Jardin du Luxembourg

La Fontaine de Médicis (Fountain of Medicis), originally known as La grotte du Luxembourg (The cave of Luxembourg), was commissioned in 1624 by the Marie de Médicis (Marie de' Medici), the second wife and widow of King Henri IV, and mother of King Louis XIII, who wanted to emulate la grotte de Buontalenti in jardins de Boboli in her hometown Florence.

Designed by engineer Florentin Thomas Francine, it comprised of three niches and a pediment with coats of arms of France and Médicis, backed by la fontaine de Léda. The fountain was moved and refitted in 1861. Alphonse de Gisors restored the arms, and created a 50 meter water alley lined with trees. The new basin was filled with the The centerpiece sculpture, added in 1866 by Auguste Louis Ottin, depicts the cyclops, Polyphème, waiting to crush Galatée, who is holding Acis, with a boulder, and Pan faune and Diane chasseresse (Diana the Huntress) watching from each side.

Acis et Galatée (Acis and Galatea) tells the story of a love triangle between the three main characters of Acis, a mortal shepherd, Galatea, a semi-divine nymph, and Poliphème. Poliphème murders Acis out of jealousy, as depicted in this work, but he is revived and turned into a fountain (or river by Neptune, depending on the telling).

The Jardin du Luxembourg, referred to by locals as Luco. is a 224,500 m² public park--the largest in the city--designed in the French style in 1612. The park is centered around thePalais du Luxembourg, constructed between 1615 and 1627 for Marie de Medicis, mother of Louis XIII, and currently the home of the French Senate. The Jardin features two noteworthy fountas--the Fontaine de Medicis, a baroque fountain designed in 1624; and at the southern end, in an extension known as Jardins de l'Observatoire, Davioud, Carpaux and Frémiet's Fontaine de l'Observatoire, erected in 1873. 

Ver. 2

Faune Dansant by Eugene Louis Lequesne 1850.

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Within

Notre Dame Cathedral

Virgin of Guadalupe (Mexican virgin)
Virgen de Guadalupe
(Dedicada a los creyentes Mexicanos)

Sainte Jeanne d'Arc
(Joan of Arc)

1185: Heraclius of Caesarea calls for the Third Crusade from the still-incomplete cathedral.

1239: The Crown of Thorns is placed in the cathedral by St. Louis during the construction of the Sainte-Chapelle.

1302: Philip the Fair opens the first States-General.

16 December 1431: Henry VI of England is crowned King of France.

1450: Wolves of Paris are trapped and killed on the parvis of the Cathedral.

7 November 1455: Isabelle Romée, the mother of Joan of Arc, petitions a papal delegation to overturn her daughter's conviction for heresy.

1 January 1537:James V of Scotland, is married to Madeleine of France

24 April 1558: Mary, Queen of Scots, is married to the Dauphin François (later François II of France), son of Henry II of France.

18 August 1572: Henri of Navarre (later Henri IV of France) marries Marguerite de Valois. The marriage takes place not in the cathedral but on the parvis of the cathedral, as Henri IV is Protestant.[3]

10 September 1573: The Cathedral was the site of a vow made by Henri de Valois following the interregnum of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that he would both respect traditional liberties and the recently passed religious freedom law.[4]

2 December 1804: the coronation ceremony of Napoléon I and his wife Joséphine, with Pope Pius VII officiating.

18 April 1909: Joan of Arc is beatified.

16 May 1920: Joan of Arc is canonized.

1900: Louis Vierne is appointed organist of Notre-Dame de Paris after a heavy competition (with judges including Charles-Marie Widor) against the 500 most talented organ players of the era. On 2 June 1937 Louis Vierne dies at the cathedral organ (as was his life-long wish) as he is nearing the end of his final concert held at Notre Dame.

26 August 1944: The Te Deum Mass takes place in the cathedral to celebrate the liberation of Paris. (According to some accounts the Mass was interrupted by sniper fire from both the internal and external galleries.)

12 November 1970: The Requiem Mass of General Charles de Gaulle is held.

6 June 1971: Philippe Petit surreptitiously strings a wire between the two towers of Notre Dame and tight-rope walks across it. Petit later performed a similar act between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center.

31 May 1980: After the Magnificat of this day, Pope John Paul II celebrates Mass on the parvis of the cathedral.

January 1996: The Requiem Mass of François Mitterrand is held.

10 August 2007: The Requiem Mass of Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, former Archbishop of Paris, is held.

The cathedral is renowned for its Lent sermons founded by the famous Dominican Jean-Baptiste Henri Lacordaire in the 1860s. In recent years, however, an increasing number have been given by leading public figures and state employed academics.

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Notre Dame de Paris

Bikers Tour

The Notre Dame Biker

Moon Man

Notre Dame Cathedral 

Notre Dame Birds

Back View 

Quai de l'Archevêché. Pont Saint-Louis

Tomorrow: Inside wonders.

Notre Dame de Paris (French for Our Lady of Paris), also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra (official chair), of the Archbishop of Paris, currentlyAndré Vingt-Trois. Notre Dame de Paris is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture in France and in Europe. It was restored and saved from destruction by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, one of France's most famous architects. The name Notre Dame means "Our Lady" in French, and is frequently used in the names of Catholic church buildings in Francophone countries.Notre Dame de Paris was one of the first Gothic cathedrals, and its construction spanned the Gothic period. Its sculptures and stained glass show the heavy influence of naturalism, unlike that of earlier Romanesque architecture.

Notre Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports). The building was not originally designed to include the flying buttresses around thechoir and nave. After the construction began and the thinner walls (popularized in the Gothic style) grew ever higher, stress fractures began to occur as the walls pushed outward. In response, the cathedral's architects built supports around the outside walls, and later additions continued the pattern.

The cathedral suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution in the 1790s, when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. During the 19th century, an extensive restoration project was completed, returning the cathedral to its previous state.

Construction

Rues de Montmartre

Basilique du Sacré-Coeur (detail)

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica (French: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, pronounced [sakʁe kœʁ]), is a Roman Catholic church andminor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, in Paris, France. A popular landmark, the basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city.

The Map (Rue Cortot)

View from Montmartre

Chez Marie at Rue Gabrielle 

Wedding car thru Quai François Mitterrand at Place de l'institut 

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Moments In Montmartre

Moments of Life In Montmartre
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