Dans L'Ombre De La Tour Eiffel: Architecture in the 6th, Film Museum, Chateau de Vincennes, Passages & Galleries!

It's been another busy week (well, a little longer than a week). I'll start it off with last Wednesday's architecture field trip, which, lucky for me was around the 6th arriondissment. (yay for getting to sleep in and only having to walk 5 minutes to class!) After showing up at the Pantheon and discovering that it was exceptionally closed for the day, (why is it that every time i go here something goes wrong?) we headed over to St. Etienne Du Mont, which is a church behind the Pantheon that I have walked by many times, and even almost went in once (but feared it was during mass). Anyways, St. Etienne Du Mont was beautiful, plus it has one of the few remaining Rood Screens in France. Apparently, the crucifix used to only be exposed on holy days, and on all other days it was kept behind the rood screen. Afterwards, we went to the Theater of Odeon and one of the first schools of surgery in Paris (I can't remember the name... ooops)

St. Etienne Du Mont

Staircase on the side of the Rood Screen

The Rood Screen

St. Genvieve's Relics at St. Etienne Du Mont

Odeon Theater

School of Surgery

As per usual, Friday was used for adventuring around Paris. The weather is just starting to get nice here, so I enjoyed a nice picnic lunch with some friends at Parc de Bercy then went to the Cinematheque Francaise (basically a film museum). Which was much smaller than we expected, but still cool to see old cameras and film equipment. Afterwards, we found a pet store, which anyone who knows me well knows that this was undoubtedly the highlight of my day!

Cinematheque Francaise

Checking Out One of the First Forms of Moving Pictures

Ringo Starr's costume in Lisztomania

YAY PUPPIES

Then on Sunday, I ventured over to Chateau de Vincennes with some friends. Chateau de Vincennes is right outside of Paris's border, but very easily accessible on the one metro line. Basically it's a castle where lots of Kings spent there time, for more information go here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_de_Vincennes. There are two things to see at the Chateau De Vincennes: the Sainte Chapelle (not as good as the one in Paris) and the Donjon. The Donjon was definitely my favourite part as it looks like it is right out of a storybook, plus the prison was used as a medieval equivalent to a white color prison for a while, and there are lots of cool paintings on the walls done by the prisoners. Afterwards, my friends and I headed over to the Bois de Vincennes which is a HUGE beautiful park next to the castle. I definitely want to go back there on a nice day!

The Donjon

The Sainte Chapelle

Paintings done by Prisoners

oh hey ribbed vaulting (tnx architecture)

King's fireplace

The Group at the Castle

View of the Sainte Chapelle from the Top

Inside the Sainte Chapelle

Sainte Chapelle

Bois de Vincennes

This week, my architecture field trip was around the first arriondissment again. This field trip was one of the ones that really make me appreciate the class, I've been in the area a million times, and our professor took us to see so many things that I had never seen before. On this trip we looked at the Palais Royale (inculding the garden facade which I had never seen before), and a bunch of passages and galleries in the 2nd (Paris's first version of shopping malls).