Mass at Notre Dame

A few weeks ago, Rahul, a true Paris lover from Bombay/Mumbai, started chatting with me about France, India and... movies. He convinced me to open myself more to the Indian production and even said "I'll have you discover a few films..." And he kept his promise. Saturday evening, I got a call from, Diti, a friend of his, who happens to be visiting Paris at the moment. She said "Rahul will kill me if I don't manage to give you his gifts (2 DVDs)." Now you're probably wondering how this photo can possibly fit into this story?! Well, it's simple: Diti and I agreed to meet at Notre Dame on Sunday morning and since we kinda missed each other, I went into Notre Dame (during mass) and took this photo. Don't worry I finally managed to get my DVDs!

Another Notre Dame

After the "big" Notre-Dame of yesterday, here is a much smaller one - called Notre-Dame de Grace de Passy (Passy is a quarter that used to be a little village up the hill before it was integrated into Paris in 1860). I never noticed it before although it's really cute and... old (the original parts - it's been renewed and enlarged since then) were built in 1667! Have a nice weekend.

Notre Dame de Paris at sunset

OK, I'm lucky! I can pass by Notre Dame de Paris every day if I want, and look at this fantastic piece of architecture. Today, at 5:30 pm, it was really magnificent. Not only is Notre Dame really clean now that they have completed its renovation (and removed the scaffolding!) but on top of that, at the moment, there is a giant Christmas tree in front of it. This photo only shows one tenth of this spectacular scene.

Put this photo on a Christmas card and more here!

Notre Dame Christmas Tree

I love the holiday season decorations, even if every year it's more or less the same... The lights on the Champs Elysées, the ferris wheel in the Tuilerie gardens and... the big tree in front of Notre Dame. Nothing much to say, it's beautiful, that's all ;)

The new bells of Notre dame

You may already have heard the news, Notre Dame had to renew its bells because they were badly tuned! The ones in place at the moment are not the original ones (they were melted during the French revolution!) but installed in 1856. Anyway, the new bell(e)s have been manufactured in Normandy for about a year and delivered earlier this month. Since then, they have been on display, in the middle of the Cathedral. And that's where I was today to photograph them for you (the place is a real nightmare due to the amount of tourists I must say...). It was about time as they are going to be installed soon in the bell towers and should be ready to ring by March 23. In the meantime, they have been digitally sampled so that the show can go on... I'm pretty sure they will soon make an app too ;-) Here is another view and a pretty interesting article from England.

Notre Dame's day

It's Aug 15, the day where Catholics celebration the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus. I thought it was appropriate to show you a photo of Notre Dame de Paris, the most beautiful church in Paris, which is also celebrating its... 850th anniversary this year (amazing!). A real masterpiece (see more on Wikipedia) that is very hard to visit, because of the many people that want to visit it too! It's worth the wait though. If you're interested (and can read French), I found a brand new study about Catholicism in France; even though it's loosing a bit of ground, it's still the first religion in France.

White dinner 2011

Here we go again! Like every year I found myself at the white dinner party (le dîner en blanc) last evening. Or should I say white dinnerS, as, for the first time, there were two; one in the square courtyard of the Louvre (la cour carrée du Louvre) and the other one at Notre Dame. I took a lot of photos, but I won't have time to select them before this weekend, so be patient! In the meantime, here is a pretty unexpected one: a chef (dressed in white, bien sûr...) cooking in front of Notre Dame ;-).

Around Notre Dame

Not far from Notre Dame Cathedral, on the Ile de la Cité, there is a little bridge that is used by roller skaters to train. I was there yesterday and loved the effect of the street light on the people who were watching them. That's all! Have a great Sunday, the weather in Paris is pretty bad, but I'm due to attending a barbecue party in the suburbs... I'll bring a sweater and an umbrella LOL!

Zoom on Notre Dame

It's not because today is La Saint Eric (in France, a country of Catholic tradition, each day is associated with the name of a said Saint) that I'm showing a bit of Notre Dame, but just because I found out only yesterday that they installed telescopes in front of it, so that people can see the stunning details of its facade better. I did not try it though, because I did not have any coin (1 €) so I can't tell you if it's worth it. One thing I'm sure of, is that it helps making cool photos ;-))

Notre Dame de la Gare

Here is another Paris church I never showed you, even though it's interesting. It's called Notre Dame de la Gare, after the area it's located in (the Gare - station - d'Ivry)It was built around 1850 when this area was still pretty poor (the East of Paris has always been poorer than the West). That is why they say that this church would specially take care of the poor (they must have succeeded, because now the area is definitely richer!). I like it because its shape is really different; it looks like a church you could find in South America almost...

The (hunch) back of Notre-Dame

I had to show you this. "This" is the back of Notre-Dame, the magnificent cathedral located on the Ile de la Cité that you probably have seen if you already made it to Paris. The good news is that, since yesterday it's now lit from the back as you can see on this photo (I already showed the front here). What more to say: it's gorgeous!

Notre Dame de Laurette

Notre-Dame de Lorette, located at 18bis, rue de Chateaudun (9th arrondissement), doesn’t seem like a very appealing church from the outside, but on the inside however, it is full of marble statues, oil paintings, and gold leaf, all still in an excellent state. Louis-Hippolyte Lebas is the architect credited for the construction of the church in 1823 after the original was destroyed in 1796. Perfect for a Sunday post... ;-)

Notre Dame Christmas 2009

After the modern version of the Christmas tree, here is now... the very classic one right in front of Notre Dame. I took this photo around 7:30 am in the morning that is why the esplanade is almost empty. That's all! Today is a busy day for me as I'll be attending Le Web, my yearly meeting with the world 2.0! (Or is it 3.0 now?!). Be good, while I'm learning about what the future is going to be ;-)

Notre Dame at Sunset

Yeah, I can hear you from here: "another one of these sunset photos, how about some imagination?!" Well, what can I do? When I see that kind of light, on my way back home from the office, I can't help but digging out my camera and shoot. LOL. Besides, I'm currently in Chamonix (in the Alpes) so I had to upload a photo prior to my departure... I hope you're behaving well on this blog while I'm gone;) Have a wonderful Sunday. BTW: here is some interesting reading about Notre-Dame.

Sunset on Notre Dame

Another of this September evening light that is so beautiful in Paris. I passed by Notre Dame last evening around 7:30 on my way to my brother's and I could not help but admiring this stunning Paris landmark. Besides, for once that it's not covered in scaffolding... Have a great week-end everyone. I hope the weather is going to remain as clear as this!

Notre Dame du Travail

About two weeks ago, right after I posted the photo of this church, I received an email saying "In 1970 I visited "Notre Dame du Travail", a church that is also worth visiting..." I did some research, and found out that yes, by all means this church is definitely a must see and that, incidentally, very few Parisians even know about it. It was built around 1900 for the workers who used to build the pavilions for the world exhibitions that took place in Paris that took place at that time. This Church is fascinating indeed, because it looks like a regular Roman church, except that its frame is made of cast iron. See another view here.

Is there something about Mary?

Today is August 15 and, for the catholics, it's the Assumption of Mary, the mother of Jesus. France has strong Catholic roots (about 2/3 of the population say they are Catholics even though about 60% of them do not actually practice - see this very detailed data about the French Catholics if you're interested), so I was sure that if I went around Notre Dame Cathedral I would get a few photo opportunities! And I did! Hence this procession leaving the inside of Notre Dame for the embankment on to a "boat pilgrimage". It was really moving to see the crowd singing and praying.

Ready for my close-up...

OK, I agree this face is a bit scary for a Monday! It's actually the face that greets you if you wander into the Passage Jouffroy where the Musée Grévin (wax museum of Paris) is located. Can you guess who this is? Well, it's Quasimodo who fell in love with Esmeralda from the famous novel by Victor Hugo: the Huntchback of Notre Dame (Notre Dame de Paris, in French). See the whole portrait on the making of.

Notre Dame de Paris

Here is a real Paris cliché... and one of the major tourist highlights: Notre Dame de Paris. It's been sitting on the île de la Cité for, well, almost 1000 years (they started building it in 1163, ended most of it in 1220 and really completed it in 1345!) and I realized I never showed it to you on this blog. Of course this cathedral has been photographed so many times, it's hard to come up with something original. I chose to concentrate on the bottom of the western facade, at night. And before you ask, no, I did not see any hunchback!

Another classic view

Here is what you can see if you walk down the street from Metro station Richelieu Drouot to the Galeries Lafayette or Printemps department stores - Precisely at rue Laffitte, a little narrow street in the 9th arrondisemment. You will have recognized the Sacré Coeur of course, in the background, but that is not the only church in this photo. You can also see Notre Dame de Lorette in the foreground. I already posted the same view a few years ago, but I passed by it again today and I did not resist taking another shot.