Le Soleil Brille (The Sun Shines)

So today was pretty much amazing. I got up and went to Montmartre and Sacré Coeur (Sacred Heart). Montmartre is a big hill on the edge of Paris where all the existentialists used to hang out and the movie Amélie was filmed. It is also the red light district of Paris, as I found out by accidentally getting off at the wrong Metro stop. My plan was to go to the Café Les 2 Moulins where Amélie takes place and eat there, so I had to backtrack to the street it was on. That meant walking past 15,000 sex stores, which was kind of awkward. Good thing it wasn’t nighttime! Anyways, after that I got to the Café, but I didn’t really feel like paying 7+ Euros for lunch, so I walked across the street and bought an amazing sandwich/drink for 5 Euros…that’s basically like stealing in Paris. From there I walked up the hill to Sacré Coeur. Sidenote: Montmartre reminded me a lot of Seattle, with really steep streets etc. Just thought I’d share that…and I’m sure Kyle seconds my opinion. Anyways, the sun was shining to it was a great day to see one of the most beautiful buildings ever…

Sacré Coeur is a white, massive, Byzantine styled basilica that was built during the 19th and 20th centuries (over 44 years). It is very beautiful, and I kind of felt like I was in Rome when I was there. I went inside and walked around, then sat in one of the little rooms on the side and prayed and read for a while. It was very relaxing; basically the exact opposite of outside with all the crowds etc. I loved just sitting there…it was just so peaceful. Anyways, I went outside and took some more pictures, and then got pooped on by a bird. Yes, a bird pooped on me. It has never happened before, and I didn’t really think it would, but it did. There was a big, round pile of green poop (as seen to the left) on my shoulder. Now I didn’t really want to walk around Paris with poop on my, so I picked up a dirty napkin off the street and tried to wipe it off, but it just made it worse (as seen to the left). Then I had to go find a bathroom and wipe it off. After that, I went and laid in the grass in front of the basilica and read Harry Potter (en Français) for a while. I got a little tired of reading and had time left, so I hopped on the Metro and went to see a movie. It was called “La Science des Rêves” and it was very good and randomly funny in some parts. It was weird because it was a French movie, but the main character didn’t really speak French, so it was mostly in English. Anyways, that’s just a random bit of information that you probably didn’t want or need to know, but if you like artsy films and can speak French (or don’t mind only knowing what’s going on 85% of the time), then I’d recommend it…but it’s probably not in American theaters. I’m rambling. Goodbye.

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