Day Two -- Cluny, Shakespeare, Paris at Night

On day two -- Thursday -- I visited what was my favorite museum of the trip. The Musee National du Moyen Age.

It was a late start -- sleeping till noon and really not getting out till about three. (After waking and getting going, we had one of our lengthy telephone conversations with Air France. Or rather, Jerry talked with them. More would be coming...)

So, off we went, past the Pompidou Centre (and modern art museum, which to my mind was the ugliest building of all time. I couldn't even take a photo of it. This was the fountain in front of it. It would be fine in the right spot -- in Paris, it seemed all round.

Then a stop into Sainte Merri, a beautiful church that was worth every moment spent. (That's in the background of the ugly fountain.)

Churches are everywhere. Old.Massive. Filled with wonderful art. This one didn't disappoint.

(Now I'm panicking because I'm not sure if all of these are Saint Merri or if Notre Dame got mixed up in there! Purists, I am on guard for your input!)

We headed to the Left Bank and the Musee national du Moyen Age (aka Cluny) -- all medieval wonder including the renowned "Lady and the Unicorn" tapestries. This was my favorite museum of them all. In fact, after Cluny, everything else just sort of seemed like "a museum" to me. Lovely, certainly, and with wonderful art. But fairly typical.

The "Lady and the Unicorn" was simply astounding, representing the five senses and the sixth showing the lady renouncing the senses for purity. They are enormous, beautifully stitched and completely filling a large, rounded, darkened room (which is why the photos are a bit tinted and blurry, but I had to share at least one).

Other highlights included magnificent stained glass...

Many carved pieces, like this triptych...

Ancient busts...
And artifacts from daily life.

Given that it was the middle ages, many of the items had religious themes. I loved the books and very old sheet music.

The stone walls were striking.

The area was once the residence of the abbots of Cluny and was built on the ruins of Roman baths, starting is 1330 and continuing till 1485-1500. The vaulted ribs in a room that was once part of the Roman baths were stunning.

Another gallery included figurative sculpture from the facade of Notre Dame, including twelve heads of Kings of Judah from the Gallery of Kings.

The art and music of the middle ages has always inspired me. Cluny did not disappoint, from its exterior to the beautiful things within.

En route, I couldn't help but notice the bikes for rent (Velib) that are available throughout the city.

Rick would be in seventh heaven -- some of the time is "free" and the other rates were reasonable.

And, in spots, there are well-designated bike lanes.

Having said all that, I've gotta say that it totally freaked me out that I saw only a (literal) handful of helmets during my visit. No more than 10 total. Call me hypersensitive after Rick's multiple bike accidents and skull fractures, but the way people drove around there, I feared for them all.

Jerry had to work so after a crossant in the park (and my first visit to the grocery store -- more on that in another post), I continued on, returning to Shakespeare and Company to dig a bit more.

The books are in English...

...and on the second floor, none are for sale, just for reading on site!

Lots of clips, writing on the walls...

...and nooks with notes that remind one of its heritage.

But I had to run catch the bus to meet Jerry and friends of his for dinner. I got on the right line, passing the Louvre, Tuilleries, Place de Concord and more, with the Eifel Tower becoming larger and larger as we progressed.

But soon I realized it was TOO big -- I had overshot my stop (by quite a bit!) and backtracked!

Jerry's friends Gail and Benoit were loaning us their car for our weekend road trips, so we met them for dinner at TribecA, a cafe/restaurant. My dinner included a salad with fried goat cheese for 9 euros and creme brulee for six. Excellent. (Later I would take photos of my food; not tonight!)

After we parted, Jerry drove me around Paris at night -- the Eifel tower was lit and lovely.

We drove over the bridge under which Diana died and saw the memorial where people brought flowers...

...and then went up the Champs Elysee and say the Arch du Triomphe lit and beautiful.

I could imagine the Tour de France guys riding into Paris under this arch!

Off to bed. The feet were still holding up and the hideous shoes making up in comfort for what they lacked in style.

Things I learned today:

Missing your bus stop can be an unfortunate mistake.

Dogs are everywhere. Lots of Jack Russells, and mostly small or medium-sized dogs.

In Paris, driving is really scary. Being a passenger is scary, too. Truly, "maniac" seems the right word to describe Parisians behind the wheel.

The helmet thing -- or lack thereof. For a pretty enlightened society with great food, the cars, motorbikes and lack of helmets seem like a death wish!