Museums and Mausoleums

 Bonjour!  It's time again for an update from Paris!

On the first Sunday of every month, the museums of Paris are open free to the public.  I went with some frineds of mine to the Louvre.  We saw some of the same stuff that I saw on my first trip there, but we saw some new stuff as well.  Pictures follow.  In particular, I was pleased to see that they had an Ancient Egyptian section that was distinct from the Medieval Egyptian section (which I didn't enjoy as much).

Guarding the valuables

Weights and Measures

I get this really odd idea of an ancient Egyptian Parent-Teacher Aid store.

This particular sulpture was really cool

Actual weapons that look a lot like the ones you see in fantasy movies.

A model of the original building that stood at the location of the Louvre.

I had my first test in my math class two weeks ago.  I did not leave feeling very confident, for the test was not at all what I expected.  In most of my math classes in the United States, the test material has been closelty related to the topics we talked about in the classrolm and what the instructor lectured about.  We students were expected to have a deep understanding about the subject matter and be able to work with its details carefully and accurately.  The test we had in my class here seemed very broad by comparison.  Most of the questions were of not even of a type that I recognized, though they seemed like they wouldn't be difficult if I could figure out a good approach.  My study methods that have worked so far failed me this time. I think that for the next section of the class, which will take place over the next six weeks, I'm going to have to spend more time reading references on the periphery of our subject matter in order to gain a broader experience and be more prepared for the next and final test.  We had our first class since the test on Monday, but the instructor didn't return the papers.  I'm not sure whether he will or not.

On the week of my test, I only had one other class.  Unfortunately, the weather was absolutely terrible, including rain and snow.  Attempting to stay warm while walking anywhere was an excercise in futility.  That is, until Saturday.  On Saturday, it was warm and not too wet.  The day was great, so Shelley and I walked the 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) to see the Panthéon!  Before we even got there, though, we had a fun surprise in a street we encountered:

I didn't even know that Paris had a street named after one of my favorite Reformers!  It shouldn't surprise me, I suppose, since John Calvin was French and it seems every street in the city is named after someone famous.  There's a Rue Albert Einstein near the university, for example.

A view down Rue Jean Calvin

A little while after encountering this most excellent and unexpected pleasure, we saw the top of the Panthéon peeking over the tops of the buildings

We got closer.  The building is quite impressive.

It's currently under renovations that will take many years to finish.  The building was originally constructed as a church to St. Genevieve, the patron saint of the City of Paris.  It was later turned into a secular mausoleum.  It holds the remains of many of the great men and women of France, such as Voltaire, Victor Hugo, and Marie Curie.

The Place du Panthéon

The Eiffel Tower from the steps of the Panthéon

I have to sign off for now, expect another update in a day or so on my activities since visiting the Panthéon.

A bientôt!