Le Sacre Coeur, chapel St. Pierre, Crazy Artists and a Crazy Amount of Stairs!
        Another awesome day in Paris. We completed another walk today after class. Walk # 16. We went to Le Sacre Coeur first, which was finished about a hundred years ago in honer of those who died in the Franko-Prussion war and to give hope to the french people during the hard time. Le Sacre Coeur is built on Monmart-the martyrs mountain where St Denis, the first to bring Christianity to Paris, was beheaded. It's right next to St. Pierre's chapel built in Honor of St. Pierre. The cathedral is beautiful, one of my favorites that we've seen so far, actually. To get there though we had to climb a million stairs. There were already a lot of stairs in the metro today, but as you can see in my picture below we had to climb this lovely stair case. Totally worth it of course. There were 3oo steps leading to the top of the cathedral which of course we had to go up there and, therefore, had to climb the lovely stairs. They were all in a a spiral staircase which created some great feelings of vertigo on the way down. The view was beautiful. After le Sacre Coeur, we walked to St. Denis chapel, which is the oldest in Paris and contains the oldest cemetery as well which has many french kings buried there. It's more simple, but still beautiful. After that we walked around the neighborhood stopping at different houses where famous artists such as Picasso and Van Gogh stayed. The neighborhood is very nice and the houses are cool. It was le centre for artists in the nineteenth century. I can see why. A calm, pretty neighborhood right next to the chapel. It also has the oldest vineyard in Paris which was very pretty. It's also the home to Moulin Rouge meaning red mill. Makes sense since it has one on top of it. I was super excited to go there even though I don't really know that much about it. Research time. :) I felt inspired to start singing "Come to the Cabaret" after that. I love my group, but they don't know any musical theater songs. We were all feeling pretty tired by now. We've been walking for hours with lots of climbing of stairs. Carson, Jessica and i wanted to see the Crypt de Notre Dame though before we called it a day, so McKenna, Haley, and Natalie found a parc by St. Chapel while we went to see it. It was super cool. It contains some ruins of Lutetia which is the original city, before it was renamed Paris, built in the first century. Once again, Old things are awesome!!!!! Makes me wonder why I didn't go through with studying archaeology in college. Oh ya, I love my current major too! :) Oh the problem of loving more than one thing. After the crypt we went home. Lovely long RER and metro ride. Fell asleep on the RER. I woke up with my head back, mouth wide open to Natalie, who was sitting next to me, laughing. I felt a bit self conscious after that. It was nice to be home and relax a bit before dinner. McKenna fell fast asleep. After laying down for a few minutes I went to the kitchen to help mom with dinner, which really means I set the table and talked to her while she cooked. :) Have I mentioned yet that I love my host family? Mom is so nice and an awesome cook. Had pasta today. The rest was the same. I ate way more than anyone else at the table (McKenna never eats a lot). I was starving and I'm finally getting comfortable enough to eat in front of my family. Still a bit self conscious though. After dinner McKenna and I went to do hw/this blog. Yay, done!!!! Someday I'll go to sleep before midnight. :( Love you!

Looking at the daunting stairs leading up to the basilica. Don't let this picture fool you, there are a lot of stairs. We're going to have buff legs by the end of this trip.

Us at the top posing triumphantly. Carson is like, " Oh come on, give me something hard."

Le sacre Coeur was built in the nineteenth century on the highest hill in Paris. Just from the hill alone, one can see all of Paris and more.

Inside the beautiful cathedral. I really liked this one.

On the top of the cathedral. Similar to Dory, Carson thinks he can talk to birds. He turned from talking to one right before I took this photo. (He was imitating bird sounds to see if the pigeon would do it back).

Climbing the stairs to the top. There were 300 steps. So many stairs and it winds around and around making your dizzy on the way down.

 Another beautiful view of Paris from the top of a cathedral. This is the highest point in Paris. The square you see below is where they filmed the famous french film "Amelie,"which if you haven't seen you should, but make sure you get the edited version.

Hanging out at the top of the church. :) Don't mind us.

This is the biggest bird house I've ever seen!!!! I'm pretty sure I could fit inside.

St. Pierre cemetery, the oldest one in Paris. Super cool eh?

St. Denis carrying his head. Legend goes that he was beheaded and he carried his head to a fountain where there is now a statue of him just like this one. Kind of gross/creepy and kind of cool. More detail on that in a later photo.

St. Pierre-The oldest chapel in France

The group looking at billboards talking about Van Gogh who lived in this neighborhood at one time. The guy behind Haley reminds me of Einstein, but with nicer hair. This picture was really for him.

The oldest house in Montmart: housed many famous artists in the nineteenth century

The oldest vineyard in Paris. Very pretty. Yay for the sun being out today!

Sundial thing on a wall. Thought it was cool. It's off by an hour in case you were wondering.

Strolling through the neighborhood. It was very nice; calm and charming.

Carson explaining to us how to play "Italian bowling." Similar to bogie ball. We're in front of a game playing area.

Legend of ST. Denis!!! Read away. :)

Just walking through this wall, don't mind me. :)

There are sooo many pigeons here it's insane.  This fountain has water you can actually drink, but I don't think they thought through this plan very well. It took a while to fill up water bottles or cups which is the only way to drink from it.

This is the setting of a famous painting by Van Gogh. As Carson put it, the place isn't jumping so much anymore apparently.It was completely empty.  

Jessica and I in front of Van Gogh's, who i found out was Dutch, house!!!!! Super awesome! I felt artsier by being there.

Random cool door Carson wanted to knock on. Anybody home?

I don't actually know that much about the Moulin Rouge except that there's a movie with that title and that it used to be a Caberet. I don't know if it still is.  I really wanted to see it though for some reason.

Le Crypte de Notre Dame. This is a picture of ruins of Lutetia, the origins of Paris from the 1st century. Its under the square in front of Notre Dame. I'm guessing somehow it sank or was buried somehow over time. Some of it is above ground, but not in the crypt. I was five feet from something from the middle ages!!!!!!!!

Notre Dame, Le Conciergerie, et St. Chapelle-AKA Paris walk 1

Another day come and gone and I just want to say...I GOT TO SEE NOTRE DAME!!!!!!!! I've only been dreaming of this since forever. Dreams come true guys. :) Ok, now I can start from the beginning. Usual morning routine and off to class at the institute. Class was good, but it was so hard for me to stay focused and awake. I feel bad about that. Not earning student brownie points here. After class we all decided to do Paris walk 1(We have to do 17 walks for our class). We started at le Hotel de Ville and walked across the Seine to Notre Dame! We waited in line for what seemed like forever to be able to go to the top of Notre Dame. Nearly froze to death, but it was worth it. The view was amazing. You can see all of Paris and get a closer look at the architecture/ up close and personal to the gargoyles!!!! Best moment of my life!!!The inside of the cathedral is just as amazing. Very beautiful. I really like Gothic architecture. After we were done looking around, we decided to take a break in the square and enjoy the sunshine, Thank goodness it was there today or I think I might have died. It was then that i convinced everyone to explore this garden nearby that I had seen from the tower. Its was pretty and next to a Church that was build around the same time as Notre Dame. I love old things. We walked to the Conciergerie next. Spent a lot of time looking around the prison. It was cool to see where Marie Antoinette was held captive before she was beheaded. She's one of my favorite french people in history in case you didn't know. St. Chapelle is in the courtyard connecting the Conciergerie and le Pallais du Justice. I've written some facts with the pictures, so if you're interested, keep reading or skip to the pictures. The chapel is the breath taking and the design is so detailed!! The glass windows show images from the bible. This church is now owned by the government and is no longer used as a church, but as a monument of sorts. Restoration is being done. By the time we were done with the chapel,we were all tired, hungery and cold, so we decided to go home. The walk had taken us about five hours to complete. It was good to be home and be able to shower and do our homework before having dinner with our family. Dinner tonight was some sort of cooked veggies thing with bread. It was good. Of course we had our second course with cheese and a baguette before having dessert which tonight was yogurt and fruit. Strawberry yogurt is the bomb you guys. Not something i normally think of as dessert, but healthy and good, so win win. Still love the family. They're still sweet and ask about our day. During dinner they asked us what we had learned about the chapel and the Conciergerie. All of the sudden it was like I couldn't remember a thing. I swear I payed attention and knew the answers before hand, but oh well. They were sweet and filled us in on the answers. It's similar to when I wanted to ask the simple question: will you please pass the bread, and couldn't remember a word of french anymore. Gotta love these moments. Anyway, it's late and I need some shut eye. Love you!

 L'Hotel de Ville is an example of classic/awesome architecture in Paris and is the governmental seat of Paris. The original was destroyed, so this is a restoration/imitation of what it used to look like. It's huge!!!!! These statues on L'hotel de Ville are of real people from different times. Thought it was cool.

Our beautiful Dina by the Seine on our way to Notre Dame.

Shout out to my friend Alex! These locks can be found everywhere around the Seine and at Notre Dame. Lovers take the lock and connect it to the gate, then throw the key into the Seine to ensure that their love will last forever. The original bridge was destroyed because it got too heavy apparently.

On our way to Notre Dame we passed places where important people like past presidents of France have lived. Thought it was worth noting.

Le Square de Notre Dame!!!!

There was a swing in the square. YAY!

The view from the square to Notre Dame.

Mickey mouse is secretly part of Notre Dame. His symbol can be found everywhere! Can you spot it?

Side view of Notre Dame

Look at this awesome gargoyle!!! I've been wanting to see this for forever!!! They really are kind of creepy.

Waiting in line o go to the top of Notre Dame. I love this picture, especially Carson's face. We were huddling like penguins to stay warm because we were there for so long. Carson wouldn't join us. Must be hard being the only guy in the group. Had some more awesome hot chocolate. Paris has good chocolate, I've decided.

More awesome gargoyles!

 And another gargoyle. I now understand how they were Quasimodo's friends. They grow on you. 

 The view from the top of Notre Dame is amazing!!! You can see all of Paris and more!!!!

We visited this garden afterwards because i saw it from up here. Very pretty.

 Lots to see from up there!!!! You bored yet? I wasn't. :)

Front view of Notre Dame!!! I've decided that I love Gothic architecture!!!

Inside Notre Dame

Jeanne d'arc again. Told you she was important. The people write prayers in these notebooks to the saints in the church and leave them there.

Gorgeous!!!!

Where they hold mass.

Notre Dame was started in 1160 and continually built, added on to, and restored  until today. Cool eh?

The prayer section. The cathedral is still in use. This section is a no camera Zone, though I didn't see anyone really follow that rule. Too bad. Show some respect people! It's still a church.

Snapped this beauty while they weren't looking. McKenna and Jessica.

Cool statue of Charlemagne in front of the cathedral.

More love locks! These were in front of Notre Dame.

McKenna imitating the soldier next to the King. She's definitely soldier material don't you think?

There were soooo many pigeons in front of the cathedral!!!! They landed on people and they could hold them because they were soo tame.

Taking a break and enjoying the sunshine in front of Notre Dame. We're all very enthusiastic in this moment, but don't be fooled. We loved it.

Notre Dame from across the Seine

Here's that garden I told you about. Pretty isn't it?

The garden connected to this church which was originally built in 1170 at the same time as Notre Dame.

Walking to the Conciergerie and passed these  vendors. These paintings were all done by art students from the college up the street. Super good.

Le Pallais de Justice

Cool Clock. :)

Le Conciergerie was a prison and is very old. Marie Antoinette stayed here for 70 something days before she was executed at le Place de Condcorde.

Prison cells. Considered to be "nice"

A chapel connecting to the cells

 A remake of Marie A's cell. The original was destroyed partially and redone differently, so this is the best they could do. Complete with dummies and everything.

Short break at the Conciergerie

St Chapelle outside view

This chapel is gorgeous and one of the oldest in Paris. It was built by Saint Louis in the mid-thirteenth century. It house the relics of Passion until they were moved to Notre Dame where they are now. That's a big deal in case you were wondering.

Group picture, unbeknownst to them. ;)

Carson looks a bit shifty in this picture, but don't worry, he didn't steal anything. :)

 Didn't I tell you it was gorgeous!!! So elaborate in its design too!

Le pallais du Justice where many kings lived before King Phillip eventually fled to where the Louvre is now and the palace was converted into a court house of sorts connecting to the Conciergerie and next to the chapel.