Paris, how I Louvre You!

After a great night of sleep, it was time to start day two! Unfortunately, my mom fell ill to some pretty bad food poisoning from the plane so she had to stay in the hotel on Thursday and Friday, with the exception of going to Mass each day and the group dinners. So it was just me, Nathan and Dad as we headed out to San Chapelle in the morning. 

San Chapelle was the one place that was definitely on my repeat list from our last trip to Paris. The second floor chapel is made almost completely of stained glass and is just stunning. It is inside what used to be the royal palace for the French King before Versailles was established as the new residence outside of the city. My dad had visited the small chapel when he was studying abroad as an architecture student but for Nathan, it was his first visit and we finally got his stamp of approval (He is not easily impressed).  

Afterwards, we continued to walk down the Seine river to see the destruction that had occurred during the Notre Dame fire. It was blocked off but you can circle it and get some good vantage points specifically from across the river. I remember being at work at the college's reception desk on the day the fire broke. I spent my entire four hour shift watching the fire spread and truly believed it would end up being a total lost; so, when the pictures the next morning showed that the ceiling had not completely collapsed, I was shocked! Workers were there that day working on it and I am grateful to know that so much was able to be saved, especially the Crown of Thorns and so much of the precious artwork! So although I was so upset that we would not get to go inside and climb the towers like I had done two years ago, I am grateful that this Church still stands and hopefully one day I will be able to return and see it returned to its former glory. Along the river we grabbed some great focaccia bread sandwiches and stopped by the Shakespeare and Company bookstore that I had seen so many pictures of from previous friends' travels. 

Next up, the Louvre Museum! For those who didn't know, I was an art concentration student in high school taking several classes each year to gain prerequisites because I had actually intended to go to art school and study interior design. Plus, I took Architecture and Art History in Rome, so my appreciation only grew! So getting the chance to go to one of the most famous art museums in the world was a real treat! Mrs. Carroccio and Mrs. Schlabs would be proud! The night before I had purchased skip-the-line tickets so we arrived just in time for our 12pm time slot and headed immediately to see the Mona Lisa before the crowds grew throughout the day. It is an insane push-and-shove session to get close to this famed work of art but so worth it! The box was checked and I can now say that I've seen it in person. We continued to explore the exhibits of Renaissance paintings, and liturgical artwork. Unfortunately the other two exhibits that I wanted to see, Napoleons apartments and the French Crown Jewels, were closed for renovation. I can see how it is entirely possible to spend your entire day at the Museum (very similar to the V&A Museum in London) but two and a half hours was perfect for us. 

Next, we needed to transfer our luggage to a different hotel and meet up with the group. Since the sun was finally shining, we opted to walk back to our other hotel through the Tuileries Garden. It was such a perfect summer day, and I truly appreciated the few hours of sunshine. 

We got to our new hotel just ahead of the Remnant Group that was making their way in from the Paris airport. We got settled in the new rooms before heading down to the lobby to start the introductions. That first night I was finding it difficult to be here with a different group of people rather than the group I was with two years ago. I just loved all those girls so much and we had all intended to return this year but it just didn't work out for them. But it was a new year and time to meet some new people, although there were a few returners from the the 2017 group. Father Pendergraft offered Mass for us and then we headed back to the hotel for group dinner. I sat with two sisters from Wisconsin and a Polish couple from the New Jersey area. 

The hotel had arranged a boat tour along the Seine river for us so a large group of us hopped on the metro and headed to the Port beneath the Eiffel Tower to attend. I was finally going to get to see it at night!! Just as we were walking up, the tower lit up and the lights twinkled in the sky, it was just so pretty. But bad news was to come. A friend of the Remnant, who lives in France and was leading us down there went to check us in and apparently the boat tour had been overbooked so we weren't able to go after all. We walked across the river to go to a good overlook of the Eiffel Tower instead and just stood there admiring the night sky. We got back to the hotel around midnight but sadly I did not fall asleep until 5:30am; it was a rough and frustrating evening. 

Morning came all too fast once I had fallen asleep but it was time for our final day in Paris. We woke up, grabbed breakfast and went to Mass at San Sulpice. We were in a back side chapel dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption, the same one we were in two years ago. It is just so beautiful and such a blessing that while we are here we get to have private Masses each day in all these phenomenal churches throughout Europe. After Mass, we had time to walk around the Church. Then, Dr. Rao took us on a little bit of a history walk as we made our way to the Church dedicated to St. Genevieve, one of the patron saints of Paris. We got the chance to walk through the Luxembourg Gardens, although it was still rather chilly. The group separated for lunch and the group I was with wandered about a mile following Dr. Rao before we realized he had no intention of choosing a restaurant and we finally split off and found a Friday-friendly lunch of fish and pasta. 

After lunch the group met up again and headed to Rue du Bac to visit the Miraculous Medal Shrine that is taken care of by the St. Vincent DePaul sisters. They were wrapping up stations of the cross when we first arrived, so we had to wait in the courtyard for while. But once inside, you are able to see the incorruptible body of St. Catherine Laboure as well as another Daughter of St. Paul Saint and the chair that Mary sat in when she appeared to St. Catherine. On the way back, we got hit with some rain and ducked inside a small grocery store to get some last minute supplies for the pilgrimage. Everyone was able to rest up a bit before the group dinner which I was super grateful for. 

At the group dinner, Tom and Helena, two of my friends from Christendom, met up with us since they would be joining the Remnant for the walk. Lots of laughs were shared over that meal in the private basement dinning room as we were all introduced to the character that is Devan. He's this 17 year old from Texas who kept us rather entertained by his commentary...that is all I will say. Helena came up back to the hotel with us since she needed somewhere closer to the pilgrimage starting point to stay that night. That night is rough because you end up staying up really late getting all the last minute things pulled together for the walk the next morning but then you also know its the last good night of sleep you are going to have in a few days so you want every minute of it you can get... which only ended up being about three and a half hours by the time I fell asleep.