• Image in front of Hotel de Ville in hommage to Jacques Chirac
    Let's Explore,  Seeing Paris

    Notre-Dame Bell, Emmanuel, Rings for Chirac

    Walking along the narrow rue Galand the sound of a muffled bell ringing reverberated against the walls. Sitting at the café, looking at my watch, it was around 11:20 on a Monday morning. My friend guessed it was a church nearby; I guessed Notre-Dame. Couldn't be.... perhaps the towers were damaged. The constant soft ringing was not signalling the quarter, half or full hour. Earlier I had heard on French television the time for the funeral ceremony that would pass from Hôtel des Invalides to Saint-Sulpice.  We walked toward Notre-Dame from where the mystery sound originated. Emmanuel, the 300 year old was ringing.  The ringing was manually orchestrated. The first…