Day 9
So remember how it was relatively warm and sunny yesterday? Well, that was just a cruel joke, because then on Friday it was cold, overcast, and windy. Did I mention that I don't have a coat here in France? What luck. Even so, it turned out to be one of the best days so far I think, although it is hard to compare! After class we grabbed food at the grocery store across from the BYU apartments and then ate there. I had a delicious apple with a baguette and gouda cheese. I also tried Judy's Boursin cheese spread (garlic and herb flavored) that was wicked good too. After lunch a large group of us went with Professor Erickson to the Saint Denis basilica. The basilica was beautiful and is where many of the old French monarchs are buried. Nearly every French monarch is buried there from the 10th to 18th century and is therefore called the "royal necropolis of France." Their tombs line the halls of the church as well as fill the crypt below. We saw tombs of monarchs from the carolingian period all the way to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette! Although during the French revolution, revolutionaries went into the church and dumped all the remains of the monarchs interred at Saint Denis into two large pits nearby and dissolved with lime. Although the mass grave was reopened in 1814 none of the remains could be distinguished. What was presumably some of the remains of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were buried with their tomb in the crypt while the mummified heart of the dauphin who was to be Louis XVII is kept in a glass case on the wall in the crypt. Kind of morbid, but really interesting.
What set this visit apart from other visits to cathedrals and churches was that we were able to take a tour. The tour was all in French by a young woman who had a lovely voice--her French was so beautiful to listen to sometimes I forgot to actually listen to what she was saying! The tour lasted two hours with non-stop talking except when we walked from place to place within the basilica. I was with her for most of the first hour but then my head got tired from translating and the last hour I drifted in and out. However, the tour was incredibly engaging. I learned a lot even though I didn't hear everything. She explained to us the progression in style of funerary memorials, how in the carolingian period they didn't have portraits of the monarchs so the gisants (flat-lying statue depictions) all looked basically the same--the men and women had the same facial structures, only the men were given beards). Another interesting note was that they were made to have their eyes open, to show symbolism for the resurrection and belief in eternal life after death. The style then changes to become individualized likenesses of the monarchs the memorial is depicting, including showing their age and physical attributes. Those that are smaller are smaller because the person was small in real life--which is kind of funny because some of them look like midgets. Then the tombs change in style again, such as that of Henry II and his wife. Here they are shown after death, naked with all the deterioration visible, down to the ribcage and sunken cheeks etc. Then above those on top of the tomb is another depiction of them alive, praying at the altar. This is to show that even though individual monarchs die, the monarchy itself lives on, making the memorial a spiritual and political message to those who see it.
Another note about Saint-Denis is that it has the same blue stained-glass windows that is famous at Chartres cathedral, made from cobalt, and was actually the first to use it, even though Chartres receives the attention. An interesting fact about it is that restorers are unable to recreate the same blue today to match it.
Saint-Denis is an interesting place because it was built to honor the place where it is said that Saint Denis fell and died after carrying his head six miles from Monmartre (the highest hill in Paris where Sacre Coeur is) preaching along the way. He is a patron saint of Paris and the Saint Denis abbey church was built there some time after his martyrdom around 250 AD. The church was then built up and added upon over the centuries until it became the grand cathedral basilica that it is now. There is only one tower because, like many other churches of the time, with only one bell to ring there was a need for a second.
Anyways, the place is full of history, as evidenced by our two hour tour, and it was a really neat experience and definitely worth reading into and learning more about. After Saint-Denis a few of us went over to Giles and Richard's apartment to hang out for a couple hours (we played cards) until we all met up around 8 o'clock to eat Thai food. When we met up with the group at Gare du Nord I saw two French boys standing by a lamp post and they were smoking and dressed tres europeen so I took a picture. Unfortunately a lady walked in front of the best one where the boy was looking off into the distance quite epically, but it was still fun to try. I was pretending to take a picture of Andrea and zoomed in on them in the background. Anyways, besides being a creeper...There was a huge table of us including Professor Erickson, with whom I had a nice chat and he let me try a bit of his egg roll type dish that was really good. Unfortunately the Thai food was expensive and there wasn't a lot of it so I left hungry (I bought the main dish but you had to buy a cup of rice or 3euro on the side and I didn't want to do that). But afterwards a few of us from the group headed out to go to Sacre Coeur and see the Eiffel Tower lit up. We climbed the stairs at Monmartre and let me tell you its high! But the view from the top is amazing, overlooking the city of Paris. We had a few minutes until the Eiffel Tower was to sparkle so a few of us went inside Sacre Coeur.
I cannot describe how amazing Sacre Coeur was for me. We went inside, where we were asked to be silent and not take pictures, and saw the very end of a mass. It was incredible. The organ was playing and the music literally lit up the entire basilica. I don't think I've ever been in a large cathedral where the organ was playing so it was a new and profound experience for me. I can see why these amazing buildings have been constructed for centuries--because when the mass is in progress you cannot help but feel uplifted and awestruck. I was really taken aback by the whole thing actually. I'm disappointed we couldn't see the whole mass but the last few minutes was still really spectacular. It is also so striking because as a basilica it has a huge dome in the middle which I think adds more light and spacial dimension to the feel of the basilica. It is also different from the other cathedrals I've visited because it is painted so it doesn't feel as dark. Even though it was a Catholic mass that I "attended" I could definitely feel the Spirit there, which was really interesting. I'm definitely going to go back (which I have to anyways because its one of our walks) and I might see if I can find out when the masses are so I can go to one and hear the music again. Its so amazing. With the acoustics the music just flows into you and all around you and its so loud and powerful. Its really cool. And its a funny contrast when we walked back outside where people are talking again and there's French music being played on a saxophone in the street. Then it feels like stereotypical Paris at night again--which is also cool. I can see why its considered the most romantic city--definitely more noticeable at night with the pretty lights and music. It was a cool atmosphere, and it was fun afterwards to go down the path a little ways and look out through the trees across the city at the Eiffel Tower which is lit up and from 10:00 to 10:05 it sparkles. After we watched it for a little bit I went back in to look around Sacre Coeur and then we went home. I didn't get in until about 1am so I just went to bed instead of blogging, sorry!
But that an excellent end to an excellent day and I look forward to many more!
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