Paris on a sunny day

What would you do on a beautiful day in Paris? Have an expresso on the sidewalk outside a French cafe and watch the Parisiens go by? Apparently that is the thing to do over here, however, I just don’t know how they could sit there for hours and drink one small cup of coffee… not much bigger than a large thimble. Or you could explore a couple of significant historical sites in Paris. Of course, Paris is history personified, and you are surrounded by significant sites. Today we will visit two… the Pantheon and the Luxembourg Palace and Gardens.

The Pantheon was built between 1758 and 1790 as a church dedicated to Sainte Genevieve, the Patron Saint of Paris. However, a revolution came along and the church was repurposed to be a mausoleum for distinguished French citizens. The Pantheon was changed over to a church back and forth in the coming years. The French Third Republic finally decreed it to be a mausoleum, as it is today. That is, until they need it to be a church, again. It is an impressive structure.

Next I recommend the Luxembourg Gardens and Palace. The gardens are open to everyone, the palace not so. The palace was built in 1615 as the residence of the regent Marie de’ Medici, the mother of King Louis XIII. After the revolution it was repurposed, also. It has been the home of the Fifth Republic Senate since 1958. I won’t go into the revolution too much, but to say, it covered a 10 year span, from 1789 t0 1799. It was a period of radical and societal change in France

The gardens were a part of the Medici estate. This 52 acre garden is said to be the most beautiful garden in Paris. It is pretty, We walked all around it. It’s a great place for a picnic or just to relax. The kids love it. They spend a lot of time pushing their sailboats around in the fountain with a long stick.

Another thing to do on a day like this is to visit a local market. I will post some pictures to give you an idea of the products they have available.

As I mentioned earlier, this trip is twofold. Linda and I came a few days early to get used to the time change. The main reason for this trip is to take a an escorted walking tour of the American Battlefields of World War One. I have been taking a “creative writing course” through the University of South Alabama. I have to do a research paper of the subject of my choice, so I selected the American Involvement in World War One since I will be here when I am working on it. This is part of my research. Does this mean I am studying abroad?

We will join our tour group tomorrow. Maybe we will all learn something about the Great War.