Notre Dame, St Chapelle and Latin Quarter

St Chapelle by Candlelight

Four Seasons

Undoubtedly, the highlight of this second day in Paris was our concert at Sainte-Chapelle. Vivaldi's Four Seasons sung through the chapel.

Sainte Chapelle was built by King Louis IX (later St Louis) to house the Crown of Thorns (at least what was thought to be the crown of thorns).  Completed in 1248 (!), it is a beautiful medieval chapel with tall windows of magnificent stained glass. Whilst there has been some destruction over the years (for example during the French Revolution), apparently two-thirds of the stained glass is original, and the chapel underwent an extensive restoration fairly recently.   It is one of the most difficult attractions to get into in Paris, due to the small size and the length of the queues outside.  So I thought that the best way was to combine the visit with this classical music concert.

Indeed it was a very special experience.  The queues were long, it is true, but needed in any case to get through security and into the chapel.  As the sun was still shining (days are lengthening at the end of May) we still got to see the stained glass lit by the light of the evening sun outside.  The strains of "Air on a G String", followed by the "Four Seasons" filled the chapel as the light slowly faded outside.  But then the exquisite screen, just behind the musicians then took prominence.  It was really an unforgettable evening!

Chapel of the Crown of Thorns

After the concert, we were surprised when the rain started    pouring down when we left.  The day had been so bright and sunny that we were not expecting such strong, gusty winds nor the torrential rain.  It was as though we were experiencing Singapore's own two seasons (tropical heat and thunderstorms) in this one day!

But back to how we spent the day.  We started off at Cathedral of Notre Dame at the Ile de Cite, which I have been to twice during previous visits to Paris. But as always, you find new things to see.  This time, I particularly noticed the chapel devoted to the Crown of Thorns relic (moved over from Sainte-Chapelle during the French Revolution).  I am always rather sceptical as to the authenticity of these relics but one can and should remember the symbolism of the crown of thorns, and the suffering of Christ which he endured on our behalf.

Restored - the Visit of the Magi

The Cathedral itself is undergoing its own slow process of restoration.  The exterior has been largely completed and within, various areas have already been restored.  The screen around the high altar is in progress, so half of it looks a little grubby whilst in the other half, the expressions and features figures in the key biblical scenes have emerged from centuries of dust and grime.

Within Shakespeare & Co

After our visit to Notre Dame, we had lunch across the Seine in the Latin Quarter and from there we last visit to Paris.  This little bookshop is so popular with tourists that it has even managed to start up its own little eatery on the side.  But I like it for the quirky little upper room, with its beautiful view of the towers of Notre Dame, and the resident cat (I didn't spot the cat but I did see the cat bed!).

I bought a book (of course) - David Leibovitz's The Sweet Life in Paris which I had borrowed previously from the library.  I like his irreverent style, his self-deprecating humour, and the yummy recipes sprinkled throughout.  My sister read the book prior to moving to Paris and apparently can relate to the tussles with the French bureaucracy both within government and with the service standards and processes in even the commercial retail establishments.  My mother too ended up reading the book during the rest of our stay.

Christ child meets John the Baptist

We continued to stroll around the Latin Quarter, visiting the church of Saint Severin, famous for its gargoyles, stained glass, and magnificent architecture.  It has also got a majestic pipe organ, so the church is also famous for its sacred music performances.  We were lucky that someone was rehearsing whilst we were there  - click here for my video.  The stained glass is huge - so you can actually see every single detail clearly!  There were more small churches in close proximity to St Severin, but we didn't go visiting them (two in one day is quite enough).

We also walked on the banks of the Seine, itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site.   On Pont Neuf we took in the views over the Seine including the impressive  Conciergerie, a palace turned prison turned Department of Justice.  We ended the day with dinner, and of course the concert at Sainte-Chapelle.

A long but enjoyable day!  More photos here.

The classic view of the Conciergerie  with the tourist boat sailing past

Paris in the Spring

We woke up bright and early this morning, thanks to our body clocks still operating on Singapore time. We walked out to find a boulangerie for breakfast and found a cosy little place on Rue St Martin, just round the corner from us. The interior décor theme – medieval knights, with a gentleman in full armour in one corner. The proprietress invited us to go down into the basement to take a look, which we did. The medieval theme continued indeed, but to our surprise there was a Korean food menu in one corner. Indeed, the place transformed into a Korean restaurant downstairs at night, when, one assumes, the boulangerie was shut. It must be slightly surreal eating Korean food with a knight in shining armour peering over one’s shoulder.

The small little side street next to the boulangerie, Rue de Montmercy had one of those little historical signs up. That’s when I found out that it was supposed to house the “oldest house in Paris”, Nicholas Flamel’s house. Nicholas Flamel (as every good reader of Harry Potter knows) had a reputation as an alchemist in the middle ages. Today, his house is a restaurant. (We would be going there a few days later for dinner.)

We walked around the area, passing interesting sights along the way, such as the Defender des Temps, a clock featuring a man defending the clock against various mechanical beasts, and the Tour de Jacques, a beautifully restored tower which apparently is the only remaining portion of a larger building.


Finally we got to our destination - Notre Dame de Paris. It is a much cleaner, more beautiful church than I remember when I saw it as a student, almost 20 years ago (perish the thought). This time around, I spent far more time wandering the cathedral itself than climbing up the towers. But the crowds in the cathedral were still very considerable. It is difficult to get a sense that one is in a holy place whilst jostling with the rest of the people attempting to take a nice photo of the rose windows. However, what helped was the choral performance which was going on.

Thinking about it, it is much nicer on this second visit to Paris than it was the first time round. Of course, one has far more money (being a working adult as opposed to poor student) to shop, eat and also to fund a much nicer apartment than the 3 pax in 1 hotel bedroom which I remember so well. But it also means that one does not feel pressured to go and take a look or climb the Eiffel Tower, view the Mona Lisa and so on. You do what you want out of choice rather than of the compulsion that one must cover certain sights when one is in Paris. So rather than exhausting myself climbing up to the top of the bell tower of Notre Dame, to get a few photos of gargoyles, I could sit, rest, and enjoy the choir singing – a moment of peace and tranquility in the bustle of a big city.

We left Notre Dame for the nearby flower market and passed by the Hotel Bon Dieu. This is actually a hospital, one of the oldest in Paris. It was still very busy, and in fact as we walked past we could see some paramedics doing a spot of resuscitation in the lobby. The flower market is apparently one of the few left in the centre of Paris. The flowers are gorgeous – I loved the colour and the variety.

It was relatively quiet though – not that many tourists were walking around. We followed this up by lunch at a riverside café - a quite forgettable quiche and crepe (covered with what was probably nutella). We spent the afternoon discount shopping at Rue d’Alesia (a lot of stock shops). We needed a rest after all that shopping, so we went back to the apartment before heading out to dinner at Café Beaubourg, outside the Georges Pompidou Centre. It was relatively bright, at 8pm plus (it only started getting dark after 9pm whilst we were in Paris). There were still a number of people sitting on the large square sloping down towards the Centre, taking in the last rays of sunshine. Others were walking their dogs (Parisians love their dogs) around the area, and having dinner in the many cafes and brasseries about the place. Café Beaubourg is supposed to be one of those trendy places to go to, according to my guidebook. It is indeed inhabited by waiters in sharp suits, who were certainly better dressed than people like myself. Had a risotto with prawns, pleasant enough but I think I did a better job with mine :-)

Still trying to get network connection. Now I can’t even find the hotspot. All the wireless networks around are security enabled. Don’t want to inadvertently use the police system!!!

As always, more photos here.

(Note: This note was written on 20 May but only posted on 2 Jun. Thanks to not having an internet connection.)