I briefly mentioned The Way of St James a few months ago (some 100 days apparently), when discussing motif of the medieval door at Musée Cluny. What I didn’t go into, was that Paris is the starting point of one of the French pilgrimage routes. This is marked in the past by the church of Saint-Jacques-de-la-Boucherie and its tower, where a relic of St James was preserved. Unfortunately the church has been destroyed and all that is left today is the flamboyant Gothic tower.

Sitting near Châtelet-Les Halles, the tower most recently underwent a stint of preservation and restoration works about a couple of years ago. Atop, as you can see, is a statue of St James. As far as I know, the tower is not open for visitors to scale the heights for yet another Parisian vantage viewpoint. Instead there’s a meteorogical station housed in there? Just as well. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of space to accommodate many people up there at any one time – the queue would have been too insane.

Today’s street exploration got me photographing a landmark of the 12th arrondissement for the first time for this blog. Peeking between buildings when viewed from Pont d’Austerlitz, the clock tower of Gare de Lyon is quite swanky, with its feature reminiscent of the Big Ben in London but with prettier clock face.

Come to think of it, I have not only not used the train station before, I have not even walk around the area surrounding it. My faithful pocket map of Paris told me that Viaduct des Arts nearby runs parallel to the railway station, and it also serves as the site of Promenade Plantée which I’ve heard a lot about. I must put it down for a weekend stroll sometimes.

I took a long-ish walk today, southward, past River Dodder. Then, right before my eyes, the Church of Sacred Heart of Donnybrook, with its imposing square tower (only one) that could pass for tower of a castle, neo-gothic architecture, and incorporation of various wings of the church in a rather peculiar configuration.

I’ve only seen the interior of the church once, years ago, and try as I might, I can’t recall what the interior was like. I remember it being tall and spacious, with an impressive set of organs and also a beautiful rose window. Other details – everything’s just hazy. I considered sneaking in for a visit, but chickened out.