Day 1 in Paris

Today I met Alice Jouve and we started our study of Paris of the 18^th Century—in the time of Franklin, Jefferson and others.  Alice thought that a good preparation would be getting to know the Paris that shaped the "Patriots".

We met at the Cluny, or Museum of the Middle Ages, and discussed how the city began.  We “time traveled” as we walked through old Paris, visiting sites that were important to the establishment of the city and the some that were integral parts of the Paris that the Patriots would have seen.  We visited several churches today, and even though our Patriots were not Catholic, these buildings with their incredible architectural achievements would have been admired by them.   As we visited the Place des Vosges, I knew that Thomas Jefferson would have loved this.  

Sure enough, some of my later research indicated that TJ used the inspiration of this place to design the quadrangle at his University of Virginia.   Later in the day, we walked past the statue of TJ near the Hotel de Salm, (now called the Legion of Honor building), I was reminded how Jefferson was constantly impressed with the imagination and style of Paris.  He loved the dome on this building and added a dome to Monticello because of it.

 Since it doesn’t get dark here until 10:00we walked along the quais, the Tuileries, and the courtyards of the Louvre.  John Adams found lots of faults with Paris--too decadent for him, but he loved to walk through the city too.