Notre Dame de Paris
Paris, France - Monday, November 1, 2010 by: Michael Townsend
Before I left this morning from the hotel, my intention was to go to the Louvre. But I could not see me spending this beautiful day in an old museum, even if it was the Louvre. A last minute tour of Paris was added as part of my package before I left for this trip so I thought I would do this today. The bus was full and you know I never took a single picture from the bus. As when in Dublin, I used the tour on the bus to plot out my own walking tours. When we were passing Notre Dame there were hundreds of police all over the area. This of course is like a magnet for me so as soon as I got off the bus, I was heading for Notre Dame.
I was waylaid briefly by the Louvre. If I was going to visit during a cloudy day, I might not get the exterior pictures offered up today. But then I was off to 'Our Lady of Paris Cathedral' . But the damn police were gone and the church was just left to the throngs and me.
But what a place!!! 200 years in its construction and probably as beautiful today as the day it was completed. It was amazing there was no charge to get in, no security checks, and one is left to wander at will.
After I got my pictures I sat for more than a half an hour just taking it all in. I had the last religious bone in my body removed many years ago but you know I felt something in there. Don't know and don't care to think too much about it, but I was taken away briefly. (Maybe it was the 'evil spirit' I captured when I took a picture of one of the stain glass windows. Did you spot him?)
So here are the pictures of the outside of the Louvre, the walk along the Seine to the bridge that crosses over to one of the two islands in the Seine where the Notre Dame is located, and the Cathedral itself.
After I left, my four to five hour day of walking was up, so found the Metro for home. (Before getting on the Metro I had a five euro coffee today rather than the ten euro coffee of yesterday. I hate to say it, but that damn ten euro coffee was twice as good as the five euro one. Go figure eh?
Editor's note: These pictures were taken during the afternoon of October 11, 2010