July 19 - Paris

 

July 19 – Paris

We started our morning with brunch at a delicious crêpe restaurant. Grant and I shared a savory crêpe with goat cheese and boiled beef, and a sweet one with apples, caramel, and whipped cream. Katelyn had a ham and cheese crêpe and shared a strawberry chocolate crêpe with Angie. Geoffrey got a savory crêpe too, with eggs, sausage, and mushrooms. It was a great way to start the day! (oh I should mention that we ate downstairs in the basement level of the restaurant. The winding staircase down to that level was probably one of the steepest and narrow staircases I’ve ever been on!)

Next, we headed to the Panthéon. Although originally built as a church, it was completed just one year before the French Revolution, and its purpose quickly shifted to that of a secular mausoleum honoring French citizens who have made lasting contributions to art, culture, science, and literature. Many famous figures are interred in the crypt below, including Victor Hugo, Louis Braille, and Marie Curie (the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences!).

Another fascinating feature inside the Panthéon is the Foucault pendulum hanging from the dome. Physicist Léon Foucault first demonstrated this pendulum here in 1851 to provide simple visual proof that the Earth rotates. It inspired similar pendulums around the world—including the one at the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles.

After we left, we spotted another church nearby and decided to pop in. An organist happened to be rehearsing upstairs, and the music echoed beautifully through the church. It was a gorgeous space and a fun little detour.

Then it was on to Notre-Dame, which has recently reopened to the public, although construction is still underway following the devastating 2019 fire. We started with the crypt beneath Notre-Dame—not a burial crypt, but an archaeological one. I had no idea there were Roman ruins under the cathedral! But after visiting so many ruins in Rome, it was fascinating to recognize similar structures here in Paris: Roman baths, remnants of ancient roads, and defensive walls that once protected the city when it was still known as Lutetia.

We then joined the standby queue to enter the cathedral itself, since we hadn’t been able to book a time slot online. Fortunately, the line moved quickly, and we were inside within 10–15 minutes. It was packed—a slow-moving sea of people making a one-way loop around the nave—but still lovely. The restored stained glass glowed as beautifully as ever. It was moving to see how much of the structure and spirit had been preserved and restored.

After leaving the cathedral, we grabbed snacks from a nearby ice cream shop and a patisserie. Yum.

Next stop: Saint-Sulpice Church. This one is featured in The Da Vinci Code, and Grant and I had visited it last time we were in Paris. We remembered it as grand like Notre-Dame, but much quieter and more peaceful—and it still is. We got lucky: a choral group was rehearsing, so we enjoyed an impromptu concert. We also checked out the gnomon and meridian line (mistakenly referred to as the “rose line” in The Da Vinci Code). The obelisk and brass line on the floor were part of a solar timekeeping system installed in the 18th century by a priest interested in science and astronomy. At solar noon on the equinoxes, sunlight streams through a small hole and hits a precise spot on the line, helping track the Earth’s tilt and rotation. Very cool.

From there, we walked to the Luxembourg Gardens, where we strolled among beautiful trees, flowers, fountains, and statues. One of the fun surprises is a small replica of the Statue of Liberty—one of several scattered throughout Paris. It was a relaxing reprieve from the bustle of the city.

Finally, we made our way to a restaurant that’s one of Grant’s favorites: Le Relais de l’Entrecôte. They only serve one main dish: walnut salad with mustard vinaigrette, followed by steak frites with their signature secret sauce. That’s it! They also offer a selection of classic French desserts. It was absolutely delicious and a perfect way to cap off a day full of great Parisian food.

It started raining while we were at dinner, so we headed back to the hotel. It’s still wild to me that it’s fully light out at 9:30 p.m.—you can lose track of time so easily when the sky doesn’t hint at bedtime!

Reminder: Many more photos here -

https://photos.app.goo.gl/QopbhihhB6mcbwSh6