Paris interlude

Well I'm back in Paris, and after spending my first day sorting through the mail, getting my apartment back in shape, grocery shopping, and recovering from jet lag,  I spent the following day where my first Camino blog entry started:  at the remaining tower of the church Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie near les Halles.  As you recall, my translation of the inscription reads:

  "Since the 10th century millions of pilgrims of all nationalities have left this place, where  the church Saint-Jacques de la Boucherie once stood, for the tomb of Saint James the apostle.

   To commemorate their memory, Mr. Albert Chavanac, President of the Municipal Council of Paris, inaugurates this plaque on June 13, 1965, given to the city of Paris on the initiative of the League of Friends of the Way of Saint James in Spain."

 

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Since I suspect many of my readers did not start my blog at the beginning, I'm reprinting it here.

I then walked past the 12th century Notre Dame Cathedral, celebrating its 850th anniversary this year, and decided not to go inside this time as there were long lines to get in, but not without noticing the twelve apostles on the tympanium, including St. James with his characteristic scallop shell.

I continued my walk down what remains of the rue Saint Jacques--the old pilgrimage route

 
stopping at the oldest "sign"  in Paris, the bas-relief of Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre, here depicted as the ferryman who transported a leper across the river, who, as the story goes, turned out to be Christ.  If you've read Flaubert's Trois Contes, this is the "Saint-Julien l'hospitalier" story. Apparently, the sign appears in tax records dating from the 14th century.

It's quite small, located about 9 to 10 feet above the ground, currently over the door of a shop.

If you read French, you can read the story here:

http://jb.guinot.pagesperso-orange.fr/pages/oeuvres8.html#julien 

Nearby, the Église Saint-Julien-le-Pauvre (Church of Saint Julian the Poor), currently a Melkite Greek Catholic parish church, is one of Paris's oldest religious buildings, built in stages from the 12th - 19th centuries, replacing a Merovingian refuge for pilgrims dating back to the 6th century. Although only occupying the building since the late-19th century, the Melkites are Eastern Rite Catholics, of mixed Eastern Mediterranean and Greek origin, and trace their history to the early Christians of Antioch, Turkey, in the 1st century AD, where Christianity was introduced by the Apostle Peter, and St. Paul.  In fact it was in Antioch that the followers of Jesus were first called Christians.  I was surprised to learn that Arabic is the language used by the church.

And in the adjoining garden of the church is the oldest tree in Paris, an acacia, dating from 1602.

 

I have also been able to download the Kindle version of  the book I was unable to download earlier, Rufin's Immortelle randonnée : Compostelle malgré moi.  I was reminded of it when I saw it in the window of a bookstore near my apartment. 

Unfortunately I am having problem with my android phone's Kindle software (I keep being booted out), but it works fine on my Samsung android tablet.  I also tested out my French Visa card (actually a debit card) and was happy that I had the correct pin number to go along with it!  I guess because of all the credit card fraud, even though I notify my American credit card companies of my travel plans in advance, there still seem to be glitches, so it is nice to have a back-up. 

I'm also have trouble with my SIM card in my T-Mobile myTouch phone.  It works fine in my old Motorola (although the battery is bad and won't hold a charge for long on that phone), but for some reason when the card is inserted in my newer phone it won't connect to any of the 3 networks here--I've spent a half hour "chatting" with a T-Mobile representative and have gotten nowhere.  It appears to be unlocked but I can't connect.  Looks like I'm taking both phones to Spain...