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Day Two: March 5, 2000
The flight continued to be pleasant, and after it ended, we flew throught customs and the baggage area. Our tour guide, Amale, met us after we got all of our luggaged and took us to the bus. On the way to the bus, I couldn't help noticing Charles du Gaulle airport's compleate and utter stangeness. It looked like a cross between the bizarre motherpod from Alien and a cheesy 50's sci-fi movie. Strange circular skylights, stainless steel, and abundant concrete surrounded us. Even the trip from the plane to the terminal reminded me of a Jawa trader from Star Wars. After I recovered from that extraterrestrial shock, I found myself at the hotel. We stayed at the Clarion St. James and Albany on the Rue du Rivoli. The location was just amazing. We were right across from the Tuileries, seconds from the Place de la Concorde, and the Louvre was just three minutes down the street. We set our bags down in the hotel lobby, and a bellboy locked them up.
Madame P wanted to take us to Sacre-Coeur, aka Sacred Heart, so we hopped onto the Metro for the first time. After a couple of train changes, a few odd looks, and only one bum, we got out at Mont-Martre. Sacre-Coeur was actually built quite recently, as far as churches go. The gleaming stones and round turrets inspired awe while the hundreds of steps daunted me slightly. The architecture reminded me of a mosque, not a church dedicated to the heart of Christ. Mary Louise and I climbed the many steps to the summit off Sacred Heart, but we decided to eat before touring the interior. We went to a creperie where I introduced Mary to the wonderful world of ham and cheese crepes. Actually, I just told her what to order, and she ordered it for me. We walked around the Mont-Martre area, looking at the artist and mimes that lined the street. Then we made our way back to the cathedral and peeked inside. The altar and stained glass were exceptional. The nuns of the convent stood around, answering the questions of the hordes of tourists. Silence was the rule of the grand cathedral, and I was amazed to see the number of people sitting quietly and just praying. After inspecting the gift shop and lighting a candle, Mary Louise and I walked back to our meeting place, sat on the ledge of a fountain, and relaxed.
Finally we all gathered at the meeting place and made our way to the metro again. Madame P. took us to the extensive flea markets (Marches de Puces) at Clignancourt. I looked throught some of the prints, but I didn't find one that I particularly liked. My lack of sleep caught up with me at this point, so I sat down on a bench, exhausted from my long journey. Mrs. Patton saw us sitting down, so she decided to give me and Mary a lesson in bargaining in French. Mary bought herself a tapestry to make into a pillow, *just* to please Madame P and give us some freedom. We all met at our designated meeting place again, but Sarah and Katie got a bit lost, so we were all late in getting back to the hotel.
Back at the hotel, the bus was waiting to take us to a small evangelical church out in the suburbs, so we rushed to find our bags and take them to our respective rooms. Chaos struck as our sponsors realized that we were not in the correct rooms, so Mary, Nadine, and I ended up going to Mrs. Patton's room to change shirts and wash our faces. Eventually we came downstairs and hopped onto the bus, ready to take us to the church gathering. After a nice nap on the way there, I woke up and timidly walked into the room were all of the students were mingling. Looking back, I remember the whole experience as a shocking success. Sarah and Keely sang beautiful praise songs to the Lord with Bradley, the pastor's son. Katie shared her testimony about her experiences with the bus accident in Colorado. We all met some really nice people, and we learned a bit of French in the process. Bradley, Joey, Jeremy, Xavier... the list goes on of all the really fun peeps at the church. On the bus ride home, we saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time, sparkling in the distance. It was a beautiful end to a lovely day.
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