On Friday, I was still sharing photos from Day 2 in Paris (If you’re new to my blog – I went to London and Paris with my husband at the beginning of September. If you missed any of my previous pictures, click HERE). I really thought that I might have moved on to our last day in Paris…but I can’t move on until I share photos of the Pantheon.
According to the Pantheon’s website, it was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve. It has flipped back and forth to a church over the years, but eventually assumed its lasting role as a burial place for exceptional Frenchmen who had sacrificed their lives for their country or who had done something great for France.
Based on the number of photos I took of the Pantheon (in comparison to say…Notre Dame), it might have been one of the more visually interesting structures we saw in Paris…the architecture, the history, the art…all so beautiful.
One of the most interesting aspects of the Pantheon is the clock. It was established in 1851 by the physicist, Léon Foucault, to illustrate the rotation of the earth. It uses a Foucault pendulum that is bolted to the Pantheon Dome.
Underneath the Pantheon is the Crypt. This crypt is the final resting place for many well known (and some historically famous) French writers, poets and scientists. These important people include: Voltaire, Rousseau, Victor Hugo, Marat, Emile Zola, Jean Moulin, Soufflot, Louis Braille and Marie Curie among many others. If you’ve never been in a crypt, it’s essentially a mausoleum.
Walking out of the Pantheon, we had another beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower…it was as if it was calling us to come over, but we decided to save the best for last. Of course that means you’ll have to wait a few more days for those photos.
Have a great Tuesday!
PS: In case you were wondering…on many of my photos above, I was using my wide angle lens adapter: Opteka HD2 0.20X Fisheye. If you’re considering a wide angle or fisheye adapter, this one is decent…but considering the price, you really do get what you pay for and I am still in the market for a wide angle lens.
