Eglise Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois

After I came back and dropped off the bags from my shopping expedition, I was going to spend the afternoon in the Louvre. But as I walked over to the museum from my apartment, I rounded a corner and saw a church I had somehow never seen before so I had to explore it!

The church was Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois and it was built in the 15th century. Inside were gorgeous stained glass window. A little internet research when I got back to the apartment shows that they are original and date back to the Renaissance period. Also inside was a huge pipe organ which apparently was originally ordered by Louis XVI for Sainte-Chapelle but somehow ended up here.

The wonderful thing about Paris is that you find a treasure like this around nearly every corner. And that's why if you love the city as much as I do, you need a long stay to really see it. Because on a short stay you hit the "big ticket items" which easily fill a week (or two or three). But having this extra time to just wander around and explore has been (and will continue to be when I return) priceless.

Anyhow, by the time I got done at the church, it was really too late to make going to the Louvre worthwhile. I'll hit the museum when I'm back in December and have more time. So for the remainder of the day I walked all the way up the Rue de Rivoli which runs parallel with the Louvre and the Jardin des Tuileries, to the Place de la Concorde, then turned around and walked back. All along this street are tourist shops, so I managed to pick up a few trinkets - a key holder, a christmas tree ornament.

It started to rain, so I dashed across the street and into the Carousel du Louvre - an underground shopping/dining plaza connected to the Louvre and walked around in there for a bit. After a quick stop in Sephora, I jumped on the Metro and headed home.

Click here to view all of today's photos (11/24/08)