Saturday was probably the BEST weather Paris has had since I arrived here! (By "best" I actually mean warmest/most like GA and SC!) I woke up to the prettiest blue sky I have seen! There wasn't a cloud in the sky & the high for the day was going to be 82. I couldn't wait to get out & explore the city. I have been wanting to go to the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit since before I left GA & I had every intention of going that afternoon, but the queue was entirely too long & I didn't want to waste my day waiting in a line when I could be enjoying the perfect weather!
I ended up seeing some cool statues (Georges Pompidou, Wnston Churchill, Clemenceau) around the Petite Palais that I hadn't ever seen before. I stumbled upon a little garden that had some interesting white sculptures in it & followed the sidewalk down to Concorde. I've been to Concorde a million times, but never walked down the street inbetween the 2 big buildings. I am SO glad I did! I passed some ooh-la-la high end fashion stores, beautiful architecture & even a Laduree (which has the best macaroons in the city!) There were some cafe's under the shady trees & at the end of the road was a big church I hadn't ever seen before! There were gorgeous flowers along the steps that lead up to the entrance & I saw people walking in, so I followed! The church is called L'Eglise Madeleine & it was so gorgeous on the inside. There was a service going on when I got there! It had the typical gothic vaulted ceilings, but it was colorful on the inside! I love discovering new places I haven't ever been before! The doors to the church were MASSIVE & decorated with biblical scenes that has been etched in stone! I wouldn't want to get my hands closed inbetween those doors! When I left & came around the corner, I saw yet ANOTHER church I hadn't ever seen or been to! Stylistically and architecturally, it was completely different from l'Eglise Madeleine! It was more ornate on the exterior. I walked in & my jaw fell to the floor. I've been in lots of European churches, but this is by far in my top 2 favorites! Besides the fact that it was HUUUUGGGGEEEE, the inside was unlike anything else I had ever seen! There were thousands of chairs, incredibly high ceilings & the most amazing detail on the vaults & walls. The pulpit was grand & majestic looking & I couldn't even imagine what it would be like to attend a service or get married there! There was a crypt under the pulpit, a huge organ overhead on the 2nd floor or the rotunda & my eyes couldn't focus on just one thing to admire! I kept saying "wow" & "ohhh my goshhh!" My words can't even do this beautiful masterpiece any justice!
Next, I walked down a random tangent street off the church and passed another little park and ended up near l'Opera. I've been to the Opera, so I saw a very tall monument & decided to go check it out. I passed Lancel :), Mont Blanc & Alfred Dunhill, all of which are owned by Richemont. As I kept walking, I noticed that ALL the stores were very high end. Then I got to Place du Vendome, which is where you will find all the major fashion houses like Chanel and Christian Dior. The facade of the Place was very polished & pristine, which fit perfectly with the type of businesses/stores it encompasses. The sun was still shining & I wanted to go chill in a garden for a bit, so I opted to go to Tuilleries. I passed the carnival that they have set up across from rue de Rivoli & found an open bench & tried to soak up some sun! I saw lots of interesting tourists & got to see all the sculptures and fountains I never take the time to look at. The garden was packed & I needed to leave around 7 pm to get to ACP on time for the Young Adults movie night!
I left Tuilleries and decided to walk on the left half since I never do that. I found a little tunnel that takes you to a pedestrian bridge, so I crossed under there & wound up right along the Seine. It was amazing!!! You know how sometimes you aren't expecting something & it catches you completely off guard? That's what happened to me! The sun looked like diamonds on the river! The bridge looked really millenial/new aged & it was so cool to walk across it! I got to the church & headed down to the Catacombs where we usually met & made some tea because it's cold down there! Ginger informed us that this church used to keep DEAD BODIES of WWII soldiers there before they shipped them back to American to their families. uhm SICK! Until recently (like last year!) there was a crank that used to pull the bodies up to ground level so they could get shipped. I was officially freaked out. We watched a movie with Ben Stiller & the girl from Dharma and Greg & Edward Norton and it was really funny!! After the movie was over, a few of us decided it was such a nice night & we should walk to the metro at Concorde. We crossed over Pont Alexandre & the scene of the river & eiffel tower was just stunning. I don't think I will ever get used this all this beautiful city has to offer!
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