Oct 17, Part 2 - Paris: Morning walk to the Seine

Just outside the door of our hotel, directly across the street was this pizzeria. We never are there, and most of the time it looked pretty empty. But this woman is enjoying a quiet breakfast off the beaten path.

You can go west or north leaving the hotel, and we chose north this morning, walking one short block to the River Seine.

From our street, Rue Maitre Albert, you reach the Seine at the Quai de Tournelle. Here's an ice cream shop, but it was still chilly morning, and we had other ideas. The sun was out for the second time on our visit. What were we going to do with such a beautiful day? Enjoy it, of course! The lighting does blow out the lights and darks in the photos, but what a wonderful sight for me - Paris in sunlight. Yesterday was sunny in the afternoon, but the morning had been dark. I'm more used to the overcast days. I tend to visit during the rainier seasons.

Here's our first glimpse of Notre Dame for the day, right at the foot of our street, one block from the hotel.

A kiosk, so typical of Paris. I like the shadows on the pavement.

The book- and print-sellers are already at work along the Quai de la Tournelle. Notre Dame is on the other side of the river, or rather on the Ile de la Cite, the big island.

"Just" another view of it. I can never get enough of this beautiful, peaceful spot. No matter the crowds or traffic, it always feels peaceful to me, although today there were not that many people, and the traffic was slow at this hour.

Fall colors along the banks of the Seine.

I was enchanted by the buildings here, looking south (inland) again up Rue de l'Hotel Colbert.

Crossing the street to the river, we encountered this plaque. Lee was pretty good at deciphering the French. I could only make out a few words here and there. It seems to be a history of boats at or near this location. Maybe. The bridge is Pont au Double, which crosses to the front of Notre Dame cathedral, which was on our route. I don't remember if it was our intention, but we were going to be ending up at a cafe we enjoyed on the Right Bank, Cafe Zimmer. I think we had decided we were headed that way for brunch, wandering a bit on the way. Or did it just turn out that way? Anyway, we had to pass Notre Dame and the river, and that's an advantage any day.

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Oct 17, Part 8 - Paris: Quai St-Michel

After crossing the Ile de la Cite, we arrived back on the Left Bank at Place St-Michel. We were enjoying the cool, sunny weather so much, it seemed that a stroll along the quai was just the thing. There's Notre Dame Cathedral in the background, a stunning view from any angle. Sorry the picture is a little crooked.

Here's Place St-Michel on the right, filled with traffic as always. We're headed along the quai to the left.

Beautiful . . .

The stalls along the river were all open today, so we did some browsing. It's fun to see what they have, although I'm surprised there are any old books and prints left to sell after all these years of hawking them. Some are old and some are reprints. It's usually very easy to find a vendor with tastes similar to mine. Some are not, but many are.

On the side of the street away from the river is one of the entrances to Gilbert Jeune, one of, if not THE landmark bookstore in Paris, or at least on the Left Bank. It was founded right here on the Quai St-Michel in 1886 (the same year as my home town of Corona, California was founded, for what that's worth). The store takes up many separate lots in this area, and has numerous entrances on various streets. If you ever want to be surrounded by the feel of information and learning potential, or you just love books and esoteric subjects (besides the regular ones) or want to feel like an intellectual par excellence, just open the door and wander the aisles and levels of this establishment!

Moving along, we passed the narrowest street in Paris (about 1.8 metres wide), the block-long (very short block) Rue du Chat Qui Peche, "Street of the Fishing Cat." It appears in all the guidebooks now, I expect. It's famous for that niche in the fact-list of Paris. The street dates from 1540, and was named for the picture on a shop sign. The poster is for the Hotel Les Argonautes, in which I've stayed three times. It's a funky, small hotel (rooms, tubs, showers, halls, everything very small), but the location is outstanding, the hotel is charming, and the price has been extremely affordable. My only complaint has been that the noise in the lower and outer rooms keeps up most of the night with the Greek restaurants across the street smashing plates and shouting like barkers for a carnival, and the dance music very loud in the restaurant below. It's sometimes not possible to change rooms. If you are getting a single room, you can have one in the middle above the first floor, which I found very quiet. The two times I stayed in double rooms, the noise was hard to sleep through. I don't know if you can get a quiet room on the river side of the hotel, but the one we had on the Rue de la Huchette side was very noisy. Still, I love the place.

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Oct 17, Part 9 - Paris: Quai Montebello - art along the Seine

From Quai St-Michel, we continued to stroll along the Seine. You stay on the same riverbank, only the name changes. I love this view of Notre Dame!

We found a vendor with animal stamps. We both love animals and Lee is a stamp collector, so we enjoyed looking, but didn't buy. I found a vendor who had a Paris touristy pocket knife with lots of blades and tools on it. I knew Sue would like it for opening things at work. For the longest time, she was using an "art" knife I have for pulling big staples and I didn't realize it! Now she'll have a handy tool for almost any purpose - with an Eiffel Tower on it, too :)

We liked these prints, espeically the one in the center with the dancers on the beach, because this artist's work from the same series was hanging in our hotel room on the last trip, when we stayed at the Hotel Les Argonautes.

Moving along, here's another view of the quai as we approach the Pont au Double. That's Lee in the white sweatshirt.

OK, so this is the kind of hack print I don't like, but the scene is . . . scenic.

Notre Dame is beautiful from any angle. The clouds are adding some drama today.

I thought this artist was pretty good. He's working in semi-caricature; I'd rather see a real portrait, but he seems to be one of the more talented. I wondered if he was a student, but we didn't disturb him. I like how he was emphasizing the kid's spiky hair.

Another shot of the magnificent cathedral and the clouds.

There is more. I really cannot get enough photos of this building. I think I keep hoping I'll get the perfect shot. I've taken so many where the light areas are burned out. There's so much contrast with the interesting shapes.

Flying buttresses - Notre Dame was the guinea pig for so much in Gothic architecture.

More Notre Dame.

Finally I tried setting my camera on wide angle, which I used also in the next post. I don't use it much and usually forget that I have that option. I like the result!

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Oct 17, Part 10 - Paris: Quai de Montebello Batobus landing

Strange things can be seen once you descend the stairs from the street level of the Quai de Montebello to the lower paveent where you board the boats. For instance, someone has painted white footprints on the cobbles, and there are large rings in the stone that look like they might belong in a torture chamber, although I'm sure they must be used to tie up boats, not humans. Also, right about here there's a marker on the wall showing the high-water point of the flood of 1910. Right now we'd be floating away.

Here is where you buy tickets for the Batobus (boat bus). It seems odd that it's built into the riverbank, but then why not?

Now we're waiting for our boat to come in so we can take a much-anticipated scenic ride.

What a great place to wait and watch the river. This boat heads toward the Pont au Double, right next to the front of Notre Dame.

Another boat goes by. It's busy on the river.

I'm enjoying the views above the riverbanks, too.

I love this photo. I think it's worth clicking on it to see the image larger.

Here's Lee, also enjoying the view on Notre Dame and waiting for the boat near the rings in the embankment.

It looks like the boat behind me is covering the bases. The Riverside Barbeque Restaurant has a pub and music, too. And the sign is in Korean (?) as well as English.

Here comes our Batobus.

It says, "Vendome" on the placard above the entrance to the boat. I don't remember what the prices were for the ride, but I never thought of using this "bus" to get around town, I'd only thought of it as a tour. Maybe next time it would be a good way to get across town.

Here's the name for the boat landing. It's too bad vandals have messed up the sign.

Lee gets onto the Batobus. Yeah, this will be great! What a treat. . . .

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Oct 15, Part 3 - Notre Dame: In the south aisles of the nave

Although the stained glass would have been brighter on a brighter day, I have to say the colors are really lovely in this window.

And this is one of my favorite pictures of the trip so far. There's just something about it that I like.

Here's another very Gothic window in one of the chapels.

Like the image above with the chandelier, I think this one is another of my favorites - the shape and detail of the chandelier against the beautiful clerestory wall with the blue windows is breathtaking.

This is another of the aisles on the south side of the nave. I don't remember why I didn't take a photo of the main nave of the church, but it may have been blocked off. It seemed that there was more happening in the church this visit, and that I felt less free to wander and appreciate than on any of the visits in the past. Still, Notre Dame is special.

It has a feel like nowhere else on Earth, even for those who are not religious. It has an atmosphere that most people respond to. Someone wrote that to enter Notre Dame is to come home, even when you have never been there before. When I read that, I knew that was true for me as well. Notre Dame may be the heart of Paris, but for many, it's also the heart of the world in a way that's hard to explain. I gave it some thought. What happens when you enter? There is an immediate sense of peace - not just quiet, but of stability and security. There's a warmth represented by candles and sconces. Even though Notre Dame is Gothic and therefore pointed, it has a sense of roundness that denotes comfort. It has a gentle and inviting feng shui, not sharp and pointed. Call it what you will, Notre Dame seeps inside your skin and stays there. Here's a link that will tell you some of the exciting and historic things you will not see in Notre Dame.

This seems to be the rose window in the north arm of the transept, even though I was walking on the south side of the cathedral. In looking online for a comparison, it seems that the first panel in the bottom row of smaller windows has a red shield near the bottom on the south side. This one does not.

Candles. Not in focus, but the cathedral would not feel complete without them. I love the warmth they give on a cold day. And, they glow beautifully. Maybe next time I'll contribute one as well.

I'm not sure what this panel is called, but there are pieces of it on the north and south sides as you enter the ambulatory at the east end of the cathedral. I love the colors and I love looking at it. I read a book about the cathedral and the many historic works of art inside, but I've forgotten everything. Maybe when things slow down here at work, I'll find it and add some content to the post. The richness of color afforded by the gold in this wood sculpture is stunning. I can barely imagine the effect it must have had on the original viewers. It still inspires awe for aestheic reasons. I can't begin to describe what it might mean to the religiously pious.

The sacristy. This picture looks better if you click to enlarge it. You can see the arches leading away from the door.

There is certainly a sense of the magical and mysterious in this cathedral - and I don't feel it in every cathedral, and I almost never feel it in smaller churches, except for some of the ancient ones in Europe. It has something to do with age and place. There is something in the ancient stones, a peace, a mystery, a place where imagination can almost meet fulfilment. Where longing can almost touch completion. I believe that part of the appeal and addiction of hunting treasures in the D&D-type dungeons comes from a desire to be part of a similar atmosphere - at least for me I believe this is true. That's odd. I'd never thought of this before. It's a little like that feeling in a dream where you are about to connect with something deep. And then you wake up.

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