Paris with Bottles of Red (Part 2)

8:00 AM my alarm clock went off, and I went into our bathroom in order to get ready for my day in Paris. This proved to be a test because we had a bath instead of a shower, and using the hand-held showering mechanism madet it hard to wash my hair. Oh well, I'm a traveler, and I got over it. I went down to the cafeteria and ate an amazing French breakfast. Hard-Boiled eggs, cheese, croissants, bacquets, and coffee. Matt, Fran, and Rachel didn't get down to breakfast until 10PM so I ended up just eating alone, looking at the French flag flying next to the EU flag. It was relaxing and fun eating alone in the cafeteria. I was getting pretty excited about the day.

Eventually, we picked up a few more people in our group and decided to make our way to Notre Dame Cathedral. I was so excited to be touring a French Catholic Church. The flying butresses, the gargoyles, and the huge wooden doors greeted us to the Cathedral. We walked into the Church and I couldn't believe the ornateness that I was able to see. Huge towering ceilings, decorated walls, and the gothic darkness that is a trademark of the era. I was engulfed. I saw a monstrance that was larger than me, and prayed in front of the chapel of St. Gregory. (I remember that my great grandfather was a knight of St. Gregory, so I thought of my family, friends, and grandparents at that time). It was a very spiritual experience, and being that I hadn't been in a Catholic Church in awhile its hard to explain how much I felt at home there.

I bought a 30 euro Paris Museum Pass and with that was entitled to climb the Towers on the Cathedral. Amazing views from that Cathedral of all of Paris. My Pictures really can't even describe it fully, you just have to be there in order to know what I saw. After what was about 3 hours we were done at Notre Dame and ready for lunch. Where did we go... Subway. So I ordered my Subway in the most broken French imaginable, and took my meal to the River Seim. Unfortunately, my Diet Coke spilled all over my sandwhich and I was forced to eat a soggy sandwich.... (not very appealing).

The group of us decided to check out the Notre Dame crypt Church and see what the old part of the Church looked like. It was cool, though I had nothing in English to explain the history... (I got pictures though). After that little Musee we made our way to St. Chappel, for what would be a line wait of about 2 1/2 hours. Security was tight there because the French Court is located there as well. Eventually, we made our way into the French Palace/Church and saw the basement which was cool, but not very impressive. I kept wondering why I waited so long to see this building. I got my answer after climbing 2 flights of stairs. It was something that left me speechless, towering windows full of stained glass, the rosepettle windows, and all the while each of the panes being masterfully hand-made. I sat down in disbelief and shock. I was entranced by the colors, this was truely a regal place, one of the few to escape the French Revolution. After a few pictures we decided to leave St. Chappel, and go to the Pantheon.

Amazing dome structure with art and revolutionist's graves in the crypt. I can't really explain the art and grandeur that was there. It was amazing and I was wondering if anything could top this building... in about 3 hours art would become something more amazing than what I could have thought of in comparison to what I saw at the Pantheon.

Yes, another Italian restaurant in France. Matt, Fran, and I got another bottle of red wine and I ate a great Quatre Formagge pizza. We had a great time, though the others were a bit "reserved" with their ordering. (I figure I'm only in Paris once or twice in my life, why not eat well and have fun). We had a decent time, and then we decided that it would be fun to go to The Lourve.

I saw the glass pyramids, the 7 blocks of complete art. Once again, speechless the world's most complete museum of art was at my finger tips and I wasn't even an artsy person when I first walked through those doors. That changed. I went into this huge musee which was art in itself and walked to the Mona Lisa. On my way I saw a picture of Francis receiving stigmata and being at a Franciscan school minoring in theology it left a lasting impression in my mind. I saw some great pictures from the masters... (you could spend a lifetime in there and totally see something new everyday). Eventually, I found the Mona Lisa, and it was beautiful. Though the mural behind it was even more impressive. Sculpture was our next priority and we looked at Greek and Roman sculpture. I was left speechless and I learned a lot about art that night.

It was about 9:30PM and the late night Lourve was closing its doors. Fran, Matt, Rachel, and myself weren't tired and we said, "We gotta go to the Eiffel Tower." So, we walked, about 3 miles to the tower and got there just in time to buy wine at a market along with some chocolate to see the 11PM light show on the tower. (Each hour the tower lights up in a light show). We went by one of the 4 legs of the tower and sat down next to the French graduates of the University and drank wine by the bottle. Toasting our Families and Friends...(a great souvenier that I have yet to put together for all of those who I poured a bit of wine out for). It was surreal sitting there next to Matt and Fran. We kept asking ourselves, "are we really here, is this Paris, is this a dream." Good conversations, and we ended up getting kicked out of the grassy field along with everyone else by about 1:30AM when the lights of the tower went out at 1AMl

It was a long walk back to the hotel. An hour and a half later we were there. All of us said our goodnights and pledged to be up by 9:00AM for our next day of adventure. I quietly walked into my room and took my bed and fell asleep quickly. Tomorrow was to be another spectactular day in Paris.