1 Mars

1 March 2006. My first blog for this month.
Nicole came visiting last weekend and I took 2 days leave to visit Paris with her. We had fun. It is amazing the number of places we had not visited in Paris. Nicole was in Paris for a year last year and I met her through our french lessons.

We visited Basilica of Saint-Denis, the cathedral which houses the tombs of the royals. There are tombs of 46 kings, 32 queens, 63 princes and princesses as well as 10 great officers of the Crown who laid there until the French Revolution. Today, we are still able to see the tombs from many hundred years ago. It is really amazing.

Catherine de Medicis was laid there with her husband. She was the one who instigated the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre on the eve of her daughter, Queen Margot's marriage to Henry IV. There are great paintings of this massacre. But we will leave the painting topic to another day.

There is also the tomb of Philip le Bel (the fair). The tomb of his son, Louis X is also there. Louis X's wife had an affair and Louis X was never sure that his daughter Jeanne was really his. However, I was surprised to find her tomb just beside his. Also, the tomb of the baby son of Louis X by his second wife is there as well. It is really interesting to have read and watch this story from 'Le Rois Maudits' and then to really see these tombs for real.

We visited St-Germain l'Auxerrois. This is the church favored by the kings who attended mass there as it is just nearby the Louvre. This is also where Queen Margot married her husband, the future king Henry IV. The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre happened just nearby this area. To understand this day better, I would invite you to watch this film, La Reine Margot.

We visited Sainte-Chapelle. This is really the place that one should not miss. I am in Paris since two years and I never really bother to find out more about this small chapel hidden in the court of the Palace of Justice. I cannot describe more about this chapel. You have to see it to believe the beauty of the stained glasses.

Of course, we visited the streets of Paris and the places we used to hang out. Including a beer at Coolin's.