Assumption

Today (Friday) is August 15 and like in most Catholic countries it's a holiday. What are we celebrating ? The Assumption of the Virgin Mary who, according to the Roman Catholic Theology, "was transported into Heaven with her body and soul united". Besides being a religious feast for some, it's also the last day off before the going back to school period and, for a lot of French people, the end of the holiday season. I'm sure that the traffic will be bad again on Monday! BTW, I took this photo in Sainte Anne de la Butte aux Cailles, a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary which I visited for the first time for this occasion.

Inside Saint Jean de Montmartre

Many of you have heard of Les Abbesses area because that is where the movie "Amélie" takes place. Not far from the metro station, there is a church called Saint Jean de Montmartre which I had never visited before. It was completed in 1904 after long fights over its revolutionary structure: Reinforced Concrete! Was it going to be solid enough?! We know the answer now: it was, and it still is... The facade is interesting too (red bricks) and so is the inside as you can see in this photo (in the foreground you can see the holy water font which is located right in the middle at the entrance when you walk in - 1st time I see one like that).

Mass at Notre Dame

A few weeks ago, Rahul, a true Paris lover from Bombay/Mumbai, started chatting with me about France, India and... movies. He convinced me to open myself more to the Indian production and even said "I'll have you discover a few films..." And he kept his promise. Saturday evening, I got a call from, Diti, a friend of his, who happens to be visiting Paris at the moment. She said "Rahul will kill me if I don't manage to give you his gifts (2 DVDs)." Now you're probably wondering how this photo can possibly fit into this story?! Well, it's simple: Diti and I agreed to meet at Notre Dame on Sunday morning and since we kinda missed each other, I went into Notre Dame (during mass) and took this photo. Don't worry I finally managed to get my DVDs!

The Pilgrim

In front of the Saint Germain church at the moment, there are several statues on display. I fell in love with one of them, called Le Pèlerin (the Pilgrim) made by Jivko, a sculptor born in Sofia (Bulgaria), who then studied in Prague before settling down in Paris in 1992 where he became a French citizen. I photographed this Pilgrim with the bust of Jean Mabillon in the background (permanently on display, unlike the Pilgrim), a famous monk who "invented" a "method" to authenticate and file church documents (don't ask me!! this took place in 1681...). If you want a global view of the statue only, click here.

The other side of Saint Sulpice

Do you remember this photo? Well, I photographed his front this time! The sad part though is that I still don't know who he is... Anyway, for the records this photo was taken in Saint Sulpice (yes at the same time I took the confession one!). I have a lot of work at the moment so I did not have the time to take "La photo du jour". Don't worry, things will go back to normal pretty soon ;) BTW, I have a question for those of you who have already been to Paris - Well it's actually not me but a PDP visitor who asks me in which restaurant she could take her 12 year old daughter to (please post the answer here, if you have one, because I don't!). Update: a nice visitor (Joris, from Belgium) tells me this is Saint Paul.

Confession in succession...

It’s Sunday, so let me take you inside a church today. I found this sign in Saint Sulpice and I thought it was really odd. It looks like there are so many people willing to confess that they have to organize a queue/line or something. Are people in the 6th arrondissement big sinners or what?! Anyway, as you may already know, among the Christians, only Catholics need to talk to a priest to be absolved, the Protestants ask directly forgiveness from God. And from what I could see on the web, no such thing as confession exists among the Muslims or the Jews.

Notre Dame at Sunset

Yeah, I can hear you from here: "another one of these sunset photos, how about some imagination?!" Well, what can I do? When I see that kind of light, on my way back home from the office, I can't help but digging out my camera and shoot. LOL. Besides, I'm currently in Chamonix (in the Alpes) so I had to upload a photo prior to my departure... I hope you're behaving well on this blog while I'm gone;) Have a wonderful Sunday. BTW: here is some interesting reading about Notre-Dame.

Almost redone!

Those of you who are true long time visitors of PDP may remember this photo from September 2006, in which I photographed a stone cutter currently working on the renovation of The Tour Saint Jacques. Well the tower is now almost renovated as you can see on this photo that I just took on my way back home (yes, the sun provided me with a wonderful light...). If you want to know more about this monument that originally belonged to a church destroyed after the French revolution, go here.

Rings a bell?

In France, on the day of Easter around noon, kids are told to search for eggs (generally made of chocolate) in the garden of their house (or on the balcony if they live in an apartment!). These eggs are supposed to have been brought back by bells that just returned from a short trip to Rome (home of the Vatican) to be blessed by the Pope... Yeah, right! Anyway, I don't know if kids buy it, but they certainly love this little treasure hunt! These bells belong to Saint Ferdinand's church, located off the avenue des Ternes, in the 17th arrondissement. First time I noticed these bells actually... Today (Monday) is still a holiday here by the way ;)

Me and my shadow...

Let's start the week with a photo I took last Saturday at Saint Sulpice (Saint Sulpice is a very famous church in Paris, now world famous because it was part of the Da Vinci code plot). The church is currently closed because it's being redone, but I managed to take this shot on one of its sides. I was attracted to this mysterious shadow; a statue undoubtedly, but I don't know which one...

Reaching out for God?

I took this photo in the Saint Jean-Baptsite de Grenelle church near the rue du Commerce in the 15th arrondissement. This was my first time there (I rarely go to this neighborhood). The minute I entered the place I was stunned by the enormous amount of perfectly aligned chairs there were. I thought it would make a cool photo. It does (well, in my opinion!).

Children are talented...

Here is a nice little fresco called "the Arrival of a Circus in a Country Village" entirely made by the children of the Clichy Trinité quarter (an area of Paris located in the 9th and 18th arrondissement) under the guidance of Paule Pointreau, a teacher specializing in teaching fine arts to children. This fresco is located in front of "La Trinité" church (where I took the black and white photo 2 days ago) in order to hide works.

Another Notre Dame

After the "big" Notre-Dame of yesterday, here is a much smaller one - called Notre-Dame de Grace de Passy (Passy is a quarter that used to be a little village up the hill before it was integrated into Paris in 1860). I never noticed it before although it's really cute and... old (the original parts - it's been renewed and enlarged since then) were built in 1667! Have a nice weekend.

The (hunch) back of Notre-Dame

I had to show you this. "This" is the back of Notre-Dame, the magnificent cathedral located on the Ile de la Cité that you probably have seen if you already made it to Paris. The good news is that, since yesterday it's now lit from the back as you can see on this photo (I already showed the front here). What more to say: it's gorgeous!

Celebrating the dead

Like in many countries, November 1st is All Saints day, the day Catholics celebrate their dead. A lot of people take advantage of it to go to visit the tombs of their dead relatives and bring flowers. I'm not sure this procession that I shot in front of Notre Dame has also something to do with this date, but I'm pretty sure it does. It was quite impressive and the tourists there (there are tons of tourists in Paris at the moment) were quite surprised. As for me I'm off to Trouville to see my 94 year old aunt for the weekend, believe me she's far from being dead!

On the way out...

"Sortie" (Way out). "Poussez" (Push)... are two words you'll see on most French doors in public places. This door actually belongs to Saint Severin Church where I already took this picture. I kinda liked it, so here it is. Today is Friday and tonight France is playing another world cup rugby match (against Ireland). Please cross your fingers!

Somewhere over the hedge

The air is more chilly but the weather is still nice as you can see on this photo that I took by Saint Germain de l'Auxerrois, the church where Eva Longoria and Tony Parker got married. Not much to say, I just like the framing of this photo ;)

Praying

I am not a religious person but I love the feeling of peace that you experience when you enter a religious place. That's exactly what I felt a couple of days ago when I walked in the Saint Severin church and took this photo. They made this special room on the side of the church for the people to pray in peace. It works and... it makes a nice set for a photo too ;) I wish you a peaceful day.

A View From the Other Side

Most people are used to seeing St. Paul's church from the other side, in the Marais, but this photo was taken from Ile Saint-Louis. Commissioned by Louis XIII and completed by 1641, the church is one of the oldest examples of Jesuit architecture in Paris. Louis XIV had his minister, Cardinal Richelieu, give the church's first mass. The church was pillaged during Revolution, but some important works were spared. One of which is Delacroix' Christ in the Garden of Olives (1827), near the entrance.