The Procession

The tall wooden doors swung open ten minutes before noon. We sauntered in, greeted with a light smell of frankincense and rows of chandeliers, stone walls, carved figures, and rainbows of picture windows on the walls. The cathedral was very peaceful. There was a mass in progress a couple hundred feet in front of us. Quietly we turned to the left away from the forty or so people gathered toward the front alter, to try to read the French welcome signs. I took a few photos of the church and mass in progress and viewed more statues and monuments. I looked up to the right to see the procession of people exiting the cathedral toward the open doors. The doors had not been opened to welcome visitors, they had been opened to make room for the casket to be carried out. We had mosied into a funeral! And there was the casket and odd looks to prove it. Alas, if we had been able to read French we would have known what the van parked out front of the church was! A hearse of course! It was a beautiful stone cathedral and we did tour it quietly along with a couple other people after the party had left the building.

Cathedral Saint Louis

The noon sun was illuminating the dove at the cathedral.

Marie Antoinette's Grande Trianon.

Marie Antoinette's garden at the Petite Trianon.

View from the balcony of the Petite Trianon.