European Vacation - Day 12 (Paris 5)

Actually going to Sunday mass at Notre Dame, surrounded by people from all corners of the earth, with the priests celebrating the mass also from around the world, was incredible. The global character of the mass and its participants, which contrasted but did not conflict with the local parish announcements at the end of mass, truly made me reflect on the "catholic" aspect of the Roman Catholic faith. Catholics from all over the world say the same prayers and devotions, recite the same creeds, and sing the same hymns; and we all hear announcements about our local parish happenings at the end of mass as well. The multilingual exchanges of the sign of peace further deepened this awareness of the universality of the faith.

The physical aspects of the Cathedral also had a similar duality. The parishioners sat in the center pews, near the front, and the altar is on the same side of the nave as the parishioners. This meant that when you were focused on the mass, you felt like you were in a normal church, just with a lot of foreigners. When the organ burst forth or the choir raised its voice in song, or when you happened to glance up the hundreds of the feet to the transcendent stained glass windows, however, you realized that you were in one of the most beautiful and historic cathedrals in the world. This also made me reflect on the catholic nature of the Church - every Catholic church in the world, from St. Peter's Basilica to Notre Dame to my local church to a hidden room in a country where the faith is still persecuted are all, in their most basic sense, simply locations for the celebration of the liturgies of the word and the eucharist. Very moving.

Less moving were the hundreds of people who continued to push into the cathedral along the sides during mass and take flash photos while discussing architectural and historical trivia. And the photos were not just of the windows or the sculptures, but actually of the mass and the parishioners. It made me think about the times I have visited Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines and photographed and gawked at the practitioners of those faiths. Hopefully, this experience helps me be more respectful in the future.

After mass, we headed off the Ile de la Cite, the island in the Seine that is the home to Notre Dame and was the original home of the tribes that founded Paris so many years ago. Along the Seine were a number of stalls with souvenirs and booksellers, purporting to be selling, for example, second edition Jules Verne prints from the same year as the original edition. Tempting. After we finished loading up on trinkets, we had lunch in the coldest cafe ever. We were shivering with our coats on. We hadn't yet had French onion soup or escargot, so Heather and took the opportunity to rectify those oversights. As I expected, the snails were served in their shells, in which they had been roasted, and had a dollop of pesto at the opening of each shell. I slurped a few down, then shared one with Heather. Amazingly, after watching us and hearing a little salesmanship from me, the boys were each willing to try a piece of snail. Matthew said he liked it, and didn't immediately chug water, but Erich let his mind focus a little much and had to chug water and munch on bread. Either way, they both voluntarily ate snails!

At the end of lunch, our waiter introduced us to the little girl seated near us by herself. Kenza's mom worked in the cafe and her dad was getting ready for their vacation, so she had to hang out in the cafe. She was also seven, like Erich, but spoke excellent English (her mom was from California). She and Erich discussed Paris, school, and a host of other topics until we left. The thing they seemed to bond about the most, however, was losing teeth and what you do with the lost tooth. Apparently, in France, the tooth fairy is a little mouse ("petite souris") who is loaded, since it leaves 10 or more euros ($13+) for each tooth. Matthew just glanced askance at her and cracked up in embarrassed laughter the whole time.

After lunch we, of course, shopped for more souvenirs. Unable to find someone selling personalized berets, we settled for a couple that have "Paris" and the Eiffel Tower embroidered on them in multi-colored thread. (We are assuming that they will have fun with us at our expense in our dotage, so we might as well get our revenge in advance)

With it being much too cold and windy to take the Seine boat ride we had plnned, we decided to take advantage of the unplanned time to visit the Galleries Lafayette, a huge store in the middle of Paris. The real reason to visit is that one can go onto the roof of the Galleries and watch the sun set and Paris light up. Although it was too cloudy to see any kind of sunset, watching as the Arc de Triomphe and the other landmarks of Paris were lit up was a very cool experience.

One last Metro ride back to our neighborhood. One last walk along the rue Cler under the Christmas lights over glistening cobblestones as the street sweeper sweeps up the remains of a busy market day. One last selection of Asian delicacies to bring home to be heated and served in our beautiful penthouse apartment. One last walk along the Parc du Mars to the Eiffel Tower to watch as it sparkles in the night. One last family meal in Paris, talking about the day's adventures and planning for our adventures-to-be in Germany. One last bedtime story in French. And the end to a memorable day and the second stage of our wonderful European adventure.

Tomorrow, from Nuremberg.

Bon nuit, mes amis.