L'Île de la Cité

Friday, we visited that famous island in the middle of the Seine, where much of Paris's government, past and present, converges in a great politico-touristique bonanza. First was the impressive Sainte-Chappelle, a chapel from the rayonnante Gothic period. It's rose windows were added later: still Gothic, but rather flamboyante. It's beauty is only underminned by the oppressive concrete administration building surrounding it.


The ground floor, originally for the regular folk that lived in Louis IX's court, is interesting because the ceiling is very low. It is the second floor that is the most impressive, largely because of the tremendous stained class windows. They contain the Old and New Testaments à la style comic-strip. Although it's more the idea that counts, since in order to read what happens at the end, you'd need to be 15 meters tall.


Our tour guide was almost too knowledgeable; armed with an unending supply of relatively contextual tangents, facts stampeded from her mouth, trampling our minds until we drooled trivia. I drifted in and out of her heavily French-accented English, probably more so as we entered La Conciergerie. First it was part of the palace, then it was a prison, then it fed folks to the guillotine... I paid attention for the bloodiest parts, and for the rest, examined the exquisite marble.

Lunch was at the very fancy and very kitschy restaurant, Au Pied de Cochon, where all the pig paraphernalia in the world reminded you what was on the menu. Luckily, we all had steak.

Which was followed by Notre Dame. A tour of the museum-ed excavations underground and an explanation of some of the sculptures that populated the front of the Church ended up capping the amount of history we could absorb in one day. Thus dispersed, we went inside.

It was very... spacious. Larger than Sainte-Chappelle of course, but somehow not as striking. For one, it was filled with people, many who seem to have travelled to Paris just to purchase a 2 euro candle and light it here. Very crowded. Because it still functions as a Church, it takes away (a bit, I think) the feeling of being somewhere ancient, somewhere preserved. Still, it's incredible to imagine the hands that built such a huge edifice, even way back in the twelfth century. Especially the sculptures on the façade - innumerable, and with so much detail - from the saints to the demons who pester them.


Saturday was La Nuit Blanche, where Paris stays up until sunrise, but I unfortunately do not have any wild stories to tell. I went to see a friend from high school and when my phone ran out of credits, I ended up spending the night at her and her roommate's very fantastic apartment. There were several spectacles I would have liked to see (this is not one of them), but a fulfilling evening of conversation can soothe all regrets. I could whine about how the subways didn't stay open all night anyway, or how I can see museums any day, but I'd be lying to myself for sure. Besides, missing it this year gives me another excuse to come back to Paris.