Paris Day 4 (Part 1) - Saint Chappelle 12.11.2021

Plans today are to see Saint Chappelle, Notre Dame rebuilding progress and an evening Christmas Lights Tour on HOHO bus.

Our tickets were bought on line here. Tickets are 11,50 € each and can be printed at home. Saint Chappelle is a royal chapel in the Gothic style, within the medieval Palais de la Cité, the residence of the Kings of France until the 14th century, on the Île de la Cité in the River Seine in Paris, France.

Construction began sometime after 1238 and the chapel was consecrated on 26 April 1248.The Sainte-Chapelle is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture.

Characteristics of Rayonnant Style: Builders had refined tracery and stonework to such a degree that Rayonnant churches seem like beautiful architectural shells dominated by wall-to-ceiling windows, with only thin areas of the wall supporting them. The windows were the focal point of the church.

It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passionrelics, including Christ's Crown of Thorns – one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom, later hosted in the nearby Notre-Dame Cathedral until the 2019 fire, which it survived.[3]

Along with the Conciergerie, the Sainte-Chapelle is one of the earliest surviving buildings of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité. Although damaged during the French Revolution and restored in the 19th century, it has one of the most extensive 13th-century stained glass collections anywhere in the world.

The Sainte-Chapelle is no longer a church. It was secularized after the French Revolution, and is now operated by the French Centre of National Monuments. [ 1 ]

Our tickets were for 1230 admission, there was a substantial line to get to the screening area where an Airport type scanner was used to ensure no weapons' were smuggled into the national monument. after the 30 minute wait to be screened, we walked to ticket booth, presented our tickets and walked in. Today the rose window entrance door was open which allowed more light into the chapel. It is nothing short of spectacular.

Notre Dame has construction with a crane over the burnt center section. The outer fencing has picture of the fire and damage with plans for reconstruction.

We had lunch near Notre Dame at La Parvis, the Matre'd was fantastic, working the front of the house, outside, serving the food and taking the payments, all with a smile.

Tonight we have HOHO Christmas Light Tour, walking to the HOHO pickup point on Rue Auber was an experience- Paris is a city of 2.16 million people with 12 million residents in Il-de-France which Paris is the center ( see the maps)

I have never been any where with this many people roaming the streets like it was the evening of December 11th, 2021. People filled the wide sidewalks (at least 12 feet wide sidewalks) and spilled out into the streets 2-3 deep. This was the spot I was relieved of my phone. Was like opening day at a new park at Disney World. A sea of humanity

The only explanation the 6 of us could reason was Christmas shopping. Galleries LaFayette has 3 large stores right behind the opera house which our street ran right in front of the shopping meca.