The next day was Easter Sunday. Being the good Catholics that we are, Mom, Dad, and I ventured to Sacre Coeur in the Montmartre area. Sacre Coeur is far newer than most of the churches we'd seen. It does have some pretty cool stories, though. Including one in which something like 13 bombs hit the area and no one was hurt. Evidently this was a miracle. It was also very bad aim on part of the bombers.
Sacre Coeur is on top of this wicked hill, so we figured we'd better enjoy the view since we were all the way up in the top of the city.
Next we did a walking tour of Montmartre. There wasn't much to see. It's mostly studios for artists and writers and whatnot. The coolest thing in the region was... Cafe des 2 Moulins. Straight out of Amelie! Bardzo awesome.
There was also Moulin Rouge, which looks much different than in the Nicole Kidman movie. Kidding. Mostly.
After that, we journeyed across town to see the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Elysee. Of course, I took a moment to listen to Aux Champs Elysee on the Champs Elysee. Which is the only thing I could afford to do on the Champs Elysee. Other than look at expensive cars.
And miniature cars. I told Dad I wanted him to get me this one for Utah, but I don't think I'll be able to fit everything in it...
Near the end of the Champs Elysee, there was this huge line of people. We tried to figure out which tour attraction was nearby and attracting such a crowd. We wracked our brains and hypothesized that there was a palace or something nearby. Alas, when we drew closer we realized what the real draw was... An Abercrombie and Fitch.
Last, but not least (of course), we headed to the Louvre. Everyone told me this place was huge, but I had no idea how huge it was. Mom and Dad didn't really want to do it all (not that we would've had time anyway!) after seeing every painting (almost) in the Musee d'Orsay. So, we did the highlights through some creative journeying.
The major highlight was the Mona Lisa. I can't say that she's that thrilling. I've never really seen the appeal of the painting. However, it would be weird to go to the Louvre and not see the Mona Lisa. So we saw the Mona Lisa. The crowd in front of her stretched nearly to the opposite wall. They were all facing this Da Vinci piece instead of turning around to look at the glorious, giant painting of the Wedding at Cana. I'm not much for giant history or religious paintings either, but it was super impressive and beautiful.
Another super awesome thing in the Louvre was the slaves. These are Michelangelo statues that he started making for some Pope. There are six. Four of them - unfinished ones - are in Florence. The other two were in the Louvre. So now I've seen all six. They're absolutely beautiful. I never thought I was much of a sculpture person either. I mostly enjoy sculptures because they're the easiest pieces of art with which one can take funny pictures. However, these totally changed my mind about the awesomeness of sculptures in a non-interactive manner.
The Venus de Milo was pretty too. Seriously - look at that six pack! I figure the thing I have going on her is that I still have arms.
Then there was a series of statues and artwork stolen from Egypt. I wonder if Egypt didn't have their own archaeologists or if it never occurred to Egyptians to dig up their own stuff and put it in museums. Is it a cultural sign of respect for their heritage? Was there no museum culture? The whole thing baffles me in some way, and I'd love to know more about the history of archaeology and museum type things in Egypt. Anyway, the fact is that some European dudes went south, saw some of the very cool things down there (like our friend Ramses, below) and took them back to France to exhibit. There are amazing pieces - huge pieces - full sphinxes!
The absolute BEST THING EVER in the museum was the Code of Hammurabi. The Code of Hammurabi! Can you imagine! The only thing that gets close to the Code of Hammurabi in awesomeness is perhaps the Rosetta Stone. This thing existed thousands of years before Jesus! I guess I never assumed that it really existed until I ran across it in the Louvre. I remember reading about this is school - probably in Mrs. Gazda's class. So legit.
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