Day 7: Sites around Paris

The Basilique:

(In English, we'd call it a Basilica.) It's called the "Basilique du Sacré-Cœur" or the Sacré-Cœur of Basilica. It is from the Roman Catholic and a popular landmark in Paris. It is at the highest point in the city, on the Butte Montmartre.



And I felt that "highest point of the city" part climbing all those steps to get there! There were 50 steps per section and I believe there were about 8 sections. (I've already packed the diary I kept - I had recorded exactly how many steps there were!) I'm not sure how high it was, but I'm no good with altitude in the least, so that's where it got me.
On the porch of the basilique.

Overlooking the city from the top steps. Mid-picture is a man playing the harp beautifully. Many were sitting around listening to him.

We also visited the crypt in the basement. Even the architecture down there was amazing!

Another street performer...singing and puppet dancing.

I loved this building and was very disappointed it was in the shade. Any tips on how to remove that shadow via computerization???

For lunch we had crepes and a drink similiar to sparkling apple cider. The crepes were filled with a variety of foods put into omelettes. Then, for dessert, we had another crepe filled with dessert ingredients...from berries & fruit to chocolate and nutella. Yum!

Sites as we walked around the city and did a lot of shopping.

I thought the door handles in the middle of the door were interesting. The doors at our hotel room were the same way.

The moon & sun out together.

A typical street...cobblestone, lined with cars, tall building fronts, street lamps...

And -- a very narrow street!

Below was the first site I saw upon waking up when we'd arrived in Paris. This bridge (I will show a picture later), these old majestic buildings, and gold-covered statues & lampposts shining in the sun. It was a breathtaking sight. Audrey, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is the Place de la Concorde and one of these buildings is the Hôtel de Crillon.

The Place de la Concorde is one of the major squares in Paris. The Champs-Élysées (remember - most beautiful avenue in the world?) is a segment of street which "t's" out at both ends with something famous. At one end is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and at the other end is the Place de la Concorde with the ferris wheel. The Place de la Concorde was the place where many were put to death at the guillotine during the French Revolution.

The following picture is of The Obelisk of Luxor. It stands in the center of the Place de la Concorde and is the oldest artifact in Paris. It is over 3,000 years old - from the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II during the 19th Dynasty 1304-1237 B.C.! It was given to France as a gift to King Louis-Philippe in 1836 from Egypt.

I just loved the lampposts! I guess the pigeons do, too!

Darkness fell quickly as Mattieu and Audrey showed us the way to the Louvre so we could get there okay on our own the next day. Audrey was going to buy the tickets for us, but then found that it was free on the first Sunday of every month! :) It was a bit cold that night...evidenced by this picture, I think! But we were still trying to get to the Notre Dame before we finished out our last day all together.

Notre Dame Cathedral - I was disappointed not to get any good pictures of it since we got there too late in the evening. But it was our own fault since we were so busy shopping all afternoon. This was the day we bought a lot of our souvenirs and gifts to take home. Mattieu and Audrey were very patient with our turtle slow speed going in and out of all the little shops! So anyway, here's the Notre Dame about as good as it gets on my camera!!!

Again...beautiful arctitecture!!! I just loved it. Pictures don't show the vastness at all.

Down to the subway to head back to our hotel area for supper. There seem to be a lot of circular staircases!...maybe because it's more space-saving?
I learned that Sortie was Exit. A good thing to know... !

For our last supper together that night, Audrey treated us to Chinese food...French version! I have now eaten American Chinese, Korean Chinese, and French Chinese. Though all have similarities, they each also have variations towards their cultural foods. I like them all! Maybe I should visit China someday to see what the Chinese Chinese food is like! :D

A drink with a fruit I'd never heard of before - Lychee. Do we even have this fruit in the U.S? The juice was delicious! Audrey says it has a hard outer shell.

And....our last day together comes to an end. :( Mattieu and Audrey left the next morning to head to their respective towns for university. Kendra and I were on our own the last 3 days. Thanks to Mattieu & Audrey's pre-mapping things out for us, we (mostly!) did just fine. :) :)