January 12, 2019               visit to Arab Institute

We got a slow start after a very long day after yesterday’s arrival.  Sue checked out the museums on our pass, and that are close.  We started at the Cluny Museum of the Middle Ages.  The museum was being renovated, but they still had their world famous Lady and the Unicorn tapestries on display.

Then it was off to the Arab World Institute, it is on the card and pretty close to our location.  The roof top deck has a nice view of Notre Dame.  The art on display was interesting and surprising.  I thought that Islam prohibited portraying human images, and that is why their art is usually geometric shapes and patterns.  I’m sure that some of the contemporary Arabic art is probably by artists who do not adhere to the prohibition of painting images of people.  The older Christian art could be from before Muhammad’s revelations establishing Islam.  But I would have thought most of the Christian art would have been destroyed.  This is something YOU could research and get back to me.

We stopped at the Sorbonne Chapel to ask if we could get in to see the tomb of Cardinal Richelieu, and we can’t.  So I may have to investigate if there is a way to arrange a visit for another time.

That was it for our excursions for today.  We went back to the hotel to rest before dinner.  Dinner was at our favorite place, The Académie de la bière.  We found this place on our trip last spring.  It has many, many beers, including Belgium beers.  We had moules (mussels) and an assortment of sausages. 

Sue liked that I didn’t take so many pictures today, but I got over that on the next two days.  As always I am already two days behind, and I may not catch up until we get home.

January 12, 2019