Friday, October 24th was a vacation from vacation day.  My knee was sore from all the standing around in the Louvre, so I decided to take it easy.  I went to the movies and saw, The Judge.  It was excellent!  I laughed out loud and I wept.  See if if you can.

Saturday I headed out for the haut Marais looking for the Passage Vendome.  I had heard that it had been modified and renovated, so I was interested in seeing the results.  Perhaps the modification/renovation is still in progress?  Or it failed?  There was a drug store and a language school and lots of empty spaces.  Kind of sad and confusing since Place Republique is so busy.

 I then walked over to the rue de Bretagne--a great place to spend a Saturday morning.  First a stop at a great cheese shop run by a father and his daughter that I learned about on my last visit--just to say Bonjour (I have so much cheese left from the last market day).

 Then over to walk through the Marché des Enfants Rouges for some feasts for the eyes and the nose.
And they are ready for Halloween I see.

And trays of baklava at the Moroccan place. 

But I have something else in mind for desserts to day so I move on to a tiny pocket garden located on the edge of the market.  When it's crazy crowded at lunch time, this would be a great place to escape with a plate of couscous.  The Jardin Madeleine-de-Scudéry--only big enough for 2 or 3 of us.

I was still not hungry so I left the market and walked to the Eglise Saint-Denys du Saint-Sacrement.   I understand there is a painting by Delacroix int he church, his Pietà.  When I got there I discovered the church was part of the YIA (Young International Artists), a exhibition in about 40 venues in the Marais of brand new, often never before exhibited, works by young artists.  In the Eglise Saint-Denys were the works of Evi Keller.  Her exhibit:  Matière-Luminière [Towards the Light--silent transformations], was outstanding!  She first exhibited in Paris only weeks before at Nuit Blanche, an annual all-night/night time arts festival that was October 2nd this year.  Her work is a combination of video, light, paint, different media--it' stunning!  Seek her out if you can.  My photos don't do her justice.

A video projecting Keller's work was in the alcove where the Delacroix is and I couldn't get a decent photo.  Delacroix painted several works on this subject but is perhaps just as interesting because Van Gogh also painted a version in the style of Delacroix.  It's Van Gogh's only Pietà.

It was almost 1pm so I was off to the gardens of the National Archives--perhaps I would see my friend Nancy (AiP) there?  She says it's her new favorite spot for lunch.  You can see why.

The gardens go on and on and are a great way to escape the links and congestion that are everywhere else on a Saturday in Paris.

 And there was art here too!

It was raining at this point so I headed north again.  I had lunch in a little bistrot to get out of the rain and because I wanted to eat before I went dessert shopping.  I had a glass of wine and this bruschetta:  grilled artichokes, tomato, sweet red peppers, mushrooms and olives. 

Finally, I went dessert shopping and bought enough for 5 or 6 days.  Or maybe 3 or 4 days?  I'm hoping for 2 days.

 Creme puffs!

Adieu until tomorrow--it promises to be nicer (warmer, no rain) so I'll undoubtedly spend a lot of time outside.