Paris: Notre-Dame, Flower Market, Montmartre

Holly, Sean and I took this day for ourselves while Sara and Willow were ‘lazy’ (their own words.)  We started off by going to Ile de la Cité.  We disembarked from the Metro by the Paris city hall, or Hôtel-de-Ville.  What a lovely building!  Lights, sculptures, giant wooden doors.   

The proclamation above the door says that on this spot on September 4, 1870, the people of Paris proclaimed the republic.  This was La Troisième République (third republic), which was in force until 1940 when Germany occupied France.

Notre Dame is hard to miss.  It is a beautiful iconic church.  The portal over the center door of Notre Dame is the Portal of the Final Judgment.  It was made in the 1220s… 800 years ago.  Amazing.

The rose windows are magnificent.  Again, these treasures are from the 1200s.  The first is the North window.  Details are here (more than you’ll ever want to know!)  http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/Paris-N-Dame/N-rose-Frame.htm

The South Rose window has Christ in the center. http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/Paris-N-Dame/S-rose-Frame.htm

All around the altar is a screen with beautiful wood carvings of scenes from the life of Christ.  I chose to show you the scene with ‘doubting’ Thomas, as that was the gospel reading from the first Sunday of Easter, which had just passed.  

The pelican, in another window, is a symbol of Christ, feeding us with his flesh and blood.   We also have good old Adam and Eve, and Madonna and Child.

Outside, we came upon another newlywed couple.  The photographer was trying to coax the pigeons to flutter around them on cue.  Why?  Poo city. 

Just by Notre Dame is Place Louis Lépine, site of the block long flower market.  We must have spent at least an hour strolling, looking at flowers, chatting with vendors (‘no photos unless you greet vendor’ the sign said.)  Lots of lovely gifts, too.

Afterwards, we took the Metro (the ads are for vacations in Morbihan and Finistère in Bretagne [Brittany] where I will go this fall!)

A word about the ‘Metropolitain’ or Metro.  Fabulous.  Trains in minutes, goes everywhere, fast, cheap.  Plus the old art deco signs are very cool.  Why not Atlanta?

Next stop, Père Lachaise Cemetery.  Holly and Sean were more energetic than I so they got to go see the graves of Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde and Chopin (among others).  I putzed around with other dead people, and some living ones, too, while they schlepped up and up and up.

Then we had a delicious lunch at a nearby café. Holly had a lovely cheeseburger and Sean and I had beautiful Caprese salads and lasagna Bolognese. Yummy food, and then we off we go to Montmartre!

What fun it was… the funicular takes you most of the way up. We visited the Basilica and then went to the artist’s market. And of course there were tons of gift/souvenir shops, where, of course, I had to spend some money. And no, I did not buy one of those cute cat plates! I wish I had now…

Yikes.  Poor nose. 

The views of Paris from atop Montmartre are outstanding! The church is wonderful. It’s Sacred Heart and you can see the huge mosaic of Jeus and the Sacred Heart on the cupola.

Around the corner is Place du Tertre where the artists hang out. They do sketches and portraits there and also have pieces to sell. I bought a … wait for it … cat print!

There are some characters in Montmartre as is fitting for its colorful, eccentric, artsy history.