A SLOW SATURDAY IN PARIS

After our marathon day yesterday we got a very late start this morning.  We slept in until 7 am, which is late for us Lunds!  We had a leisurely breakfast, and left our apartment at 11:30.

Our original plan was to go to the Catacombs, but when we woke up it was absolutely pouring down rain!  So we decided to switch our Saturday/Sunday plans and do a market (covered) and Invalides today, as they are both mostly inside.

Well, it was sprinkling just a bit when we finally left, and the the sun came out for the rest of the day!  Guess the Paris weather forecasting is not much better than it is at home!

As our market choice yesterday didn't quite live up to our expectations, we made our first stop the President Wilson market, which I had visited in April with my Mom and Dad.  It is a lovely market, with lots of amazing fresh food.

We Metro'd over to the market, it was very busy today with many Parisians doing their food shopping. It's fun to watch the elegant older ladies with their grocery carts in tow, carefully choosing the freshest and best items.  They are always dressed to kill, too!

Look at these huge shrimp!  Wish we had an easy way to cook them.

Matt checked out some more salmon prices---I think our cost is going up, up, up--this was 60 Euros a kilo-which is about $38 a pound! Yikes!

Stuffed escargot--Matt wouldn't try them!  I think they were filled with a herb/butter mixture:

Beautiful berries:

Pigeon--no thanks!

David and I can manage to find squid everywhere!

We shopped the length of the market, and stopped for a small snack.  I had a salted caramel crepe, and shared a few bites with my guys.  It was heavenly, but so rich that I couldn't have eaten it all myself.
I bought a warmer pair of gloves and a cashmere/wool scarf--I think it will be chilly in Turkey, too!

At the other end of the market, we came out right in front of George Washington:

I love unexpected views of the tower:

We walked around the neighborhood a bit, and found this lovely old cathedral, St. Pierre de Challiot.

The front was interesting, there was also a very tall tower-quite medieval looking.  The facade:

Wow, were we surprised when we walked inside!  It was very contemporary, comparitvely speaking.  My guess is that the original cathedral couldn't be saved, but they saved the tower and the facade.

The interior new construction was poured concrete, and looked Art Decoish.

 The decoration was painted on the concrete, it was actually very pretty:

The tops of the columns were very interesting.  Based on the designs I guessed about 1930-40's, and I Googled it this evening, and it was rebuilt in 1930!

After we left the church, a pit stop was in order, so we used one of those handy Sanisettes that you find in Paris.  They are free, and are completely and automatically washed down after each use!

Next stop:  Les Musee de L'Armee and Napoleon's Tomb (Invalides.)  I think this is a pretty building:

I LOVE the cone shaped trees:

The front entrance, with the French flag:

Cool windows on the upper floor:

We visited the Army museum first, and cruised through the huge displays of of armor.  Interesting headgear in the shape of a griffin:

I won't post lots of armor and gun pics, as I did when I blogged my April Mom & Dad visit.  Matt especially enjoyed the rooms and rooms of parts and pieces.  They are all beautifully restored and polished, and they have shelves for various "parts".  You can't go into the workshop/storage/archive, but it's fun to look in the windows:

Hands--lots of different hands:

These were small, child size armor:

These feet were my favorites--I'm pretty sure they were for horse mounted warfare only!

Matt in front of one the huge cannons:

Next we walked over to the Eglise du Dome, where Napoleon III is buried.  This is the beautiful dome above his tomb.

His tomb viewed from above.

I've been to the Dome twice before, but never down to the lower level.  Today we found the stairs and went down to check it out.  The entrance is very grand,  flanked by these two huge statues:

Napoleons crest is inlaid in marble on the floor:

Crown right in front of the door:

Napoleon, Emperor of France:

Interior views:

There is a small alcove with a nice statue of Napoleon:

On the floor in front of the statue:

We came out of the Eglise to this wonderful sight:

We really didn't have any plans for the evening, so we slowly strolled back to our neighborhood, which is just a few blocks away.  We'd decided on dinner "in"--so we stopped at a grocery store for another carton of tomato soup.  We are such gourmet foodies, aren't we?

Dinner was soup, baguette, cheese and that wonderful French butter--and we enjoyed every bite!

After our gourmet dinner, we walked over to the Eiffel Tower to watch it "twinkle".  That's kind of a tradition for Dave and I, we make it over as often as we can when we are in Paris.

Here we are:

Matt enjoyed seeing the tower lit up and twinkling and I'm pretty sure he was thinking of a special someone:

And David and I can't see the tower twinkle without a smooch!  Here we are, still in love after 43 years!

It was early to bed Saturday night for these three weary travelers.  Tomorrow is Matt's last day in Paris, and we have a full day scheduled, stating with the Gregorian Chant Mass at Notre Dame.