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Published: September 30th 2015
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Day Two
Morning coffee in bed. This is the life. A good sleep, very little jet lag for me. Unfortunately Jackie did not sleep very well. However, she was a trooper and did not let it stop her. After a bit of a late start due to enjoyment of freshly made croissants from the local bakery, we set off via train to Paris. Being at the station brought back many feelings and memories of living in Britain for a couple of years as a child and taking a train to school every day. I don’t have many fond memories of being a child but the train was always one that stuck with me and that I enjoyed. I think there was something I understood early on about freedom and that trains can offer that to me. The feeling of the rocking cars and the sound of the wheels on the tracks are soothing to my soul and there is a comfort that I cannot describe to those who have not experienced it.
After about 45 minutes, we were in Paris. We walked up the stairs from the Metro, the sun was shining, there was people everywhere and then I
turned and the view of Notre Dame was before me; my heart leapt. I stood for a moment to really understand I was there. All the concepts and thoughts and ideas of what it looked like. All the pictures I had had from movies paled in comparison to what was in front of me. I could touch it, feel it, see it. The line into the church was all of 4 min’s and then I stepped beyond the massive wooden doors with iron patterning, into the cathedral from the 12
th century. It was a spiritual moment for me. There was a connection to this place. A connection that was beyond the building but to everyone who had built it, visited it, prayed in it. It did not matter religion. It did not matter beliefs, race, orientation. There was a commonality among everyone there. There was an awe. An appreciation. A similar goal of being there to marvel at what was built those centuries ago. Thousands of people all there participating in what I was, seeing what I was, and yet totally individual in their experience.
I touched the pillars, the doors, the wooden pews. I felt my feet step
onto the cold, smooth marble steps and was grounded in the aweness of the labour, the heart, the soul, it had taken to build this monument. In my head I could hear the choir voices of past ages sing throughout the building, echoing off the walls and beautifully stained glass windows, up into the ceiling and landing on thousands of ears that have listened over the years.
After some time lingering in this amazing structure, we moved on to view the canal just outside of Notre Dame. The locks on the bridge and we looked around the hospital across from Notre Dame. it was beautiful! And then the cafes. So many to choose from. We stopped for lunch at one beside an old church, and watched people in the outside section of the cafe. Sitting in the sun. Enjoying the company of each other. It was then off to window shop. It was so neat to see all the shops that were so unique in their wares. Unlike North America where almost every store pretty much has a slight variation of another store, all the shops we saw had their own niche.
We walked and took in the
culture, ambiance and architecture of Paris as we strolled the cobblestone streets. Then we got tired so headed to the metro to head to the cemetery Pere La Chaise. Over 60,000 graves from the early 1800’s filled this huge walled space. It was overwhelming how many were there. The burial process, logistically, is fascinating. Families buy plots and they can have them for 10 years, 20 years etc or forever for a cost. If however you only pay for them for a certain time, once that is up, another family buys the same space and reuses it! We stayed until closing time which was about 5:00 and then headed home. The rush hour had started so we got nice and personal with some people in the Metro. I had to save Eric, Jackie’s brother, from landing on some poor man’s lap, head first, when we came to a rough stop. (you're welcome Eric) We enjoyed another meal together at home with amazing desserts and again, laughter.
We are heading to the Eiffel Tower tomorrow. I am excited to take it all in.
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Annie
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Awakening of the spirit
all senses go..,,to experience such energies is a incredible gift to inhale all at once...i am sure you are reving..and what a feeling..alive and like you can't take it all in fast enough..look around you and let the heart and soul fill you with fond memories of each moment,,i love to read your blog and describe feelings and architecture..and sounds and spirituality that runs through you in those moments..thank you for sharing all of it with us..you have been there and have worked hard..memories flow back..open files..INJoy gentle(hugs)