2 weeks in France-5-26 to 6/8/2022

Paris, France-6/2/2022 to 6/8/2022

A stroll in Paris-6/4/2022

Today we are spending the whole day at Mai and Thierry.  They live in the suburb of Paris so we have to take the subway to their house.

Since it is still early in the morning, we decided to get breakfast, stroll around the neighborhood and then catch the subway later on.

Our apartment is in Le Marais and we are just walking around to find somewhere to have breakfast in the neighborhood.

Starting our day a nice breakfast and coffee.

Walking around the quay of Paris

In the center is Île de la Cité is an island in the River Seine. 

We are on Pont Notre Dame (Bridge of Notre Dame).

The bridge of Notre Dame crossed the Seine in Paris linking the quay de Gesvres on the river droite with the quay de la Corse on the Ile de la City.

View from the bridge of Notre Dame.

We are now crossing the bridge going into the 5th arrondissement.

On the left: We are headed to Notre Dame Cathedral which you can see the tower way in the back ground.

On the right is a Panel Histoire de Paris plaques sometimes called Starck Oars because of their shape and their designer Philippe Starck, are information plaques scattered throughout the City of Paris in front of various Parisian monuments.

A coffee shop close by the Cathedral of Notre dame with the name "Quasimodo"

The side of the cathedral is surrounded by fences during renovation.

The Cathedral was devastated by fire in April 2019 and the county set a five year goal for the reconstruction of its spire and a large part of the roof.

Posters around the fences describing the cleaning and renovation of the Cathedral

Protecting ornamentation elements damaged by the fire, on the south terraces of the Choir tribunes.

Statues from the building's upper parts were weakened by the fire and removed with a view to restoration

Preparatory casts for the stone statues dating from the 19th century, in the nave's north tribunes.

Statue of the Virgin of the Pillar, jewel of the 14th century statuary, in storage in the radiating chapel of the choir, before its transfer to the church of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois in Paris.

Burned logs and debris and evacuation of rubble from the fire.

The fire caused the destruction of the spire erected in the 19th century by Viollet-le-Duc and the wooden frame, built largely in the 13th century, as well as the collapse of the vault of the transept crossing.

While it was speculated that the restoration might include a modern spire or rooftop garden.  French President Emmanuel Macron, confirmed that the famous landmark is being restored to its “last known visual state," in line with a bill passed by the French Senate.

The cause of the fire on 15 April 2019 that took firefighters 15 hours to control is still not known. Today, like the cathedral itself, most of the area is blocked off to the public for safety reasons.

President Emmanuel Macron vowed the cathedral would be restored to its former glory by 2024 when most of the major work on rebuilding the cathedral is scheduled to have finished and it will reopen in 2027.

West facade of Notre dame with two Gothic towers were not affected by the fire.

Renovation under way with new timbers for the Spire and roof.

In the spring of 2021, 1,000 oak trees were selected and harvested. These trees will become the cathedral’s new spire and transept roof. From September 2021 to January 2022, 45 sawmills across France processed the trees into timbers. Little by little, each oak is stripped of its bark and cut into 36 cm sections for planking.  Eight oak trees of exceptional size – 20 meters tall – will be transformed into timbers for the spire. The sawn wood is currently in storage centers where they are being dried and sorted. In mid-2022, the timbers will be transported to carpenters’ workshops to be assembled on a trial basis before final assembly on site next year, in 2023. 

Petit Pont Cardinal Lustiger (archbishop of Paris from 1981 to 2005)

The Petit Pont is crossing the River Seine and was built in 1853.

Pont Saint Michel Napoleon III-1857

The bridge is linking the place Saint Michel on the left bank of the River Seine to the Ile de la Cite.

Bateau mouche on the River Seine.

We are now on Place St. Andre des arts is a popular place in the 6th arrondissement

Took the metro at Saint Sulpice.

On our way to Bois D'Arcy.

NEXT.... Family get together