Notre Dame in Paris

FEATURED in the Romance/Love Newsletter DTD: 16 MAY 2012

06 Jun 1987

Dear Shelley,

How are you doing, Sis? Hope your studies are coming along well. Remember how I told you I put in for leave on my birthday? My commander granted it to me! I was very excited! I met up with my friend from Basic Training, Todd Cardin, at the Frankfurt Bahnhof (German for train station) where we took an overnight train to the Le Gare du Nord in Paris. (Haha! French for train station!)

Todd is also an MP in the Army, stationed in Hanau. It’s like ten minutes from Frankfurt, where I’m at. He’s very sweet, tall, dark hair. I’ve had a crush on him since Basic. We were very fortunate to be stationed so close together. When I told him my plans to see Paris on my birthday, he insisted on accompanying me – to keep me safe. I know you’ve never met him, but you would like him. I was so happy he came with me. It’s nice to go see a new place with a good friend, and I have to admit, I wanted Todd and I to be more than friends after going to Paris.

I could have booked a tour through the American travel agency on base, but instead Todd and I decided to “wing” it. We bought a French for Dummies book and a Beritz Travel Guide. When we arrived in Paris, we took the Metro, the Paris subway, to the Latin Quarter, where Todd got us a hotel cheap near the Sorbonne University. The hotel was on the Boulevard St. Michel. I loved it! It was so busy with its noisy cafés, exotic restaurants, and avant-garde cinemas. The students from the University were helpful and very patient with our high school French.

After a light lunch at one the cafes, Café De Montrartre, (the waiter was a big flirt and wouldn’t stop winking at me – drove Todd nuts!) We got back on the Metro and went to the heart of Paris, The Cité, to spend our afternoon.

Paris was actually founded here, on the banks of the Seine. (The Seine is a river which runs down the middle of The Cité) The big attraction here is the Notre Dame.

Do you remember Mr. Bouvier’s slide show from French class? It barely captures the beauty of the church. The minute Todd and I stepped out from the Metro, its tall, gothic façade towered over us. It was completed in 1345 and took over 200 years to build.

Todd and I snapped a lot of pictures. The cathedral itself is very tall and made out of brown bricks. There are three main doors into the church called portals. Above each actual door is an inlayed curvature that forms an arch. Above that, is a row of statutes – twenty-eight men to be exact. At first, Todd and I thought they were replicas of the kings of France, but a local vender explained they were in the kings of Israel and Judea from the Old Testament.

As we walked into the church, Todd grabbed my hand and held it tight, smiling at me. I really felt like a bride in that moment.

The inside is huge. Its over 400 feet long, and the one thing that really impressed me was the rosary. Todd and I walked down the main aisle and when the rosary came into our full view we stopped. The rosary is the French expression for the rose window, which you can actually see from the outside. From the inside, sunlight filters in from the stained glass and splays the light all over the cathedral in different colors.

The altar was simple, elegant, yet radiant. Most of the decorations were trimmed in gold on a white cloth. In fact, the Notre Dame is still a practicing church and we were directed to leave because they were preparing for a mass.

We took a slow walked around the church after that. The flying buttresses were massive and used to support the building. The gargoyles that adorned the church and its ledges were scary. In his best French, Todd asked another tourist about them. We discovered the gargoyles were supposed to ward off evil spirits.

Gosh, I hope my letter doesn’t sound too much like a history lesson, Sis. Honestly, if you get to Paris, you have to come here! Todd and I easily spent the afternoon exploring everything the Notre Dame had to offer. The best part was when we went to one of the upper floors. As we admired the view of the Seine, Todd came up from behind me, and wrapped his arms around my waist. I cuddled into him and the next thing I knew, we were kissing.

Right now, we’re back at the hotel and he’s taking a shower. We’re getting ready to go out to one of the cafés for dinner, and I thought I’d take this time to write you this quickie letter. Hope this finds you in good health and wish me luck.

Hugs & Kisses
Your Sis,

Steph