Our first stop today was the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre. It was about a 30 minute subway ride. It is a basilica that sits high up on a hill that overlooks Paris. It is one of the best views because you can see all of the major attractions and buildings. There are 270 steps to climb up to the top but we decided to take the little lifts because we had those handy subway passes and they worked on the lifts too. Whew! That was going to be too much of a workout for the morning. The view was pretty good. It was cloudy though so you couldn't see as far out as I am sure you could on a clear day. Definitely not the best view but one that was impressive for it just being a hill and not an actual man built structure. We took a few group pictures up there and then went inside. I don't really know the significance of this basilica but I know the name of it means sacred heart because a statue of Jesus is on the front of it and he points to his heart. Inside, there were many stained glass windows, but the most impressive part, was the mosaic in the apse. It covered most of the ceiling at 475 square meters. It was just crazy to me that someone could create something that large with just little tiles. And the details using tiny pieces of glass was impressive. Gold accents and shadows and depth, adjusting the piece to curve with the ceiling. I observed it for a good long while. It was just so detailed and well, a clear representation of talent. After we left there, we were on our own until that night. We were going to meet at the Musée d'Orsay at like 8. There were a lot of little independent stands with artists and their works nearby, so that was our next stop. I was hoping to find a painting here, but I didn't find anything that stood out. I should have just picked something because I never did buy my Paris painting and I regret it. I am picky with my purchases, but then I end up not getting major souvenirs that I planned for. You live and you learn. I hope to return to Paris again one day, so maybe I can find one then. There were also little shops around so we wandered in and out until we exhausted the shopping in that area. We walked down all the steps to the street at the bottom of the hill and there were even more tourist shops. We shopped a whole lot more. We were hungry and trying to find a place to eat, but we can't help but get dragged into every store hoping for something new to see and buy. There was a Pret a Manger on the street and we hadn't eaten at one since London, so we jumped on that opportunity and relived our U.K. days. We love Pret. All the heart eyes for their chocolate croissants. Our next stop was to walk by the Moulin Rouge landmark since we were in the area. That ended up being a mistake because well, we didn't really think about what Moulin Rouge was all about and there were a lot of related stores nearby. Pretty uncomfortable, so we quickly snapped a pic of the windmill and then rushed back to the hotel for a quick nap. We also wanted to get our ears pierced but could never find a place to do it so near the hotel is a Claires. We went in inquiring about what kind of piercings they do and they wouldn't do what we wanted so that venture was shattered. We also stopped by the Gibert Jeune bookstore to see what it was about since there were multiple across the city. I had a huge duh moment when I realized all the books were in French....duh. For some reason I figured they would be in English. Dumb. I know. I tried to nap, but I really couldn't. I tried working on my journal, and I really couldn't. I tried doing homework, and I really couldn't. So it was a huge waste of time for me haha. After a nap, we planned to go to the Luxembourg gardens and just relax and enjoy the scenery. Hannah, Abby, Claire, and Annah brought their embroidery with them. They were the cutest things just sitting sewing in Paris. I went so I could people watch and just have a quiet moment to soak in Paris. We just go go go all day every day in Paris and it is exhausting and you feel like you just can't get a second to even think. So while we sat on this perfect bench with chairs as our foot rests, I just took in the view. The Luxembourg palace was to our right and the pond was right in front of us and the trees were behind us. The pond had a small fountain which produced the perfect white noise. The trees were evenly spaced with the brown fallen leaves littered on the ground between them. It was fall time so the remaining leaves were hues of gold, brown, green, orange, and yellow. There were pots of yellow, red, and orange mums lined up on the concrete decorative fence in front of us. There were still blooming flowers surrounding the pond and dispersed throughout the park. I watched as people walked their dogs and pushed their kids. Old couples, young couples, families, singles, elderly, children, and people of all kinds were scattered among the scene in front of me. SO MANY PUPS DOE. It was the most ideal location for people watching. To top it all off, the Eiffel Tower peeped out of the skyline. I mean, I am just minding my own business, sitting in a park, and my view is the Eiffel Tower...HOW PERECT CAN PARIS BE? I fell in love with Paris all over again thanks to the Luxembourg Gardens. Highly recommend for a quiet afternoon. The slight breeze of perfect fall air played with the leaves and my hair, only adding to the perfection of the afternoon. I was at complete peace. I probably could have taken a nap, but that meant closing my eyes, and I didn't want to miss a single thing. When we had to leave in order to get dinner before we had to meet for the museum, I think I almost cried. I could live there. Just be a homeless resident of the Luxembourg Gardens. I'd be fine with that. We walked back to the Latin quarter to try to find dinner and we settled on some crepes. I ordered a ham, egg, and cheese crepe. It wasn't too bad. I missed breakfast food greatly while in Europe, so it was nice to eat a breakfasty meal for once. Even if it was for dinner. We met up with the rest of the group and then walked to the Musée d'Orsay. This is hands down my favorite museum. It had Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, Seurat, Renoir, Rodin, and sculptures galore. We worked our way through the multiple levels and showrooms. The art was separated by the type. So most of one artists pieces were in the same room which made it easy to compare their works. They also had rooms of furniture pieces and sculptures and tapestries and such. Impressionism is one of my favorite art movements because up close, the brush strokes seem random, the colors seem random, there doesn't seem to be a connection between the neighboring strokes. Then you back up, and boom. There is this piece of art, this image that from up close, you'd never guess could result from the chaos. I am very impressed with impressionism (hehe). But really, I can't wrap my mind around envisioning this image and then using individual strokes or dots of many many colors to combine into a cohesive image. I loved just observing every painting. Every color. Every stroke. And of course, the textures were incredible. It is just crazy because some of the pieces are HUGE and they still just used tiny individual strokes to make up a huge piece. My tiny brain doesn't work like that apparently. The other thing, was that these incredibly famous pieces were just hanging on the wall in front of you and you could stick your nose and eyes as close to them as you wanted because there was nothing blocking you and the piece of art. Amazing. Also, Monet is my fave. Love. Love. Love. His art is just so beautiful and alive. His pieces lined the walls of the largest rooms. I didn't want to leave. The museum itself has a long history, serving many purposes. It was a train station at one point and has this large clock on its wall. If you stand in front of the clock and look out, you can actually see the louvre. I love how everything is next to another attraction. It makes it so easy to gain a sense of direction in the city and to find your way around. Near the clock was this chair. Let me tell you about this chair. It was like a baseball glove kind of. It could seat about 8 people in this glove like seats. You should squish right down into it. Let me remind you, it was almost 10 pm and we had been going since 8 that morning. We were tired. That chair was the most comfortable thing we had ever sat in. We all piled onto this chair and just rested after such a long day. We finally walked back to the hotel as a group, and I crashed for the night after such a long day.

Fun Facts: Cities aren't exactly my favorite because nothing can beat mountains. amirite? But Paris....wow. It will make you actually love a city. I don't think I have ever been more exhausted at this point on the trip than here. (later I reach a new level) But Paris keeps you busy.