Day 4 (Part 1): Notre Dame Cathedral | Espinosa on Board
- tootsbespinosa
- Jan 7, 2017
- 3 min read
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Traveling in France is really expensive; foods, Museums, and hotels but if you are a budget traveler there are still lot of places you can visit without any admission fees just like what we visited today, the Notre Dame Cathedral.
How to get there:
The best way to go here is to ride an RER B train. From Denfert Rocheareau (it is the nearest station from our Hotel) then drop at the Saint Michel Notre Dame and take the exit 3 Hotel-Dieu and from there you only need to walk for about 5 minutes.
Notre Dame Cathedral
The Cathedral is primarily known as “The House of God and the abode of men” because this building is responsible for human and Christian experience. As you can see the picture below, those are the 28 statues that represent the Kings of Judah and of Israel, the ancestors of Christ. The first three kings of Israel were Saul, David and then Solomon. Above these figures, on either side of the façade, there are statues of Adam and Eve. In the centre, a large rose measuring almost 10 metres in diameter forms a halo above the statue of the Virgin Mary, who is flanked by two angels and presents us her Child, Jesus, the Son of God (read more of it here).
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PORTAL OF THE LAST JUDGEMENT
This is quite an interesting story. There are two Lintels which means it’s an ornamented structural item often found over portals, doors and window. The lower lintel shows the dead being revived from their graves. On the upper lintel, archangel Michael is weighing their souls.
The chosen people, who showed love to God and fellow man, are led towards Heaven on the left. The condemned are led by a devil to hell on the right. Above all this you can see the tympanum with Christ majestically seated on his throne of glory. A Tympanum is a semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, bounded by a lintel and arch.
Above Christ, on the archivolts, are figures of the Heavenly Court. Angels, patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, virgins and church doctors are all represented with Hell taking up a small space at the right. The Archivoltsare ornamental moldings or bands following the underside curve of an arch.
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Inside the Notre Dame Cathedral
There is no charge to enter the cathedral, but there will be a line for security check. Visitors are allowed to walk right around the cathedral, but you just had to be quiet. The Cathedral is open daily from 7:45 am to 6:45 pm, 7:15 pm for Saturdays & Sundays.
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When we finally came inside the cathedral, I was amazed by the architectural designs, the glass windows and so much history. It also reminds me the Walt Disney movie story by Victor Hugo, The Hunchback and Notre Dame. One of my favorite Disney movies of all times.
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I think I saw the hunchback!? Haha, just kidding! 📷
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You can purchase candles for lighting inside, or there is a small shop if you wish to buy a souvenir.
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Visiting the tower costs 8.50 euros per person. We didn’t avail it since there are so many parts inside at the cathedral to see and to take pictures of.
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The stained glass windows of the Notre-Dame are very beautiful and many date from the 13th century when the cathedral was constructed. It is so magical and absolutely wonderful.
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We take a moment to commit it to memory, left the church and ate some of our baon outside the cathedral’s bench. This memory sticks out at me as one I won’t forget for a long time after all, Notre Dame is the most beautiful church I have ever been to.
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While we’re heading to our next itinerary, my in Laws bought some souvenirs along the street and it’s actually cheaper than the prices you see inside the Mall. Of course, our cool mom got a chance to take pictures with the locals!
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And they bought an Eiffel Tower along the streets, too.
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This is the first itinerary for our Day 4 in France and hopefully you guys enjoy my blog post. Been here already? Share your stories on my blog and don’t forget to subscribe to keep you update all my latest blog posts. If you have any questions, just leave a comment and I’m delighted to reply you back as soon as I can. Au Revoir! <3
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