Heads...

Today we finally got out of the flat at about 2 o'clock, and went to the Middle Ages Museum. It was interesting. Apart from the dame and the unicorn tapestries, which are huge and awe-inspiring, there are Roman baths, and an interesting collection of small bits and pieces they found in the Seine when they dug part of it up in the nineteenth century. I wonder what else is down there....

I also saw more headless religious statues than I have ever seen, as well as separated heads. There are many statues which were removed from Notre Dame and other places, in order to protect them. There is a wealth of every day objects and art from various places around the world, during the middle ages period. The garden was very calming, although it looked like it needed a good water to me. And I am a registered plant killer.

Afterwards, we noticed that we were quite close to the Pantheon, which had never been on my list of things to do. I'm so glad we went. I was curious about it, because in a film I saw last week, somewhere, maybe the Arc de Triomphe, it said that the Pantheon really impressed Hitler when he came to Paris after he invaded. I can see why. It is HUGE, and it honours great leaders, of which he no doubt assumed he was one. It was originally the church of St Genevieve, patron saint of Paris, and has periodically resumed its religious role throughout history, but for more than a century now, it has been a 'civic temple'. Presidents are sworn in there, and many famous people have had the bodies or ashes interred there. It has a vast interior, with spectacular wall paintings and domes. I really recommend a visit.

After the shock of its grandeur, the visitor winds down a staircase at the back to the crypt. It covers almost the same amount of ground as the building itself, and is almost a sacred place. The guards ask you to be quiet as you explore the four wings, each housing many tombs, or empty spaces for tombs. There was Voltaire, Rousseau, Emile Zola, Alexander Dumas, Victor Hugo and many others. There's a great display about Emile Zola, and how he stood up to France in the Dreyfuss Affair, which involved false charges against a jewish military officer, when the country's anti-semitism was building, at the end of the nineteenth century. I was pleased to see that there is a tribute to the people who helped protect jewish people during the war. Pierre and Marie Curie are there too. David reminded me that they died of radiation poisoning. I took a step back...

Alex and I had an interesting conversation and what would be left of our time in world history, in a hundred or a thousand years. We tried to imagine what people would look at in museums, which might reflect our point in history.

Next, even though our feet were starting to ache, we had a quick look at the Jardin de Luxembourg, since it was only a block away. We only saw a little part of it, and we'll have to go back one day when we have plenty of time.

I think when we get back to Hong Kong, apart from the herb garden I've been planning for ages, I might plant a 30cm x 30cm square of grass. I love Paris gardens!

We came home and had dinner, after which we filled bought crepes with nutella and cream. Mmmm....