France Trip 2004

Paris - Ile de la Cite

The Ile de la Cite is an island in the Seine that sits in the center of Paris. The most notable building on this island is Notre Dame, which we had visited on our last trip. Notre Dame isn't the only grand church on this small island. The church of St. Chapelle lies hidden in the walls of the Palais de Justice and we didn't know it existed until this trip. Inside its cramped quarters there is little to see of the church on the outside, but the inside was much different. All the walls were filled with beautiful stained glass widows, all depicting scenes from the bible and Christian history. The church was built in 1248 for King Louis the IX, who later became a saint. Another fun place we stopped at while exploring Ile de la Cite was the Metro Cite Stop which is one of the original Metro stops. Also located right near this stop is a large and wonderful urban flower and plant market. Jamie loved wandering through this urban nursery.