Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

[Phil C]

This is a photo of the famous Notre Dame Cathedral located in Paris, France. It was built in the 18th century. Isn't it magnificient?

http://www.atkielski.com/PhotoGallery/Paris/NotreDame/images/NotreDameSmall.jpg

[pirate44]

so wheres the golden dome everyone is always talkin bout?

[shankbear]

There's no gold dome on Notre Dame. I was there on June 30 this year for the 4th time. It is a beautiful cathedral. The only major building in Paris with a gold dome is Les Invalides. That is where Napolean is buried. It is very pretty as is the Pont Alexander bridge which leads to it.

The Cathedral at Montmartre, Sacre Coeur is phenominal but nothing like Notre Dame.

Phil C, have you been over there? You post a bit about Paris and I was curious. I was in the city when they lost the World Cup. It was wild. We were on the Champs d'Elessye(sp) when France first scored. Then Italy scored and a couple of fires broke out. Then the Gendarmerie rolled out with three trucks with water cannons. We left and went back to our hotel near the Bastille area.

[shankbear]

The Paris Opera house (Phantom of the Opera) has some gold on it.

[pirate44]

Originally posted by shankbear
The Paris Opera house (Phantom of the Opera) has some gold on it.
i was joking

[shankbear]

On another trip there we had a waiter in Paris who was a tird burd. Other than him, I have yet to meet anybody who treated us Americans badly. Tourists leave millions of Euros there and they would sink without the USA. Fact.

[Phil C]

Here is another photo of the cathedral. It was also the setting for Victor Hugo's great 1831 book "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Several movie versions have been made of the book probably the most popular was the 1923 silent version with the great Lon Channey in the role of the Hunchback. Most of the movie versions make the Hunchback the main character and change it up a bit but the book actually makes the Cathedral as another character - in fact it is the main character.

http://photoguide.myqth.com//film44/Small/Dscn8183.jpg

[shankbear]

N.D Cathedral construction was begun in the 12th century.

[Phil C]

Originally posted by shankbear
There's no gold dome on Notre Dame. I was there on June 30 this year for the 4th time. It is a beautiful cathedral. The only major building in Paris with a gold dome is Les Invalides. That is where Napolean is buried. It is very pretty as is the Pont Alexander bridge which leads to it.

The Cathedral at Montmartre, Sacre Coeur is phenominal but nothing like Notre Dame.

Phil C, have you been over there? You post a bit about Paris and I was curious. I was in the city when they lost the World Cup. It was wild. We were on the Champs d'Elessye(sp) when France first scored. Then Italy scored and a couple of fires broke out. Then the Gendarmerie rolled out with three trucks with water cannons. We left and went back to our hotel near the Bastille area.

shank I have never had the pleasure to go there or Europe and not very far into Mexico LOL. Traveling nationwide and worldwide will probably never get to be one of my pleasures but I have been to El Paso. :)

[shankbear]

Paris is a wild city. It will wear you out as it is large. Never take taxis as they are ridiculously expensive. The Metro subway system is one of the best in the world. You can get anywhere in the city very easily. There is still some walking involved in each subway station but it is great.

The highlights: Eiffel, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Les Invalides, Place de la Concorde, Champs Eleysee, Sacre Coeur Cathedral, the Orsay Museum, the Paris Opera house. The Montmartre district is where all the old artists hung out and people set up their gear and paint all over the place in that area now. La Madeline church is neat also. It is near the Ritz hotel where Princess Diana left the night she was killed.

If you can ever go....do it.

[Phil C]

shank did you get to take a boat ride on the river there? I have also heard that in Janurary it is very cold and windy in Paris.

[shankbear]

Never did the boat tour. I was there in November one year and it really gets cold. I walked a bunch in the city that year under an umbrella. About 45 degrees and a constant mist/rain. It was good to hang out in the cafes and have the greatest coffee you can imagine. All the good coffee there is Italian.

I ate a big 5 course French meal once and it was only OK. The appetizer called the amuse bouche (happy mouth) was good as was the main course but the freakin cheese tray was disgusting. There are 435 registered cheeses in France and only 2 are edible. The wine is good. Oh yeah.

[CalallenWildcat]

I'm going to Paris as part of my Europe senior trip next year.

[shankbear]

CalWildcat...be ready to walk a bunch. Book early!!!! Find a hotel with air conditioning because it does get hot in Paris in summer. The hotels are expensive as is about everything in Europe. Learn the Metro as quickly as you get into the city. Buy fresh baguettes daily and eat the ham and emental cheese (one of the 2 edible varities) in the parks or on the lawn area beneath the Eiffel. Take at least 2 days for the Louvre. See the Mona Lisa there. You will have to muscle all the Japanese tourists out of the way. lol

Go up the tower for sure. Allow at least 2 to 3 hours for that. Trust me it takes a while with ticket lines, elevator lines, sightseeing on top and the same coming down.

Go to Notre Dame, etc. see post above. Cool city

[Phil C]

Originally posted by shankbear
CalWildcat...be ready to walk a bunch. Book early!!!! Find a hotel with air conditioning because it does get hot in Paris in summer. The hotels are expensive as is about everything in Europe. Learn the Metro as quickly as you get into the city. Buy fresh baguettes daily and eat the ham and emental cheese (one of the 2 edible varities) in the parks or on the lawn area beneath the Eiffel. Take at least 2 days for the Louvre. See the Mona Lisa there. You will have to muscle all the Japanese tourists out of the way. lol

Go up the tower for sure. Allow at least 2 to 3 hours for that. Trust me it takes a while with ticket lines, elevator lines, sightseeing on top and the same coming down.

Go to Notre Dame, etc. see post above. Cool city

And don't forget the great Joan of Arc statue.

[CalallenWildcat]

Originally posted by shankbear
CalWildcat...be ready to walk a bunch. Book early!!!! Find a hotel with air conditioning because it does get hot in Paris in summer. The hotels are expensive as is about everything in Europe. Learn the Metro as quickly as you get into the city. Buy fresh baguettes daily and eat the ham and emental cheese (one of the 2 edible varities) in the parks or on the lawn area beneath the Eiffel. Take at least 2 days for the Louvre. See the Mona Lisa there. You will have to muscle all the Japanese tourists out of the way. lol

Go up the tower for sure. Allow at least 2 to 3 hours for that. Trust me it takes a while with ticket lines, elevator lines, sightseeing on top and the same coming down.

Go to Notre Dame, etc. see post above. Cool city

Already booked my trip. Two weeks in Europe, Airfare, Hotels, Two meals per day, some of the tours for $2500 total. And the hotels are supposedly some of the nicer ones. I think we will only get an annotated tour of the Louvre, but I know it includes the Mona Lisa as well as some of the other great works. Thanks for the tip about the other tourists :D

I'm crazy good with directions and memorization so I will begin studying the Metro map long before I go.

And of course I'm gonna go up the tower. I'll also be taking a day trip to Versailles.

After some time in Paris (I think it's 3 days) we are taking a night train to Barcelona to spend a day and a half there then we are going to the South of France for a couple of days. Then it's off to Rome and Florence. Closing the trip will be some time in Capri. Then we have to head back to Rome and hop on a plane back to America.

[shankbear]

Sounds like a great trip Wildcat. We stayed 7 days in the south of France this summer and it is awesome. Took the TGV from Paris to Avignon. Took 2 1/2 hours. Great time. Rented a car in Avignon and had a house in a little town called Apt. Toured the lavender fields, wineries, Roman ruins and went to the Mediterranian Sea for a day. It is all like the Texas Hill country except with bigger "hills". The air is fresh and has low humidity. Gets hot. Made me think of Fredericksburg with a kick. People there are really laid back.

You will have a blast. Parlez vous francaise?

[shankbear]

With all that said, I really like Washington, DC. What a historical place. The Capitol, the White House, Union Station and Arlington Cemetery are awe inspiring. The Lincoln Memorial and the Bureau of Prining and Engraving are great highlights.

Paris is fine but it ain't home. I wanna go home with the armadillos, sweet country music from Amarillo to Abeline.

[CalallenWildcat]

Originally posted by shankbear
Sounds like a great trip Wildcat. We stayed 7 days in the south of France this summer and it is awesome. Took the TGV from Paris to Avignon. Took 2 1/2 hours. Great time. Rented a car in Avignon and had a house in a little town called Apt. Toured the lavender fields, wineries, Roman ruins and went to the Mediterranian Sea for a day. It is all like the Texas Hill country except with bigger "hills". The air is fresh and has low humidity. Gets hot. Made me think of Fredericksburg with a kick. People there are really laid back.

You will have a blast. Parlez vous francaise?

Un peu. The South of France sounds great. I'm looking forward to the trip...it's only 11 months away :D

I like DC as well. The Smithsonian is awesome. I loved the National art gallery (and I'm not big on art). I was last there just after 9/11 so it was a little crazy last time as far as security, but I still managed to enjoy every little bit of time I had there.

[ILS1]

http://homepage.mac.com/dmcnickle/.cv/dmcnickle/Sites/.Pictures/Photo%20Album%20Pictures/Notre%20Dame/ND2004_007.JPG-thumb_202_269.jpg


University Of Notre Dame's Golden Dome


:D

[Bullaholic]

Like the pyramids, the great gothic cathederals of Europe inspire awe in the onlooker. How did these 10th-17th century architects and workers ever construct such elegant and beautiful structures? Perhaps the craftsmen of yesteryear were given more to "inspiration" to produce such beauty in their works.

[KingRob]

Paris is a four hour (straight) train ride from where I live. I go into Metz, France on the first weekend of the month for the best in the world flea market. You would not believe what you can find there. I had some friends visiting, and on a whim took the train to Paris. They met a woman offering a room and took her up on it. They still talk about how great everything was. My wife doesn't like the food, but the people aren't as rude as you hear. Just people like us Americans, and believe it or not, they do like Americans.

[shankbear]

KingRob..you hit the nail on the head. The regular people in France are as nice as regular people in Texas or Idaho.....Beaumont or Paris, TX.

There is something historical around every corner in France as in most all of Europe. I have spent a few days in Antwerp, Belgium and those are some really friendly people.

I hope to go back to Europe in a few years. Well, maybe earlier if I get to go to Scotland to play golf next year. I want to see Germany and Italy so I will be planning for those.