850 years ago the construction of Notre Dame was begun. In my eyes, Notre Dame isn’t 850 years old as they are saying because it took almost 200 years to finish building this great cathedral but, then, nobody asked me. They have constructed an elevated section in front of the cathedral so you get a bit of a different look at the front and they have six brand new bells for the north tower. The original bells were melted down during the Revolution and the replacements didn’t ring true so new ones were just finished using ancient methods. I was hoping to find the bells were still on display there but there were hung at the end of February. They rang the new ones for the first time on March 23 and I was there to hear it. I guess I will have to climb the tower to get a look at them.

A photo of a photo of two of the bells there in the nave.

This very modern font holding holy water to bless yourself with should you be Catholic is now at the front. It’s brand new.

The statue of Saint Denis holding his head on the front of Notre Dame to the left of the exit door.

They’ve added new lighting too which I think looks really nice. They are also restoring the organ.

A long video I took when they rang the bells. The bishop of Notre Dame gave a short talk, there was a little music before, and two large screens showing how many thousands of people were there.

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Seen on the street in the Marais:

An ancient building still standing and looking lovely.

A confiture shop that I’ve photographed before. They sell a cute spoon with their jam.

Something about red and white checks always makes me want to eat at a restaurant. Sort of a symbol of a Parisian eating establishment but red and white checked curtains or table clothes doesn’t mean the food is good.

In this case though, I think the food was good. I tried to get a photo of the steak someone was eating inside. It looked very yummy.

The back of a lady who very rudely told me to get out of her way. She could hardly walk so I guess I understand.

Advertisement for mouth wash.

Repetto, which started out as a store for ballet shoes, has other things for street wear. I always like their windows.

There was too much glare in the window for a shot of the front so here is the back from inside the store.

Very stylish.

Old time sewing machine in the window too.

Cute street shoes in a nice display.

You can find all sorts of great looking bread on rue des Rosiers, especially in the Jewish shops along the way.

I had one of these sandwiches and it was very tasty.

Challah bread. Anyone who has walked down this rue with a camera has taken a photo of this bread. I did years ago when I first saw it.

This looked good too.

I didn’t have any of this but I sure was tempted.

I was with a friend who was doing a little research on used clothing stores the other day and, while I am not a shopper, it was fun. Most of the shops were in the Marais.

One store had clothing artfully displayed on the ceiling.

Can you see the ring with the rabbit on it? I rather liked it.

A peek in this window shows a really elegant clothing store, sort of a one of a kind nowadays.

In one of the shops you had to descend these dangerous stairs to look at more clothing. My friend found a really nice light raincoat for only ten euros! I don’t remember the name of the shop-sorry.

Used boots for sale. I think, this being the Marais, that they were for transvestites or at least someone in show business.

I’m not a huge fan of Chagall but I do find his art fascinating despite the rather primitive look. I was recently at the Luxembourg Museum where they had a showing of some of his work. Did you know that he once lived in New York State and Paris? I didn’t. I was in a small church in the middle of England and found six stained glass windows done by Chagall. I’ve seen his work in several churches. And then there is the ceiling in the Garnier Opera House. I keep running into his work and have come to love his vibrant colors.

The sign out front of the Museum Luxembourg. This isn’t my favorite museum as it is very small and can be very crowded and hot although they actually had cold air coming through the vents.

I was surprised by this painting of a Rabbi in black and white. Chagall, by the way, was Jewish and from Russia.

I’m surprised to find Christ in his paintings but I think it’s supposed to represent hope for humanity.

Look at this vibrant color.

And there is the Eiffel Tower.