Travel Bingo -- Travels to other places while living in London
Ahhhhh, Paris. A lovely addition to help us whittle our "16 midnights out of the UK before April 5th for expat tax exemption qualification" deal. Happily, we have previously made friends with Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Arch de Triumph, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower's top, so Saturday found us venturing elsewhere. We wandered Montmartre (where the artists flock to paint and sell their work), experienced Sacre Coeur Basilica and took ourselves on a walking tour of that area.
The altar ceiling at Sacre Coeur was exquisite. Perhaps the most stunning I've ever seen with its tender yet magnificent imagery of Christ with His loving expression and its endless mosaic work of cerulean blue and gold. As I gazed at it, transfixed, I had an incredible feeling of gratitude. Gratitude for a loving God, for people who, although they didn't have the full truth, reverenced Him such that they used the talents He gave them to create an artistic masterpiece that inspires people to look and remember Him -- even seek Him. It was a special moment for me.
Another highlight of the stroll was visiting some art-inspired spots: the apartment and garden where Renoir did a few of his famous paintings, the tiny home where an art supplier lived (Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet and Pissaro were among his clients), and the salon where Picasso began the cubism movement that revolutionized the art world at that time. For whatever reason, the very spot where those artists purchased their paint was riveting to me. Perhaps because it represented the cradle of so much possibility, promise, and beauty that came to be.
Of course we also took in the Eiffel Tower at midnight in all its sparkle! Paris truly is a magical place!
Ahhhhh, Paris. A lovely addition to help us whittle our "16 midnights out of the UK before April 5th for expat tax exemption qualification" deal. Happily, we have previously made friends with Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Arch de Triumph, the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower's top, so Saturday found us venturing elsewhere. We wandered Montmartre (where the artists flock to paint and sell their work), experienced Sacre Coeur Basilica and took ourselves on a walking tour of that area.
The altar ceiling at Sacre Coeur was exquisite. Perhaps the most stunning I've ever seen with its tender yet magnificent imagery of Christ with His loving expression and its endless mosaic work of cerulean blue and gold. As I gazed at it, transfixed, I had an incredible feeling of gratitude. Gratitude for a loving God, for people who, although they didn't have the full truth, reverenced Him such that they used the talents He gave them to create an artistic masterpiece that inspires people to look and remember Him -- even seek Him. It was a special moment for me.
Another highlight of the stroll was visiting some art-inspired spots: the apartment and garden where Renoir did a few of his famous paintings, the tiny home where an art supplier lived (Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet and Pissaro were among his clients), and the salon where Picasso began the cubism movement that revolutionized the art world at that time. For whatever reason, the very spot where those artists purchased their paint was riveting to me. Perhaps because it represented the cradle of so much possibility, promise, and beauty that came to be.
Of course we also took in the Eiffel Tower at midnight in all its sparkle! Paris truly is a magical place!
Such adventures already!! So fun!
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