L'église Saint-Eustache

Thrilled that the man is away at work. Me-time! Often, I prefer doing things on my own, at a whatever pace dictated by the heart. Happy to be doing exactly what I like in Paris without having to worry if he'd be okay with it.

Along the way to Rue Montorgueil and meandering to the remnants of the old markets in the lanes of Les Halles to smell and taste Paris, I went into L’église Saint-Eustache. Meant to visit the not-quite-completed living church the other couple of times I was in Paris. But alas, on those trips when I was a silly naive little girl, paying homage to other shrines along Champs-Élysées took precedence.

This trip, I was determined that other things are given priority. There're a few activities on the checklist that involved Renaissance architecture; Rubens' paintings, Henri de Miller's 'l'Ecoute', and Richard Mason's work of lamenting the great food market of Les Halles that is no more by 1969. Of course there is a venue showcasing all these. L'église Saint-Eustache would be the perfect ground to view it all.

Spotted the church and its gigantic head and hand sculpture 'L'Écoute' by Henri de Miller. What beautiful Gothic facade. Built sometime between 1532 and 1632, the church holds plenty of Rubens. Many tourists stop by the church, but this afternoon, there weren't many people. How nice. It was really peaceful to simply stroll, read the cards to see what each work of art meant. I wished I had time to attend mass here. It would be so beautiful.

There was a woman playing the pipe organ. The church hosts summer recitals on the pipe organ. But I wasn't in time to listen to any. This church organ at Saint Eustache is reputed to be the largest pipe organ in France. I sat down to listen. What a treat! She wasn't playing anything spectacular. It was more of practising and keeping the church richly clad in music. The hour spent at the church was such a splendid interlude.