Notre dame you


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Europe » France » Île-de-France » Paris
June 1st 2012
Published: June 2nd 2012
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Woke up in Paris this morning to the devil chuckle. The devil chuckle is the sound our neighborhood crazy person makes. I've only heard her through the window, never seen her. She moans, and then chuckles like a possessed doll from 1952. And no, unfortunately it is not a nice French "hon hon hon" kind of laugh. Oh and also woke up to my dad sitting at my feet quietly working on his computer. I sleep in the one main room that isn't the bedroom, so if I don't wake up I become the snoring, drooling middle of the room morning entertainment, like a brain damaged wolverine.

While I finished posting the blog I was supposed to have finished the night before, the parents went out to get pastries, and I must commend them on a bang up job. We had pain chocolat, croissants, custard raisin rolls, and it was all delicious. Word to the wise: do not eat the above and then try to get into jeans in a steamy bathroom after inadequately drying off from a shower. Your self confidence will be shattered for the day as you assume the jeans that fit fine yesterday now no longer get past your knees exclusively because of your breakfast.

The first item of business was the climb the Notre Dame cathedral. Before that though, I had to buy some new sunglasses, as I was totally unable to find my previous pair (having placed them safely in a pocket I never use in my bag, as it turns out), and I found a completely decent pair for six euros across from the cathedral. Good enough. The line to climb the cathedral was about twenty five minutes long, and while my parents held my spot I got the sunglasses and went into the interior of the church. The interior was just as I expected, though I thought the exterior was more narrow than I'd pictured. The stained glass in the interior is breathtaking. Notre Dame is defined thusly: Notre Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris), also known as Notre Dame Cathedral or simply Notre Dame, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra (official chair) of the Archbishop of Paris, currently André Vingt-Trois. The cathedral treasury houses a reliquary with the purported Crown of Thorns. Notre Dame de Paris is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in France and in Europe, and the naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture. The first period of construction from 1163 into 1240s coincided with the musical experiments of the Notre Dame school. The cathedral suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution in the 1790s, when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. An extensive restoration supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc removed remaining decoration, returning the cathedral to an 'original' gothic state. Notre Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports). The building was not originally designed to include the flying buttresses around the choir and nave. After the construction began and the thinner walls (popularized in the Gothic style) grew ever higher, stress fractures began to occur as the walls pushed outward. In response, the cathedral's architects built supports around the outside walls, and later additions continued the pattern. Many small statues were placed around the outside. These were crafted individually and served as supports for coulombs and water spouts. Among these are the famous gargoyles. These were originally colored, as was most of the exterior. The paint has worn off, but the grey stone was once covered with vivid colors. The cathedral was essentially complete by 1345.There are five bells at Notre Dame. The great bourdon bell, Emmanuel, is located in the South Tower, weighs just over 13 tons, and is tolled to mark the hours of the day and for various occasions and services, ringing in a resounding E♭. This bell is always rung first, at least 5 seconds before the rest. There are four additional bells on wheels in the North Tower, which are swing chimed. These bells are rung for various services and festivals. The bells were once rung manually, but are currently rung by electric motors. When it was discovered that the size of the bells could cause the entire building to vibrate, threatening its structural integrity, they were taken out of use. The bells also have external hammers for tune playing from a small clavier. In the night of 24 August 1944, as the Île de la Cité was taken by an advance column of French and Allied armoured troops and elements of the Resistance, it was the tolling of the Emmanuel that announced to the city that its liberation was under way.

People are let up to the Notre Dame in little flights, and there are separate up and down staircases, so it's all fairly civilized. There are two observation levels, one with a great view of the gargoyles and a chance to climb into the bell tower. Our trip into the bell tower, where they only allow a certain number of people, and the same wooden staircase is used to go up and down, was delayed because a large group of three year olds was having trouble with the steep stairs. It was absurd. It was cool to see the giant bell finally, and I can only image the noise that thing would make. Then we went to the second level, which is right at the tippy top and affords a terrific view of the city.

Then it was all the way back down through the narrow winding staircases. We next grabbed a bite to eat (wonderful baguette sandwiches) and then
Medici fountain in the Jardin du LuxembourgMedici fountain in the Jardin du LuxembourgMedici fountain in the Jardin du Luxembourg

Polyphemus Surprising Acis and Galatea, by sculptor Auguste Ottin, was added to the fountain in 1866. The rest was built in 1600.
headed for a medieval museum. There were many excellent things to see there, and like everywhere we go in Paris, admission was covered by our 6 day Paris pass, which allows unlimited entry to just about everything. I was baffled as to how parisians in the middle ages got their hands on things such as elephant tusks and narwhal teeth. Next up was a walk to the Jardin du Luxemberg, and then for a pasty and a coffee at an expensive but delicious place across from the park. The next stop was the musee d'orsay, which is a huge museum in a converted train station. It has a lot of great art and a lot of not great art. I went to the special Degas Nude exhibit, and it wasn't really my cup of tea (mostly heavy, embarrassed looking women sketched, painted or sculpted, creeping timidly into a bath). I did really enjoy the impressionist wing though, especially Monet.

By then it was evening, and we were wondering why we hadn't heard from Geoff, who arrived in Paris today in the evening. Geoff is staying near us, in another apartment swap situation, and my dad has had a serious case of apartment envy looking at the online photos of Geoff's. We decided to go to dinner without Geoff in case his flight was late, but since our walk took us right past the are he was to be staying, we kept our eyes open. Suddenly, my mother said, "well, that looks like Geoff. It is Geoff. There's Geoff." He was about to sit down at an outdoor table at the restaurant below his apartment, and didn't notice us until my father got quite close and bellowed his name in that assertive way my father has. He was delighted to see us, and we all sat down in the trendy bar for a drink, joined at one point by a fat Parisian cat.

We went to dinner at a nearby place recommended by the man who has swapped apartments with Geoff. We had a delicious wine, and the men had lamb (of which Mary had a little lamb...bahahahaha) and the ladies had boeuf bourguignon. The food was delicious, and we helped ourselves to Geoff's creme brule.

An evening stroll was in order to judge the veracity of the whole "city of lights" thing, and it turns out that this is quite an attractive city, and will, after all, do.

Tomorrow is expected to be one of the best days weather wise, so after our breakfast of whipped butter dipped in chocolate we'll have a walkabout sort of day and see all the sights there are to see.


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