Cathedrals, Museums, Basilicas...and Cabarets

So after a crazy second day in Paris we decided to take it a little easier and only go to three places our third day :) We went to Sainte-Chapelle, the Musee d'Orsay, and then we ended our day at Sacre-Coeur.

The Sainte-Chapelle spire.

It was built by King Louis IX to house relics from the Holy Land, and it is across the "street" from Notre Dame. Actually it was started around the same time, but finished more quickly (around 1240).

More gargoyles....they really were on every church building...we were not sure of the significance, but now I have read that they helped to shed rain water from the building and it was believed they could ward off evil spirits.

And more pieces that fell off of the cathedral

Sainte-Chapelle is located inside of the Conciergerie which was the prison where Marie Antoinette was kept during the French Revolution. Like everything, the prison was once a palace, and it seems all the palaces had their own chapels....I guess Notre Dame wasn't good enough...

You enter from the lower level into this gorgeous blue room, with fluer-de-lis everywhere. Then you get to go up this very, very, small staircase to get to the main level. I am thinking...fire codes? That would be interesting...

So you enter the main cathedral...(cue the angelic choir music here)...just kidding, but it is like that: you ascend into this room that is flooded with light and color and more stained glass per square inch than I have ever seen or will probably ever see again.

Each panel tells one of the Biblical stories....the detail was incredible.

Ok....no more celestial music...on to the Musee d'Orsay. This is the museum dedicated completely to impressionism....my favorite paintings, I might add. The museum is in an old train station, which makes for some really great architecture. The whole inner area was filled with sculptures, and the galleries were off to each side.

Of course there is Renoir's famous painting of a french cafe....and if you just imagine current clothing styles, the French cafes still look very similar today.

One of the many paintings by Van Gogh- "La Nuit Etoilee"....painted in Arles (south France). Yes, it's one of the famous "Starry Night" paintings. At this point in the vacation we thought we were going to go visit Arles during our cruise....that story will come later :)

Then there was Degas, he painted a lot of ballerina paintings, and actually sculpted quite a few too, which I personally liked better. It was cool to see them juxtaposed in the same gallery.

Up on the roof was a beautiful area with huge sculptures that overlooked the Seine.

In the distance the Basilique de Sacre-Coeur (Basilica of the Sacred Heart)....we are on our way there next.

We get dropped of by the Metro somewhere in the middle of the hill (not at the bottom, thank goodness) and at first we couldn't see the Basilica, but just followed the hordes of tourists. We found ourselves climbing this insanely steep cobblestone "street" that was full of tacky vendors on either side with dirty water running down the ditches on the sides of the street....I honestly felt like I was in Chinatown, not Paris.

At the top of the long street, we finally see Sacre-Coeur come into view; it was really different than the other cathedrals because it was designed in a "modern" Byzantine style. It was built in the late 1800s and early 1900s in honor of those who lost their lives in various French wars. The hill it sits on is called Montmartre, and there are long multiple flights of stairs to the top.

Yes, again...lots of people just hanging out....we stepped over lots of people making our way up the stairs

Once inside, the Byzantine style was very apparent! They didn't allow photos, so I had to sneak a few pictures while trying to avoid the security guards.

We then exited the basilica and began to wander the streets to the west of the church and found this wonderfully quaint artists area. The history here is interesting...the area on Montmartre was favored by many famous artists, including Van Gogh, Cezanne, and Renoir. As it was outside the city limits, it was cheap to live here, and it also was surrounded by vineyards and became a popular drinking area. Soon many cabarets filled the area (Moulin Rouge and The Chat Noir are two of the most famous) and it became the center of decadent entertainment and art. The Bohemian movement also finds its roots here.

This area truly was the first place we visited where I felt transported back in time. It was enchanting...the small shops, narrow cobblestone streets, and quaint old homes.

This cafe had this sign above it that basically says that it was a rendezvous for famous artists...listed here on the sign.

There were many of these shops that sold these famous old cabaret posters

The area was really a village and was famous for the many windmills that powered it. That is why the Moulin Rouge has the windmill on it. A couple still exist today.

We went on kind of a wild goose chase to find Vincent Van Gogh's house. I really wanted to find it and David obliged me. I knew the general area, and I thought if we just asked in the shops, someone would know where it was (it would seem that it would be kind of famous). I guess I was wrong, no one knew where the heck it was. So after much wandering around, up and down hills, we found it. The blue door is the entrance. Yes, he only lived here 2 years, and he lived with his brother who owned the place....but I still wanted to see it!

One of the many creperies. They were wonderful!!!

So... here is was, the famous Moulin Rouge...still in use...very unimpressive! We literally got off the Metro (the stop is right across the street), climbed the stairs out onto the street, took a picture and went right back down the stairs to the Metro again.