Day 3 in Paris and another day of visiting amazing churches and museums. This morning I headed towards the church, Sainte-Chapelle on the little island in the middle of the Seine. there was already a queue at 9.45am...though as I soon discovered, this queue was just to go through security....it is amazing the different levels of security each museum or church has....I think was extra tight though because Sainte-Chapelle is also right next door to what seemed to be local law courts or something similar....anyway....what an incredible feast for the eyes greeted me...you are probably familiar with many photos of this chapel as it has all stained glass windows around it....and an amazing Rose window....I have decided that I have enjoyed the churches I have visited throughout Europe, possibly mor ethan the museums, however, having said that I am about to contradict myself.
After Sainte-Chapelle, I headed to the Musee national du Moyen Age...that is, Museum of the Middle Ages...my main reason for this visit was to see the famous Tapestry, The Lady and the Unicorn.
Well, from the moment I walked in (no queues here!!!), I was absolutely gob smacked. In the first room, there were a whole lot of fabric remnants from Tunics and other items of clothing with tapestries and embroidery on them...they were quite incredible. Then amongst all the religious paintings and icons, there were small ivory carvings depicting all sorts of scenes, but a great many religious ones, and so many beautiful taspestries I could not believe my eyes. having wandered around the whole museum, I exited and realised that I had not seen the Lady and the Unicorn Tapestry, though at one point I thought that I had...However I went back in and the guide directed me to where this tapestry was situated.....well what can I say....it wasn't just one simple tapestry, it was a series of 6!!!! They are displayed in a round room with extremely low lighting and airconditioning....and STUNNING!!!!! I would have been soooo disappointed to have missed these....textiles are definitely my thing!
After this, I decided to head towards the Champs Elysees for a wander....actually, I was keen to check out a very fancy Macaron shop which I had passed previously on the Hop On/Off bus, but hadn't walked around this area....oh my goodness....what shops! I laughed to myself.....a chap I got chatting to on the bus a couple of days previously, had told me about this shop called Abercrombie and Fitch....apparently it is quite an experience in it...well, it had a massive queue standing out the front....it isn't even signposted what it is....I was briefly tempted to go in for a sticky nose....but didn't think I was dressed well enough. Having said that, some of the people waiting to go in looked more casual than me....anyway...further up the road, outside the Louis Vuitton store was another great long crowd....It made me laugh...though I was probably no different when I lined up in Florence for a Gelato from "Grom"...said to be the best Gelato...not so sure that I agree with that....Anyway, I found the shop I had been looking for..it was absolutely beautiful inside...I have actually made a booking to have lunch there on Wednesday...my last day in Paris and the first time I will have eaten out...so I figure a little splurge won't hurt....some of the pastries looked incredible...I will at least have to get some photo's whilst I am there...
After this little explore, I headed back to the apartment quite early, compared to the last couple of days.
I have been trying to decide whether to go to Versailles tomorrow or to explore a bit more around the outskirts of Paris...I would really like to go up to Montmarte and Sacre Coeur...if anyone has an opinion, would love to hear it....there are still a couple of galleries I would like to see here in Paris, as well a couple of shops I'd like to check out....one being a patchwork shop and the other, and embroidery/needle work shop....anyway, will update you what I end up doing tomorrow...
Thanks for putting up with my ramblings!
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