Justice and Jewellry

On Monday the weather turned bad again and I was convinced I would get sick if I went out, so I stayed at home drinking soup and doing a little light Latin and Greek revision. But the weather improved a bit on Tuesday, so I braved the elements and wandered around St Germain looking at shops. Very fortuitously I came across a lovely jewelry shop that was having a 50 per cent off sale (I love this financial crisis!) and found some darling smokey quartz earrings for my forthcoming opera event. Feeling very happy I visited St Sulplice church which played a big role in the Da Vinci code plot. One of its chapels had some lovely Delacroix murals. I wandered along aimlessly for a bit longer until I reached the river when I decided some history was in order.

 So after a nice little lunch in the ancient Place Daupine, I decided to infiltrate the Palais de Justice which is the site of the original palace of the Kings of France before the Louvre was built. I am not sure if it is really opened to tourists, but I tried to look like I was on a legal mission and soon found myself inside. Much of the ancient palace was destroyed in the revolution, but Victor Hugo is to blame for my enthusiasm for this place, as The Hunch-back of Notre Dame begins there and as a result I am now on the warpath for medieval Paris.  To this end I visited the archeological crypt underneath Notre Dame. It was fascinating to see Roman and medieval Paris underneath modern Paris and fortunately it was well lit and not that spooky.

The next day was Louvre Part III.  This time, I fuelled up with coffee and a yummy chocolate viennois before starting, and tackled 14th - 19th century paintings from France, Flanders and Germany. I must be an old hand now, as I optimized my route quite well and lasted nearly 3 hours! I have decided that my new favourite art period is 15th century art from Bruges as I saw many beautiful delicate portraits, both religious and secular, that amazed me. I was also very happy as the crowds didn't seem to like this part of the Louvre as much and it was both peaceful and inspiring.

After viewing the roman ruins in the archeological crypt, I decided to set off the next day to find the Roman amphitheatre which I never even knew existed in Paris and this is my third visit! What have I been doing with my time? But although the street around it was always known as the street of the arena, apparently it was only rediscovered in the 19th century when the metro was being built. Although not much of an amphitheatre by classical standards, I still got my thrill walking amongst the ruins. This place and the baths are the only visible reminders of the ancient Roman city. The forum is buried well below the nearby Sorbonne area I believe.