For the tree

I did not mention, when I wrote about Musée de l’Armée, that I made a quick pass through the museum shop. I thought it interesting that you can buy felt Christmas ornaments pertaining to les Invalides (the complex of buildings of which the museum is a part).

The Dôme des Invalides houses the tomb of Napoléon I. In all my visits to the museum I have never bothered with this. Tombs—meh. However, he is rather a big deal, so his tomb is suitably pretentious.

Here are ornaments shaped like Napoléon’s hat and les Invalides:

  

And here’s the building IRL:

Bonaparte shares space with his son, Napoléon François Charles Joseph (by Marie Louise of Austria). Styled the King of Rome, the boy never ruled (except for 15 days in 1815, when he was four years old), and died in Austria, age 21. Known as l’Aiglon (the Eaglet), his remains were returned to France by Hitler in 1940 (except for his heart and intestines, which stayed in Vienna, traditional resting place of Habsburgs). By that time, the French would have preferred the return of coal mines and factories.

Anyhow, here’s a felt Aiglon:

And finally, I thought a Mme Bonaparte (Joséphine, not Marie Louise, but those empresses were fairly interchangeable) was a nice touch:

The ornaments were 19 € 95, so I didn’t buy any.