Acknowledgements

These are the people who came to visit us...and they all speak English!
March - the Suens

March - the O'Neills 

March - April - the Gottardos

 April-May - the Figliomenis and the Angus - Carrolls

May - Verna Tribe

 May - the Ellis's

June - the Gottardo's and the Phidds

Until next time.... and yes, the girls want to go back to France / Europe next summer to see some things we didn't see this trip.  But please Mom and Dad, No More Stained Glass, and we get it, its the KEYSTONE.

The Road Home Pt 7. - Paris July 13 - 15

Back in Paris... we rented a small apartment close to the catacombs.  Which also happens to be close to the bus station for the Orly Bus.  In the place Denfert-Rochereau there is a statue of a lion (Rachel's Lion), entitled a la Defense Nationale 1870-1871.  La Defense Nationale was the govenment of France during the Franco-Prussian war.

We happened to be in Paris on July 14 (Bastille Day).  Bastille day was the kick-off party to the French Revolution when the Bastille was stormed in 1789.... The peasants are revolting..."they certainly are!"
As part of the July 14th celebrations, the army and other defense forces bring out the hardware to impress the citizens / show them where all the money went.  Lucky for us some of the hardware rolled by right in front of us.  You'd be amazed at how fast those tanks can accelerate, and wow do they make the street shake!

Outside Notre Dame Cathedral - not in the rain this time!

Point Zero - All distance measurements from Paris to the rest of France are measured from this spot.

Notre Dame interior

The very very famous rose window

the evolution of the Cathedral in France, note Paris - aka Notre Dame in 1163 and Amiens in 1220 which we visited.

Some very intricate stained glass.

John the Baptist, still holding his head.

The Palais de Justice (overlooking the Seine).  The Palais de Justice houses St. Chapelle.

This is the church spire of Sainte Chapelle, in the heart of Paris and famous for it's stained glass....just like all the other Cathedrals in France.  Commissioned by King Louis IX, and consecrated in 1248.

 ... and they are right...they are beautiful....just like all the other stained glass windows in France.  Figure it out, if they were ugly, they would have replaced them with something beautiful...they had 800 years to change them out.

 The rose window of the apocalypse.

 Mr. DeMille, I am ready for my close-up

 Carvings in High Relief on the outside of the upper chapel.  "The Arc" and "The Arc, just add water"

" I'm hungry"...Here, eat this apple.  YUM

OK, everybody out of the pool.

 The Catacombs.  Lots of bones, very creepy.

 Rachel, with the Eiffel tower growing out of her head.

 Sarah, with the Eiffel tower growing out of her head.

 Trocadero.  No Dad, not Trocadero, its Trrrocaderrro.

 Arty, Farty Picture of the Eiffel Tower.

 ENOUGH

 Casa del Tribe.  With our luggage spewed on the floor.

 Our Neighbours made a very nice welcome home sign, we really need to teach them how to write the letter 'S'

The Road Home - Pt. 6 The Cathedrals enroute to Paris July 11-13

We leave Caen, and set up base in Rouen.  Rouen is the historic capital of Normandy, and is located on the Seine river.  Yes it does have a Cathedral, and yes it is Gothic.  The Cathedral was built over a period spanning the 12th to 16th centuries.
The view down the main axis of the Cathedral.

At the north transept there is a very lovely stone staircase which leads to the Cathedral library.

one of the rose windows in the Rouen Cathedral

Very Curious indeed the things you find hidden away (in plain view) in churches.  This is the final resting place of King Richard the 1st of England, a.k.a. Richard the Lionheart.  The tomb has a lion at his feet, but inside the tomb lies only his heart.

The facade of the Rouen Cathedral

In the old section of Rouen you can see some remaining half-timber buildings.

Le Gros Horloge, is an astronomical clock,,... I don't think its that gross.

From Rouen we strike out down the road to the Northeast to the village of Amiens, home of the largest Cathedral in France.  Yes you guessed it...Amiens Cathedral...yup Gothic.  Not only does Amiens have a kick butt Cathedral, it has the BEST salad Nicoise in France,... Rachel, she's all about the salad.

..and the best Entrecote in France....Sarah, she's all about the steak.

Amiens has some lovely canals running through it, lined with cafes and shops.

THE CATHEDRAL.  42.3 m to the ceiling (interior) and the largest cathedral in France.  The Cathedral was built between 1220 and 1270.  The initial impetus was to provide a place to house the head of John the Baptist.

On the outer facade, we have John the Baptist, and his head.

The interior of Amiens is incredible.  If you can only go to one Cathedral in France, well rearrange your trip, but be sure you include Amiens.  The windows reach to the height of the ceiling and flood the interior with light.

The Rose window

Just to the side of the main alter, you come upon an angel, peeking around the corner at you.

The head of John the Baptist, part of the loot collected during the 4th Crusade.  The skull was brought back from Constantinople

Very cool stained glass with intricate detail is everywhere.

We leave Amiens and go to Chartres to see the blue stained glass.  The colour is associated with the Cathedral to such an extent that the colour is called Chartres Blue.

The south rose window (the glorification of Christ)  c. 1225

The west rose window (The last judgement) c. 1215

Another of the many windows of Chartres in stunning blue.

Outside looking at the Rose window (west)

Next stop ... PARIS