I bought this fruit at the Bastille market. I wasn't really sure what it was, but it looked intriguing. I should have put it next to something when I took the picture, so you can get a sense of the size. It looks like a lemon, but it's really about as big as a cantaloup. I think it's some kind of melon, but it looks and sort of tastes like a pear when you cut into it.
I headed off to the Jardin des Halles this morning, but when I got there, it was undergoing a complete renovation. All that appeared to be left of it was this massive statue (which I am assuming they are going to put back). While this might have been paint-worthy surrounded by trees and flowers, I didn't quite feel like sketching it surrounded by construction cranes.
Right across the alley, however, was this beautiful old church - Saint Eustache, and no crowds. It's amazing to me that tourists will stand in line for hours to get into Notre Dame, but skip places like this. The altar in this picture is actually just a "side" altar, but it's where they usually hold weekday masses. Many of the churches have elaborate side altars like this, usually devoted to Mary and the Immaculate Conception.
I thought these kneelers were fairly intriguing. They are tricky to kneel down on, because they are shaped like miniature chairs, but I guess it's better than kneeling on the stone floor. Since it was so quiet in here (and a little chilly outside), I decided to paint one of the statues (of course, St Teresa - no way I was going to try to tackle that Mary altar).
I went back to a little park behind Notre Dame in the afternoon to do a little painting. The park was full of school kids (I think they use this park for their recess break from school). I wanted to try my hand at drawing this building. I was mostly intrigued by the cherry blossom branch that was in the foreground. I kept erasing my attempts and starting over, because I just couldn't get the building quite right (it is VERY ornate). Then a college girl came and sat on the bench next to me, opened her own sketchbook, and started working on her extremely elaborate rendition of the back of Notre Dame. Luckily, it started raining, so I called it a sign that it was time to quit and headed back to the apartment.
