Hotel Bellepierre

Virgin - Virgen María

by spanishguy

This beautiful image of the Virgin with the Child dates from the 12th Century. She's made on polychrome wood.

Esta bonita imagen de la Virgen con el Niño es del siglo XII. Está hecha de madera policromada.

Town-Hall - Ayuntamiento

by spanishguy

When you are going to the Basilica you'll find the town hall at your left. It's a beautiful building, the very typical French official construction that I like a lot. When I was there it was about to be a wedding there. It was very nice, because they were a Moslem couple and some of their friend where playing very big music instruments like trumpets. What a pity don't take them a picture!

Cuando vas hacia la Basílica te encuentras el ayuntamiento a la izquierda. Es un bonito edificio, de la típica arquitectura francesa para edificios oficiales que me gusta mucho. Cuando estuve allí iba a celebrarse una boda. Era muy bonito, porque se trataba de una pareja musulmana y algunos de sus amigos estaban tocando grandes instrumentos como trompetas. ¡Lástima no haberles sacado una foto!

Charles VI le Fou Tomb

by Diana75

Charles VI the Well-Beloved (later known as the Mad or "le Fou" in French) was a King of France between 1380 and 1422 and a member of the Valois Dynasty.

He married Isabella of Bavaria in 1385 and had 12 children, but also an illegitimate child by Odette de Champdivers, Marguerite batarde de France.

The effigies of Charles VI le Fou and Isabella de Bavaria look very much lifelike.

Basilique Royal Necropolis

by edwis

"Paris"

Our last two nights were spent in Paris, the departure for our return flights. Coming from the airport, we take the RER B Metro towards our hotel with only 1 transfer involved. But as Joan gets on the train, I picked up my luggage and the door closes leaving me behind. OMG, panic sets in; Joan doesn’t even know the name of our hotel. I take the next train, not sure what we are to do, but as good fortune has it, Joan is waiting on the platform for me at the Gare Nord transfer station. We stayed close to each other from then on…

This time we stayed in the Montmartre (18th) neighborhood, which is described as the “last village in Paris,” but is still full of tourists. Our hotel was about 3 blocks from the Moulin Rouge, near Rue Lepic (“a street that evokes old-time Paris”) and right off the Rue Des Abbesses, with its sidewalk cafes, shops and little parks. Since it was also Bastille Day, France's most important national holiday, we saw street musicians and events everywhere, including fireworks at midnight over the Eiffel Tower.

The Butte Montmartre is the highest hill in Paris and offers panoramic scenes of the city from high atop the famous church of Sacre-Coeur, where we spent an afternoon in the crypts underground and then climbed the 300 circular steps to the Dome for the great city views.

We took the Metro for a day trip to the northern suburb of La Ville de Saint-Denis. In the Basilica of Saint Denis, since 640 AD most of the French monarchy (42 kings and 32 queens) are buried, including Charles Martel, Pepin the Bald, Louis XIV and Marie Antoinette. We spent hours roaming around the crypts and tombs, taking in the history lessons on the audio-phones. Later that night, for our last meal in Montmartre and in honor of little Angelina, we ate at a Russian restaurant. After Russian antipasto, stroganoff and chicken pierogi, the owner brought us shots of vodka. We stumbled back to our hotel.