On Friday Elizabeth took off from Paris for her Chunnel ride to London for her grad school interviews. We got breakfast next to the Centre Pompidou and then I took her to Gare de Nord to see her off. The weather was so outstanding that, after getting home, I packed a sack lunch and grabbed a book and headed to the Tuileries Gardens to do some reading. There's a bunch of public chairs clustered around the two massive pond/fountains in the gardens, so I just plopped myself down in one of those and let a couple hours tick by reading. It got a tiny bit chilly when the sun would go behind a cloud, but other than that the atmosphere was fantastic. I read until about 2:00, and then I was cold enough to merit walking around a bit.
I headed to L'Ile de La Cite and checked out Pont Neuf, the little garden area that makes up the westernmost portion of the island. I found the place in which Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burnt at the stake in 1314 after his refusal to confess to the accusations of heresy that the church had made against him. I walked around L'Ile de La Cite a little more and then headed to Notre Dame for mass and the veneration of the crown of thorns. Louis VIII, a pious crusader-king of France during the 1200s, had brought the ACTUAL crown of thorns to Paris from Rome in 1263. It's kept in the Treasury of Notre Dame, along with a piece of the true cross and one of the nails from it, but is brought out for veneration every Friday during Lent. I was lucky enough to catch one of these services this past Friday. It was brought out of the Treasury and paraded through the aisles before being placed on the alter for the duration of the service. At the end, the priests called the congregation up pew-by-pew (much like communion) to kneel before it. A truly awesome and nearly overwhelming experience.
I was so jacked up with energy after the veneration service that I got home and decided to go on my first run since the Dallas half marathon in December. I knew I would be out of shape, but so it goes. I also didn't bring any appropriate sportswear over here, so I was wearing these ganster knee-length basketball shorts of Cameron's and these partial leather tennis shoes I brought. I'm sure I looked ridiculous. I headed south from my apartment and ran along the Seine until I got to the Louvre, then cut across the bridge, over L'Ile de La Cite, and then back along the other side of the river before returning north via Rue Sebastapol past Notre Dame. It was only about 1.4 miles, but it adequately wore me out. Felt really good to be outside and active again though. My traveling binge has really cut down on the opportunities for exercise, unfortunately.
I finished my day by taking a girl out to eat at one of the restaurants I discovered when my parents were in town, Le Coupe Chou (the one with the escargot to die for). I certainly don't mind paying a lot for dinner when it's as good as this place; it's also a super cozy basement restaurant that looks more like the Gryffindor common room from Harry Potter than anything else. All in all, a great day in Paris and one reason I'm so happy that I stayed in town this weekend versus traveling for the 9th weekend in a row.
On Friday Elizabeth took off from Paris for her Chunnel ride to London for her grad school interviews. We got breakfast next to the Centre Pompidou and then I took her to Gare de Nord to see her off. The weather was so outstanding that, after getting home, I packed a sack lunch and grabbed a book and headed to the Tuileries Gardens to do some reading. There's a bunch of public chairs clustered around the two massive pond/fountains in the gardens, so I just plopped myself down in one of those and let a couple hours tick by reading. It got a tiny bit chilly when the sun would go behind a cloud, but other than that the atmosphere was fantastic. I read until about 2:00, and then I was cold enough to merit walking around a bit. 
I headed to L'Ile de La Cite and checked out Pont Neuf, the little garden area that makes up the westernmost portion of the island. I found the place in which Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burnt at the stake in 1314 after his refusal to confess to the accusations of heresy that the church had made against him. I walked around L'Ile de La Cite a little more and then headed to Notre Dame for mass and the veneration of the crown of thorns. Louis VIII, a pious crusader-king of France during the 1200s, had brought the ACTUAL crown of thorns to Paris from Rome in 1263. It's kept in the Treasury of Notre Dame, along with a piece of the true cross and one of the nails from it, but is brought out for veneration every Friday during Lent. I was lucky enough to catch one of these services this past Friday. It was brought out of the Treasury and paraded through the aisles before being placed on the alter for the duration of the service. At the end, the priests called the congregation up pew-by-pew (much like communion) to kneel before it. A truly awesome and nearly overwhelming experience. 
I was so jacked up with energy after the veneration service that I got home and decided to go on my first run since the Dallas half marathon in December. I knew I would be out of shape, but so it goes. I also didn't bring any appropriate sportswear over here, so I was wearing these ganster knee-length basketball shorts of Cameron's and these partial leather tennis shoes I brought. I'm sure I looked ridiculous. I headed south from my apartment and ran along the Seine until I got to the Louvre, then cut across the bridge, over L'Ile de La Cite, and then back along the other side of the river before returning north via Rue Sebastapol past Notre Dame. It was only about 1.4 miles, but it adequately wore me out. Felt really good to be outside and active again though. My traveling binge has really cut down on the opportunities for exercise, unfortunately. 
I finished my day by taking a girl out to eat at one of the restaurants I discovered when my parents were in town, Le Coupe Chou (the one with the escargot to die for). I certainly don't mind paying a lot for dinner when it's as good as this place; it's also a super cozy basement restaurant that looks more like the Gryffindor common room from Harry Potter than anything else. All in all, a great day in Paris and one reason I'm so happy that I stayed in town this weekend versus traveling for the 9th weekend in a row.
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