Notre Dame celebrates its 850th anniversary in 2013. We joke that wherever we go, they seem to cover the most beautiful cathedrals in the world in scaffolding just before we visit. This time, Notre Dame had been extensively restored and was uncovered in all its glory.
As we got out of the Metro on our first full day in Paris, we were treated to the sight of a large food market.
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| Plenty of wonderful French cheese. We enjoyed every molecule of cholesterol. |
We also noticed that booksellers had set up their wares near the Cathedral, which we've seen in a lot of cities in Europe.
A couple of interesting things happened in the two days after we visited the Cathedral. The following day a very conservative writer committed suicide in front of the altar, in protest against what he considered to be a deterioration in moral values in the country. The day after that, a militant advocate for women's rights and gay rights bared her breasts in front of the same altar to advocate her positions. Both were unfortunate desecrations of a holy place, but cathedrals have always attracted the tourists, the mendicants, the pickpockets, the merchants, the pilgrims, and the occasional fanatic with an agenda. Some things don't change over the centuries.
The Memorial to the French citizens who were deported to the concentration camps in World War 2 is tucked quietly away behind Notre Dame. A few guidebooks are starting to mention it. This is a picture of the outside; they ask that you not share pictures of the inside on the Internet. It's well worth a sobering visit after Notre Dame.
Ile St. Louis is connected to Ile de la Cite, where Notre Dame is located, by a small bridge. We spent the rest of the day exploring the area.
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