This Saturday was the busiest and longest day of our entire London/Paris trip. This was the day we walked more than 18,000 steps or close to 8.5 miles! A non-stop day filled with fabulous memories!
I decided not to break this post into two, so if you stay to the end of this marathon post, you just might be as tired as we were!
Paris
We began at the Marché des Enfants Rouges, the oldest covered market in Paris, France. It was established in the early 1600’s and is located at 39 Rue de Bretagne in the Marais (3rd) arrondissement.
The name in English translates as “Market of the Red Children” and refers to the children clothed in red (the color of charity) who were cared for in a nearby orphanage.
The market offers an incredible selection of fresh fruits, vegetables, fish, cooked foods, bread and flowers, all behind the small iron gate.
From the Marche de L’enfante Rouge we passed the
Hôtel de Ville,
as we did frequently since it was near our hotel. It is the building housing the city’s local administration. Standing on the place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville, it has been the location of the municipality of Paris since 1357. It serves multiple functions, housing the local administration, the Mayor of Paris, and also serves as a venue for large receptions.
Hôtel de Ville,
as we did frequently since it was near our hotel. It is the building housing the city’s local administration. Standing on the place de l’Hôtel-de-Ville, it has been the location of the municipality of Paris since 1357. It serves multiple functions, housing the local administration, the Mayor of Paris, and also serves as a venue for large receptions.
Crossing this beautiful bridge (pont d Arcole over the River Seine), we stopped for pics then continued to our next destination.
The view was gorgeous
and the sun was so warm and bright
how about those shoes!?! They aren’t pretty but logging that many miles, comfort was the only way to go. And, I wasn’t alone wearing them. To my surprise, even in this fashion capital of the world, we saw many non-tourists opting for similar foot apparel.
Crossing this intersection we were heading to the tower on the right. Do you recognize it?
It is Notre Dame Cathedral built eight centuries ago!
Notre-Dame de Paris “French for “Our Lady of Paris”, is a historic Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, and it is among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. source
Notre Dame has endured destruction and subsequent restoration in many periods. However, much of the facade and interior still are true to the original designs. In the 16th century, both the Huguenots and the French king vandalized and changed a lot of the cathedral’s contents.
Many of the features on the cathedral’s exterior were removed because they were considered to be idolatrous, and tombs and stained glass windows were destroyed in the name of modernization. The cathedral was converted into a storage warehouse for food, during the French Revolution, and the heads of many of Notre Dame’s statues were removed.
As you can see, there were a lot of people here.
This is the line of people wrapped around the building as they wait to go inside.
Appointed bishop of Paris in 1160, Maurice de Sully decided to give the capital a cathedral worthy of France’s largest city. He wanted to build it in the Gothic style. King Louis VII, encouraged the project. Construction began in 1163, and Notre-Dame would be completed some 100 years later, in 1272. During this time, many craftsmen’s guilds (tailors, sculptors, carpenters, joiners, masons, and glassblowers) worked relentlessly under the supervision of seasoned architects. source
Leaving Notre Dame, it was off to
SAINTE CHAPPELL
Hard to imagine what beauty we would see behind the doors as we waited in line on this Paris street.
Sainte Chapelle, a royal medieval Gothic chapel, is a chapel on top of a chapel.
This photo is the lower, ground level chapel just as we walked in.
Begun some time after 1239 and consecrated on 26 April 1248, the Sainte-Chapelle is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion relics, including Christ’s Crown of Thorns—one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom.
Although damaged during the French Revolution, and restored in the 19th century, it is one of the most extensive in-situ 13th-century stained glass anywhere in the world.
Sainte-Chapelle stands squarely upon this lower chapel.
Low vaulted ceilings rest on fine columns with crocketed capitals, linked by anchor braces made of wood or stone. The walls are decorated with trefoiled arcades and twelve medallions representing the Apostles.
French fleurs de lys on an azure background and towers of Castile alternate on the columns. The towers are an homage to Blanche of Castile, Saint Louis’ mother.
The vaulted ceiling is painted to resemble star-filled heavens, and the floor contains tombstones covering the sepulchres of treasurers and reverends of the Sainte-Chapelle. During the period of the monarchy, the lower chapel was reserved for palace staff. source
Then… walking up a narrow,winding staircase to the upper, royal chapel, I was unprepared to see this…
truly breathtaking
We entered the upper chapel from the stairs located at the bottom left of this photo. I was so taken by the glorious sight, I paused just inside the room giving me opportunity to hear the almost involuntarily gasps and aahs of each person that came behind me.
The Sainte-Chapelle was a palace chapel, directly connected to the king’s palace and used by the king and his court.
The upper chapel is resplendent in its Gothic architecture – light, color, and space blend to inspire a sense of harmony between art and religious faith. Architects, sculptors and painters evidently took the greatest care with the interior of the upper chapel, as this was the part of the building reserved for the king, his close friends and family, as well as for displaying the religious relics. source
The most visually beautiful aspects of the chapel, and considered the best of their type in the world, are its 6,458 square feet of stained glass windows of the upper chapel, surrounded by delicate painted stonework. The windows are in deep reds and blues and illustrate 1,130 figures from the Bible.
Sainte-Chapelle is among the high points of French High Gothic architecture. The interior gives a a strong sense of fragile beauty, created by reducing the structural supports to a bare minimum to make way for huge expanse of exquisite stained glass. The result is a feeling of being enveloped in light and color.
The rose window was replaced in 1490-1495 in a style known as Flamboyant (because it looks like flames). Originally, the window probably contained scenes from the Apocalypse.
The back of Sainte Chapelle where we exited, is attached to Palais de Justice, a Paris governmental building.
looking to the top left is part of Sainte Chapelle.
Leaving Sainte Chapelle we walked to a wine tasting The cost was covered by our Paris Pass and it was fun, interesting and informative.
Hitting the pavement once againWe took the Metro to the Trocadéro, an area of Paris, in the 16th arrondissement, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.
It was still daylight when we arrived so we found a bench where we sat, rested, took in the sights and John enjoyed a Parisian Crêpe beneath the Eiffel Tower. How iconic is that! 🙂
The sun set and the tower lit up
There is a lovely light show at the top of each hour.
After this long and exciting day, we headed for the Metro to make our way to our hotel
Imagine our surprise as we surfaced from the metro nearest our hotel to find bustling crowds and a festive nightlife.
busy street with Hôtel de Ville in the background
Autumn in Paris is about falling leaves … and Nuit Blanche, a free all-night event with many museums open and with free admission. It means, “sleepless night in Paris.”
Every first Saturday in October, beginning at sunset, Paris takes to the streets to celebrate contemporary art. Installations, light displays and music.
and thus ended our very long day in Paris!
What wonderful memories you must have made, and what a blessing that you were back before the horrible attacks. Your photos are always so beautiful Lorraine, I enjoyed visiting Paris through them all, especially in light of what has just happened
I can only imagine what it must feel like having just been to Paris and hearing the horrible news of the terrorist attacks. A blessing that you returned when you did.
Thanks for this post. The photos of Paris are incredible. I have tears in my eyes to know they were under attack within hours of your visit. Thank you for conveying the spirit and history of Paris here on your blog.
what a blessing that you missed all the carnage that occurred so few hours later.. such a tragedy that this event happened… whatever is the world coming to? its more dangerous than ever, but glad that you enjoyed a happy visit there… it will be a long time before a lot of people visit again, and some, poor things have been killed by visiting that wonderful vibrant city.. ah how I miss it..
Nice to know you both had a great time together and thankfully home with what just happened in Paris.
It is so scary to go to any part of the world.
I'm sure doing these posts has been a nice way to relive your trip. You had a full day and no wonder you were tired. I enjoyed all your photos.
I just skimmed, scrolled and what a wonderful, joy filled journey you all took. Sweet Blessings to remember always~
You packed a lot into one day. Beautiful sights of Paris. I've not seen Sainte Chapelle yet, but it's on my list of must-sees for my next trip – whenever that may be! I'll bet you slept well that night!
wow, that was a busy day but what fun.
Thank you so much for sharing your trip! I've never had the opportunity to travel out of the country but your posts have made me feel like I was there! God Bless!