Monday, December 4, 2017

Paris: Pantheon, Crepes and Dinner in the 16th

After a leisurely morning enjoying our gateau from last night and cafe, we made our way to the metro with the Pantheon as our destination. I must say I do believe Google Maps is perhaps one of the most essential apps for travelers.  While I do like the old school way of navigating around the countryside in most places, using a map will walking the streets of cities is quite cumbersome and quickly identifies you as a tourist.  With Google Maps, you are not futzing around with a large paper map and standing under a flashing neon sign that says "I'm not from here".




The Pantheon was completed just before the French Revolution and was originally built as a church in honor of Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris.  With the French Revolution at its peak, the church was turned into a secular building honoring the "Champions of French History"...Voltaire, Rousseau, Descartes, etc.  While they may have changed the usage of the building, the Revolution ended before the cross on the top and much of the Christian artwork on the walls and ceiling could be replaced.  

















After the Revolution, the Pantheon, became a church again, then a secular building, then a church and finally, a secular building for eternity with the decision to place the remains of Victor Hugo in the crypt. Now the crypt houses the remains of many prominent Parisians and Frenchmen (and women)...including Madame Curie.  There is a  special exhibit on Marie Curie taking place until March 2018.  A few of the very interesting things we saw were her two Nobel prizes, first X-ray and degrees from university.






Also at the Place du Pantheon, is the University of Paris, Saint Genevieve Library and Saint-Etienne du Mont Church. With the university in the place, there are a lot of picnic tables and benches for the students to hang out as well as some interesting gargoyle faces.









By the time we finished at the Pantheon, we were famished and fortunately there was a creperie a block away. We had 2 savory crepes...one with chicken, mushroom and goat cheese and one with bacon, potatoes and raclette cheese.  And of course, we had a sweet crepe of banana and Nutella for dessert.




A stroll around Luxembourg Gardens was the perfect apres lunch activity. After the gardens, we made our way back to the hotel to relax before dinner with Olidie and Pierre.








We arranged another VizEat dinner for tonight but this time in the 16th with Olidie and Pierre.  Also joining us this evening was Sophie from Australia who is currently living about an hour outside of Paris.  Olidie and Pierre have a lovely apartment and were very gracious hosts.  As we got to know each other, we enjoyed a wonderful Bordeaux and you guessed it, cheese (we are somewhere around 8 or 9 of the 365 cheese in France on this visit).  For dinner, we started with a wonderful salad of roasted duck, endive, walnuts, legumes and a very tasty lettuce.  The entree was a ever so yummy cheese souffle...honestly one of the best things I think I've ever tasted.  For dessert, Olidie made this delicious creation of Swiss meringue (different from French and Italian meringue), chocolate mousse and sponge cake.  It was like heaven on a plate.





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