We had an appointment at 9:30 this morning, with the International Office of BNP Paribas. We gave them about 30 pages of documents and are hopeful they will allow us to bank with them. We left that meeting and came back to the apartment to meet our landlord. He lives near Giverny and came into Paris today, leaving time to meet and talk with us. The apartment is very nice. We have no complaints.
By noon, we set off for the Left Bank of Paris. We stopped at the Marche aux Fleurs on the Île de la Cité, to see the rows and rows of flowers. It was very colorful! We had lunch at La Jacobine, ordering French Onion Soup for a first course, and Papa had beef bourguignon and I had lemon chicken tagine. Both came with lots of vegetables and were delicious. We later stopped by a crêperie for dessert. It was sinful!
Along our 7 mile walk today, we stopped at Saint-Sulpice, the second largest church in Paris, after the Notre Dame. Construction of Saint-Sulpice began in 1646, to replace a previous church on the same site. The church is well known for it’s organ with over 6500 pipes, and organists, with concerts every Sunday.
We walked a bit south, and enjoyed le Jardins du Palais de Luxembourg. The Palais was built from 16-15-1645 for Marie de Medici, mother of King Louis XIII. After the Revolution it was redone to become a legislative building. It has been home to the French Senate since 1958. The gardens are 62 acres of a mix of landscaped beds, planted trees, fountains, tennis courts, and rows of statuary. Today was a beautiful day, and the garden was a joyful place with people reading, picnicking, walking, and people watching.
We walked just a few blocks to Eglise Saint-Germain-des-Près. The original church was founded in 543, which makes it the oldest church in Paris. Over centuries, an abbey complex grew around the church. Today it is also known also for it’s colorful interior, painted in the 1800’s.
We visited one more church, Eglise Saint Séverin , known for it’s stained glass windows. The church was built in the 13th century, enlarged and modified many times over the next 400 years. The stained glass windows in the upper level around the alter are from the 15th century. The modern brightly colored stained glass windows behind the alter were installed in 1970. The columns in the design of palm trees is also a defining design element of Saint Séverin. The three churches we saw today couldn’t have been more different. We’ve visited all of them before and enjoyed them all over again today!
