A Rainy day in Paris...

Day 2 and feeling a lot more confident with the Metro. We bought tickets and got to our destination Louvre no worries. Then off to the Pantheon, this is where it all goes wrong lol. We also come across the padlock bridge as well, this is where lovers come to pledge their love for one another, they write their names on the lock then lock it to the bridge and throw the key into Le Seine river. In Paris there are 2 bridges this can be done on, one for your "true love" the other for your "lover"!! Holy cow a lot of people play up, as there is hardly any space left on the bridge for the lover, and plenty of space on the bridge for your true love. A man today kindly told me I had lost my ring and picked it up off the ground next to us, I told him it wasn't mine. This is a scam and they target tourists, thanks for the tip on this Tracy.

Palais du Louvre

Lovers Bridge

It started to rain so we headed for cover in a Cafe as you do in Paris. Whilst we were having a cuppa, we looked across the road and saw a beautiful building, yes another one. We thought we would have a look inside, after a body search and a bag scan we walked into a church it was Sainte-Chapelle. It is so beautiful we just couldn't believe our eyes. The stained glass windows and sculptures were like nothing we had ever seen before. This church was built in 1242 to 1248 in accordance to Louis the IX (King from 1226 to 1270 and the future Saint Louis) to house the relics of the passion of Christ. The most famous of these relics was the Crown of Thorns (worn by Christ) acquired in 1239 for a sum that greatly exceeded the cost of the building itself!

Sainte-Chapelle

Saint Louis

Stained glass window

The colours so vibrant

The stained glass windows are awe inspiring and to understand them you need to read them, the way this is done is left to right bottom to top. If you look at this picture bottom right corner shows Jesus being crowned with the crown of thorns. Truly amazing jaw dropping stuff!

Reading the stained glass windows

Then we boarded a hop on and off bus to see some sights in Paris. As it was still raining we didn't want to waste a minute. Thankfully, the rain stopped so we hopped off and headed off sight seeing again. Paris has so many wonderful places too see. We found another cafe to stop for a cuppa and snack before continuing sight seeing. Paul had escargot for the first time,  he said back home he wanted to roll the way the French do and he did. So he ate them all while I squirmed at the thought.

Really Paul? Snails???

Bon appetite!

We then walked across the road to another AMAZING building Orange Center Madeleine. Yep another Church, the size is just unbelievable and then when you walk inside, you really get to appreciate the detail.

Madeleine Church

We strolled along the markets tonight which was pretty. It gets very cold at night, but while you are strolling through the streets you walk over grates on the street which blow heat up, very nice and warm. Great to stop and have a chat while you warm up.

The Markets

We made it back to the hotel tonight with no dramas in finding our way back, woohoo. Paul has got the Metro all worked out now!