Today began with a trip to the Invalides. Louis XIV built the Invalides as a military hospital, but today it is predominately a military museum, with only a small portion functioning in its original capacity.
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| Les Invalides |
But before we went inside the museum, we went to the chapel which holds the most famous Frenchman's remains. Of course I am talking about Napoleon Bonaparte!
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| The dome inside the Invalides chapel |
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| The altar inside the chapel |
Since we only had limited time at the military museum, we split up according to interests. Most students went to the medieval section, others went to the French Revolution & Napoleonic era, and a few of us went to the two world wars. It is such a fascinating museum - we all wished we had more time there!
After that, the group went shopping at Les Halles then went on to Saint-Denis Basilica. All but four French monarchs are buried at St-Denis and there are even remains of some of the Merovingians and Carolinians. The students loved it and many were excited that they saw the heart of the dauphin (Louis XVII) who died during the French Revolution - the doctor who did his autopsy secretly stole the boy's heart and petrified it - now it is in a glass jar in the crypt near the remains of his parents.
We ate another amazing meal, then headed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. We stayed there and took lots of photos...until we saw lightening. We figured it probably wasn't such a great idea to hang around on top of one of the tallest landmarks in Paris, so we called it a night for the sight-seeing.
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| Bill, Gabrielle et moi |
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| Lewisburg Students (& moi) |
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| Selinsgrove Students (& Bill) |
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| Bill et moi |
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| Tomb of the Unknown Soldier |
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| Everyone by the Arc |
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| The kids and Larry |
Tomorrow we go to the Musée d'Orsay to see the Impressionists, then the afternoon, we go to the Opéra Garnier...perhaps we will see the Phantom?
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