Notre Dame

 

Down the street from here is the Notre Dame, or officially The Basilique Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption. It's a nice looking church. I like coming up on it from the park in its backyard, seeing its chancel and apse among its palm trees, through which at the right time its stained glass looks like hidden jewels. Plus, it's right across from the Darty, which is a handy huge appliance store where we got our printer and our record player and a few other things.

It's not the greatest church here by any means. It's only about 150 years old. The local dignitaries built it right around the time this area became part of France (yes, this could have been Italy!), and they tried to make it look super French to sort of get with the program. So, you know, it looks like the Notre Dame in Paris, a "neo gothic" style which was the style everyone felt screamed France back then. 

I still haven't been inside the church. I don't think it's open a lot.

So I probably wouldn't be talking about it except last night we were shopping for things in a couple of art stores near there and, looking down one street towards the central street it is on, it was illuminated. And, oh my, it was beautiful!

So even though down the street we were on there was a bunch of construction, I took a bunch of pictures of it.

Today we were at the Museum of Photography in the old city, and both of us were immensely struck by the show, long exposure black and white photographs by Michael Kenna. I liked how careful and beautiful each of the photos were, and I started thinking, as I periodically do, how it would be nice to just show one careful photo here instead of a chain of them.

Well, not today. 

I always love that idea of one really perfect picture, but my photos kind of ramble about things, going this way and that, and tell their sometimes small stories in little pieces. Kind of like my prose really.

So here's Notre Dame, at night, coming closer: