Watching traffic go aroumd the arc the triumph is something else. Waiting for a crash
1 Like
Went through it in a taxi and it was utterly mental. A battle of wills seemed to be the only rules
All accidents are insured 50\50.
Turn and hope. Sure they all drive French made cars so they couldnât give a shit about damage
I done something similar but I was in a taxi going from bugsys to the moulin rouge at 2 in the morning
Sitting in a cafe watching on as a local parks a Clio in a space with just a few cm spare is another Paris memory.
1 Like
So a few lads got a taxi through a roundabout.
1 Like
Great to be getting the travel reminder off aer Lingus. Shaping up to be a cracking prix de laâarc de triomphe. The weather looking to be good for the weekend as well.
1 Like
The new Notre Dame is a beautifully light and airy place of worship
This once shadowy place â after an epic clean-up job â has been transformed into something luminous
Alastair SookeChief Art Critic
Related Topics
29 November 2024 2:39pm GMT
The first images of Notre-Dameâs restored interior five years after the cathedral was ravaged by fire Credit: STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
There are certain places that capture in three dimensions the spirit of Western civilisation. Notre-Dame de Paris â the medieval cathedral overlooking the Seine at the eastern end of the Ăle de la CitĂŠ, with its flying buttresses, flèche (Gothic spire), and charismatic gargoyles â is one, which is why the art historian Kenneth Clark began his distinguished television series Civilisation (1969) with a piece-to-camera in front of âOur Lady of Parisâ â âthe most rigorously intellectual façade in the whole of Gothic artâ, as he put it in the accompanying book.
Advertisement
News footage of the cathedral ablaze in 2019 was heart-rending. The damage caused by the conflagration, which it took firefighters almost 15 hours to put out, was catastrophic: although, thankfully, all the stained glass, along with many of the precious artworks and artefacts inside, was saved, the âforestâ of medieval timber roof beams went up in smoke, and the flèche (rebuilt during the 19th century) smashed into the ground.
Restoring the cathedral, which he vowed to do within five years, has been a priority for Emmanuel Macron â even if he was forced to abandon a controversial early vision for a new, modern spire.
So far, the authorities overseeing the âŹ700 million (ÂŁ582 million) restoration, initially supervised by Jean-Louis Georgelin, an army general (who compared the building to an aircraft carrier), and undertaken by around 2,000 artisans (including masons, carpenters, sculptors and foundry workers), have been tight-lipped, and few journalists have been admitted inside to evaluate the work.
Yet, earlier today, following a tour of the cathedral by Macron (âIt is sublime,â he said â not, for once, with Gallic overstatement), and ahead of its official reopening next week, several images of the restored interior were released.
âA space that once appeared dark and shadowy, even dreary, is now a luminous place of worshipâ Credit: Christophe Petit Tesson, Pool via AP
Whatâs evident is that an epic clean-up job â beyond the already Herculean task of making good after the fire â has occurred. Begrimed internal walls and windows have been sponged and scrubbed and burnished, and look as good as new; above a spick-and-span black-and-white chequered paved floor, the stonework in the nave, now filled with serried ranks of sleek new wooden furniture, is an impressively lovely creamy buff colour.
Advertisement
In places, the limestone walls are irradiated by flashes of variegated coloured light, like the speckled hues of an assortment of pick-and-mix, streaming through the rose windows. Further photographs offer close-up views of various contemporary liturgical vessels.
Various contemporary liturgical vessels in Notre-Dame Cathedral Credit: Ludovica Giobbe
Overall, the effect is brilliantly light, clean, airy, and accordingly â despite the buildingâs age â up-to-date (the new roof timbers, for instance, are protected by sprinklers). A space that once appeared dark and shadowy, even dreary, is now a luminous place of worship sufficiently attractive to lure a large and happy congregation. The first Catholic Mass since the disaster is due to take place on December 8. Looking at these stirring photographs, Iâm almost tempted to convert.