Again serendipity came to the rescue. Rosa had tried repeatedly to book a reservation for us to see Notre Dame and was told that they were “sold out.” We knew that we could get in at 6:00pm for mass, so we set out to get there early.
We arrived at 5:30 to suss things out. Well, lo and behold there was a line for those without reservations and it was just streaming into the church. We joined it and were inside in about five minutes. Did I mention that the bells had just started to ring for Evensong and our impromptu tour was accompanied by the organ, the choir, the priest and a huge receptical of smoking incense. It was a “fall on your knees” moment.
Rosa bought a candle and I got a pilgrim stamp for my credential as we took in the majesty of the cathedral. Notre Dame is one of those experiences that is beyond religion, beyond architecture, beyond Art and beyond cultural identity. It’s somewhere between Heaven and Earth.
After our visit we had dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant that began as a wine cellar. The food was amazing. Rosa had the equivalent of a quiche with herbs plus a side of French Fries and I had spaghetti cooked in a tomato sauce with a dollop of something cheesy and creamy on top. Everything was delicious. We both had a glass of wine each and called it a day, taxiing back to our respective hotels for good night’s sleep. I’ve lost count of the time but I might have been awake for about 30 hours by then.