Notre Dame & The Seine Boat Ride
By Augusta and Estefany
Notre Dame was built in the late 10th century and has been renovated and added to over the years. This means that the Cathedral is about 11 centuries old!
We entered the cathedral, where it was very dark and quiet, the only light coming in through was from the beautiful stained glass windows and candelabras hanging from the high ceiling. We walked around in a circle, stopping to stare at the windows; the one-man wooden crypts of priests who have served at Notre Dame through the centuries; and the humongous organ up in the gallery at the east side of the majestic cathedral.
We then climbed up narrow stone steps--422 in all--up to the northern belfry. The bells were ringing when we finally burst into the open air. The vibrations and noise were deafening! We walked around the square pavement and gawked at the gargoyles, each one different and ornate in its design.
We also climbed up still more spiraling flights of stairs to gaze at Notre Dame's largest bell, Emmanuel, that is rung only on special Catholic holidays, such as Easter, Christmas, and feast days held in honor of canonized saints.
We took lots of pictures, then turned around and carefully wended our way down the dizzying spiral staircase until we emerged back outside, weak in the knees. Can you imagine just how robust the bell boys must have been going up and down the belfry stairs several times a day, in order to announce the time and call Parisians to church?
After Notre Dame, we bought tickets for everyone, and took a boat ride down the Seine River to see different sights such as the Louvre museum, Champs-Elysees, Eiffel Tower, Beaugrenelle, Grand Palis, Musee d'Orsay, and Saint-Germain-des-Pres. We had wonderful time and learned different things. We really enjoyed our first full day of sight seeing here in Paris!
Scott/Joi: It was a long and full day for the students. They weren't used to all the walking! It was windy and cold. Many of us ended up buying gloves and scarves! We look more Parisian now. ;)
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| Sacre Coeur |
Good Night, Everyone!
