After a further three days on the road, we have stopped in Paris for two nights. Fortuitously it has been 14 Juillet or Bastille Day with the French Republic celebrations.
We decided to watch the proceedings on the television but could see the flight past from our hotel window. It’s quite a thing seeing all the French military on display.
Later, as we walked around, there were plenty of armed soldiers, police and gendarmes keeping an eye on things. We’ve seen on the news there were a few skirmishes on the Champs-Élysées at the end of the parade so we were pleased we decided to stay away.
The Tour Saint-Jacques, or Tower of St James, is the traditional starting point in Paris for the via Turonensis, the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela via Tours. The tower is all that’s left of an old abbey. We had to walk to the tower to begin the next stage of our Camino.
Afterwards we walked over to Notre Dame cathedral which is all surrounded by fencing after the dreadful fire. There were large wooden joists which were being fitted into the flying buttresses.
Beryl has been much impressed by a Rodin sculpture of St John the Baptist which we saw in Cardiff. We headed over to the Musée Rodin. It was curious that although the identical sculpture was there it didn’t seem to have the same power when it was surrounded by similar works.
There were a couple of van Gogh paintings which I didn’t know but were instantly recognisable as his work. They were very impressive.
The whole museum was fascinating. Rodin was a great observer of the human form.
This evening we will go to one of the bridges over the Seine to see the fireworks at Tour Eiffel.
Our journeying recommences in the morning.
Julian and Beryl's camino 