Good Old-Fashioned Catholic Fun

Sorry for the delay in updating. A certain someone has been neglecting his duty of completing the final chapter of his trip to the south of France and I have been waiting for him to do so before posting again. But we have had an activity-filled week and if I wait any longer I'll never get to it, so here's a photographic summary.

Monday, August 23, 2010: Notre Dame de Paris. I never realized how old this cathedral was, but according to Wikipedia, what currently stands was completed in 1345. If you want more history than that, you'll have to look it up yourself.

The exterior (front):

Side:

Rear:

Miscellaneous interior:

A chandelier, at least a foot taller than me, sitting on the floor for some reason.

As far as I could tell, this is an exaggerated podium upon which to rest one's Bible.

Stained glass:

Loads of bread: These people are definitely French.

Candles:

This is a seed that fell from a tree behind the cathedral:

We got home just in time for the rain to start pouring:

Tuesday, August 24 - Basilique du Sacré-Coeur and the Dali Museum. This was a WONDERFUL outing. We had a great time doing the following:

One day this week while walking up rue Martyrs two blocks from our house, I noticed a domed building off in the distance. It looked something like this.

I found out that this was Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in the Montmartre neighborhood and that it is only about a 30-minute walk from our house. We had not yet explored Montmartre so we decided to take that walk, rather than riding the metro, to see what it was all about. It is uphill all the way, and the church is located on butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city.

Getting closer...

Almost there...

Just a few more steps!

We went inside and it was beautiful, as one would expect. Photography was not allowed and there were people standing around to actually monitor that this rule was adhered to out of respect for the several people actively worshipping in the church rather than just being tourists.

I couldn't help myself. As we walked behind the main alter, I looked up and saw Jesus peek-a-booing on the ceiling. It had to be captured:

It didn't take long to see the inside of the building, and as we were leaving I remembered reading that one could actually ascend the highest dome of the church. We followed the perplexing signs simultaneously guiding people to the crypt AND the dome (turns out they originate in the same place) but the crypt was closed. We paid a little machine a few euros each and entered into the spiral stairwell by means of a metro-type turnstile.

And thus began the huffing and puffing up 300 claustrophobic steps.

Steep and narrow

Another spiral staircase leading up to one of the secondary domes

About half way up the route detours out of doors, offering a refreshing break from the stifling stairwell.

We made it!

There was graffiti everywhere (unfortunately). And yes, even at the top of the highest building in Paris it still smells like piss. One cannot escape it. But it was well worth the view:

Going back down was not as easy as you think. In some areas the stairs are barely wide and long enough to accommodate both feet, and the tight spiral combined with the darkness and stale air make you dizzy.

We made it in and out of Sacre-Coeur just as the tourist rush was beginning and headed around the corner to a recently installed permanent Dali exhibition. This particular exhibition features Dali's sculptures and his complete collection of etchings, rather than the surrealist paintings that he is most famous for. It was refreshing to discover a new-found appreciation for the work of this artist who I already admire. They didn't seem to care at all whether pictures were taken, so I helped myself.

Alice in Wonderland:

Advice from a Caterpillar

Who Stole the Tarts?

The Old Testament (Name that bible story!):

The New Testament:

Others:

The Vision of the Angel

I don't know the name of the following work, but it was a horizontal piece of art that looked like a large moth and had a reflective cylinder placed so as to create a face.

At the end of the exhibition, Charlie and I discovered and enjoyed the Dali-themed photo booth.

Funny thing is, I kind of look like him. I always wanted a mustache like that.

Charlie blissfully melts into infinity.

Okay, I'm not going to do the whole week in one entry. There is just too much. I'll follow up soon with more (and so will a certain someone).