Beaches and More

I know.  Some of you who are keeping up with this little travelogue thought yesterday that I'd taken leave of my senses when I mentioned the beaches of Paris.  And yet here we are.  It's summer, and if you can't go to the beach, the city of Paris will bring the beach to you.

Since 2002, a few weeks in July and August have seen the city truck in 2,000 tons of sand to construct the biggest sandbox you ever saw, complete with palm trees,

places to build sand castles,

and "salt-water" fishing.  I've pretty much decided that I've had my last meal of fish on this trip.

There are other activities up and down the Seine and within a couple of blocks: petanque (think the Italian game "bocce"), and beach volleyball, coming next week.

Since I didn't pack my Speedo, I soon left the beach behind and headed over to the Pantheon.  The building was originally commissioned by Louis XV as a church in honor of Ste. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris.  But soon, as part of the Revolution, it was deconsecrated and established as a secular center of recognition of the "great men of the fatherland".   (Sorry about that crane--it'll be there until my photo editing skills improve, or the year 2020, whichever comes first.)

Here are buried the remains of many of the people whose names you would recognize.  I was particularly in search of the crypt of Victor Hugo.  At his funeral procession from the Arc de Triomphe to the Pantheon, it is estimated that two million people lined the street to pay respects for what he had done to ease the plight of the poor of France with novels like Les Miserables and Notre Dame de Paris (known to the English-speaking world as The Hunchback of Notre Dame), other novels, and a large collection of poetry.

Today he shares a little room with Alexandre Dumas (The Man in the Iron Mask, The Three Musketeers) and Emile Zola (J'Accuse, among a whole plethora of other works).  Hugo on the left, Zola on the right, and Dumas with the window (for reading light?).  Can you imagine the chats these guys have late in the night when the place is closed and all the tourists have left?

Tomorrow we're going to revisit our local art colony at the top of the butte, and then we'll have only three full days left.