Midday in Paris...(Yes, you should see the movie "Midnight in Paris")

Paris

       “The City of Light” did not disappoint.  With its extensive art museums, grand palace, breathtaking cathedrals, beautiful bridges, delectable food, and perfect weather, we were smitten - at least with those elements.  Read on to hear the “honest” perspective of four American children who have now seen enough European cities to have an opinion on the subtle and not-so-subtle differences.  I really enjoyed learning their opinions on this much-romanticized city.  I think you will too!

     Starting with the beautiful cathedrals, we visited Sacré Cœur, or Sacred Heart Basilica, which looks old but was finished only a century ago by Parisians humiliated by German invaders.  Otto Von Bismarck’s Prussian army laid siege to Paris for four months in 1870.  It was a very difficult time for the residents, and food was scarce.  Convinced they were being punished for the country’s liberal sins, France’s Catholics raised money to build the church as a “praise the Lord anyway” gesture.  The five-domed, Roman-Byzantine looking building took 44 years to build and was completed in 1919.  It sits atop a hill in Montmarte, and can be seen from all over Paris.  Beautiful!

Walking down the hill after visiting the Sacred Heart.

     Considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, Notre Dame or “Our Lady” is celebrating its 850^th birthday.  It is one of the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports), and has famous gargoyle statues, designed for water run-off and scaring off evil spirits. Similar to many catholic churches, it has the typical basilica floor plan: a long central nave lined with columns and flanked by side aisles.  It is in the shape of a cross, with the altar placed where the crossbeams intersect.  When filled to capacity, it holds 10,000 people.

One of the famous Rose Windows.

The beautiful front facade of Notre Dame.

The back of Notre Dame.  Notice the flying buttresses?

Saint Chapelle is a Gothic cathedral of glass like no other.  It was speedily built between 1242 and 1248 for King Louis IX-the only French king who is now a saint-to house the supposed crown of thorns.  In contrast, Notre-Dame took over 200 years to build.  The glass looks like this on every side.  It tells many biblical stories, truly breathtaking!

William:           "Paris did not look as beautiful as I thought it would.  At The Louvre I saw the Mona Lisa, which was quite small; I thought it would be larger.  The Louvre has the most art I have ever seen.  It has art from BC (Before Christ). 

William saluting the Seine.

The Seine river cruise was lovely.  The water was so smooth.  We went to Notre Dame; it was beautiful and interesting.  The story called “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” never actually happened.  

The Eiffel Tower had a beautiful view and all of the people on the ground looked like ants because we were like 60 stories above ground.  The panels that Monet painted were big; we viewed them at L’Orangerie.  The Versailles palace was very beautiful.  The gardens used to be over 80,000 acres, they are currently 8,000 acres.  

Arc de Triomphe had a nice view and it was very beautiful at both the bottom and the top.  I liked the Obelisk and it had Egyptian hieroglyphs.  My favorite food was the eclairs and croissants.  I ate croissants for breakfast every day. They were delicious!" 

John's "thoughtful" pose.

     Affectionately called the “Lock Bridge,” lovers bring a lock to this bridge, attach it, and then throw the key into the Seine to pledge their commitment and love for one another.  This was not the only bridge with locks in Paris, or even Europe for that matter, but it certainly had the most!  Apparently this is a very popular tradition.  My girls both want to return to Paris and do this someday.  Fun!