Notre Dame, d'Orsay, Marché Bastille, and more!

This day we decided to split up as couples and explore on our own.  Gary and I headed out to have breakfast at Copains, the gluten-free bakery just a few blocks from our apartment. On a previous trip we had found only one GF bakery/restaurand in Paris.  It's called NoGlu and it is still around (but not near our apartment this year).  Paris is slowly coming around to acknowledging gluten free options.  There are several locations of Copains, and another larger GF bakery called Las Manufacture du Sans Gluten (also, not near our apartment).  So off we headed to Copaians.  It was on the adorable Rue Montorgueil.  It's decor is very modern and minimalist; when we got there we noticed a few people outside eating, and another few inside.  Their products looked amazing so we settled right in an ordered!  Gary finally got to eat a croissant in France!!  They had several types of bread for sale, but no baguettes.  When we asked, they told us to go around the corner to their larger store...whaaat?!?!?  Not one, but two GF bakeries in our neighborhood?!  We walked to the other location and it had twice as much product...all of it beautiful, and all of it gluten free!

Well fortified, we headed off walking to Notre Dame.  When I came to Paris last year on my "solo" trip, it was still under reconstruction, and my trip before that with "the girls" was just a few weeks after the devastating fire, so I was so anxious to see it.  There was a large, but very fast moving line out front which we joined.  Gary looked up and said "hey, there's Ron"...I guess great minds think alike!  Ron and Lenore joined us as we snaked through the line.  Just as we were entering the church, Gary tripped on a small step and shouted out "SHIT!"...which I don't think you are supposed to say as you enter church!  We got separated from Ron and Lenore inside the church so went our separate ways.

It really was so beautiful inside that it kind of took my breath away.  I have been inside Notre Dame several times in the past and I remembered it as being dark and grey and sort of "heavy" feeling...NO LONGER!  It is beautiful and light and just awe inspiring!  I took a ton of photos, but non of them do justice to the re-found beauty of Notre Dame de Paris!

Even on a grey, rainy day, the light streams through the cleaned up stained glass windows, and illuminates the freshly cleaned stonework.

It is simply amazing that all this reconstruction and cleaning was done in just 5 years!

There were 7 tapestries hanging in the side chapels and I wasn't sure what they were for...they clearly are modern tapestries, the original old ones burned.  I thought perhaps other churches had sent them in support  of Notre Dame's reopening.  I have done a bit of research and have learned that they have commissioned 7 new tapestries to be woven in France.  Weaving has just now begun and it will be several years before they are completed.  In the meantime, the tapestries hanging are by well known artists, such as Matisse and Braque.

This is the altar...it is a new piece and I guess its is quite controversial. New "liturgical furniture" (who knew there was a name for such items as baptismal font, pulpit, main altar, etc.)  This is what the artist/designer said about his pieces: "I tried to create a work centered on the eternal.  The pieces must embrace the past, embody the present and envision the future.  They must resonate both during and outside of Mass; without clamoring for attention, they must be visible and must be an obvious presence."  I think he succeeded!

This was probably the most moving thing inside Notre Dame.  It is the copper rooster that crowned Notre Dame's old spire.  It was believed to have been lost during the fire, when the steeple toppled, but was found the next day in the rubble on one of the upper sections of the cathedral.  Although damaged by its fall and the fire, now bent and blackened, it became a symbol of Notre Dame de Paris's resilience. 

Notre Dame claims to have the original "crown of thorns", and puts it on display once a year.  This is the (empty) display holder.  When on display, the relic hangs in the center of this large golden disc.

The stained glass windows are all cleaned up and the light coming through them is beautiful...just hard to photograph!  This rose window is so lovely!!

Once through the church, we headed on the Metro over to see the Bastille Marche...the largest of Paris' outdoor markets, open Thursday and Sunday.  I was so overwhelmed by the sights and sounds of the market that I apparently forgot to take any photos!  The market runs the length of several long blocks and has 2 main aisles...so 4 rows of stalls.  Meat, seafood, every kind of produce you can imagine, prepared foods, cheese shops, baked goods, candy...it goes on and on.  At each end there are rows and rows of booths selling scarves, leather goods, clothing, hats, jewelry...you name it!  I bought a beautiful cashmere scarf for myself, and striped French sailor shirts for the grandchildren.  I loved seeing all the locals with their shopping carts, stopping at their favorite stalls to stock up for the week ahead.  One of the most fun stalls was the oyster man.  you could buy your oysters to take home...or you could eat them on the spot.  He had a few tables set up, with a little bowl of mignonette sauce on each one.  He had several different sizes of oysters for sale.  French oysters come in 6 sizes...size 6 is the smallest and size 1 is the largest.  I had 3 number 4s and ate them standing at his table...pure deliciousness!

Yummy!

We left the market in search of a place to sit down (my feet were killing me!) and have some lunch.  We found a good spot and were enjoying some soup (onion for me and veggie for Gary), when my phone rang...it was Babette and she said "are you sitting in Cafe d'Industrie?"  I said yes and suddenly she and John appeared there.  I had forgotten that at the start of our trip we all started sharing our location with each other on our phones (just in case anyone got "lost"!). They had finished their lunch at a different restaurant in the area and just checked to see if either Ron & Lenore, or Gary & I were close by!

We headed off together on the Metro to a shop I had wanted to check out...the Maille mustard shop where they have specialty mustards on tap!  That just sounded too fun to pass up (and I don't even like mustard that much!). This was a fun experience though...they had a long wall with all sorts of jarred mustards, and on the other side there was a counter with 6 taps of mustard. You could sample the unique ones with little taster sticks and then make your selection.  Then you got to pick out which colored pottery crock you want, the mustard was poured, and a cork was put in!  

While we were at the marché and mustard store, Ron and Lenore made their way to the Museé d'Orsay with it's amazing Impressionist art work.  I had no idea Ron was a museum lover!  He went through that museum and didn't miss a single thing.  Lenore took a little break in the middle of admiring all the art and made her way to the beautiful cafe inside the museum, where she befriended two (Swiss?) women.

We all met back to the apartment and got ready for dinner at what we affectionately call "our restaurant".  (When your feet hurt, nothing feels better than elevating them, right?!)

Les Bougresses is a restaurant we found in 2019 when I went to Paris with Lenore, Michele, Elyse, and then met up there with John and Babette.  This restaurant was an amazing  (and lucky) find on The Fork.  app, just like Poulette where we dined a few days ago.   Located in the Marais, it is open only for dinner...no lunch. Its very small, the staff is pleasant and efficient, and the food is wonderful.  Prior to this evening's meal, I had been there 4 times, I've told several friends about it and they all loved it and John and Babette had been there on their earlier part of this trip...it's that good...we just keep going back! If you ever head to Paris, I highly suggest checking it out!

The photo is kind of dark, but you can see how small and cozy Les Bougresses is.  Our table was in the front window...this photo shows the entire rest of the restaurant.  In my book, no trip to Paris is complete without a trip to Les Bougresses!