Windows of St. Etienne du Mont

Not the windows in the church itself but rather those in an adjacent hall. They were moved to St. Etienne from St. Eustache, across the river, when the Germans began shelling Paris in 1918. Why St. Etienne was thought to be safer is a mystery to me, since St. Gervais, not a kilometer away, was struck by a shell during mass, killing more than 80 people. Anyhow, the windows, mostly 17th century, have stayed at St. Etienne's, and most importantly, they are down low where you can closely examine every square inch, up close and personal. They are not Medieval but are no less interesting, even mysterious, in their content...

Parishioner luncheon

Expulsion? 16th century; someone had seen Massacio's
Expulsion?

St. Etienne's famously curves a bit to the left...

Annunciation; among other scenes

They are all Biblical scenes, sort of, although sometimes convoluted
by 15 centuries of layered interpretation, metaphor; click to enlarge

Ever popular Jesus on the wine press image; 33 AD
was a great vintage...

Personal favorite, unicorn on the ark

Not whimsy...someone conceived this, explained it, some authority
OK'd it, someone spent days executing it, and days mounting it...
someone explain it to me...it's got to be more than New Testament
superseding the Old...

Abe and the three angels...very definitely Renaissance, not
Medieval, but no less of interest; note the angels are walking away...
maybe just taxiing prior to take-off...

St. Etienne du Mont, 2026

We visited the church of St. Etienne du Mont in 2014, relatively early in our education about religious art and architecture. The main things I remember are that a) it really is a bit of a mont, especially if you're approaching from the river, b) it's one of those mixed designs, starting out as very late flamboyant Gothic, ending up as Renaissance, and c) the stained glass window depicting (unforgettably) Noah's ark with a unicorn aboard. As we'll see below, there's plenty more. The 2014 visit is recorded here.

Full frontal; we did visit St. Etienne's in 2024, exterior
only to get a shot of me sitting on the steps, as Gil Pender
did, in Midnight in Paris; it wasn't midnight though

Inside; everything you need to know; and in English too

The main thing is the rood screen, the only one remaining in Paris;
it's the bridge-looking thing...

Very beautifully designed and carved; the rood screen was meant to
keep the knaves ignorant of the mumbo jumbo/hocus pocus the 
priests were doing up front; abolished by the Council of Trent, after
the Reformation; apparently St. Etitenne did not get the memo 

Another thing...the incredibly carved pulpit...details
below

And another thing, the great 17th century organ case; too bad
about the rose window

Carvings on the pulpit

Samson; not Hercules

Charity and the children

We are now moving along toward the shrine of St. Genevieve, patron
saint of Paris; we're still pondering what the system is...

Medieval burials along the way

Also along the way, burial of philosopher Blaise Pascal;

lost his wager, but did get this nice plaque

Some of what you might want to know about all this; 
Genevieve saved Paris from Attila in the 5th century...
among other good works

The Revolution hated the Church as much as the monarchy, 
murdering priests and nuns right and left, desecrating churches and
monuments; Genevieve was not helped by having been appropriated
by the royals; her bones were put on trial, convicted, burned, and the
ashes tossed into the Seine; what's in the box is just the slab her bones
originally rested on, miraculously found; but, hey, it's the efficacy,
right?

Do not stuff your messages to the saint into the box; very difficult
to clean out

Put them here

Helpful map of the area, which enabled us to get to the flea market
on Rue Soufflot...after we had seen St. Etienne's great windows...
next post...

Omnipresent influencers by the Pantheon; modeling their
footwear 

Our day ended, a few hours later, with an excellent
vide grenier on the Rue Soufflot

Bastille Market, 2026

When we were in the 11th, in 2014 and 2019, Bastille was our go-to market. (Pix here.) It is still attractively large and diverse, and very popular on Sunday mornings, though not as nearby for us as it once was. Despite a navigational error, we still got there in time to walk the whole market plus enjoy some snacks.

The navigational error at least afforded us some insight
into why the area is called Sevres-Babylon

All quiet at the cheval stand...despite horse meat being halal...

Also hot dogs and pizza in the cuisine authentique...

Vicki taking a picture of me in the long line at one of
the 4 oyster bars in the market

Thus; the #1s in the green basket were humongous

There were 3 serveuses and this one guy shucking at the
rate of about, I kid you not, 10-12 per minute; I can do 
one in a couple/three minutes, but then have to stop to
clean wounds, stanch the flow of blood, apply bandages,
etc.

Fascinating; I think the secret is to be bold and to wear protective gear

Lunch, for me; I have never gotten sick with oysters
(unlike mussels)

Porcine spare parts (head to toe)

Your cardiologist would not approve (salt cod)

Little ice cream cone-like pastries

Purchase of the day...a beautiful cutting board from Corsica, heavy
as iron; perfect for a Costco poulet roti

All the street toilettes now have a urinaire...it's a tiny
space, however...oblique shots are best, avoiding the ricochet...

X=0, Y=0

Vanves Flea Market

Among the things that make Paris so interesting are its variety of markets. Food markets, flea markets, brocante markets, antique markets, artisan markets, book and art markets. All of them outdoor walking markets, people selling to people, in what is otherwise as cosmopolitan and technologically-advanced a place as any. Our go-to flea market, since 2014, has been Vanves, in the 14th, just a couple miles from our apartment. Some previous visits are:

https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2023/05/vanves-flea-market-2023.html
https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2021/09/marche-aux-puces-vanves.html

https://roadeveron.blogspot.com/2014/06/le-marche-aux-puces-de-vanves.html

This year the market seemed to me much expanded, into the neighborhood, affording much-needed cafes (and attendant amenities). We didn't buy anything, but much enjoyed three hours' looking over the wares and the people selling, buying, and looking over the wares. A fascinating and good-natured place. Some scenes...

Six or so blocks of such, with off-shoots

Tables and tables of such

Mechanized ash tray

Most unusual and in pretty good shape...a table covered in mirror and
accompanying mirror stand

Possibly belongs in the Musee des Arts et Metiers

Weights and tools

A Wimshurst Machine...definitely belongs in the Musee...
look it up

Always within range of the Disney tractor beam

Small enough to hold in the palm of your hand...
a Singer, too