September 15th in Paris~

....65....

Today is my birthday.  Originally my itinerary had us scheduled to go to Rouen for the day.

But we both had trouble sleeping~probably because of that wonderful dinner last night~and we didn't get up until way past the train departure time.   

Recalculate the plan.

Off to the Ile de la Cite

The Ile de la Cite is one of the two islands in the Seine.  It's where the Notre Dame is located and one of the most crowded (tourists) parts of the city.  In the 3rd century B.C. a celtic tribe known as the Parisi settled near the current Ile de la Cite.  They named their settlement Lutetia.  It was renamed Paris in the 3rd cent. A.D. by King Clovis.

We walked across the Pont Neuf and cut through Place Dauphin. My first impression was that there was something different about the small park.  The last time we were here, we watched some men playing a game of boules.  It took awhile before we realized that the trees were smaller and newly planted.

Place Dauphin

Next, on to the Place de Notre Dame.  That is where the Crypte du Parvis is located.  It's right in front of the Notre Dame but we have never taken the time to go down and see it.

This archeological site was discovered in 1965 and contains the foundations and ruins of buildings that were constructed from the Gallo-Roman period to the 18th century.

This miniature set up depicts Paris in the Middle Ages.
Paris is made up of 20 neighborhoods or arrondissements.  The populated
area in this display would be part of the 4th and 5th arr.

These ruins include foundations of early ramparts, cellars of dwellings, steps into homes.  As generations progressed, new buildings were built on, and of, the stones of the old.  Under the Parvis (which is the area at the west portal of a church), the ruins have been preserved because the demolishers and builders respected the alignment of the street.

The remnants of an 19th century sewer.

Every section of this site was described meticulously, though it was difficult to imagine what the actual structure was, as described.

There was a whole section described as part of Gallo-Roman thermal baths.

There are more of these to be seen across the river at the Musee de Cluny.

From the Crypte we walked towards the back of the Notre Dame to the Deportation Memorial...but first stopped for a nutella & banana crepe.

These are the BEST!! and you can get them anywhere around Paris at the small crepe stands.

We stopped to eat in the Square du Jean XXIII behind Notre Dame.

I was enjoying my choc/banana crepe as much as Woody was enjoying his salami sandwich.

We didn't have far to walk to enter the Deportation Memorial.  The Mémorial de la Déportation is a memorial to the 200,000 people deported from France to the Nazi concentration camps during World War II.  It is somber and quite moving.  It was designed by the architect, Pingusson, in 1962.

The entry is a very steep narrow staircase~meant to instill the feeling of claustrophobia.

A circular plaque on the floor of the underground chamber is inscribed:

 "They descended into the mouth of the earth and they did not return."

 Along both walls of the narrow chamber are 200,000 yellow crystals with light shining through meant to symbolize each of the deportees who died in the concentration camps.

"And the choice that each one made about his life and about himself was authentic
because it was made in the presence of death" ~Jean Paul Sartre

We left the memorial and walked towards the Ile St. Louis.





Along the Pont Louis-Phillipe there were art students sketching...a class in perspective I surmised.
The whole time we were in Paris, we would come across art students sketching.
Both a School of Design and the Ecole des Beaux Arts are not far away.

The Pont Louis-Phillips usually always has street entertainers (it is pedestrian only).
Today there was this one bubble guy...this is new, we haven't seen this on previous
trips.  There were several around the city.

This is the main place of Ile St. Louis.  It is lined with cafes.
The real estate on this island is very high.  We stayed here for a few days
the first time we came to Paris.

At this point I was getting very tired so we stopped to rest at a small cafe~Woody had a glass of wine and I had some more chocolate!~a chocolat chaud.

We were a little shocked by the bill.

My hot chocolate was the equivalent of $13.00....sometimes it's best not to look at the price!
It's my birthday and it was tres bon!

After a brief rest, we proceeded towards the apt.  Across the Pont au Change...

 walking along the river on the Quai de Megisserie.  It is lined with flower shops and pet stores!

I don't know if this is a pet or dinner....it sure was a big chicken/rooster?!

This is a view of the Conciergerie across the Seine on the Ile de la Cite.  Marie Antoinette was kept here while waiting to be taken to the guillotine. (we haven't been inside this yet)

These 3 nappers were so darn cute and the glass enclosure
was such an odd shape it was almost impossible to get a good
shot of those faces.

This is one of my favorite photos.  The little boy had been playing on the turtle and
I caught him going back to Mom....

We only had to turn the corner and walk up the rue du Louvre....a very relaxing day!

Tomorrow we will visit the Musee Modern d'Art de la Ville de Paris.