Notre Dame: We started our day back at Notre Dame determined to go make friends with the Chimeras on the roof top. While Hal held a place in the line, Anna took some exterior shots of the church. Pictures below show our time in Quasimodo's world. Most of the pictures show Chimeras, which are depictions of a monster or mythical being. These are not to be confused with gargoyles, which are protruding features designed to drain rainwater. The one bell we were able to view is named Emmanuel and his the largest bell, an F#, and is only rung on Catholic high holidays. We did hear other bells pealing in the north tower, but they were not visible to us.
After our tour, we took a stroll in the garden at the front of Notre Dame.
Sainte-Chappelle: After a very Parisian lunch (croque-monsieur, French onion soup, and pommes des frites), we mad our way over to Sainte-Chappelle. While Hal waited in line, Anna went to explore Pontiac Neuf ("the new bridge" created in the 1600s. S-C was built 1242-1248 (quicker than the 200 years to build Notre Dame) and was a royal chapel that held relics from the Passion of Christ, including the crown of thorns that cost more to accrue than the overall cost of the chapel. In the upper chapel, the 1,113 scenes depicted in the 15 stain glass windows tell Bible stories from Genesis to Christ's resurrection.
Our next four stops were Musee de l'Armee, Napoleon's tomb (and Josephine's tomb), the relief map museum and Hotel Des Invalides.
Our last stop for the day was the Louvre. As you know, we are not art connoisseurs, so after touring a remake of Napoleon III's apartment we went to see the Mona Lisa. After a quick, yep, that's her alright, we passed some Da Vinci works, the French crown Jewels, and Winged Victory on the way out. May not seem like a lot, but the two items we wanted to see were spaced out a great deal, so that quick tour took 90 minutes alone.
Some other photos from the day.
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2 comments:
Looks like you two had another GREAT day. Love the pics and stories. Looks like you are both feeling better. Enjoy your travels... Love you both ~ Mom
Hi! I somehow missed that you were going to be in France! I hope you had a wonderful time...it looks like it was a fantastic experience and your pics are great!! :)
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