Consecrated in 1248, Sainte-Chapelle is another amazing Gothic church. It was originally built by King Louis IX of France to house (what was considered to be) Christ's Crown of Thorns.
Because of its amazing stained-glass windows, which dominate the structure, standing inside this church is like being inside an enormous jewelry box!
One of my favorite things about this museum is the building in which it is housed. It is a piece of art in its own right.
Take a look at the lock and handle on one of the courtyard doors:
We were so fortunate to have as our guide, the world-renown expert on the Cathedral, Malcolm Miller. A surly, octogenarian Englishman, Mr. Miller has written many books on the cathedral, and has been studying it and guiding tours since 1958! He explained that the cathedral was a book, read not by words, but in its windows, statues and carvings.
It was fascinating to have him "read" the biblical stories to us from one window like this. You begin at the bottom, working from left-to-right. When these windows (mostly original, dating from the 1300s) were created, Europe didn't have paper, and the public could not read. The stories were written in the windows and could be read over and over by whomever visited the cathedral. There are 176 windows in all.
A few of the things we learned during Mr. Miller's lecture include:
Crypt means hidden, not buried. People can be buried in a crypt, but not necessarily.
Flamboyant means flame-like (makes sense!). The gothic spires are flamboyant, reaching toward heaven.
The number 40 is everywhere! The Great Flood was 40 days/nights, lent, ascension, purifying, quarrantine, the number of cleansing, and life begins at 40. . . it goes on!
Symbols of the Zodiac are quite common in churches -- it is a calendar.
Honestly, he was a fascinating old guy. I hope to hear him speak again someday. He said he would be there in Chartres until Judgement Day, so who knows. :)
The town of Chartres is lovely and quaint. None of the hustle and bustle of a big city.
There is even a canal that runs through part of the town.
. . . and plenty of places to sit and have a treat (after a delicious Moroccan lunch, nonetheless)!
Saint Denis Basilica Cathedral - named after the martyred first Bishop of Paris, who was martyred around 250 AD. It was a place of pilgrammage, built in the 5th century. It was a powerful Benedictine abbey in the Middle Ages and most of the kings and queens of France have been buried here since the 6th century.
The renovation by Abbot Suger in the 12th century created the look we saw today -- considered to be early Gothic. The previous Roman style was low and dark without windows. The early Gothic style focused on height and light -- a pathway to Heaven.
The Basilica houses a unique collection of over 70 recumbent statues and tombs that show the changes in funeral art over the centuries.
From the high celings . . .
to the decorative floors, there is a lot to see.
Our group from COC with art professors Nicia and Rebecca.. . .
The Place outside of the Basilica, and the Town Hall of Sainte-Denis
The variety of seafood is out-of-this world. You can pick-up shrimp, oysters, whole fish, octopus and live crabs, and more.
I tried oysters for the first time last summer, and liked them (much to my surprise). These, however, were monstrous in size -- almost the length of my hand. I'm not brave enough!
Dogs are welcome many places in France (and Europe in general). Not just at the markets, but in some stores, restaurants, and even on the Métro. As part of my class, we are each required to do a small project which requires interaction with French people. I've decided to do my project on the Dogs of Paris. I figure that is one of the easiest ways to interact with strangers -- everyone loves their dogs!
Les fromages . . . be still my heart! I have heard that France has (at least) enough different varieties of cheese that you can eat a different one every day of the year. One should be so lucky!
This is a famous, very old, English bookstore in Paris.. Shakespeare and Company is near Notre Dame cathedral.
I probably don't have to tell anyone what this is! ;0)
Palais Garnier: l'Opéra -- the Opéra de Paris (now it hosts mainly ballet). Construction started in 1861, finished 1875.
The Louvre -- once a palace, now the most amazing museum. I don't remember exactly, but I think they say it would take months to see everything in it!
As I write this, it is 10:40pm (Friday) and it has just gotten dark. I arrived home about 10pm, still light out. Now, I've got my window open to a lovely breeze, the apartment is empty except for me and Meune, the sweet kittty, and I can hear a crowd in the distance cheering crazily for a game of the World Cup. Fun!
Today, we met at the Accent Center (the study center and company that arranges all of the details for COC and other colleges and Universities who use this program). After a very entertaining orientation (program, safety, using the Metro, etc.), a group of us left for lunch (take-out deli, we ate in the park). Most of the students met again at 2:30 and Pierre, our professor from COC, took us via Metro to Tour Montparnasse, the tallest building in France. At 56 floors of ugly, modern office building, it isn't much to look at, however; it has the most amazing view of all of Paris from its rooftop deck.
From Montparnasse (my home neighborhood, by the way, in the 15th Arondissement), 5 of us (Felice, a COC dance professor and her daughter, Oleya, Cindy, the head of COC's Culinary Dept., and her friend, Kim, decided to take the Metro to the Seine, near Notre Dame, where we took a tour boat ride and later had dinner.
I'd been thinking about cheese since I'd landed. This is the charcuterie platter with cheese. I even tried (and liked!) that creepy teerrine stuff in the front left of the photo. Delicious. A little more walking, enjoying Notre Dame from the outside (it was already 8pm). . .
. . . and couldn't pass-up the opportunity to have a crepe with Nutella for dessert (from the same cafe where Mark and I had had crepes six years ago).
The final challenge of the day -- get back to my apartment, alone, with an outdated Metro map! Had to stop to look at a newer map (I will be getting one tomorroww), but otherwise found my way and ended-up home with no problems.
