Hello!
As it turns out, we were both more than a little jet-lagged – which showed itself as an inability to wake up this morning. After the wonderful meal we had last night, I think I felt like a bear hibernating … not going very far or very fast. The only thing scheduled on the program was lunch at Maison de la Truffe at noon today, and we couldn’t even make that! So … from the top! Up this morning about 7 am – only to decide that we both felt a little extra sleep time sounded good – to re-awaken this morning after 9 am, which is REALLY late for us! At that point, R headed into the shower and we were able to make it down to breakfast about 9:30 am.
We were actually out the door a bit before 10 am, to find the bus stop behind the Pantheon to get us down the hill. I wanted to see for myself how Notre Dame is doing, as we hadn’t been there since before the fire in April, 2019.
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| View from the back of Notre Dame |
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| Charred timbers and stone |
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| Wooden brace for pillars being put together |
Wow … that was really an incredible fire. There is quite a structure built on and around the cathedral now – with razor wire on top, if that’s not deterrent enough. The entire cathedral is covered in scaffolding and reinforcements everywhere, and the boards around the cathedral are covered by information in several languages with lots of photographs. I’m thinking that really, for most of the workers and for just about everyone else, this is the first time there is a chance to see a cathedral being built in their lifetimes.
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| Note wooden braces within arches |
Just about every cathedral I can think of was built hundreds of years ago – but now, because of the fire, craftsmen – artisans – will have a real opportunity to assist in something being constructed from the ground up.
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| M in front of Notre Dame |
It’s like having a very old house that constantly needs to be cleaned/restored/replaced – and now having to do everything from the inside out and all at the same time. The intensity of the fire was so great that basically everything above ground level needs some sort of attention. The gargoyles and statues and rosettes which were carved decades ago suddenly need to be completely recarved – new rosettes created – and today’s craftsmen will see their work go up for the generations coming after us. I can’t even really imagine how that would feel!
There are stone cutters, masons, three architects, restorers, glass workers (all the glass in the cathedral has had to be taken down for cleaning and restoration and reframing) – you name it, and there is probably somebody doing it either on-site (where they can) or in other churches and warehouses around the area.
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| M with hot chocolate |
After our tour of the exterior, and a few minutes sitting in the sun in the plaza in front, we decided that warm beverages and bathrooms were sounding really good. So, into a small bistro across the street and on to Ile-St.-Louis; good coffee for Robert, and a lovely cup of hot chocolate for me!
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| Love the Armor! |
From the bistro, we walked down the main street on Ile St. Louis talking about the different times and hotels we had enjoyed on the island and meals we had there. It was great fun, but in the shade, it was really COLD! The local weather indicated somewhere in the area of 37-39 degrees F … I REALLY wish I had brought my winter coat from home!!! Oh well!
Finally, we popped out the far end of the island, and headed to the bus stop to catch a 21 bus over to the Rue de Rivoli and Samaritaine! Samaritaine is a very large department store in Paris where we once had a very lovely lunch in the restaurant. It was closed, however, about 16 years ago for renovation but we thought it would never open again. It was originally constructed in 1928 in the style of Eiffel with his characteristic wrought-iron Art Deco appearance. Now restored, it is absolutely stunning, and dressed for Christmas; it is very, very beautiful! Not necessarily the place we would ordinarily shop, but wow – amazing!
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| View of end of Ile St. Louis |
From there, we bused up the Avenue de l’Opera to our favorite Monoprix – where we used to do some of our grocery shopping when we were renting our apartment. Did not find too much
Interesting to look at now, but it was fun walking through it just the same. And then – finally – back to the hotel for a rest up. We’re still not sure what or where we will be going for dinner tonight – but as we’re in Paris, I’m sure it will be wonderful! Although I’m still not sure that we’ll even be hungry after last night’s dinner – can it be that one meal is good for an entire two days? We shall see!
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| Renovated exterior |
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| Beautiful lighting! |
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| Top floor with restaurants and bar |
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| Looking down from top floor |
Oh! I was just reminded that I had a thought that I wanted to bring up here. It seems that America really does have a lot to answer for! When we first started coming to Paris, it was truly the most cosmopolitan city either of us had ever seen! Classy Frenchwomen dressed from tip to toe in black and all looking amazingly stylish (something that I never will achieve, regardless of my age or time spent here!) xI did notice, though, that men and children of both sexes were wearing more and more tennis shoes … and I wondered what that might mean for the rest of the population. Well, that time has come! Suddenly – we are seeing everyone – regardless of age, in tennis shoes, and many of them are white! It looks very odd but also very comfortable – signaling that obviously those children we saw years ago have come of age and decided that being comfortable may actually top being stylish! At any rate, I feel certain that America is to blame! Just a thought…more later!
Love,
m
xxx
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