From Saturday the 18th to Saturday the 25th February, in Paris for the third time in reporting. I am staying with friends in St. Genevieve woods for a week, I discovered the castle at sunset and used it to make the first photo of the Koala Jones report :

There is a park around the castle, I want me to roll on the ground for macro pictures, fail, not enough light and no flash, damage, foam on his wall made me the eye.

Going to visit a friend in Saint-Michel-sur-Orge, I want to go for walks in the small park at the bottom, there is a frozen pond where reeds grow. Some are exploded. And lost among the trees of an old table Ping awaits his Pong.

Thursday 23, towards Notre Dame. Finally! It took 3 reports so that finally I can visit it. This is great and having a mass at the same time we can enjoy the acoustics. Begun in 1163 and completed in 1345 under the pontificate of Pope Alexander III and the reign of King Louis VII. It was Maurice, the bishop of Paris (1160-1196) who undertook the construction of this cathedral in honor of the Blessed (Blessed) Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Paris. The construction is being extended over 182 years, the style is not a total uniformity: it has characters and the early Gothic (sexpartite vaults of the nave) and the Gothic. The two rosettes that adorn each arm of the transept are among the largest in Europe, and each measure 13 meters in diameter.

Once inside the vault was discovered 33m above our head of 60m in length. There are several chapels of magnificent stained glass windows, statues, etc ... .

One of the columns can also see two symbols mirrored :

My photographer card in hand and accompanied by Bibi, my almost-sister, we head to the treasures of Notre Dame. Chalices, jewels, stained glass, statues of gold, silver, jeweled, set with Bibles, clothes of John Paul II, jugs and other things such as relics. The main rooms of the treasure are the shrines of the Holy Crown of Thorns and a fragment of the Cross of Christ, and a highlight of the latter and various relics offered by donors. These are mostly objects dating from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are on display, the pieces have been previously owned in large part, looted, destroyed, dispersed or melted during the Revolution.

There are also 268 Cameo bearing the portrait of all the popes from St. Peter to Benedict XVI. The cameos are small engraved portraits, those of Our Lady are set in silver. Here is the cameo of John Paul II:

Leaving Notre Dame we see a bronze statue of Charlemagne. Shortly thereafter, the Koala Jones is carried by Bibi to pose for the cathedral.

We then head to a small souvenir shop to buy postcards. Walking on the banks of the Seine I see the end of a street a building shaped tower that seems to have an astronomical observatory on its roof, curious I decided to go see. Just before we get there on the side perceives a police headquarters with a small sign that says ''Museum of the prefecture''. Two seconds to beat and we are in the prefecture, not to complain but to visit the museum, said. The reception is very nice, free admission, photos and even allowed a crossword with all that you learn in this museum. Tracing the history of the police headquarters of the 5th arrondissement of Paris, we pass to Ravaillac Fieschi and the liberation of Paris in 1944 by the 2nd DB (Armoured Division) of the General Leclerc. The museum contains several uniforms from different periods, several paintings, prints, photographs and many archives. There are also several display objects as the collection of Gustave Macé (former head of security of the prefecture) :

Looking good in the window at the top left you can see a weapon unconventional but so used in the gags, jokes and other funny situations: the rolling pin!

Looking good in the window at the top left you can see a weapon unconventional but so used in the gags, jokes and other funny situations: the rolling pin!

Continuing the tour we discover that the competition of inventors and inventions (the Concours Lépine) was established by the Commissioner of Police Mr. Lépine. Which invented a stick of police lights, plugged into an electrical outlet. Here a representative figure with a big head and his famous stick:

Here a photo of the Dreyfus Affair:

We then come to the last part of permanent museum WW2 with several vintage photos and a few objects like this yellow star of Henry, who, during the first day of the compulsory wearing of the badge by the Jews, brought this star to show his indignation. It was recorded in the 18th district police station.

Last part of the visit the exhibition. These days it is the Russian archives of the prefecture.

I do not regret having visited the museum. Unfortunately because of its location (in a police headquarters) and the limited visibility (little or no advertising, only a small poster) it is not often visited. I recommend it because you can learn a lot. For more information, here is the museum's website:
Musée de la préfecture de police.
It is on this last link that ends the story. If you have the opportunity to move to Paris (as in any city), never hesitate to go get lost in the streets, there are gems like this museum.