Paris - Day 6

Today was a day of extremes. From the grandeur of Notre Dame, sung in Gregorian chant, to a tour of the city's sewers, from hearing the nun's choir at Sacre Coeur to walking by the X-rated shops of the Pigalle area. (Not by design!) But first - today was Sunday, time for Mass. We arrived by metro on the Il la Cite just in time to make Mass at 10, but despite two previous visits this week to Notre Dame, we got turned around, and walked the peremiter of most of the island. To those of you who have been there, it is not a very big island! Still, the church somehow eluded us. We arrived in time for the homily. What we did hear was beautifull, with a hidden choir singing the music of heaven. When we first got there, there were two lines - one for the tourists, and one for those attending Mass. We went on the latter path, and was grateful that the many tourists walking around the side chapels were respectful. We sat about a third of a way back, and I was struck by two thoughts - St. Theresa had been here before, and, this is where Napoleon took his crown from the pope and placed it on his head himself. I have always found that to be the ultimate act of price. But, to think that it happened here in this ediface - fascinating! After Mass, we walked around the side chapels, too. Like many of the churches here, they had an exhibit featuring St. Therese. Cathy said, "She'd like some kind of rock star here!" I'm so glad that we made it to Lisieux. Next, we walked outside where the Monday through Saturday flower market was transformed in to the Sunday bird market. There were hundreds of birds in cages, varities of seed, accessories, etc. It seemed so out of place, and was yet quite charming. What was surprising was that nearly everyone buying birds and selling them were men. I don't know why. Clearly in an animal mood, we walked over the bridge on the Siene to the area just before the Louvre, where our cousin, Audrey, had told us that there was a street of puppy stores. We didn't expect them to be open on a Sunday, but the were, and we oooh-ed and ahhh-ed and sounded generally silly as we enjoyed the adorable faces. A few other stores were open, including one where we each bought the most lovely violet perfume. I would not have thought that would be my scent, but it was so nice. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a church with magnificent flying buttresses. Cathy said that it was St. Eustache, which I had read has the largest pipe organ in all of Europe. We headed there after a maze of construction. It was quite beautiful, but I do think that my head is now blending in one church after another. (Except for Sainte Chapelle. It could never, ever be mistaken for anything else.) Hungry, we looked around for a cafe, and sate down at one before realizing that it was Thai food. But, we were already committed. I was disappointed not to be having another baguette, but this turned out to be our BEST MEAL IN PARIS. We each had a salad as an appetizer - it was a carved-out orange with chunks of orange and grapefruit, with red onions and scallions in a citrus dressing, and topped with shrimp. It was AMAZING!!! We remembered that we were in the general vicinity of a famous kitchen store that Julia Child used to shop in. I googlemapped it, and found that it was only two doors down from where we already were! Unfortunately, it was already closed, and the silver shades were drawn, so we couldn't even peek in. We took two subway rides to something we had both put high on our lists - the sewer tour. It is not far from the Eiffel Tower, but was closed when we went to the towr the other day. The guidebook said that it would take about 30 minutes to go through it, but I'm sure that we did it in less. As one might imagine, it was quite smelly. I breathed through my mouth the whole time. It was a fascinating and disgusting look at what goes on underneath the beautiful city. We were drawn to it because the books said that it is a "must do" for fans of "Les Miserables" since the character Jean Valjean carries Marius through the sewers in order to rescue him from the barricades. All I can say is, "Bravo, Jean Valjean". With the dark and the stink, I'm not sure that I could have done the same thing. Scary! Huffing and puffing for fresh air when we arrived above ground, we were nonetheless thrilled to have done this trip. On the way back to the metro, we saw the tunnel where Princess Diana died. The wall nearby has some notes written in black marker by people who left messages for her. But, very sadly, there is no memorial and no official mention of it that we could see anywhere. It brought me bac to that day years ago, and I got tears in my eyes. Next, we wanted to conquer the Montmartre area, to include Sacre Coeur, the magnificent white church that can be seen from nearly anywhere in the city. By this time, I'd had enough of stairs, and my left Achilles heel was vibrating as if it would rupture on me. So, I opted for the funicular that takes you to the top, and it was a good choice. The steps were impossibly crowded, the only time we'd seen that many people together in Paris. We heard organ music and singing, and walked in to some kind of service (not Mass) with a choir of nuns singing. It was beautiful! That was my favorite thing, though. As remarkable as the church was, they were again starting to blend in. We walked through the San Francisco-like hills and streets of Montmartre, stopping in a jewelry shop that Cathy had found the other day. I bought myself an antique silver and lapis pendant as a momento. Two turns later, and we were suddenly in front of the famed Moulin Rouge. I love the movie of the same title, so I had wanted to see the outside of it. It was quite small, though, and I can only assume that the inside is more impressive, because the outside was only distinguished by the large red windmill on its roof. The walk to the subway had us strolling by a sex shop district. I saw things in shop windows that I would prefer to purge from my mind, and for once, I welomed the long subway stairs. We grabbed a baguette (ham, cheese, and butter this time), a tart for breakfast, and came home early to start packing. We have one more full day before we leave first thing Tuesday morning, and didn't want to spend it figuring out the luggage situation. Next stop (tomorrow), Place Des Vosges and Pere Lachaise Cemetary.