Basilica of Sacred Heart of Jesus

Paris, France

Posted by Girl With Chalk

This was my last day in Europe, so I made the best of it before my flight home.

I spent the morning at the Eiffel Tower, a wrought iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars in Paris. It’s named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, who designed and built the tower.
The tower has three levels for visitors, with restaurants and gift shops on the first and second levels. This is the view from the first level, overlooking the city.
At lunch, I headed over to the Sacred Heart of Paris, commonly known as Sacré-Cœur Basilica, a Roman Catholic church, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
The dome inside the church has a giant mosaic of Christ in Glory by Olivier Merson, H. M. Magne, and R. Martin and is one of the largest mosaics in the world. It represents the risen Christ, clothed in white and with arms extended, revealing a golden heart. Surrounding him, in various sizes, a world of adorers is represented, including the Saints who protect France: the Virgin Mary and Saint Michael, Saint Joan of Arc, as well as a personification of France offering her crown and Pope Leo XIII offering the world.
I had lunch at Place du Tertre Montmartre, which is an area known as the “Painter’s Neighborhood”, its small and steep narrow streets are home to the oldest cabarets. This area is also full of restaurants with terraces and painters selling their work to tourists and locals.
Had the best Crème brûlée dessert in this neighborhood.
After lunch, I had a few hours before my flight home so I walked through the streets of Rue de Steinkerque at the bottom of the hill, which is filled with souvenir shops.
I couldn’t leave Paris without a visit to my favorite chocolate shop, Maison Georges Larnicol for souvenir chocolates and macarons. This is a beautiful chocolate which has a mold of The Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, The Moulin Rouge, and The Arc de Triomphe. I picked this up for my brother who asked me to bring him chocolate from France.
I also picked up chocolate Eiffel Towers for my nieces and nephews. Goodbye France, I will miss you!

 

European Vacation Day 21 Paris, France

Posted by Girl With Chalk

Today we departed Rome and returned to Paris for one more day & night of sightseeing before we return home tomorrow night. We checked into our hotel and walked around the surrounding area and then went to sleep.

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Goodbye Rome, I had a wonderful time here and I will miss you. Someday I will return to spend more time getting to know you better.
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We walked up to see the Moulin Rouge which was about 5 minutes away from our hotel room.
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The Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is three blocks up, we will visit this church tomorrow.