Paris: The Birthday Trip - Day 4 (part 1)
left: The east end of Notre Dame, the Chevet, viewed from Square Jean XXIII.
right: Gargoyles and gothic details silhouetted against the Paris sky.
"Notre Dame" seen against the great rose window of the west (front) facade.
Today we're going to get our first Metro passes, but first - breakfast! We had our usual: coffee, croissants fresh from a boulangerie just up the street, brie, fresh chopped fruit, yoghurt, hard-boiled egg, sliced meat, more coffee. And Denise always took a couple of macarons back to our room for an evening treat.
We were a little nervous about the Metro. Would we be able find our way around? Would it be pleasant or unpleasant etc. We needn't have worried - just follow the signs. Sometimes this meant walking a considerable distance and up and down many sets of stairs but we never had to worry about missing a train as they arrived and departed every few minutes. And we never had to worry about getting lost - despite what you hear about Parisians we found that everyone we had to ask for help was pleasant and patient. Our first destination was to be Notre Dame de Paris.
Notre Dame: We must admit to being more than a little awestruck. Here we were at a place that we had 'seen' and read about in books on art and architecture with no expectation of ever seeing the building, never mind being able to walk around it and into it. And here we were.
Victor Hugo wrote of Notre Dame: "Each face, each stone of this venerable monument is a page not only of our country's history, but also of the history of science and architecture".
And here we were.
Panels on the arch of the Judgement Door (the centre door of the three portals in the front facade). The figures depict Angels, Patriarchs, Prophets, Martyrs, Doctors and Virgins.
We walked past the lineup to the park 'behind' the church and found a bench in the shade and the most beautiful view of the east side of the church (see photo top of page) and the flying buttresses and gothic decoration. A Chinese couple, not yet married but she in a wedding dress and he in formal suit, were being photographed with this view of Notre Dame as their backdrop. We got talking with the photographer's assistant and found out that the bride and groom were preparing a wedding album, in this case with photographs of themselves in famous beautiful places, to be given to their families and guests on the day of the wedding as was the custom wherever they were from. We never did find out exactly where that was.
Somewhat humourous to modern eyes, this scene commemorates St. Denis, first bishop of Paris, who was decapitated (c. 250 -280) on the hill now known as Montmartre and was said to have walked 6 miles carrying his head and preaching until he reached the site where the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Denis now stands.
We have good intentions. We really do. We are going to take a proper break, we are going to get something proper to eat, We will not exhaust ourselves as we usually do.
Ha!
There is so much to see and so much that will be discovered purely by accident.
See you in our next post...
The three portals of the Western (front) facade before the crowds arrive. It won't be long before this square is filled with snaking lines of hundreds and hundreds of tourists waiting to enter the church. Denise got this shot (and the great photo of the 'Our Lady' in front of the rose window) by climbing to the top of a large temporary seating structure facing the church. Can you see me in the photo? Maybe we should call this picture 'Where's Waldo?'.
Previously: Day 1, Day 2 (part 1), Day 2 (part 2), Day 2 (part 3), Day 3 (part 1), Day 3 (part 2),
Next: Day 4 (part 2)