Following in the Footsteps of the Saints, Part 5: Notre Dame and the The Louvre!

November 7, 2025

As much as Dick and I travel, it just never gets old.  This trip is only reinforcing our addiction to adventure!  At the end of each day, I’d find myself thinking, “This day was THE BEST!”  But, when I reflected back on previous days, I wouldn’t know which day I’d choose as my favorite.  Anyway, this day was no exception. 

It began with time on our own to explore Notre Dame Cathedral and then attending Mass.  Yes, once again, Fr. Chinna was our celebrant!  This time he was joined by one of the priests from Notre Dame Cathedral, along with two other celebrants.   I wonder how long in advance all of this was arranged.  One of the incredible things about this trip is how well-planned and coordinated everything has been.  Hallow and Corporate Travel teamed up with Fr. Chinna and made all of this seamlessly smooth, or at least it sure appeared that way.  It certainly was powerful to see our beloved priest at the altar of such an incredible cathedral, especially with the stunning Pietà and gold cross (which survived the 2019 fire) in the background.

Although Mass was said in French, you absolutely always knew what prayers were being said and what was going on.  That’s one of the beautiful things about the Catholic faith.  No matter where you go, the order of the Mass is the same.  You simply need to look up the readings for the day to know precisely what scripture is being read, but that too is universal.  Every Catholic church around the world is celebrating the same Mass on the same day.  I’d say Jesus’ followers continue doing the works He commanded impressively well!  “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” -- Mark 16:15 

It's impossible to pick a “best-loved” from inside Notre Dame.  All of the art is incredible, the architecture is stunning and, despite the crowd, the reverence penetrates the very air you breathe.  Also pretty remarkable is the amount of restoration that has been accomplished following the fire in April 2019.  The Cathedral astoundingly reopened only five years following the devastating fire; however, some evidence of continued restoration can be seen.  Access to the balcony was restricted (where you can view the bells and walk behind the stunning rose glass windows) and on the exterior, work continues on the rib vault. 

Certainly of interest to me was the Crown of Thorns which Notre Dame has kept safely guarded since 1806.  This crown’s history can be traced back to Jerusalem in the 5th century. No certifiable evidence has been found as to where it was before that.  Interesting fact: Originally, the Crown of Thorns is believed to have contained 72 thorns.  Over the centuries, thorns have been broken off and distributed around the world as relics.  Today, only two thorns remain -- one in the crown itself and the other inside the rooster sitting atop the weathervane located on the Cathedral’s spire!  The original rooster, containing this relic, was thought to have been lost in the fire, but it was discovered among the debris with the relics inside intact.  

Both Dick and I found ourselves particularly drawn to the Choir Screen.  This simple name is a bit deceiving for this 14th century Gothic sculpture.  Going to church during the Middle Ages was quite different from today.  At the time, this giant screen was used to separate the faithful, who came to worship, from the religious clergy.  The faithful could hear the services and chants coming from the ceremony, but were not able to see it.  This sculpture also served as an educational tool.  It provided a visual story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection for the mostly illiterate population who came to worship.  They had heard the stories, but this provided them the ability to visualize it.  As a hands on, visual learner myself, I have great appreciation for the importance this screen held for the people.

Following our time inside Notre Dame, the group took the bus to The Louvre and found lunch near there.  Dick and I went a little rogue and opted to walk.  It was only a mile away and, with both Notre Dame and The Louvre located on the banks of the Seine River, we thought it would be a fun stroll.  Along the way, we stopped for lunch at Trattoria Marguerite.  Although we chose to sit indoors, we had found our corner café and, yes, wine and crème brûlée were thoroughly enjoyed!

The remainder of our afternoon was spent taking in a fragment of the art displayed in The Louvre.  I was initially worried about how we were going to successfully navigate the miles of hallways and even know where to go and what to see inside this massive museum.  Having read it would take 64 days to see every piece of art, spending one minute at every piece, I was pretty intimidated!  Once again, Charlotte (our tour guide) came to the rescue.  The night before, she sent out a website that led us step-by-step past many of the Louvre’s masterpieces.  

It was an amazing feeling walking inside what was once a medieval fortress, transitioned into a Renaissance palace by King Henri II, and now is a world-renowned museum.  Man, if these walls could talk!  First stop: the Salle des Caryatids.  Formally, this room served as a ballroom complete with a musicians’ gallery.  In addition to being a ballroom, it also acted as a court of justice where prominent wedding ceremonies took place, notable funeral ceremonies were held, and even executions.  Entering the room, you find four caryatids doing their job of support.  In this case, it’s the musician’s gallery these female statues are holding up!  Among the Greek sculptures contained in this ballroom (mostly of gods, goddesses and mythological figures) we found the “Sleeping Hermaphrodite”.   

“Venus de Milo,” sculpted during the second century BCE, was found by a peasant on the Greek island of Melos (formerly named Milos) and presented to King Louis XVIII who gifted it to The Louvre in 1821.  I know it would be interesting to hear what the walls of this former fortress have to say, but can you even imagine what we could learn from this statue if Aphrodite could talk?

“The Mona Lisa” is a classic and certainly a must see.  It was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in the early 1500’s while in Florence, Italy and remained there until his death.  It then became the property of France’s royal collection until 1878, when insurgents claimed the royal collection as property of the people.  This painting even hung in Napoleon’s bedroom for a period before becoming part of The Louvre’s collection.  In 1911, this painting’s story took another dramatic turn when she was stolen from The Louvre and taken back to Florence.  Apparently, the thief wanted to return her to where he thought she belonged.  My goodness, all of this art has some good stories to tell! 

On the wall opposite "The Mona Lisa" we found “The Wedding at Cana.”  This is the largest painting in The Louvre.  Veronese was commissioned to paint this piece to decorate the refectory of a monastery in Venice.  In pondering how he wanted to go about this painting, he decided to take a biblical scene and paint it as a modern-day wedding.  “The Wedding at Cana” took on the feeling of a mid-1500’s wedding at Venice!  It makes me think of the musical “Jesus Christ, Super Star!“  In 1797, this painting experienced quite the drama as Napoleon’s troops, having invaded Italy, decided it was their painting.  Too large to simply carry away, they cut the canvas from its frame, rolled it up and shipped it to Paris where it became part of The Louvre’s collection. 

Another piece I found myself reflecting on was Eugène Delacroix’s “Liberty Leading the People”. Delacroix, a French artist, completed this piece in three months following the July 1830 revolution in Paris.   In it, he commemorates this revolution that saw Charles X’s abdication from the throne.  Delacroix’s personification of Liberty depicts her leading all classes of people in battle.  Liberty is carrying the restored tri-colored French flag which had been replaced by Charles X with a pure white flag.  You can recognize the scene of Paris by the prominent towers of Notre Dame in the background.  

Certainly, among my favorites in The Louvre was Michelangelo’s sculptures of the "Rebellious Slave" and the "Dying Slave". Michelangelo never finished these sculptures, possibly for a few reasons.  One being he was also busy painting the Sistine Chapel, which was taking up a lot of his time.  In addition, these statues were intended for the tomb of Pope Julius II.  But, over time, this project saw budget cuts, hence the overall project was reduced and eventually ended up being cut from the plan altogether.  Additionally, some believe Michelangelo intentionally never completed these sculptures.  Michelangelo considered figures to exist within the marble of each of his sculptures, he only needed to reveal the sculptures that are already there.  In these masterpieces, the slaves appear to be struggling, as if straining to break free from the marble they are trapped in.  

Michelangelo also found a monkey in this block of marble!

With that, we had circled back to where we were going to be meeting our group.  We had succeeded in not getting lost!

We had made dinner reservations at Au Bon Accueil for that evening with Renea, Craig, and Jeannie.  As the restaurant wasn’t far from the Eiffel Tower, we asked our bus driver to drop us off there rather than going back to the hotel.  The sun had just set and the lights on the Eiffel Tower made this feel like a magical moment.  

The five of us enjoyed a delightful stroll on our way to Au Bon Accueil.  As typical, this restaurant is small, so reservations are pretty much a necessity.  I’d been unable to reserve a table for five so, as an alternative, I’d made two reservations hoping they would be able to seat us at adjacent tables.  No worries!  We were there on the early side of typical dining hours; in fact, we opened the place up.  They were able to quickly slide two tables together and the problem was solved.  From there, the wine never stopped flowing.  Seemingly, neither did the food!  My entrée (appetizer) was French onion soup, followed by lamb for my plat (entrée).  As delicious as they were, my absolute favorite was dessert.  A meringue center enveloped in a creamy, lemon custard, decorated with petite, lace cookies and garnished with a delicate pansy.  Magnifique!  

Apparently, we left too high of tip for, as we were preparing to leave, the server surprised us with a complementary limoncello! A delicious digestif for a top-notch meal.  Seeing how satisfied our appetites were, and it being such a beautiful evening, we decided to walk the mile back to our hotel.  A perfect ending to a perfect day!  Before retiring for the night, we freshened up our laundry, laid out clothes for the morning and organized our bags a bit.  Tomorrow’s going to be another amazing day!

Next up:  Sacré-Coeur Basilica