Yes, this first picture just looks black....but it is actually a photo of the incorrupt body of St. Vincent de Paul. We went specifically to visit the incorrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, but it was closed most of January and would only reopen the day we were leaving. A disappointment, but we did get to visit the church where St. Vincent de Paul's body is on display, which was beautiful.
Next, we were off to The Jacquemart-Andre Museum. I highly, highly recommend it! It was everything that Versailles (to us) was not.
It was the home of a very wealthy Parisian couple (Nelie and Edouard) that were brought together by their shared passion for art.
The mansion is gorgeous, and while very large, has an intimate feel because one is walking through an actual home and it was decorated how it would have been when they were living there.
Photos were not allowed, but I took two before I knew that.
We listened to the audio guide provided to hear the wonderful story of the couple, and learn about the decor and art collection of the home.
The home contains works from the French school of the 18th century: Fragonard, Boucher, Vigee-Lebrun, Chardin etc...
Also included were works of Flemish and Dutch masters (Rembrandt, Van Dyck),
English painting, and Italian Renaissance (Mantegna, Botticelli, Bellini etc..)
Afterward, we ate in the actual dining room of the home, which is now a tea room/restaurant.
The meals were a bit on the fancy side for us....so I think it would have been better for us to have had tea and dessert instead. My pasta (above) had crayfish, sun dried tomatoes, feta and was good, but too much of a good thing for me :)
Here is a group of musicians playing in one of the tunnels of the metro station.
It was common to have individuals singing or playing an instrument for everyone riding on the metro.
What a treat (as they were good!).
One of the highlights for each of us was our cooking class.
Very fun atmosphere.
Casual.
No stress.
Lots of laughs.
(and deep concentration :)
First, we chopped the vegetables (parsnip, carrot, potato, Jerusalem artichoke, pumpkin)....
Claire was the veggie mixer.
Next, we had to prepare our quail....yes, we each had our own and had to remove the innards and everything. We even had to pull a few little feathers stuck to the body.
Andrew and Mark browning the birds before we finished cooking them in the oven.
This was served with bread and wine.
We also learned to make Mousse au Chocolat for dessert. The real stuff, Baby!
Bon Appetite!
Our chef is a native Texan (I had to ask him if it was difficult for him to not say y'all ?) He said it was :)
He is married to a French woman, has lived in Paris for four years, and speaks fluent French.
The cooking classes are taught in English.
The other 'students' were a couple from Los Angeles, and a Polish Couple that lives full time in Paris.
Our final day in Paris, we started off by visiting the church that was the very first parish on Paris' right bank of the Seine. It was built in the 6th century. It is called Saint-Gervais.
It has not been a parish church since 1975. The Monastic Community of Jerusalem was founded at that time and now they hold daily liturgy there as well as daily prayers (morning, noon, and night) and anyone in the city is welcome to join them. We will have to do that on our next trip to Paris!
The monks and nuns of Jerusalem "strive to put prayer in the city and to carry the city in their prayer".
Because I find this very interesting, I will share a little about the mission and vocation of the Monastic Community of Jerusalem.
"First and foremost they are city dwellers, because urbanization is without a doubt on of the most important developments of modern times. They rent their housing, as do most people today, in order to avoid the risks of becoming too settled and of accumulating property. They are wage earners, but work only part-time earning their living in a way which expresses both solidarity and challenge to the work place and which keeps them from the desire to succeed on an economic or social level.....Their Rule of Life calls them to love, prayer, work, hospitality, and silence; it calls them to be chaste, poor, obedient, humble, and joyful, all while living in the heart of the world, in the heart of the city, in the Church, as the sons and daughters of Jerusalem. They bear the name "Jerusalem" because Jerusalem is the patron of all cities. There Christ lived, died, and rose to new life. The Church was founded there; the first Christian communities were born there. It is a holy city for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike. It is also the symbol of our hope in heaven, our ultimate destiny."
Andrew was pretty excited, because this was the day we spent at the Army Museum/Napoleon's Tomb.
The ancient section with all of the armor and weapons was the most fascinating to me personally.
I had zero expectations here, but I'm happy to report that I found it most interesting. Three hours was long enough, though.
Andrew could have spent all day there. He thought it was "Awesome".
Claire would have been happy spending only 5min. there :)
It was nice to do a few things on everyones wish list. It made for a well rounded trip....and life is all about compromise.
Oh, there just happened to be a car show of some sort happening next to the museum.
We had to get a few shots of the sports cars to show the little boys when we got home.
Many of the photos we took in the WWI and WWII wing didn't turn out :(
Andrew really enjoyed these areas....Claire did too, as she has read some historical fiction and non-fiction books about this time period like The Diary of Anne Frank.
Andrew purchased a very nice book about all of the armor at the museum. He is fascinated with anything medieval.
We were all intrigued with these doll size soldiers~each dressed in detailed period costumes.
The grand finale of our trip was mass at Notre Dame!
Here is a beautiful shot of the Christmas tree in front of the cathedral. Loved this.
Here is the large, elaborate creche....
....and here you can see the three wise men too.
We were able to go to confession before mass. They had a few priests available for confession with signs outside their door (the rooms are glass, so you can see people, but they are sound proof :)! that indicated what languages the priests spoke. The priest we went to spoke French, English, and Italian.
Of course the mass was in French~ with the most beautiful singing in the world!
The beauty of the universal church is that we know exactly what is going on no matter what language the priest if speaking! The mass is the same in every country of the world :)
Walking to our hotel that night, we passed the ice skating rink and watch the skaters and the people for a few minutes.
We were up at 4am the next morning to fly back home.
It was a fun, full week away. We packed a lot in, but in a good way.
We all kept a journal...which will help keep the memories alive, especially for Andrew and Claire.
I can't wait to go back.
My Mom asked me if I didn't want to go someplace new? I have been fortunate to travel a teensy bit so far (Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Canada, Italy....Boston, Chicago, Vermont, Louisiana, Texas, Colorado, Washington, Oregon....Disneyland :)) and yes, there are a few other places on my wish list.....but I enjoy Paris so much. It is excellent. So, yes I still want to go back there.
It's just like a favorite restaurant that one goes to again and again....you enjoy the atmosphere, the food, you know you won't be disappointed....it may be expensive....but you pay for~ and receive quality!
Au revoir Paris!
