Europe Day 7 Part 1

Day 7 was another full day, and as such has also been divided into two parts. Our "tour" was officially over at this point and we were on our own for the last two days. Our first stop was Sainte Chapelle. I had been there before on my first trip to Paris and had been bugging the girls about going there. Jamie had told Trisha about it, too, so they said they'd go, but I think they thought I was overdoing it with the praise. I wish I had taken a picture of their faces when they walked in... the looks on their faces were priceless. To be fair, I don't think you can walk in there without being a bit overwhelmed. The walls are lined with stained glass windows that are practically floor to ceiling, with the ceiling painted blue with gold stars. You are surrounded by stained glass (80% original) and a kaleidescope of colors. When we got there they were starting a tour in English. It just so happened that we were the only English speakers who wanted it, so we got a 40+ minute private tour. Very, very cool. I don't think captions are necessary with these pics - just enjoy.

Sainte Chapelle is surrounded by other buildings, so this is the most of it
you can usually see from the outside. Unfortunately those other buildings
also block the sunlight from coming in the stained glass windows. . .

Our next stop was Notre Dame cathedral. It was fun for me to see the facade without scaffolding. We walked through, but didn't take any photos inside. It's pretty impressive, but I like Sainte Chapelle better. Afterward we went and bought crepes from a street vendor. I got mine filled with Nutella - gasp, chocolate, which tastes more like hazelnut than anything. I though of Mom while I was eating it :)

Apparently there is always one group or another protesting something in Paris. This was one of them. Couldn't tell you what they were protesting, though. We saw them on our way to the Centre Pompidou, a really cool museum that houses modern art. The building is cool because all the inner workings - water, electricity, etc. - are on the outside in different colors. It's like the building is turned inside out.

Protesters

Fountain outside Pompidou - look familiar?

Next stop was the Louvre. Part of it is on this post, part on the next. The Louvre is so big we had to map out what we wanted to see and skip a lot of the rest. We just didn't have time to do and see everything we wanted - we needed a week, at least.

Winged Victory - Nike of Samothrace

Closeup of the Nike of Samothrace

While Trisha checked out the stuff on ancient Egypt, Annie
and I ate lunch on a balcony at the Louvre. The view was
great, the food was better, the experience was priceless.