Paris churches

We went first to Sant Chappell church. It's claim to fame is the architecture that allowed huge walls of stained glass windows. The colors were incredible, but it was hard to see the images in the glass. They were so small and went so high. They are supposed to tell various stories from the Bible. I did see Moses being put in a basket in the Nile.

To be honest, Notre Dame was not quite what I expected. The front was more boxy shaped instead of angles and arches. You couldn't see the gargoyles from the ground. We went into the church and I walked around. It's a cool church. Their confession "booths" are glass rooms where the sinner confesses and receives counsel. No anoniminity.


We were going to climb to the top, but decided not too. I was still sick and we'd already been to the top of two different Paris landmarks.

Mona Lisa smiled

We started off in the Louvre today. It's huge...we didn't even try to see everything. I had an audio tour that I had downloaded. That was pretty handy.

I saw Mona Lisa. Is that amazing? I think so. Did you know they say her expression is dependant on the person looking at her? For some she is smiling. For others, she looks smug. For me, she smiled calmly...not sure what that means about me exactly.

After looking at many works of art, both painting and sculpture, we left to stroll the Champs-Elysée. Back in the day, people used to dress up just to walk along this street. Today, it is still popular and is filled with pricey shops. They sell everything from clothes to cars.

We walked all the way up to Napolean's Arc de Triumph. Even though it was starting to rain, we climbed to the top for a slightly different view of Paris.

Tour Eiffel

I slept for a long time this morning. It was wonderful!

We spent the entire afternoon at the Eiffel Tower. There are parks and grass and playgrounds everywhere. And then, of course, there's the tower. I don't know if it was the tower that impressed me so much, or what it represented: We're in Paris! That's just crazy.

We walked the Champs de Mars, walked under the tower, and then continued across the river to get a view from the "back" side. After a while of relaxing in a Parisian park, we made our way back down to the tower and stood in line to get our ticket to the top.

We spent a long time at the top, hoping to extend our time on the tower into the night.

We went down to the second floor just in time to see the sun set. Beautiful...even if I do prefer landscapes to cityscapes.

We had a picnic dinner on the tower and wandered around until it was finally dark enough for the lights to come on. We gazed up at the top of the glittering tower.

Making our way down to the first level, we slowly walked around looking at displays and old photos.

Finally, we made our way back down to earth and started the short distance back to our hotel. We took our time though and got to see the light show again. Incredible.

From da Vinci to Paris

Before we left, I was able to get a reservation to see the Last Supper (sorry Terri!). We arrived with more than enough time to see Milan's favorite church. It's the fourth largest in the world. The church is dark inside, but vast. It did have some beautiful stained glass windows.

The best part of this church is the roof. You can walk the stairs or take a lift all the way to the top. Here, you can look out on Milan amidst a forest of gothic spires and gargoyles. It was so cool to wander wherever you liked.

We got lunch and then waited for my timeslot to see da Vinci's masterpiece. I don't know what happened to the other 24 people who had a reservation at the same time, but I was the only one there. I had the entire room to myself. I walked up close to look at the details and expressions on each of the apostles' faces. Then I walked backward, watching the room become more real. If you block out the walls and ceiling around you, it's almost like you're standing in that room.

Later that night, we caught our flight to Paris. Because the flight left late at night, and the airport was an hour from Paris, we didn't arrive until around midnight. Our only option was a taxi to our hotel. Our driver took us right by the Eiffel Tower which was glittering with their hourly light show. It was amazing.

We pretty much checked in and crashed. I've been sick the last few days, and I desperately needed sleep.

The rest of Rome

Sunday, April 20
Church was good. Not hard to find at all...especially when we saw a lady holding a copy of the Joseph Smith manual on the metro. Poor lady. Hopefully she wasn't too scared when we started following her everywhere she went.

That night we went on a walk to the Spanish Steps. I really wanted to see Trevi Fountain at night with all the lights on. People everywhere. But it was beautiful, glowing. I threw a few coins in to guarantee my return to Rome.


Monday, April 21
Today featured the Vatican City. We saw St. Peter's Basillica. It's huge and there are windows in the rooftops everywhere, so it's quite bright inside. The only thing a little weird were the two dead popes displayed in glass caskets. I am not even joking. Kind-of creepy if you ask me...

One of my favorite things was a glass window featuring a dove with gold light shining out from behind it in rays of stained glass. It was really beautiful. I also liked Michelangelo's Pieta. It's incredible how he can make stone look like real fabric.

After the church, we stood in line for the Vatican Museum. I loved this museum because all of the displays and statues were right there, close. They're not 10 feet away behind glass. You can get up close and look at details and take all the pictures you want.

The Sistine Chapel is incredible. Michelangelo wanted it to show the history of the world and power of God. The ceiling panels start with the creation and goes through to after the flood. The main wall shows the Last Judgement. We sat in there for quite a while, staring at his masterpiece.

It's a Roma

Ahhh Rome. The only place we didn't have a reservation. We walked around, finally found the place we had decided to stay at, and then...no one was there. We tried calling three different places, but I'm afraid we're phone illiterate here.

I pulled out my trusty book and found us a little convent not too far from where we were. The rooms they had were a little bit pricier, but could I really complain? We each had our own room with a private bath. No, I definitely could not complain.

Sightseeing
We started out at Capitol Hill and went all the way to the top. Wow! What views! All of Rome was right before our eyes. We could see the Roman Forum leading all the way up to the Collesseum, churches everywhere...

Our next stop was the Collesseum. Terri and I went exploring on our own, so I walked all the levels accessible to tourists. It's huge and amazing...although I'm not sure I like the idea of it so much. It was basically a slaughter house for men and animals.

After exiting, I waded through tourists and vendors to the entrance to Palatine Hill. This is where Rome's rich built their palaces, wanting to be as close to the action as possible. It's actually where we get the word "palace".

I really loved Palatine Hill. It's like a huge, tree-filled park with ruins sprinkled all over. I saw a lot of ruins...I'm no archeologist, so I'm afraid they all started to look the same to me after a while. But to be in that area was wonderful. You could lay on the grass and just listen to the wind in the trees. It must have been a beautiful place to live.

After Palatine Hill, I wandered the Roman Forum. This was Rome's main street. It was the center of Rome's political, religious and legal world. When a country was conquered by Rome's superiority, they would march up this street to Capitol Hill, displaying all their plunder and truimph.

Among other things in this area, there is the Arch of Titus (sorry, not sure about this because I don't have any notes with me). This arch (Arch of Triumph) was built by Jewish prisoners after the Roman's conquered them...I believe in 70 AD? It is basically the entrance to the forum. On the other side, just before Capitol Hill, is another arch, although I don't remember what victories it commemorated.

The law offices were housed in a huge building that overlapped the street. Just down from them was the temple and housing of the Vestal Virgins. It was their job to keep the fire of Rome burning. They were "volunteered" at the age of 10 and would spend the next 30 years of their lives in this occupation.

So, lots of ruins today...sorry there's no pictures.

Leaving paradise

We left the Cinque Terre bright and early on the first train leaving town. Our goal was to see a leaning tower in Pisa before we arrived in Rome for the weekend.

We stored our bags and found the bus to the Field of Miracles. It's a beautiful area. Green, green grass, white marble buildings, and lots of people holding up a leaning tower for their photo collection...me included.

We didn't go into any of the buildings. They cost money and I wasn't particularly interested. The only one that did sound interesting was the baptistry. It was built with amazing acoustics (or so I hear). The guards can do a three-part harmony with themselves because the echo lasts so long.

We walked around the entire grounds, marveling at the tower. It really is quite amazing to look at. It would make me cringe with horror if I didn't know it was "supposed" to do that. They actually let people walk up to the top now, but it requires a reservation and about $30.

A bus ride later, we had lunch at the train station and caught the train to the next location on our list: Rome.