DAY 187 - Looking For the Hunchback of Notre Dame (Part 3)

Sept 22 - We went twice & then to Arc de Triomphe

The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world.  The cornerstone was laid in 1163, but construction wasn't complete until 200 years later.

This year just happened to be the special 850 year anniversary for the Cathedral.

Paris has so many amazing things to see - I LOVED NOTRE DAME!!

You could look for hours on the outside and see new things.

                                             

I looked up as I waited in line to climb up the steps to the top.

 
The cathedral treasury is notable for its reliquary which houses some of the Catholic Church's most important relics including the Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross, and one of the Holy Nails.

Up Up We GO!  These steps are over 800 years old!

In 1793, during the French Revolution, the cathedral was rededicated to the Cult of the Supreme Being. During this time, many of the treasures of the cathedral were either destroyed or plundered. The statues of biblical kings of Judah, located on a ledge on the facade of the cathedral were beheaded. Many of the heads were found during a 1977 excavation nearby and are on display in a museum.

These gargoyles should have been protecting the Cathedral from such horrific acts!

See the Eiffel Tower in the background?

And on the other side of the Cathedral, we have a totally different view of Paris!

...the beautiful Seine River and MORE!

A very nice Japanese man captured this great photo of me!

 The cathedral has 10 bells.  The largest, Emmanuel, original to 1681, is located in the south tower and weighs just over 13 tons, and is tolled to mark the hours of the day and for various occasions and services, ringing in a resounding E♭.  This bell is always rung first, at least 5 seconds before the rest.

From Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame comes the opening song:

 Morning in Paris, the city awakes 
To the bells of Notre Dame 
The fisherman fishes, the baker man bakes
To the bells of Notre Dame
To the big bells as loud as the thunder
To the little bells soft as a psalm
And some say the soul of the city's
The toll of the bells
The bells of Notre Dame

 It was right about here when the noon bell began to ring - it was so awesome!  Here I am at the top of the Notre Dame Cathedral thinking of Quasimoto from The Hunchback of Notre Dame.   I wonder if he is still here ringing the bells.  I began to look for him, but alas...I couldn't find him! What a GREAT Disney film that was!

It was based on Victor Hugos French Gothic Novel written in 1831.  In the 20th century, alone, there have been over 30 adaptations through TV, film, and musicals of the book.

 

 Which of the above views do you like the best?  They're both great, aren't they?  Paris is AMAZING!

 Bells of Paris (a song from '90's)
You steal my heart away
(Bells of Paris)
Remembering that day
(Bells of Paris)
When I met you on the Champs Elysees
In that old cafe.

 On the night of August 24th, 1944, as the Ile de la Cite was taken by an advance column of French and Allied armored troops and elements of the Resistance, it was the tolling of the Emmanuel that announced to the city that liberation was under way!

In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. An extensive restoration supervised began in 1845. A project of further restoration and maintenance began in 1991.

  I find it so sad when war and religion have to get in the way of the human race being able to live in peace and harmony.

I cannot get enough of these views - so surreal!

Looking down down down!

 

The Tower seems to be EVERYWHERE!

LOTS of tourists go on this tour boat down the Seine - we didn't!

Since Rich wasn't with me, I met some new American friends.

 Back on the ground, I decided to wait in line to go inside.  It was a very good experience with such massive amounts of decor.  I will always feel the splendor of both the inside and outside of the great Notre Dame Cathedral.


ENJOY some of the photos that I took as I went through part of the inside.
 

Unbelievable how REAL this was!

The organ has 7,374 pipes, with around 900 classified as historical. It has 110 stops, five 56-keymanuals and a 32-keypedalboard.  How fun would that be to play and the sound must be thrilling to hear!!!  Unfortunately, we didn't attend a concert.



 

This is spectacular in person!

Could this be Napolean Bonaparte?

A healthy Subway sandwich was very welcome after my time at Notre Dame.

As we walked through the streets of Paris (doesn't that sound cool?), we cam upon a bird market/show/expedition ??   Anyway - some very neat-looking birds.  They were really fun!

I loved all their colors!

"I just can't seem to get this lick on my head to stay down....mmmm!"

These were real MINKS!..you know - like in Mink Coat!

I gave this book to the Wayment Family (my neighbors in Idaho Falls) I  loved this book when my children were little.

HELP Mady!  I need to know what these next few pictures were of.  I didn't make a note and now I can't figure them out.

Look ahead!  It's a scary sight!

Some old ruins along the way - not sure the history of them

This street opened in 1909 and was called rue Pierre Curie until 1967 before adding the name of Marie Curie. It takes its name from the famous physicist and Nobel Prize winner because of the presence of the Radium Institute .

The Arc de Triomphe (in English:"Triumphal Arch") honors those who fought and died for France in the both the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

The Arc is located on the right bank of the Seine at the centre of a dodecagonal configuration of twelve radiating avenues. It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napolean at the peak of his fortunes. Laying the foundations alone took two years.

A ceremony is held at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier every November 11th on the anniversary of the armistice signed between France and Germany in 1918.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

 It was originally decided to bury the unknown soldier's remains in the Pantheon, but a public letter-writing campaign led to the decision to bury him beneath the Arc de Triomphe. The coffin was put in the chapel on the first floor of the Arc on November 10, 1920. The slab on top carries the inscription ICI REPOSE UN SOLDAT FRANÇAIS MORT POUR LA PATRIE 1914–1918 ("Here lies a French soldier who died for the fatherland 1914–1918").

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy and the First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy paid their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, accompanied by French President Charles de Gaulle. After the 1963 assasination of President Kennedy, Mrs Kennedy remembered the eternal flame at the Arc de Triomphe and requested that an eternal flame be placed next to her husband's grave atArlington National Cemetery in Virginia. President Charles de Gaulle went to Washington to attend the state funeral, and witnessed Jacqueline Kennedy lighting the eternal flame that had been inspired by her visit to France.

Some bright and fun graffiti.

There are 37 bridges within Paris and dozens more spanning the river outside the city.  Examples in Paris include the Pont Louis-Philippe and Pont Neuf, the latter of which dates back to 1607.

I loved our walk along the Seine River

Some more scenes that I don't remember what they are.  There was so much to see in Paris as we walked and walked, seeing as much as we could.  Just to be in and among the beautiful French people was a treat in and of itself...a lovely city!

The Panthéon ⁽("Every god") is a building in the Latin Quarter. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve and to house the reliquary chasse containing her relics but, after many changes, now functions as a secular mausoleum containing the remains of distinguished French citizens.

The Pantheon is an early example of neoclassicism. 

The Pantheon was undergoing some construction, but it was beautiful all lit up at night.  We went by it every day as our host's lived close by.  Off to Carcasonne tomorrow, but in my next post, I show many pictures of very cool Paris doors.