Archive for April, 2007

Your flash can’t light a cathedral

Monday, April 30th, 2007

The scene is Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, during the middle of an evening service. You see a person standing to one side of the alter, in the transept, looking across at one of the massive rose windows. The digital camera comes up, the window is magnified as much as possible, and then there is [...]

Sewers, lightning, and Notre Dame

Sunday, April 29th, 2007

This evening, while we were watching the evening prayers and song at Notre Dame, a massive thunderstorm broke out. As a consequence, we got completely drenched - though it was in a jovial kind of way. We then pushed onto the most crowded subway train I have ever seen, filled with people seeking respite from [...]

Montmartre and the tower

Sunday, April 29th, 2007

Yesterday was mostly spent in Montmartre. We assembled materials for a picnic at a market near Mike’s, then headed over by Metro. The steps leading to Sacré Coeur were well speckled with people appreciating the view. Inside the building itself, one gets a much more sombre sense of grandeur than the upwardly elongated outside view [...]

Correction: re, Paris and London

Saturday, April 28th, 2007

I need to issue a quick but important correction. Earlier today, I said that I was surprised by the similarity between Paris and London. Admittedly, the museum districts of the two places resemble each other to a greater degree than one might expect, during the daytime. At night, downtown Paris is a far different (and [...]

Cursory Louvre post

Friday, April 27th, 2007

Hilary and I spent this morning and afternoon exploring the Louvre. The combination of art and architecture is superb. I especially like the high-ceilinged galleries of the Denon Wing and the marble sculptures. Thankfully, the place was a lot less crowded than I have been told it gets at the height of summer.
The general Paris [...]

Brief Parisian hello

Thursday, April 26th, 2007

Hilary and I have arrived safely in Paris and passed a very enjoyable evening in Mike’s company. A longer description, along with photos, will appear at a time when I am not sitting outside with a borrowed laptop, accessing the web courtesy of someone’s unsecured access point. People who have ‘must see’ suggestions for this [...]