Since we got to bed around 11 PM, without seeing Paris the night before...our day today started out early. 8 am to be exact...I was excited and didn't want to waste too much time. After getting ready, or first stop was Sacre Coeur.
The metro is close to where our place is...actually the metro is close to everything, and it is reliable, frequent, and not very crowded! Winning for Paris! Kevin is the metro master, so he guided us to the beautiful church on a hill. There are many stairs to get up there, but it is totally worth it. The view is amazing, and free! For those hard of walking, they have a lift to the top...but it isn't free. When we made it to the top, the view was first! It was awesome to see all the church domes and buildings of Paris. Then, we went inside the church! Watch out for people trying to get you to sign stuff or beggars...they are pickpockets. We heard about people trying to tie stuff on your hand, but we didn't see any of these...doesn't man they aren't there though. These are pickpockets too and will ask a ridiculous amount of money for what they just tied on your hand. Anyways, inside the church was great, relatively simple for churches we had already seen, but might as well go in if you wanted all the way up there.
After pictures and taking in the view, we made our way down the hill. It was breakfast time by this point and our morning banana wasn't enough. There was a crepe shop right at the bottom of the hill. We ordered a nutella and banana crepe! Holy amazing! Possibly one of the best foods I've had on this trip! I guess it was healthy too because it had bananas...I'm sticking with that excuse! It didn't take us long to down it!
After finishing breakfast, and getting to the bottom of the hill...We took a metro to the downtown part of Paris near the river Seine! I was tired of my shirt, as it was a hand-me-down and it just felt gross by this point. There was an H&M near by where I got a cheap new shirt! Problem solved! I threw my old shirt away.
We walked the romantic river and eventually happened upon the cathedral of Notre Dame. It took a little over 100 years to build, which isn't surprising as the stain glass alone I'm sure took up a lot of that time! This inside was amazing! Simple, brick architecture like Sacre Coeur, but with more detail song the side walls and beautiful stained glass. There were tombs along the back, and carvings around the outside of the altar telling some stories of Jesus' life. It is something that needs to be experienced.
After spending some time, we exited to find out how to get into the towers of Notre Dame. When you exit the church take a right, if you are facing the church, it is on the left side. I recommend you do the towers first, as the line takes a much longer time and the later you wait, the more people you have to fight. It took an hour and a half of waiting in line to get in. This is not normally the case, but apparently something happened at the top where the fire fighters were needed to get someone out! Scary, but not surprising after how many stairs have to be climbed. There are about 400. After already coming the stairs to the first church, my legs were really getting it after this visit. A guide book said take the climb up Notre Dame if you are feeling "strong of thigh"...I was...as there is no elevator or lift to get you to the top. We made it to the top and the view was spectacular! Not only are there awesome gargoyles, but you can see the Eiffel tower! Neither Kevin or I had a desire to go into the Eiffel tower as the line is horrendous, and when you take a picture from the top, you can't see the iconic tower...as you are in it! Dumb! The view of Paris from Notre Dame is pretty dang spectacular! It has a minimal cost, but it is well worth it!
After spending 50 minutes in the tower, we descended the millions of stairs...using different crazy muscles! Such a great workout!
Being that it was 2 PM, I was now hungry for lunch and a grumpy gills. We walked over the lock bridge, got some subway and I felt much better! We then bought a lock, and went back to the lock bridge and attached it to THE bridge...not someone else's lock :-) We don't want our love attached to anyone else's! Now Kevin and I, Zelda, colt, and Peyton are a forever family for sure...now that it is locked to a bridge! We threw the key into the water below, and then made out a lot on the bridge as a musician played! It was freaking hot and romantic! Paris is still winning!
After awhile, we decided to move on and walk the river. This eventually led us to The Louvre...Napoleon' s collection of art! It was 4 pm, and the Louvre closes at 6 PM...the perfect amount of time for Kevin to explore! :-) We ended up seeing everything we wanted to...We didn't understand very much as all the displays are in French, but it was fun nonetheless! The line to get in maybe took us ten minutes, as it was so late in the day and close to closing time...bonus! We spent most of our time in the Egyptian and statue rooms, but also saw the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and the Winged Victory! All pretty awesome! There were tons of people around the Mona Lisa...which was great, but I thought the painting near by of a dude grabbing a woman's breast was pretty awesome too! We took our picture and moved on...there was too much pushing to ponder. I don't do well in that atmosphere.
"Look honey, I got the pyramid in my hands!"-Name that movie!
WHAT is that baby doing??
Winged Victory
THE Mona Lisa
Venus De Milo
My favorite...the MUMMY CATS!!!
After finding the major pieces, we went through my favorite part...the Egyptian stuff! Kevin loved the Egyptian statues of the Egyptians with their arms around each other and holding hands...it was really cute to see they had love even then and it was worthy of taking the time to carve! I loved all the kitty statues. The best part were all the Egypt coffins and a mummy...even better, were the mummies of cats! So awesome! I love that they loved their cats enough that they were worthy to mummify for resurrection!
We left the Louvre right at 6 pm. We'll have to go back someday if we want to take a better and deeper tour. From here, we made our way to the Eiffel tower as most museums were closing. It was a short train ride over and an easy walk. We laid in the park in front of the tower for a few minutes, then decided to get some food and come back. It ended up being nasty McDonald's that wasn't the best or most fresh...but food. We took it back to the park and ate and sat there for about an hour. While there, we saw a senior missionary couple. They were so cute and we talked to them for a little bit.
It was really bright...
At around 8 PM, it was time to head home. We bid farewell to the Eiffel tower, caught a fantastic and quick train home and arrived at a descent hour. After being out in Paris...on our feet for most of the time...I was starting to feel the 12 hour day. Even though my legs were starting to feel sore, it was totally worth every second! The verdict is in...We LOVE Paris!
