Notre Dame-Worth the Wait

Paris is gorgeous at the holidays

Bonjour mes amis! So excited to be writing to you once again from my beloved Paris. It’s been awhile! Luckily, we can pick up right where we left off after the Olympics— in fact I think I recognize some of the same people on the street that were here in July— I think they just stayed.

We arrived in Paris Saturday on the usual Flight 48 American Airlines, that, as luck would have it, arrived right on time. We had been hearing of all the delays out of DFW and were feeling very lucky to have gotten here on time and sober. I would like to say I am above it and have better sense, but those long delays always result in unplanned desperation drinking in bad airport lounges before boarding, which then turn into terrible hangovers upon arrival and ruin the whole first day—dodged that bullet!

I have been looking so forward to this return to Paris, and we have hit the ground running! My to-do list includes investigating some venues in Paris for a party I am planning, attending the Caillebotte exhibit at the Musee D’Orsay which contains one of my all time favorite paintings, and finally and most importantly-paying homage to the restoration of Notre Dame.

I never fail to visit Notre Dame when I am in Paris and have spent the last five years closely following the work being done and anxiously anticipating the day this symbol of Paris would reopen her doors. For an entire week prior to departure I had been trying to queue on line to get time-stamped tickets to get a glimpse inside the new Notre Dame with no luck—my computer would just keep staring back at me with a countdown of minutes until I would be allowed to make a reservation, but the minutes passed and nothing ever happened—I literally spent hours in “the virtual waiting room”, staring at my computer screen, never gaining entry to the reservations page. So frustrating.

As soon as we arrived in Paris we walked to Notre Dame to scope it out and one quick look at the exterior parvis immediately confirmed why we couldn’t get tickets—there were throngs of people trying to get in and the lines were snaking around the building. I was a little despondent about our chances of getting a tour of the inside when I saw a separate line for the mass service. Wheels started turning and Les and I decided we would try attending the mass service on the following day. We consoled ourselves with a visit to Augustin at the wine bar and had a delicious meal and yummy bottle of wine to round out a perfect first evening.

Gobs of people trying to in to Notre Dame

A yummy winter Pithivier—pigeon pie. The photo is so red because we were sitting under the neon sign. Photography — not my strong suit.

Sunday dawned and we dressed for mass and crossed our fingers that we would be able to get in. Being the proud Catholic that I am, I marched authoritatively up to the queue for the 11:30am service as if Notre Dame were my home parish. The line was still very long— but I had faith that they were going to do all they could to let the worshippers in. We waited patiently, and sure enough as the church bells began their call to the faithful, we were admitted, and actually got seats for the service. It was a beautiful mass with all the pomp and circumstance that I am sure you have seen via television coverage of Notre Dame’s reopening. The enormous organ was clear and loud and the choir was glorious. There were no less than four priests conducting the mass, incense was wafting, the church bells were chiming, and the entire nave was packed with people. It was something very special and unique and I am so grateful to have been a part of it.

The new interior of Notre Dame

We were even able to receive communion, and that gave me an unfettered, close look at the altar and the remodeling that has occurred. The first thing that really strikes you when you enter is how luminously white the interior now is. If you have visited Notre Dame in the past before the fire you will recall that 850 years of soot and ash pretty much colored everything in the interior a dull grey. Which, oddly, I liked. It gave you confidence that you were, indeed, in a church that was 850 years old. Now however, it has been cleaned, dare I say with what appears to be nearly toothbrush-scrubbing attention to every pillar and post and the result is startlingly bright. Only the old stone floor, worn smooth and dull by the millions of feet who have trod upon it, looked familiar. New, shiny gold chandeliers adorned the aisles, and in a concession to modernity, the old, rather large altar that was destroyed in the fire, has been replaced with something so small and nondescript that I mistook it for the baptismal font ( I wan’t wearing my glasses). Behind it was still the statue of the Pietà, but with the new petite and plain altar, it appeared farther back and maybe a little less powerful. I am not sure I liked it, but it was an interesting marriage of Gothic construction and contemporary furnishings.

Original Pietà

The new altar reminds me of a bathtub

The coolest thing though, was behind the altar at the back of the nave, there is a giant gold-lit circle with a little oculus in the middle, in which will be suspended the Crown of Thorns, purported to be worn by Jesus upon his death. It was a riveting presentation, more along the lines of a modern art installation piece, and will really draw attention to this ancient artifact. Previously, I believe it was just behind some dusty glass in a case, but honestly, I really don’t even remember where it was housed. Now, it is majestically illuminated for all to enjoy

The new home of the Crown of Thorns

The chapels on the sides of the body of the church have also all been redone and the statuary and paintings are greatly refreshed. The whole of it was something so different from what it was before that my head was on a swivel and I could barely take it all in. One standout item, that seemed particularly strange and out of place, was a round sales desk with all kinds of items for purchase—from books on Notre Dame to rosaries and candles and other religious paraphernalia. Just like a museum bookshop but right in the middle of the church. A little commercial, but I guess they gotta pay for this restoration somehow.

It is amazing to me that people from all over the world have come to Paris with the same goal of seeing Notre Dame again after five long years of restoration. All around us people were speaking in more languages than I could even identify. It truly is an icon and inspiration to the whole world. Even the homily (sermon) was quite upbeat (the topic was family) which is not always the case at Catholic services so I think the priests are equally as excited as the visitors. All in all, I was thrilled to have gotten to experience the magic of the mass -albeit with 5,000 other people, but you know the old saying about beggars and choosers.

Needing a little post-lunch nap, we settled in to the apartment and lit a fire—see below—or what passes for a fire in a Parisian apartment. It actually did throw off some BTUs though, which was great as it is pretty cold here and our old radiators are not putting out as much heat as I would like. Maybe it was an illusion, but we felt very cozy inside while the gray skies outside made me shiver just to peek out the window.

Our faux fire

Last night we dipped in to Cheval Blanc across the river for a much-loved cheeseburger at the bar of Tout Paris and knocked back a couple of their signature cocktails while admiring the beautiful Christmas decor. Paris is decorated to the nines for the holidays. Even our little street has decor hanging above and Christmas trees below.

Rue Dauphine looks very festive!

The enormous real tree in Cheval Blanc!

Yummy French 75!

It was straight to bed after that as the jet lag was hitting hard. But there is much more to see and do and I will definitely be reporting on our New Year’s Eve plans—can’t wait to celebrate!