10 15 Monday

I set off this morning to start my day at the statue of the 4 females holding up the world. It is entitled fontaine des Quatre Parties du Monde, translated as fountain of the 3 corners of the world. I am still no wiser as to why 4 females, tho have lots of suggestions. Then on to the few things I missed around about there yesterday. I saw a building with the head of elephants about all its doors, a beautiful front door  , all tiled middle eastern Arabic. ( photo coming maybe, whenever..) and a garden inside a building but i could not go in. As as aside, all the schools and unis seem to have a doorman. Kids have to show passes to get in. The doorman to the Sorbonne, which I passed latter in the morning , had a fancy green uniform with matching hat. 

By that stage it was time for morning coffee and a plan for the next bit. I went to a church near the pantheon but it  was closed till 2.30. Nevermind, I went to look for a statue of montaigne, which i found. Another aside, the 5th arrondissment,  where I spent most of today is hilly, but, annoying, my route didnot alextake account f that and I went up and down a few more times than I wanted. Montaigne's foot is shiny, apperarently  students get good luck if they touch his foot before an exam. Well, I touched his foot and hoped it would reset whatever part of my brain still has trouble remembering eg. Take the 2nd left, then the 3rd right. 

Next was a sundial made by Dali. This is a portrait of him on a wall with sundial bits. It is not functional. His head is in a cockle shell shape,  with reference to St Jacques, of the camino to santiago fame, who is said to have started from here, or maybe just passed through.

All this wandering takes time because there are many occasions when I stop and look in shop windows or, as today, go and talk . I stopped and looked in the window of a carpenter, more a craftsman, with inteesting things  which I did not immediately recognise.  There was writing about Venetian gondolas on the window and the word forcole, which translates as rowlock. they were beautifully crafted in a variety of different wood with varying positions to put the oar depending on what you are doing in the gondola.  He saw me staring in and came out and spoke to me . We communicated quite well in a mixture of languages. I told him of my father designing and building boats, my sailing in boats, my children rowing ( he also makes specialist oars) . He gets most of his wood from Montenegro. He was near another church with an interesting building next to it with a very odd roofline which is thought to be an old  charnel house - a place they put dead people who are waiting to be buried. Right next to the church? In summer.?

I had  a galette for lunch , a real one made with buckwheat which is good. While I was there I read about the church that opened at 2.30 and realised I had seen it before in 2019. It has an amazing beautifully carved intricate rood screen. But the book that i was getting the info from today called it a Jube. I didnot put 2 and 2 together till I read about it again. Doesn't matter, it was still worh looking at. The church  also has a big connection with St Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris.

Then i walked back through the luxemburg gardens, more statues.