A Day On Montmartre: The Churches

On the 11th we Metro'd, walked, and funiculared our way up to Montmartre, Paris' high point and still popular tourist/historical site. Then we walked back down. First, we visited the churches, one of which was interesting. Then, the rest, mostly artsy, historico-artsy.

The very famous Basilica du Sacre Bleu, Paris landmark which, in my humble
estimation, does not warrant much interest, except for the view: has not stood
the test of time, was built in the shame of 1870, and has nothing to do with French
art nor architecture

Interior half dome; no Pantokrator

One of the many side chapels

Helpful illuminated model

Minor side-dome

Yes! There's the Panokrator, kind of hidden

The more interesting church is that of St. Pierre of Montmartre, built in 1147,
part of the abbey; re-done in the early 1900s after nearly becoming a total loss

Perhaps its most interesting features are the four gray Roman
columns, thought to have come up the hill from a Temple
of Mercury, or possibly Mars (MontMars? some speculate)

Oldest religious art in the Paris area

Merovingian capitals on the younger columns

Helpful illuminated model in the prayer-only area: I was praying that they not
catch and admonish me ("Oh Lord, we beseech thee, amen")

Choir/chancel, including another of the Roman columns; give them points for
recycling

Elevation

Another Merovingian set of capitals

Including--yes!--the symbol of lust!

Return to Auberge Nicholas Flamel for #51

After Rebecca's return from Britland Vicki and I celebrated our 51st wedding anniversary with a quiet dinner at--where else?--the Auberge Nicholas Flamel, our fourth or fifth visit, and the second time for an anniversary. It's a place that has many happy associations and memories of family and some of our oldest friends.

Paris' oldest residence

.

The amuse bouche; with a kir and a Campari

My foie gras entree

Her steak and white asparagus

My cod with lemon sauce and rice

The Sphere dessert, chocolate and gold shell, berries and ice cream within

Thus

Coffee and sweets

51 years and counting

Les Grands Magasins

Our favorite department store in the world is the Bazar de l'hotel de Ville, known generally as the BHV, on Rivoli, just across from, you guessed it, the Hotel de Ville. Printemps and Galeries Lafayette are fine if you're crazy rich. Actually affordable and useful things are at the BHV, and our favorite department, apart from kitchenware, is the basement hardware store, which is always fascinating. We breezed right through the huge electrical, plumbing, lighting, garden, tools, paints, and other usual departments to hit some of the more interesting curiosities.

For example, shoe and leather care...Paris has hundreds of shoe repair shops,
yet there apparently is something in the Gallic spirit about DIY shoe care; this
is one of four rows of various kinds and colors of shoe polish 

Shoe repair materials

A whole wall of inserts

Shoe horns, ranging in price from 8E to, well, the ones that probably belong at
Galeries Lafayette

A wall of leather

A bit of the brush department

More brushes

Wood landscaping items

Probably won't find these at Ace or Home Depot

A smidgeon of the sign department

Your own Paris street sign for only 199E

You rang, Monsieur?

And the piece de resistance: Parisian mousetraps (piege a
souris); Parisian mice are very fashion-conscious

Meanwhile, up on the 3rd floor, hundreds of different wine bottle openers to choose
from; Chateau Screwtop has never caught on here

And your own apero guillotine, which I do want

Our party, Penelope, Rebecca, Vicki, and me, elected to
walk to our next department store, Le Bon Marche, beyond
St. Germain de Pres...and so among the many interesting
establishments encountered on the left side was this academic
regalia store

And the very popular Maison Georges Larnicol chocolate store;
the life-sized Egyptian chocolate thing marks the appearance of
the Two-Tank-Amen exhibit at the Parc Villette

Eventually we got to the Bon and our goal, its grande epicerie Paris, that is,
its food hall; unfortunately, I was so engrossed marveling at what they had, and
didn't have, I forgot to take any pix

Among the many beautiful buildings along the way, the Lutetia (the Roman
name for Paris, a convenient ford)

Loss And Hope

It was not our favorite church, probably not even in the top dozen, but its centrality in this great city and in the life of the nation are undeniable, and we feel the loss as acutely as any foreigner could. Nearly all of the old cathedrals have had fires or other damage, but nearly all have been restored to even greater glory...St. Paul's Without The Walls in Rome being the best example. So we are heartened that the damage here was no greater than it was and that the determination to restore the cathedral is as great as it is. There is loss, but there is hope, and I guess that's a pretty Christian message.

The towers still dominate the central skyline, as in the past eight centuries

Clearly it will be a long process, recovering what can be recovered, assessing
the damage to the stones and the structure, rebuilding in a manner that is
faithful to the heritage but also safe and sound