Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Saturday Nov. 28th was our last day together in Paris. We first went back to Notre Dame to go up the towers. Brooke's knee was still bothering her, so she and I went to Saint Chapelle church while everyone else did the Notre Dame towers. I was glad that I went to Saint Chapelle with Brooke. It is so beautiful! I loved it.

A few amazing facts about Saint Chapelle from Wikipedia:
Begun some time after 1239 and consecrated on 26 April 1248, the Sainte-Chapelle is considered among the highest achievements of the Rayonnant period of Gothic architecture. It was commissioned by King Louis IX of France to house his collection of Passion relics, including Christ's Crown of Thorns—one of the most important relics in medieval Christendom.
Along with the Conciergerie, the Sainte-Chapelle is one of the earliest surviving buildings of the Capetian royal palace on the Île de la Cité. Although damaged during the French Revolution, and restored in the 19th century, it has one of the most extensive 13th-century stained glass collection anywhere in the world.
While there, we learned that Christ's crown of thorns is now held at Notre Dame! 
These first pix are from the towers of Notre Dame:





Saint Chapelle: (The pix aren't too great because we just had my cell phone.)
The lower chapel 
The upper chapel where the king and his family could worship. Each panel of windows depicts stories of the Old Testament, the Savior's life, and the New Testament, as well as the acquisition and delivery of the relics of Christ.



Statue of John the apostle. There was a statue of each of the apostles around the room.

Where the queen and other royal family members would sit. Across from the king's side. 

The rose window. Depicting scenes of the future, as prophesied by John the Revelator.



Walking along the Seine to find a boat tour:



Boat tour along the Seine River:




Some of us were freezing so we went downstairs. Dave and these 3 toughed it out.

Those of us who wanted to be warm. + Skyler



Once the boat turned around so that we weren't going into the wind, we started to make our way back upstairs.



Notice Austin talking to the cute tour guide.






Notre Dame


The boat tour docked at this bridge full of locks. There are a number of "locks of love" bridges in Paris. We thought, "What the heck, we're in Paris, let's do it." Dave and I locked our lock to the bridge, and then Brooke and Skyler, and Jess and Seth locked theirs onto ours. Then we all threw our keys into the river together. How romantic! :)








Kebabs for lunch again, mmm mmm mmm.


Next we visited Victor Hugo's house. He had a large apartment in this square.





Then we took the Metro to Galleries Lafayette. It was absolutely packed full of people!!! We went up to the 9th floor to see the great view. It was decorated prettily for Christmas.





When we got back to the apartment we ate a dinner of ravioli and bread and cheeses, and then played Fazes. It was great fun.
















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