Paris, Day 3

9 December, 13

It is really hard for our family to get out the door for anything. It is especially difficult when we are on vacation. Normally we can’t leave until about 11AM. That is sinful, I know, but it’s just reality.

We got into the island part of Paris, with plans to see St. Chappelle and Notre Dame. I am reading Hunchback of Notre Dame right now, so I was very interested to pick up any historical clues. Victor Hugo actually goes into great detail about Paris and how it evolved. Paris started on the two islands in the middle of the Seine. Hugo quotes Sauval, “The isle of the Cite is like a great ship foundered in the sand and breasting the middle of the water of the Seine.” Paris outgrew her bounds and formed two more parts to the whole—Universite and the Ville. “In the Cite abounded churches, in the Ville palaces, in the Universite, colleges.” (Hugo) Universite occupied the left bank of the river. This is where artists came to congregate, and how we came to know this section as the Left Bank. The Louvre is in the Ville section of town. It was Louis’ palace before completing Versailles. He left some of his art collection behind, which began the museum.

Our first stop was St. Chappelle. This is the home to the oldest stained glass in France.

I am sorry, but there is no way to give justice to the beauty of this building. The pictures aren't big or vibrant enough. Words cannot speak to the incredible colors emanating from every pane. The stories that each window tells is fascinating. I was reminded of my childhood at Wesley United Methodist Church. I used to love to look at all the stained glass, in lieu of listening to the sermon. My friend Don Fuller makes stained glass lamps and art. Maybe he could explain the intricate process of cutting each pane of glass and carefully placing it within the lead caming to form a magnificent mosaic. Who could design such a thing? It was incredible. 

They are restoring the glass right now, so they had a video showing the process. WOW! People did this stuff 800 years ago.

After we left St. Chappelle, we head over to Notre Dame. Victor Hugo talks about how it dominated the Paris skyline, and I can see how. It is awe-inspiring to walk up to this huge building. Your eye cannot take in all the detail. The longer you look, the more figures you see cut into the walls. I can't get my arms around what it must have cost in Time, Talent and Treasure to build something so grand. We just don't do that anymore. The closest example I can think of is putting a man on the moon. That only took 10 years, though.

The inside of the cathedral is just as grand in scope and scale as the outside. I found it interesting to look into each of the little side chapels along the exterior walls. You might find a relic or some famous painting or a rack of coat hangers. Evidently the only thing they didn't think of was storage. Typical architects.

Coming straight from St. Chappelle, which was awash in light and color, Notre Dame was almost like a cave in comparison, dark and monastic. St. Chappelle lifted our spirits. Notre Dame felt like a heavy weight on our shoulders. Everyone in the cathedral maintained silence, speaking in a barely audible whisper. Notre Dame has some spectacular Rose windows, but the light was not coming through them. I have visited cathedrals in several countries, and Notre Dame is by far the darkest and dreariest of them all. That shouldn't take away from its beauty or grandeur. It is just an observation.

The girls had been begging for ice cream the whole trip, so we finally relented and bought some very overpriced glace. 

Then we grabbed a taxi and headed toward Elizabeth's Mecca--Chanel. Coco Chanel is Elizabeth's idol. She wrote a biography of her for school a couple of years ago and actually enjoyed doing the research. We stepped into the main door and took pictures at the actual stairs Coco would use to display her latest works. Elizabeth was walking on air. The rest of us played along.

After our little dream time at Chanel, we headed over to the Eiffel Tower, where Susan had reserved a ride to the top. Our girls have become quite good photographers, and we have some amazing shots. Katherine has an app on her I-Pad that gives her a myriad of choices for filters and photo styles. She is really good at capturing a moment. Elizabeth has actually had training with a high quality camera and professional photographer, when we traveled to Nicaragua with Stop Hunger Now. The only challenge with Elizabeth is to get her to take a picture of something or somebody besides herself. We hung out on top of the Eiffel for about an hour, soaking in the beautiful City of Lights.

 After we descended the tower, we took a boat cruise on the Seine. That was something of a letdown. We were all tired, so sitting for an hour was a good thing. The ride was pretty boring, though, because the tour guide spoke very poor English. I actually had trouble determining if she was speaking English or French, so I read The Hunchback of Notre Dame on my phone instead. That suited me just fine.

We took the Metro back to Abbesses and found a nice little restaurant that served a fabulous meal to some hungry and tired travelers. It was a full day, but it was a great day.