Colorful Sainte-Chapelle

November 2: Built in only six years (1242-1248), Sainte-Chapelle delighted with colorful paint on the walls and ceilings of the lower chapel. Golden stars decorated vaulted ceilings of blue while burgundy wraps the pillars.

We climbed a staircase to reach the upper chapel, whose walls were almost entirely of stained glass.  Unfortunately, the circular, stained-glass surround around the altar was buried under scaffolding and wood for maintenance. We thus missed the church's most spectacular effect.

It was particularly frustrating since we stood in line for a while to go through security. The church is located in the high-security Palace of Justice complex, with airport-like security measures. The Museum Pass did not allow us to bypass the line, which was annoying, since those who bought tickets could skip the queue.

The Deportation Memorial

November 2: Well-hidden near the southeast tip of the island containing Notre Dame, was the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation. Created in 1962, this modern monument remembers the 200,000 Jews who were deported from France to the Nazi death camps in World War II. The descent into pits of concrete, occasionally propped up with bars and sculptures of black iron effectively evoked the horror of becoming a prisoner, while 200,000 lighted crystals represent the souls that once lit up the world.

They only allow a few people in at one time, so visitors receive the full impact of the event. Avoid coming from 12 to 2 P.M. when the memorial closes for lunch. Look for makeshift pieces of paper with English translations near some of the French sayings, such as "Forgive but never forget."

Roman Paris

November 2: If you have a Museum Pass, you can get into the Paris Crypt or Archeological Museum for free. It's buried just across the square from Notre Dame. Otherwise,it's not worth admission unless you're a history buff.

You'll find the crumbling foundations of old houses, sewer systems and baths dating back to the 4th century A.D., with scale models showing what the city looked like when the tourists hailed from Rome and spoke Latin. Many of the descriptions exist in English, though the explanatory video is only in French.

Notre Dame, Mon Vertige

November 2: Notre Dame would've been far more impressive, if it hadn't been the umpteenth church that we've visited in France. True, graceful flying buttresses propped up the walls, the interior vaulting rose ten stories from the ground, stone saints hugged the walls and pillars, and stained glass windows added color to an interior darkened by a cloudy day. But it followed the same basilica plan of any French cathedral. A choir practice added a few minutes of atmospheric music although stanchions prevented heathens like us from entering the center aisle and approaching the altar.

At least the church is free, so it should be on the agenda of anyone visiting Paris.

The gargoyles kept things interesting with their monstrous grins and contorted poses. They served three purposes:

• Show worshipers what happens to souls trapped between heaven or hell. (I'm not quite sure how this fits into Catholic theology where the afterlife consists of Heaven, Hell or Purgatory and not some wimpy in-between zone.)
• Ward off evil spirits, which I'm sure they do because of their profusion, if nothing else.
• Drain water from the roof. Watch out for vomiting monsters when you walk by the church on a rainy day!

Visiting the Tower

The tower climb costs but our Museum Pass let us in for free after a twenty-minute wait: only a few people are allowed inside at the same time. We climbed a circular staircase with over 400 steps, broken only by a mid-level gift shop.

The top greeted us with panoramic views of the city and close-up views of the stone monsters guarding the facade.

I then realized we were hundreds of feet in the air, standing on a one-foot wide stone walkway that could collapse any time. The surrounding chain-link wire couldn't protect you then. Or what if a terrorist bomb went off below. The fall would take at least a minute before the impact flattened you into a painful pancake.

Dizziness plus exhaustion plus mon vertige (my vertigo) overwhelmed me.

I waited an eternity for Anthony to reach my perch, where I cowered behind a stone pillar and tried not to look toward the ground. He was happily and slowly taking pictures. When he finally arrived, I thrust my camcorder at him with instructions to take videos of the bell, which hid up some rickety wooden stairs. Then I pushed through the masses of people to find the exit and rushed down.