Mount Martyr and the Moulin Rouge!

     Busy day today! The day started off with class at 8am, Metaphysics...which is less than exciting. After class I took a little nap and then when Adrian got out of class we went and got lunch at the market. St. John's plans trips for us every Monday so I only have one class on Monday's. After lunch we got ready to go on our afternoon trip. I actually had no idea where we were going and was just along for the ride.  It ended up being a really great afternoon.
    St. John's took us to the"Greenwich Village" of Paris. It was about ten Metro stops away from campus and quite the hike...literally. To reach the little village we had to climb up two massive staircases...I definitely got my workout in for the day!

     The hike was totally worth it though. Our adviser Mike took us and he knew so much about the area it was quite the treat. He explained to us that St. Denis is the Patron Saint of France. As the story goes, when religion was banned in France St. Denis began preaching underground to the people of France. He preached right at Mount Martyr... the mountain we technically climbed up. When he was found out in 250 A.D. he was martyred (killed). His head was chopped off and once again...as the story goes....he walked 6 miles with his head chopped off preaching the entire time he walked...holding his head in his hands.
    The area we were in is now called St. Denis commune after the Saint and first Bishop of France. The mountain is also famous for other reasons. In the 1870's Paris established a Utopian soceity here. Women had the right to vote, all were seen as equals and after brutal war it just seemed ideal. It obviously did not last long until civil war began to break out. People hid within the mountain. The mountain was then blown up and all the people were killed. Another reason the mountain is called Mount Martyr (but in French of course!).
      Picasso had workshops here along with Salvador Dali. The area is very bohemian in style and people that could not afford the city of Paris tended to live here back in the day. The word Bistro was actually coined here. When the Russians fought with France during WWI the Russians used to set off bombs in Paris. The word bistro in Russian means fast or quick. The Russians would yell at the restaurant and shop owners "Bistro! Bistro!" In other words, move fast! or get away quickly! Eventually, France started calling their restaurants Bistros. Now the word is just simply apart of everyone's vocabulary.
     After walking up the massive staircase and learning lots from our adviser Mike we made our way to the Basilique Du Sacre-Coeur De Montmartre. The church at the top of the hill. The first view from the top of the staircase was breathtaking and it just got better from there.

 On the way we walked by so many restaurants, shops and artists. I loved the feel of this little village.

    The Basilique Du Sacre-Coeur De Montmartre contains one of the largest mosaics of Jesus in the entire world. During WWII a bomber dropped a bomb right on the church and nothing happened. It was said to be a miracle. People from all around the world come to pray here because it is such Holy Ground. There are no pictures allowed to be taken inside and they are VERY strict about that. The church is absolutely beautiful though both inside and out.

       Mike explained the church is made out of a certain kind of rock that constantly oxidizes itself. In other words, the church never gets dirty and is constantly white. I think the whole process was a little more complex, but coming from someone that does not understand Science....that was the base of it!

     From the top of the hill, right across from the church there was a view of all of Paris. It was beautiful. The sun was shining bright and I just felt really content with it all. 

          After spending sometime in the church our trip was basically over and we were free to do what we wanted. Adrian and I spent about an hour just wandering from shop to shop. We both got a ton of souvenir shopping done which was quite the relief! We also walked by some pretty neat stuff like a double decker Carousal.

        Adrian was convinced as we went from shop to shop that we were close to the famous Moulin Rouge because he recognized the area from the movie. We both really wanted to see it so we decided to ask someone. The woman shop owner laughed at us and pointed down the block, "Its right down there!" she said. We were much closer than we thought. We walked a few blocks and we were there! It was clearly not the best area, lots of interesting shops around, but there were tons of tourists in front of the Moulin Rouge. We got some great pictures. We got to walk inside (not the actual doors of course) and learned that for one night at the Moulin Rouge, which is simply a show and dinner, it costs 200 Euro! Basically 350 U.S. dollars! There was a tour going on outside the Rouge in English when we walked by and we got some info from that.

Afterwards, Adrian and I headed back to campus to make it back in time for dinner and homework. Adrian and I both had such a nice day. Lots of laughs which is the best. 

I realized while at dinner I haven't posted much about the meals here. We get fed breakfast and dinner each day and we are on our own for lunch. A usual dinner consists of bread, cheese, a pasta or rice, meat, fruit and salad. It is a lot of food so even if I don't like some of the choices I have options. Tonight was a steak with rice.

         I have been drinking a ton of tea since I got here too. Everyone that knows me knows I am a coffee addict, but when I was sick coffee really turned me off! Now I just cant stop drinking tea!
        After dinner I worked on some homework, figuring out my schedule for next semester (I pick classes tomorrow!!!) and writing this short Blog :) I am trying to write as much as possible before Spring Break because I am not sure when I will have time to Blog! Wednesday I am going on another trip with my Art and Architecture class! Well, now I am off to bed. Metaphysics class rolls around pretty quick.
      Thanks for reading!
   
    XOXO

Shann