More sights and a list of Firsts.

After a very restful night of sleep, Justin and I decided to do a cathedral tour, after all, it was Sunday. We started with a church called Saint Sulpice. This church is going through a major renovation, mostly on the highest tower. Since it was Sunday am, mass was actually being held, so we could not wander around much. They kinda frown on tourists browsing in the middle of their worship service.

So we moved on to Sainte Germain, which, of course, was also having mass. I did video a brief spot of the worship leader (not sure what the Catholics call them) singing in the cathedral. The acoustics were very different that in my church.

Next stop, Sainte Chapelle. This is actually a historic church, open for tourists (for a fee). It was build by Saint Louis to hold the Holy relics, including the Crown of Thorns that he had purchased from the emperor of Constantinople. The Crown has since been moved to the treasury at Notre Dame. The relics were on display in the upper sanctuary, only viewed by kings and important people. This sanctuary has these massive stained-glass windows that surround the entire room, which looks to be about 3 stories high. Each set represents a certain book of the bible. There is a story in each window, with the ends of the room representing the Passion of Christ and the Apocalypse. The pictures just don't do it justice, but hopefully you can get a bit awesomeness of this room.

So that was it for the cathedral tour. NOT!! We saved the best for last, the majestic Notre Dame. I cannot even describe the massiveness (is that a word?) of this church. Pictures don't do it justice, but it is hard to get perspective on the sheer size. You just have to see it to believe it. They were having mass while we were there. We could walk around, just not in the middle aisle. The organ was playing , which I could have listened to that all day. It truly moved me to tears to realize I was standing in Notre Dame, during mass, listening to the organ echoing through the cathedral. A memory I will never forget. I recorded this on a short video also. After walking completely around the outside of the church, it was now time to eat some lunch.

We went to a quaint restaurant, where we had very delicious authentic french onion soup. Justin had to go to work after this, so I went with him. It was his Montmarte walking tour. He taught us all about the Moulin Rouge, took us to see where Vincent VanGogh lived, some sites that were used in a movie call "Amelie", a restaurant that Pablo Picasso used to frequent, and ending up at Sacre Coeur, a beautiful basilica at the top of Montmarte (which stands for Hill of Martyrs). It was actually a very steep hill. The tour ended back almost at the bottom of the hill. The skies also cleared up, the sun came out, and it was much nicer weather. Then we walked back up the hill to check out the artist's square. By this time, my legs were ready to fall off, so we stopped for a light supper. Then we headed back down the hill. By this time, we were beginning to feel the jet lag kicking in, so we went back to the apartment for a nap before the scheduled pub crawl.

Waking up just in time, we scurried over to Saint Michel. I guess it was too nice of an evening for people to sit in pubs, so no one signed up for this. So we met up with Justin's good friend, Sarah, and did our own little pub crawl. We went to this little hole in the wall that serves Sangria in small crock pitchers. Very yummy. Then went to a favorite of the american students, O'Neills, where they can choose from a large selection of beer they brew in house. We got home around midnight, and it was the end of day two.

Day three began with a hammer drill downstairs waking us up around 8am. So we showered and hit the street. After visiting the grocery store and the bank, we stopped for a cafe and croissants on the sidewalk table of a place called Les Deux Magots. Weird name, huh? My croissants actually had dark chocolate inside. Very tasty. We jumped on the train and went in search of the Pantheon, which is a LARGE building that now houses the remains of French writers and famous people, like Alexander Dumas, Voltaire, Louis Braille, Marie Curie, just to name a few. Again, the size of this building cannot be put into words. Just amazing how the people of the 16 century could even build something this big. There is also this pendulum suspended from a 200 foot steel cable that contantly swings back and forth, and a clock dial that surrounds it, proving a scientists theory that the earth rotates. That is another story, look it up on Google.

We stuck with our plan, and stopped by another grocery store, but this time we picked up stuff for a picnic lunch in the Jardin de Luxembourg, a pretty park, very large, that has lots of pretty flowers, park benches under the shade trees, and chairs that you can sit in to soak up the sun. We sat under a tree to eat our bagette bread, cheese, pate, strawberries, and wine. The bird in the tree must not have liked our intrusion, as it proceeded to crap on Justin's head and jacket. ICK! We finished lunch, packed up our leftovers, and dropped them back at the apartment. Back to the train to visit the Eiffel Tower.

There is not much I can even put in words, again. The size of this compares to nothing I have ever been around. Justin endured another long wait to get to the top with me, but it was so nice to have a personal tour guide to point stuff out.

After a 2 1/2 hour visit, going up to the top then down, we took a lovely stroll down a park that lines the banks of the Seine. Saw some small barges that had been converted into house boats. Interesting idea for a summer home. We reached the end and viewed the miniature Statue of Liberty. Kinda sad, not many people know she is there, and no one was there visiting here. We were now tired and hungry again, so we dragged ourselves to the train, and went to dinner at another quaint place.

The food there was OK. Weird that they serve fries (frites) with most dinner plates. Didn't see a baked potatoe anywhere. I also don't know exactly what I ordered. It was some kind of beef kabob with no veggies. We left this place, went back to Sainte Michel, and ate some gelato. Extra creamy ice cream is how I would describe this lucious dessert. Now we are back to the apartment, resting up for another busy day. Will be tagging along with Justin's 4 hour walking tour tomorrow. I think I have walked more in the last three days than I have in 6 months. No wonder you see very few obese people in Paris! I did, however, see a punk rock cowboy wearing a white cowboy hat with a rat sitting on his shoulder. They were on their way to the metro train. If any of you know my fear of mice, you can bet that I wanted to be a far from this dude as possible. Justin said he had never seen anything quite like that either.



FIRST FOODS
Here is a list of foods that I have never tried before coming here:
1. Crepe with ham and cheese
2. Creme Brulee
3. Authentic french onion soup
4. Mussels (they look aweful but taste very good)
4. Rabbit and Duck pate
5. Camembret cheese
6. Endive (appetizer at dinner)
7. Lamb (not sure I liked this, only a taste of Justin's)
8. Gelato

More on this I am sure. Signing off for the day,

Maman