24 Hours in Paris....

Is impossible. This morning we started by walking a couple blocks to catch a bus to the Notre Dame cathedral. The cathedral was commissioned in the 1100’s but was not completed for 200 years. Gothic architecture looms large and intimidating before you as you take it in from the front. The first thing you see is the large rose window in the front with Mary holding Baby Jesus. Lower on the facade are carvings of Jesus and the 12 barefoot disciples as well as scenes from the last judgement. Once you enter the cathedral it is silent as the reverent come forward to light candles and pray and the tourists silently stand in awe gaping at the huge stained glass windows that dominate the scenery. The huge stone walls extend upwards 10 stories and the dome ceilings rest above, intricately carved and painted. For the architecturally inclined, you can follow around to the back end of the cathedral and see the buttresses or supports that allow the walls to hold the great weight of the stone ceilings. There are hardly words to describe the beuty of the cathedral and it could possibly be one of my favorite sights in Paris.

 Notre Dame Cathedral from the front

 The beauty of the stained glass windows cannot be captured on camera. It is so beautiful to see the sun shining through them and casting colored lights on the floor.

 Here is an example of the intricately painted ceilings inside the cathedral. They are 10 stories high and domed.

 Here you can see the buttresses that support the outside walls of the cathedral. A perfect example of hte newly inspired Gothic architecture of the time.

Somewhere around the WC we lost our agenda that I painstakingly researched and typed so from that point on we were on our own! We took a bus to the Musee d’Orsay, an old train station that now holds some of the most famous works of art from the 19^th and 20^th centuries. I enjoyed seeing these pieces with my kids as they recognized many artists from their fabulous ICAP art classes. (Thanks to Denise Cortes and Denise Lewis who exposed my kids to great art and helped make it a fruitful visit!)  Unfortunately I could not help myself and snapped a picture of my kids next to a Monet where immediately I was reprimanded quite loudly in French by museum security. Rude Americans! Oops!

 

The Orsay is an old train station (below)

We left the Orsay and hopped onto a double decker tourist bus. We had purchased a river cruise of the Seine but never quite made it to that as we fell asleep on the bus! No matter because the weather (19 degrees F) was not suited for that pursuit. We finally ended up at the Eiffel Tower just in time for our tour. That did not leave us much time for many photos of the sight but the tour was fantastic. Our tour guide was Canadian and spoke perfect English as well as most of the people on our tour. Due to extreme weather conditions the top of the tower was closed so we only went to the second level. However, those very extreme weather conditions made for a quite uncomfortable evening! The biting cold eventually drove us down from the tower and we hopped in a cab to the Louvre, our last stop of the day. Of course we took in the Mona Lisa as well as other works of Italian and English art. We toured the Greek statues and Napolean III’s apartments (exquisite!) and were kicked out of the museum just as it closed.

By this time we were utterly exhausted!! It would have been nice to enjoy a truly Parisian dinner experience but we could barely keep our eyes open and we were freezing to death so we went in to the first place we found and had pizza and pasta. The proprietor spoke perfect English and as we were the only patrons at the time, he showered us with attention and played with the kids. We walked back to our warm apartment and literally fell into bed! It was an exhausting day but we saw so many beautiful things.

Paris at sunset from the Eiffel Tower :)