The next day in Paris was a blur of churches and monuments and then lastly the Louvre! First we went to the Luxumbourg Gardens to have a little snack by the water and watch all the people! There was an adorable Parisian girl in her little red raincoat that was running after the ducks... it was the quintessential French scene! We then realized that San Suplice was just around the corner, so we figured since it was in the Da Vinci Code, we should go see it! We went in during mass, so it was an eery setting, and basically went straight to the obelisk that Silas goes to in the book when he reaches the end of the false lead given to him.
After San Suplice, we went to the Pantheon, which was truly a hidden treasure in Paris. It wasn't something we had heard of before, but just happened upon it. Inside the pantheon there is a Foucault Pendulum which was really neat to see. In addition, many famous Frenchmen are buried there, Rousseau, Voltaire, Marie Curie, Alexander Dumas, etc.
After the Pantheon, we made our way to Notre Dame!! It was so awesome to cross the Siene and approach the facade, especially knowing that I have studied it for 5 years and finally get to see it in person! We rested outside with some hot chocolate, only to be approached by very persistent gypsies... they kept asking us if we spoke english, so Sarah and I spoke in italian for the rest of our time outside the church in the hope that the gypsies would leave us alone...
The inside of Notre Dame is one of the most incredible sights I've seen while abroad. The lighting in the cathedral is dark, and there's a specific smell, musty, incense-like... and of course, the windows are magnificent! We were lucky enough to get to Notre Dame as mass was about to start and we had a front row vantage point for the procession. Having never been to a Catholic mass before, it was an alien sight for me, this long line of old men, and a few women dressed in black lace. The first man with the orb and incense, swinging back and forth like some eery pendulum. After a while, three men came out holding glass cases, two of which I couldn't distinguish, but the middle one was obviously a wreath of thorns enclosed in glass... which I am assuming is claimed to be the crown of thorns. Just as they passed by us, a woman began singing a choir song for the mass and the whole experience was fairly moving, even for someone like me. Just the thought that we were in this famous cathedral where so many people have come to pay respects and the sheer size and beauty of the actual location was just overwhelming. It was really neat!
If the mass wasn't the highlight of the adventure in Notre Dame, climbing the towers def was! It felt like we were climbing forever, so many steps in Paris!!! But once we got to the top, the view is so awesome. Sarah and I had a lot of fun with the gargoyles, mimicking their poses. I think I won out with my serious stone-like face as a gargoyle... but it was another fun montage!
We then rushed over to the Louvre to get in at 6 PM for free!!!! On Friday nights, it stays open until 10 PM so that anyone under the age of 26 can come in a view everything for free!!! So we prepared ourselves for 4 hours in this huge museum! We first planned out how much time we were going to spend on each floor, but by the time we started actually going through, we realized there truly is too much to see!!!! After an hour and a half we decided to just make a bee-line for the famous stuff because we were so tired from walking everywhere and although the works of art are fascinating and some things I've dreamed of seeing, its exhausting to wander through a building for hours on end! We went straight for the Venus di Milo, Mona Lisa, Athena Nike, Madonna of the Rocks... etc and after 3 hours, we were too tired to continue and ventured back to the hostel to pass out on our beds!
After San Suplice, we went to the Pantheon, which was truly a hidden treasure in Paris. It wasn't something we had heard of before, but just happened upon it. Inside the pantheon there is a Foucault Pendulum which was really neat to see. In addition, many famous Frenchmen are buried there, Rousseau, Voltaire, Marie Curie, Alexander Dumas, etc.
After the Pantheon, we made our way to Notre Dame!! It was so awesome to cross the Siene and approach the facade, especially knowing that I have studied it for 5 years and finally get to see it in person! We rested outside with some hot chocolate, only to be approached by very persistent gypsies... they kept asking us if we spoke english, so Sarah and I spoke in italian for the rest of our time outside the church in the hope that the gypsies would leave us alone...
The inside of Notre Dame is one of the most incredible sights I've seen while abroad. The lighting in the cathedral is dark, and there's a specific smell, musty, incense-like... and of course, the windows are magnificent! We were lucky enough to get to Notre Dame as mass was about to start and we had a front row vantage point for the procession. Having never been to a Catholic mass before, it was an alien sight for me, this long line of old men, and a few women dressed in black lace. The first man with the orb and incense, swinging back and forth like some eery pendulum. After a while, three men came out holding glass cases, two of which I couldn't distinguish, but the middle one was obviously a wreath of thorns enclosed in glass... which I am assuming is claimed to be the crown of thorns. Just as they passed by us, a woman began singing a choir song for the mass and the whole experience was fairly moving, even for someone like me. Just the thought that we were in this famous cathedral where so many people have come to pay respects and the sheer size and beauty of the actual location was just overwhelming. It was really neat!
If the mass wasn't the highlight of the adventure in Notre Dame, climbing the towers def was! It felt like we were climbing forever, so many steps in Paris!!! But once we got to the top, the view is so awesome. Sarah and I had a lot of fun with the gargoyles, mimicking their poses. I think I won out with my serious stone-like face as a gargoyle... but it was another fun montage!
We then rushed over to the Louvre to get in at 6 PM for free!!!! On Friday nights, it stays open until 10 PM so that anyone under the age of 26 can come in a view everything for free!!! So we prepared ourselves for 4 hours in this huge museum! We first planned out how much time we were going to spend on each floor, but by the time we started actually going through, we realized there truly is too much to see!!!! After an hour and a half we decided to just make a bee-line for the famous stuff because we were so tired from walking everywhere and although the works of art are fascinating and some things I've dreamed of seeing, its exhausting to wander through a building for hours on end! We went straight for the Venus di Milo, Mona Lisa, Athena Nike, Madonna of the Rocks... etc and after 3 hours, we were too tired to continue and ventured back to the hostel to pass out on our beds!
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