Paris » Gallery #2: Notre-Dame & vicinity, Sacré-Coeur & Montmartre
Days 5-6 of our trip – 3-4 June 2002:
After visiting the Arc de Triomphe and Eiffel Tower, we went to Notre-Dame cathedral, which left me completely awestruck. Photos absolutely do not do it justice. In fact, the architectural detail is almost too much to take in at one time. Even more mind-boggling is that construction began on Notre-Dame in 1163 and didn't end until 1330.
Michelle and Gabriel were both pretty exhausted by the time we got to Notre-Dame, though, and Gabriel didn't last long in the cathedral's quiet interior. He fared much better playing in a large public sandbox on the south side of the cathedral along the River Seine. We then walked around the Ile de la Cité, Ile St-Louis and finally walked north across the river and saw the Hotel de Ville Square. All this walking, while quite lovely, was not for our amusement, though; we were actually on a quest for food, as it was our normal dinner time (6 p.m.). As we discovered, unfortunately, there are very few restaurants in Paris that even begin serving dinner before 7:30 p.m. Having Gabriel with us as we tried to find an open restaurant only made matters worse – homeless, poorly-dressed lepers with bad French accents are more welcome in Parisian restaurants than babies. We eventually gave up our search, went back to our apartment and ate at a neighborhood bistro – at 7:30.
The next day we set out for Montmartre and the Sacré-Coeur cathedral. Sacré-Coeur is every bit as stunning as Notre-Dame, but is far newer, so it has a very different feel. It seemed to me to have quite a bit of Eastern influence in its design and materials, which made it even more interesting. The most beautiful feature was the enormous mosaic of Christ covering the chancel ceiling; again, an indescribable sight. Montmartre was very picturesque, and very stereotypical of what we Americans typically imagine Paris to be like, with artists on the streets, people hanging out in quaint cafes, etc. While wandering around, we also happened across the Salvador Dali gallery, which was very intriguing. It's a great area to spend a day in if you have the time while in Paris.
And then came le dîner de merde...
 Front view of Notre-Dame cathedral. |
 Visitors lighting prayer candles inside Notre-Dame. |
 One of the many beautiful stained-glass windows inside Notre-Dame. |
 The giant North Rose Window of Notre-Dame. |
 The giant South Rose Window of Notre-Dame. |
 Detail of the South Rose Window. |
 Portal of the Virgin |
 Portal of Judgment |
 Portal of Sainte-Anne |
 Some of the famous gargoyles, south façade. |
 Flying buttresses of the east façade of Notre-Dame. |
 Gabriel playing in a sandbox on south side of Notre-Dame. |
 Gabriel contemplates his historical surroundings. |
 Building along the River Seine on the Ile de la Cité. |
 The River Seine and the Ile St-Louis. |
 The Paris Opera House |
 View of central Paris from Sacré-Coeur. |
 Façade of Sacré-Coeur. |
 Portico of Sacré-Coeur. |
 Architectural detail of Sacré-Coeur. |
 Street scene in Montmartre. |
 Another street scene in Montmartre. |
 Tourists in Montmartre leaving an art festival. |
 John and Gabriel in Montmartre. |
 Rue Gabrielle in Montmartre. |