Museum Pass expires today!

We just finished another interesting day of viewing the famous sights
of Paris. This morning after our cafe au lait, we took a taxi to La
Conciergerie. It was originally the palace of the French
Kings from the 10th century until they moved to the Louvre. During the
French Revolution, over 2800 people were detained and sentenced to
death here. Sadly, the Queen of France Marie Antoinette was among
them. We saw the cell when she spent six weeks before she was led to
the guillotine in the Place de la Concord.We then strolled through the
beautiful Jardin du
Luxemburg. Have I mentioned that we have had a weather perfect week in
Paris? In the early 17th century Marie de Medici decided to build a
palace in imitation of the Pitti Palace in Florence. She was homesick
I guess! The Medici Fountain is gorgeous and the grounds magnificent.
Children rent sail boats and then chase the boat with a stick in the
central pond. Today is Pentecote (Pentecost) which is a holiday in
France. Families were out in the park in droves. We lunched in the
small terrace cafe which provided a relaxing place to rest and people
watch. Our meal was overpriced and the service slow but
never-mind.....we had a lovely table under the trees. We decided to
use our museum pass one last time to view the Pantheon in the Latin
quarter. This massive building was originally an abbey dedicated to
the Patron Saint of Paris but after the French Revolution was changed
to a burial place for famous French men. We walked down into the crypt
and saw dozens of famous patriots, writers, artists and war heroes.
Our last stop of the day was to visit the St. Sulpice Cathedral on our
walk back to the hotel. In front of the church there was a classy flea
market set up which held all kinds of old art, books, china and other
treasures. After browsing awhile, we entered St. Sulpice. The organ
was built by Clicquot and later remodeled by Cavaille-Coll and is one
of the finest and most beautiful organs in the world. The St. Sulpice
Cathedral was used as a setting for Dan Brown's novel Da Vinci Code.
The church has a poster on the wall with a disclaimer that reads
"contrary to fanciful allegations in a recent best selling novel, St.
Sulpice is NOT the vestige of a pagan temple etc. etc." I guess many
tourists flocked to the church after the novel was written for the
wrong reasons. Why didn't they come to see and hear the organ, attend
Mass or view the biggest cathedral in Paris? Whew......our museum pass
has expired and so have I! Tomorrow we plan to just "be" in Paris. Not
sure what the day will hold but I am certain more walking will be part
of the fun. Gail