Home Again

I'm sad to say that our Paris vacation is over, but it really was like a dream and I'll cherish the memories forever!!! Yesterday was our last full day and we decided to make it "cathedral day" and visit all the cathedrals we planned to see. Our plan was to start at Notre Dame, but an ordination service meant it was closed for most of the day, which was a pain, but a very poignant way to make their priorities clear, I thought. Also on this note, the cathedral was free to visit unlike other famous churches which charge an arm and a leg and declare that they are primarily a place of worship! But I digress...
Instead, we detoured to Sainte Chapelle, built by Louis XIV to house Christ's crown of thorns. I don't know if it was the real one or not, but either way it's no longer there. What is there are the most incredible stained glass windows I've ever seen. We could have stayed there all day just looking at them, but of course, we didn't! We did hit the Pantheon and its crypt as well as Sacre Coeur where we climbed 300 steps to enjoy the fabulous view from its high point in Montmartre.
We also took a bit of a weird side trip through Pere Lachaise Cemetery, an enormous place housing the graves of many famous folks. You could really get lost in there, and do some VERY interesting people watching.
After a dinner of croque madames (grilled cheese and egg sandwiches, minus the ham for us!) et frites, we took in the lights at the Louvre and finally the Eiffel Tower, both of which were lovely. Sitting there on the grass in front of a glowing Eiffel Tower with my amazing husband, I thought I was just about the luckiest girl in the whole world.
We ended the trip today with mass and sightseeing at Notre Dame (I couldn't understand a thing, but worshipping with an international community like that was very cool), a final crepe au chocolat, and some leisurely walking through the streets of Paris.
I was sad to leave, but we had the time of our lives and I got to bring the best part home with me. And of course, coming home to a 200 year old cottage in the Scottish countryside to our furry girls is pretty amazing too.