Sacre Coeur et Notre Dame

On our second day in Paris, the group took a trip to Montmartre, a city built upon a large hill. In Montmartre, there were two exquisite churches that we got to explore. Our first stop was Sacre Coeur. Meaning "Sacred Heart", Sacre Coeur is located at the very top of Monmartre, with a total of 250 stairs to climb to reach the opening of the church. Sacre Coeur was built fairly recently around 1919. It is made from travertine stone, a material that constantly excludes calcite. This ensures that the church remains white no matter what pollution or weather conditions it comes in contact with. As we stepped inside (there was sadly no photography allowed), we were absolutely astounded by the illumination of colors lining each wall. Unlike a regular church with windows made of stained glass, Sacre Coeur has tons of mosaics scattered throughout the interior of the building. As our trip to Montmartre came to a close, we took the metro to Notre Dame. Notre Dame, meaning "Our Lady", has an extremely symbolic external structure. The entrance on the right side of the building is larger than the entrance on the left because in the Christian religion, you are born a sinner. All humans will fit through the right door, and will exit through the left door, therefore accepting their religion and purifying their souls. In Notre Dame, there were huge stained glass windows. The church's main attraction is the circular rose window, which has very little structure to it, creating an illusionary effect in the human brain. In the time of Louis XIV, people had to have a relic, which Jesus didn't have. Because of this, he was crowned with the crown of thorns, which now sits in a red box in the back of Notre Dame that is taken out annually on special occasions. We can't wait to see all of the other special things we're going to explore!!
-Sophie and Lucy