Tag Archives: 5th arrondissement

Pantheonized in the Paris Pantheon

Pantheonized in the Paris Pantheon. The Paris Pantheon is the burial place of France’s honoured citizens. To be pantheonised is to be entombed there. Pantheonised is not strictly the correct word, but it seems nouns become verbs these days. The pantheonisations – another verb for the act of being interred – don’t occur very often,Continue reading “Pantheonized in the Paris Pantheon”

For the Parisian love of carousels

For the Parisian love of carousels. The French love the carousel, the merry-go-round: le carrousel, la manège. And I love them too.  The turning-rides and round-abouts may have been around since Roman times, but the English word ‘carousel’ originated from the French word. It originated from an eccentric 18th century Frenchman, Guillaume Joseph Roussel (1743-1807), known asContinue reading “For the Parisian love of carousels”

Gladiators and lions in the Arene de Lutece—the Lutece Arena, Paris

Gladiators and lions in the Arene de Lutece—the Lutece Arena, Paris. Today I am looking for the gladiator. I know I will not find the Roman gladiator, but I will find the place where he fought so long ago in the city of Paris. The ruins of the Arene de Lutece—the Lutece Arena—are still thereContinue reading “Gladiators and lions in the Arene de Lutece—the Lutece Arena, Paris”

Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Cluny Museum

Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Cluny Museum. Today I am looking for the distinctive spirit of the Middle Ages right in Paris. In Paris, James Joyce could conjure up medieval times, and their links to Dublin, as a conversation with his friend Arthur Power shows: “To my mind the Boulevard St Michel is one of theContinue reading “Boulevard Saint-Michel and the Cluny Museum”

The alibi: When I was in Paris, Boul’Mich

The alibi: When I was in Paris, Boul’Mich. Do you need an alibi if you are arrested for murder somewhere? Well, you could always say you were in Paris. On Boulevard Saint-Michel, specifically, and in 1904 to be even more precise. It has to be said in the most natural tone, of course. Nothing pretentious. Continue reading “The alibi: When I was in Paris, Boul’Mich”