September 26-27 The Louvre, Notre-Dame Cathedral

BLOG ENTRY: September 26-27, The Louvre, Notre-Dame Cathedral

The Louvre Museum

We devoted Saturday to the famous Louvre Museum. Getting there by now is a cinch. Get on bus 48 in front of our hotel and get off at the Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre stop. It wasn’t clear where to find the museum. There was the large wall of a building, which looked much like other walls of buildings, so we entered the first door we could find which was open. We found ourselves in the Louvre des Antiquaires (antiques), the business pavilion of the museum. SEE: http://www.louvre-antiquaires.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=1&lg=en The stores are amazing, each very small but each specializing in different antiques.

We found our way to the famous front and entrance to the museum, the glass pyramid surrounded by pools of water, which is the massive cover for the below ground entrance area to the museum. This must be one of the largest museums in the world. According to Wikipedia it is 652,300 sq ft (60,600 sq meters). That’s the size of 7.5 Canadian football fields. SEE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louvre . The building has a massive presence, and is a somewhat U shaped structure on the right bank of the Seine (the right bank when travelling downstream to the ocean).

We only planned one day at the Museum because we had lots to see in Paris and we are not educated in the antiquities and art of the world. We do not have the capacity to even begin to describe the experience of visiting the museum and its contents. Nevertheless, the historical and art pieces on display were nothing short of awesome. There is no point trying to list all the areas of the museum. They were all impressive. For example, we were impressed with the Egyptian area which included massive sandstone (I believe) sphinxes, coffins, funeral masks, and a wide display of art and tools and everyday items. We saw the original Mona Lisa, but on looking at my photo it had glass in front of it. We only noticed two pieces by Michelangelo, but we will see more of his work in Rome, later in October. Many art paintings were massive as you will see in our photos. We really can’t say much more. I am sure that anyone who has studied the details of any aspect or era of world history or art would find fascinating displays to improve their knowledge.

Reflecting on our visit to the Louvre, we were left with the feeling that the world has had many great civilizations which have come and gone. The same can happen to our current civilization. But for now Rose and I feel greatly blessed to have health and to be able to experience so much of the world and so many of the great places in the world. We also have to admire the brilliance of so many creative people who have left their marks on history.

Notre Dame Cathedral

Sunday the buses did not run as often so we took the subway to the St. Michael-Nortre Dame station, walked across the to right side of the river, and down a block to the Cathedral. SEE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre_Dame_de_Paris . It seemed appropriate to be visiting the Cathedral on Sunday. We had listened to a Rick Steeve’s podcast about Paris, which our friend Carol Tanner had told us about, and which we had downloaded. SEE: http://www.ricksteves.com/news/podcast_menu.htm

Again we found ourselves amoung a sea of people (according to Wikipedia over 13 million a year visit the Cathedral), and a long line to get into the Cathedral. But the line moved quickly and 10-15 minutes later we were entering the Cathedral, 11:45am. There was no charge. A mass was being celebrated so we took a seat near the front, and received communion. As one would expect, the mass was impeccably run. As with everything in this ancient city, the crowds seemed to be handled with ease. As the mass was taking place the crowds were flowing quietly around the side isles of the church. Rose easily followed the Roman Catholic service which was in French, and she does not know French. I speak French well but not fluently, and I could not follow the mass. Afterwards around 12:45pm we did our own walk around the outside aisles.

When we came to the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, Rose lit a candle for the intentions of our friend Tim Sandell, and for my cousin Fred Gimblett, both of whom are suffering with cancer.

The Cathedral is the largest in Europe. Beginning in 1163 it took 200 years to build. It was the first to use the ‘flying buttress’ construction technique which allowed its size. During mass we learned that an organ recital would take place at 4:30pm. After the mass and viewing the inside, Rose and I found the line for walking to the top of the 69 meter, 224 ft towers. We were in line for 1.5 hours, during which we met and chatted with a few Americans, and were entertained by a clown in khaki outfit with a red nose who would follow and surprise people, by for example, sneaking up behind them and imitating their behaviour. The 380 step walk to the top had Rose puffing but she made it. The sites from the top were awesome. The gargoyles, some of which were badly worn down, were imaginative and often ferocious. Viewing the city from the top of the towers was another great experience. Rose found the entrance to one of the bell towers, said to be the one based on the famous novel of Victor Hugo, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In his book, Notre-Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo does a great job of describing the scene from the top of the towers. He wrote, "All Paris was spread out at his feet, with her thousand turrets, her undulating horizon, her river winding under bridges, her stream of people flowing to and fro in the streets; with the cloud of smoke rising from her many chimneys [today the chimneys are still there but the cloud of smoke is gone]; with her chain of crested roofs pressing in ever tightening coils round about Notre Dame".

After walking to the top of the tower and back we had a bit to eat at one of several restaurant/bars within a block of the Cathedral. I was surprised by the ‘turkish toilet’ in the men’s bathroom. Luckily I only had to pee (too much information?).

Lunch and bathroom breaks over, we attended an organ recital in the Cathedral by an American, Karel Paukert, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cleveland Heights, Ohio (in Paris they have to add USA). We listened to his first piece ‘Fantaise et fugue en sol mineur BWV 542’ by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750). I wonder if he ever played in the Cathedral. The power and energy of this brilliant piece of classical music coupled with it being played on the booming Cathedral organ in the massive cathedral cavern, was an unforgettable experience. I taped it on my Palm Lifedrive. Someday I will figure out how to upload it to the blog.

As we returned home a man was feeding the sparrows bread out of his hand. He gave a piece to Rose who was excited to have the birds eat out of her hand. We returned home by Metro and this time walked the one block from Gare Du Nord to our hotel without getting lost.

CORRECTIONS:

1) I earlier wrote that we were lost at the 5 street intersections near our hotel. It is really eight streets that intersect!

2) We earlier said that the elevator in our hotel is 3’x4’. Actually it is 2.5’x3’! Rose thinks of our daughter-in-law, Teresa who is claustrophobic, every time she gets into the elevator. The first day we put ourselves and all our luggage in there. Rose did not enjoy that!