Lazy day.

Monday 16^th September.

Such a big day yesterday and really no time off except to sleep since we left home, today is declared an official lay-day. We sleep till we wake, no alarm, then get up and Trevor goes downstairs to buy a baguette and half a poulet roti avec grosse pomme de terres. Brunch is a chicken baguette with a few little spuds on the side.

Brunch

2 loads of washing and a skype with Patrick and Heidi sees the rest of the morning gone. Yesterday's sunshine didn't last and although it's not as bad as it was, we still need to keep an umbrella handy. No plan really for the rest of the day, Eglise Saint Etienne-du-Mont is just up near the Pantheon and was the spot where Owen Wilson was picked up by the old Citroen in the ‘Midnight in Paris’ movie. We walked up that way the other day in the rain, not realising, so as it wasn’t much of a detour, we went back that way to see the spot. 

 I’d read about a building where the courtyard was paved with old headstones quite near Notre Dame so we swing by that way to check it out. Sounds interesting? Putting it on your list for your trip to Paris? Don’t bother. I’ll save you the trouble, there were 2 bits of headstones that were still legible and only one line on each, written in French, but we did find some well priced souvenirs, so all was not lost. Just have to remember the location for when we return in a couple of weeks to shop.

A friend at work had raved to me about Sainte-Chapelle, telling me I absolutely had to see it. Well, Linda McC., you weren’t wrong. Sainte-Chapelle is right next door to the Palais de Justice (major French court house) so security is tight and you have to go through an airport type scan before you can get in. Queue number 1. Then queue number 2 is to buy the ticket to go in. You can’t see Sainte-Chapelle from the street, except for the steeple, and I feel sorry for the people who were in the line behind us who decided it wasn’t worth the wait and left. I didn’t understand what all the fuss was about because when we finally got inside, it was pretty ordinary. We took some photos but still couldn’t reconcile the info we had with what we were looking at. Turns out we were in the ‘Commoner’s Chapel’.

Where the commoners prayed

Then we went upstairs to the Chapelle Haute …. around a spiral stone staircase. So, you’re busy watching your footing on the stairs and then when you realise you’ve reached the top, you look up, and it stops you in your tracks! It’s like you’ve walked it to a jewel box! Down both sides are 15m high stained glass windows and around behind the altar as well. It’s practically the whole of the Old Testament in pictures. Truly amazing. Don’t slip in the puddles of drool on the floor!

Chapel Haute. Photos don't do it justice.

Not sure how long we were in there but we were about to head downstairs when security started raving on about something and we realised it was closing time! 6pm! We pop across the road to shoot off a couple of pics of the Cite Metro sign, one of the few survivors of the 141 original Art Noveau style Metro signs installed in the early 20^th century.

Well past beer o’clock, we head in the general direction of Place de Contrascarpe for a happy hour beer on the way home. ‘Spot the baguette’ is a game we created sitting watching the passing parade, there’s a constant stream of people heading home with one or two baguettes, some with the end nibbled off, some intact.

Chocolate mousse for dessert tonight, 0.17 euros well spent I’d say.