5th Arrondissement: St. Severin & Le Pantheon.

We are beginning to settle into some routines.  All slept well and I got up a bit earlier than the rest of the crew and went for a nice run along the river.  Lots of tourists out early in the morning and lines were already forming at the Louvre at 9 am.  Even that early in the morning saw a couple making out on a bench.  Romance seems to be in the air a lot more frequently and openly here than at home.  Seem to be a lot fewer tattoos as well.  Anyway, Sully was close to being tossed out the window for his antics at home so the two of us went out for a walk/skuut bike ride while Erica and the other kids were finishing getting everything together to get out the door.  Quick trip to Ile de St. Louis and to find the Pont Sully.

First stop was at a very lovely old church, St. Severin, most famous for its age, its twisting spiral columns and the fact that it houses the oldest bell in Paris in its bell tower, dating to 1412.  A mere 100 yards or so from the apartment, its grounds also house yet another geocache that gave our addicts their morning fix.  Yes, the stained glass, stunning medieval architecture and impressive organ pipes (picture below) were all beautiful, but old bones attracted significant attention.  The bones reportedly belonged to St. Ursula and her maidens from the 5th century, but it was admitted that this couldn't be verified.  I'm wondering about the contents of the lovely wrapped packages nearby.  We'll never know.  The stone church, like many other of its local neighbors, is home to summer classical music performances performed by candlelight.  We each hope to be able to catch one while we are here.

We made it a whole quarter mile or so from home before we decided to stop for lunch in a cool garden adjacent to the Musee Cluny, a museum of medieval history and art.  The garden was made solely of medicinal plants used in the medieval times.  The gardens were designed based on a book written by a 16th century physician.  Apparently at that time, the body and the soul were viewed as a single entity to be treated.  Medicines to treat either were held in equal regard.  We didn't collect any samples but did enjoy two baguettes, some cheese (not all of us, bien sur), sausage and red wine.  It's definitely a change to see people drinking beer and wine on the streets and in the parks during the day.  Not so taboo and great for us.  The baguettes, at ~ $2 each, are becoming a tasty and cost-effective way to feed our troops.

Lunch.  Mmmm.

The biggest surprise of the day was at the Pantheon.  A huge building, originally intended by Louis XV as a church to St. Genevieve.  It was just finished in time for the French Revolution, but the Revolutionaries had no use for a vast new church.  It was therefore designated a pantheon, or a resting place for the "founders of liberty" in 1791.  Many leaders of free thought are entombed here including Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Louis Braille, Marie and Pierre Curie.  Perhaps the most interesting and surprising to us all, though (all scientists at heart?), was that Foucault's famous pendulum experiment was done here.  In 1851 he took advantage of the very tall dome of the Pantheon and hung a 67 meter (220') pendulum from the ceiling (see picture below).  This experiment/demonstration was accepted as proof that the earth rotates!  An exact replica is there still and is used to tell the time.  

Crepes for dinner, another grocery shop and then home again.  Sully is long asleep and M & H are still giggling after being in bed for 40 minutes.  Tomorrow we will likely go to a market near here where there are loads of different kinds of birds.  A demain.  .  .