An overnight layover in Paris is always a good idea. Weekend construction on the airport rail line meant a longer ride to the city center this afternoon with a bus as part of the journey.
There was a poster for a piano and violin concert on a window near the hotel at a nearby church (1). Unexpectedly, the chuch felt Orthodox; it turned out to be Greek Melekite Catholic (2). A good walk around l'Île Saint-Louis ended the day.
The next morning, I overheard some school teachers from Massachusetts who apparently flew to Paris on Wednesday. "I took 2 personal days," "I called out sick," "I convinced my principal a trip to Paris was professional development." The others were jealous of the last approach.
(1) A block away there was a poster for a performance of Fauré's requiem I saw later. If I had known, I would have gone there instead.
(2) The Great Schism of 1054 split Christianity into eastern Orthodox (based in Constantinople) and western Catholic (based in Rome). In 1729, disputes within the eastern church led a splinter group, known as the Greek Melekites, to recognize the authority of the Pope (rather than the Patriarch of Constatinople). They have retained the Orthodox form of liturgy.
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