Oui, Paris!

Once we got started on our adventure, we decided that we weren't going to take the Metro so we could see the city.  Our first stop was Notre Dame.

View of the Seine along the way

Gargoyles!

We stopped to take a bunch of pictures of course and then we went in.  I've seen many many cathedrals and churches over the past two months so it felt a bit same-old same-old but it was beautiful.  We all paid a few extra euros to go see the treasury.  We would have liked to see the towers but they didn't open until much later in the day.  The treasury was cool, though.  They had pieces of relics of the saints and pieces of crosses and lots of gold and things like that.  We've been studying saints and relics in the history classes so it was fun to see some of those things we've been learning about.  It was interesting that there were such small relics, the tiniest slivers of crosses, in such elaborate containers.  It was also dark even with all the windows.  It was interesting to imagine coming to religious services in such an elaborate but still dark building.

Relics

Stained class in the Cathedral

All the Popes

After we finished there we went to Sainte-Chapelle.  The stained glass was amazing.  It was also the spot where they used to keep the crown of thorns and other relics like that until the French Revolution and they moved them to Notre Dame.  I didn't see them there but apparently it's where they are now.

After we went there we headed down the street a little ways to get to La Conciergerie.  Creepiest place I have ever been and I'm not talking about the prison cells.  The majority of it was dedicated to modern art stuff and it was disturbing.  I felt a little bit sick in there because it was so bad.  We hurried through there as fast as possible to get to the historical areas.  People being guillotined is much more pleasant to think about than the "art" they had there.

Next we headed to the Latin Quarter to have lunch.  I had my first panini and it was amazing.  We ate it while walking to the Pantheon which was my favorite thing in all of Paris.  I love crypts.  Maybe it's a little creepy, but I love being underground, stone walls all around me, looking at where dead people have been buried.  Famous dead people.  Voltaire, Louis Braille, Marie and Pierre Curie, Victor Hugo (Les Miserables) are burried there.  My favorite, however, was Alexandre Dumas!  I admit that I was freaking out a lot because I was so excited about that one.  

Our next stop was Luxenbourg Gardens.  We didn't stay for very long, just long enough to take a few pictures and move along.  We then headed to the Pompidou, a modern art museum.  On our way over we saw the LDS missionaries and we had a lovely time talking to them for a few minutes.  We saw them from all the way across the street because LDS missionaries really stand out in the crowds of Paris.  After a little while at the Pompidou (and losing one of our number there) we headed to the part we were all most excited for: the Louvre!

We had an assignment so we had things we had to go see but we were all so tired and our feet hurt so much that it was difficult to enjoy it.  There were other things I would have liked to see but in that state it wasn't happening.  I loved the building itself.  It was once a palace and had amazing ceilings.  I didn't take very many pictures of the art, just of the ceilings.  The best part was when I was standing in the room with the Mona Lisa.  Everyone was shoving past trying to get pictures of that and I was standing there trying to get pictures of the ceiling.  After a few hours we found all we came to see so we sat down and rested for a while.  I tried to finish my assignment sheet but I couldn't think, couldn't spell (when I'm tired I add in letters.  After I spelled "was" w-a-s-e I decided I'd better not work on it anymore), and couldn't quite stay awake.  We exited the museum and went to a nice sit down restaurant so we could sit down and stay sitting down for a few minutes for the first time all day.

And... now the pictures because I got tired of trying to put them in order!

Awkward in Luxembourg Gardens

The City of Love is working for me.

Sarah, Annie, Christi, Abby, Jordan, Kaylee, Me

Jordan doesn't quite look like he fits in.

I wanted to try this burger but never did 

Kaylee looking gorgeous in the gardens

Paris Rule #1: You can't eat it unless you take a picture of it.  Dinner.

Ceilings

List of the Guillotined 

Panini

Pantheon

Victor Hugo

Alexandre Dumas

The Curies

Happy in the Crypt

 Joan of Arc pictures from my sister:

The whole thing.  Pantheon

 Ceilings in the Louvre:

Tired in the Louvre

Halfway done with the Paris posts!