32,000 steps

Yesterday was a day off from our Dressed: A Fashion History podcast tour, and I went to see a number of places that I’ve long wanted to visit: The American Library of Paris, The Marie Curie museum, The Pantheon, and Saint Sulpice. I walked through eight arrondissements (9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 1, and 2) for a total of 32,000 steps. It was exhausting, but fantastic.

You may have read The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles, someone who previously worked at the library. The novel is based on real people who worked there during World War II. The writing and organization of the novel is flawed (I dislike books that travel back and forth between two time periods for the sole purpose of the author being able to put herself in the book; I mean, just tell the story!), but it does paint a portrait of what life was like for the librarians.

As the docent told us, these were ordinary people who did extraordinary things. Boris Netchaeff, originally from Moscow, the man on the right, delivered books to Jewish people who were no longer allowed to go to the library (by order of the Nazis, not the French). When he was caught, the Gestapo raided his house and shot him when he didn’t raise his arms fast enough. He suffered from those injuries all his life, and worked at the library until he died in 1967.

The library is near the Eiffel Tower, and here’s a building on one side of its street:

And this is the other side of the street:

Then, I walked all through the Left Bank, which I had not visited yet, including the greatest neighborhood, I think, Saint-Germain-des-Prés in the 6th. So many great shops and cafes; it feels like a little village. I mean, you have to love the wide Haussmann boulevards in the 8th, because they are easier to walk, but they aren’t as fun and energetic and both old and new as the Left Bank. Also, I walked through some of the Luxembourg Gardens and it is truly gorgeous. I hadn’t been there in over 20 years.

I made this long journey, though, to see the home of one of my childhood idols, Marie Curie. I am, of course, no scientist, but when I was a little girl, I read (and re-read) biographies of famous women, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Ethel Barrymore, and, yes, Marie Curie. I just loved that she was brave enough to leave Poland and go to the Sorbonne. Then she fell in love with Pierre! Then he died (really violently, it was awful)! Then she was full of radiation! Such a well-lived, but tragic, life.

Her garden and office are there, and it is still a place where scientists meet.

Then, I went over two blocks to see the Pantheon. Finally! I’ve been to Paris four times, and I have been waiting to see this magnificent place, that is not religious, but honors French people for their service and great work. Josephine Baker is there, Simone Weil, and both Curies (she was the first woman ever buried there).

Sometimes people hesitate to go to “tourist spots,” but I found the Pantheon very moving. It is really beautiful inside and I learned about some French heroes I had not heard of, like this man:

Also, there is a place for those who are The Righteous Among the Nations, as well as for named resistance fighters of World War II.

I was already exhausted, but I stopped by Saint-Sulpice to see the Delacroix murals. It was very dark in this church, so I couldn’t take pictures. They were magnificent, but they need to be lit better. The subjects of the paintings are  Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, Heliodorus Driven from the Temple, and Saint Michael Slaying the Demon. There’s a lot of action in them.

One observation I’ve made about Paris is that this is a difficult city in which to work—the spaces are so small!—and yet everyone seems to be working hard. They have long hours; the city never sleeps! I know they say that about New York, but I think it’s true about Paris. The sun sets after 10 p.m. now and it shines by 5 a.m. There are always people moving and taking care of their shops and restaurants.