.S. destinations and barely made their flights to LA as they had to undergo customs inspections and passport control when they landed in the U.S.––you may need at least two hours between connecting flights flying to and from Europe. I very much thank my son Kris for putting together this website. He did an excellent job with it!