Musée de Cluny

The entrance to Musée de Cluny

This morning it was off to Musée de Cluny, the medieval Paris museum housed in the former abbots of Cluny's townhouse. The architecture of the museum itself was as impressive as the extensive collection inside.
Words can't do justice for the fascinating exhibits, and my photos probably don't either, but they can try.

The other end of the courtyard. Just your average, medieval townhouse/mini castle.

Gorgeous ivory carved horn instrument (feat. my reflection taking the photo, while listening to the audio guide haha)

The first wooden depiction of Christ on the cross that I've ever seen. The ability of the carver to still achieve such detail, and the survival of such a soft material in this kind of condition is amazing.

Intricate ivory carving showing scenes from Jesus' life. Apparently ivory carvings such as these were very common in households in the middle ages, as ivory was so easy (and reasonably cheap) to come by. There were hundreds of similar carvings throughout the museum.

The tapestries were huge and absolutely stunning. It was easy to imagine the original vividness of the colours, and appreciate the skill that went into weaving them. The thickness of such a piece also depicted how effective they would have been to keep out drafts, as they were designed to do.
Popular themes among the statues were Mary holding baby Jesus (as seen here in most of the pieces) and (Saint) John.

The colours in the stained glass windows were incredibly vivid and striking. The detail created by then removing layers of the colours with needles to create texture and depth was very effective. Here the window depicts Jesus carrying the cross to Mount Calvary.

An example of the amazing architecture in the museum, this is the vaulted ceiling in the chapel. I still can't comprehend how people made such intricate, beautiful and huge buildings without the aid of cranes or machines. The ability of man, huh?

Lunch at a café on Place Saint-Michel (yay, crêpes!)

 After soaking in all we could about the medieval history of Paris, we headed off to find a late lunch. It was lovely to have lunch at around 2pm, as all the crowds had left and we were able to completely relax with the café looking out onto a busy square almost entirely to ourselves. As I left the café, the waiter winked at me. I had to laugh, the flirtatiousness of French waiters is becoming a joke in our family now. We decided to train to the Musée d'Orsay as we'd heard that the guillotine is there, and Dad would really like to see it. When we got there we realised that maybe we should have found out a bit more, as it is closed on Mondays! Ah well, a long walk home along the Seine was refreshing (to say the least). We had to stop halfway for a hot chocolate to thaw out! Calling in at this brilliant little store with a random assortment of beauty, cooking, and baby things so I could pick up a few bits and pieces, I headed back to the apartment while Mum and Dad went to the Monoprix. Into a relaxing hot bath until I started to fall asleep. Hoping for a good sleep tonight after having shocking ones for the last week or so, especially as it's a very early rise for Versailles tomorrow.

Just chilling by the Seine, surrounded by the autumnal leaves.
Heaven.