Notre Dame

Notre Dame with its beautiful flying buttresses.

No visit to Paris would be complete with stopping into la Notre Dame.  While it isn't the biggest or most beautiful cathedral, it is the best known.  We arrived early enough to walk right in.  By the time we left, there was a long line slowly moving to get inside.

The crowd waiting in line to enter the Cathedral.

Carvings over the original entrance doors.



The doors are huge!

 The outside has been cleaned in recent years and the inside seemed brighter than on our last visit in 2008.  They are gearing up for the 850th anniversary in 1213.   That's right, 850 years!  We may have to come back for the celebration.

Only priests are allowed in this area (I don't remember what it is called), so Bill knelt by the rope which cordoned it off to take the picture.  I think some people thought he was praying.

The Rose Window.

The center of the Cathedral's ceiling.

We walked around and into the gardens.  There were two couples, close in age to us, who were looking at the people walking around on top of the towers.  One of the women was saying how there was no way they could make that climb.  I told them we had done it.  While it was tiring, it wasn't particularly hard, just a steady circular climb, with nice sturdy hand rails.  They decided maybe another day, as they had started their 4 day museum pass and only wanted to do things that were covered by it.  Museum passes are wonderful, and quite the bargain if you use them to see not only the big things, but also those others you might not consider if you had to pay individually for them.

Flowers in the garden behind the cathedral.

The garden is a very peaceful place, especially after the crowds in front of the Cathedral,

Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc led the French to victory over the English.  Then she was burned at the stake as a heretic.  Finally, she was rehabilitated, which started in Notre Dame,  and made into a saint.  I've always admired her fortitude.  We have become Joan of Arc searchers.  Werever we are, we look for Joan.  It is amazing the places we have found her, and not just in France, either.  So here is Joan from her position of honor in Notre Dame.