Paris, France

It was a very busy day for us, today. In the morning, we met up with Jamie, Josh’s friend from college. They met when he was studying in Manteo. She is finishing up her last year at Carolina this year and studied abroad in Paris this semester.

We had to ride the metro to go meet her and when we got off we saw a long line of people waiting for the elevator. We thought that was silly and decided to take the stairs. Once we got on this winding spiral staircase we saw a sign that said “Caution: 90 Steps to Top.” There was already a crowd of people behind us so it was too late to turn around. We thought we were going to die.

Jamie met us at the station and gave us a tour of Monmartre (Mountain of the Martyrs) which was up a huge hill itself. This was her last day in Paris so it was really nice of her to show us around. She took us the the back of the Sacred Heart Basilica where there were no tourists, but just as nice of a view. She also suggested a few good restaurants for us – though I do wish Josh would have mentioned she was vegan before letting me go on and on about our delicious leg of lamb . . .awkward haha.

We went inside the Basilica – which is really just another word for cathedral – during morning mass. I was surprised they let tourists in at this time, but they had the congregation roped off and just had signs telling everyone to be silent. We got to see nuns and altar boys.

After that Jamie went home to pack but we stuck around and visited the Christmas market nearby, before heading home. On the way, we decided to stop at the Museum of the Middle Ages located about 5 minutes from our hotel. Our student IDs got us a 2 euro discount and a free English audio tour, which was great because – just like the Louvre – everything was in French

The audio tour was this little remote control thing with a speaker that you hold to your ear. In each room several items have a little card next to them with a number. You punch the number in your remote and it gives you a little spill about the item and its history. It was very cool.

The museum is located in this creepy looking abbey, which was originally built in the 1300s and the current building was rebuilt in 1500s. It looked small from the outside, but there was actually quite a bit to see. Lots of religious paintings and artifacts. Our camera went dead about 20 minutes in, but we did get a few good pictures.

After the museum we brought lunch back to the room and took a little break. At 7 we walked to Le Pantheon, which is modeled after the Roman Pantheon and houses the remains of famous French people like Marie Curie, Victor Hugo, and Voltaire. After that we walked over to the Pont des Arts (pronounced “pon-dezar”) or Bridge of the Arts – the one with all the locks – and watched the 8 pm light show that is displayed on the Eiffel Tower every hour after dark.

On the way home some people asked us for directions. So, clearly we look like we belong here now!