Today we explored the Musee National du Moyen Age (called The Cluny). It houses the six exquisite tapestries called The Lady and the Unicorn. They consist of six tapestries each representing one of our senses: taste, smell, touch, sight, hearing plus one for love. The were magnificent and are considered one of the greatest works of art from the Middle Ages. Unfortunately, the room was very dark, so I have no photos to share.
We also enjoyed the Stained Glass Window Room, the Tombstone passage and Goldsmithwork Gallery. I also adored the incredible calligraphy. It took us several hours to work our way through the museum which covers The Roman Empire, The Early Middle Ages, The Romanesque Era and the Gothic Era. The only items we did not much enjoy were the numerous ivory artifacts. Clearly, thousands of elephants must have died in order to make that many church relics. Sigh.
After The Cluny we went to see The Pantheon. It was awesome. We spent most of our time there in the crypt. We saw the final resting places of so many historical figures it made our heads swirl: Voltaire, Rousseau, Hugo, Marie Sklodowski-Curie, Braille, Dumas. It lead us to some fascinating conversations and required a great deal of Internet research. Many of the names were familiar, like Pasteur. Yet others were new to us, like Aime Cesaire. We also spent time admiring the art work and architecture within the upper portion of the Pantheon.
Right around the corner from the Pantheon is the Church of St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. She was also a very strict vegetarian. We paid our respects to her final resting place and admired her lovely church.
While making our way from Rive Gauche to Rive Droite we had to stop for more Berthillon glaces, of course. Then we meandered home through an unexpected, but utterly delightful rain storm. Have we mentioned how much we desert people love water?
So glad you made it to the Cluny. I love that museum. But most important did you try the cassis ice cream? Tell me you did and then describe it in great detail so I may live vicariously through you. So jealous. Are you still in your apartment or was that over when you left for Brittany? Are you in some lush hotel now? When you were in Normandy did you try the Calvados? Did you like it?
ReplyDeleteI did not try the cassis, sorry, but I have tried almost every other flavor!
ReplyDeleteWe are still in the apartment for five more days, then some posh hotels in France, The Netherlands and Italy and then on to our Villa in Florence with the olive groves and swimming pool!
I did try the Calvados! So delicious, but it definitely had an effect since I am such a lightweight.
We just watched a story about Notre Dame. It was very interesting. They said that gargoyle is derived from the French for gargle and that's the noise they make when the rain runs through them as down spouts. They also said Victor Hugo's Hunchback helped save Notre Dame. It was a wreck and going to be demolished when a supporter got Hugo to help. He wrote the book with a chapter that had a glowing description of the cathedral and history says those 10 pages saved the church. We noticed the photo of Hugo's grave.
ReplyDeletePlease do not live Paris without trying the cassis. Trust me you will not be disappointed.