Paying our respects

Paris, France Thanks to Don’s research and quick reflexes at midnight a few days ago. we were able to obtain tickets for Notre Dame today. Refresh, refresh, refresh, get your tickets, and ten minutes later, all sold out!

But it would have been such a shame not to see it. Work is still continuing on the exterior, but the interior has reopened and it is glorious.

What was previously a very dark and somber interior now sparkles and gleams with light. Modern fixtures aside, the church has never looked so uniformly “new,” given the decades it took to build. Parts looked aged before all of it was completed. The gloom of time has been replaced by shiny polished stone, and the fragrance of centuries of burning candles and incense is gone, with a whiff of smoke from the fire remaining in its place. It’s gorgeous, and it’s a miracle it’s here, but I confess to nostalgia for the past. Somehow, it just doesn’t feel as sacred. But how many churches can draw 10,000 people a day? That says something about its power.

Some of the wall paintings date from the restoration of the cathedral in the mid 19th century, but all has been refreshed and seems to blend together in harmony. The same is true for the people who made this happen. Thousands of people came together in an outpouring of support and talent to make the cathedral come alive again. For many of those who did the actual work, as with their medieval antecedents. they now can look at Notre Dame and say, “I touched that.”

We started our day at the Hotel de Ville, the City Hall of Paris. It is imposing, and lets you know you’re not dealing with any little rural municipality. Across the street is BHV, Bazaar de Hotel de Ville, a notable department store. It surprised us with its featured guest, Pokemon, whose popup store required a burly guard to keep the avid fans in line.

The Hotel de Ville is very close to Notre Dame, and it was a good walk in the neighborhood.

After seeing Notre Dame, we descended into the Archeological Crypt, which has the foundations of the Roman city which originally occupied the Ile de la Cite. In typical modern style, it was unearthed when there was a plan to put a parking garage in front of the church.

We took a beverage break nearby the old flower market and sat to watch the passing crowd.

We then walked around Notre Dame to cross over to the Ile Saint Louis, a delightful little island where everyone goes for Berthillon ice cream, even on a damp day like today. I just happened to be in Paris and stayed in a hotel here on the day of Princess Diana’s funeral. It was a week after the accident, and dignitaries were streaming into the British embassy to pay their respects.

Old and new, familiar and surprising — Paris is a touch point with the past and a completely modern city at the same time.

Don’s Food Corner

On the Ile St. Louis, we passed a cheese shop seeming to carry every one of the hundreds of French cheeses. We decided that today’s main meal would be a wheel of camembert and a loaf of great French bread.

We asked for camembert and the cheesemonger quickly handed us a beautifully packaged small wheel of cheese. I was hesitant that it wasn’t authentic because it was so cheap — $8. He took a little bit of offence and pointed to the label of authenticity. I was sold. Then, we went next door to the bakery and bought that baguette and got two cannelés. A perfect balance to the cheese.

Well, dinner in the room was heaven. Real-deal camembert with real-deal French bread (along with real-deal French cannelés). The cheese was a little smelly, but we loved it.