Sacre-Coeur

It was actually 85deg here on saturday.  So I could not pass up what I fear would be the last hot day of the season.  So in my self-guided fashion I grabbed my camera and off I went.  Looking at my map, I thought it would be a far walk, but luckily for me, these guide books aren't drawn to scale.  After a 15 min walk (sadly, it was mostly up hill), I found myself at the 2nd highest point in Paris: the beautiful church of Sacré-Coeur.

Sacré-Coeur; Commissioned in atonement for the deaths in the Franco-Prussian war, priests still work to maintain constant prayer for those lost in war

I ventured inside, nearly swept by the tide of camera toters (oh wait, that includes me).  There was actually a service in progress, and they politely requested no photography but I figured they wouldn't mind if i did a video recording.  I was trying to be incognito, so unfortunately, the video is choppy and blurry, perhaps I'm being punished...  I don't know how anyone can get in the mind frame of worship with random people milling about.  But thankfully they didn't mind my presence.  Random: they actually had machines that sold souvenir tokens, kinda like the pressed penny at the zoo.

You probably can't tell from the pic, but this place was pretty packed, by tourist as well as locals.  For a moment I kinda had a Taste of Chicago feeling with people swarming all around, most of them ruining my shots (grr).  Thankful, I entered at the top of the hill so going down the 200+ stairs was a cinch...almost.  But there are multiple landings and grassy knolls to give you time to catch your breath.  

It is kinda cool how the city is built right up to the base of this church.  One moment you're walking down the cobblestoned street passing cafes and shops, and the minute next you are in the shadow of this bleach-white stone beautiful building, where on a clear day you can see for miles.