Notre Dame cathedral is almost always a stop for us when visiting Paris; even when it’s not a destination, it’s often somewhere in our sights.
As familiar as it is, it has something new to offer almost every time: A detail we hadn’t noticed, a cleaned-up wall, or a different viewpoint for a picture, such as the ones above, taken from the rear, and from the Left Bank. At top, a different interior view, capturing lights and shapes.
On this year’s visit, we also were able to view a different time and lighting when we attended an evening concert of 13th-century music. No surprise, by the way: It’s an excellent concert venue.
The cleaning of the exterior in recent years has changed the appearance significantly since the 1968 view above, and many more details can be seen.
Inside, two quite different war memorials, steps apart: One honors British Empire troops who died in World War I, the other Joan of Arc, whose death is blamed on England.
Above, one of the magnificent rose windows in the transepts, and below two stone visitors as entranced by the glass as I was. And below that, a statue that seems about to smash the glass!
And a bishop whose tomb leaves one thinking, perhaps, of a rhinestone cowboy.
Photo of Notre Dame, 1968: Roger Wollstadt/Flickr
