The garden walks continue-

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Inspired also by the fabulous Jardins exhibit at the Grand Palais, that mini course in Western Civilization through the conception of gardens as perceived over the centuries in Europe, I continued on the following day to the Bois de Boulogne.  I knew it was immense, and I had been put off a little hearing about the night life there.  Not to worry.  And I felt like I'd only scratched the surface.  My Samsung movement tracking application said this had been my most active day to date as I must have spent 5 hours walking! 

Leaving the Metro station, La Muette, I headed through the Jardin du Ranelagh that I had previously visited, and continued on to the Bois de Boulogne, walking partially around the larger lake, the Lac Inférieur.

  

I spotted a GR (grande randonnée) trail blaze there

I saw some trail markers and observed many walking groups, many with backpacks and walking sticks. I had been following the suggestions of City Walks Paris cards (#45) and continued on, taking in the Jardin du Pré Catelan, a small park, along with its Shakepeare Garden, which was undergoing some pre-season work.  
 

Here are some views of the Pré Calelan gardens

The tulips were in bloom

as were the primroses

   

 
I then continued on to Marie Antoinette's Parc de Bagatelle, where I spent the greater part of the afternoon, having lunch at one of the kiosks strategically situated to to enjoy a lovely vista.  I learned that the Bagatelle had been designed in an anglo-chinese style fashionable at the time. It was too early for the rose gardens, but there was enough color with the early spring flowers to make it an enjoyable experience.  The sun was shining gloriously and it was the hottest day of the season (74 degrees F!), which meant that I was in good company.  Everyone who could was out taking advantage of the weather.
 

the tulip trees were in bloom

 

there were many tranquil spots

however, one goose was very vocal and went on honking for several minutes...

This is one of many peacocks wandering around the grounds

 a view from the belvedere

and a view from the cave under the waterfall

Here is the gardener's house and garden

And this is the orangerie with one of several formal gardens

And here is the side view of the Château de Bagatelle, also called the "Folly of Artois" as the Count of Artois had a bet with Marie Antoinette that a new building could be constructed in less than 100 days. He won the bet, and also acquired it in in 1775.

Friday I had coffee with one of the women I had met through the Way of St James - Via Podiensis - Chemin du Puy-en-Velay Facebook group, as she was on her way to walk the Voie de Vézelay, also know by its Latin name, the Via Lemovicensis. We stopped and had a look at the Eglise Saint Jacques de Montrouge which is on the pilgrimage route out of Paris.

Brooke Taylor and me

The Église Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur exterior

 Because of the whiteness of the sky in the background, the church above has an almost spectre-like appearance. It is actually a rosier color than the photo shows here.

the interior suffused in purple light

window detail

St. Jacques in pilgrim garb

The following day I attended the second day of Forum 2017 Des Chemins de Pélerinage, a forum on pilgrimage routes primarily in France, sponsored by several Catholic organizations along with several confraternities of St. James.  There was a slightly New Age flavor to the forum, with an emphasis on self-discovery and spirituality.  One woman related her spiritual awakening in Japan while walking  a Buddhist pilgrimage route, known as the Shikoku pilgrimage, visiting some 88 temples along the way, and another carried his father's ashes to the wailing wall in Jerusalem.

Day two had appeared the most promising, which is why I selected it. There were two round tables discussing, respectively, "The road that heals" and "You do not return as you left," each featuring several authors that had written on the subject.  It seemed like everyone at the forum had either written a book on pilgrimage of some sort or founded a related organization.

Speakers in this photo include a worker with the organization Secours Catholique, Kaddour Benaouda; and two authors, Bernard Ollivier and Nicolas de Rauglaudre.

Here are four women each representing a different organization at the first round table.

 

Round table 2 featured an author, a beekeeper, a speech therapist, a photographer and a yoga instructor. Actually four of the five had actually published books which were made available afterward.

The audience asks questions

 The round tables were followed by what they called "Pilgrim Speed Dating" with 30 organizations getting a minute each to present their programs. The organizations included groups helping the handicapped, the disadvantaged, and several associations discussing new or rediscovered pilgrim routes that were being developed.  Some announced upcoming walks like the one following the steps of the [persecuted] Huguenots in France, intended to draw attention to the plight of current day Christians in various areas of the Middle East and elsewhere.  A prize, the Prix Pèlerin du témoignage, was awarded by one of the sponsors, the Catholic publication Pèlerin, which was presented to the authors of one of the books discussed. There were also a host of  book-signings, and literature tables featuring the 30 organizations mentioned above, along with refreshments.  Following the program, there was to be a special pilgrim dinner provided for those interested, but it had been a long day, and I decided it was time to head back to my apartment.

All in all, there must have been 150 people there with about 1/3 of them either authors, presenters, exhibitors, or those otherwise connected with the program.  Most of the attendees were over the age of 50, which was probably true of the program presenters as well. Below a large contingent of them pose for a group portrait.

My last day in Paris I had time to kill after visiting the American Church in Paris in the morning, before lunching with friends, so I walked along the Seine from the church to the RER stop St. Michel/Cluny where I took the train to the Cité Universitaire stop close to the home of Jean-Jacques and Geneviève.

Grand Palais

Bateau Mouche

   

Pont Neuf

Notre Dame as seen from the Square René Viviani

Simon, Jean-Marc, Anne-Marie, Geneviève and Jean-Jacques

 I would be sad to leave Paris, but I had been away for a long time, and it was time to get to know my two little dogs again.