Hôtel des Invalides

This morning we slept in to a leisurely 7:45 am and then grabbed the buffet breakfast before heading to the metro station to travel to the Army museum or Les Invalides Musee. We met our cruise director, Martin,first and got him to show us how to navigate the metro. We bought 10 metro tickets and headed on line M13 to the Invalides station.
When we left the metro station, we weren't sure which way to go, so we walked towards the bridge where we could see the statue. We still couldn't see the golden dome so I talked to a gendarme for directions and then laughed as our destination was right behind us!
Les Invalides Musee houses all kinds of canons and presentations on the different wars and the French Resistance. As well, the French brought Napoleon Bonaparte's body back from exile and his tomb now rests under the golden dome of Les Invalides. Napoleon's body is encased within 5 different caskets, one within the other and it rests within a circle of women statues that watch over him.
When we had talked to Martin about visiting the museum, he cautioned us that public demonstrations were scheduled to start at 2 pm and the area around Les Invalides would be impacted.
We left the museum before 2pm, but already the large square to the north of Les Invalides was teaming with people and police as the protest was gathering. We were told that the metro line we arrived on was now closed because of the protest, so we had to walk to a different station and take a circuitous route to approach our next landmark. For both Doug and I, it was a relief to leave this brewing trouble, but both our friends were very curious about the "party" atmosphere and would have stayed to watch if given the choice. We didn't extend that choice as we also know how fast peaceful demonstrations can turn otherwise.
Vivre Les demonstrations!Read more