Montmartre and Saint-Denis

So I just realized that the dates are a bit off on this thing if you care.  Anyway just make my Tuesday post apply to Monday and you’re all set! 

So yesterday we went on an open air bus tour of the whole city!  My pictures are not amazing mostly because a) we were moving and b) the weather was kind of crummy.  But it was an amazing perspective of the city – I would definitely recommend it to anybody.  We also went to the Musée Carnavalet (the history of Paris).  It is so interesting and always free.  Here are some pics:

The place where Voltaire died:  (please go read Candide if you never had -- you will laugh until you cry)

 This is the face of a baby that died about 2,000 years ago.  It gave my goosebumps to see this, just thinking about the fact that a mother mourned the loss of this child and now he/she will be in the minds of people forever. 

 

Just because I love food so much, I had to share these pictures of French onion soup (on a cold day there is nothing like it!) and red wine and a baguette with Camembert.  So delish!  It was the perfect lunch on a cold, busy day!

So today we had class which is a little boring – sorry to French teachers reading this!   I just feel like I learn so much more walking around talking to people and being overly friendly!  After that we went to Montmartre and Sacré Coeur.  Side story:  My beloved high school French teach, Mme K, would make us march up the steps of Sacré Coeur (pretending obviously) and count them to practice our numbers when we forgot them.  Walking up the steps today, I had a moment of, wow I cannot believe I am actually walking up these steps right now.  We then explored Montmartre for just a minute – I definitely want to go back before I leave!

Pictures from/of Sacré Coeur and Montmartre:

WARNING:  I am about to get so nerdy right now.  After Montmartre I went with a few people with whom I took a French History course this past semester to the Basilique Saint-Denis.  Oh. My. Gosh.  Other than the birth of my child, I cannot think of a more significant moment in my life.  Honestly.  I was moved to tears because I was standing 3 feet away from Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI’s remains.  It was one of the coolest experiences of my life.  It brought home for me the fact that these people that I have studied for so long lived and breathed and loved and died.  I don’t even have words to describe how amazing it was to go there.

My pictures:

Catherine de Médici's praying hands on her tomb:

 Turn your head to the left.  This is the heart of Louis XVII.  Bad picture, but so significant.

 Louis XIV (le roi soleil)'s tomb:

 Louis XVI's tomb (aka the first time I cried in the museum... everyone probably thought I was crazy, but i was so touched by this place):

At the end of the day Emily and I split some wine and sat on the edge of the Seine.  Some adorable extra-waddle-y ducks found us.  They were adorable: