In filming the pipe organ bit at Paris’ St. Sulpice Church, we needed to get a bunch of visitors to climb the spiral stairs, “scampering like little sixteenth notes up to the organ loft” for our camera. To get out of the shot, I had to climb higher up. In my travels, spiral staircases are a land of promise. All over Europe, they evoke intimate slices of medieval life and bring me special memories. And many come with a great “Wow, look down there!” effect. Looking down this one, with people’s hands working ever higher, made for a fun view. Here’s a silly video clip that will perhaps resonate with other lovers of Europe’s spiral staircases:
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.
Comments
Very cool!
I remember this from drama class. “Slowly, slowly, slowly I crept up the spiral staircase.” My guess is there are a few Rick Steves’ fans who could make even a rusty park bench some kind of iconic experience if he said it was.
In most of Europe you can find yourself going up very narrow stairways to get to the top, we have always counted the steps. It is kind of fun to know that at a certain place you have to climb so many stairs. I think the Vatican Basilica is over 700.
Anybody out there who is not an ostrich? How many angels can sit on the head of a pin, how many steps on stairs, does not describe the world right now. But if it helps calm you and you personally are not affected, why not ignore it all.