PARIS 8/10/12

Saturday was spent walking the streets and seeing the sights of the Sacre-Coeur Basilica on Montmarte, the 100 acre Pere-Lachaise cemetery and the Arch de Triomphe. Sunday was a lovely day to get in early to Notre Dame and get to hear the organ music:) Then on to Sainte-Chapelle (picture on right) with its beautiful Gothic stain glass windows. It was built to house the Crown of Thorns in 1242. Walking to Musee d'Orsay we enjoyed the converted train station (above) that houses some of our favorite Impressionist paintings... and we had missed the crowds:) But we couldn't miss the crowds when we took the train to Versailles! Luckily we had our online tour tickets as the line to get tickets was over a block long and the line to get into the Chateau was blocks long;( Many of the palaces we see in Europe are modeled after Versailles and the gardens, so it was really great to see it after many, many years. Enlarged by Louis XIV, the Sun King, in 1661... the Hall of Mirrors, Royal Chapel and the State Apartments are overwelming in their ornate, dazzling beauty!