when we initially did this walk, we didn't realize dr h was leading us on one of our assigned walks! what a pleasant surprise for all of us :)
after meeting at the institute for an introduction meeting, we headed out to the fontaine saint-michel. i love this fountain. it's really close to both the notre dame and the latin quarter, and there are tons of cheap and yummy restaurants nearby. big fan of the greek pitas and gyros.
then we found the musée de cluny. we didn't go inside, but we went in a few times after the fact (once for art history, once for a musical performance). i loved it because there is this one room inside that is just the epitome of gothic architecture. soooo good. and there is the famous tapestry series la dame à la licorne || woman and the unicorn.
after walking behind the musée de cluny and turning down the rue du sommerard, we found the sorbonne. the sorbonne univeristy was founded in 1257 by robert de sorbon to train future theologians. this is in the latin quarter - called the latin quarter because all the theologians spoke latin. the sorbonne has a history of social unrest and riots, so now the inner courtyard and the school itself is limited to students and professors.
after walking down rue de la sorbonne, we found the collège de france. this univserity was founded in the 16th century under françois i. it was meant to be the humanist version of the super conservative sorbonne university. at this college, instead of latin, greek and hebrew were taught. now it is mostly a research institution. lectures are open to the public!
then we continued down rue de la sorbonne and found the pantheon. it was dedicated to sainte geneviève, the patron saint of paris, who according to legend saved paris from the huns in 451. as it was being finished, it was turned into the final resting place for the great men of france at the time (late 1700s), such as mirabeau, voltaire, and marat.
after the patheon, we went to the église saint-etienne-du-mont. it was originally a monastery. it was originally built in the 13th century, and remodeled during the 15th-17th centuries. it's a pretty renaissance church; you can see it in the vaults and windows. i found a statue of christ here that i really loved - he has a golden heart!
we walked along rue clovis, which reminded me of my heather. she is from clovis. :)
then dr h took us to the arènes de lutèce, which is was named after the roman city, lutecia. lutecia was the city that turned into paris. this arena was originally built at the end of the first century c.e.. it probably held plays and human-animal fights for more than 15,000 spectators. pretty impressive. it was way cool!
we ended up all together at the seine, looking out over the notre dame. it was such a perfect day for a walk. nice and sunny, not too hot, and it was good group bonding time. we sat on the seine for a half an hour, just talking and enjoying the scene. it was great.
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| fontaine saint michel |
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| some street performers by the fontaine |
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| for heather :) |
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| happy street art and natey's foot |
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| notre dame from the seine |
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