a tale of two Notre Dame cathedrals

Notre Dame – “Our Lady” in French – is a cathedral that epitomizes French grandeur. Images of soaring belfries, gothic filigrees, marble fineries and inimitable stained glass windows never are distant. France has more than one Notre Dame Cathedral though but to this date, the one in Paris is unmistakably the most visited and known.

Such is the iconic status of Notre Dame that as a source of pride, the French made architectural replicas in some of their colonies. Considered as perhaps one of the most beautiful one outside France is the basilica in Vietnam, in its capital Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City.

The photographs here take you to a journey to the two edifices.




The most distinguishable difference between the two is color. The Parisian Notre Dame is seemingly gray, being made of concrete masonry and cut stones. The Saigon church, on the other hand, is bring orange red, having been made from special bricks from Marseille.




Both churches sport vaulted ceilings. Expectedly, the Notre Dame in Paris is more structurally complicated. It has ridged pillars which form a network of that actually look smore delicate than solid.




The Vietnamese basilica has one long barrel for nave that is not segmented into numerous domes unlike the French Notre Dame.




For me, the most memorable ornamentation of the French Notre Dame is the set of gigantic rose windows. They probably are the among the most spectacular of windows in the world.




The Saigon version skips the roseate form but its kaleidoscopically colored stained arched glass windows are no less beautiful, albeit smaller and simpler in scale.




For doorway, the French Notre Dame has an overhead pediment made of intricately carved marble, the Apostle’s Head. A Gothic masterpiece, it announces that the church is a wonder to both soul and eyes.




In comparison, the Vietnamese basilica has round decorative arches above its doorways, more Roman than Gothic.




Today, the churches, for all their differences, share the same task of being beacons of the Catholic faith. In the world that we live in, the spirit still matters more than the material.

my 10 most fascinating facts about the Eiffel Tower

For the two nights and two days I was in Paris in the summer of 2004, I did what most people do: fall in love with the Eiffel Tower. Such was my infatuation that I went to the tower not once, not twice but three times. Like a student, I also did my research on the Eiffel Tower. Here are 10 factoids which I found truly captivating.

1. For commercial purposes only. The Eiffel Tower is privately owned and as a capitalist venture, has always been operated for profit. It is the most visited paid monument in the world with more than 6 million visitors every year.


the tower during sundown, at 10:30PM summertime


2. And the winner is…. To celebrate the first centennial of the French Revolution, a public competition was held for an entrance arch of the Exposition Universelle, the 1889 World's Fair. From about 107 entries , the design by Gustave Eiffel won. Eiffel is considered a genius in engineering, who designed among other landmarks, the original locks of the Panama Canal, the internal structure of the Statue of Liberty and the Manila’s San Sebastian Church.

3. Radio saved the day. In the early 1900s, the Eiffel Tower was considered as an abominable modern eyesore in the centuries-old Paris neighborhood that even artists petitioned for its dismantling. The Eiffel tower only had a permit to stand for 20 years and would have been dismantled were it not for its commercial importance as a radio transmission center.

4. Them copycats. There are more than 30 copies of the Eiffel Tower all over the world. The biggest one is the half scale replica in where else but Las Vegas, USA.

5. Tall and proud. When finished in 1889, the Eiffel Tower became the tallest building of the world at 324 meters until its height was eclipsed by the Chrysler Building in 1929. Equivalent to about 81 floors, the Tower remains Paris’ tallest structure.


Canon PowerShot S40, 4/5s, f/3.2, 8.6 mm


6. Stand alone. Although the Paris urban area contains the most skyscrapers of any city in the European Union, the tall buildings are located away from the Eiffel Tower. A zoning regulation around Eiffel limits most building heights to 7 stories so from afar, the tower still stands in central Paris tall and almost alone.


the tower during sundown, at 10:30PM summertime


7. All is fair in war. To prevent Adolf Hitler to climb up the summit of Eiffel Tower, the elevators cables were cut by the French resistance just before the 1940 Nazi occupation of Paris. As parts were not available because of the war, the elevator could not be repaired and Hitler could only tour the grounds. Hitler was said to have ordered the tower’s destruction before liberation but the Nazi military governor disobeyed the command.


the Eiffel tower by the River Seine

8. Infringe my rights. Theoretically, the Eiffel Tower is public domain so publication of its photographs is free. However, in 2003, the SNTE (Société nouvelle d'exploitation de la tour Eiffel) installed a new light display and shrewdly copyrighted its imagery. This effectively and controversially restricts the publication of night-time images of the Eiffel Tower. Potentially, tourists are not allowed to publish pictures and video of the Eiffel Tower taken at night without permission from the authorities. (Hmm…)


the tower at nighttime


9. Color me brown. The tower is painted every 7 years and the chore takes about 15 months. The paint comes in 3 ““Eiffel brown” shades, lightest at the apex and darkest at the base. Painting, incredibly, is still done with brushes, all by hand.


the lace arches of the tower


10. Leg power. The first and second platforms, at 57 and 116 meters height respectively, can be accessed by elevator or by stairs. Even if you climb the first 2 floors by foot, you still have to pay as I did. The east pillar has a flight of stairs with 1665 step but this is closed to the general public. Like everyone else, I had to take the lift to the top at 276 meters. I tried taking pictures there by propping my camera on the iron ledge but the wind was too strong to get any steady shot at all.


that’s me for posterity

me, gawking at Galeries Lafayette

Two nights in Paris are insanely short. But opportunities like the one I had in the summer of 2004 don’t come frequently so there I was, living in a singular suitcase, skimming through Bergen, Haugesun, Oslo (Norway), Copenhagen (Denmark) and finally, Paris.

There are a lot of things one can say about Paris – expensive, aloof, proud, chic, delightful – but boring is not one of them.

Take Galeries Lafayette.

Probably the most famous of all stores in Paris, it puts the oomph in shopping long before malls sprouted all over the world. Galeries Lafayette started as a small garments accessory store in 1890 and in less than 10 years became so successful that the company purchased the buildings around it. In 1912, the glass and steel dome and Art Nouveau staircases were built and an icon was born.



Finding my way to Galeries Lafayette was easy. I took the metro and alighted at the Havre-Caumartin, Opéra stop. The 10-storey building was instantly recognizable with its giant and spectacularly loud window displays. Inside, the shopping choices were astounding. Money seemed to be spilling as people elbowed each other to purchase anything. Signs of soldes were everywhere. I barely attempted to peer what were on sale for I knew I could not afford them anyway.




I headed to the cosmetics section and there it was, the dramatic glass dome. Too bad my point and shoot could not take it all in – the curlicued ironwork, the stained glass angels, the carved cornices, the almost delicate pillars – as no angle was wide enough to fully capture its magnificence. The Art Nouveau staircases and cast-iron balconies framed the gigantic sphere like skirt trimmings under a Christmas tree.




Lest you forget, take the time to climb unto the popular roof terrace which offers a breathtaking view of Paris. It is free and open and you can enjoy the scenery as long as you want. There was Eiffel Tower, tall and distinctly lording over the wonderfully. Sacre Coeur stands robust and solid at the other side. Suddenly, Paris can be quiet from above, even meditative.

Some of the best things in life can well be free.

Galeries Lafayette
40, boulevard Haussmann, 9th Arrondissement