Journee Europeenne du Patrimoine

September 18-19 (yes, I am a full month behind) were the Journees Europeennes du Patrimoine, which, as I understand it, is a celebration of the great men of Europe... And, more importantly for us, a couple of days when all the normally-closed-to-the-public buildings are open and free for tours. Unfortunately, as we were jet-lagged and busy that weekend, we only had a couple of hours before church to drop by some of the less crowded sights, but we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. Fortunately, it was a GORGEOUS day:

First, we visited the Eglise (church) and Ecole (school) du val de grace:

With lovely gardens:

And a baroque chapel interior:

Next, the Bibliotheque (library) Sainte-Genevieve:

With its iron work reminiscent of the Eiffel Tower:

And its tables upon tables of reading space:

In order to avoid taking the stroller up the stairs, Oliver hung out on the ground floor...

Our final stop was the Senate building, located in Luxembourg Gardens.

We had to wait in line there for some time:

But Oliver was a champ:

Inside the complex was beautiful:

Oli cooperated fully as we wandered the sumptuous rooms of the "palace:"

Read a plaque from Napoleon to the Senators and saw yet another of his thrones (why that's in the Senate building, I have NO idea...):

Walked up the "staircase of Honor:"

And visited the actual Senate room:

While waiting in line, the women behind us cooed over Oliver and told us he was "tres mignon" (very cute... not some sort of reference to steak). They also asked us if he was going to be a politician. Little did they know he already had a Senate seat:

The day ended with a beautiful blue sky and the observation that there are few places like Paris to appreciate such grandeur and beauty: