Paris- Day 2, Morning

After a restfull night "in" at the flat on Monday night, I was ready to explore on tuesday. I had generally plotted out my route, but as I was getting ready to go, the proprieter of the B&B asked where I was going, and suggested a better route. On the way, he told me I'd pass one of his favorite churches & I should go take a look.

Unfortunately I don't exactly know the name of the Church, but it's something like "St Eucharin" or something along those lines. I think the location is famous becaue of the sculpture in the front, but it certainly is not one of the better known cathedrals in Paris.

It's hard to imagine a cathedral as beautiful as this can be considered "lesser known", but I suppose when you are in a place where there are more beautiful & historically or architecturally significant buildings in one square mile than many American states have, it's possible.

The people around this cathedral seemed very 'local'- I only saw a few people who looked like they were actually on holiday or not wandering through their natural 'daily' environment. People act differently when they are in a new place- they look up a lot, they consult books & maps, take photos, are more 'alert'. When you see people in their home environments, they are often more relaxed in relation to their surroundings- taking them for granted, recognizing they are there without having to double check, very much "going about their day" without too much concern for the environment around them. What lucky people Parisians are to be a part of such an amazingly beautiful environment!
You could tell from the inside of the cathedral that it was also not one of the better known ones, as there was a lot of visible disrepair. The paint was faded and peeling, there were broken sculptures, broken floor tiles, construction in areas, etc. Regardless, for the fact that it was a somewhat "forgotten" or "ignored" cathedral to most tourists, it was quite beautiful and amazing.

Along the sides of the nave are many small 'rooms' each dedicated to various saints or people from the Bible. Usually these each have a small alter & you may make offerings in the form of lit candles or a money box (or both). There were several chairs facing each of these small rooms, but I liked this one which had both prayer benches and chairs lined up:
One of the small rooms off the side of the main nave.

This Sculpture is right in front of the cathedral- and is probably far better known than the Cathedral itself!
I think this is officially the "Front", although I don't see the 3 arches that normally adorn the front of a Cathedral.
Maybe these are the 3 arches. In looking up the name for the little rooms off the nave of the church (which I didn't find...) I learned that these 3 arched doorwas are seen in most catholic cathedrals in reference to the Holy Trinity.