The past several days have gone by in a hurry. It doesn't feel that three days has past and that tomorrow is Thursday and then the week will soon be over, making the Normandy trip a week old already. Classes are going well. It feels good to get back into the swing of things. Well almost, because I'm still in Paris which is hard to comprehend in and of itself. I'm getting to know the city bit by bit. Although I haven't gone over to the other side of the river much. It is kind of out of the way.

Yesterday was my friend's birthday, so we went to see Le Sacre Coeur. The last time we were there neither of us felt like we had spent enough time there. We went at about 4:00 PM which put the sun at the perfect angle for illuminating the church and the surrounding buildings. Another plus was that it wasn't as crowded as it was the first time we went, which was on a weekend. It was really pretty. When we got to the top we could see the entire city under the sunset. The last time we were there fog covered half of the city. We just took pictures constantly.

Inside it is absolutely stunning. There are paintings all over the ceilings outlined in gold or gold leaf and there many stained glass windows but not as many as there are in a cathedral. Unfortunately photographs are not inside since it is very much a functioning church. However, I somewhat cleverly and discretely (at least I think so) snapped a few pictures of the inside. I only got one good one though.

After that we went into what I call "the village" because it is separated somewhat from the rest of the city and the architecture resembles that of a little village in the country. The streets are very narrow and the buildings only rise maybe four stories maximum. It even has what resembles a square. And since it sits atop a hill it just appears to be its own little town. You would never know that you were in Paris. In the square there are many painters trying to sell their work much of it is very good. I kind of get the feeling though that they have been doing this their whole life because many of them are old. We got ice creme and then some coffee to balance it all out since it was very cold. It was a very nice trip.

There are many little things like that throughout Paris. It is just a matter of getting off the beaten path and looking for them. There are many areas that I like in the southern part of Paris. There is a very nice park at the opposite end of the street the ISA office is on. Almost every afternoon and evening you can see the old men out there playing "boules" otherwise known as "petanque." Which by the way is a very French game that many old men, or I should say "older" men, partake in across France. My computer is broken by the way. Not sure what the problem is but I have to call the dell office here in France tomorrow morning and see what the deal is with getting it fixed. I'm sure it will prove very "enlightening". I don't know when I can post again so just keep a heads up.

P.S. the first picture here which is in black and white was taken near Place du Saint-Michel.  All the others were in around Le Sacre Coeur.