Our Post-fire Visit 12-18-25

Yesterday Deb made reservations for us to visit the post-fire Notre Dame Cathedral. They can be done online and it negates the wait in line to enter. We opted for a mid-afternoon time so that we would have time to eat lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant in all of Paris. Before taking the bus down we had to stop at the Metro station to activate Deb’s travel card.  We gave the picture I obtained yesterday to the agent who then attached it to the card and activated it. So we were in business. The bus stop we wanted is directly across from the station and it took us to within a couple of blocks of the cathedral. However we rode one more stop and got off close to the restaurant. 

It’s called L’Osteria del Passepartout and as I said it’s our favorite Italian restaurant in Paris. We stumbled on it some 10 years ago and have been eating there ever since. It’s located just off the Place San Michele right next to the Seine. But you have to want to eat there because finding it is a challenge. You have to go through a covered archway that looks disreputable and down a short set of stairs. The area is very historic and the building right next to the

restaurant was the dwelling of one of  Francois I’s mistresses. Francios was a contemporary and adversary of Henry VIII of England. The restaurant is quite small with about 10 tables on the main floor and a little loft that will take another dozen or so diners. In good weather there are an additional 5-6 tables outside. Our host is from Sicily and the cook is from India, but the food is straight up Italian. We shared a bruschetta and then Deb had Saltimbocca ala Romana and I had Calcio e Pepi. We would have been better off to have ordered just the main dishes as the portions were very large. I thought the bruschetta would be a couple cuts of bread with tomatoes and olive oil, but it was actually 4slices and then a large slice of prosciutto ham and some lettuce.  Then my pasta came out on a platter while Deb got both the veal and a large helping of spaghetti. It tasted so good that I couldn’t stop eating. While we ate we somehow got into a conversation with two guys at the next table (likely Deb telling them bon appetite). Then we were off to 

the races. The older gentleman, Jean-Claude, a retired man in his 80’s was also a watch collector and dealer. The younger man, Franck, was a war correspondent for RFI a French news organization. He has been on assignment covering the war in Ukraine. But he is also a watch collector and only buys watches from Jean-Claude. Both have worked in the U.S. among other countries and we had a good time talking about their impressions of the U.S. We also got into the loveliness of Sicily and Italy. There was some additional talk of current politics, a French national pastime. We were having such a pleasant visit that we nearly missed our scheduled entry time for. Notre Dame.

So we had to rush out after paying and make our way over to the cathedral. When we got to the cathedral there was a line of 50-60 waiting to get in. But we just walked up to the entry for reservation holders and walked right in, so that worked nicely. Once inside you’re immediately struck by how light the interior is now. Previously walking in was like entering a cavern, very dark. That is the major bone of contention for purists, it’s so light inside. But after the fire when everything was scorched and imbedded with melted lead, how can one reproduce 700+ years of patination? It’s not feasible. If it were just washed down then the possibility of lead poisoning would have been greatly increased. Also in the chapels along the north aisle have been refreshed to the colors that were installed by Viollet-le-Duc that 19th century architect who also elicits mixed reactions. His hand is evident in so many of the medieval restorations throughout France. I’m taking 

the positive view and saying that we get to see what Notre Dame looked like when it was first constructed. Could the current building staff mute the interior lighting a bit? Perhaps, but the stone is still really clean and it’s unlikely that the soot buildup from candles will every be allowed to take hold again. An interior refresh was performed at the Chartres cathedral several years ago and many are still up in arms about that one too.  The fact that Notre Dame saved all the stained glass is a miracle to be celebrated.  We spent almost 2 hours going through the cathedral. We looked at the carvings on the exterior of the choir from the 13th century, chronicling the life of Jesus. They have been cleaned up but not overly refreshed so they were beautiful. Also in one of the chapels is displayed the copper rooster that adorned the pinnacle of the original Viollet-le-Duc spire that collapsed in the fire. It was though to have been

destroyed in the fires but amazingly as they dug through rubble it was found on top of one of the still standing walls. Additionally in the ambulatory there was a display of around 7 Byzantine portraits of some important saints, we couldn’t read the writing so just who they were is a mystery. But the portraits with their gold backgrounds were beautiful.  We sat for a little while in the nave and just took in the overall feeling of the place. The sun had come out and was projecting the colors of the stained glass on the opposite stonewalls of the nave That is something I particularly enjoy, the muted colors that move across the topography of the walls and columns. When we came out it was moving quickly towards sundown so we walked over to our bus stop and caught the bus back to the apartment. We stopped at the boulangerie to get my evening snack for my eye pill. I asked the young woman for a raspberry almond tart and she made a very pointed grimace and slightly shook her head. When the baker says “maybe not” you take the hint and I got a lemon and almond tart which was divine.