The area that begins across from Notre-Dame and around and behind the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore (2/26/07 blog) is the site of so much history; and this trip gave me more time to explore and read about the many stories.The door was always locked at Saint-Julien le Pauvre every time I walked by, unfortunately, so I was never able to tour the inside. This small church which sits next to square Viviani (now belonging to a Greek Catholic sect) was built at the end of the 12th century and has preserved its originality in spite of the alterations imposed by the passing years. The sides of the building that are accessible show remains of the old foundation from the time of the Norman assaults plus an old well next to big slabs of stone left over from an old Roman road leading to Spain. Some of the medieval stones in the yard are also from the restorations of Notre-Dame.
Sitting on the Seine side of the church is the oldest tree planted in Paris (1602). This acacia tree, nicknamed Robinier, is named after the guy who planted it—Jean Robin. It is listing, as you can see in the picture, but is propped up with a couple of concrete pillars where the trunk has split. Parisians insist it is still living but it is covered with ivy, so it may be wishful thinking…but I think it's alive... 
There are several stories about the name of the church but the most interesting one is that it was named after a bishop who gave away all his money. According to legend, on the night of Julien’s birth, his father saw pagan witches secretly jinx his son into killing both of his parents. Therefore, his father wanted to get rid of the child but his mother would not agree. When Julien found out at age 10 why his mom regularly cried because of the sin he was destined to commit, he swore he would never do such a sin and left home.
Twenty years later, his parents decided to search for their son and after praying in a church in the midst of their travels, they met a woman sitting outside the church. She offered them shelter and rest from their travels; and in the course of their conversations, they realized they were related by marriage. In the meantime, an enemy told Julien that his wife had a lover so he returned home early from his hunting trip. Unbeknownst to him, his wife invited his parents to sleep in her husband’s and her bedroom, the most beautiful in the home. When Julien thought he had discovered his wife and her lover, in a fit of rage, he killed the couple found in his bed.
When Julien realized that he had killed his own parents, thus proving true the witches' jinx, he was obviously distraught and thereafter took a vow of poverty (pauvre means “poor”). He and his wife built seven hospitals and 25 houses as well as a hospice on the banks of a river where they provided shelter and ferry service for pilgrims and other poor travelers.
One evening during a terrible storm, a man asked Julien to accommodate his trip across the river. After some hesitation, he agreed and in the middle of the river, the foreigner (disguised as a leper) revealed his identity. As the legend claims, the man was Christ who forgave Julien his sins. He thereafter became the patron saint of travelers and ferrymen and also, of hunters. A 14th century bas-relief, depicting this scene can still be seen on the wall of a building on rue Galande. (Believe me, this was the short version of the legend…)I love the blood red door on the other side of the church—which is actually an entry to the backside of a building facing rue Galande. This door belongs to the Caveau des Oubliettes (cellar or vault of cells), an underground jazz club in which the owners claim was once a prison. The current entrance is now around the corner on rue Galande. Oubliettes were cells where prisoners were put in solitary confinement (the word comes from the French word ‘to forget’). Even though there’s supposedly a guillotine in the establishment, some research indicates that the cells were for monks, not for prisoners.
