Today we activated our museum passes. You pay one fixed price and it gives you entrance to most of the museums in Paris. There isn't a huge financial savings, but it allows you to skip the lines. We have found it to be very beneficial. Our morning began at Sainte-Chapelle. It was a church built in the 1200's by Louis IX to house the relics of the Passion of Christ. The most famous relic it housed was the Crown of Thorns. It isn't there anymore; it's kept in the treasury of Notre Dame. It has 2 sanctuaries; the one on the bottom floor was for the monarchs' servants to worship in while the one on the top floor was for Louis and his friends. It is built in the gothic style, but unlike Notre Dame, the arches have been painted. The ceiling of the lower sanctuary has fleur de lis painted on it, so that the servants would worship the king with God and the upper sancutary has stars on it. The monarchy were closer to God. The stained glass in this church is unbelievable! It has 1,113 scenes in 15 windows, telling the story from Genesis to Christ's resurrection. It has a rose window across from the altar. It is spectacular, especially when you consider that it was built primarily to house the Crown of Thorns that Louis purchased from Constantinople. It is a must see when visiting Paris. My description doesn't do it justice.

Afterwards, we went next door the Conciergerie; the palace and prison. It was a palace during Louis IX's time and a prison during Louis XVI reign. The focus is on the prison time. It was where all the prisoners were housed during the reign of terror from 1793-1795. Marie Antoinette was kept there before she was led off to Place de la Concorde for her beheading. They had a guillotine blade on display as well as re-creations of prison cells. There was a shrine dedicated to Marie Antoinette on the spot where her cell had been. Further down there was a mock up of her cell with furniture that would have been there as well the original wallpaper. I'm somewhat fascinated by prisons and it fit the bill. It's worth a visit, and it only takes about 1 hour, tops, to go through.

We came home for a break; eating, reading and napping. We left at about 3 pm and headed to Musee de Egoutes (The Sewer Tour). We followed a tour, led in english, and learned about the Paris Sewer system. It was really interesting. We learned about the evolution of the system and how it all works on the same "flushing" premise. They figured out many ways to clean the silt out of the sewer pipes. I am not mechanically minded, so I am always fascinated by these discoveries. Paris, as did many cities, had trouble dealing with the garbage and sewage. They went from throwing it out the windows and on to the streets, where it flushed into the Seine, to the first underground sewage system. When Napoleon 1st claimed that he wanted to leave Paris with something, his friend and engineer, told him to give them clean water. That's when they began to create the system that exists today.

We were planning on going up to the Eiffel Tower tonight, after a picnic, but some clouds started blowing in and we thought it might be uncomfortable. We changed our plans and visited the Arc de Triomphe. It was originally built to honor Napoleon's troops who had been victorious in the battle of Austerlitz, but took so long to build that Napoleon was dead for nineteen years before it was finished. It now honors all French soldiers. The tomb of the Unknown Soldier burns at the bottom of it. It is 284 steps up to the top, but it provides you with a spectacular view of the city. It was beautiful! They also had a map, denoting the landmarks, which helped me orient. It was a great way to end a busy day!