Paris - 6/11

Last day for the two of us in Paris. Another spectacular day enlivened by a visit to a small museum, Musee Gognacq-Jay, which houses a collection of 17th century paintings, sculptures and figurines. It was a glimpse into the time when the middle class both started collecting items (a porcelain factory started opening up in France in 1730) and the last years of the ancient regime (and the nobles who ran riot in it). Portraits in more natural form began to appear. A great way to spend an hour before heading off to Ma Bretagne, a cafe in the Place des Vosges featuring a nice lunch and a tart tartin.

We passed a vibrant fruit stand (with, alas, mediocre fraise du bois) on our way to a tour of Notre Dame. We asked a few questions but quickly left our guide for a walk around the cathedral. For me, the scrubbed clean look, while presenting a pristine and well lit cathedral, lacks the majesty of the poorly lit and darker interior that involved a sense of wonder and the immensity of God. But, as you can see, they did a fabulous job deconstructing, constructing and cleaning the stained glass (all by hand) as well as the rest of the cathedral and introducing light everywhere. Also, they have added a new reliquary housing the crown of thorns, a nail from the true cross and a piece of the true cross.Read more