Notre Dame, the Left Bank, Another Really Old Tree, and Choux Buns!

We were part of the sea of tourists at Notre Dame this morning. It was worth fighting the crowds to view the interior of the post-fire Cathedral.


The beautiful rose window 

St. Joan of Arc had a special place in the south transept of the cathedral. She led Paris in ousting the English invaders, then was killed as a "witch." With the benefit of hindsight they decided she wasn't a witch after all and beatified her.

On the left side of the entrance is another sighting of Saint Denis holding his head.
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After a midmorning snack of crepes and coffee (with a marvelous view of Notre Dame), we wandered around the Latin Quarter where all the famous writers hung out in the 1920s -- Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, James Baldwin, and many more.
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We passed by the oldest tree in Paris. It was planted in 1602 by Jean Robin, the gardener of King Henry IV. Most trees in Paris live only about 80 to 100 years because of pollution, little water, and city life. But this one survived more than 400 years!
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Spent time in Shakespeare and Company.
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Bought choux buns at the Odette Tea Room. That's all they make: little cream puffs with many different flavors of fillings to choose from. They were wonderful. Cream puffs always remind me of my dear Aunt Ethel who often brought them to family picnics when I was a child.

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I saw several Wallace Fountains. The fountains (public drinking fountains) were designed by Sir Richard Wallace and sculpted by Charles-Auguste Lebourg starting about 1872. The Paris Commune had destroyed much of the city's aqueducts, clean water was a rarity, and the poor had to pay for drinking water. Wallace wanted the fountains to be useful and available to all, but also he wanted to them to be beautiful. Even today, they are a source of clean water for homeless people.
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And we happened to pass another art deco-style Metro entrance designed by Guimard.

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Last but not least, we took a long walk in the evening and saw a McDonald's that is in an elaborate Alsatian-style building, sandwiched between more modern structures. Unfortunately, it was covered with strings of lights making it difficult to see the details clearly.
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The unique beauty of light shining through stained glass windows of Notre Dame into a colorful pillar.

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