so a bunch of these places i'm visiting i've actually already been to... but there's just something refreshing about visiting them again 'this time around'. my latest refreshed visit: hôtel des invalides.
built in 1670 under the reign of louis XIV, it was built originally as a hospital for injured war soldiers - then became a 'hotel' of sorts for invalids ... = crippled soldiers.
it's a massive building, with the huge, paved cour d'honneur (court of honour) in the centre. lining the edges of the court (and all the walls, come to think of it) are hundreds of canons. i never realised there was such an art & science behind the design of a canon...every single one is different, i swear!
another thing that this place has a tonne of: memorial plaques. the same words repeated over & over "MORT POUR LA FRANCE". not a huge fan of all this glorification of death, but hey - it lends a dramatic touch.
the outstanding feature of les invalides is def it's golden dome. depending on where you are in paris, there's a good chance that you'll be able to see it's golden spire reaching towards the sky. it's actually the dome of a church - the hôtel des invalides has two churches: the first, église saint-louis, for the invalids... then the église du dome, solely for the king's use. it is the bigger, more decadent latter that is home to the huge dome, naturally. this church is also home to the tomb of napolean bonaparte.
coming back here again reminds me of being here between christmas & new years 2009, with my two french exchange sisters (fleur & iris) and jana ('the lil' german'). brought back so many memories! although last time it was in the dead of winter, brrrrrr. i've chucked in a photo of us here last time...
S.
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| napoléan |
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| creepy headless baby with lonely, grasping hands... |
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| the walls on the superior gallery are lined with memorial plaques |
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| fancy cannons through the ages... |
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| last year with my european sisters |
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