Fire dancers

Each evening in the summer, weather permitting, a group of fire jugglers perform in front of Notre Dame. Last night I finally had the opportunity to watch the show.

Paris by night

The tango dancing that you saw in yesterday's post is located just steps away from Notre Dame. I know it's a cliché, but no matter how many times I see this sight, it still takes my breath away.

Viollet-le-Duc

In the previous post on Pierrefonds I mentioned the reconstruction work led by the architect Viollet-le-Duc in the mid 1800s. However, one of Viollet-le-Duc's best known projects was his restoration of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris following the ravages of the French Revolution.

Here is the cathedral as it appeared in 1840.
Viollet-le-Duc was responsible for adding the spire in the center as well as restoring the statues of saints above the doors in the main facade. He also added the chimera gallery that I wrote about here.

Here's that central spire I mentioned:
And the kings of the Old Testament above the front doors.
By the way, Viollet-le-Duc was fond of putting his own image on some of the statues, and it is said that the center figure (above) is a likeness of Viollet-le-Duc as is the statue of St. Thomas on the outside of the central spire (below).
We were passing by the cathedral on Wednesday of this week and happened to notice workers 'way high up.
Gee, I sure like my new camera with its telephoto lens!

Notre Dame de Paris

Just after sundown . . .

New toys

Christmas has come early to our household.

You may have noted recent comments where I've mentioned the subject of photography. Overall, I've been thrilled with the performance of my tiny Sony camera. It takes great photographs, especially in low light, and it's small enough to put in my pocket. I carry it with me everywhere - and I can take photographs very discreetly, usually with no flash. However, there have been times when I've been frustrated by its limitations.

Patrice, too, has a small pocket-sized digital camera and he has also been frustrated when bumping up against its technical limits.

Soooooo

We went shopping this week -- and came home with two identical Sony DSLR cameras. Big ones. The latest model - with LOTS of bells and whistles. We couldn't resist.

We went out yesterday to try out the new cameras. The subject was Notre Dame - here's one of the classic angles.


Now, do you see the spire in the very center (above)? We also had fun with our new telephoto lens. Here is a closeup of that spire - there were people working on it.


And the fact that the new camera has 24M pixels, you can enlarge the photos a LOT. This is exactly the same photo as above - just enlarged.


Elaine's cameras - before and after


The new me - with larger camera and longer hair ;-)

After dinner Tuesday

Cindy and I had a delicious dinner at the Rotisserie du Beaujolais on Tuesday evening. The restaurant is next door to its better known and more expensive sister restaurant, the Tour d'Argent. Notre Dame is just across the river, and it was a lovely evening for a walk.

Another Sunny Sunday

With a promising weather report, I woke up early this morning determined to climb the 380 steps to the top of Notre Dame cathedral. It was worth it! All of the photos below were taken by yours truly with my pocket-sized camera.

This guy is called a stryga - he is one of the members of the Chimera Gallery.


Do you recognize the Centre Pompidou?

Here's another of the chimera

Taking a bite out of the Eglise St. Germain?


The visit also includes the south bell tower where you can see the cathedral's largest bell which weighs 13 tons. This bell is rung only on major Catholic feast days, whereas the four bells in the north tower ring out several times a day.


I was almost dizzy after winding down all those stairs


But still managed to capture a couple of other postcard images

Paris by night

The last night of Ruth's visit we took a ride on one of the tourist boats that cruises the Seine. I don't usually like such touristy things, but I must admit I do like taking the cruise after dark. Paris can be quite magical at night, and even the noisy students on our boat didn't spoil the ambiance.

Here are a few of the gargoyles on Notre Dame:



A hazy half moon was peeking over the top of Notre Dame:



And here is Notre Dame from another angle:



The Eiffel Tower seen from the river:



And this is the Conciergie, a former prison where Marie Antoinette (among many others!) was held before going to the guillotine:



I must admit that I'm quite happy with the camera that I bought just before leaving. All of these photos were taken by ME!

Sunday afternoon

Sundays are family days in Paris. The markets are very busy before 1:00PM when everyone goes home for a big lunch. In the afternoons, people take to the streets for walks, bike rides and roller blading. Last Sunday was no exception, even though the weather was gray and quite cold. Here are a few shots taken on Sunday:


Nice boots! Parisian women really do dress differently than Boulderites.


No need to cook, just pick up a roast chicken to take home . .


Roller blades anyone?


Ah, j'aime Paris!