19 April 2019

Notre-Dame at night, ghostly white

In March 2011, I took one of my annual trips back to coastal North Carolina to spend time with my mother, sister, and nieces, as well as with cousins and friends I grew up with. I stayed a night in a hotel in the Latin Quarter (the Hôtel du College de France), just steps from Notre-Dame, the Sorbonne, and the Cluny museum.









In the evening, before going out to the airport the next morning to catch my plane, I went for a stroll over to the other side of the river and around the cathedral to take some photos. Then I went and had dinner in a pizzeria in the Latin Quarter, if I remember correctly. That was eight years ago, already. Nowadays, I usually take the train from Saint-Aignan to Tours, and then directly to the airport instead of spending a night in the center of the city.







Here's a photo that shows the fleche (spire or steeple) that burned up in the fire last Monday and then toppled over, piercing the cathedral's roof and falling to the floor inside the building. I'm glad I took these pictures, which came out better than I thought they would. The cathedral is like some kind of phantom, standing tall and luminous against the black nighttime sky.







Here is a full-on view of the façade of the cathedral. These are the bell towers, and there's a rose window in the center, with intricately carved doorways below, opening into the building. Even though fire got into one of the towers Monday night, it survived basically intact. Firemen were able to put it out before this part of the church was heavily damaged.

10 comments:

  1. Wonderful photos! You might find this interesting....about the bees of Notre Dame, but also photos of the attic interior, I think.
    https://www.messynessychic.com/2019/04/18/did-the-rooftop-bees-of-notre-dame-survive/?fbclid=IwAR2THWOKga0WBJzwH9UbShWxVObh5Yrj4M4qRtHwnxoxwsXHNJO4DYoNVYA

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    1. Thank you, that was very interesting and upbeat.

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    2. Yes, thank yon, Thickethouse, for the very informative and sweet article about the Bees of Notre-Dame. I had no idea that beehives were placed in "strategic" locations in Paris to improve biodiversity.

      Near my place in Paris, on avenue de Breteuil, I noticed, in recent years, various kinds of flowers and even tomato plants were planted in the little squares of soil at the foot of towering plane trees. That an excellent initiative. These plantations seem even to be respected by local people! There's a beginning to everything!

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  2. Love the first picture of Notre Dame; you can see all the figures on either side of the front doors. Chm, the plantings you are talking about at the base of street trees have also become "de rigueur" in New York, lots of tulips and coleus...It's great they're doing it in Paris.

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  3. Just read yesterday's post...Ken I can;t believe you two were able to walk along the crest of the roof at Notre Dame! I wouldn't have joined you...fear of heights.

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    1. Sorry, D. I was wrong about that. See later post. CRS.

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  4. We used to stay on the Ille St Louis at the Hotel Lutece and mornings we would walk across to Notre Dame and although not Catholic, we would sit in the back and just be there. The quiet..the place ..required nothing else, just to be there. My heart was breaking watching the fires but I refuse to imagine that it will be scarred maybe but still standing for a long long time.

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    1. That should be...I refuse to imagine that it will be scarred maybe but it will also still be standing for a long long time.

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  5. All great photos, thanks for showing. (you might have more photos of this icon than most Parisians!) It was my first stop on a visit to Paris in 1984 and I have never forgotten it.::o)

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