Sainte-Chapelle, 2

Continuing our visit to the royal chapel of Louis IX...

Still more bonking

Vicki studying

Now onto the window about the acquisition of the Passion relics

The rose window...the vision of St. John

Details from which

Marble flooring

Sainte-Chapelle is better known for its glazing than its
sculpture; but the sculpture (much probably restored) is
definitely worth a look...here, a Judgement over the porch

Resurrection of the dead

"I have a bad feeling about this..."

Nasty critters

Us, there

Exterior, near the bow

Sainte-Chapelle,1

Sainte-Chapelle has been undergoing restoration and cleaning of its windows since the 1970s, when we first saw it. But Rebecca saw it during her Paris visit and reported the windows were totally done and clean and well worth another visit. So we got up early August 13th and were among the first to get inside that morning. Indeed it was almost like seeing it all anew. Sainte-Chapelle was the royal chapel of Louis IX (aka Saint Louis), rayonnant Gothic, built to house the Passion relics Louis had acquired from Constantinople, and with what some regard as the finest of 13th century windows. Certainly the cleanest.

Approaching Sainte-Chapelle, which is located within the
Conciergerie, the royal palace until the 14th century, on the
Ile de la Cite

Alas, the lower chapel, where palace employees could worship.
is now the gift store; in earlier times, the lower chapel by itself
was blown-away impressive...

But the upstairs is better than ever...in recent times; anyhow,
you can see we were the 3rd and 4th persons to enter that day

A look at half a dozen of the windows (details
follow), first the port side

Chancel

Then the starboard side

Depicts the acquisition of the Passion relics
(some of them miraculously survived the
Revolution and are housed now in the cathedral)

Cain bonks Abel

Adam and Eve and apple tree

Noah and ark

Moses...note horns...they change colors in different panels

Someone getting dunked

Joseph being helped out of the well

More bonking

Auberge Nicolas Flamel, Again

We think this was our fourth visit to Nicolas Flamel. Apart from the superb food, it is in the oldest house in Paris, and it has a story...Nicolas Flamel, the early 15th century alchemist. (The kiddie meal is called "The Harry Potter.") Rebecca and Jeremy discovered it in 2009, and it has never disappointed us. On the contrary. So, despite being in this city with almost unlimited restaurant options, we went with the old favorite. And had another memorable meal. BTW, the French couple next to us were taking as many pix as we were. Treats for the eyes, as well as the nose and mouth.

The amuse-bouche; the foamy peas were incredible

My appetizer, smoked salmon, iced peas cream, squid ink biscuit

Vicki's main: beef filet, aubergine canneloni, potato spaghettis,
reduced gravy

My main: hake filet, mussels, quinoa and vegetables, white
butter; look closely and you'll also see a few samphire (sallicornes)

Vicki's chocolate souffle, caramel with salted butter ice cream

And my Grand Marnier souffle

Us, eating well

Picasso Museum, Paris

Paris' Picasso Museum was closed when we were last in the city, in 2014. It had been closed, for renovations, for five years. At length, the ministry of culture ran out of patience and sacked the director. The museum opened, to great fanfare, in October, 2014; under new management. We are not Picasso fans, but this is one of the great museums. The 5,000 works of art, manuscripts, notes, sketches, etc., came to France in lieu of payment of death taxes. The collection is housed in the ancient Hotel Sale in the Marais.

Thus

L'Arbor, 1907

Verre D'Absinthe, 1912-1914

The museum is noted for its collection of
Picasso sculpture

Thus

Stairwell in the Hotel Sale

Femme a L'Enfant, 1961

Didn't get its name

Picasso also did sculpture in metal...OK, not Rodin

And other media

Jeanne, 1901

Autoportrait, 1901

He was always sketching something...

The hotel in Antibes evidently did not accept this as payment
...too bad for them

Portrait de Marie-Therese, 1937

Vaulting in the ancient Hotel Sale

La Baie de Cannes, 1950

Cafe a Royan, 1940

Corrida: La Mort du Torero, 1933

Bacchanale avec Chevreau et spectateur, 1959

Not quite the entertainer that Dali was, but he had his moments...not pictured:
items from his collection of works by Matisse, Courbet, Renoir, et al.