The Canopee is the just-opened renovated site of Les Halles. It cost some zillion euros, and has met with mixed reviews. What you cannot see here at ground level are the levels beneath. There are four that are open to an interior atrium, then more after that. And they spread out too far for us to walk. A major shopping mall underground. And crawling with security. Guards at every access point, i including from the metro stop below ground (it seemed a little odd to be checked leaving the metro rather than going in.) The massive Nelson Mandela Garden located in the opposite direction from this photo is now just a massive construction site. So it is more or less impossible to gauge the scale and scope of the Canopee now.
In walking around the Canopee, we were momentarily distracted by a small outdoor market next to a monument with a giant soccer ball. No clue.
Our plan was some lunch, and exploration of the Canopee, a walk through the neighborhood which includes a lot of cooking implement stores, then home. We emerged from the Canopee to find some lunch, then headed to St. Eustache, on of our favorite churches.
One of our favorite features of St. Eustache is the giant head next to it. There is always someone, or many someones, climbing it and having their photos taken on it, in it or around it. One has to be patient to find a pose-free moment like this one.
One time I mentioned to a French friend how much we enjoyed this church, and the head next to it. What head, she asked. She really had no idea that it is there.
We had to circle the church to find an unlocked entrance, so we came across another small market.
Inside the Church was especially tranquil, unlike previous visits when we have run into a choir practicing for a radio performance, a troup of acrobats working off of ropes attached to the ceiling, and a wedding practice, including all 14 flower girls.
By now the rain was no longer threatening, it was downright pouring. We abandoned our plan, made our way back to the Canopee and into the metro. We'll save our shopping for another day.
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