Day Ten Paris

Mon chum was jet lagged and slept well past noon. This is a first since he had cancer treatments. I enjoyed reading my book by David Mitchell The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet. After breakfast, we went exploring again this time finding the Sorbonne, The Medieval Museum, the Pantheon and the law school. We walked by the famous Shakepeare and Company bookstore though the lineup to go inside determined our not staying. Students lined up along St Michel Blvd to sell their used books and a demonstration protesting France's newly passed gay marriage laws saw Moslem link arms with Christians to protest. Foucault conducted experiments to prove the rotation of the earth by suspending a 220 foot pendulum from the centre of the Pantheon. This building was built Louis XV after he was healed of a flu by praying to Ste. Genevieve. Today the building is under significant renovation and a state building. Juxtaposed beside religious frescoes are statues depicting the revolution and France's war heroes. "Vivre libre ou mourir" seems as relevant today as it was in 1789.