Yesterday, Apple had their annual shareholders meeting. Some of the facts revealed:

1. Apple has $100 billion in cash.

2, 67% of the total profits of all technology companies are earned by Apple.

3. Apple earned more  than the combined earnings of Microsoft, Google, Oracle, Dell, etc.

4. Apple is the most valuable public company inn the entire world.

5. Apple has never declared a dividend. It did not yesterday, and still is a highly valued asset.

In order for Apple to have such huge earnings, their profit per sale has to be much higher than their competition.

Although the price of their IPhone is higher then their competitors, Apple sells over 50% of all smart phone sales.

What I admire most of Apple is Steve Jobs complete obsession with good design. One key factor

in their much admired marketing is the distinct design. I infer that a buyer of a phone who is paying substantially

more for a IPhone than a competitor, is attracted by this distinct design.

Many of little faith see good design as a wasteful cost that does not transfer into added value.

Apple is the classic example that design does add value. There are many others examples of

design adding value. Before the real estate market disappeared, developers of expensive New York City(NYC)

condominiums determined that having a famous architect design the development added at least 15% to the value.

By 2004, almost all NYC expensive condos had famous architects. There is no certainty that a famous architect

will do a better design than a less famous architect. Many of the world wide architectural masterpieces were designed

by virtually unknown architects. Never the less, the public identifies the developer hiring a well known architect

with superior design.

Most US homes are not designed by architects. Will this desire for superior design trickle down to moderately

priced new homes?

Recently I had dinner with one of the major contributors to the success of the MacIntosh. He reminded me that when

Apple was ready to go broke, Bill Gates saved Apple and Job’s day by investing $150,000,000 in Apple.

I wonder if Gates kept the Apple stock he received ?

Great For many years my travel plans were to visit  architecture  that fascinated me. in the USA, i have traveled to every state to see marvelous buildings. When we were planning 1,200 unit mixed use development  in San Francisco, we traveled to Berlin to see a unique similar sized building that the autobahn went through.  We traveled to India to see the one of the world’s most beautiful  structures, the Taj Mahal. Later, we traveled to Uzbekistan to see buildings there designed by the designers of the Taj Mahal.

TAJ MAHAL

Visiting the ancient architecture in Italy and Greece are beyond compare. The modern design in Finland is inspiring especially the works of one my favorites, Aalto. The colorful Mexican architecture of Barigan and Legoretta makes me feel happy and inspired. Austria is fountainhead for great architects. Starting with Otto Wagner, Hoffman,. Holein, Loos, Neutra, Schindler, and host of other creative geniuses. I have seen amazing architecture in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Russia, and the Ukraine. The Gothic Cathedrals of England are the equal of the French Gothic masterpieces. What I  remember most about architecture in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway is the the changes in the Catholic churches when these churches became Lutheran. The interiors of these Catholic churches contained very bloody and somber scenes of Jesus’s life. When these churches changed, these somber scenes were changed for happy, colorful illustrations.  Demonstrating that Architecture is the best evidence of civilizations.

For several years,I have postponed any visits to fascinating buildings.  I realized that at 85,  by continuing to postpone these trips, I would never see this architecture  that I have fantasized seeing for many years.

Forever, I wanted to visit the marvelous French Gothic Cathedrals built in the 12th and 13th Centuries.  These were built in the Dark Ages, long before there were professional  architects, structural engineers, etc.  Yet, these complex structures needed the most accurate and detailed calculations.  The awesome height of the Cathedral’s  interiors were as high as 150 feet,  the equivalent of an unobstructed interior as high as a 15 story building. In addition, the top of these buildings had  glass windows that flooded the interiors with light. Yet, this glass prevented the Cathedral walls from being weight bearing. Regardless of the walls not being weight bearing, the Cathedrals did not collapse under the weight of the stone roofs. Why? The designers of these light filled Cathedrals solved this enormous problem by transferring the weight to buttresses outside of the walls of the Cathedral by using flying buttresses.

This remarkable structural development changed architecture. Interiors of churches and other large public buildings ceased to be dark and depressing. Visitors  could look up to see  the heavens when inside. The morning sunshine shone brightly through the windows in the east end of these Gothic  Cathedral, welcoming all.

The starting point of light filled  Gothic Cathedrals  was the remodeled St. Denis in the north of Paris. St. Denis was a dilapidated church built in 775 by Pepin, father of Charlemagne, that Abbott Suger  took over  in 1120. Unlike any earlier Paris church, the remodeling ideas of Abbey Suger were revolutionary and ambitious enough to create a great, new church architecture.

NAVE OF ST. DENIS

Who was Abbot Suger?
Born near Paris in 1081 to peasant parents, Suger was first brought to the Abbey of Saint-Denis in 1091, at the age of ten, to be educated by the monks at the church school.  While a student at the abbey, his closest friend and schoolmate was Louis Capet, the future King Louis VI (Louis le Gros; reigned 1108-1137).  Young Suger worked as secretary to the abbot, provost of outlying properties, and envoy to the papal court before his appointment as abbot on March 12, 1122.  After this, he devoted the remainder of his life to reforming the monastery and its monks, rebuilding the church, and enriching its treasury.  He would fall ill with malaria in 1150 and died January 13, 1151 at Saint-Denis.

ABBOTT SUGER IN A  LEADED GLASS  WINDOW IN ST. DENIS

The renovation of the choir of St. Denis by Abbey Suger was dedicated in 1141. Heretofore the interiors of churches were dark and foreboding. In attendance was the French King, 13 Bishops of Catholic  dioceses of France, and the most powerful people of France. These invited guests were in awe of the light filled choir.  The innovations of this choir were immediately accepted as the basis of the new style of church architecture.  St. Denis was where the French Kings were buried.  King Louis VI  in attendance,  agreed to provide huge financial support to complete the conversion of St.Denis from a Romanesque church to a a Gothic church. The most significant development was the amazing appeal that the new Gothic design had on  each and every Bishop.  Each demanded that they have the finest Gothic Cathedral. As each Gothic Cathedral was completed, the next Cathedral would strive to outdo the last one. For the next 300 years, this desire of bishop’s to have the best Gothic Cathedral directed the  continual evolution of Gothic design throughout Europe.

The next Gothic church after St. Denis was in Reims, where the coronation of French Kings took place.  The interior of the choir of St.Remi ranks among the finest of the early Gothic Cathedrals.

St. Remi interior

Two of the most beautiful of the early Gothic Cathedrals were Laon and Soissons. Sens is also a leading early Gothic Cathedral. In the area south of Paris , from Chartres across to Troyes,the influence of Sens remained supreme for more than 50 years.

SOISSONS CATHEDRAL

Notre Dame, Paris, was a major step forward- the first flying buttress and  many features similar to St. Denis, Laon and Soissons. Notre Dame was the most colossal building of its generation: colossal in length, area, and height.

The impact of Notre Dame and the impression on entering is still one of amazement at the sheer size of the nave and the loftiness of its proportions. Notre Dame is not just a feat of building, it combines height and width into vast yet compact composition.

INTERIOR OF NOTRE DAME, PARIS

The second Gothic system was when the potential of the flying buttresses became suddenly understood as a revolutionary element.

The 13th century can best described as the architecture of the flying buttress. Gothic began all over again with the basic Gothic desire for reduced bulk, spaciousness, and light. The plans for the Cathedrals of Chartres and Bourges returned to double aisles and double ambulatory used at St. Denis. The layout of these two Cathedrals are almost perfect opposites. At Bourges the plan is continuous, without a transept, dominated by the single movement of a large double-aisled nave running from end to end  without interruption and folding upon itself in the semicircle of the chevet.  By fusing the traditions of Sens and Notre Dame , Bourges is an extreme of no articulation. Chartres is a clearly articulated plan composed of well differentiated elements: a nave flanked by single aisles; then the strong crosswise break of the transept, which is conceived in itself as a nave running north and south, each transept also flanked with aisles and terminating in a facade; then the much wider choir which is larger  than the other major components of the plan- which gives the impression of being short because it is so wide. Bourges is one continuous uninterrupted roofline, while Chartres viewed from above shows as a huge cross.

FLOOR PLAN BOURGES CATHEDRAL-              FLOOR PLAN  CHARTRES CATHEDRAL

Bourges and Chartres became the models of High Gothic.

BOURGES CATHEDRAL – NOTE THE DESIGN OF THE FLYING BUTTRESSES

Bourges was considered the most modern architecture . Descendants of Bourges include Tours, Le Mans, Toledo, and Coutances.

Chartres descendants include Reims, (the original Gothic Cathedral burned down in 1190) and Amiens. These are both masterpieces,

CHARTRES CATHEDRAL

Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims *
UNESCO World Heritage Site

Notre-Dame d’Amiens
West front of Notre Dame d’Ami

You can find additional  pictures and details  on many French Gothic Cathedrals in my blog

http://tishmangroup.com

For many years my travel plans were dictated by seeing buildings that fascinated me. in the USA, i have traveled to every state to see marvelous buildings. When I was building a 1,200 unit mixed use building , I traveled to Berlin to see a similar sized building that the autobahn went through.  We traveled to India to see the one of the world’s most beautiful  structures, the Taj Mahal. Later, we traveled to Uzbekistan to see buildings there designed by the designers of the Taj Mahal.

For several years, have postponed any visits to fascinating buildings.  I realized that by continuing to postpone these trips, I would never see these  buildings that have fascinated me for several years.

I have wanted to visit the marvelous French Gothic Cathedrals built in the 12th and 13th Centuries. These were built in the Dark Ages, long before there were professional  architects, structural engineers, etc.  Yet, these complex structures needed the most accurate and detailed calculations.  The awesome height of the top of their interiors might by as much as 150 feet,  the equivalent of an unobstructed interior as high as a 15 story building. In addition, the top of these buildings had huge  glass windows that flooded the interiors with light. Yet, this glass prevented the Cathedral walls from being weight bearing. Regardless of the walls not being weight bearing, the Cathedrals did not collapse under the weight of the stone roofs. The designers of these light filled Cathedrals solved this enormous problem by transferring the weight to buttresses outside of the walls of the Cathedral by using flying buttresses.

This remarkable structural

development changed architecture. Interiors of churches and other large public buildings ceased to be dark and depressing. Visitors  could look up to the heavens when inside. The morning sunshine shone brightly through the windows in the east end of the Cathedral welcoming all.

The starting point of light filled  Gothic structures was the remodeled St. Denis in the north of Paris. St. Denis was a dilapidated church built in 775 by Pepin, father of Charlemagne, that Suger became Abbott of in 1120. Unlike any earlier Paris church, the remodeling ideas of Abbey Suger were revolutionary and ambitious enough to create a great , new church architecture.

The renovation of the choir of St. Denis by Abbey Suger was dedicated in 1141. In attendance was the French King, 13 Bishops of  dioceses of France, and most powerful people of France.

The innovations of this choir were immediately accepted as the basis of the new style of church architecture.  St. Denis was where the French Kings were buried. The King

agreed to provide huge financial support to complete the conversion of St.Denis from a Romanesque church to a a Gothic church. The most significant development was the amazing appeal that the Gothic design had to each and every Bishop.  Each demanded that they would have the finest Gothic Cathedral. As each Gothic Cathedral was completed, the next Cathedral would strive to outdo the last one. For the next 300 years, the evolution of Gothic design continued throughout Europe.

The next Gothic church was in Reims, where the coronation of French Kings took place.  The interior of the choir of St.Remi ranks among the finest of the early Gothic Cathedrals. Two of the most beautiful of the early Gothic Cathedrals were Laon and Soissons. Sens is also a leading early Gothic Cathedral. In the area south of Paris , from Chartres across to Troyes,the influence of Sens remained supreme for more than 50 years.

Notre Dame, Paris, was a major step forward- the first flying buttress, many features similar to Laon and Soissons. Notre Dame was the most colossal building of its generation: colossal in length, area, and height. Notre Dame. The impact of Notre Dame and the impression on entering is still one of amazement at the sheer size of the nave and the loftiness of its proportions. Notre Dame is not just a feat of building, it combines height and width into vast yet compact composition.

The second Gothic system when the potential of the flying buttresses became suddenly understood as a revolutionary element.

The 13th century can best described as the architecture of the flying buttress. Gothic began all over again with the basic Gothic desire for reduced bulk, spaciousness, and light. The plans of Chartres and Bourges return to double aisles and double ambulatory used at St. Denis. In plan the concepts that these revolutionary works materialize are almost perfect opposites. At Bourges the plan is continuous, without a transept, dominated by the single movement of a large double-aisled nave running from end to end  without interruption and folding upon itself in the semicircle of the chevet.  By fusing the traditions of Sens and Notre Dame , Bourges is an extreme of no articulation. Chartres is a clearly articulated plan composed of well differentiated elements: a nave flanked by single aisles; then the strong crosswise break of the transept, which is conceived in itself as a nave running north and south, each transept also flanked with aisles and terminating in a facade; then the much wider choir which is larger  than the other major components of the plan- which gives the impression of being short because it is so wide. Bourges is one continuous uninterrupted roofline, while Chartres has the pJ,g shape of a huge cross.

Bourges and Chartres became the models of High Gothic.

Bourges was considered the most modern architecture . Descendants of Bourges include Tours, Le Mans, Toledo, and Coutances.

Chartres descendants include Reims, (the original Gothic Cathedral burned down in 1190) and Amiens. These are both masterpieces,

You can find pictures and details  on many French Gothic Cathedrals in my blog

http://tishmangroup.com

360° PANORAMAS Close 360° PANORAMAS Close Cathedral of Saint Etienne, Interior view of nave, 13th Century, Bourges (France)  © Columbia University | Department of Art History and Archaeology | Visual Media Center

The Bourges Cathedral is modeled on the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. This Cathedral takes the best of Notre Dame and improves it.

The Catholic Diocese  of Bourges, France , describes its Cathedral as follows

Bourges Cathedral has a highly unique floor plan. It has no transepts, which form the cross-shape of most churches. This lends the cathedral a unique appearance inside and out. On the exterior, thick walls and a myriad of flying buttresses support the unbroken weight of the long nave (122m/400 ft).

Inside, around the central nave wrap two side aisles that flow continuously into two ambulatories at the east end. This unique, transept-free layout allows for a much longer view down the aisles, which is made even more striking by the exceptionally great height of the aisles. In other churches these are much lower than the nave.

The west facade is among the broadest of the Gothic cathedrals in France at over 40 meters. Each aisle has its own door at the west end, making a total of five portals. All are beautifully carved with sculptures; one tells the life story of St. Stephen. The central door’s 13th-century tympanum is of the highest quality, depicting the Last Judgment in figurative carvings alive with movement and imagination. The devils come complete with snakes’ tailes and faces appearing below the waist, symbolic of the soul enslaved to sinful appetites.

The north and south portals are also filled with sculptures, which are even older than those on the west portals. They date from about 1160 and were reused from the earlier Romanesque cathedral. The south portal has a tympanum of Christ in Majesty with the Four Evangelists and full-length statues of prophets and kings on the side columns. It is very similar in subject, layout and style to the central bay ofChartres Cathedral’s Royal Portal (c.1150). The north portal at Bourges has a theme of the Virgin Mary and as such was savagely attacked by Protestants in 1562. The wood doors in both portals date from the end of the 15th century.

Magnificent stained glass windows fill the cathedral, but are especially astonishing in the ambulatory at the east end, where they can be examined up close at eye-level. The beautiful jewel-toned windows of the ambulatory date almost entirely from between 1215 and 1225 (overlapping with the stained glass at Chartres).

Of the original 25 windows, a remarkable 22 survive. The three windows in the central east chapel were lost. The large windows in the main wall of the ambulatory are entirely original. Unfortunately the narrower windows in the chapels have lost their original lower registers, due to Baroque altar installation in the 17th century. These panels were replaced in the 19th century with medieval-style stained glass of high quality, but without reference to the lost originals. The subjects of the windows from left (north) to right (south) are as follows:

I have included below excerpts from one of the best articles ever written about the Bourges Cathedral. This asrticle appeared in the JOURNAL OF ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIANS.

• Vol. 33, No. 1, Mar., 1974, PAGE 17-26

The balance of this article deals with later Cathedrals using the Bourges Cathedral as a model. Thereforte since this edition of our blog is about Bourges Cathedral i have not included the last 5 pages. If

you wish to read them, you can easily find them using Jestor.

I am thankful for

In WWII the US had 16 million in the armed service, I am one of the only 1 million WWII veterans that are still alive. 25% of the submarine sailors who served in the Pacific never came home, I came home.

I am indeed lucky to have a beautiful, wonderful wife, 3 children, 9.5 grandchildren, and  1 great grandchild. Plus two wonderful Rottweillers Although many of my  good friends have passed on, I still have many wonderful friends in many places. All of my children are unselfish. They are selfless adults whose primary goals are to help others. This makes me very happy and proud of them.

In the last 4 years, although real estate development has been a disaster and I have a few serious medical problems, I feel great.  I am alive and kicking looking forward to each new. wonderful day. I’m very lucky for having a  loving family, friends and relations  who call and email me , and for having time to read and write.  This  makes my life grand.

My father loved Rotary. He wanted me to enjoy Rotary service as he did. I thought I was too busy traveling  to take the time for Rotary. Until a good sold me on joining Rotary.

My 4 years of Rotary have been a wonderful experience. The members are unselfish. They are involved with projects that provide needed service to  both the local and the world communities. I feel like a better person after each meting.

I am thankful for the poem, Invictus, which has provided inspiration to me

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Thank you -William Ernest Henley ,

One of luckiest things in my life is my great joy from the wonderful, interesting folks that have befriended me in the last 84 years. At a later blog, I want to tell you about some of these fascinating folks.

Amiens is a beautiful city in northern France with amazing pedestrian and bicycles only wide shopping streets. Even more amazing is the exquisite  Amiens Cathedral

Our Lady of Amiens Notre-Dame d’Amiens
West front of Notre Dame d’Amiens

Amiens Cathedral floor plan

This is a basilica where a five aisled choir and a three aisled nave is intersected by an aisled transept of shallow projection. The seven segment hemicycle is encircled by a single aisled ambulatory with seven radiating chapels, the axial chapel projecting more deeply than the others. To the west a frontispiece of unusual design embodies tower supporting masonry in the western bay of the nave carrying two rectangular towers. The plan is rigorously controlled by a central geometric matrix in the form of a great double square located in the crossing and contiguous bay. The diagonal of the great square gives the length of the nave and the half diagonal gives the choir.

ELEVATION

The cathedral has a three story elevation: spacious arcadecapped by a prominent foliate band, a blind triforium in the nave and glazed in the choir and a tall clerestory. With a height of some forty-two meters the vertical space is divided into two equal parts by the foliage band.

The Axiel chapel interior wall is almost all glass. This is a wonderful illustration of the superior structural engineering for a non-weight bearing exterior wall built in the 13th century.

choir south side.

This shows the flying buttresses that made these mostly glass non-weight bearing exterior work for over 800 years, the flying buttresses transferred  the force of the roof  weight from these exterior walls. The weight bearing was transferred from the exterior walls  to the long straight buttresses.

This is a graphic explanation how Gothic Architecture worked. The weight is transferred by the flying buttresses to the buttress.

Visiting  Amiens Cathedral is a very dramatic experience. This is a CATHEDRAL that has the highest ceiling of any French Gothic Cathedral in daily use. The light filled interior

is the brightest of any French Cathedral I have visited. There is much to see at the Amiens Cathedral including the gift shop and bookstore.

First instance, shortly after  the Cathedral was finished cracks appeared in the north nave walls. Immediately, the builders made corrections. After these were made no more cracks appeared

I hope you have a chance to visit  this World Architectural treasure designated by UNESCO.

CHARTRES

The first photo on the left is the view from afar of the CHARTRES CATHEDRAL, the next picture is the west portal from a distance.

below these photos, is the floor plan of this Cathedral. The Chartres Cathedral is the birthplace of High Gorthic architecture.

As we approached the famed west portal, I  was reminded that this was originally built as the entrance of a Romanesque Cathedral. This prior Cathedral was destroyed by fire in 1194, but left the west portal in tact. . Standing in front of the west portal, seeing the wonderful sculpture is amazing. Even more amazing is to walk around the exterior to see the results of the extensive use of flying buttresses. FIRST, I noticed that flying buttresses of the nave were different than the flying buttresses of the choir. The prevalent theory is that while building the nave, there were. tremendous wind storms. The builders decided that the buttresses of the nave were not higher enough to withstand the wind load created by the storm.  I saw the added part of these buttresses. These builders changed the height of the flying buttresses of the choir to conform to what they had learned from the flying buttresses of the nave.

High Gothic architecture was created at Chartres. The Cathedral returned to a three part elevation using huge clerestory windows by eliminating the gallery . The much higher height of the interiors was made possible because the builders understood using flying buttresses and created the first skeletal structure. The skeletal system was based on vaults that had strong supports with regular spacing between the vaults.

The greatest medieval art collection in the world is generally credited to the Chartres Cathedral for the extensive, beautiful stained glass from the 13th century.

STRASBOURG CATHEDRAL

FIRST is the exteriot of the STRASBOURG Cathedral, next the in terior, and then the floor plan of the STRASBOURG Cathedral/

The Strasbourg Cathedral of Notre-Dame, built on the foundations of an Early Romanesque church begun in 1015, has long been famed as one of the noblest achievements of Western architecture, which reflects the whole range of styles from Romanesque to Late Gothic (12th-15th C). The west front (1277-1318) was the work of Master Erwin of Steinbach and his successors; the delicately articulated octagon of the north tower (1399-1419) was built by Ulrich von Ensingen of Ulm, the openwork spire by Johannes Hoeltz of Cologne (1420- 1439). In 1793, 235 statues and countless ornaments fell victim to the fanaticism of the French Revolution.  The interior of Strasbourg Cathedral has beautiful stained glass, including representations of 21 German emperors and kings in the north aisle, a Late Gothic pulpit (1484-1485) and an organ

Last week I began to actualy visit the French Gothic Cathedrals I have been studying for many years. This is 7th heaven. The first Cathedral I visited was Laon. The train to Laon from Paris makes 18 stops. This early masterpiece stands on a hill overlooking Laon. Around the Cathedral is a medieval town with narrow streets and buildings from the Dark Ages. The west doors to the Laon Cathedral are spectacular. The towers will completely knock you out. The sculptures are life like. When I entered the Laon Cathedral, it is an unforgetable, awesome experience. This is what great architecture

LAON CATHEDRAL- EARLY GOTHIC

should do to you.
Entering one of the earliest Gothic Cathedrals is startling. The height, the spaciousness, and the light were beyond my imagination. It is no wonder that the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was modeled after the Laon Cathedral. To prevent any confusion, there are over 300 French Cathedrals and churches named Notre Dame.
I spent several hours looking at the internal structure, columns, vaults, windows, nave, transept, and choir. Then I walked completely around the Laon Cathedral. After which I sat outside the West Portal just drinking in the details.
The Soisson Cathedral is nearby. This is an equally famous early Gothic Cathedral that was a model for later Gothic Cathedrals. I was so exhausted by my wonderful experience at the Laon Cathedral that on the train from Laon I did not get off the train at Soissons.
The next day I took an express train to Reims. The average speed of this train was over 120 mph. There was no sensation of speeding, it felt as if we were going about 30 mph until I saw cars going in the same direction. We were going at least twice the speed of these cars. Yet the ride was as smooth as possible.
The Reims Cathedral is where most French Kings had their coronation. First, the city of Reims is beautiful and the capital of the Champaign growing area. The Reims Cathedral is what you would expect as the High Gothic Cathedral for the coronation of French Kings. The light in this church is like it comes from heaven. I was there on a dingy day with slight rain, nevertheless, light poured into this magnificent building. The only problem was the Reims has built surrounding the Cathedral. Thus, much of the east end of the Reims Cathedral can not be viewed.
next I will tell you about my visits to Chartres Cathedral and the Strasbourg Cathedral.

After spending several hours studying the columns, vaults, nave, transept, and the choir, I walked around the Cathedral studying the structure, sculpture, and workmanship. Then I sat in front of the west portals just admiring the workmanship.
It is easy to understand why this became the model for the Cathedral du Notre Dame in Paris. incidentally there are over 300 churches in France named Notre Dame.  Although I expected a great experience, I never imagined how humbling and overwhelming viewing this masterpiece is. I walked completely around the Cathedral viewing the stone work, the structures, windows, and towers. afterwards I sat at a table in the square in front of the west portals in awe of what I was beholding.

No wonder this served as the model for the Cathedral du Notre Dame in Paris. incidently there are over 300 churches in France named Notre Dame.
On the train back to Paris, a few steps is Soissons. Here the Cathedral of Soissons is an early Gothic masterpiece that was a another model for many High Gothic Cathedrals.  On the return to Paris I had planned to visit the Cathedral du Soissons, but this visit to Laon had taken so long that I did not stop at Soissons.
The next morning I took a train to Reims. Reims is about 90 miles from Paris. The non-stop express train to Reims took less than 40 minutes. Although we traveled at over 120 mph, there was no sensation of speed -felt like we were going 30 mph. The ride was as smooth as being on a plane. Reims Cathedral is where the coronation of most French Kings took place. The interiors of this High Gothic Cathedral are befitting a coronation. The height of the nave and the aspase is magnificent.  The only problem I had was seeing the famous exterior of the Reims Cathedral because the town is built up around the Cathedral. Reims is a beautiful city where there are wonderful buildings and much activity. I sat in an outside cafe looking at thev west portals and people watching. Although this awe inspiring structure has been in Reims for over 800 years, each day many people from all over arrive to enter this Cathedral.
That was the first two days.

Marilyn Monroe has been an American sex symbol since the 1950′s.

,

Marilyn Monroe was a great comedian. One of my favorite comedy films is “Some like it hot”,

Marilyn Monroe was wonderful and very funny in while starring in this comedy with Tony Randall, George Raft, Thelma Ritter and Joe E. Brown.

Billy Wilder had a fabulous film career as a director. “Some like it hot” was by far his most successful film.

I still remember falling out of my seat because I was laughing so hard at Marilyn Monroe’s antics in this comedy. When I was practicing law, I had a client

whose claim to fame was he lived with Marilyn Monroe when she was filming  ”Niagara” . Bob said she was very different than the public’s perception of her as

a “beautiful, dumb, platinium blonde “. He said she was a very serious person who loved Beethoven and Mozart. She brought with her an extensive library of classics.  She did not indulge in the Hollywood gossip, etc.He told me how at the height of her popularity, Marilyn put her career as a movie star on hold to go to New York to become a student at an acting school. Marilyn Monroe was not satisfied with her performences as an actresses. She gave up financially rewarding offers to take this leave of absence from her career.

She married Arthur Miller, the prominent playright. When Miller was called before the red baitng House Un-American Activities Committee, his wife appeared next to Arthur Miller as he testified. Marilyn Monroe’s studio had her told not to so appear as it would harm her career.   Miller was found in contempt of Congress because he refused to name others who might have been communists when asked by the committee chairman. Miller’s conviction was thrown out by the Appeals Court when it was disclosed that the chairman had promised Miller he would not be ask Miller to name names. Miller had told the chairman that this was the  only way he would testify.

After five years of marriage, Marilyn Monroe and Arthur Miller were divorced. She died at 36 in 1962.

In 1964  Sammy Davis,Jr. starred in Golden Boy with Paula Wayne. My wife and I attended the opening night party because my wife was a close friend of Paula Wayne.  I was sitting next to Stephen Greene, a photographer. Greene and his wife had been close friends of Marilyn Monroe for several years. After she and Arthur Miller were divorced , a stressed Marilyn Monroe came to stay with the Greene’s.  Stephen Greene said the same things about Marilyn Monroe that my client Bob had told me years before. She was the complete opposite of her public image as beautiful dumb blonde. First he said she was not a natural blonde, she was dark haired and studio made her a platinium blonde.  Stephen Greene had taken pictures of Marilyn Monroe when she was a dark haired model. Next Greene pointed out that  she was raised in different foster homes after her mother was committed to the state hospital for mentally disturbed. She had little opportunity for education. When she started modeling, she enrolled at UCLA. The more she was exposed to learning, the more she yearned for more learning. She told the Greene’s about she  and Arthur Miller had long discussions about Tolstoy, Balzac,etc.  Steve said she was strong supporter of groups that fought for equal rights for everyone.  The most unusual thing he told me was that Marilyn Monroe had terrible stage fright. She would become terrified before the filming began. Because of this, she was late for filmings and difficult for the director’s to boss her. Early in her movie career, the Greene’s interceded  on Marilyn’s behalf with director’s. Most these director’s were sold on her being an insensitive, dumb, blonde no matter what the Greene’s said.

What do you think of the “real Marilyn Monroe.”?