Paris: Notre Dame, Sainte-Chappelle, Montmartre

Our time in Paris has been full of interesting activities!  In these last few days of our trip, we're trying to make every minute count.

On our second day here, we visited Notre Dame, and climbed the tower.

We were rewarded with an incredible view of Paris, framed by close-up encounters with the famous gargoyles of Notre Dame.  

As we enjoyed the view, we talked about the legends associated with gargoyles at this and other French cathedrals.  Max and Zach both have displayed a keen appreciation for the historical context of the sites we visit, and Notre Dame was no exception.

We visited the bell tower, and saw the two largest bells, Emmanuel and Marie.  JJ marveled at the size of them--here, JJ is standing under the smaller of the two, Marie.

We took a quick trip to Shakespeare and Company, an English-language bookstore in the Latin Quarter.  Many in our group are avid readers, including Max, who enjoyed the reading room upstairs.  When we returned a couple of days later for a longer visit, he even took a turn playing the piano in the upstairs reading room.

Later, we went to Sainte-Chapelle.  Sainte-Chapelle is full of exceptionally beautiful stained glass.  Roarke has visited more churches on this trip than any other student, since he has taken up our offers of nearly every optional church visit, and so he had many points of comparison for Sainte-Chapelle.

Paris, Griffin, Claire, and JJ discussed how Sainte-Chapelle compared to other churches on our trip, and considered how it had changed over time.

Although one often thinks of the interior of Sainte-Chapelle, there is a lovely balcony affording a view of this area of Paris.  The balcony is adorned with reliefs of various kinds, including some offering narratives of stories from Christianity, similar to what we usually associate with stained glass.  Emila and Chloe enjoyed the view and also the close-up encounter with the reliefs.

Later on, we visited Montmartre.  Montmartre has a rich history in the last two centuries as a destination for Paris's most creative residents.  We added fourteen very creative temporary residents to Montmartre for the evening, as the students broke into small groups and explored the neighborhood.  They came back with a wide variety of stories and exciting experiences.  Chloe, Nila, Emila, and Zhuoyi, all of whom have expressed consistent and passionate interests in the visual arts, appreciated the exterior of Sacre-Coeur, the church at the top of the hill in Montmartre.

Montmartre has a number of street performing artists, including one with an impressive acrobatic act!