Paris is not a city, it's a world

Almost a year to the day that I left Paris, I was lucky enough to return for a week for Danielle and Julian's wedding!

Once I landed, we hit the ground running! Danielle's friends, sisters and I set off to explore the city. Saturday we took the city tour bus and saw the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Musée de l'Armée and Napoleon's tomb. Sunday we went to some of my favorite places, Notre Dame and Jardin du Luxembourg.

Danielle and I at Jardin du Luxembourg

Sunday afternoon we had lunch at Paul's on the Champs-Elysée and then toured the Arche de Triomphe, where we enjoyed Ladurée macarons and the amazing views of Paris. The top of the Arch de Triomphe showcases the amazing urban planning of the city as well as the beautiful views of the many monuments including Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and La Défense!

View from the Arche de Triomphe with a Laderee Macaron

I was lucky enough to be able to work at Les Miroirs from Monday to Wednesday and see my old colleagues. Monday night I had dinner with my colleagues and it was great to catch up. Tuesday night, I met Danielle and her friend at Champ de Mars for a picnic with Eiffel Tower views.

Wednesday night was Danielle's Bachelorette, which was 1920's themed. We took photos at Palais Royal near the Louvre and then had dinner and drinks after. It was so fun to dress up and have a night out!

Bachelorette photo shoot

Thursday was Danielle's bridal shower at a cute little cafe and that night we had the rehearsal dinner with a delicious meal of wine, cheese and charcuterie!

Friday was the big day! Danielle looked absolutely stunning. The ceremony, both in French and English was beautiful and held in a church in Nogent-Sur-Marne. After, the reception was at the Maison de L'Amérique Latine in the 4eme arrondissement. The gardens were beautiful and the entire reception was so much fun. We ended the night out at a club, returning home when the sun came up.

Congratulations Danielle and Julian!

Saturday was meant for relaxing and we spent the day at Bois de Vincennes, the perfect end to an amazing, whirlwind of a week!

À bientôt Paris!

I have left my heart in so many places

When I was in college I knew I wanted to live abroad for a year. With the help and support of my parents in August 2012 I left for Switzerland to get my masters. I left behind my family and friends and my little bubble of comfort. I knew absolutely no one and only had my memories of my semester abroad to get me around the city. I ended up meeting some of my closest friends, and having one of the  most amazing years. I fell in love with Lugano and Switzerland all over again. After I graduated I extended my stay for the summer in order to work as an intern for a start-up. Among many other activities, I traveled the world with my school, I skied the Swiss Alps with Shannon, went boating on Lake Lugano, hiked more Swiss mountains and Swiss tripped with Jeannie.

In October 2013, I once again packed my life into suitcases and headed back across the pond for a job. Destination: Paris! Although I was going over knowing a few people, I didn't know the city or the language. Between French classes and work, I experienced a different kind of Paris. I learned the culture, the language and way of life. Through it all, I met life long friends who helped make the year as incredible as it was.

This past summer, I closed my suitcases up for the last time and headed back across the Atlantic. When I left for Switzerland in 2012 I thought I would be back the following May, I never thought that I would stay for 2 years. I also had no idea how much I would learn, how many amazing friends I would meet and how much I would change and accomplish. I fell in love with two amazing and beautiful cities and although I may not know exactly when I will return, I know in my heart I will. The past two years have helped shape me into the person I am today, and for that I am eternally grateful.

Ma dernière semaine à Paris

With a few days left in Paris, I made one last attempt to do the things I love that Paris has to offer while also trying to fit in the things I had yet to see and do. Although I couldn't fit it all in, this past week was amazing.

On Wednesday nights the Louvre stays open until 10pm so after work I met Danielle and her sister for a night at the Museum. We went to see the Mona Lisa, some of the Greek Statues and ended our night in the Egyptian section. The Louvre is so big that it is basically impossible to see it all and see it well. Having been there before we just wandered the halls taking in some of the works.

Over the week I spent a lot of time at Jardin Luxembourg, my favorite park. Tuesday morning I met Danielle and we picked up the most amazing pain au raisin from "Bread and Roses" near the park. I would highly recommend these pastries and I've gone back for another since. We took them to the park and spent a good part of our morning there.

Wednesday I met Danielle and her sister at the Catacombs. The wait was around 2.5 hours since they can't allow more than 200 people inside at a time. The catacombs are quite extensive and hold the remains of over 6 million people but only a small area is open to the public. The remains are separated by bone type and stacked high. As you walk through, each section represents a cemetery that the remains were taken from.

My Aunt Kathy and three cousins were visiting Paris as part of their European tour. I  was able to meet them for dinner on Wednesday and took them to my favorite crepe place, Galette Café. On Thursday I was able to see them again and we headed back to Jardin Luxembourg for an afternoon in the park.

July 4th I headed up to Montmarte and Sacre Coeur with Danielle and her sister. We stopped in the Marais for falafel and to pick up eclairs from L'Éclair de Génie. We enjoyed the eclairs in a small garden off of the Sacre Coeur.

On Tuesday I visited Musee Rodin, dedicated to the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. The Museum holds most of his major works and is small and manageable. Many of his statues can be found throughout the gardens that surround the museum.

On my last day in Paris Danielle and I spent the day wandering around, as the rainy Paris weather put a little damper on our original plans. After dinner (planches of cheese and charcuterie) we headed to the "How to Become Parisian in One Hour" show, which was the perfect ending of my stay in Paris.

14 years ago I told my parents that I would one day live in Paris and my 10 year old self definitely had the right idea. These past 9 months were absolutely amazing and it would not have been the same without the friends I have made. Living here has taught me so much about myself and what I am capable of achieving. I came to Paris not knowing how to count to four and I'm leaving with an understanding of the French language, culture and way of life. Paris will always hold a very special place in my heart and I cannot wait to come back and visit!

Á plus tard Paris! 

Mes amies á Paris! (Part deux)

With a great start to the trip my Colgate friends and I still had a few more days of adventures before they left! I took Friday off and we got up early to go to Versailles. With the SNCF strike still going on it took us a little longer than expected to get there due to train delays and cancellations. I went to Versailles in 2000 with my family and have been wanting to go back ever since and am so glad we did!

Versailles from outside the gate

We first started with a tour of the Château. The Château is massive and extremely ornate. Every surface was covered in decorations be it gold plating, wall paper, murals, etc. Paintings and sculptures were found everywhere and most ceilings had ornate paintings to representative of different Gods and Goddesses. However, what surprised me the most was how close together all of the rooms were: King Louis' quarters backs up to the Hall of Mirrors. The Hall of Mirrors is very impressive, on one side is floor to ceiling mirrors and on the other floor to ceiling windows. The mirrors reflect the gardens that can be seen from the floor to ceiling windows that line the other side of the hall. The windows let in ample light which makes it feel as though the gardens are around you. The mirrors in the hall were constructed by Saint-Gobain, and the company was actually founded by the King in order to manufacture them!

In the Hall of Mirrors

After a tour of the Château we headed to the gardens to find a place to picnic for lunch. We headed away from the Great Canal and towards the Grand Trianon where we found a small pond that wasn't that busy. The weather was perfect so we were able to sit and relax for a bit. However, not wanting to waste time (you can spend days there and not get bored!) we headed to the Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet. We did a quick tour of her Palace and then headed into the gardens. Marie-Antoinette had the hamlet built in 1783 so she could return to the "charms of the rural life."  Once completed the Hamlet consisted of 11 cottages around a large lake: 5 cottages were reserved for her and her guests, 4 were reserved for the peasants who lived there, the farm and its annexes and one cottage for domestic use. The farm was a working farm complete with livestock, goats and birds as well as a vegetable farm to supply some of the food. The Hamlet was my favorite spot in Versailles all those years ago, and was still one of my favorite places today. Located a little further than the rest of the gardens, not as many people make it to the Hamlet so it is a lot quieter and more peaceful!

The gardener's cottage

After a full day at Versailles we got back to Paris around 6 which gave us enough time to head out to a nice dinner and drinks! Saturday was our last full day and we wanted to take full advantage! In the morning we headed to the left bank to do a walking tour and pick up a picnic lunch which we enjoyed in the park behind Notre Dame.

In the afternoon we had a Patisserie cooking class at La Cuisine Paris, where we learned how to make Croissants, Pain au chocolat, Pain Suisse (dough with vanilla custard & chocolate chips) and Pain Raisin (a spiral of dough with vanilla custard and raisins) as well as some jelly pastries. The class was three hours long and so much fun! We went through all the steps of how to make croissants and all got to make everything. Since the dough takes almost a day to prepare due to all of the breaks you need to give it to let the yeast work, etc we had dough ready to go for us. However, at the beginning of the course we were given our own bowl of ingredients for dough and throughout the course we did a condensed dough preparation version to learn the steps.

Making the Pain au Suisse

Throughout the class our instructor provided us with some funfacts about croissants:

• The croissants we made had 49 layers alternating butter and dough
• In the oven the butter forces the dough to separate giving it the light and airy interior 
• Croissants have two different shapes and names for a reason
• Croissant ordinaire is Crescent shaped and is made with margarine 
• Croissant au buerre is the typical straighter shape and is made with butter

At the end of the three hour class we were served coffee along with our pastries straight out of the oven! Everything was so delicious that it was hard not to try to eat all of them right away. We all left feeling full, satisfied and very happy with a bag filled with pastries to enjoy later and the next morning for breakfast!

After our class!

We ended the night at the 33rd edition of Le Fete de La Musique, a free musical festival throughout Paris that anyone can participate in. Throughout the night there are concerts throughout the city ranging from anyone who wants to play to well known bands and orchestras. We saw a really great percussion band in front of Notre Dame and then wandered the streets listening to others.

Sunday morning everyone had to return to the states. I had the most amazing time with Eri, Emily, Emily and Caroline and words cannot describe how happy and grateful I am that they were able to make the trip over. It was amazing to spend a week with them here and show them my life in Paris! I am very much looking forward to my return to the states so that I can see them again soon!

Mes amies á Paris!

This past Saturday, some of my best friends from Colgate, Eri, Emily, Emily and Caroline, arrived in Paris for the week. They booked their flight back in January so I've been anxiously anticipating their arrival! I was so excited to see them and so glad they were able to make the trip over! After a 2 hour flight delay, they arrived around 3pm. Later that afternoon we went out for a walk around Paris, had some Le Nôtre macarons and sat in the Place des Vosges park in the Marais.

Sunday morning, our first stop was the Musée D'Orsay. I had been wanting to visit and thought it would be a good Sunday morning activity. The Museum is housed in the old Gare d'Orsay, the train station built for the Universal Exhibition of 1900. Musée D'Orsay has a large number of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings by painters such as Monet, Manet, Degas, Rodin, Renoir and van Gogh. I really enjoyed Monet's landscape paintings, especially the paintings of Étretat, which I had just seen.

After a morning well spent at the Museum, we had worked up an appetite and headed to Le Voltigeur Bistro in the Marais, for a wonderful quiche lunch. With the beautiful weather, the café had all of their doors open to the streets with little tables spilling onto the sidewalk. From there we headed to my favorite park, Jardin Luxembourg for a relaxing afternoon in the sun. We spent some time sitting near the fountain chatting and watching the wooden boats in the fountain. To end the night we headed to a nearby bar to watch France beat Honduras 3-0 in their first World Cup game.

Me, Eri, Emily, Emily & Caroline

During the week, I would head to work while Eri, Emily, Boots & Caroline explored Paris.  Monday night we headed to the Eiffel Tower for a picnic dinner of bread, cheese, charcuterie, strawberries, and Champagne. The night was very relaxing and a great way to enjoy the Eiffel Tower and relax.

Picnics in the Park

Tuesday, while I was at work my friends had planned a trip to Champagne but due to the SNCF strikes, their first train was cancelled. After a crazy morning they were able to make the trip and get out of Paris for the day. They ended up getting back to Paris around 8:30 and we headed to L'as du Falafel for their famous falafel sandwich which did not disapoint! The pita was stuffed to the brim with falafel, tahina sauce, roasted eggplant, cabbage slaw, cucumber, tomato, parsley and topped with some spicy sauce. We meandered the streets until we found a place to sit and enjoy our meal. The next night we headed into the Latin Quarter for drinks. The weather was so nice we were able to sit outside and enjoy the night.

Paris nights

My last day of work for the week was Thursday and after we headed to Breizh Café in the Marais for a Breton region dinner of savory and sweet crêpes with cidre. I always heard good things about this café and its always packed with people, requiring a reservation to get a seat. They had a large selection of crêpes as well as four entree and four dessert specials on the board and an extensive cidre selection. Everyone enjoyed their crêpes and we left the café full and very satisfied!

After our delicious dinner

The week was going way too fast but luckily I had all of Friday and Saturday to spend with my friends...to be continued...

Macaron, sweet macaron

The French macaron is one of France's most well-known mini pastries and is absolutely decadent! There are so many different flavors and marques to choose from that it can sometimes be a little difficult. After a taste test in the winter, Shelley and I thought it would be best to go to a macaron class and learn how they are made!

Shelley & I during the class

Saturday morning we found ourselves at Le Nôtre cooking school, home to some of the best macarons! We chose the "classics" class where we would learn to make chocolate, cafe and vanilla. The class was taught entirely in French! I can now honestly say that my French language immersion has worked as I got through the class with almost no problem!

Le Nôtre Ecole de Cuisine

Our instructor, Chef Legras, walked us through the first batch of macarons, vanilla, and took the time to explain why specific ingredients were used and the difference between the different types of sugar. He also explained why the order of ingredients was important, which I've been known to ignore once or twice in my baking past...

Chef Lagras at the end of the class, assembling macarons

After the first batch was in the oven, he had us work on each of the steps so that we could fully understand what we were doing. Getting the perfect macaron size and shape was a lot harder than it looked! Each one had to match so they would all bake evenly and in order to make it easier to sandwich them later. However, that is a lot harder than it sounds, so they were not all equally sized.

Piping macarons

The hardest part was not forming a small peak on the top of each shell after we picked the pastry bag up. While the shells were cooling, we were able to make the three ganache fillings which were used to sandwich our macarons.

Macaron Steps

The class was three hours long but time passed quickly as we were always busy and the class was lighthearted and fun. At the end of the class we were give recipes for each of the three flavors and boxes filled with our homemade macarons. After trying them they were a bit crunchy, but the filling and the macaron flavor were spot on. I think they were a little overcooked as they were all different sizes making it impossible to bake them evenly. Shelley and I now understand the difficulty in making the perfect macaron! 

Jardin du Luxembourg

Well hello, it's been a while! Between French classes and work and weekend outings I haven't had a second to blog! It's been so nice these past few weekends that I have spent my weekends wandering around and wasting the days away in this beautiful city! One of my favorite places is Jardin du Luxembourg. It has been a staple in my running route, as I incorporate it in every run. Although the winter months don't allow for flowers, the paths were still beautiful and it was great for people watching. However, the park is now in spring mode with all the flowers in bloom.

Pretty Park Flowers

In 1610 Queen Marie de Medici purchased the land to build a garden and palace for a new residence after the death of her husband. Her new residence, the Palais du Luxembourg and its surrounding gardens were modeled after the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens in Florence, where she spent her childhood. She commissioned the architect, Salomon de Brosse, to design the Palace and it was completed 16 years later. Although the two have some decorative similarities de Brosse did not replicate the Pitti Palace exactly as the palace plan is French. This mix of the two styles creates an architectural transition piece between the Renaissance and classical period. The gardens, which were inspired by the Boboli gardens in Florence were quite small, only 8 hectares, due to the Carthusians Monastery located nearby. However, over time the garden was expanded to its current size of 55.5 acres, making it the second largest park in Paris

Palais du Luxembourg peaking out behind flowers in bloom

In front of the Palace is the octagonal Grand Bassin pond. Jardin du Luxembourg is a very popular place for people to come and relax, with many chairs and benches available for reading, enjoying the sun and picnicking. One of the more popular places is the pond. Here the kids are able to rent toy wooden boats to sail as parents nearby. Anywhere around the pond is great as you either have a view of the Palace or the vast gardens that surround it. Here it is if you are in a little green oasis.

Boats sailing on the pond

Wandering through the park, you'll pass a plethora of statues. I never thought much of it until I found out there are 106 statues scattered throughout as well as the Medici Fountain! Queen Marie de Medici originally had a grotto designed for the garden. Many years and slight alterations later, it was moved and changed into a fountain. Today, a new facade and marble and bronze statue representing a Greek myth are at the forefront. Acis & Galatea lie under a rock on top of which stands Polyphemus who is preparing to throw a stone at his rival.

Medici Fountain

Jardin du Luxembourg is my favorite garden. I love running there on weekend mornings or just going to enjoy the day. As the weather gets nicer and the gardens fill in more, I am looking forward to spending a lot more time there enjoying Paris in the Spring time!

Mom & Janine Visit

Every time I've been abroad, be it study abroad, my masters and now Paris, my mom and Janine have taken a long weekend trip to come visit me. When I was studying abroad we had the most amazing time in Milan. We went for a repeat trip when I was getting my masters but instead I got the flu when they came, so I spent most of my time in the hotel. Luckily, they were able to come visit me in Paris and everything was perfect! The food, the wine, the shopping, the company and to top it all off, the weather- blue skies, sunny and warm!

Out to dinner :)

They arrived Thursday morning and after work, I met them for dinner at a cute restaurant across the street from my apartment. Instead of a wine list, they have a wine cellar, so you climb down this really small staircase and choose your wine from the racks and boxes piled high.

Friday, while I was at work, Janine and my mom walked around, saw some sites, and did some shopping. I met them after work for some wine and cheese before our delicious dinner at Un Dimanche à Paris, or as I refer to it...the chocolate restaurant. The founder, Pierre Cluizel, son of the founder of Cluizel chocolates, created the restaurant because of his love for chocolate. The food was absolutely delicious and the desserts were out of this world (we ordered one dessert that won best dessert in 2010). I highly recommend this restaurant and will definitely be back before I leave.

Delicious desserts at Un dimanche

Saturday we had the whole day to spend together. We started with a traditional French breakfast at a café: coffee and a croissant (and some fresh squeezed orange juice). After, we headed in the direction of lunch and meandered through the streets of Paris enjoying the weather and walking in and out of some stores. For lunch, we headed to my favorite crepe place to have traditional lunch galettes and cidre and then a crepe (my favorite is lemon and sugar).

Mom and me enjoying the beautiful weather

After lunch we took a little stroll along the Seine back to their hotel and then headed to the Champs-Élysées and spent some time walking around. After an afternoon stroll, we headed back to the hotel for a little and then it was time for dinner. We went to Le Christine, a petit restaurant in the 6th and it was the perfect restaurant to end their trip with. We ended our night on a river cruise that meandered down the Seine. It was really nice to see Paris from the water and we learned some fun facts that I wouldn't have known otherwise...like the Eiffel Tower weighs around 7,000 tons...which is the equivalent of around 1200 elephants!

Views from the boat and Janine & I after our cruise

Janine and my mom left early Sunday morning. Although the trip was quick, it was an amazing weekend. I loved having them here, as we always have such a good time when we're together.

Heir to the Cluizel chocolate dynasty, Pierre Cluizel decided to open a two-level pastry boutique, restaurant, chocolate shop, hot-chocolate salon and bar that spans nearly half a city block. Not only will it blow your mind, but the pastries, as crafted by Michelin three-star veteran and current captain of France’s 2012 Pastry World Cup Team, Quentin Bailly, are sure to delight you. - See more at: http://girlsguidetoparis.com/archives/top-10-pastry-shops-in-paris-review/#sthash.EltTkuPz.dpufPi

Heir to the Cluizel chocolate dynasty, Pierre Cluizel decided to open a two-level pastry boutique, restaurant, chocolate shop, hot-chocolate salon and bar that spans nearly half a city block. Not only will it blow your mind, but the pastries, as crafted by Michelin three-star veteran and current captain of France’s 2012 Pastry World Cup Team, Quentin Bailly, are sure to delight you. - See more at: http://girlsguidetoparis.com/archives/top-10-pastry-shops-in-paris-review/#sthash.EltTkuPz.dpu

I gotta run!

This morning I ran the Semi-Marathon de Paris! 

This was my second half marathon, I ran my first one last year with Jeannie in Edinburgh. This year, I didn't have much time to train, just a little over a month and with work and French classes it was hard to find the time to add in runs. However, when there's a will there's a way!

The race began at Château de Vincennes, in the east of Paris. Sunday morning at 8:30 I headed to Metro line 1 and made my way over. The metro was packed! It was similar to rush hour morning when one of the lines is slower than usual. This time, we were all huddled in the metro with our running sneakers and iPods instead of dress shoes and newspapers. The weather for the race was perfect, the sun was shining, the sky was blue and it was around the low 40s when I started. I couldn't have asked for better weather!

Château de Vincennes

The race didn't start until 10am, which was nice, as it allowed more time in the morning to get ready. A little after 10am I was penned in with the other thousands of people in my time group getting ready to start. We were off a little after 10:30!

The race went through the Bois de Vincennes, up past the Bastille and to Notre Dame/Hôtel de Ville. It then circled back around bringing us through the Marais, back past the Bastille and into the Bois de Vincennes to finish. I thought the course was nice. I hadn't run in that area yet, so it was totally new. The Paris Semi-Marathon is large, this year they reached their threshold of 40,000 people! On the one hand, it is great to be a part of something this caliber, however, I spent the entire race dodging people and squeezing by to pass them. It was as if the bottleneck at the beginning of the race never ended. As the race wore on it got rather warm and I was very thankful for the water breaks at every 5k. The last 5k was a struggle. I had a time goal in mind, under 2 hours, and I knew I would be able to break it if I kept pushing myself. Once I saw the finish line I mustered up all of my energy and sprinted towards it. I finished the Semi-Marathon de Paris in 1 hour and 57 minutes, a new PR!

My T-shirt, bib and medal!

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

I live so close to Notre-Dame, that I see it on a daily basis and hear the church bells ring every hour. And none of it ever gets old. It has become my church of choice and I often find myself visiting on Sundays. Although, I will admit, waiting on a large tourist line to get inside to say a prayer will never feel normal.

This Sunday, I decided to become a Notre-Dame tourist, because, why not? Notre-Dame de Paris, French for Our Lady of Paris is one of the best examples of French Gothic Architecture and one of the most well known Cathedrals in the world. The Cathedral is one of the first buildings in the world to build flying buttresses (the arched exterior supports). Originally, they were not planned for, but the walls of the Church are high and thinner than usual due to the Gothic Style. This combination  caused stress fractures to appear during construction. The flying buttresses were placed around the choir and the nave to give support to the outer walls and as construction continued the architects added more to continue the pattern.

View of Notre-Dame and the flying buttresses

The inside of the Cathedral is beautiful. It's made up of long halls and high vaulted ceilings. The many stained glass windows allow just enough light to trickle through, providing a calming effect. You cannot access the second floor of the Cathedral, which forces us to stay on the ground and only gaze upwards. This was done purposefully, to represent how people in the Medieval time saw humanity and divinity.

Looking down the main Aisle

Near the rear of the Cathedral you can visit the Treasury. Housed inside are intricate crosses, crowns, chalices and monstrances made of gold and other precious materials. Continuing behind the apse there are many little chapels that you pass by, dedicated to certain Saints with beautiful stained glass windows.

The Chapel that I visit

After, I decided to head up to the top of Notre Dame. It was quite windy on the ground and the line took a good 40 minutes but the view from the top was breathtaking. Hiking up 387 spiraled steps provides a great view of Paris and the famous gargoyles. The Gargoyles were built into the ends of the gutters to drain rainwater off the roof. They were built extending far away from the roof, allowing the rain water to fall away from the church walls, preventing water damage. The chimeras are used as simple decorations and most of them are on the façade, watching the people below and scanning the city. The gargoyles and chimeras are all unique and the sculptors really used their imaginations when creating them.

Gargoyles and Chimeras

View from the top with the Eiffel Tower &
La Défense in the back right (where I work)

Sacré-Cœur

The other day, the "What City Should You Actually Live in" Buzzfeed Quiz caught my eye. Always on the lookout for new places to explore, I figured I would take it. I totally expected to get some random city that I either have never been to or that I couldn't see myself living in. Well, kudos Buzzfeed, I couldn't have said it better myself! I know it's just a random online quiz, but it made me smile. I totally agree, I absolutely adore this city and love living here.

The quiz got me thinking, as I'm living here, I should probably see the major sites. When I arrived in October I made sure I went to see something once a weekend. However, a few weeks in my weekends became more focused around running errands and seeing my friends. In order to change that I made a list last weekend of a few of the places I would like to see and went on my first adventure.

Sunday afternoon, with blue skies and the sun shining I headed to Sacré-Cœur, a Roman Catholic Church and minor Basillica dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Located in Montemartre in Northern Paris I jumped on the metro and headed over. Sacré-Cœur, located on the top of Butte Montmarte, is the highest point in Paris and the church is actually higher than the Eiffel Tower. The Church stays extremely white and clean due to the stones, as rain cause the stones to secrete calcite ensuring the Church retains its white color!

Construction of Sacré-Cœur began in the late 1800s after the war of 1870. The project was initiated by a group of influential people who vowed to build a church if Paris escaped unscathed from the war. They believed that the defeat of the French was due to the moral sins of Paris and not political ones. The Church would be their act of penance for their sin.

The inside of the church was stunning. It was decorated with copious amounts of gold and a ton of intricate and vibrant mosaics. The mosaic in the apse, "Christ in Majesty" is one of the largest in the world and is absolutely stunning. Created in 1922 by Luc-Olivier Merson, it depicts Christ with a golden heart and outstretched arms, surrounded by various people, including the Virgin Mary and Joan of Arc. Sadly, photos weren't permitted, but I found the one below online.

Beautiful Mosaic