𝟭 An Art Journey in the City of Love – Writers’ Day

From 30 000 feet in the air to the underground, the train stopped at one of the metro stations. We was lucky that the train could stop on one of metro’s stations close to where we would be staying.

Time to ascend to ground level again. With heavy bags and by easy steps up to the street. And… look what I’ve found. A well-recognized cathedral. I dropped the bag and with a hunchback and a slanting gaze, I saw it straight away – Notre Dame¹. Unfortunately, the cathedral was not open for visits, as it is still being renovated after the fire in 2019.

From having studied the cathedral’s architecture through university literature, it was an uplifting moment to see it in real life. I remember the difficult exam I was given on what characterizes different styles of architecture. What I now got to experience, and feel through my love for architecture, art and everything that is French, showed what it seems to be, the rest of the week.

Maybe somewhere up in the tower, he stands – the one who will ring the bells. Quasimodo, where are you? The character from “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame,” you know. Maybe he wasn’t there that time. Couldn’t hear any sounds from the bells. An inner voice instead shouted “Esmeralda! Esmeralda, where are you!” Better to seek out the author behind the story. He must be somewhere in the city?

Before we landed at the hotel as two out-of-town tourists in one of the world’s most beautiful cities, we ate pizza at an Italian restaurant on Rue de Pontoise. It was good food, and both the staff and service were very nice! Near the restaurant, on Bd Saint-Germain, we found our hotel – ready for new adventures in the City of Love.

Yes, I was ready to hunt for art, architecture, and many cultural experiences. The first day seemed to be a walk in the footsteps of the churches and cathedrals. He who wrote The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, as I mentioned earlier – we found him. In the Panthéon, we found him and many other famous people.

The Panthéon² with its neoclassical architecture is easy to see. Columns, a dome, and classical Corinthian capitals with an ancient look. Among all the buried writers in the Panthéon, Rousseau himself stands as a statue outside the building.

The journey continued on foot. Further cathedrals and churches were in focus, but mainly in the tracks of the authors. This time, a contemporary writer – Dan Brown. In 1646, the Roman Catholic Church of Saint-Sulpice was founded. The church is perhaps best known from the book The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Robert Langdon was there, and now so am I.

My research areas from university are in the same subject as the character Professor Robert Langdon. My master’s thesis is an in-depth study of heraldry and club badges. Likewise, my bachelor’s thesis is on church architecture and religious symbols.

On this particular day, there was a service, so we had to sneak in and look around in silence. I hope the beggar sitting on the steps of the church was happy for the few euros he got from us.

A long first day in the city of love gave me so many impressions and a feeling of walking through the world of books and feeling close to the authors. In the next episode of the journey in the City of Love – the architecture will continue to be important, mainly from a historical and birthday celebration perspective.

Finally, a walk to the hotel on Bd Saint-Germain – same street and close to Café de Flore…

To be continued…