I didn't blog about Paris right away because I was still trying to digest our trip and figure out my feelings towards our stay in Paris. There were parts that I loved, but there were other parts that I found disappointing. But it was pretty cool to be watching the finishing stage of the Tour de France yesterday and know that just a couple of weeks ago I had walked on the Champs Elysees and seen the sights the bikers were riding past. The gold Joan of Arc statue? Yep, walked past it a couple of different times. The obelisk in the Place de Concorde? Saw it every morning as we left the hotel. The Hotel Crillon was just out of camera range, but Paul Sherwin mentioned it, and that was the hotel we stayed at for 5 days. It is the most luxurious and beautiful hotel I have ever stayed in. Those were good memories that were brought back to my mind's eye as I was watching the race.
I'm just glad that they didn't ride through Montmartre as that would have ruined my happy little picture I was reliving. I found Montmartre to be generally dirty, littered with garbage, and smelling of urine. It was truly the only area of Paris that I felt unsafe. The only bright spot in this area is the Sacre Coeur, an incredibly beautiful Catholic basilic that offered superb views of Paris. But even the ethereal effect of this beautiful building was spoiled by all of the street peddlers and rambelrousers that filled its grounds. Carson even asked if I thought if Jesus came to visit here would he be mad and throw all of these people out. Yes, absolutely, was my answer.
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| View of Paris from top of the Sacre Coeur |
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