Nature children in the Jardin Naturel

Parc Naturel, etc

After the trip to the cemetery, we journeyed around the cemetery walls through the working class 20^th arrondissement, stopping by a friendly neighborhood bakery to buy a picnic lunch which we shared on the boulevard green strip. Then we wound our way to one of Paris's newest and least known parks, the Jardin Naturel.

Paris has more than 400 carefully groomed parks, but this one is deliberately planted with native trees and plants.

Here's a shot of two interlopers next to some of the neighborhood kids that use the Jardin as their playground:

From this angle, it's hard to believe that we were in Paris.

Here's one of the mermaids native to ponds in Paris:

For more pictures of this (and other) Paris garden, check out our special photo feature during last fall's Garden weekend.

St-Julien-le-Pauvre

Next we took the subway to the near left bank to a small church in the shadow of Notre Dame. The Church of St-Julien-le-Pauvre occupies a site dedicated to churches of St. Julien since the sixth century. The latest was built at the same time as Notre Dame (12^th century), but much more simply by monks. Here's a view of the interior:

Our purpose in going then was to hear an organ and dual trumpet concert primarily due to Jon's instigation. There is a lot of music in Paris each week, much of it during the noon hours in the churches.

St-Severin-St-Nicolas

Afterward we crossed the street to visit one of the landmarks of this very old part of Paris: The church of St-Severin-St-Nicolas, the parish church of the left bank. Here's a few pictures of this Flamboyant Gothic landmark finished in 1530:

Behind the altar in most Gothic churches is a semi-circular walkway called an ambulatory. St. Severin has a double ambulatory as can be seen in the above picture. The ambulatory is marked by the ribs which spiral out of the columns.

This church is quite wide for a Gothic building and contains double side chapels in some cases. Above the main altar rise stain glass windows:

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