The Catholic churches in Paris are no joke. Prior to my day today, St. Patrick's Cathedral was the largest church I had been to. Not even close to what I've seen here.
I'll start with Sainte-Chapelle. This was originally bult to house the crown of thorns and the remains of the holy cross. Unfortunately these were melted down during the French Revolution. Now it is mainly known for it's intricate stained glass. The stained glass windows tell the story of mankind from Genesis through resurrection. So 3000 years in colorful glass. I have to be honest, I didn't read the entire thing but I'm going to assume they got it right.
Next there is Montmartre. The story is that a 4th century bishop (St. Denis) was beheaded by the Romans at Notre Dame. He then picked up his head, put it under his arm, and headed north. He finally collapsed at Montmartre so they built a church. Now to put this in perspective (as if walking with your head is not impressive enough) I traveled a similar distance my first day here. In order to do so I had to put my 30-year-old-yoga-doing-marathon-running-veggie-eating self into a cab. And as far as I know my head was securely fastened the entire way. Whoa Denis!
Finally there is Notre Dame. It is stunning an enormous. You could easily spend days there taking it all in. It makes you want to tell the Hunch Back to quit his whining. He could have been ringing that bell at St. John Neumann's in Herndon, VA and had a whole lot more to complain about than unrequited love. Glass half full buddy.
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