Day 13 - Rue Mouffetard and the Pantheon;  16,600 steps

Yesterday and today have been noticeably warmer, and both days were clear and sunny.

I rode the bus over to the 5th arrondissement, which is across the river from where I am in the 4th.  The 5th is also referred to as the Latin Quarter.  The Sorbonne University is in this district.  In the early days of the university (13th century!) Latin was used for instruction and was the language spoken by the students.  Since that was the language heard in the area, it was dubbed the Latin Quarter.

The bus stopped right out side Luxembourg Gardens, so I took advantage of the opportunity to stroll around a little.  There are still many flowers blooming, in particular a bed full of beautiful begonias. Parisians use their parks.  I think much more than we do, at least in Seattle.  And, while I have seen many homeless people on the streets, I've not seen that they are camping out in the gardens.  Doesn't mean they don't, but if they do, I haven't seen them.

I walked over to the Pantheon, but the gates were all closed and there was a notice that the site wouldn't open until 1:30 today.  So, I walked over to Rue Mouffetard, which was a fairly long walk (for me, anyway).  Rue Mouffetard is a popular shopping street. Mostly, I just wanted to see it as I had not been there before.  There was one of the most beautiful fish markets I've ever seen, lots of fruit and vegetable shops, crepe shops, fondue shops, etc.  Lots of shoppers, too.  I just bought some chocolate to take home at the Jeff de Bruges shop.  I had lunch at Place St. Medard.  It was a tough cut of beef cooked somewhat like swiss steak in onion gravy.  It was chewy but tasty; served with really good fries and a field green salad.

I rode the bus back to the Pantheon.  In my seven trips to Paris, this is the first time I've been there.  It is a huge building.  It was originally built as a church to honor Ste. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. However, after the revolution its function as a church was suspended in order to "receive the bodies of the men to died in the period of French liberty."  The building was secularized and most of the religious symbolism was removed.  French writers and poets are also buried there, including Voltaire, Rousseau, Zola, and Hugo.  I didn't go down to the crypt because the stairs leading down just looked too scary. So far on this trip I have remained upright and I intend to stay that way!

I rode the bus back to the Right bank and was going to walk back to the apartment, but when I came to the Hotel de Ville Metro station, and decided to ride - just one stop, but worth it!

After dinner - a hamburger, can you believe it?! - and a beer, I rode the #69 bus to the Champs de Mars, the park at the base of the Eiffel Tower.  It has lights on it all night long, but on the hour it sparkles for 5 minutes.  It is magical.  There was quite a crowd there to watch - very festive - and, of course, the guys hawking their souvenirs.  My timing was just right.  Got there about 10 minutes before sparkle time, so had time to find a good spot, and when I was ready to go back, there was a bus there ready to take me. It was really neat riding through the streets at night.  All of the cafes were lit up and full of people, and you could see into some of the buildings - even into some apartments.  All of the monuments and major buildings are all lit up, too.  I actually got better pictures on my cell phone, including a video.  When I get home, I'll try to transfer the pictures from my phone (that's where all my food porn pictures are) and post them.  The video is posted on my Facebook page.

By the way, the hamburger, which I had at a neighborhood bistrot, was really good.  Good bun - toasted with lots of sesame seeds.  No one makes bread like the French.