Anyway, we decided to stay close to home and just walked down a block or two to the Conciergerie and the Sainte Chappelle.
"The Conciergerie was both a palace and a prison. In the 6th century, Clovis, the first French King established his royal residence on the Ile-de-la-Cite. Five centuries later, Hugues Capet, the first Capetian king, established his council and government in the Palais de la Cite, which thus became the seat of royal power.
Palais de Justice
In the 14th century, Philippe IV the Fair - continuing the work of his grandfather, Saint Louis - turned the Palace into a prestigious symbol of the monarchy. It became the seat of the Parlement de Paris.
At the end of the 14th century, Charles V left the royal residence. He appointed a steward, or "concierge", endowed with legal powers, to run the Palace and prison. Numerous prisoners of State were kept here, such as Ravaillac, Henry IV's assassin. In later times, the Revolutionary Tribunal sat in the Palace and used it increasingly as a prison. The Conciergerie was listed as a historical monument in 1914".
The most interesting of periods to me was the Revolutionary. All you book club members will remember this period from reading "Madame Tussaud". Over 1793 and 1794, more than 2,000 people appeared before Fourquier-Tinville, the tribunal's public prosecutor, including Queen Marie-Antoinette and Robespierre. The trials of famous people gave way to collective trials. In 1794, witnesses and defenders were eliminated and tens of people were guillotined each day. After the fall of Robespierre, the Tribunal was dissolved in May 1795.
During the trials the prison had a reputation for being the toughest of all prisons. During the Reign of Terror, its cells held hundreds of prisoners kept in unhealthy and crowded conditions. Prisoners found guilty and sentenced to death, were allowed to enjoy a final feast, before being "Guillotined".
Queen Marie-Antoinette spent her last days in the Conciergerie. She was guillotined at what is now Place de la Concorde.
"The Sainte-Chapelle, Holy Chapel is a royal medieval Gothic chapel.
Begun some time after 1239 and consecrated on 26 April 1248, the Sainte-Chapelle is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture. Its erection was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion Relics, including Christ's Crown of Thorns - one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom.
Along with the Conciergerie, the Sainte-Chapelle is one of the earliest surviving buildings of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité. Although damaged during the French revolution, and restored in the 19th century, it retains one of the most extensive collections of 13th-century stained glass anywhere in the world".
The upper floor of the Chapel. The pictures do not do it justice. I recommend you google it. There is a terrific photo on Wikipedia of this gorgeous Chapel
The lower floor
Went back to the apartment and iced my foot. Consider this my meltdown day. Since it was a pretty easy day, we walked down the street and had some pretty good Mexican food at a restaurant called Fajitas. More tomorrow.
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