A Long and Eventful Friday

Yesterday was incredibly busy.  I woke up at 8am, even though I didn't have any classes or scheduled outings.  By 9, Brittany and I were downstairs eating breakfast, and by 9:20, we were on the RER headed for Notre Dame.  We hadn't been into the cathedral yet and were very interested in seeing it.  We were not, however, looking forward to the miles long line that develops to get in.  So we showed up at 9:45, just fifteen minutes after the cathedral opened for the day.  

There was no line and we basically just walked straight in, a feat almost unheard of when visiting Notre Dame.  Inside the cathedral was beautiful.  I'd expected it to be lovely, and it definitely exceeded all of my expectations.

Despite there being a good number of people milling around taking pictures, we were able to see everything quite well without being cramped and crowded.  I couldn't believe how long the nave was.  It seemed to go on forever.  At first I wondered how someone sitting at the back would have heard what was going on during mass before microphones were invented.  Then, as we wandered, a choir (from Blacksburg, Virginia no less), filed in to the choir's seats to sing.  

We assumed they were going to be singing during one of the masses this weekend and were there to practice yesterday.  It was amazing how good the acoustics in the cathedral were.  You could hear them clearly and easily from anywhere inside.  They were also fantastic singers and just hearing them sing gave me goosebumps.

While there, we also explored the church and I lit candles for my grandmothers in the chapel devoted to the Virgin Mary.  After about 45 minutes in the cathedral, we left and headed back to the Foyer.  Later that afternoon, we decided to do some more shopping.  This time we took the metro to the Galeries Lafayette, one of Paris' other very famous department stores.

We shopped around in there for awhile (of course I made purchases) then left and wandered some of the nearby streets, buying things in stores around there too.  After about four hours of shopping, we were exhausted so we took the metro back to the Foyer and stopped at a small café next door.  I tried my first espresso there.  It was very strong and very bitter, but I have to say that I loved it.  It's definitely a habit I could get used to.  Especially when I can sit and drink it while eating delicious sliced french bread slathered in butter too.

After our break at the café, we went back to the Foyer to relax and nap a bit.  Around 8, Laura and I made pasta for a late dinner.  Around 11pm we decided to go out for a few drinks.  Unfortunately, last night was not a night of good weather.  It was pouring rain, so by the time we got to the bar, we were drenched straight through.  But we stayed there to dry off and have a few drinks.  It was a Friday night, so it was pretty busy, but we had a good time hanging out, listening to music, and talking.  Around 3am we finally headed back to the Foyer and by 3:30am, I was exhausted and thrilled to go to bed.