This weekend was wonderful. I loved having Kelly, Audrey, and Karrah stay with me. It was so great to see friendly faces from home. We did a few touristy things and they did a few without me too. My favorite part of the weekend was Sunday afternoon when we went to Notre Dame. On Sunday afternoons at 4:30, Notre Dame hosts an organ concert with one organist on its Grand Organ. We went to listen to the music, which was incredible, and the girls who hadn't seen Notre Dame yet walked around the Basilica. I'm still mesmerized by Notre Dame in general.
After the concert, we went and got some famous Berthillion ice cream on l'ile St. Louis and enjoyed it even more the second time around. The girls left later on that night and Courtney and I hung back in our apartment and watched a few episodes of Glee.
Then today came; Valentine's Day. I wasn't sure how today would go for me but it really has been a wonderful day. When I woke up, I went for a quick run, helped put together Courtney's Valentine's day present from her boyfriend, and picked up a package from Danny at the Accent center. He sent me chocolate and candy from home! It was amazing; I've missed my Dove dark chocolate, Swedish fish, and sour patch kids. He's the best.
After getting ready for the day, Courtney and I headed out to Sacre Coeur on the North side of the city. Apparently, the best view of Sacre Coeur is at Twilight so I'll have to go back again. Sacre Coeur is both a historical and iconic landmark for Paris and it's point off the main dome is the second highest point in the city. We climbed the many steps to the top of the hill where the church sits and entered the Basilica after taking yet another couple shot of the two of us. Inside was incredible. It was similar to Notre Dame in it's arches and structure but completely different in decoration and interior design. The dome above the altar has a beautiful, elaborate painting of Jesus with his arms outstretched and different pieces are plated in gold. Inside the church, they are very strict about not speaking so we don't disturb the few people sitting in the pews to pray. I am definitely going back for mass one Sunday. I won't really be able to understand anything because the masses are in French but then again, I haven't been able to really understand mass since I've been here anyway so there isn't much of a difference. Unfortunately, the crypt and dome, which you can climb to look out over the city, weren't open today. I definitely want to go back in the future to visit both of those as well.
After our excursion to Sacre Coeur, Courtney and I headed back home. We picked up some chicken for dinner and a baguette as usual. I did a load of laundry and actually did a little homework for the first time since arriving in Paris. It's been a great day. For some reason, I do have a small bit of homesickness tonight but I'm sure that's for a lot of reasons. So tonight on this Valentine's day, I just want to say that I love you all, especially for reading my blog, and I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's day! Bon soir!
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