29 July 2013

Recovering and getting organized

I mean that in the best possible way. Thanks in large part to CHM, who put me up and fed me, I had a great time in Paris, and I walked for many miles — literally — around the city, taking photos. The weather was hot and humid, and my feet and legs got a workout.

So did my camera. This morning I got all the photos copied into a single folder on my computer and realized there are nearly 500 of them. That was four days' work. Now the photos need to be organized and edited — cropped, straightened, sharpened, contrasted, and so on.


That's what I'll be working on over the next few weeks. Meanwhile, I found a photo of Saint-Sulpice, which was the church in my post yesterday, that is much better than the one I posted in a hurry Sunday morning. See above.



And here are two photos of another church that has been mentioned here. A few weeks ago, after my first trip to Paris of the summer, I actually posted a picture of it that I took a ground level. It's Saint-Eustache, which our guide at the Tour Saint-Jacques said is the second-largest church in Paris after Notre-Dame. I'll take his word for it. The work going on all around Saint-Eustache is the renovations of the Les Halles shopping district.


Finally, there was a mention of the staircase we climbed to get to the top of the Tour Saint-Jacques. It was in fact a spiral staircase and very narrow. There was a rope that served as a handrail so that you could pull yourself up as you climbed. We first climbed 50 steps to the first level inside the tower and rested. Then we climbed 70 more steps to the second level, and rested again. The climb to the top, where we were standing on the roof, was another 170 steps to climb with no place to stop and rest along the way. In other words, 290 steps, according to our guide, inside the tower, plus 10 or 15 outside to get up onto the platform the tower stands on. In the hot, humid weather, it was not easy.

15 comments:

  1. 170 steps with no place to rest? What a penance! No place to pass, either. Did the guide go first, or drive you on with whips from the rear? P.

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  2. Really lovely photos Ken. I can't wait for the other 500 to appear. Happy organising and editing.

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  3. 290 steps!? That's even more than the Lion of Waterloo, which has 'only' 226 steps. I've never tried to climb them, but Mats and his 13-year old daughter did when they visited in 2007. Mats afterward admitted that it had almost killed him. So, good for you for making it all the way to the top of the tower. I bet your legs afterwards felt as if they were made of 'flanel' :) Martine

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  4. Bravo for that climb in such a tight space! It's a good thing you'll still young enough for such and still had energy for the walkabout. Looking forward to seeing some of the 500 photos.

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  5. I'll bet that coming down those winding 290 steps was a task, too -- at least, if you're having any trouble with your knees. Is that cleared up for you, now? I remember you mentioning that a while back.

    Bravo!

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  6. Very impressive feat of climbing, Ken.

    Not to compare oranges to apples, but when I was 13, I climbed to the top of the Washington Monument -- 897 steps. Even at that tender age, it just about killed me. Today at age 64, the Tour St. Jacques seems most daunting.

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  7. Judy, when I was in Paris in early July, my left knee was bothering me. That pain has gone away now, and walking around Paris was a real pleasure this time. Which is great, considering that I will be 65 on my next birthday... Can you believe that?

    Evelyn, the hot humid weather made the climb difficult, but I only had to sit for a couple of minutes when we got to the top to recover.

    Martine, 226 steps is nothing to sneeze at, as we say.

    Pauline, there were two guides. One led the way and did the talking. The other followed behind and kept an eye on everybody, making sure nobody collapsed, jumped off the top, or stayed behind.

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  8. Hi Bob, I've climbed several lighthouses, including some in NC and one on the Ile d'Oléron (in 2008), but never to the top of the Washington Monument. I climbed up in the Statue of Liberty when I was a kid, and Walt and I climbed up to the top of the towers of Notre-Dame sometime around 1990, not to mention the Dune du Pilat in SW France. Somehow, though, the Tour Saint-Jacques was special.

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  9. I did the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame when I was in my 30's and I wonder if it would be as easy (LOL) to do the Tour St Jacques if we go next yr. I would be huffing and puffing for sure :-)

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  10. I forgot about the Eiffel Tower. Walt and I climbed up to level 2 (I think) some 20 years ago, but never all the way to the top. Did you do that?

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  11. They would have needed to call the paramedics if I had tried that climb. But I'm sure the view was worth it!!

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  12. These photos taken from the top of the Tower are impressive. I'm thinking I better start preparing now so I will be able to make it to the top if I'm lucky enough to get there when it is open! Sounds like the rest of us are impressed with your achievement, Ken!!! Well done!
    Did CHM go along with you?

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  13. Mary, no CHM didn't go to the tower with me, but he said he enjoyed the photos.

    Starman, I've been up on top of the Arc de Triomphe, the Tour Eiffel, the Tours Montparnasse, and the towers of Notre-Dame. But this was a first for me, after walking past the Tour St-Jacques probably hundreds if not thousands of times over the past 40-some years.

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  14. I did the Washington Monument -- all 555 feet and 897 steps of it -- as a teenager. No way my aging knees could even come close today.

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  15. Hi Susie, I remember climbing up to the top of the Statue de la Liberté when I was about 12. And I climbed a lot of steep hills in San Francisco, including Congo Street many times.

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