Monday, October 20, 2014

Today was a busy day for us. In the afternoon we went to visit the Memorial of the Shoah. The museum depicts the history of the destruction of the Jews in Europe, especially during the second World War. There are a number of rooms that include more than three hundred articles. Each entry is illustrated by photographs, video testimonials,  objects, animated or still maps, and individual stories. There are numerous walls throughout the exhibition. They include photos of thousands of Jewish children deported from Paris, the names of thousands of adults who were also deported, the names of thousands of French citizens who helped save thousands of Jews from capture, etc. Especially moving were the videos of Frenchmen who were were children at the time and who recounted their stories of their families at the time. Photos of the exhibitions were not allowed but here are two photos of the memorial at the entrance.

A monument showing the names of all of the camps .

The entrance to the Memorial.

The wall containing the names of those French citizens who helped, sheltered, and protected Jews. 

The visit to the Memorial was a moving experience and merits other visits since there was so much to read and to watch. Most of the descriptions of the exhibits were in French and in English.

After the Memorial, we walked up to Les Halles, site of the old markets of Paris. We had dinner at a creperie right across the street from an apartment we had rented ten or more years ago. The neighborhood had changed a bit, but I will bet the apartment hasn't. Les Halles is now a very large area for entertainment, eating, and just hanging out, especially for young people. One the northern edge is a famous and beautiful church named Saint Eustache. To me it rivals Notre Dame in beauty.See the following photos.

We had gone to the church for another one of our concerts. This time it was the Choeur Hugo Distier, an excellent group from Berlin. They sang a series of short works, mostly from the 20th century, based on the theme Peace on Earth. Of the 16 works, we had only ever heard of two, Still we enjoyed the concert immensely. 

After the concert, we walked for about twenty minutes to the nearest bus stop for the "20" bus and then back to the apartment. The 20 is the bus that we probably use the most. We prefer the busses to the métro, which frequently involves lots of stairs and underground corridors. Our bus passes allow us to use either. I think we have only used the métro once, to go and return to an evening concert several weeks ago.