Friday, June 06, 2008

More of the Seine

Get it--Seine/Same? Ha, I crack myself up. I'm finally going through my Paris photos. I was utterly sick of them yesterday after spending half a day trying to transfer them over. Now I'm ready to conquer. These were taken last Tuesday, in the rain, on the Seine, crazy in the brain. Can you tell the day got progressively worse?

We walked first past the Opera House (for which the Phantom of the Opera was based).

A magnificent structure right around the corner from our hotel and quite the "close-to-'home'" landmark while in Paris. I never did get any truly good photos of it as the weather was just miserable each time we walked by. I wasn't about to hold everyone one up, skipping across the street to get a better view. Nope, these will have to do.

Charles Garnier was the architect and this is his monument on one of the corners of the building.

Here you can even see my umbrella on top--complete with raindrops on the corners. Miserable.

These were taken from the roof of the Galleries Lafayette. Beautiful views in spite of the nasty weather.

Afterwards we went back to the hotel where I ironed my jeans dry just in time for Raphael to arrive. It was then that we headed to the Louve, only to find it closed, and then walked on towards Notre Dame. Here you can see the tall spire in the background.

One of the side towers. Construction of this beauty began in 1163! Eleven Sixty-Three folks! Oooooof. A hundred and eighty years later . . . it was finished.

Gargoyles reside here.

Just who is this man holding his own head? It is St. Denis (died in the 250s--uhhuh) who was obviously beheaded for getting someone mad in Paris (after much research) and Emperor Constantine on his right.

This is in the Portal of the Virgin circa 1210-1220s. It depicts the death of Mary, her ascension into Heaven and her coronation as Queen of the Heavens.

These are (L-R)Saint John the Baptist, Saint Stephen, Saint Genevieve and Pope Saint Sylvester. Saint Denis, Saint Genevieve and Saint Marcel are the patron saints of Paris. I never did find St. Marcel in any of the carvings. Oh well. I loved the goofy looking men holding up the ledge under the saints. Look at the hairy legs on the last one. Oooooof. Such detail.

We made it back, soaked to the bone, and ordered tea and hot cocoa. The kid looks good in plaid, doesn't he?

My jeans and shoes were hung to dry for our next day's adventures.

6 comments:

Saucy said...

I'm so glad you posted those photos! I'll tell you a little secret: I saw Phantom of the Opera for the first time last month and I HATED it! I guess there's not much hope for me.

Also: I took an art history class this winter and the bulk of the last semester was devoted to the architecture of the gothics. I would so dearly love to see Notre Dame. Your photos are wonderful.

Linda said...

I'm enjoying reading about your trip to Paris and seeing your photos. Did you know that they make honey from bees kept on the roof of the Opera? You can buy it at Fauchon.

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Great pictures! I'm sorry to see that the weather was terrible...

Cheers,

Rosa

GreenishLady said...

You managed to take some marvellous photos, given the weather you had. That was really unfortunate. Makes me realise how lucky I was to have gotten a weekend of sunshine there.

Janet said...

I thought the rain was supposed to be mainly on the plains in Spain! Sorry....couldn't resist that. The architecture is fantastic! Can you imagine a building taking 180 years to complete?? Now they throw them up in a few months!

Jeanie said...

What great shots! I love the sculpture. You have an extraordinary treasure trove of photos here!

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