Notre Dame cathedral is on an island, (ile) in the middle of the River Seine, at the thousand-year-old heart of Paris. We saw it nearly every day during our one week visit. On Thursday (Feb 15th) we walked all the way down one side of the cathedral and back through the narrow streets of the tiny Ile de la Cite, across the bridge and onto the nearby, even smaller, quieter Ile de St.-Louis, then looped back across the bridge, finishing at the other side of Notre Dame. I marveled at how isolated and quiet the ile felt compared to the enormous, bustling rest-of-Paris. It helped me visualize the original Paris of a thousand years ago: a fortified island in the middle of the Seine, with the foundations of Notre Dame being laid. Can you even imagine anything taking 200 years to build today? I hold Notre Dame in the highest regard. It was an excellent walk in spite of the damp grayness of the day.
It is so big and intricate!
And Gothic!
I always forget how BIG it is.
Rainwater was flowing from the gargoyles' mouths.
Can you spot tiny Shaina? Maybe it's because I'm a six foot tall woman, but I love the sensation of feeling tiny--dwarfed by something so much bigger than myself.
A "small side door."
Gargoyles everywhere!
Buttresses abounding out back.
Jeff, carrying a backpack in preparation for some book shopping after our walk. He used his classroom budget to purchase a large stack of French books and 8 crepe pans while we were abroad, and I faithfully helped him lug it all home. I doubt his teenage students have any idea how lucky they are.
I already forgot which building this is... L'hotel de Ville maybe?
The Seine was SO HIGH from recent heavy rains that no boats or barges could even fit under the bridges. Those circular towers are part of the Conciergerie, where Marie Antoinette was held prior to her execution.
The entire quay we enjoyed jogging on last year was under water.
I get such a thrill from cozy European street scenes like this one. I decided that rainy days really are the best for enjoying Paris. Only the very most touristy sites like the Eiffel Tower were crowded.
I mean, a narrow cobbled street, bike-with-basket, and window boxes, all on a tiny island in the middle Paris's river?? Gush.
Notre Dame's spire peeking out at us from afar.
Quai d'Orleans was absolutely charmont on l'ile de St.-Louis.
Our Lady, viewed from the next ile over.
Reflection in the muddy water
I was wearing my dress because we were planning on going to the temple that afternoon, but we ended up being too sleepy and going on the arch walk instead.
How awesomely creepy-Gothic does it look through all of those bony wintry trees?
Having sold a house in the intervening year, I was intrigued by Paris real estate. Some brief research revealed that the average tiny 200 square foot Paris apartment costs about a thousand dollars per month to rent!
In front of the world-famous bookstore. I'm still slightly confused how an English bookstore in Paris became so famous. It was closed when we walked by, but I peeked in the windows at the satisfyingly musty looking shop and saw lots of lovely old books. I don't aspire to owning first editions, but it is still a cozy historic thought to SEE them in a shop.
We made another photographic visit to Notre Dame on Saturday, Feb 17th at sunset. The sinking sun turned the stone a warm gold and it glowed. As we were walking towards Notre Dame with a hope of going inside for a look at the stained glass in the sunlight, magic happened. The bells started ringing--not chiming the hour or anything so mundane. They were RINGING, back and forth and all over each other, chiming joyfully on a Saturday at 5:30pm. When we got inside, we found out why. It was a call to Mass. We got caught in a jam of tourists who had stopped to watch the priest and his people walk up the hall to the front of the church. I felt awkward watching so many lame tourists with their phones out taking VIDEOS of it. I mean, I'm not Catholic, but it seems like any religious worship service deserves a bit more respect than phone videos.
Since I thoroughly photographed the stained glass here last year, I snapped two pictures to test our new pocket camera's low-light stained glass abilities, then simply walked and soaked.
History hung in the air. I keep writing enthusiastically about history, but I have to admit that I usually only get excited about history when I get to SEE visible vestiges. Then I want to know ALL about everything that happened in and around that site or that building, preferably from firsthand accounts rather than a textbook. I wish all history could be taught via primary sources and travel.
Pictures like this make my brain remember Notre Dame much smaller than it actually is up close. (note how much the river water receded off of the walkway down low after two days)
How many sunsets has this building seen?
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