Veneration

So yesterday was the monthly mass at Notre Dame where they venerate the relic of the crown of thorns, so i thought i would go and have a look. It was part mass, part tourist spectacle, part blowout photo derby. In other words, it was strange. There was the majesty of the building and its atmosphere, the piety of the truly devout who where there to venerate this object of Jesus' crucifixion, and then there were the camera happy hoards, just wanting to see something spooky they could snap on their iphones. I'm not a believer but i do believe in manners and this was abit of a free for all. Taking a tip from my guidebook, i tried to be 'adventurous but discrete'. One of the interesting things i like about Paris is the sense that there's this other world, the world of the church or of high fashion, or even just wealth operating just out of your normal range of vision, but then sometimes for a moment, there it is right in front of you.