Catholicism Everywhere

Even though the French are not a very religious people, the Catholic heritage of Paris is undeniable. Today, we only had a half day of classes, and we decided to be tourists for the afternoon. This first half of the school day did not come without stress, but my presentation on a French newspaper went as well as could be expected.


We visited the Sainte-Chapelle, one of the oldest and most beautiful chapels in all of Paris. It is a perfect example of medieval Catholic architecture, and it is truly a sight to behold. Unfortunately, like many of the other famous sights in Paris, Sainte-Chapelle was in the process of being renovated. The awesomeness of the structure was hurt slightly by the large scaffolding and renovation signs (in progress from 2008-2013!), but I am glad that I got the chance to visit.


Right next to Sainte-Chapelle is La Conciergerie. This structure is part of the larger Palais du Justice complex on the Île de la Cité. This part of the island in the middle of the Seine River was occupied as far back at Roman antiquity, and the Conciergerie has been in place for hundreds of years. This structure once functioned as a large French Revolution prison. There are many recreations of the prison life in the building today. The most famous resident, perhaps, is the infamous Queen Marie Antoinette. She spent the last few months of her life in this prison in Paris before being sentenced to the guillotine; and there is a full scale recreation of her cell, including a wax figure of her.


Finally, we walked through the inside of Notre-Dame Cathedral. The awesomeness and the grand scale of the building is impossible to portray in photos, but I will post one just to try to do it justice. After walking a lap around the medieval cathedral, we tried to climb the 400+ steps to the top to see the view of Paris (and the Gargoyles). However, the line was very long, and we were tired from a long day of class and presentations. We do not have class until 4pm on Thursday, so we are going to try to climb to the top of Notre-Dame and the Eiffel Tower during that morning.


After a long day, I got to spend some time with my friends in town from Louisiana. It has been great to hang out with people from home, and it has been even better to experience the city of Paris from a more touristy perspective with them. Luckily, they have their own apartment near the Louvre, so I am able to escape the homestay life there for just a few hours. A full day of class tomorrow (2.5 hour classes back-to-back), but no very stressful presentations. Expect another update tomorrow!