Yesterday was the first Sunday of the month, so all of the museums and such were free. A few of my friends and I woke up early to do some touristy sight seeing. First, we met at the Notre Dame cathedral, but it was very cold, so I went inside to wait for them and ended up sitting through mass twice. The mass was gloomy like at the Sacre Coeur, and the church looked very much like the Sacre Coeur on the inside. After my double mass, my friends came and we decided to go up to the top of the cathedral.
Of course, there was a long line to go up top, so we stood for a long time, and my toes and fingers began to freeze off. I almost couldn't stand it, I was so cold, and ended up buying a warm crepe just to keep my fingers warm as I held it and ate it. The wait was about an hour, and I was able to eat the lunch I packed while standing in line. By the time we got to climb to the top, I was so miserably cold, that I just wanted to get back down and inside the church as soon as possible. It was a shame, because the view was wonderful...although I was able to snap a few pictures before running back down the millions of stairs.
After the Notre Dame, we walked to St. Chapelle, another church. This church was very beautiful on the inside. It is definitely my favorite so far. It was crammed full of rainbow colored stained glass windows that sparkled all over the floor. It was a small chapel, so I felt like I had stepped into a kaleidoscope, watching the colored light float by me.
Next, we went to the Conciergerie, where all of the nobles were imprisoned and executed during the French Revolution. Surprisingly, this was a pretty boring exhibit, because the original cells and execution rooms were renovated, and then changed back to how they think they looked. Everything was just a replica, except for Marie Antoinette's chair, which she sat in while in her cell waiting to be guillotined. Since normally, the Conciergerie costs money, I'd say skip it if you ever have to pay. It isn't worth any money to visit.
We were getting tired at this point, but somehow, we convinced ourselves to go to the Picasso museum in the Marais. So we went there for about an hour, but I spent most of the time sitting on the benches watching people pass the paintings on the walls. I was so tired, but I enjoyed examining the Picassos from my bench, and soon we left for home.
I didn't do anything last night but watch a movie on my laptop and go to sleep. This morning, I walked outside to see about an inch of snow on the ground. It was snowing and sleeting all the way to school, but by the afternoon, it just turned into a cold ugly rain. Today, I had grammar class (gag!) and then I went to a university cafeteria with a few people from class. Paris just has a bunch of cafeterias around town where any university student can go eat. We decided to check it out, but it wasn't very good at all, so I don't know if we'll go back. I spent the rest of the day lounging around at the apartment. Tonight I will eat dinner with my host family. Until then, I'll do some homework, and maybe take a nap. That's all for now.
Leah
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