What is that thing in the background on the right? Why, it's Sacré-Cœur, located at the summit of the Butte Montmartre in Paris, the highest point in the city! Construction of the basilica began in 1875, but wasn't completed until 1914.Here's another in-between view, where the basilica appears to be not quite complete. As a side note, the obelisk in the center of the square was a gift from Egypt back in 1833. It was placed in the square in the exact location where the guillotine had stood, the same guillotine that killed Queen Marie Antoinette, Princess Élisabeth of France, Charlotte Corday, Madame du Barry, Georges Danton, Maximilien Robespierre, and thousands of others.
Funny, I never had that Paris bug. It's supposed to be such a romantic city. My cousin went there and said the people were very rude and the city was very dirty. Yeah, I still don't really want to go.
ReplyDelete~Randy
We both had food poisoning when we were in Paris, it was very romantic being sick together, you definitely should go Randy!
ReplyDeleteP.S.- Montmartre is really quite charming, except for the throngs of tourists... Nice to have a hill in an otherwise fairly flat city.
I know that the Parisians have been criticized for being rude, but I have met some very nice Parisians. I'm not convinced that they're all that different from other big-city dwellers around the world. What sets French people apart (including Parisians) is their insistence upon quality over quantity. Sadly, that may be disappearing, but we should appreciate it while it exists - in quality produce, quality of life, preservation of history, quality of cheese (oh, and other food too), quality of streetscapes, and an appreciation for the good life. Is it a coincidence that Paris isn't filled with skyscrapers? I love the French for their adherence to values, to the extent that I forgive a whole lot of crankiness. They know what's good and they insist on having it.
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