France and Fez Day 13, Paris part 1

I am not sure when I began to dream of visiting Paris, but it began sometime after "Frere Jacques", "Sur le Pont D'Avingnon", and upper Mississippi grade school history of intrepid French trappers and explorers, and was well cemented by the time I had read Dumas and taken French in high school and college.  So in some ways, getting to Paris was for me, the cherry on this magical trip, and we had saved it for last.

We left Marseille early in the morning on the TGV high-speed train for Paris, and in three very comfortable hours, had watched most of France play out before our eyes, and were in the Gare de Lyon railway station in Paris.  We caught a bus to a few blocks from our little rental apartment, and walked past the fountain in the square near St. Medard church, and up the little market street of Rue Mouffetard.  Right after the butcher shop, we entered a little courtyard, and found our tiny apartment.  It was a living area (pictured below) with a small kitchen, a tiny bathroom, and a tiny bedroom where the queen-size bed went wall to wall, but it was ours for three nights! And we could purchase all the food we needed along the adorable street just outside.  Our Paris adventure had begun!

After a delicious lunch bought just outside (rotisserie chicken and roasted potatoes, and a Parisian service person with attitude) we headed up Rue Mouffetard, over the rise, and into the Latin Quarter of the left bank.  Our first stop was the lovely church of St. Etienne where Durufle served as organist.  it was a lovely introduction to Paris!

From there, we walked around the Pantheon, where many of the famous citizens of France are buried, and through the Latin Quarter streets, past universities like the Sorbonne.

Soon, we found ourselves at Luxenbourg Gardens.  A big band was playing jazz in the bandstand, people were sitting about in the endemic green chairs, and children were floating boats in the pond.  There were sculptures and statues everywhere, beautiful chateau, lovely grounds. It was magical.

We then took a bus to the Champs de Mars, and the "Iron Lady".  We walked around the Eiffel Tower, which is really more lovely than I had imagined, and crossed the Seine to the Trocadero.

As evening began to fall, we boarded a boat on the Seine, and began our cruise up the Seine, around the isle de Cite, and back down past the Iron Lady, crossing under all nine bridges of the river before we stopped.  Paris is the most impressive city I have ever seen.  It had already charmed me, but now it was majestic and impressive, beautiful and dignified.  She was more than I had dreamed she would be.

And as night fell, the lights came up, and at the top of the hour, the Tower twinkles. Paris deserves its name of City of Light.  

We made a bit of an error in our bus route home, and saw a bit more of downtown than we had intended (and Pont Neuf became "our bridge" as it was the scene of both of our bus follies!) but the kindness of the Parisian bus driver rescued us from ourselves, and we eventually made our way home. What an incredible introduction to this city. We fell into bed that night exhausted and looking forward to the morrow.

France&Fez Day 12, Notre Dame de la Garde and Avingnon

Our final day in Southern France was a beauty, and we were up and out early, winding or way to the highest point in Marseille, and the basilica of Notre Dame de la Garde (Our Lady of the Keep).

This Catholic cathedral, completed in the 1860's on the ruins of an ancient fort , is definitely a maritime church-- from its nautical elements, including mobiles of ship models, to the paintings of maritime disasters that "our Lady" interceded in, to the engraved plaques lining the side chapels in thanks to Mary for preserving children, sailors, and others.

That interesting sea connection aside, it is beautiful architecture in the neobyzantine style, and has the best views in all Marseille!

From there, we headed to Avingnon.  We had some preliminary views of the medieval Centre Ville and its impressive walls as we entered and parked under the Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes). But coming up from the underground parking into that impressive square where once the Catholic Church, arguably the most powerful state in the Western world at the time, held court in the 1300's was breath-taking.  King Philip IV of France, being a savvy political player at the time, took advantage of a hung-ballot at a papal conclave and managed to have his own man, a French bishop who wasn't even a cardinal, elected to the post.  That was Clement V, and he declined to move to Rome, initiating what many call the "Babylonian Captivity" of the Catholic Church.  He set up house in Avingnon, a thriving, powerful trading city on the Rhone, with the Rhone's only bridge. The papacy stayed there for almost 70 years. Coming out of the underground parking into the formal square in the Centre Ville was awe-inspiring!

We wandered the lovely streets from the square to the wall and the bridge immortalized by the children's song, "Sur la Pont D'Avingnon."  I couldn't help but hum it as we traversed part of the wall and walked out onto the portion of the bridge remaining over this narrow split of the mighty Rhone.

From there, we meandered back past the center square and up to the high point above the Palais des Papes, Parc du Rocher des Doms.  We enjoyed a picnic and the views there before descending again to the square and touring the Palais.

During the afternoon, we wandered the impressive and massive structure of the Palais des Papes.  While the inside is mostly stripped down and the colors have faded, it is still amazing, and what is left hints at the glories and riches of the Catholic Church at that time.  What a regal place this was! We were not allowed to take photos inside for the most part, but the exterior is impressive by itself.

And to end our day, the Lord provided one more Mediterranean sunset, viewed from J.'s apartment. What a glorious end to a fabulous day.