We had our last breakfast at the hotel. It was close enough, but no one does Caffè Crema like Rabea.
Then we headed to our lunch spot in the Marais early. We had time to kill, so we walked to a nearby park.
The park is Square de la Tour Saint-Jacques, named for the Gothic tower at its center. The tower is all that remains of a 16th-century church, the Church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie. The church was destroyed during the French Revolution but the tower was saved because of its scientific value. Blaise Pascal had used it for his famous experiments on atmospheric pressure. There is a statue of Pascal at the base. The tower was also a starting point for medieval pilgrims walking the Camino de Santiago. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Originally we had planned to spend the evening at Notre Dame for the Nuit des Cathédrales vigil. But after running into the Victory Day crowds yesterday, we had pivoted. Our new evening was the concert at Sainte-Chapelle. We were still in the area scouting and wanted to enjoy our lunch since we did not have dinner plans.
Lunch was at Benoît, a place known for their snails. I ordered the prix fixe. Mom ordered the sea bass and said it was the best she had ever had. Dessert was profiteroles. They also brought us sweet bread and chocolates that disappeared from the table almost instantly.
We sat next to a Chinese mother and daughter who were having just as good a time as we were. We chatted a bit and shared smiles. The pattern of meeting lovely people at Paris restaurants continued.
Before we left the restaurant we hit the restroom. Mom was gone for a while and I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, she came back and said “For a nice restaurant I can’t believe they didn’t have hand soap.” I went upstairs to check it out and figured out the mystery. Check out the video;
After lunch we walked over to Place des Vosges, the oldest planned square in Paris, still in the Marais. It was built in 1612 by Henri IV. There is a statue of Louis XIII at the center, surrounded by 36 identical red brick houses and arcades with shops, restaurants, and cafés. On the way we walked right past Victor Hugo’s old apartment. He lived in one of the houses on the square from 1832 to 1848. The place is now a museum, but we did not stop in. We did stop at a cute boutique nearby and bought a few things.
When we got to the square, we sat on a bench in the sun for a while. The weather was perfect.
We Ubered home to rest and pack.
Our concert at Sainte-Chapelle was at 8 PM, and we had to arrive by 7:30. Sainte-Chapelle was commissioned by King Louis IX in 1238 to house Christ’s crown of thorns and other relics. The upper chapel has more than 1,113 scenes from the Old and New Testament rendered in 600 square meters of stained glass. It is the most extensive 13th-century stained glass in the world.
The concert was magical. The sunset light came through the stained glass and turned the whole chapel into something otherworldly.
Our Uber driver on the way home said something I will be thinking about for a while. He said if it rains in Paris tomorrow, it means we have to return.
On the way back to the hotel we made one last stop for a late dinner snack at Café de Flore. The café opened in 1887 and was once the hangout of Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Hemingway, and Picasso. It is still going. I ordered the croque monsieur and Mom got an omelet. For our final dessert in Paris, we shared a mille-feuille, the layered custard cake. The icing on the cake was the clarinet player.
Happiness is Possible 